The Justice Department has fired multiple FBI agents allegedly involved in investigating President Trump during a Biden-era probe known as "Arctic Frost," CBS News has learned. Scott MacFarlane has more, and former FBI special agent Doug Kouns joins with insight on budget cuts at the FBI.

Washington

The Justice Department has dismissed several FBI agents who participated in the "Arctic Frost" investigation, which focused on efforts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election and the use of alternate electors. The firings, which affected agents primarily from the Washington, D.C. field office, were part of a broader purge during the first year of President Trump's second term, resulting in the loss of dozens of agents and federal prosecutors.

The FBI Agents Association criticized the repeated terminations and reinstatements, highlighting internal chaos. Former FBI special agent Doug Coons noted that the firings and budget cuts have led to lower-priority cases being deprioritized and have negatively impacted morale, especially among support staff who are not being paid during the shutdown.

Trump fires FBI agents who investigated president in "Arctic Frost" probe

The Justice Department has fired several FBI agents who took part in investigating President Trump. CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott McFarlane has the latest. CBS News has learned multiple FBI agents have been fired in controversial fashion, allegedly for being associated with an investigation known as Arctic Frost. Arctic Frost was an investigation by the then-Biden-led Department of Justice and Special Prosecutor to look into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and install alternate, some would say fake, electors in their place on January 6, 2021. A recent Senate Republican investigation revealed some components of this Arctic Frost investigation looked into the phone data of several Republican members of Congress. They have therefore called it a political witch hunt and a politically motivated investigation. Those supporters of the probe and critics of the Republican investigation say it's logical for this to be focused on some Republican lawmakers because Republican lawmakers were accused of being part of this alternate elector scheme. That being said, the agents associated with this case, most of which are in the Washington, D.C. field office, were fired, then briefly rehired, we learned, then fired again and are now off the job, part of a purge that has cost dozens of agents and federal prosecutors their jobs inside the Department of Justice in this first year of the second Trump term. And there is a response from the FBI Agents Association saying that the actions yesterday in which FBI special agents were terminated and then reinstated shortly after, and then only to be fired again, highlight the chaos that occurs inside the FBI. Scott McFarland, thank you. Doug Coons joins me now. He is a former special agent and supervisory special agent for the FBI. So, Doug, what is the impact of these firings and budget cuts going to be on public safety and larger investigations? Well, it will definitely have an impact. I went through a couple of shutdowns and budget cuts during my career, and some of the lower-priority cases get put on the back burner, and sometimes you have to leave your take-home cars at work and drive your personal cars, carpool, just kind of like at home, and you have to tighten the belt sometimes. That's what happens. And it does have an impact on the effectiveness and the speed in which the investigations are conducted. For people at home, what would be considered a lower-priority case that might be put on the back burner? Well, things that other agencies work, drug cases, some cyber cases, bank robberies, kidnappings, things like DEA can work or ATF can work or the state and local police can work, whereas the Bureau will continue to focus on its higher-priority things—national security, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, public corruption, cyber intrusions. Those are the things that will maintain most of the focus. How much of a morale shift do you think this is having inside the Bureau? You know, I was talking to some people the other day about this, and I hear morale is low, and it's unfortunate, and it's my understanding the agents are still being paid during the shutdown, yet the support staff are not, and that's causing somewhat of a resentment. A little bit of a riff from the people that aren't making—generally aren't making as much money as the agents to begin with are the ones that are not getting any at all. So it's definitely problematic. I've got a couple of employees here at my firm whose spouses are still active with the Bureau, and they're asking for more work, and they're very stressed out right now, and morale is understandably low. All right. Doug Coons, thank you for your time. Thank you.

President Trump hosted a breakfast for Republican senators at the White House on Wednesday morning, where he urged them to end the filibuster as the government shutdown hits a historical milestone.

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At least nine people were killed, officials say, after a UPS cargo plane crashed near the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. Video shows the jet's left wing on fire as it tries to take off before quickly losing altitude and exploding.

Louisville

Video shows moment UPS plane crashes in Kentucky, killing nine

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New York

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Visayas

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Injuries have been reported after a UPS plane crashed near the Louisville International Airport on Tuesday, officials said.

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Peru has severed diplomatic relations with Mexico after learning that former prime minister Betssy Chávez, accused of helping ex-president Pedro Castillo attempt a coup in 2022, has taken refuge in the Mexican embassy in Lima.

Lima

Peru cuts ties with Mexico over asylum for ex-prime minister

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84. He was a major force in the Republican party for more than 30 years and served as vice president under former President George W. Bush.

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Al Fashir

United States working to secure a humanitarian truce in Sudan

The Trump administration says it will restart the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but will only pay half the amount people usually get. The move comes after two federal judges ruled that freezing payments for the U.S.'s biggest anti-hunger program is unlawful.

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Manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark is set to acquire Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, for $48.7 billion. CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has more details.

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Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.

Pokrovsk

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine sends special forces to Pokrovsk

Israeli police have arrested a former military prosecutor after she leaked a video appearing to show soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee. Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was detained overnight on Monday following a scandal that erupted after she leaked a video, resigned and then disappeared.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel arrests ex-army lawyer over leaked video showing abuse

U.S. President Donald Trump told 60 Minutes he thinks Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's days are numbered amid the U.S. striking another boat in the Caribbean allegedly transporting drugs.

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A mayor in Mexico's western state of Michoacan was shot dead in a plaza in front of dozens of people who had gathered for Day of the Dead festivities, authorities said. Local politicians in Mexico are frequently victims of political and organized crime violence.

Michoacán

Mexican mayor killed during Day of the Dead celebrations

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people, injuring hundreds and damaging the city's historic Blue Mosque, authorities said, with the death toll likely to rise.

Mazar-i-Sharif

Deadly earthquake rocks northern Afghanistan

More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory parade on Monday after they won the World Series over the weekend. The Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in 11 innings in Game 7 to become the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back World Series.

Los Angeles

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A 32-year-old man suspected of carrying out a bloody stabbing on a United Kingdom train is facing at least 10 criminal charges. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has the latest.

London

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Hamas handed over bodies of three hostages on Sunday (November 2), even as the Palestinian militant group traded blame with Israel for violations of the tenuous truce that has mostly halted two years of war.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

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Israel has threatened to increase attacks on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese government doesn't disarm the militant group, despite a ceasefire.

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U.S President Donald Trump has long promised to build a ballroom on the White House campus.
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Two more suspects, a man and a woman arrested this week over the jewel heist at the Louvre, have been charged and remanded in custody, prosecutors have said. The charges on Saturday brought the number of people now charged over the spectacular robbery to four.

Paris

Two more charged over Louvre jewelry heist

British police say eleven people were injured, most of them seriously, in a mass stabbing on a London-bound train Saturday evening. Authorities have arrested two British-born men and are investigating their motive in the incident.

Breakdown