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California sheriff puts inmates to work at taxpayers’ benefit | Stepheny Price, Fox News | Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux says the county jail's farm has saved taxpayers over $1 million for the last three decades.
A Central California sheriff's office is providing a valuable service to inmates while saving county taxpayers millions each year.
Nestled in the heart of the Golden State is Tulare County, a leader in agriculture and a pioneer in jail reform with the creation of a county-owned farm providing meals to inmates housed at the Tulare County Jail for the last three decades.
"The central San Joaquin Valley is known for its agricultural produce and the ability to grow just about anything here," Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told Fox News Digital. "One of the things that we wanted to do starting a few years back is offset the cost of what it means to feed inmates each and every day."
Boudreaux said that on the high end there can be up to 2,200 inmates at the jail who are fed three times a day, so years ago, the county began using inmates to farm their own food that they are served daily.
TIM TEBOW AND WIFE DEMI-LEIGH PARTNER WITH COMPANY GIVING EX-CONVICTS SECOND CHANCE: 'WHAT GRACE IS ALL ABOUT'
A Central California county jail is helping inmates rehabilitate back into society and saving taxpayers over $1 million. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
"They created farmland with cattle, hogs and the ability to grow. And it's really become the circle of life out there."
Boudreaux added that they even have chickens and harvest their own eggs.
"We grow our own alfalfa. Now that alfalfa that we harvest on 1,100 acres, that feeds our cattle. We have anywhere between [300] and 400 head, plus we have calves that drop. And what I mean by that, calves are born, and we use those calves and really feed them into adults for the ability to butcher," Boudreaux explained.
In addition, Boudreaux said all the leftover food from the day that inmates don't eat gets turned into "slop" to feed the hogs.
"It's just a big circle of life."
NEW YORK PROPOSAL WOULD PROVIDE $2,600 TO INMATES AFTER THEY LEAVE PRISON
Tom Guinn talks about egg production at the Sheriff's Farm. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
The inmates at the Tulare County Jail are fed from a county-owned farm. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
Tulare County is using a county-owned farm to feed inmates and save taxpayers money. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
View of the Tulare County Sheriff's Office farm next to the Bob Wiley Detention Facility. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office turned the 1,100-acre plot into a working farm more than 30 years ago. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
Boudreaux said what makes the project even more unique is that they are one of the only sheriff's departments in California that has something of this caliber for inmates, adding that some of the inmates are convicted, while others work on the farm while awaiting trial.
"For one, a lot of sheriffs don't have the agricultural space to do so. Some sheriffs are either too small or too big. We're just kind of – we're in the middle of the central San Joaquin Valley, and we're just right," Boudreaux said.
"Other sheriffs have gotten rid of farming operations because of Proposition 47. They don't have a workforce anymore that meets the misdemeanor or low offender status to be able to operate some of the farming operations," he explained. "We have changed some of our criteria, allowing certain inmates to come out and work on the farm, which has allowed us to keep it up and operating."
Boudreaux said the department has no plans to ever get rid of the program, but he noted that when he became sheriff in 2014, there were some struggles and the farm was nearly shut down.
"Fortunately, we weathered through the hard times of COVID, which kept people from being in facilities, so our operation was really hurting for a while, but we made it through that, and we're saving the taxpayer, and that's important," Boudreaux said.
BRITISH PRISON REFORM WILL RELEASE CONVICTS AFTER SERVING 40% OF TERM TO COMBAT OVERCROWDING: REPORTS
The Tulare County Sheriff’s Farm feeds inmates, saving $1 million a year. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)
"I'm fiscally responsible for the money that comes in here. And we save anywhere between $1.2 and $1.6 million to the taxpayer each year."
The farm not only saves millions in tax dollars, it also gives inmates the opportunity to turn their lives around and be better equipped after their release, the sheriff said.
"One of the focuses is that we identify those inmates that would be eligible for rehabilitation and work programs, and we place them into our farming operation where they learn animal care, they learn harvesting, they learn food-to-table from farm-to-table type operations. We grow broccoli, we grow cabbage, and they actually harvest this stuff," Boudreaux said.
He added that they even provide a certification program in which inmates are able to go in and learn how to be certified butchers.
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"We have USDA-certified staff that teach and certify inmates so that when they go back out into the field, they can go into the workforce as butchers. They can go into grocery stores, who are always looking for butchers," he said.
"And with the central San Joaquin Valley being a large agricultural-producing environment, what better way than to train these inmates to actually hop into the workforce on day 1 of release, being ready to understand the farming operation or the animal care operation or a butchering service."
Boudreaux said their hope in providing these resources is that the inmates won't return.
"We'd like to reduce our recidivism, and this is one of the ways in which we can really work to make that happen."
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Trump admin scrutinizes 'kill all the chickens' policy as bird flu ravages egg prices | Anders Hagstrom, Fox News | USDA Sec. Brooke Rollins shares the Trump administration's new strategy to fight bird flu as egg prices remain high.
Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins unveiled a plan to lower egg prices in both the short and long term on Wednesday.
Rollins made the announcement during an appearance on Fox News' "America's Newsroom," saying President Donald Trump's administration is taking a multi-prong approach to combat the bird flu that has ravaged chicken populations and therefore sent the price of eggs skyrocketing.
Rollins blamed the current high prices on a "long road" of overregulation going back to President Barack Obama's administration.
The Trump official also highlighted efforts to re-populate poultry farmers who were forced to slaughter most or all of their populations due to exposure to the virus, a policy Rollins says the administration is investigating.
EGG PRICES AREN'T COMING DOWN ANYTIME SOON, EXPERTS SAY
President Trump's administration is working on a solution for the avian flu. (iStock)
EGG FARMER HIT HARD BY BIRD FLU, DESCRIBES 'NIGHTMARE' OF LOSING 3 FLOCKS
When asked by host Dana Periono if it was time to revisit the policy of killing chickens, Rollins confirmed that the Trump administration is researching whether changing the policy would be effective.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is working to address high egg prices and the spread of the avian flu. (Getty Images)
"We are going to have some pilot programs across the country that work to prove that out," Rollins said. "The avian flu is an extremely fast-spreading virus, and within a couple of days it spreads so quickly that most of the chickens have died anyway. But there are some farms that are out there and that are willing to really try this."
WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIST GIVES PLAN TO CONTROL AVIAN FLU, LOWER EGG PRICES AFTER BIDEN ADMIN ‘KILLED CHICKENS’
Grocery store shoppers in a Washington, D.C. suburb. (Fox News Digital)
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Rollins says that in the short term, her agency is working to import eggs from other countries in order to meet demand and lower prices in the U.S. She stressed that such purchases are not a long-term solution, however.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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American Airlines jet pulls out of DC landing to avoid collision | Stephen Sorace, Fox News | NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the near-miss runway incident at Chicago Midway airport and recent aviation problems nationwide.
An American Airlines jet aborted a landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., to avoid a collision with another plane on Tuesday morning, aviation officials said.
The flight was making its final descent at 8:20 a.m. ET when the pilot saw another plane preparing to take off from the runway and made the quick decision to perform a go-around maneuver, in which the pilot pulled up and ascended toward the skies, to avoid the other aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The FAA said the maneuver was made to "ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway."
American Airlines told Fox News Digital in a statement that the flight "landed safely and normally at DCA after it was instructed by Air Traffic Control to complete a standard go-around to allow another aircraft more time for takeoff."
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT FORCED TO MAKE EMERGENCY LANDING AT NEWARK
An American Airlines flight aborted a landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning to avoid a collision with another plane on Tuesday morning, aviation officials said. (iStock)
"American has a no-fault go-around policy as a go-around is not an abnormal flight maneuver and can occur nearly every day in the National Airspace System," the airline's statement said. "It’s a tool in both the pilot’s and air traffic controller’s toolbox to help maintain safe and efficient flight operations, and any assertion that flight 2246’s canceled approach was more than that is inaccurate."
Within a span of 90 minutes, another flight in Chicago was forced to abort its landing to avoid a collision with a plane on the runway.
Southwest Flight 2504 from Omaha nearly touched down on the runway at Chicago Midway Airport at 9:50 a.m. ET when the pilot suddenly pointed the plane’s nose back toward the sky to fly over a smaller business Flexjet aircraft that entered its path on the runway.
The FAA said in a preliminary statement that the "business jet entered the runway without authorization." The agency, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board, said they are investigating the incident.
The Southwest flight crew performed a go-around maneuver to avoid a possible incident with a private jet that crossed its path on the runway at Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday morning. (StreamTime Live)
A Southwest spokesperson told Fox News in a statement that the flight’s "crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident."
The two near-misses on Tuesday morning highlight concerns about aviation safety after a string of air travel incidents in recent weeks.
ARIZONA MIDAIR COLLISION OVER REGIONAL AIRPORT BETWEEN CESSNA, LANCAIR AIRCRAFT TURNS FATAL
Earlier Tuesday, a United Airlines flight carrying nearly 200 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after the airline said there was a "possible mechanical issue" mid-flight.
A day earlier, a Delta Air Lines flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a "haze" filled the cabin, according to the airline. Passengers evacuated the aircraft upon landing safely, and no injuries were reported.
An American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 26, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft – the deadliest aviation crash in the U.S. since 2009.
Less than 48 hours later, a medical ambulance flight carrying a child patient, her mother and four others crashed in Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead, including all those aboard, and injuring 19 others.
A commuter plane in Alaska crashed on Feb. 6, killing all 10 people on board.
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A Delta Air Lines flight burst into flames and flipped upside down while landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport on Feb. 17. Everyone on board survived the ordeal, though 21 people were injured.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
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Maui resort explosion at grill area injures 7 | Greg Norman, Fox News | Seven injured following explosion at The Whaler resort in Maui, Hawaii. (Credit: Maui Live Cam via Storyful)
A massive explosion rocked a grill area at a resort in Maui, Hawaii, leaving seven people injured and debris scattered across a beach.
At least three people are in critical condition following the blast at The Whaler resort on Ka'anapali Beach on Thursday night, with victims ranging in age from 18 to 74, according to Hawaii News Now.
"We were swimming down at the pool at the Sheraton and suddenly there was this huge, earth-shaking boom," witness David Flint told the station.
A photo taken at the scene showed locals surveying the damage in the grill area. Some resort guests could be seen leaning over balconies to get a view of the destruction.
HONOLULU FIREWORKS ACCIDENT KILLS 3, INJURES OVER 20
An explosion in the grill area at The Whaler resort in Maui, Hawaii, left multiple people injured.
The location where the explosion happened is just steps away from a walking path that leads to Whaler Village, a shopping and dining destination for many nearby resort guests.
"At this time, no evacuations are being conducted," the Maui Police Department said in a Facebook post, describing the explosion as a "miscellaneous accident."
"We ask the public to avoid the area while first responders work the investigation," it added.
HAWAII CRIME BOSS DIES OF OVERDOSE IN FEDERAL CUSTODY: MEDICAL EXAMINER
An investigation is ongoing to determine the official cause of the explosion in the grill area at The Whaler resort in Maui, Hawaii.
The Maui County Fire Department also said first responders were "on the scene of the explosion in Kaanapali and are caring for the victims" and that "There is no additional threat."
Investigators put up yellow flags on the beach to mark debris that was sent flying from the grill area, Hawaii News Now reported, noting that witnesses described a possible grill malfunction leading up to the explosion.
The Whaler resort says on its website that "Our luxurious condominium-style accommodations are just steps from the pristine sands and provide access to premier resort amenities and services, all infused with the heartfelt warmth of aloha."
First responders say there is no additional threat following the blast Thursday at The Whaler resort in Maui, Hawaii.
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"Grill out in paradise at one of our granite-topped BBQ areas," it added.
Fox News’ Melissa Summers contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
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Inmates takeover another New York prison, all visits canceled day after Gov. Hochul deploys National Guard | Stepheny Price, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Dozens of corrections facilities across New York state have ceased visits as the safety of personnel grow after another riot erupted inside an upstate prison.
"Visitation in all DOCCS facilities is cancelled until further notice," the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision wrote in a post on their Facebook page.
The latest prison unrest happened around midnight on Thursday inside the Riverview Correctional Facility, according to reports from WWNY.
The outlet reported that dorms inside the facility were under inmate control for several hours, where staff said they felt "unsafe." However, the state told the outlet that correctional officers vacated their posts, leaving the dorms unsupervised.
NEW YORK STATE PRISON PLACED ON LOCKDOWN AFTER INMATES TAKE OVER, INJURE THREE CORRECTIONS OFFICERS
Dormitories at Riverview Correctional Facility just outside of Ogdensburg were under inmate control for several hours early Thursday after staff felt conditions were unsafe. (WWNY)
The outlet learned that as many as 500 inmates were housed in 10 dormitories at Riverview after speaking to several sources. It was also determined that around 15-20 staff members were on the overnight shift.
It was not clear what led to the tensions that escalated between inmates and corrections officers, but prison staff deemed conditions were unsafe and pulled staff back into a visitors' area, the outlet reported.
Correction officers said they could hear, what sounded like inmates breaking glass and damaging the dormitories and so the staff left the visitors area and entered the administrative area of the prison where they felt safe.
The staff then called for help, where at least 2 teams arrived from Gouverneur and Albany.
OHIO CORRECTIONS OFFICER KILLED DURING INMATE ASSAULT CHRISTMAS MORNING: 'MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE'
A New York state prison was placed on lockdown after uprising inmates injured three guards and took control of three dorms. (Albany Times Union)
The facility was back fully under state control around 8 a.m. on Thursday.
No corrections facility staff were injured during the ordeal, according to the outlet.
"Last night, with everything that happened during the night, it was very scary. I couldn’t imagine being in their shoes in there. 25 years in corrections, things have changed in corrections," John Robla, a retired corrections officer told the outlet.
A spokesperson for the NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association also confirmed the incident to the outlet and said "it’s aware of what happened overnight."
"After midnight, inmates took over several dorms at Riverview after they became unruly, and the officers assigned to the dorm felt their safety was at risk and exited the dorms. Sometime late this morning, the dorms were under control and restaffed."
This latest incident comes nearly a week after another corrections facility was put on lockdown due to an inmate uprising.
TEXAS JAIL INMATE CHARGED WITH CAPITAL MURDER AFTER ALLEGEDLY ATTACKING DETENTION OFFICER: 'PURE EVIL'
New York City Department of Correction officer at Rikers Island. (James Keivom/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The incident happened around 1 a.m. on Feb. 12 at the Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County when three dorms were taken over by inmates and the staff were removed.
Kenny Gold, vice president of the Western Region for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) told the Albany Union Times that three correction officers sustained minor injuries.
The outlet also reported that Daniel Martuscello III, commissioner of the DOCCS had issued a memo earlier in the week announcing permanent staffing changes brought on by "chronic shortages."
WRGB reported that recent past incidents at the facility have raised concerns after nine officers were injured in a June 12 incident. Then, less than two months later, 11 officers were hospitalized after coming into contact with a substance after trying to help an inmate on Aug. 4.
Governor Kathy Hochul provides an update on the search for a missing child in Gansevoort on Sunday, October 1, 2023. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order activating members of the New York National Guard to help "ensure safety and security at correctional facilities while the illegal and unlawful work stoppage by correction officers continues."
The order also provides authority for additional overtime compensation for correction officers and other staff who are reporting for duty and actively working to secure facilities.
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New York State also filed an injunction under the Taylor Law and a judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating striking correction officers to cease the illegal activity on Wednesday.
"These disruptive and unsanctioned work stoppages by some correction officers must end as they are jeopardizing the safety of their colleagues, the prison population, and causing undue fear for the residents in the surrounding communities," Governor Hochul said.
"In an effort to resolve this illegal work stoppage I have directed the appointment of highly respected independent mediator Martin Scheinman who will begin work immediately to return striking correction officers back to work. While I am confident we will resolve this illegal strike, I am grateful for the thousands of correction officers and staff that are continuing to report for duty - I thank them for their continued service and for doing the right thing."
Fox News Digital reached out to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association and Gov. Hochul's office, but did not immediately receive a response.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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LA Mayor Bass points fingers when grilled on Africa trip amid botched wildfire response | Cameron Arcand, Fox News | LA Mayor Karen Bass appears to pin blame on team for allowing her to go to Ghana amid deadly fires. Credit: Fox 11 LA
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has come under intense scrutiny for traveling to Africa last month amid a botched fire response, is deflecting blame on the controversial trip.
"I felt absolutely terrible not being here for my city," Bass, a Democrat, told a Fox 11 Los Angeles reporter in a recent interview.
"Would I say it was a mistake, absolutely. The idea that I was not present was very painful," she added, saying that proper "preparation didn't happen" to notify her ahead of the Ghana trip.
LA'S RICH AND FAMOUS MADE 'ODD REQUEST' OF PRIVATE ARMIES AS WILDFIRES FUELED FEAR, BOSS SAYS
Mayor Karen Bass discusses recovery efforts during a press conference in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 27, 2025. (Drew A. Kelley/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
She said she would not have even traveled south to San Diego had she been given the proper "preparation" about the fire danger.
"It didn’t reach that level to me to say 'Something terrible could happen and maybe you shouldn’t have gone on the trip,'" the Democrat added.
"I think that’s one of the things we need to look at, everything that happened, including that, needs to be examined," she continued, revealing that there are at least two investigations into the city's response to the fires.
The National Weather Service put out the "fire weather warning" on Jan. 3 and the mayor left for Africa the next day. She did not return until Jan. 8, according to Fox 11 LA.
SEN. SCHIFF URGES TRUMP ADMIN TO EXCLUDE FIREFIGHTERS FROM FEDERAL HIRING FREEZE
A Department of Corrections crew works containment lines ahead of the Palisades Fire, Jan. 14, 2025, in Santa Monica, California. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The fire in the Pacific Palisades ripped through the community, burning down thousands of homes and businesses.
In another interview with NBC Los Angeles, Bass conceded her Africa trip was "absolutely" a mistake and that she was working to regain the public’s trust after facing backlash for her botched response to the raging fires in her city last month.
"Absolutely it is, and I think that I have to demonstrate that every day by showing what we're doing, what is working, what are the challenges," Bass told NBC Los Angeles when asked if she’s trying to "regain confidence."
Bass was in Ghana for the swearing-in of its president when the fires began, even though there was a high fire risk known at the time. The Palisades Fire started Jan. 7 and escalated through the night, but the mayor did not get back into the city until Jan. 8, and she did not answer repeated questions from a Sky News reporter upon her arrival in the United States.
"Yes, it was an ambush, and I wasn't sure who he was. And that is unfortunate because I see the way that looks, as if I was avoiding, but when you're getting off a plane you've been on a plane for 17 hours and someone hits you with a camera, I wish, in hindsight, my response had been better," the mayor told Fox 11 Los Angeles when asked about the viral clip.
She also claimed that the Biden administration asked her to travel to Africa on their behalf during the Fox 11 interview.
DISNEYLAND, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, OFFERING FREE TICKETS TO FIREFIGHTERS
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass listens as Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks while touring fire damage. (Mayor Karen Bass/X)
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Over 170,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for her to step down as mayor. The situation also resulted in public criticism of the mayor, ranging from former Democratic mayoral opponent Rick Caruso to liberal talk show host Bill Maher.
"LA's mayor, Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned," Maher said last month.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., suggested that Disney CEO Bob Iger run for mayor in 2026. When pressed on whether she took Khanna's comments personally, Bass shrugged it off.
"I am focused on one thing and one thing only, and that is to make sure that our city is able to recover and rebuild, and that all of those individuals that lived in the Palisades can go home," Bass told NBC Los Angeles.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
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Colorado avalanche victim rescued in dramatic video | Greg Norman, Fox News | Victim spent more than an hour underneath the snow at Vail Pass, Summit County Sheriff's Office says. (Credit: Summit County Sheriff’s Office/TMX)
A Colorado avalanche victim was seen being dug out from underneath the snow in a dramatic rescue captured on video.
The individual – who escaped only with minor injuries – spent more than an hour beneath the snow at Vail Pass following the incident Monday afternoon, according to the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
"Approximately two feet down, two feet under the snow, we’ve just uncovered him," a deputy could be heard saying in bodycam video released of the rescue. "He is breathing, conscious and is speaking to us."
Footage showed first responders shoveling away piles of snow to get to the victim, who appears to have stayed near the surface with the help of an avalanche airbag backpack.
COLORADO COLLEGE STUDENT’S BODY FOUND IN RUGGED TERRAIN
The victim spent more than an hour underneath the snow Monday at Vail Pass, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said. (Summit County Sheriff’s Office)
"We are incredibly grateful for this fortunate outcome and proud of the coordinated efforts of our deputies and the Summit County Rescue Group. Their dedication and skill made this rescue possible," the Summit County Sheriff's Office said.
Lt. Mike Schilling told FOX Weather that the rescue was "extremely amazing."
"We go to those rescues, and oftentimes, they're recoveries. So to find someone after an hour and five minutes of burial is extraordinarily rare," he added.
UTAH SNOWMOBILER KILLED IN AVALANCHE AFTER BEING ‘FULLY BURIED’
Video captured the rescue of the man in Vail Pass in Colorado. (Summit County Sheriff’s Office)
Elsewhere on Monday, two backcountry skiers were killed after getting trapped in an avalanche in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains in the Happy Valley area west of Bend.
The victims identified in that incident -- Susan Skjersaa, 52, and Terance Skjersaa, 57 – are part of a family that opened Bend’s first ski shop, according to the Associated Press.
An 8-year-old snowboarder also was rescued this week following a chairlift incident at Killington Ski Resort in Vermont, according to The Boston Globe.
The victim was found about two feet underneath the snow, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said. (Summit County Sheriff’s Office)
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The child was not fully seated when the chair left the loading area Wednesday, and he eventually fell into a rescue net, the newspaper reported, citing the report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
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Laura Ingraham visits Gitmo with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth | Unknown | Fox News host Laura Ingraham shares an exclusive look of her visit to Guantanamo Bay with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on ‘The Ingraham Angle.'
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Menendez brothers 'risk assessment' ordered by Newsom ahead of resentencing hearing | Stepheny Price, Fox News | District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that new evidence suggesting convicted killers Lyle and Erik Menendez may have been abused doesn't rise to the standard for a new trial.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the state parole board to conduct a "comprehensive risk assessment investigation" on Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they pose "an unreasonable risk to the public" if released from prison.
On Wednesday, Newsom made the announcement during a segment on his podcast, "This is Gavin Newsom."
"The question for the board is a simple one — do Erik and Lyle Menendez, do they pose a current, what we call `unreasonable risk to public safety,"' Newsom said.
"The risk assessment will be conducted as they typically are conducted — by experts in public safety as well as forensic psychologists."
NEW LOS ANGELES DA NATHAN HOCHMAN DOES NOT SUPPORT OVERTURNING MENENDEZ BROTHERS' MURDER CONVICTIONS
Newsom described the assessment as a "common procedure carried out by the state."
"After that, there’s going to be a hearing that works like a standard parole hearing, providing the District Attorney and the victims a chance to be part of the process," the governor's office shared in a statement.
Newsom's office explained that the legal standard in California for release on parole is whether an inmate poses an unreasonable risk to public safety, which has to be determined before the governor can make a decision on their commutations.
"This process doesn’t mean there’s any guaranteed outcome, but it shows we’re doing our due diligence, ensuring transparency, keeping public safety at the forefront, making sure the process is fair for everyone involved, and getting closer to a conclusion," Newsom's office said.
Back in November, Newsom indicated he would defer any decision on the Menendez brothers' case to local courts and prosecutors.
"The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility," Newsom's office said in a previous statement. "The Governor will defer to the DA-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."
Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that the governor's decision is part of a larger announcement on executive clemency actions that he will be releasing later on Wednesday.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS' RESENTENCING: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the state parole board to conduct a "risk assessment investigation" on Erik and Lyle Menendez, which he said is a common procedure carried out by the state.
Newsom said the results of the risk assessment will be shared with the Los Angeles Superior Court judge presiding over the case, as well as Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman and defense attorneys.
"There's no guarantee of outcome here," Newsom said. "My office conducts dozens and dozens of these clemency reviews on a consistent basis, but this process simply provides more transparency, which I think is important in this case, as well as provides us more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency."
Newsom's announcement comes less than a week after Hochman asked the court to reject the Menendez brothers' request for a new trial.
Hochman cited issues with the evidence, claiming it didn't meet a high enough standard for a new trial.
This comes months after former DA George Gascon cited new evidence in the form of a letter suggesting the brothers may have been abused by their father as a reason for a new trial.
LETTER AT CENTER OF MENENDEZ BROTHERS' BID FOR FREEDOM CALLED INTO QUESTION
Incoming Los Angeles County DA Nate Hochman says he hasn't seen any of the media about the Menendez brothers before he assumes office. (Getty Images)
"We looked again at the credibility of the letters, particularly this Andy Cano 1988 supposed letter weighed in the continuum of lies, and it calls into drastic question whether this is in fact a 1988 letter written by Erik Menendez to Andy Cano about this sexual abuse," Hochman said Friday in a news conference.
The letter was allegedly written eight months before the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano, and detailed alleged sexual abuse by their father.
The letter wasn't found until several years ago, the Menendez brothers' attorney said.
The Menendez brothers' family condemned Hochman's decision in a previous statement shared with Fox News Digital by their legal team.
"District Attorney Nathan Hochman took us right back to 1996 today. He opened the wounds we have spent decades trying to heal," the statement said. "He didn’t listen to us. We are profoundly disappointed by his remarks, in which he effectively tore up new evidence and discredited the trauma they experienced. To suggest that the years of abuse couldn’t have led to the tragedy in 1989 is not only outrageous, but also dangerous.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS RESENTENCING HEARING POSTPONED DUE TO RAGING LOS ANGELES FIRES
Erik Menendez, center, his brother Lyle and defense attorney Leslie Abramson are seen in court in Beverly Hills, California, on Aug. 12, 1991. (Mike Nelson/AFP via Getty Images)
"Abuse does not exist in a vacuum. It leaves lasting scars, rewires the brain, and traps victims in cycles of fear and trauma. To say it played no role in Erik and Lyle’s action is to ignore decades of psychological research and basic human understanding."
The statement added that it was "absurd" for Hochman to say that the evidence should have been submitted at the trial.
Hochman also noted that Newsom has the clemency petition on his desk and "he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and we will be dealing in the next couple of weeks with the resentencing issue."
If Hochman's office continues down the resentencing road, Newsom still has the final say. If the brothers' sentences are reduced to something that would make them eligible for parole, the governor has veto power over parole board decisions. He could also issue clemency or a pardon on his own.
The resentencing hearing was pushed back nearly two months due to California's devastating wildfires.
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Lyle and Erik Menendez were found guilty in 1996 of the 1989 killing of their parents at their ritzy Beverly Hills home and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The brothers claim they shot their father, former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez, in self-defense, arguing they thought he was going to kill them after they warned him they planned to expose him as a child sex abuser.
They also killed their mother, Mary "Kitty" Menendez, who was sitting next to Jose eating ice cream in their living room when they opened fire.
Their first trial ended in a mistrial, when jurors couldn't agree on their fate. After a second trial in the mid-1990s, in which some of their evidence about the alleged sexual abuse was excluded, jurors agreed with prosecutors that their motive was greed.
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz, Michael Dorgan and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Manhunt underway after wife named as suspect in SoCal fire captain's brutal stabbing death | Stepheny Price, Fox News | The San Diego Sheriff's Office said they are searching for the wife of Cal Fire captain Rebecca Marodi as a suspect in her brutal murder. (Credit: KSWB)
A manhunt is underway as authorities are urgently searching for the wife of a Southern California fire captain who was found stabbed to death inside her home.
On Thursday, the San Diego Sheriff's Office announced that 53-year-old Yolanda Marodi was wanted in connection to the brutal murder of her wife, Cal Fire captain Rebecca "Beck" Marodi.
'In a significant development, Sheriff's Homicide detectives have identified a suspect in this case. The suspect is Yolanda Marodi, also known as Yolanda Olenjniczak," the sheriff's office said.
The gruesome discovery happened in the evening hours of Feb. 17 when deputies were called to the Marodis' home for a report of an assault with a deadly weapon.
POLICE HUNT FOR ‘MALE COMPANION’ SEEN FLEEING SLAIN COLLEGE STUDENT’S APARTMENT
Authorities are searching for 53-year-old Yolanda Marodi, who they say is suspected in the brutal murder of her fire captain wife. (San Diego Sheriff's Office/Beck Marodi Facebook)
Deputies found Rebecca Marodi with multiple stab wounds, and despite life-saving measures, officials said she was pronounced dead on the scene.
The medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy and determined the manner of death as homicide.
Officials initially said that they were treating the case as a possible domestic violence incident and indicated that the captain may have known the suspect.
Yolanda Marodi is described as 5'2" tall, weighing 166 lbs, with brown hair, according to officials.
Police said a motive for the murder has yet to be determined.
"Currently, the motivation and circumstances surrounding the homicide remain unclear, and detectives are diligently gathering more information to establish the facts of the case," the sheriff's office said.
UTAH MOM ACCUSED OF KILLING NATIONAL GUARD HUSBAND ENTERS PLEA AS POLICE SEARCH FOR BODY
Authorities say the wife of California Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi has been identified as a suspect in her murder. (Yolanda Marodi Facebook)
Yolanda Marodi was previously charged with murder in 2000 in San Bernardino County for allegedly stabbing a man to death, according to local station CBS8. She later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years and eight months in prison, according to the station. She was in jail from February 2004 to November 2013.
Rebecca Marodi served more than 30 years with Cal Fire, mainly in Riverside County, starting as a volunteer in Moreno Valley. Most recently, officials confirmed she helped battle the Eaton Fire.
"The tragic loss of Captain Marodi is mourned by her family, friends, and her CAL FIRE family," Cal Fire wrote in a post on X.
CAL Fire Riverside also acknowledged Marodi's death and said her passing is a "profound loss."
"Her legacy of mentorship, service, and dedication will be felt for years to come. Her passing is a profound loss to her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of working alongside her," the department wrote in a statement on their Facebook page.
TEXAS TEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER RELEASED AFTER BOND REDUCED FROM $800K TO $100 PER CHARGE: 'THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS'
According to social media posts, Rebecca and Yolanda Marodi appeared to have been together since 2022.
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"No special occasion is ever needed, to express my love for my amazing wife. I’m so lucky to have married someone that loves me for ME. She truly helps me be a better me, and my life has never been better since she’s been in it. So glad I gave love another chance," Yolanda Marodi shared in a 2023 Instagram post.
"I love you my beautiful wife," Rebecca Marodi commented on the post.
Officials said that Rebecca Marodi was planning to retire later this year.
Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Mississippi sheriff's deputy shot, killed while responding to domestic call: 'Died a hero' | Elizabeth Pritchett, Fox News | Joe Cardinale, a retired Lieutenant Commander for the New York Police Department (NYPD), told Fox News Digital that DOGE's efforts could be a welcome relief for police departments weighed down by lawmakers' oversight.
A Mississippi community is mourning the loss of a sheriff's deputy after he was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call Sunday evening.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones identified the slain deputy as 37-year-old Martin Shields, Jr., in a Facebook post.
Shields had been with the Hinds County Sheriff's Office for about nine months, but "his law enforcement career extends beyond being employed with the HCSO," the sheriff said. Memorial posts on social media showed previous employment with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Jackson Police Department.
Shields' father retired from HCSO as a captain, according to the Jackson Fallen Firefighters Memorial Foundation.
PENNSYLVANIA POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN HOSPITAL SHOOTING; GUNMAN DEAD, OFFICIALS SAY
Hinds County Sheriff's Deputy Martin Shields, Jr., 37, (pictured above during his tenure at the Jackson, Mississippi, Police Department) was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call on Sunday. (City of Jackson - Government / Facebook)
Limited details are available, but Jones had said a couple of hours earlier that there was a "very serious situation" taking place in the 15000 block of Midway Road in Terry, Mississippi, which is approximately 15 miles southwest of Jackson.
Two deputies, Shields and an unidentified Hinds County deputy, were responding to a domestic call at a residence at the aforementioned address. Jones said he heard the other deputy come across the radio calling for "shots fired" and made his way to the scene on Midway Road.
A "Be On the Lookout" alert was issued Sunday evening for Eric Brown, 42, who was "wanted for questioning regarding the situation on Midway Road" and was considered armed and dangerous. The alert was canceled sometime before 10 p.m. when police said there was no longer an active threat.
A Facebook post made at about 10:19 p.m. Sunday announced the deputy's death and also said an "unidentified Black male subject believed to be related to the call" was found dead inside the home on Midway Road. That person was identified as Brown on Monday and his cause of death is under investigation, according to the Hinds County Sheriff's Office.
Brown is suspected to be responsible for Shields' death, Jones said on Monday. A woman identified as Brown's wife was also shot, as well as another woman – who wasn't identified in any way – at the scene. Both women are in stable condition.
Eric Brown, 42, was the subject of a "Be On the Lookout" alert on Sunday after a Hinds County sheriff's deputy was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call. (Hinds County Sheriff's Office)
The investigation into the shooting remains active and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting.
TWO VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE OFFICERS SHOT DEAD WHILE 'DEFENSELESS' DURING LATE-NIGHT TRAFFIC STOP
Jones wrote a heartfelt tribute to Shields on his professional Facebook page early Monday morning, sharing that the two men had just responded to a capsized boat together earlier in the day. He said that while he was responding to the "shots fired" call, he paged Shields several times with no answer.
"The deputy who called ‘shots fired’ was in survival mode due to the situation but still performed very heroic acts. My heart sank as I rushed to the scene, not getting a response from the fallen deputy. Just prior to my arrival, I learned that he had been shot and was obviously deceased," Jones wrote, adding there was an "outpouring of support" at the scene.
He said Shields "died a hero" and "while responding to a call for service to assist someone in need."
"He fulfilled his assignment and his God-given mission on earth. Pray for his family, his friends, the many lives he touched, and the men and women of the HCSO as we all prepare for a final salute," he wrote. "There’s absolutely no way I could ever imagine or prepare to tell a family their deputy will not be coming home from their tour of duty. However, tragically, I found myself in that situation late this evening."
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones wrote a heartfelt tribute to slain Deputy Martin Shields, Jr., saying that he "died a hero" and "while responding to a call for service to assist someone in need." (Running 4 Heroes/Facebook)
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Shields' death marks the latest killing in a deadly weekend for law enforcement across the country.
Two Virginia Beach police officers died Saturday morning after they were both shot while conducting a traffic stop late Friday night.
In Pennsylvania, West York Borough Patrolman Andrew Duarte was shot and killed while responding to an active shooter at UPMC Memorial Hospital on Saturday morning.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones.
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Crucial Hamptons bridge closes indefinitely ahead of spring season | Pilar Arias, Fox News | FOX Business correspondent Madison Alworth reports on the Department of Transportation terminating approval for NYC congestion pricing on 'America Reports.'
The Ponquogue Bridge that connects Hampton Bays to Ponquogue Beach in New York is closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic in both directions due to deteriorating concrete, according to local media.
The bridge first closed on Feb. 21, an emergency alert from the Town of Southampton said, following a "routine inspection" of the bridge by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) the day prior.
Inspectors from NYSDOT returned to the bridge on Monday for examination and to "obtain additional data to be analyzed by the engineers," a Town of Southampton Facebook post said.
The town says it is "awaiting more information from the County as to path forward and any reopening plans."
NEW YORK INMATE DIES IN PRISON AS GUARDS CONTINUE STRIKE DEEMED ILLEGAL UNDER STATE LAW
Google Maps shows the Ponquogue Bridge that connects Hampton Bays and Ponquogue Beach. (Google Maps)
Ponquogue Bridge over the Shinnecock Bay on the evening of August 24, 2021 in Hampton Bays, New York. (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM)
People living in the area and visitors are encouraged to sign up for alerts from the town's Notify Me messaging system for bridge updates.
One alternate route is to the west of the Ponquogue Bridge in Quogue, News 12 Long Island reports.
NY LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL TO BAN ZYN, OTHER FLAVORED NICOTINE POUCHES AFTER FDA'S SUPPORT OF PRODUCT
A cove sits empty at the end of the day July 22, 2001 in Southampton, NY. The Hamptons, located at the east end of New York''s Long Island, is a traditional summer escape for New Yorkers. (Spencer Platt)
Ponquogue Beach "is one of the most popular beaches in the Hamptons with over 106,000 visitors each summer season," the town's website states. Its beach pavilion, which was built in the late 1960s, underwent a $3.35 million renovation that began in November 2018, and the pavilion reopened to the public in May 2019.
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Local businesses and fishermen have told local media they worry an extended bridge closure will cause them to miss out on business as the busy season approaches.
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DOGE says Texas nonprofit with former Biden transition member reaped millions operating empty facility | Louis Casiano, Fox News | Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy shares key takeaways from President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting of his second term.
The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated a contract with a nonprofit that was paid millions each month to operate a Texas overflow facility that sat empty, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In a social media post, DOGE said a former U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement employee and Biden transition team member joined Family Endeavors in early 2021, where they helped the organization secure a sole-source HHS contract for overflow housing from licensed care facilities.
"As a result, Family Endeavors’ cash and portfolio of investments grew from $8.3M in 2020 to $520.4M in 2023, the post states.
HERE ARE THE AGENCIES THAT FOLLOWED MUSK'S DOGE PRODUCTIVITY EMAIL VERDICT — AND THE ONES THAT DIDN'T
An empty facility in Pecos, Texas that DOGE said the federal government was still paying for. (Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE))
Since March 2024, HHS has paid $18 million per month to keep a facility in Pecos, Texas, used for housing for unaccompanied migrant children that was previously at the center of reports of poor conditions.
The payments continued, despite the facility being empty, DOGE said.
"With national licensed facility occupancy now below 20%, HHS was able to terminate this contract, saving taxpayers over $215M annually," the post on X states.
Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 11. (AP Images)
HOUSE DOGE HEARING ERUPTS OVER DEMOCRAT DEEMING TRUMP 'GRIFTER IN CHIEF,' REFERRING TO 'PRESIDENT MUSK'
Fox News Digital has reached out to the San Antonio-based Endeavors.
Ed Martin, the U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C., was also tagged in the social media post.
"I see it. We will dig into this," he replied.
DOGE and its leader, Elon Musk, have taken a slash and burn approach to wasteful government spending. On Wednesday, Musk predicted DOGE will reach its $100 trillion spending cut goal if they cut $4 billion per day through September, Fox News' Peter Doocy reported.
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"If we don't do this, America is going to be bankrupt," he said during President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
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Family of fallen Virginia police officer say expecting father, 25, 'never hesitated' to help those in need | Alexandra Koch, Fox News | Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate on Saturday provided more information about a fatal traffic stop late Friday night that claimed the lives of two officers.
Family and peers of one of the Virginia police officers killed in the line of duty on Friday night described the expectant father as a "breath of fresh air," who was willing to put his life on the line to serve and protect his community.
Officers Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, were shot and killed by convicted felon John McCoy III during a traffic stop in Virginia Beach.
After being pulled over for an expired license plate, McCoy shot the pair with a pistol. While they were on the ground "defenseless," he shot them each a second time, leading to their subsequent deaths at local hospitals, according to Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate.
McCoy was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Virginia Beach Police Officer Cameron Girvin, center, was shot and killed Friday while conducting a traffic stop. (Photo courtesy of the Girvin family)
TWO VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE OFFICERS SHOT DEAD WHILE ‘DEFENSELESS’ DURING LATE-NIGHT TRAFFIC STOP
Family members said Girvin, who started working for the department in 2020, wanted to be a police officer since he was 5 years old while growing up in the upstate New York town of Gates.
Girvin's biological grandmother, Barbara Girvin, who raised him and was known to him as his mother, told Fox News Digital that as a child, when he had a chance to dress up for school or Halloween, he always donned the iconic police uniform.
He continued to pursue a law enforcement career, taking a criminal justice class in his freshman year of high school at Gates Chili High School.
"By the time he got to his senior year, he went to classes downtown in the sheriff's office, and he experienced work in the courthouse," Barbara Girvin said.
Virginia Beach Police Officer Cameron Girvin, 25, was shot and killed Friday while conducting a traffic stop. (Photo courtesy of the Girvin family)
While in high school, he aided local law enforcement agencies with undercover stings, since he looked old for his age, and participated in ride alongs.
Joshua Bowman, a former Gates Police Department investigator, told Fox News Digital he first met Cameron at a nearby Starbucks, where he was working as a barista in high school.
"He was always smiling, always energetic, and very polite to every single customer," Bowman said. "After some time, he started asking me questions about being a police officer in New York."
He later interned with the Gates Police Department.
Virginia Beach Police Officer Cameron Girvin, right, was shot and killed Friday while conducting a traffic stop. (Photo courtesy of the Girvin family)
"He was the only intern that I've ever seen in 24 years that showed up on every ride along with a business suit on," Bowman said. "If he saw an arrest here on the news, he would ask me about it. Like, tell me more. He seemed so interested in it, and when he did the ride alongs, the politeness and eagerness really stood out. He was a breath of fresh air."
Barbara Girvin called him "Mr. Neat," noting he always had to have on a clean shirt and his hair "just so."
MISSISSIPPI SHERIFF'S DEPUTY SHOT, KILLED WHILE RESPONDING TO DOMESTIC CALL: ‘DIED A HERO'
Bowman said he still remembers the young man telling him he got into the police academy and was traveling south to become an officer.
"I was just so encouraged," he said. "I was like, 'You're going to make it. You're going to make your family proud.' He seemed to be a gem and if he stayed in New York, I would hope that our office would have picked him up."
After graduating, Girvin applied for and received offers from two law enforcement agencies — Texas Border Patrol and the Virginia Beach Police Department.
After finding out he got both jobs on the same day, he decided to go to Virginia, because it was closer to his family in Gates.
Virginia Beach Police Officer Cameron Girvin on his wedding day. (Photo courtesy of the Girvin family)
"He just knew what he wanted, and he was going to go after it," his mother said. "When he went to Virginia, he was extremely happy because he was doing something that he loved. He loved his job. He loved the people he worked with."
Soon after moving to Virginia, he married his high school sweetheart, Jessica.
The couple eloped on the beach during the COVID-19 pandemic, but renewed their vows in front of friends and family about two years ago at Oaks Manor in Churchville, New York.
Officer Girvin's wife, Jessica, is currently pregnant with their first child and is due in the summer, and she is working with Reese's wife to plan the joint police funeral in Virginia Beach.
Virginia Beach Police Officer Cameron Girvin was expecting his first child with his wife, Jessica. (Photo courtesy of the Girvin family)
"She's so emotionally distraught," Barbara Girvin said.
The family added Reese and his wife married just last month.
Following the tragedy, the family said it is remembering Officer Girvin for his outgoing personality and willingness to come to anyone's rescue.
"If anybody needed any help, he was the first one there. He never hesitated at all," Barbara Girvin said. "If somebody needed someone to talk to, he would sit and talk to them. He was a good listener."
Officer Cameron Girvin, right, killed Friday while conducting a traffic stop. (Photo courtesy of the Girvin family)
She added he was a "jokester" and had so many friends growing up, that she would have to set up tents in the backyard to accommodate sleepovers.
Following his death, she said fellow officers described him as the "life of the party."
Coming from a family of civil servants and police officers, his mother said he knew the risks that came with the job. However, he was not deterred.
"When he saw that police officers passed in the line of duty, he would kind of investigate to see what had happened, but it didn't deter him from wanting to be one or wanting to continue," she said. "His top priority was serving. … He was very interested in keeping his community safe and doing what he could do to help them."
Bowman, himself a 24-year law enforcement veteran, explained that traffic stops are "never routine" and there is no way to know what the person's mental state will be.
PENNSYLVANIA POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN HOSPITAL SHOOTING; GUNMAN DEAD, OFFICIALS SAY
Even though officers approach the instances with the utmost safety, he said things can still go awry.
"When you pull someone over, you do not know how their day is going," he said. "You do not know what is happening in their life and what they're going through. … I believe traffic stops are one of the most dangerous aspects of law enforcement.
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Bowman added that Girvin had a long-lasting impact, not only on his brothers and sisters in Virginia Beach, but also back home in New York.
"I hope I led him in the right direction," he said. "I told him, 'It's the best career path you'll ever choose.' But unfortunately, there's evil in this world that walks among us, and unfortunately for him, he met that evil. It's not fair. Not fair at all."
As of Tuesday afternoon, a GoFundMe created to support the Girvin family had raised more than $70,000.
Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.
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Delta releases new information about captain, first officer flying plane that crashed in Toronto | Rachel Wolf, Fox News | Former acting FAA administrator Daniel Elwell analyzes the Toronto plane crash on 'The Story.'
Delta Air Lines pushed back against online rumors and "misleading assertions" about the crew aboard Flight 4819, operated by its subsidiary Endeavor Air, which crashed while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday.
The flight’s captain was hired in October 2007 by Mesaba Airlines and served as an active duty captain and in pilot training and safety capacities, the airline said. Mesaba Airlines merged with Pinnacle Airlines in 2012, leading to the creation of Endeavor Air.
"Assertions that he failed training events are false. Assertions that he failed to flow into a pilot position at Delta Air Lines due to training failures are also false," the airline said in a statement Thursday.
Endeavor Air hired the first officer in January 2024, and she has been flying with the airline since she completed her training in April. According to Delta, her flight experience time exceeded minimum federal requirements. The airline also said that "assertions that she failed training events are false."
TORONTO PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS FLIPS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND
A Delta Air Lines plane heading from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday. (Teresa Barbieri/The Canadian Press via AP)
Delta also said that both the captain and first officer are "qualified and FAA certified for their positions."
On Monday, as it was landing at Toronto Pearson Airport, flight 4819 burst into flames before flipping upside down. Images of the wreckage that showed the plane lying belly-up went viral.
No fatalities were reported, but 21 people were injured. According to Delta, the last of the injured passengers was released from the hospital on Thursday.
"The Delta and Endeavor families are grateful that all those injured Monday have been released from the hospital, and we extend our thanks to everyone who provided care to them over the past few days," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.
An aircraft from Delta Air Lines sits upside down on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. (Teresa Barbieri/The Canadian Press via AP)
DELTA OFFERS PAYMENT TO VICTIMS AMID INVESTIGATION OF PLANE THAT FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN
Delta on Wednesday announced that it would be offering $30,000 to each of the victims aboard flight 4819, including 76 passengers and four crew members.
The payments have "no strings attached," a spokesperson for the airline told FOX Business, meaning that passengers who accept the $30,000 could potentially still take legal action.
Emergency responders operate around a plane on a runway after a plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. (Reuters/Cole Burston)
After the crash, Bastian said in an interview with "CBS Mornings" that, despite critics’ assertions, the Trump administration’s budget cuts did not have a negative impact on aviation safety.
"I understand that the cuts at this time are something that are raising questions, but the reality is there's over 50,000 people that work at the FAA. And the cuts, I understand, were 300 people, and they were in non-critical safety functions," Bastian said.
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Fox News' Andrea Margolis, Kristine Parks and Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
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New York inmate dies in prison as guards continue strike deemed illegal under state law | Landon Mion, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
An inmate died in a New York prison as guards at institutions across the state continue their strike, which is now in its second week.
Jonathon Grant, 61, died over the weekend at one of the prisons where corrections officers walked off the job to strike. National Guard troops were deployed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to fill in during their absence in efforts to alleviate staffing issues.
Grant was pronounced dead Saturday after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the Auburn Correctional Facility. He was serving a 34-to-40-year sentence for rape and burglary.
It's unclear if prison staffing played a role in Grant’s death. The manner in which he died will be determined by a medical examiner.
NY CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS REPEATEDLY STRUCK HANDCUFFED INMATE, PICKED HIM UP BY HIS NECK BEFORE HE DIED: VIDEO
Correctional officers and their supporters demonstrate in sight of Coxsackie Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Coxsackie, New York. (AP)
The public defender’s office that provided legal counsel to Grant expressed concern that the strike may have impacted medical care for inmates.
"Since the strike began, Legal Aid has received dozens of reports from incarcerated clients across New York State about their inability to access critical medical care and essential prescriptions, including blood pressure medication and necessary insulin shots," The Legal Aid Society said in a statement. "This tragic incident highlights the dangers posed by the ongoing strike, as staff in over 40 prisons refuse to fulfill their duties."
Guards at New York's state prisons began walking out on the job a week ago, even though the move was not approved by union officials, who acknowledge that it violates a state law prohibiting strikes by most public employees.
A judge has ordered the striking officers to return to work, but they remain on strike.
Woodbourne Correctional Facility inmate Isaiah Waters told The Associated Press that his cell block has been on lockdown for a week. He said four National Guard officers were assigned to his 57-person dorm, along with members of a correctional emergency response unit.
INMATES TAKE OVER ANOTHER NEW YORK PRISON, ALL VISITS CANCELED DAY AFTER HOCHUL DEPLOYS NATIONAL GUARD
Correctional officers and their supporters demonstrate in sight of Coxsackie Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Coxsackie, New York. (AP)
"The tension is building up. I've never seen it like this," Waters said. "There’s no programming, no religious services, you can’t send mail or get visitors. We’re not used to being around each other for this many hours day in and day out."
Waters, 37, said he expected the situation to worsen.
"They want the atmosphere to become violent to prove a point about staffing," he said. "It’s like we’re caught in the crossfire between the union and their gripes with Albany and the administrators."
Negotiations between state officials and the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, the union representing the guards, began Monday. Prison workers are seeking better pay, better staffing, improved safety measures and authorization to again begin using solitary confinement as a disciplinary tool.
More than 100 corrections officers and supporters protested Monday near the Coxsackie Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley. Some carried signs reading "NYS Failed Us" and "Wildcats."
Retired corrections officer Ed Ventre said the strike was mostly about unsafe working conditions.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to alleviate prison staffing issues across the state while guards are on strike. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)
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"No one has ever seen the amount of violence and disregard for the safety of the officers, not to mention the fact that staffing is at an all-time low and officers are being mandated to work 24 hours straight with the threat of termination should they leave the prison," Ventre said.
Assaults on prison system staff jumped from 1,043 in 2019 to 1,938 in the first 11 months of 2024, according to state officials. Meanwhile, assaults on inmates ballooned from 1,267 in 2019 to 2,697 for the first 11 months of 2024.
Last week, six guards were charged with murder in the December beating death of inmate Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Young American tourists found dead at Caribbean beach resort; authorities investigating | Andrea Margolis, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Three American tourists visiting Belize were recently found dead at a beach resort, local officials say, and authorities are investigating the deaths as possible drug overdoses.
Belize officials identified the women as Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, Imane Mallah, 24, and Wafae El-Arar, 26. The young women were found dead in the Central American country Saturday.
The tourists' bodies were found in a room at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro. The group was last seen entering their room Thursday night.
After housing staff attempted to contact the group Friday, resort employees used a master key to enter the room Saturday morning, where the women were found "motionless," according to The Associated Press.
AMERICAN TOURIST ARRESTED IN PARIS AFTER ALLEGEDLY THROWING NEWBORN BABY OUT OF HOTEL WINDOW: REPORTS
Three American tourists were recently found dead in San Pedro, Belize. (Getty Images/iStock)
While the cause of their deaths is still under investigation, staff said the women had froth in their mouths, which is suggestive of drug overdoses. According to Channel 5 Belize, officials found "alcohol and some gummies" in the room, and police are reviewing whether the substances were brought in from America or bought from locals.
"We’re not saying at this time that the gummies caused death, but we’re looking at every possibility," Commissioner of Police Chester Williams was quoted as saying.
LAW STUDENT KILLED BY ELEPHANT DURING VACATION TO THAILAND: OFFICIALS
Vapes and snacks were also found in the women's room, but no injuries or signs of forced entry were visible.
Belize, which borders the Caribbean Sea, is a popular destination for American tourists, though the U.S. government warns its citizens to be cautious in the country. The U.S. State Department lists a travel advisory for U.S. citizens in Belize on its website.
"Violent crime — such as sexual assault, home invasions, armed robberies, and murder — are common even during the day and in tourist areas," the website warns. "A significant portion of violent crime is gang related."
Aerial photo of San Pedro, Belize, which borders the Caribbean Sea. (Getty Images/iStock)
The State Department's warning applies to the entire country of Belize, though it advises visitors to avoid Belize City specifically, which is around 35 miles south of San Pedro.
"Due to high crime, travelers are advised to exercise caution while traveling to the south side of Belize City," the warning states. "Local police lack the resources and training to respond effectively to serious crimes."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Belize Police Department for more information, but did not hear back.
San Pedro is a popular tourist destination in Belize. (Getty Images/iStock)
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Authorities are actively investigating.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can follow her on X at @andreamargs or send story tips to [email protected].
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Wealthy New Jersey town pet store owner shot with crossbow after exotic bird robbery | Mollie Markowitz, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
A pet shop in New Jersey has been subjected to a series of crimes in recent weeks, with an expensive bird stolen from the business in one case and another leaving the owner shot in the face with a crossbow arrow.
Authorities on Tuesday arrested 53-year-old Raymond M. Carey, from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, on charges, including attempted murder, after allegedly shooting the business owner in the face with a crossbow, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
The victim has been identified as Katarina Rukavishnikova, the owner of Birds by Joe 2 on Route 46 in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, NBC4 reported.
"Birds By Joe 2 is temporarily closed…. Katarina is recovering and investigations are underway," the pet shop posted on Facebook Tuesday.
SAFARI OPERATOR SUED AFTER NEW JERSEY WOMAN MAULED TO DEATH BY A HIPPO
Police investigate an attempted homicide involving a crossbow in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, on Feb. 17, 2025. (Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock)
Police responded to a 911 call on Monday shortly before 6 p.m., reporting a woman seriously injured at her pet shop. Responding officers discovered that the woman had been shot in the face with a crossbow arrow and that the suspect had fled the scene in his vehicle.
After being shot, the woman was able to disarm the attacker and run for help to a neighboring business. Authorities said the woman was treated at a hospital for "serious injuries."
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Saddle Brook Police Department, with assistance from several other agencies in the area, including the FBI, carried out an investigation and manhunt for the suspect.
Through video surveillance, license plate readers and witness interviews, detectives were able to identify the suspect, according to the criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.
NJ LAWSUIT CLAIMING OIL COMPANIES CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE DEALT MASSIVE BLOW IN COURT
"Birds By Joe 2 is temporarily closed…. Katarina is recovering and investigations are underway," the pet shop posted on Facebook Tuesday. (Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock)
Less than 24 hours after the attack, Carey was arrested in Pine Beach, New Jersey, around 1 p.m. Tuesday. He was charged with first-degree attempted murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree obstructing the administration of law, and he is awaiting his first court appearance.
This was not the first crime the owner of Birds By Joe 2 had suffered in recent weeks.
A thief stole a $7,000 African grey parrot from the shop on Jan. 23, police said, Rukavishnikova told NJ Advance Media that the two crimes were not connected.
"He’s a repeat customer. He shot me without any warning," Rukavishnikova told the local outlet about the crossbow attack. "He didn’t say anything."
Birds By Joe 2 caught the bird incident on surveillance cameras and posted pictures of the stolen parrot on social media. Authorities recovered the bird earlier this month, the business announced on its Instagram account.
"Our African Grey has been returned to us! Thank you to everyone has shared our posts, scoured online and reached out," Birds By Joe 2 wrote in a post.
Saddle Brook police said a warrant was issued for the arrest of Paterson resident Onyx Calderon, 24, for the parrot theft.
"Based on the results of this investigation, detectives have determined that the prior theft and the crossbow incident yesterday are unrelated," the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office told Fox News Digital.
TEACHER ARRESTED AFTER THREAT THAT SHUT DOWN NJ SCHOOL DISTRICT, POLICE SAY
A thief stole a $7,000 African grey parrot from Birds By Joe 2 on Jan. 23. (Instagram/Birdsbyjoe2)
"Katarina has been a pillar of love and support for countless birds, dedicating her time to giving them the care, respect, and homes they deserve," customers wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help the store owner in her recovery.
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"Katarina was the victim of two crimes, the most recent one enduring an attack at her store, leaving her injured and traumatized. Despite facing these challenges, she continues to pour her heart into caring for her beloved birds."
Mollie Markowitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to [email protected]. She joined Fox in 2019 and made her way from producing live news coverage to true-crime documentaries at Fox Nation. She has interviewed Ted Bundy survivors, the children of notorious serial killers, survivor Lisa McVey, members of law enforcement and families impacted by traumatic crime.Currently, she covers national crime stories for Fox News Digital. You can follow Mollie on LinkedIn.
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Former NY detective moonlighted as Bonanno crime family soldier, helped fuel mini-mob war, feds allege | New York Post | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Mob justice is best served cold.
A crooked Nassau County police detective moonlighting as a Bonanno soldier helped fuel a mini-mob war on Long Island — choosing "the crime family over the public he swore to protect," a court heard Tuesday.
Ex-Det. Hector Rosario conspired to target rival Genovese mafiosos in the feud that spilled out after the organized crime clans struck an unusual agreement to split the proceeds of a gelato shop’s backroom gambling den, according to the feds.
But peace didn’t last and Rosario "sold himself" to the Bonnanos — even staging a fake police raid at a covert casino run by the Genoveses, Brooklyn federal prosecutors said in opening remarks at the alleged dirty cop’s trial.
NY COP, ACCUSED MAFIA FAMILIES CHARGED WITH RUNNING ILLEGAL GAMBLING DENS FRONTED AS LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES
Former Nassau County detective Hector Rosario arrives in Brooklyn Federal Court for his trial on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2025. He is accused of tipping off Bonnano crime family members about various investigations, and he is also charged with obstructing a grand jury investigation. (Gregory P. Mango)
"He and other men barged in acting like actual police officers, broke a gambling machine and sent a message," Anna Karamigios, assistant US attorney for the Eastern District, told jurors.
The Bonannos and Genovese – two of the Five Families in the American mafia – generally kept to their separate spheres during the 1980s and into the early 2000s, said a long-time mob investigator."There were no beefs and no sit-downs," the investigator said. "As far as business, there were no major schemes that they worked on together.
"Back then, ‘The Chin’ (Vincent Gigante), the head of the Genovese family, did not respect (Bonanno boss) Joe Messina, so he would have nothing to do with him."
Now, the expected two-week trial against Rosario — who is charged with obstructing a grand jury probe into racketeering and lying to the FBI — promises to expose secrets of New York’s alive-and-well mob underworld.
Jurors spent the trial’s first day of testimony Tuesday being introduced to a Who’s-Who of wiseguys, from Sal Russo to "Sal the Shoemaker."
They also learned about a constellation of illegal gambling operations — leading to a sweeping bust in 2022 that rounded up eight alleged mobsters and Rosario, who’s accused of being on the take for $1,500 a month.
"He chose the crime family over the public he swore to protect," Karamigios said.
The then-detective’s nefarious side gig as Bonanno stooge came in handy for the family sometime around 2012, according to trial testimony.
NYC RESIDENTS PRAISE ICE RAIDS AFTER VIOLENT GANG MEMBER CAPTURED
Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, the head of the Genovese crime family, was eventually arrested along with several other top mob figures. (Bettmann)
A former Bonanno soldier — Damiano Zummo, 51 — testified that the family had entered into an arrangement with their Genovese brethren to share profits from Gran Caffe, a gelato shop in Lynbrook that doubled as a covert casino.
The shop had two card tables in the back, along with poker machines in a small room, Zummo, the first witness to testify, said.
The owner originally split profits 50-50 with a Genovese family member, but that arrangement ended when the mobster got sent to prison, Zummo testified.
The Bonannos got involved after the owner sought protection after being beaten up, Zummo said. They reached an uneasy agreement for a 25% each share of profits, effectively making it a joint Bonanno-Genovese mob venture, he said.
The understanding between mob families was that they could not operate competing gambling parlors within a 5-mile radius, Zummo said.
But tensions boiled over when a down-on-his-luck gambler opted to stop patronizing the gelato shop in favor of gambling at Sal’s Shoe Repairs, which was run by Salvatore "Sal the Shoemaker" Rubino, a Genovese mobster, Zummo testified.
The move resulted in the Bonanno family — which was pulling in $10,000 — "losing money," Zummo said.
He said Sal Russo, a Bonanno, wanted to "intimidate" the Genovese by using Rosario.
"Russo came up with the idea of a fake raid and I was all for it," Zummo testified.
NOEM SAYS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ARRESTED IN NYC RAID TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Hector Rosario was a former Nassau County detective who reportedly helped tip off the Bonannos mafia in Long Island, including staging fake police raids. (Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM)
"For Hector to go in there, to Sal’s Shoe Repairs, and intimidate them in hopes they close down."
Sal’s Shoe Repair had a card table in the back room with three or four gambling machines, Zummo said.
The fake raid of the shoe repair gambling den didn’t result in any arrests or citations, prosecutors said.
Zummo said that Rosario carried out an aborted raid at a coffee shop with a gambling den in Valley Stream owned by the Gambino family, because it was less than a mile from "Soccer Club," a Bonanno-operated parlor owned by Sal Russo.
But the would-be raid went south when Rosario and a crew of a few guys weren’t able to get inside the gambling den, Zummo said.
The reason: it had a buzzer and they weren’t allowed inside, Zummo testified.
Rosario liked "again, and again" when pressed by the FBI during interviews in 2020, claiming he didn’t know anything about gambling dens, prosecutors said.
He also pulled information of a rival mob member from a law enforcement database and gave it to the Bonanno family, according to prosecutors.
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The Bonanno family paid Rosario $1,500 per month during the time of the raids, which went on for a "few months," according to Zummo.
Zummo testified that Rosario also tipped him that he was under investigation and to "stay off the phone" because "the feds are listening."
He testified that he considered Rosario to be a "street guy."
"Street guy means he’d break the law if he had to," he said.
Zummo was arrested in 2017 alongside Russo in a drug-trafficking scheme that involved a $40,000 sale of cocaine in a Manhattan gelato shop.
Both are cooperating with the feds in the case.
Rosario’s defense attorney Lou Freeman told jurors that the former cop had made a false statement to authorities, but it was about a marijuana grow house in Queens that wasn’t material to the case.
He also argued that witnesses who are convicted of racketeering, distribution of cocaine and other serious crimes would be testifying against Rosario, who has pleaded not guilty and is out on bail.
"Each of these witnesses were in organized crime," he said.
Sal Russo, who was once a "close friend" of Rosario’s, had put the former Nassau cop on the feds’ radar in hopes for a more lenient sentence, Freeman said.
"You will hear Sal Russo made up information about Hector Rosario to get one more notch on his belt because more notches on a cooperating witness’s belt mean less jail time," Freeman said.
The feds confirmed they will be calling three cooperating witnesses during the trial, which resumes Wednesday.
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Southern University Board of Supervisors chairman discusses the role of HBCUs in higher education | Unknown | Southern University Board of Supervisors chairman Tony Clayton joins 'The Faulkner Focus' to discuss his hopes in partnering with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a joint readiness defense center on his campus.
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Mugshots of the week: Feb. 16-22, 2025 | Unknown | These mugshots were taken for arrests made throughout the US the week of Feb. 16-22, 2025.
These mugshots were taken for arrests made throughout the US the week of Feb. 16-22, 2025.
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Birmingham nightclub massacre suspect now charged in 2023 shooting death of Alabama firefighter | Elizabeth Pritchett, Fox News | Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin tells community that "It’s your time to step up and we need you." (Credit: WBMA)
A man linked to a handful of recent deadly shootings in Birmingham, Alabama, was charged on Tuesday in three more murder investigations, including the line-of-duty death of a firefighter in 2023.
Damien McDaniel, now 22, has been charged with capital murder of a first responder in the shooting death of Birmingham firefighter Jordan Melton, who was targeted while working at Fire Station #9 in the Norwood community on July 12, 2023, according to the Birmingham Police Department.
Sgt. Jamal Jones was also shot during the incident, but survived, resulting in an attempted murder charge for McDaniel.
Birmingham police announced on Tuesday that McDaniel, who has been in custody for months, is also charged with intentional murder in the January 2024 death of Mia Nickson and capital murder (murder-for-hire) in the April 2024 death of UPS driver Anthony Love, Jr.
BIRMINGHAM NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING OTHERS IN FOUR SEPARATE SHOOTINGS: POLICE
Birmingham police announced on Tuesday that a man accused of killing 13 people over the past year and a half has been charged with capital murder of a first responder in the July 2023 death of Birmingham firefighter Jordan Melton. (Alabama Department of Corrections / Birmingham Police Department)
With Tuesday's charges, McDaniel is allegedly connected to 14 murders in the Birmingham area and is accused of injuring at least 29 people.
He is charged with capital murder in the July 13, 2024, mass shooting outside Trendsetters Lounge and Event Center that left four people dead and 10 others injured.
He is also charged with capital murder and 17 counts of first-degree assault in the Sept. 21, 2024, mass shooting outside a hookah lounge in the popular Five Points South area, which resulted in four deaths and injured at least 17 others. Birmingham police said at the time of the shooting that they believed the suspects were paid to open fire on the area.
Damien McDaniel, 22, has been connected to 14 murders in the Birmingham, Alabama, area since July 2023, according to city police. (Birmingham Police Department / WBRC)
On top of his connections to the two mass shootings, police also believe McDaniel was involved in three other deadly shootings that took place on separate days in August and September.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, FIREFIGHTER SHOOTING: POLICE BELIEVE SUSPECT HAD PERSONAL CONFLICT WITH 1 OF 2 VICTIMS
McDaniel is currently behind bars at the Kilby Correctional Facility in Montgomery, Alabama, after his probation was revoked on attempted murder convictions stemming from a 2019 shooting in the Fairfield area.
In the Fairfield case, he was sentenced in 2023 to 15 years in prison with two years to serve followed by three years probation, according to local outlet AL.com.
McDaniel has been in police custody since October 2024. (WBRC)
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McDaniel was arrested by Birmingham police in October 2024 and was placed in the Jefferson County Jail.
When his probation was revoked on Dec. 12, 2024, he was transferred to the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections.
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Southwest flight barely misses collision at Chicago Midway International | Stephen Sorace, Greg Wehner, Fox News | Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin reports on a near-collision between a commercial flight and a private plane on the runway of Chicago Midway Airport.
A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to perform a go-around maneuver while coming in for a landing at Chicago Midway International Airport when a private jet began taxiing across the plane’s path on the runway Tuesday morning.
Video from the airport shows the Southwest aircraft nearly touching down on the runway when it suddenly pulls back up to fly over the smaller Flexjet aircraft that entered its path on the runway.
Southwest Flight 2504 from Omaha, Nebraska, landed safely, having performed the precautionary maneuver to avoid "a possible conflict" with the other aircraft that entered the runway, Southwest said in a statement to Fox News.
"The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident," a Southwest spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees."
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT FORCED TO MAKE EMERGENCY LANDING AT NEWARK
The Southwest flight crew performed a go-around maneuver to avoid a possible incident with a private jet that crossed its path on the runway at Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday morning. (StreamTime Live)
A spokesperson for the airport told Fox News that they wouldn’t call the incident a "near collision."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a preliminary statement that the "business jet entered the runway without authorization." The agency, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board, said they are investigating the incident.
"We are aware of the occurrence today in Chicago," a Flexjet spokesperson said in a statement. "Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation. Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will handle the investigation into the near-collision.
DELTA FLIGHT FORCED TO RETURN TO ATLANTA AIRPORT AFTER ‘HAZE’ FILLS CABIN
"NTSB is investigating Tuesday's runway incursion that occurred when a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 initiated a go-around after a business jet entered the same runway at Chicago Midway International Airport," the NTSB said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy weighed in on the incident on X, writing in part: "…it is imperative pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled."
The near-collision is the latest in a concerning trend of recent air travel incidents in the U.S.
Earlier Tuesday, a United Airlines flight carrying nearly 200 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after a "possible mechanical issue" mid-flight, the airline said.
A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning after a "haze" filled the cabin, according to the airline. Passengers evacuated the aircraft upon landing safely, and no injuries were reported.
Earlier this month, a Delta Air Lines flight burst into flames and flipped upside down while landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport. Everyone on board survived the ordeal, though injuries were reported.
Several deadly incidents have also occurred in recent weeks.
Last week, two small planes collided midair at a regional airport in Arizona, killing two people.
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An American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people last month.
Less than 48 hours later, a medical ambulance flight crashed in Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead.
Fox News' Mike Tobin and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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Delta flight bound for Atlanta returns to Charlotte airport after takeoff due to 'mechanical issue' | Louis Casiano, Fox News | NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the near-miss runway incident at Chicago Midway airport and recent aviation problems nationwide.
A second flight originating from Charlotte, North Carolina, in as many days returned after reporting a mechanical issue shortly after takeoff.
Delta Air Lines flight 3067 took off from Charlotte Douglas International Airport at around 10:15 a.m. en route to Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, the airline told Fox News Digital.
Minutes into the flight, the mechanical issue was reported, and the plane returned to Charlotte.
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT FORCED TO MAKE EMERGENCY LANDING AT NEWARK
A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta returned to the airport in Charlotte, N.C., after a mechanical issue was reported, the airline said. (iStock)
"Following safety procedures, the flight crew of DL3067 returned to Charlotte after reporting a mechanical issue while en route to Atlanta," a Delta spokesperson said. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel plans."
None of the 71 passengers and five crew members were hurt, the airline said.
The passengers were booked on other flights to Atlanta.
On Tuesday, American Airlines flight AAL1216 left Charlotte for Palm Beach International Airport when it turned around and came back.
ARIZONA MIDAIR COLLISION OVER REGIONAL AIRPORT BETWEEN CESSNA, LANCAIR AIRCRAFT TURNS FATAL
Charlotte Douglas International Airport and American Airlines' second largest hub the day after software issues caused delays on a busy travel day in Charlotte. (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Airport officials said the pilot terminated the "emergency" once the aircraft landed, Queen City News reported.
The plane was in the air for 1 hour and 26 minutes, landing back in Charlotte at 3:19 p.m.
The airline told the outlet that the plane returned because of a "maintenance" issue.
Dramatic video shows an American Airlines flight that was going from New York to India landing in Rome and escorted by Italian military jets after a "possible security concern." (X/@ItalianAirForce)
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"The flight landed safely and taxied to the gate under its own power. The aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team, and customers boarded a replacement aircraft to continue to PBI," an American Airlines statement said.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
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Wealthy real estate brothers face new lawsuits as defense claims criminal investigation was orchestrated | Mollie Markowitz, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
A bundle of new lawsuits were filed this week against three wealthy brothers accused of drugging and then sexually assaulting and raping dozens of women in multiple states, as the brothers claim a high-profile personal-injury law firm "dictated" the criminal investigation.
Tal, 38, and Oren Alexander, 37, two prominent jet-setting real estate brokers in New York and Miami, and their brother Alon Alexander, Oren's identical twin, were arrested in Miami Beach on Dec. 11 and remain in federal custody in New York.
More than 60 alleged victims have reported being sexually assaulted by at least one of the brothers, according to prosecutors. On Tuesday, 11 additional victims came forward, filing claims in New York Supreme Court.
"There are a lot of victims, and [the Alexander brothers] deserve some form of accountability for sexually assaulting these women," the managing partner at AVA Law Group Inc., Andrew Van Arsdale, told Fox News Digital.
DOZENS MORE ALEXANDER BROTHERS ACCUSERS COME FORWARD AS REAL ESTATE TYCOONS PLEAD NOT GUILTY
A display showing images of Alon, Oren, and Tal Alexander prior to a news conference in New York, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Luxury real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon were arrested and charged with sex-trafficking by federal prosecutors in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Prosecutors allege that the Alexander brothers "worked together, and with others known and unknown to repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape" victims in New York, Miami and elsewhere, according to a federal indictment filed in December.
All three brothers were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and a separate count of sex trafficking of one woman by force, fraud or coercion. In addition, Tal was charged with the sex trafficking of a second victim.
All three men have pleaded not guilty.
The 11 women, represented by the AVA Law Group and Curis Law, claim they were allegedly drugged and assaulted by Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander. The latest lawsuits include accusations of assault in Miami, Manhattan and even Moscow.
Oren and Alon Alexander attend Jeff Gordon's Last Lap on Nov. 22, 2015, at The Villa, Casa Casuarina in Miami Beach, Florida. (Aaron Davidson/Getty Images for J Group)
All but one of the women, Leah Peters, have filed as Jane Does. In seven of the 11 suits, women say they were handed something to drink before they were assaulted, and believe they were drugged.
Peters said that she met Oren Alexander at a luxurious house party in Miami in 2018 and that he offered to give her a tour of the property after courteously striking up conversation with her. He led her to one of the bedrooms, then aggressively threw her onto the bed and forcibly sexually assaulted her, she says in her lawsuit.
WEALTHY FLORIDA REAL ESTATE BROTHERS' 'TROPHIES' UNCOVERED AS JUDGE DENIES BAIL: FEDS
In another accusation, a woman says that she was invited by Tal Alexander to a house party in New York City in July 2013. When she arrived, she was handed an alcoholic beverage and claimed that she felt "lightheaded and disoriented." She says that she was forcibly raped by Tal and Oren Alexander.
READ THE LAWSUIT: MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE
In another incident, a woman says she met Tal and Oren Alexender in Miami, Florida in 2011. The brothers allegedly claimed that they had VIP access to an after-party, the lawsuit said. They insisted on going to their hotel room, where the woman allegedly was handed an alcoholic beverage and promptly lost consciousness.
When she woke up, the lawsuit says, the brothers "took turns" forcibly raping her.
Van Arsdale said that most of the cases were similar – where the women's initial charming interaction with the brothers ended in a nightmare.
"They used their wealth to allegedly do whatever they wanted," he said. "And that's why I think it's an important story, and I really hope that other people who may be operating in a similar way can wake up and take notice and hopefully change their pattern of behavior."
"We commend these survivors for coming forward and standing up against their abusers and look forward to pursuing justice on their behalf," Antigone Curis, the founder of Curis Law, told Fox News Digital.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Tal Alexander's attorneys, Milton Williams and Deanna Paul, called the lawsuits a "cash grab."
"For months, we’ve watched orchestrated efforts encouraging women to profit from past sexual experiences with the Alexander brothers," they said. "These frivolous lawsuits, filed days before the law’s look-back window is set to expire, are a transparent attempt at a cash grab. A federal court has already dismissed a case against Tal under this statute as time-barred. We expect these will similarly be dismissed."
Alon Alexander's attorney, Howard Srebnick, echoed their sentiments.
"Now, having hired a plaintiff’s lawyer, she seeks a money judgment in untold amounts, even as she claims that she voluntarily went to Alon’s residence for a ‘private dinner,’ voluntarily consumed multiple alcoholic drinks (but cannot recall how many glasses), then spent the night at the residence, waking up with what sounds like a hangover," Srebnick told Fox News Digital.
"She did not file a police report, she did not seek medical attention, she did not sustain any physical injuries, she offers zero forensic evidence that she was drugged or that Alon had any sexual contact with her (much less that he raped her), and she does not identify anyone on the planet Earth who corroborates her demand for money."
Srebnick said that Alon submitted himself to a lie-detector test, "which concluded with 99.7% certainty that he truthfully declared that he never drugged any woman, nor had sex with any woman who he believed was drugged."
Real estate brokers Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander at their home on Miami Beach on Feb. 1, 2019. (Patrick Farrell/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Attorneys for the Alexander brothers and another man, Ohad Fisherman, have accused the Florida law firm Morgan & Morgan, which claims to be "America's largest personal injury law firm," of pressuring state prosecutors into filing the criminal case against the brothers and Fisherman, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
"Morgan & Morgan are not acting as a neutral third party, they are part of the prosecution team," an attorney representing Fisherman wrote in a motion adopted by the Alexander brothers’ lawyers, to compel state prosecutors to hand over the law firm’s evidence.
Defense attorneys also accuse the high-profile law firm of controlling witnesses and other evidence that shaped the sexual-battery case, and Morgan & Morgan lawyer Carissa Peebles of "actively curating the criminal investigation," demanding that state prosecutors turn over any evidence gathered by the firm.
"She controlled which information reached law enforcement and when, reinforcing that she, not the police, was leading the case," the motion continued in reference to Peebles.
ALEXANDER BROTHERS' ALLEGED VICTIMS RECOUNT TERRIFYING ATTACKS IN IMPACT STATEMENTS
In recent weeks, prosecutors released footage of alleged victims detailing their claims of sexual assault by the Alexander brothers.
"I was scared for my life, just because of what I just experienced," one woman whose identity was concealed said in the footage. "Not only the rapes, but just, like, how they were."
On Dec. 31, 2016, she thought she was meeting Alon Alexander for a barbecue at a Miami Beach condo. But unexpectedly, she said, Oren and Fisherman were waiting for her arrival.
"Alon and Oren then engaged in a demonic discussion about which brother would be the first to rape [the woman]," attorneys on behalf of the woman allege in court documents.
"[Fisherman] just pushed me down and had his knees and hands on my shoulders holding me down," she recalled in the video released by prosecutors, according to NBC6. "I was crying, and I know the whole time I was asking them not to do it. . . I was just like 'Please no, please no.'"
The woman claimed that Alon and Oren had taken turns raping her while Fisherman held her in place, according to her interview with investigators.
A display showing images of Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander prior to a news conference in New York on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Luxury real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon were arrested and charged with sex-trafficking, by federal prosecutors in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
All three men face sexual battery charges and are awaiting trial, and Fisherman is not accused of raping the woman. Representation for the brothers and Fisherman argued in their motion that the prosecution is "built on a narrative that surfaced nearly eight years after the alleged incident — one with no physical evidence, independent eyewitnesses, or contemporaneous documentation."
The civil lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in damages for the accuser was filed by Morgan & Morgan against the twin brothers the day after their December arrests.
"Morgan & Morgan’s interest in the outcome is undeniable," the motion continues. "A criminal prosecution can significantly enhance the value of a related civil case by providing strong evidence of liability, establishing the defendant's wrongdoing, and potentially influencing the amount of damages awarded in the civil suit."
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said the defense motion is set to be heard by a judge on Feb. 27, but did not add additional comment on the matter.
"This motion is completely meritless and a desperate attempt by the defendants to shift the narrative away from the crimes they’ve been charged with. In addition to the sexual assault charges brought against them by the State Attorney’s Office in Miami, the Alexander brothers have been indicted and arrested for sex trafficking by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York," Peebles said in a statement.
"Additionally, they have now been sued 17 times by women who they have allegedly sexually assaulted. To assert that we have done anything improper is absurd and a purposeful distraction from the defendants’ actions. We will continue to seek justice for our client and ensure that the truth comes to light."
Oren Alexander and his twin brother, Alon, attend a bond hearing after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)
A judge last month denied bail, finding that the Alexander brothers pose a flight risk and a risk to the community. She said the evidence is strong, adding that the men pose a danger to unsuspecting women.
Authorities executed a warrant in December to search Tal Alexander's apartment inside a skyscraper on Manhattan's "Billionaire's Row." During the search, multiple hard drives were discovered and seized, including one with a large quantity of sexually explicit videos and pictures, according to prosecutors.
HIGH-PROFILE REAL ESTATE BROTHER MISSES HEARING AFTER MIX-UP IN IDENTICAL TWINS' SEX TRAFFICKING CASE
The seized videos show Alon and Oren Alexander and other men engaged in sexual contact with women "who are visibly under the influence of alcohol or other substances," prosecutors wrote in a letter, adding that in some cases, at least one of the brothers and another man "physically manipulated the women’s bodies in order to have sex with them while the women did not actively participate in the sexual activity or turned away."
Oren Alexander, 37, center, and his twin brother, Alon, center-right, speak to their attorney, Joel Denaro, during their bond hearing after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)
The brothers pleaded not guilty in New York this month to charges that they had conspired to sexually assault women in multiple states.
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They are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, alongside disgraced rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs and the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Luigi Mangione.
Mollie Markowitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to [email protected]. She joined Fox in 2019 and made her way from producing live news coverage to true-crime documentaries at Fox Nation. She has interviewed Ted Bundy survivors, the children of notorious serial killers, survivor Lisa McVey, members of law enforcement and families impacted by traumatic crime.Currently, she covers national crime stories for Fox News Digital. You can follow Mollie on LinkedIn.
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American tourist arrested in Paris after allegedly throwing newborn baby out of hotel window: reports | Andrea Margolis, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
An American woman was arrested in Paris after she allegedly threw a newborn baby out of a hotel window, French authorities say.
The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the incident, first reported by local outlet Paris Match, with Fox News Digital on Tuesday. The child was thrown out of the window on Monday.
The fall reportedly took place from a second-floor window. The newborn was given emergency medical care but did not survive, while the mother was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
The hotel is located in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, a neighborhood popular with tourists seeking to visit the Père Lachaise Cemetery, where Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin and other notable people are buried.
LAW STUDENT KILLED BY ELEPHANT DURING VACATION TO THAILAND: OFFICIALS
The 20th arrondissement of Paris, France, in a picture taken on November 18, 2024. (Getty Images)
The American woman, who is currently detained, was part of a group of young adults traveling in Europe. The Paris Match described her as being part of a "study trip."
Officials told Fox News Digital that they are investigating the case as a possible instance of "pregnancy denial," in which a woman is unaware of her pregnancy or unable to accept it.
EXPERT WARNS AMERICANS ABOUT ELEPHANT TOURISM AFTER YOUNG STUDENT IS KILLED IN THAILAND: 'RECIPE FOR DISASTER'
A street in Paris's 20th arrondissement on May 15, 2024. (Getty Images)
Paris' Child Protection Brigade was assigned to the case, which will be investigated as a homicide.
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Authorities are actively investigating the incident. No additional details are known at this time.
Police cars seen in Paris on July 24, 2024. (Getty Images)
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can follow her on X at @andreamargs or send story tips to [email protected].
Fox News' Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world."
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Pope Francis suffering from 'mild renal insufficiency,' though condition remains 'under control,' Vatican says | Andrea Margolis, Fox News | EWTN News editorial director and vice president Matthew Bunson joins 'Fox News Live' to discuss Pope Francis' battle with double pneumonia and his future as leader of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis remained in critical condition in an Italian hospital on Sunday, as officials shared that he is suffering from "mild renal insufficiency," amid his treatment for bilateral pneumonia.
Francis, who is currently staying at the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, remains alert and attended Mass on Sunday, according to the Vatican. The pope has been fighting pneumonia and a complex lung infection since being hospitalized on Feb. 14.
The Holy See Press Office published a detailed statement about the 88-year-old pope's health on Sunday, noting that his condition "remains critical, but since [Saturday] evening, he has not experienced any further respiratory crises."
"He received two units of concentrated red blood cells with benefit, and his hemoglobin levels have risen," the report noted.
POPE FRANCIS' MEDICAL CONDITION: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BILATERAL PNEUMONIA
Pope Francis holds his homily during the weekly General Audience at the Paul VI Hall on February 12, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
"The thrombocytopenia remains stable; however, some blood tests show early, mild renal insufficiency, which is currently under control."
The Holy See also noted that Pope Francis is receiving oxygen and "remains alert and well-oriented."
"The complexity of the clinical situation and the necessary time for the pharmacological treatments to show results require that the prognosis remain reserved," the statement concluded. "This morning, in the apartment on the tenth floor, he participated in the Holy Mass, together with those who have been taking care of him during these days of hospitalization."
POPE FRANCIS IS 'FINE,' CONDITION NOT LIFE-THREATENING, DOCTORS SAY
Deacons take part in a mass for their jubilee in St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, that was supposed to be presided over by Pope Francis who was admitted over a week ago at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic and is in critical condition. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
The statement came after Pope Francis published a message of his own on X, thanking the international Catholic community for their prayers. He had suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis on Saturday, a condition worsened by the fact that he had part of one of his lungs removed when he was younger.
"I have recently received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children," Pope Francis posted on X Sunday. "Thank you for your closeness, and for the consoling prayers I have received from all over the world!"
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Pope Francis holds his homily during the weekly General Audience at the Paul VI Hall on February 12, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. (REUTERS/Ciro De Luca/File Photo)
"I urge you to continue your apostolate with joy and to be a sign of a love that embraces everyone, as the #GospelOfTheDay suggests," another post of his read. "May we transform evil into goodness and build a fraternal world. Do not be afraid to take risks for love!"
EDITOR'S NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify the Vatican's comments about Pope Francis' condition.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can follow her on X at @andreamargs or send story tips to [email protected].
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Woman accused of looting from home in Palisades Fire area while wearing 'Palisades Strong' shirt | Stepheny Price, Fox News | Fox News' Christina Coleman reports from the rubble of the Palisades Village with an update on the 'absolutely devastating' damage in Los Angeles.
A woman was arrested after police accused her of looting a home in the Palisades Fire area, while she was wearing a t-shirt with an ironic statement on it.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP)'s Southern Division shared images on X of the recent arrest of Karen Matsey, who was wearing a "Palisades Strong" shirt while allegedly stealing from a home "severely impacted" by the Palisades Fire.
On Feb. 21, officers were called to a residence in the Pacific Palisades for a looting report. When officers arrived, they did not find Matsey as she had already fled the scene, but the victim was able to give a description of Matsey's vehicle.
Officers were able to track her down at her home and found several stolen antiques inside.
LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: ARMED HOMEOWNERS PATROL FOR LOOTERS INSIDE EVACUATION ZONE
The California Highway Patrol arrested a woman for allegedly looting homes damaged in the Palisades Fire. (X/@CHPsouthern/REUTERS/David Swanson)
Authorities said Matsey was arrested and is facing grand theft charges.
Chris Margaris, Chief of CHP Southern Division, said his officers have remained "actively involved in the recovery efforts for the Pacific Palisades Community."
"I am incredibly proud of the swift action taken by our officers to protect the public and prevent further harm," Margaris said in a statement on X. "Their commitment to serving and assisting those in need during this challenging period reflects the highest standard of the CHP."
PALISADES FIRE IN LA IGNITES LOOTING FEARS AND PUSHES PRIVATE SECURITY GUARDS TO THE BRINK
Residents told CHP officers they saw Karen Mastey allegedly looting homes in the Pacific Palisades. (X/@CHPsouthern)
Police have arrested dozens of people in connection with looting since the Palisades Fire sparked on Jan. 7.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DA SAYS NINE CHARGED WITH LOOTING HOMES IN WILDFIRE ZONES, ONE WITH ARSON
CHP officers arrested a woman suspected of stealing from Palisades homes while wearing a "Palisades Strong" shirt. (X/@CHPsouthern)
The Santa Monica Police Department previously announced they had made 39 arrests in evacuation zones, with none of the suspects being residents of the community.
The Los Angeles Police Department has made 34 arrests since the start of the fires, stating that those not charged with attempted burglary were picked up for curfew violations, drug possession, warrants and probation violations.
CHP officers said they recovered dozens of what they believe are stolen antiques at Karen Matsey's home. (X/@CHPsouthern)
"In the Palisades area and the fires that we've experienced in Los Angeles, isn't it bad enough we have 40,000 people potentially that have been evacuated from an area, and then we get a handful of people that want to come up with activity to go victimize them," Los Angeles assistant police Chief Blake Chow previously said in a statement. "It's not enough that they have to worry about their properties and rebuilding and things like that."
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Authorities have been limiting access to the area as residents try to clear toxic debris and start the rebuilding process as the fire damaged or destroyed over 10,000 structures in the Pacific Palisades area.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Arizona midair collision over regional airport between Cessna, Lancair aircraft turns fatal | Stephen Sorace, Greg Wehner, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
A midair collision between two small planes at a regional airport in Arizona killed at least two people on Wednesday, authorities said.
The deadly collision occurred at the Marana Regional Airport, northwest of Tucson, the Marana Police Department said.
Authorities confirmed that at least two people were killed, though they noted that details were limited as first responders were still working the scene.
The planes that collided midair were identified as a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 MK II, both fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. The agency said it is investigating the incident.
TORONTO PLANE CRASH: HARROWING VIDEO SHOWS DELTA PLANE ERUPTING INTO FIREBALL, FLIPPING UPSIDE DOWN
Plane debris following a deadly midair collision is seen from above at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona on Feb. 19, 2025. (KNXV )
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there were two people on board the Lancair and two people on board the Cessna when the two planes collided midair at about 8:25 a.m. local time.
Police confirmed that two people on one of the planes died, while the other two were not injured. Police did not specify which plane the victims who died were on.
Law enforcement arrive at the site of a deadly plane crash at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona on Feb. 19, 2025. (KNXV )
Investigators look at a crashed Learjet at Scottsdale Airport after it collided with a parked plane Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Marana Regional Airport is an uncontrolled field, meaning, it is an airport that does not have an active air traffic control tower.
It was not immediately clear how the two small planes collided in midair near Marana Regional Airport in Marana, Arizona. (Google Maps)
Instead, pilots use a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) to announce their position to other pilots in the vicinity of the airport.
It is the responsibility of the pilot-in-command to maintain a safe distance from other aircraft in the area.
Marana Regional Airport is located about 20 miles northwest of Tucson, Arizona.
Still, pilots flying into uncontrolled fields are required to comply with all Federal Aviation regulations, including maintaining minimum visibilities, safe altitudes and right-of-way rules.
No information about the victims or how the collision occurred was immediately provided.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating the incident, with the former taking the lead.
At least two people died in a midair collision between two smaller fixed wing single engine planes at Marana Regional Airport, the Marana Police Department said, in Marana, Arizona, on Feb. 19, 2025.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., posted about the crash on X.
"I fly out of this airport often, including just a few days ago," he wrote. "My thoughts are with everyone involved and their families. My team and I are tracking this incident as we await more information."
The collision is the latest in a concerning trend of recent air travel accidents in North America.
TORONTO PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS FLIPS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND
A Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis crashed and overturned while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday afternoon. No one was killed, though authorities said 21 passengers on board the aircraft suffered injuries ranging from minor to critical.
In the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001, an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight coming in to land at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29 collided midair, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
Other recent aviation disasters in North America include a small commuter plane on its way to Nome, Alaska, that crashed on Feb. 6, killing the pilot and nine passengers. Additionally, a medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood on Jan. 31, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes.
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Following the incident at Reagan National Airport, the Trump administration has promised a thorough review and update of air traffic control systems nationwide.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
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Texas transgender suspect plotted 'mass casualty attack' targeting police: FBI | Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News | The FBI, ATF and other officials hold a press conference in New Orleans to give an update on the investigation into the terror attack that left at least 14 dead and many more injured.
A Texas suspect's plan "similar to the deadly 2016 Dallas ambush" was thwarted by local and federal officials on Monday, authorities said.
Seth "Andrea" Gregori, 21, was arrested on a terroristic threats warrant Monday at 9:25 a.m., the Corpus Christi Police Department said.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified of Gregori making terroristic threats against Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) Officers," the department said in a release. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the threats and secured an arrest warrant for Gregori."
Gregori was born male, but identifies as female, CCPD Senior Officer Antonio Contreras told Fox News Digital.
TEXAS DPS ARRESTS SEVERAL ILLEGAL ALIENS WANTED FOR SEXUAL CRIMES
Seth "Andrea" Gregori was arrested Monday for terroristic threats impeding public service/causing public fear or serious bodily injury and criminal trespass and was being held in the Nueces County Jail early Tuesday morning. (Nueces County Jail)
Authorities said that the tipster notified police after noting that Gregori had been friendly with several officers in the downtown area, and taking photos of them. The tipster also said Gregoria had recently purchased an AR-style gun.
The 21-year-old suspect allegedly modeled the attack "similar to the 2016 Dallas ambush" conducted by Micah Xavier Johnson, the FBI's Houston office said.
The 2016 incident, referenced by the FBI, was in regard to the police ambush that killed five Dallas Police Department officers and injured seven others.
Dallas Police Department officers Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Patrick Zamarripa, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit Officer Brent Thompson were killed.
DALLAS POLICE SNIPER WAS SHUNNED BY NEW BLACK PANTHERS, SAYS GROUP'S LEADER
The shooting happened during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 16, 2016.
Dart Police Officers pray in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters July 09, 2016, following a sniper attack by 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas which left 5 officers dead. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Johnson, an ex-U.S. Army reservist, was killed by police when they detonated a bomb delivered by a robot.
Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown said during the investigation into the 2016 attack that Johnson cited the fatal shootings of Black men by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, which prompted the protest march in Dallas and many other cities.
LUIGI MANGIONE WINKS AT SUPPORTERS WITH GREEN SWEATER UNDER BULLETPROOF VEST
"The suspect said he was upset with White people and wanted to kill White people, especially White officers," Brown said.
Members of an FBI evidence response team search an area that is still an active crime scene in downtown Dallas following the deaths of five police officers on Thursday evening on July 9, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Gregori was arrested on Monday for terroristic threats impeding public service/causing public fear or serious bodily injury and criminal trespass and was being held at Nueces County Jail as of Tuesday morning on a bond of $50,500.
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Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.
Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the "Defund the police" movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump's life and illegal immigration.
She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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US Coast Guard, New York first responders searching for missing person after boat capsized with six passengers | Christina Shaw, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
A search is underway for a missing person near the New York coast after a boat carrying six people capsized on Sunday, ultimately leaving three dead and two others hospitalized.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the New York City police and fire departments are involved in recovery efforts for the remaining boater.
Coast Guard officials said they received a notification at 12:04 p.m. from New York City 911 operators about a boat taking on water near Breezy Point.
Three rescue boats and an MH65 Helicopter were deployed to assist rescue efforts already in progress by Sandy Hook Pilots and the New York Police Department's Aviation Unit.
COAST GUARD SUSPENDS SEARCH IN EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN FOR CREW MEMBER MISSING FOR NEARLY A WEEK
The U.S. Coast Guard, the NYPD and the FDNY are searching for a missing person in the water near the coast of New York after a boat carrying six people capsized on Sunday afternoon, leaving three dead and two hospitalized. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Rescuers were able to recover and transport five people – two were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital and three were taken to the Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook.
Four of the five boaters were unresponsive after CPR was administered. Since those efforts, three people have been pronounced dead, one person is in critical condition and another is in stable condition.
US COAST GUARD RESCUES 3 AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES OFF FLORIDA COAST: VIDEO
Of the six people who were on the boat that capsized, three are dead, one is in critical condition, another is in stable condition and one person is still missing in the water. (Danuta Hamlin)
The identities of the boaters have not yet been released as of early Monday morning.
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A sixth person is believed to still be in the water following the boat capsizing, according to the FDNY.
Authorities are investigating the incident and what caused the vessel to go under.
This is a developing story.
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Wisconsin Democratic governor proposes replacing 'mother' with 'inseminated person' in state law | Rachel Wolf, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is facing backlash for introducing a budget recommendation that changes the word "mother" to "inseminated person," and "paternity" to "parentage" in certain parts of state law.
The Evers administration's budget recommendation for the 2025-2027 fiscal period advises several other gendered terms be changed, as well. References to "wife" or "husband" are changed to "spouse" in the proposal. In other places, the word "father" is changed to "parent," and "mother" is swapped out for the phrase "parent who gave birth to the child."
The budget was introduced by the state Senate's Joint Committe on Finance on Tuesday.
JUDGE BLOCKS PARTS OF TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS TARGETING DEI, CITING FREE SPEECH
Wisconsin radio host Dan O’Donnell noted the language change in a post on X, calling it "beyond parody." Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, commented on the post, writing simply "red flag!"
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers during a campaign event with then-President Joe Biden, not pictured, in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, July 5, 2024. (Mustafa Hussain/Bloomberg)
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) issued a statement in response to the language changes.
Evers' "latest left-wing push" is "offensive to mothers," RGA executive director Sara Craig said in a statement. "Being a mother is the greatest privilege I will have in my lifetime, and every mother I know feels the same. If Tony Evers can reduce motherhood to an ‘inseminated person’ then our society is lost."
When introducing the budget proposal, Evers said his plan would eliminate income tax on tips, prevent homeowners from seeing property tax increases and improve the state’s infrastructure, among other things. However, he made no mention of the language in the bill.
Progress Pride Flags and Trans Pride Flags (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
WISCONSIN BANS TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS’ SPORTS, FOLLOWING TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER
The cultural battle over gendered language has raged for the last few years with debates over the use of terms like "chestfeeding" instead of "breastfeeding" or "birthing person" instead of "mother."
On his first day back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump attacked the issue head-on with an executive order called "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."
In the order, President Trump makes it official government policy "to recognize two sexes, male and female," saying they are "not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality." The order also explicitly states that "’sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender ideology.’"
President Donald Trump holds a document on the day he issues executive orders and pardons for Jan. 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House, Jan. 20, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
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Earlier this month, Trump issued another order on gender ideology called "Keeping Men out of Women's Sports." The order is designed to prevent transgender athletes from competing against women.
On Friday, during an event at the White House, the president had a heated exchange with Gov. Janet Mills, D-Me., in which he threatened to pull federal funding if the state does not comply with his order. The exchange ended with both saying they would see the other in court over the issue.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Evers' office for comment.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
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Pair of Texas teenagers threatened to place pipe bombs in high school and open fire: Police | Greg Wehner, Brooke Taylor, Fox News | Darrell Scott, founder of Rachel’s Challenge, joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ on the anniversary of the Columbine shooting to discuss his organization’s ongoing efforts to prevent future shootings.
Two teenage girls are in custody after allegedly threatening to place pipe bombs in a Montgomery County, Texas, high school, and opening fire on the students, according to police.
Spring Branch ISD police told Fox News that the two teenage girls, ages 15 and 16, were going to place pipe bombs at Memorial High School before shooting the students.
The 16-year-old girl, police said, attends the school and was found there about 30 minutes after the threat was made.
The threats were reportedly communicated on social media and were extremely detailed, which is what led police to believe the threat was credible.
TRANSGENDER INDIANA STUDENT PLANNED ‘PARKLAND PART TWO’ HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: DOCS
Two teenage girls in the Houston, Texas area allegedly threatened to open fire on students and place pipe bombs throughout a high school, according to police. (Google Maps)
Police also said the threat was in the planning stages.
Neither student has been named, though the 16-year-old has been charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony.
The FBI Houston office took credit for helping to track down the two students before they could execute their plan.
SHOOTING INSIDE INDIANA SUPERMARKET LEAVES 3 DEAD, WITH 2 OFFICERS SUSTAINING INJURIES
"FBI Houston received information yesterday that two underage teenagers from the Houston area were plotting a mass casualty attack at a local school," the agency wrote on X. "Our Threat Mitigation Team immediately responded to help [Houston Police] and [the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office] identify and arrest them."
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case and noted that the students attended different high schools.
The sheriff's office also said one of the individuals was in custody on unrelated charges, while the other was taken into custody in Harris County.
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"The safety and security of our schools and community remain our highest priority. We understand the concerns this situation may cause for students, parents, and faculty, and we are taking every necessary precaution," the sheriff’s office said. "Additional security measures have been implemented, and we continue to work closely with school officials and our law enforcement partners to ensure a safe environment."
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.
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Pam Bondi threatens blue states over refusal to comply with Trump order | Unknown | Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams joins 'The Faulkner Focus' to discuss Attorney General Pam Bondi's warning to blue states, telling them to comply with President Donald Trump's trans athlete ban or lose funding.
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Florida Wingstop manager allegedly tossed hot grease, ranch at customers during heated argument: video | Elizabeth Pritchett, Fox News | Carnael Irene, 19, was arrested after she allegedly admitted to throwing hot grease and ranch on customers during an argument at the Wingstop in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Credit: Port St. Lucie Police Department via FOX 13 Tampa Bay)
A Florida woman is facing charges after an altercation with customers at the fast-food restaurant she managed turned physical.
Carnael Irene, 19, is charged with aggravated child abuse and aggravated battery after she allegedly admitted to throwing hot grease and ranch on customers during an argument at the Wingstop in Port St. Lucie, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported.
The incident took place on Jan. 28 and was captured on cameras inside the restaurant. The video does not have audio, so the verbal interactions cannot be heard.
FLORIDA WOMAN ACCUSED OF HURLING BURRITO, TACO AT HUSBAND DURING FIGHT OVER FAST-FOOD BIRTHDAY MEAL: POLICE
Wingstop manager Carnael Irene, 19, is accused of throwing ranch and hot grease on customers she allegedly said were being loud, disruptive and verbally abusive at the Port St. Lucie, Florida, location. (Screenshot)
In the video, an employee, identified as Irene, can be seen behind the counter interacting with a seemingly upset customer, who walked up animated and waving her arms.
A male employee can be seen trying to hold Irene back during the interaction before a second customer comes up and appears to start yelling in the employees' direction.
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Two female customers at Wingstop could be seen on security cameras arguing with Irene while another employee held her back. (Screenshot)
A few moments later, Irene grabbed a bottle that allegedly contained ranch and started squirting it toward the two female customers. The women allegedly responded to that by throwing a straw container at Irene, according to FOX 13.
A male customer then walked up and began talking to Irene before she walked back to the kitchen, grabbed a container of hot grease and tossed it over the counter toward the customers.
Irene allegedly told police the customers were being loud, disruptive and verbally abusive. (Screenshot)
Irene told Port St. Lucie police that the customers were being loud, disruptive and verbally abusive when she allegedly admitted to throwing ranch and hot grease at them.
It's unclear if Irene remains employed at Wingstop or if anyone was injured during the incident.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Wingstop to clarify Irene's employment status.
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Beauty pageant queen, 18, who overcame childhood homelessness, abuse killed in Florida car crash | Landon Mion, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
An 18-year-old beauty pageant queen who overcame childhood struggles including homelessness and an abusive mother was killed in a car crash with a tractor-trailer in Florida.
Kadance Fredericksen, a former winner of the Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA title, was driving Monday on Highway 4 when she collided head-on with a tractor-trailer, according to Florida Highway Patrol. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and the tractor-trailer driver — who suffered minor injuries — was not arrested.
Fredericksen, of Baker, Florida, had recently received a $40,000 college scholarship, she announced in her final Instagram post on Feb. 7.
"I am incredibly grateful to be selected as a recipient of this year's Ellison McCraney Ingram Foundation $40,000 Scholarship," she wrote. "This generous support will help shape my future and bring me one step closer to achieving my dreams. Thank you to the Ingram family, the foundation, and everyone involved for this amazing honor!"
FLORIDA WOMAN ACCUSED OF ATTACKING MAN WITH GARDENING TOOL AFTER HE CANCELED PLANS WITH HER: POLICE
Kadance Fredericksen was killed in a car crash with a tractor-trailer in Florida. (Instagram/@kadancefred)
Fredericksen founded Kada’s Promise, a charity initiative that collected 12,000 teddy bears and blankets that were then distributed to children suffering from abuse or trauma.
As a child, Fredericksen struggled with homelessness, hunger and abuse before her father and stepmother — who later adopted her — gained custody. She said she had been abused and neglected by her biological mother and stepfather, including being groomed by her stepfather.
"During many dark times in my early childhood, the only thing that I could call my own or that made me feel safe was a single teddy bear that I received as a gift," she wrote on the Kada’s Promise website. "I carried him with me from house to house, couch to couch and clutched him tightly in the scariest times. It is from these memories that Kada’s Promise was born."
In addition to winning the beauty pageant title for her home county, Fredericksen also won Little Miss Northwest Florida in 2017 and represented her county at the Miss Florida Teen USA pageant last year.
Kadance Fredericksen is a former winner of the Miss Okaloosa County Teen USA title who also participated in other pageants. (Instagram/@kadancefred)
She used her pageantry platform to raise $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House, which seeks to offer temporary housing for families with a child receiving medical treatment for cancer or other diseases.
Fredericksen was a senior at Baker School, where she was expecting to graduate in the next few months before the tragic accident cut her life short.
"It is with profound sadness that we mourn the tragic loss of Kadance Fredericksen, an exceptional young woman, senior at Baker School, and founder of 'Kada's Promise,'" the school wrote on Facebook. "Our hearts go out to her family, friends, and all those who knew and loved her. We also offer our deepest condolences to the students, staff, faculty, and the entire Baker Community as we come together in grief during this incredibly difficult time."
CALIFORNIA CITY PASSES SWEEPING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT BAN ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY
Kadance Fredericksen was a senior at Baker School in Florida. (Baker School)
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"Kadance was a beacon of light in our community, known for her compassion, tireless advocacy for children in need, and unwavering dedication to making a difference," the post continued. "Through her efforts with Kada's Promise, she brought hope and comfort to thousands of children experiencing trauma, collecting and distributing over 12,000 teddy bears and blankets to children in need. Her work inspired us all, and her legacy will live on in the countless lives she touched."
A candlelight vigil will be held at the school on Wednesday night.
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New York City McDonald's starts carding teenagers in response to crime: 'People fight in there' | Andrea Margolis, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
A New York City McDonald's is now barring groups of teenagers from its restaurant after enduring an influx of delinquent behavior.
The location, which is located in Flatbush, Brooklyn, is guarded by a security guard who checks IDs of young people seeking to enter. Its front door bears a sign reading, "No one under the age of 20 is allowed in this restaurant without a parent and proper identification."
An amused resident named Sania Bolasingh recently posted a TikTok of the restaurant, showing how peaceful and quiet the interior is.
"Y'all, this is so funny, let me show you something," Bolasingh says in the video. "You see how peaceful this McDonald's is? You see how there's no kids? You see how there's no turmoil?"
PENNSYLVANIA POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN HOSPITAL SHOOTING; GUNMAN DEAD, OFFICIALS SAY
A McDonald's restaurant in Flatbush, Brooklyn, is now carding teenage customers. (Sania Bolasingh via Storyful)
The customer proceeds to show a relatively empty and quiet McDonald's. She also shows herself interacting with the security officer who points toward the new sign.
"You [are] IDing for McDonald's, is that right, sir?" she asks.
The video also shows forlorn-looking teenagers standing outside the McDonald's, which Bolasingh appears to disapprove of.
PRINCETON MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING FORMER STAR ATHLETE BROTHER, CAT WITH GOLF CLUB, KNIFE NEAR IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL
Resident Sania Bolasingh recently posted a TikTok of the restaurant. (Sania Bolasingh via Storyful)
"They got the kids waiting outside like it's crazy… .You got [them] waiting outside because they over here tearing up people place. This is crazy. This is sick."
Manager Amber Hussain told the New York Post that teenage customers would wreak havoc by "throwing ice at customers, snatching bags of foods from Uber drivers and smoking weed inside the restaurant."
Recently, a group of teens wearing ski masks swarmed in and attacked a security guard, prompting the latest changes. Bolasingh told the Post that the location was infamous for its customers.
"If you’re from that area, you know that McDonald’s is horrible," she explained. "People fight in there – it’s not just kids being kids. People get stabbed, a delivery worker got jumped, he passed out."
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Teenagers were seen looking forlorn outside the McDonald's. (Sania Bolasingh via Storyful)
Flatbush, which is located south of Prospect Park and is home to Brooklyn College, is considered average-to-less safe among the rankings of Big Apple neighborhoods. An 84-year-old woman was hospitalized last year after being struck by a stray bullet outside her Flatbush Gardens apartment.
Fox News Digital's Kyle Schmidbauer and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can follow her on X at @andreamargs or send story tips to [email protected].
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Video shows Italian fighter jets escorting American Airlines flight to Rome amid 'security concern' | Stepheny Price, Fox News | Video shows an American Airlines plane being escorted into Rome by Italian Air Force jets after a "security concern." (Credit: X/@ItalianAirForce)
Dramatic video shows the moment a diverted American Airlines flight was escorted by Italian fighter jets due to a "security concern."
A spokesperson for the airline told Fox News Digital that AA flight 292 "landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern, which later proved to be non-credible."
The video shows the plane being escorted by Italian Air Force jets prior to landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome.
Flight 292 had departed New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on its way to New Delhi, India when it was diverted.
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An American Airlines flight from JFK Airport to New Delhi, India had to divert to Rome — and landed under fighter escort — after a reported bomb threat on board. (X/@ItalianAirForce)
The airline did not specify what the cause of the security concern was, but said, per Delhi (DEL) Airport protocol, an inspection was required before landing at DEL.
The plane was inspected by law enforcement in Rome and cleared.
Nearly 200 people and 15 crew members were onboard the flight.
MAN WITH LIFELONG FEAR OF FLYING REVEALS WHY AMERICANS SHOULDN'T WORRY AS EXPERT ALSO WEIGHS IN
American Airlines flight 292 is escorted by Italian warplanes amid a "security concern" onboard. (X/@ItalianAirForce)
The flight, which departed from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and was headed for India, was diverted because of a "security concern." (X/@ItalianAirForce)
American Airlines did not specify what the security concern was. (X/@ItalianAirForce)
Italian Air Force fighter jets escort an American Airlines flight to Rome. (X/@ItalianAirForce)
View from inside Italian fighter jet cockpit as the plane escorted the commercial passenger jet to Rome amid a "security threat." (X/@ItalianAirForce)
An electronic display at the New Delhi International Airport shows American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
American Airlines flight AA292 en route from New York to New Delhi that turned around over the Caspian Sea Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, sits on the tamarack of Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International airport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth))
American Airlines said Flight 292 "was inspected by law enforcement" after landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and "cleared to re-depart." (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern. ((AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth))
Neeraj Chopra, one of the passengers on the flight, told the AP that the captain alerted passengers that the plane needed to turn around about three hours before they were supposed to land in New Dehli because of a change in "security status."
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"The flight will stay in Rome overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to Delhi as soon as possible tomorrow," the airline said.
An American Airlines plane is escorted by an Italian warplane after a "security concern" onboard. (X/@ItalianAirForce)
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"Safety and security are our top priorities, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."
The midair scare comes after a series of aviation disasters in the U.S.
An American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people last month. Less than 48 hours later, a medical ambulance flight crashed in Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead.
Then earlier this month, a Delta Air Lines flight flipped upside down and erupted into flames while landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport. Thankfully, everyone survived that terrifying ordeal.
Fox News' CB Cotton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Pennsylvania police officer killed in hospital shooting; gunman dead, officials say | Michael Dorgan, Andrea Margolis, Fox News | Fox News correspondent CB Cotton shares details from the traffic stop turned deadly on ‘Fox Report.’
A police officer and a gunman were both killed in a shooting at a Pennsylvania hospital in York County on Saturday morning, while at least five others were wounded.
The incident took place at UPMC Memorial Hospital at around 10:45 a.m. Ted Czech, a public information officer at York County's Office of Emergency Management, told Fox News Digital that his department responded to a 911 call about an "active threat" at the hospital.
The gunman was identified as Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, who allegedly entered the hospital's intensive care unit with a semiautomatic weapon and zip ties. Later on Saturday, York County District Attorney Tim Barker said that the suspect held a female nurse at gunpoint and bound her hands with zip ties.
Barker also noted that a doctor, nurse and custodian were injured in the shooting along with two police officers. The officer who died – Andrew Duarte – was identified in a post by the West York Borough Facebook page.
COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR DIES NEARLY 26 YEARS AFTER MASSACRE
People mourn outside the West York Borough Police Department. Officer Andrew Duarte was killed in the line of duty Saturday during a shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. (AP Images)
"Our prayers and deepest condolences go out to West York Borough Police Officer, Andrew Duarte's family and all of our brothers and sisters in the West York Borough Police Department that have lost a comrade and friend, and furthermore our fellow Borough agencies that have lost a colleague," the post read. "Our community grieves the loss of a hero."
Shortly after the shooting, hospital spokesperson Susan Manko confirmed that no patients were injured in the incident.
"We have received confirmed reports of a gunman at UPMC Memorial, and shots fired," Manko told Fox News.
"The gunman has been apprehended, and no patients have been injured. The hospital is now secure," Manko said. "This is a fluid situation; law enforcement is on premises and is managing the situation. We are grateful to all the local law enforcement agencies for their quick response."
Police officer Andrew Duarte was killed in the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital. (Fox News)
Law enforcement respond to the scene of a shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
On Saturday morning, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he was aware of the incident and was en route to the hospital. Later on Saturday, he confirmed that he had met with Duarte's parents and mourned that the late officer's life "has been cut far too short."
"In the midst of senseless violence, law enforcement, first responders, and medical professionals showed true heroism," Shapiro's post read. "Tragically, we lost one of those heroes today."
"This evening, I had the privilege of spending time with Officer Duarte’s parents and fellow officers to express our deep gratitude for Andrew and his service," the governor's post continued. "I also visited with two officers who were injured in the line of duty while answering the call to protect their fellow Pennsylvanians."
Shapiro commended the officers' "willingness to run toward danger" and save lives.
"I’m grateful to them and all law enforcement who answered the call today in York," the Democrat concluded.
Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference regarding the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Newly-confirmed FBI director Kash Patel also acknowledged Duarte's death on X, writing that the U.S. lost "[three] of our bravest guardians of justice due to unacceptable criminal acts of violence against law enforcement," over the weekend. Patel's post also referenced the death of two police officers in Virginia Beach who were gunned down during a late-night traffic stop.
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"Tonight, I spoke with the respective Police Chiefs," Patel wrote. "Tonight, and always, we honor our men and women who wear the badge. Tonight, please send prayers to their families and communities. The FBI will provide whatever support is needed. We will never forget them, rest in peace."
Fox News' Brian Powers and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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WATCH: Police officer, off-duty firefighter save woman from burning vehicle: 'Right place, right time' | Sophia Compton, Fox News | A police officer and off-duty firefighter saved a woman from her burning vehicle after a cement truck hit her Nissan pick-up on the U.S. 60 westbound highway in Arizona. (Credit: Chandler Police Department /TMX)
A police officer and off-duty firefighter worked together to rescue a woman from her burning vehicle after a cement truck hit her Nissan pickup, causing it to roll over and burst into flames.
The dramatic incident happened on the U.S. 60 westbound highway near Val Vista in Arizona shortly before 7 a.m. on Feb. 18, according to Chandler Police.
TEXAS POLICE PULL UNCONSCIOUS MAN FROM BURNING CAR IN HEROIC RESCUE, VIDEO SHOWS
The two heroes who sprang into action, Chandler Police Motor Officer Brian Larison and Peoria off-duty firefighter Asa Paguia, are both Marine veterans and trained for situations like these, FOX 10 reported.
The fiery incident happened on the U.S. 60 highway near Val Vista in Arizona shortly before 7 a.m. on Feb. 18, according to Chandler Police. (Chandler Police Department /TMX)
Larison, who doesn't normally commute on U.S. 60 westbound for Chandler P.D., was the first one on the scene of the fiery crash.
GEORGIA AUTHORITIES RESCUE MOTORIST FROM BURNING SUV IN HEART-STOPPING FOOTAGE
"The thought of human life perishing by flames. I just, you know, I was like, ‘I cannot let this happen'," Larison said.
To help save the woman trapped in the driver's seat, Larison used his baton to break the window. But just as the woman began to escape, the truck fell backward onto all four tires, bodycam footage shows.
The two heroes, Chandler Police Motor Officer Brian Larison and Peoria off-duty firefighter Asa Paguia, are both Marine veterans and trained for situations like these, FOX 10 reported. (Chandler Police Department /TMX)
"Then I looked, and it was an off-duty fireman, and he’s got all his fire retardant gear on. Just right place, right time," Larison said.
GOOD SAMARITANS PULL DRIVER FROM CAR ENGULFED IN FLAMES AFTER CRASH ON I-94 IN MINNESOTA
Paguia was on his way to work at the Peoria Fire Department and was running behind schedule. He had his firefighting equipment with him because he had worked an overtime shift the day before, FOX 10 reported.
"As fate would have it, Asa had worked a partial overtime shift the day before, so he had his turnouts in the trunk of his vehicle," Brady Casson, public information officer at the Peoria Fire Department, told Fox News Digital in an email. "When Asa saw the CPD officer and bystanders attempting to rescue the victim, he quickly put on his protective equipment and jumped into action."
The two first responders pulled the woman out of the vehicle and saved her life. The woman's first call was to her husband, according to FOX 10. (Chandler Police Department /TMX)
Paguia pulled the woman out of the burning vehicle, and the two first responders worked together to move her away from the site of the flames while Fire and EMS resources responded to the scene. The woman was then transported to the hospital where she is expected to make a full recovery. Her first phone call was to her husband, according to FOX 10.
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"The way we operate is we risk a lot to save a lot," Paguia said. "So I decided it was worth the risk to get that patient out of there."
Chandler Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Sophia Compton is a Digital Production Assistant at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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Delta plane crash survivor thought he might die when aircraft flipped: 'This is it' | Julia Bonavita, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News | Nate Richie speaks to Fox News Digital about his experience on Delta Air Lines Flight DL4819 when it crashed into the runway at Toronto Pearson Airport.
A Florida man narrowly escaped death after his Delta Air Lines flight made a crash landing on an airport runway, flipping over and erupting into flames in an apocalyptic scene.
The aircraft was traveling from Minneapolis, Minnesota when it went belly-up seconds after landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday.
Nate Richie was traveling from his home in southwest Florida when he boarded Delta Air Lines Flight DL4819 to Toronto, where his job is headquartered, in what Richie describes as "a very uneventful flight."
"You start thinking ‘this is it’," Richie told Fox News Digital, sharing the moments that his life flashed before his eyes. "You start thinking about your loved ones – my wife and children – and you just try to brace yourself."
TORONTO PLANE CRASH: HARROWING VIDEO SHOWS DELTA PLANE ERUPTING INTO FIREBALL, FLIPPING UPSIDE DOWN
Passengers evacuate a Delta Air Lines plane after it crashed into the runway of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on Feb. 17, 2025. (Nate Richie)
The aircraft carrying 76 passengers and four crew members slammed into the snow-covered runway upon landing, flipping upside down and catching on fire. Richie, who was sitting in a window seat at the time of the crash, recalls the terrifying moments after impact.
"We were jolted and started to roll," Richie told Fox News Digital. "[There were] explosions and fire on the opposite side of the plane as we started rolling, [with] things flying through the air and bodies being jolted around."
Video footage shows the aircraft sliding down the icy runway as the right wing is ripped off and flames begin to emerge from the rear.
TORONTO PLANE CRASH SURVIVORS SEEN TAKING LUGGAGE AMID EMERGENCY EXIT; TRAVEL EXPERTS WEIGH IN
Nate Richie receives medical treatment after surviving a Delta Air Lines plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on Feb. 17, 2025. (Nate Richie)
Richie suddenly found himself hanging upside down by his seat belt, listening to his fellow passengers' screams as jet fuel poured over the windows and black smoke rose from the tail.
As the aircraft skidded to a stop, Richie fell from his seat and began helping passengers find the nearest exit amid the chaos. The plane was evacuated onto the snowy tarmac, with terrified passengers – many of whom did not even have time to grab their coats – awaiting help in frigid temperatures.
"It was freezing, absolutely freezing on that runway," Richie said. "Obviously, [we had] nothing to protect us. Our coats were in the overhead [bins] of the plane, so we were just exposed to the cold weather."
Despite the freezing temperatures, Richie expressed his relief that he was alive and well – despite the crash landing.
Firefighters directed passengers to a central meeting location where they boarded a shuttle and were taken to safety.
TORONTO PLANE CRASH: AUDIO SHOWS OFFICIALS REACTING TO 'UPSIDE DOWN AND BURNING' DELTA JET ON TARMAC
Everyone on board survived. Twenty-one individuals were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, with all but one individual being released as of Wednesday morning, according to Delta.
Richie was rushed to a hospital after he sustained injuries to his head and neck and was discharged later that night. He then hit the road to drive from Toronto to his wife, children and grandchildren in Florida, where he hopes to begin the process of healing, both mentally and physically.
"It's a lot to process," Richie told Fox News Digital. "I'm struggling mentally. I'm not sleeping, I'm not eating. [It’s] just a lot of emotions and I'm trying to unpack those. It's really tough right now."
PLANE CRASHES SPARK RENEWED FEAR OF FLYING: 10 CAUSES OF AVIATION DISASTERS
A Delta Air Lines plane is seen upside down after it crashed into the runway of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on Feb. 17, 2025. (Nate Richie)
Despite several plane crashes since the start of 2025, officials insist air travel remains the safest mode of transportation, with the statistical chance of being in a crash being too small to calculate, according to data from the National Safety Council.
Federal Aviation Administration regulations require modern aircraft to be equipped with numerous safety features and technology, including the collision avoidance system "TCAS," emergency beacons and fire extinguishers on the plane’s engines.
Retired U.S. Navy pilot Armen Kurdian credits fuselage engineering, emergency lighting and airplane seat construction with keeping passengers safe on Monday.
"Airline seats must meet impact requirements defined by the FAA, which primarily focus on ensuring that during a crash, a passenger's head impact with the seat in front of them does not exceed a Head Injury Criterion (HIC) value of 1,000 units, essentially meaning the seat design must minimize the risk of serious head injuries in a crash scenario," Kurdian told Fox News Digital.
DC PLANE CRASH PROMPTS AIRLINE PILOT'S HEARTFELT ANNOUNCEMENT TO PASSENGERS BEFORE TAKEOFF
First responders douse a Delta Air Lines plane with water after it crashed into the runway of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on Feb. 17, 2025. (Nate Richie)
Modern airplane seats are designed to withstand 16 times the force of gravity, ensuring that they do not come detached from the body of the airplane and injure passengers.
"The last thing you want is seats coming loose, and then a mishmash of bodies and seats ricocheting inside the fuselage," Kurdian said.
While updates in aviation safety remain the primary reason each passenger walked away from Monday’s crash, Richie credits the plane’s seat belts and flight attendants for his survival.
"It felt like the stewardesses did a great job taking action, giving instructions and directing people to get out of the plane," Richie told Fox News Digital.
TORONTO PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS FLIPS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND
A Delta Air Lines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on Feb. 17, 2025. (Photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation into the crash.
"I’ve been in touch with my counterpart in Canada to offer assistance and help with the investigation," Duffy tweeted.
DELTA PLANE ‘TRULY A MIRACLE’ NOT TO HAVE CAUGHT ON FIRE, FORMER PILOT SAYS
A Delta Air Lines plane heading from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Feb. 17, 2025. (Teresa Barbieri/The Canadian Press via AP)
Delta said that its primary focus is "taking care of those impacted," with CEO Ed Bastian issuing a statement extending his sympathies to the victims.
"The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport," Bastian's statement read, in part. "I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site."
Monday’s crash follows a turbulent start of the year for air travel. Last month, an American Airlines flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C.’s Potomac River, killing all 67 people on board the two aircraft. Days later, a medical transport helicopter crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing all six passengers.
On Wednesday, Delta announced that each passenger involved in Toronto’s crash is being offered $30,000 in a "no strings attached" payment that "does not affect rights," a company spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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Despite the monetary offer, Richie is just thankful to be alive as he begins the healing process.
"Always hug your loved ones," Richie said. "You might not see them again."
Fox News Digital's Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
Julia Bonavita is a Fox News Digital Production Assistant for Photo and Video, and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms.
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Illinois man indicted in teenage stepson's murder after alleged torture, beating | Landon Mion, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
An Illinois man is facing several charges, including for murder, in connection with allegations that prolonged abuse and torture led to the death of his 16-year-old stepson.
Steven Griffin, 44, was indicted on eight counts, including first-degree murder, after the death of his stepson, Daniel Garza, according to Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser.
Griffin allegedly failed to provide adequate food and water and caused blunt force injuries to Daniel's body and head, leading to the boy's death.
FIREFIGHTER PARAMEDIC LED SECRET LIFE AS MAFIA HITMAN BEFORE FAMILY FELL APART: SON
Steven Griffin, 44, was indicted on eight counts, including first-degree murder. (Sangamon County Jail)
Prosecutors said the teenager died from blunt force trauma to his head and body and starvation.
The suspect is accused of throwing hot water on Daniel, hitting him in the head with nunchucks and stomping on his ankle.
Griffin and Daniel moved with the teenager's mother, Kristin, to Springfield from Washington state in November and had been living in hotels.
Griffin allegedly failed to provide adequate food and water and caused blunt force injuries to Daniel's body and head, leading to the boy's death. (iStock)
On January 27, Daniel's mother and stepfather took him to St. John's Hospital, where he was unresponsive, not breathing, had a body temperature of 86 degrees and weighed only 94 pounds. He suffered from a subdural hemorrhage, burns, bruising and fractures.
Daniel was transferred to St. Louis Children's Hospital and later to Indianapolis for specialized care, where he died on February 7.
CHICAGO GRAND JURY RETURNS INDICTMENT AGAINST HIGH-RANKING AFFILIATE OF VIOLENT SINALOA CARTEL: DOJ
Prosecutors said the teenager died from blunt force trauma to his head and body and starvation. (iStock)
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Griffin is also charged with endangering the life or health of a child and abuse or criminal neglect of a person with a disability. He also faces separate charges in an unrelated case involving a 16-year-old girl from Springfield, including aggravated criminal sexual abuse and indecent solicitation of a child.
Kristin Griffin has also been charged with endangering the life or health of a child and abuse or criminal neglect of a person with a disability in connection with her son's death.
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Two Virginia Beach police officers shot dead while 'defenseless' during late-night traffic stop | Alexandra Koch, Fox News | Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate provided more information Saturday about a fatal traffic stop late Friday night that claimed the lives of two officers.
Two young police officers in Virginia are dead after a late-night traffic stop ended in a fatal shooting.
Officers Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, were pronounced dead at hospitals after the shooting, according to Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate.
The pair, who were riding together Friday night, pulled over a car for an expired license plate at about 11:27 p.m., Neudigate said during a news conference Saturday.
The traffic stop happened near the intersection of Lynnhaven Parkway and Wendfield Drive in Virginia Beach, next to an apartment complex.
Virginia Beach police are investigating Friday night's deadly shooting of two fellow officers in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
VIRGINIA AU PAIR MURDER: FETISH PLOT, AFFAIR, GUN RANGE TIED TO DOUBLE HOMICIDE AT HOME, PROSECUTORS SAY
Both officers approached the vehicle, and the male driver, later identified as convicted felon John McCoy III, was immediately argumentative and refused to get out of the car.
At some point, he got out of the car, and there was a "tussle" between the officers and McCoy.
McCoy pulled a pistol from his pocket and immediately shot the two officers.
While they were on the ground "defenseless," he shot them each a second time, according to Neudigate.
Virginia Beach police investigate Friday night's deadly shooting of two fellow officers Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Officers found McCoy in a shed directly behind the apartment complex with a fatal gunshot wound to the head less than an hour after the shooting.
The gunshot wound appeared to be self-inflicted, according to authorities.
"We're all hurting," Neudigate said. "We've got families that have lost a loved one in the prime of their life, and they are completely devastated. We've got an officer that is 25 years old, another one that is 30 with such a future ahead of them, senselessly taken."
While officials are still sorting out the motive, they said McCoy may have acted because he had a gun, a criminal offense as a felon.
VA TOWN DROPPED BY POLICE ACADEMY FOR CHIEF'S CRITICISM OF CHINESE SIGNATURE ON TRAINEE CERTIFICATES
"We do know from his criminal history, he has one felony conviction from 2009, so it's not recent, but it does make him a felon," Neudigate said. "A felon with a firearm would be a new felony charge."
While there was another person in the car with McCoy at the time of the traffic stop, no one else will be charged in the shootings, he said.
This incident was documented on a body-worn camera and the in-car camera, according to Neudigate.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate provides an update on the shooting deaths of two of his officers. (WTKR)
"We do have video of all of it, and I will tell you, it is quite horrific," he said.
Girvin and Reese began working for the department in 2020.
Prior to working for the Virginia Beach Police Department, Reese was a deputy sheriff with the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office, from 2019 to 2022.
"They were dedicated, determined peace officers and public servants," Neudigate said. "They had stellar reputations in our department and their work ethic — beyond reproach. We asked them to go out in this community and keep us safe from evil. And last night, evil found them."
VIRGINIA MAN IN CUSTODY FOLLOWING ‘BRUTAL, HORRIFYING’ ATTACKS ON 2 WOMEN: POLICE
Both officers were accompanied during a procession to the medical examiner's office.
On Saturday morning, the department doubled all its officers up in cars, so there are no single officers on the road.
"What this does is give our officers the ability to have someone in that car with them to help process, help try to make sense of what occurred, and to make them feel that they have a semblance of safety," Neudigate said.
People gather on a beach in Virginia Beach, Va., July 2020. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said the city is "heartbroken."
"We mourn the loss of two of our own brave Virginia Beach police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice," Dyer said during the news conference. "Their dedication to protecting our community will never be forgotten.
"No words can ease the pain and loss as we mourn. I ask our community to come together. Please keep these officers, their families, friends and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers."
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Congresswoman Jen Kiggans posted on X to express her condolences.
"This morning our entire community mourns the tragic loss of two brave Virginia Beach police officers who were killed in the line of duty last night," Kiggans wrote.
Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.
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United Airlines flight forced to make emergency landing at Newark | Stephen Sorace, Fox News | Aviation expert Mike Boyd joins ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss Americans’ lower confidence in plane travel and recommends air traffic control upgrades.
A United Airlines flight carrying nearly 200 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after a "possible mechanical issue" mid-flight, the airline said.
The Boeing 757 took off just before 6 a.m. from Newark Airport and was flying toward Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to flight tracking data.
About one hour into the flight, the pilots turned the plane around and returned to Newark, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told WPIX-TV.
An airline spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that there were 176 passengers and six crew on board the flight when a potential mechanical issue occurred.
MAN WITH LIFELONG FEAR OF FLYING REVEALS WHY AMERICANS SHOULDN'T WORRY AS EXPERT ALSO WEIGHS IN
A United Airlines flight was forced to return to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and make an emergency landing after a "possible mechanical issue" mid-flight. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images, File)
"United flight 1544 to Las Vegas returned to Newark Liberty International Airport to address a possible mechanical issue," the spokesperson said. "The flight landed safely, and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate."
United provided passengers with a different aircraft to continue their travel to Las Vegas, the spokesperson said.
The airline did not immediately specify what kind of mechanical issue is believed to have occurred.
The emergency landing is the latest in a concerning trend of recent air travel incidents in the U.S.
A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning after a "haze" filled the cabin, according to the airline. Passengers evacuated the aircraft upon landing safely, and no injuries were reported.
DELTA RELEASES NEW INFORMATION ABOUT CAPTAIN, FIRST OFFICER FLYING PLANE THAT CRASHED IN TORONTO
Last week, two small planes collided midair at a regional airport in Arizona, killing two people.
An American Airlines flight with nearly 200 people and 15 crew members onboard was diverted and escorted by Italian fighter jets due to a "security concern" on Sunday while flying from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport to New Delhi, India. The airline did not specify the cause of the security concern.
Earlier this month, a Delta Air Lines flight burst into flames and flipped upside down while landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport. Everyone on board survived the ordeal, though injuries were reported.
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An American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people last month. Less than 48 hours later, a medical ambulance flight crashed in Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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Dramatic dashcam footage shows moment Sacramento driver flies off busy overpass: video | Christina Shaw, Fox News | A dash cam captured the moment a vehicle flew off an I-5 overpass in Sacramento, California. (Credit: Storyful)
A dash camera caught the horrifying moment a vehicle flew off the Interstate 5 overpass onto a busy California freeway on Presidents' Day.
Police responded to the scene of the accident in Sacramento shortly before 1 p.m. on Monday where they found the driver with injuries. He was transported to the hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, police said.
The accident was captured by the dash camera of a driver transiting the freeway below.
Kyman Jeung told local outlet KCRA-TV that he was still "on edge" hours after the incident unfolded.
CAR LAUNCHES FROM ROAD, LANDS 200 FEET BELOW DUE TO 'DISTRACTED DRIVING': VIDEO
Dash camera footage captured the moment a vehicle flew off the Interstate 5 overpass in Sacramento, California, on Presidents' Day. ((Credit: Storyful) )
"It's been hours, and I'm still on edge being so close to what it could have been," Jeung said.
In the footage, Jeung can be seen nearing the overpass when the vehicle and other debris from trees above drop onto the freeway with only moments for him and other drivers to react.
"It all just happened in slow motion. I saw a car falling, and tree parts falling. It was to assess the situation and figure out the least painful way to get through it. So I still had to roll through parts of the trees and whatnot, which was there's no way around that," he said.
PORSCHE MYSTERIOUSLY FLIES OFF NYC PARKING GARAGE, POLICE FIND PILE OF CASH ON TOP OF WRECK BUT NO DRIVER
Police responded to the scene of the accident shortly before 1 p.m. where they found the driver with injuries. (Sacramento Police Department)
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Police reported the traffic statement via X and closed West El Camino Avenue between Gateway Oaks Drive and Azevedo Drive until they were able to clear the area.
The driver of the vehicle was the only person taken to the hospital, according to police.
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New York Gov. Hochul fuels hate crime speculation in transgender slaying; state police find 'no indication' | Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News | During a recent CNN segment, Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., said she was considering bringing back a ban on masks in her state to reduce crime.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul fueled hate crime speculation in the slaying of a 24-year-old transgender victim, as the district attorney's office and state police said there was "no indication" of such a motive.
"I have directed State Police to provide any and all support and resources to the District Attorney as they continue their investigation, including into whether this was a hate crime," Hochul wrote in a Sunday statement.
Hochul's post came the same day as a joint statement from the New York State Police and the Ontario County District Attorney. New York State Police said it found the remains of 24-year-old Sam Nordquist on Friday in Yates County.
"At this time we have no indication that Sam’s murder was a hate crime," the Ontario County's District Attorney's office and the New York State Police said Sunday in a joint release. "To help alleviate the understandable concern his murder could be a hate crime, we are disclosing that Sam and his assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense."
TEXAS UNIVERSITY ON EDGE AS POLICE HUNT CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT SUSPECT WHO WAS ARRESTED, RELEASED
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks about gun violence in the United States during the Clinton Global Initiative on Sept. 23, 2024, in New York City. (Getty Images)
Authorities said Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer A. Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19, had all been arrested and charged with second-degree murder with depraved indifference, the New York State Police said.
Records, reviewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that three of the five suspects had criminal histories – spanning from child sex crimes to theft.
Patrick A Goodwin, Emily Motyka and Jennifer A. Quijano were arrested in connection to the February murder of 24-year-old Sam Nordquist. (New York State Police)
Arzuaga has four misdemeanor convictions, including petty larceny, criminal trespass and the sale of an imitation control substance.
Sage was convicted of larceny and disseminating indecent material to a minor. New York state records revealed that he was on parole when arrested after being released from prison on May 30, 2024.
Goodwin was convicted of child sex crimes in 2015, and is a registered Level 3 sex offender, records show. Goodwin was convicted by the Ontario County Sheriffs Office for Criminal Sexual Act-1st Degree, with the victim being under 11 years old.
He was sent to prison in 2015 for 10.5 years. According to New York State records, Goodwin was released and placed on parole on June 6, 2023.
A search of the state corrections system did not reveal any information regarding Arzuago, Quijano and Motyka.
Precious Arzuaga and Kyle Sage were arrested in connection to the February murder of 24-year-old Sam Nordquist. (New York State Police)
A hate crime in New York is defined in Penal Law Section 485.05 as an offense committed "in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct."
Retired New York Police Department inspector Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital that short of new evidence, this case will be charged as a regular murder case.
NY GOV. HOCHUL TO MEET WITH ‘KEY LEADERS’ TO DISCUSS ‘PATH FORWARD’ AMID ERIC ADAMS TURMOIL
"Now with transgenderism as a protected hate crime class, in a very blue state, you can rest assured that if they were in any way, shape or form capable of bringing this as a hate crime, they would," he said. "They don't want the blowback of saying they're ignoring a hate crime, but they're not doing that, so they mustn't have that. It is possible they could gather more evidence."
Sam Norquist, whose remains were found in a field in upstate New York last week. (New York State Police)
Police said members of Norquist’s family were last in touch at the end of January. Authorities launched a missing person investigation last week after receiving a welfare check request from the family.
Police found Nordquist's body on Thursday, Feb. 15, in a Yates County, New York, field.
Police believe Nordquist endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse and repeated acts of violence and torture between early December and early February.
"In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated," Capt. Kelly Swift of the State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation said at a news conference on Friday.
"The facts and the circumstances of this crime are beyond depraved," added James Ritts, the district attorney of Ontario County.
KATHY HOCHUL DOES APPARENT ABOUT-FACE ON NATURAL GAS AS NYC UTILITY SIGNALS MAJOR RATE HIKES
Hochul on Sunday called Nordquist’s slaying "horrific and brutal."
"The charges against these individuals are sickening and all New Yorkers should join together to condemn this horrific act. We are praying for Sam Nordquist’s family, community and loved ones who are experiencing unimaginable grief," the governor said.
Sam Nordquist was allegedly tortured for more than a month inside a motel until he died. (GoFundMe)
Hochul's office said the governor is committed to providing a safe community for all people.
"We remain focused on holding these individuals accountable and will continue to work tirelessly to complete the investigation into Sam’s murder," her office said.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul's office for comment.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.
Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the "Defund the police" movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump's life and illegal immigration.
She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Proposed Idaho state law could make some lies a felony crime with prison time | Stepheny Price, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
An Idaho lawmaker is pushing a bill that, if passed, would make knowingly lying about another person a felony crime in the state.
House Speaker Mike Moyle introduced the bill on Friday, which would prohibit a person "with actual malice" from publishing a false statement about another person.
According to the Idaho Press, the bill defines "actual malice" as knowing the statement is false or with reckless disregard as to whether or not the statement is false.
The bill also defines "publish" as "communicate to a person or persons."
MSNBC SET FOR HIGH-STAKES DEFAMATION TRIAL IN ‘UTERUS COLLECTOR’ LAWSUIT
Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, a Republican, is pushing a bill that, if passed, would make knowingly lying about another person a felony crime. (Sarah A. Miller/The Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Moyle shared an example with the outlet, explaining that it would be illegal to yell "fire" in a crowded room if there wasn't a fire.
"I’m a firm believer in our First Amendment right, but I also believe that our founding fathers did not include in the First Amendment as being able to lie about somebody," Moyle said.
If the bill passes, the penalty would be up to a $100,000 fine, up to five years in prison, or both prison and a fine.
JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES
If the Idaho bill passes, the penalty would be up to a $100,000 fine, up to five years in prison, or both prison and a fine. (Greater Idaho Movement)
The outlet reported that the bill would also allow the attorney general or county prosecuting attorney to pursue prosecution if the statement is made about a state elected official or state employee in regard to their official conduct.
Under the new bill, someone convicted of "criminal libel" would also be responsible for providing restitution to the victim for specific costs incurred or lost as a result of the false statement.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS AND ABC APOLOGIZE TO TRUMP, ARE FORCED TO PAY $15 MILLION TO SETTLE DEFAMATION SUIT
The Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise, Idaho. (powerofforever via Getty Images)
The House State Affairs Committee unanimously introduced the bill. However, Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, said he would like a legal analysis of the potential First Amendment issues the bill could raise.
"My concern is that if you make every liar a felon, then we’re going to be in a lot of trouble, not enough room in our jails," Skaug said.
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Libel in Idaho code is currently defined as "malicious defamation," which is expressed in order to "blacken the memory of one who is dead, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue or reputation, or publish the natural or alleged defects, of one who is alive, and thereby to expose him to public hatred, contempt or ridicule."
The punishment for the current Idaho code is a fine of up to $5,000 or confinement in county jail for up to six months.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Man assaulted by as many as 30 teenage bicyclists in Los Angeles, police say | Landon Mion, Fox News | LAPD detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in locating the suspects responsible for assaulting a man in broad daylight. (Credit: Los Angeles Police Department)
A man was brutally attacked in Los Angeles, California, by a large group of teenage bicyclists, according to police.
The incident happened at about 5 p.m. Saturday in the Carthay neighborhood, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a press release.
Officers responded to the area of San Vicente Boulevard and Carrillo Drive after a report of an assault.
CALIFORNIA SHERIFF PUTS INMATES TO WORK AT TAXPAYERS' BENEFIT
A man was brutally attacked in Los Angeles, California, by a large group of teenage bicyclists. (LAPD)
Witnesses told police that an argument had broken out between the man and a group of about 20 to 30 suspects believed to be 16- to 18-years-old.
A couple of suspects struck and kicked the man's vehicle before he exited his vehicle to confront them. A physical altercation then ensued, leading to more suspects joining in on the fight, police said.
LA teens on bicycles assault a bystander. (LAPD)
Police said the large group of suspects "immediately overwhelmed" the man. They punched and kicked the man, even after he had been knocked down to the ground.
The suspects fled the area on their bicycles southbound on Carrillo Drive after witnesses attempted to intervene, police said.
FUGITIVE WIFE OF SLAIN CALIFORNIA FIRE CAPTAIN SERVED TIME FOR EX'S DEATH AS MANHUNT EXTENDS BEYOND US BORDERS
Witnesses said an argument had broken out between the man and a group of about 20 to 30 suspects. (LAPD)
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Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene to attend to the man. He sustained minor visible injuries and declined to be transported to the hospital.
Police are still searching for the suspects and are asking the public for assistance in locating those responsible for the attack.
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3 killed in shooting outside Louisville driver's license office: 'This was a deliberate act' | Michael Dorgan, Alexandra Koch, Fox News | A suspect began shooting at a DMV taking the lives of one man, two women in Kentucky.
Three people on Friday were shot and killed outside a Louisville, Kentucky motor vehicle office, in what authorities are calling a "deliberate act."
The shooting took place at a driver's license branch in the 6200 block of Willismore at around noon, the Louisville Metro Police Department (MPD) said.
When police arrived on the scene, they found one man shot dead in the parking lot.
KENTUCKY POLICE IDENTIFY SUBJECT OF MANHUNT AFTER ‘NUMEROUS’ PEOPLE SHOT ON HIGHWAY
Shooting outside Kentucky driver's license office (WDRB)
Two women, who were also found with gunshot wounds, were taken to a nearby hospital and later succumbed to their injuries, the MPD said in a statement.
Louisville Metro Police Department Maj. Donald Boeckman told reporters that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
LMPD spokesperson John Bradley later clarified to Fox News Digital that no suspects were identified, but "there is no indication this violent act has, or is going to, extend beyond the event which occurred."
The scene of the shooting outside a Kentucky driver's license office on Friday where three people were fatally shot. (WDRB)
Boeckman said the suspect or suspects left in a vehicle.
He did not have a description of the vehicle and said investigators were still reviewing surveillance video.
"This was a deliberate act, and investigators are working to determine the exact nature of the shooting (i.e. were any of the victims targeted)," Bradley wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. "A clearer picture will (no doubt) come into focus for us as the investigation matures."
MASS SHOOTING IN KENTUCKY KILLS 4, INJURES OTHERS: POLICE
Shooting outside Kentucky driver's license office (WDRB)
"It’s absolutely a tragedy and I’m surprised there wasn’t more people injured," Boeckman said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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Masked robbers point ARs at guard in bold ATM heist caught on chilling video | Michael Dorgan, Fox News | A group of masked thieves were captured pointing assault rifles at guard in a daylight heist, wild video shows. (Memphis Police Department /TMX)
A group of brazen thieves were seen pointing assault rifles in the face of a cash-in-transit guard before making off with large sums of cash from an ATM, wild video released by police in Tennessee shows.
The heart-pounding video, taken from the guard’s body camera, shows the guard opening the door of his armored truck as the base of the ATM is open, exposing several cash boxes. The incident took place at the First Horizon Bank at 140 Mitchell Road in Memphis at 8:20 a.m. on Feb. 14.
The video shows a white Nissan Altima then rolling up behind the ATM before three masked and armed men swarm around the unsuspecting guard.
Memphis armed robbery gig is caught on camera. (Memphis Police Department)
The brazen thieves were seen pointing assault rifles in the face of a cash-in-transit guard before stealing large sums of cash from an ATM. (Memphis Police Department)
MEMPHIS HOME INVASION BANDIT CAPTURED 17 YEARS AFTER VICTIM CHOPPED OFF HIS FINGER AT CRIME SCENE
"Don’t do it, don’t do it!' one of the thieves barks at the guard. "Don’t move," another says as they point their ARs at the guard to the sounds of their weapons clicking.
The perpetrators then pull three large cash boxes out of the ATM while still pointing their deadly weapons at the guard.
They then jump into the Nissan and speed away from the scene.
It's unclear exactly how much cash the perps stole, but police said it was "a large amount."
The assailants quickly swarmed the unsuspecting cash-in-transit guard before carrying out their big steal. (Memphis Police Department)
CALIFORNIA'S SERIAL ‘SNAKE BURGLAR’ SET FREE UNDER WOKE LAWS, PROSECUTOR SAYS
The suspects are described as Black males in their mid-20s who are still at large, police said.
One suspect is around 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a thin build and was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, red gloves and a black ski mask.
The second suspect is 5 feet 11 inches tall, with an average build and was wearing a red and white "Coke" labeled jacket, blue jeans, gray gloves, and a black ski mask.
The assailants quickly swarmed the unsuspecting cash-in-transit guard before carrying out their big steal. (Memphis Police Department)
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The third suspect is 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build and was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, red gloves and a black ski mask.
The Memphis Police Department said the investigation is ongoing.
The incident comes despite crime dropping in the city last year. Total crime decreased by 13.3% compared to 2023, with homicides down by 30% and motor vehicle thefts reduced by 39%, according to LocalMemphis.com, citing police data.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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Surgeon on trial for allegedly raping, abusing 299 victims, mostly child patients | Stephen Sorace, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
A former French surgeon accused of raping or sexually abusing 299 victims, mostly children under his care, over the course of nearly three decades is set to stand trial in France on Monday.
Joël Le Scouarnec, now 74, is set to stand trial over four months in Vannes, Brittany. The trial will examine alleged rapes and other abuses committed between 1989 and 2014 against 158 men and 141 women. The alleged victims’ average age was 11.
Le Scouarnec, who will face hundreds of alleged victims during the trial, does not deny the allegations, though he says he doesn't remember everything. Many alleged victims say they have no memory of the assaults, having been unconscious at the time.
The case was brought into the spotlight in 2017 when a 6-year-old neighbor accused Le Scouarnec of touching her over the fence that separated their properties.
FRENCHMAN FOUND GUILTY IN HORRIFIC RAPE TRIAL THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD
Investigative files in the Vannes courthouse, western France, are seen on Monday, the opening day of the trial of French surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Investigators searched his home and uncovered more than 300,000 photos, 650 pedophilic, zoophilic and scatological video files, according to investigation documents.
The investigation further found that the surgeon described himself in his notebooks as a pedophile and revealed details of his actions. Investigators tracked down alleged victims whose names were found written in the notebooks.
A view shows the entrance of the Hopital de la Villeneuve before the opening of the trial in Vannes. (REUTERS/Stephane Mahe)
Le Scouarnec was convicted in that case in 2020, along with the rape and sexual assault of his two nieces when they were children in the 1980s and 90s, and a 4-year-old patient. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Amélie Lévêque, one of the alleged victims named in the notebooks, was 9 years old at the time of her surgery in 1991. When speaking about the revelations recently, she said she recalled little about the operation, although she remembered "a surgeon who was quite mean" following the procedure, noting that she "cried a lot."
Amelie Leveque, an alleged victim of French surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec, speaks to media on the opening day of the trial, outside the Vannes courthouse, western France, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
She described being contacted over the discovery of her name in the notebooks.
FRENCH GIRL, 11, FOUND DEAD NEAR SCHOOL, MURDER INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY
"That was the beginning of the answers to a lifetime of questions, and then it was the beginning of the descent into hell," Lévêque told public broadcaster France 3. "I felt like I had lost control of everything. I wasn’t crazy, but now I had to face the truth of what had happened."
"I fell into a deep depression. ... My family tried to help, but I felt completely alone," she said.
Le Scouarnec was previously convicted in 2005 of possessing and importing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to four months of suspended prison time. Despite that conviction, he was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year.
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Le Scouarnec faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted in this trial, on top of 15 years he has been serving after being found guilty in 2020 of rape and sexual assault of children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Prominent Colorado developer assassinated at luxury Belize home: report | Michael Dorgan, Fox News | Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out whats clicking on Foxnews.com.
A high-profile real estate developer from Colorado was found fatally shot in Belize over the weekend, and police say it could have been the result of a professional hit job by a disgruntled business associate, according to local reports.
Boris Mannsfeld, 56, was found lying face down on the floor of his yard Friday night with a bullet wound to the back of his head, local media outlet Breaking News Belize (BNB) reported.
The deadly incident took place at The Villas at Cocoplum in Maya Beach, a luxury villa complex Mannsfeld helped build in the small Central American country. In 2010, he set up his own development firm in Belize, Boris Mannsfeld and Associates, four years after he moved to the country on a permanent basis with his family.
Boris Mannsfeld, left, a real estate developer from Colorado, was found fatally shot on Friday in Belize. (LinkedIn, left, Getty Images / iStock, top right, eff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, bottom right.)
TEENAGER GOING FOR A QUICK SWIM SEVERELY INJURED IN SHARK ATTACK
Police Commissioner Chester Williams told reporters that Mannsfeld’s death has all the hallmarks of a targeted hit, while adding that the exact motive remains unclear, BNB reported.
A loaded 9mm pistol, Mannsfeld's wallet and a spent shell casing were found near his body, police told the outlet.
"It has all indications of a hit," Williams said.
"We are looking at the business transactions that Mr. Mannsfeld may have with other individuals, with our view to see if we will be able to close in on a possible motive and perhaps suspect," Williams said.
The police chief added that one suspect, Frik De Meyere, is currently in custody, although charges were yet to be filed as of Monday.
De Meyere is a former employee of Mannsfeld’s and was previously questioned in relation to the murder of businessman Ricardo Borja in 2023. Borja worked for Mansfield’s company, as did Darren Taylor, who was killed in 2024.
Local Belizean fishermen were out searching for tiger sharks when they stumbled on the Greenland shark. (iStock)
"It will not be wrong for one to assume that there may be some connection there, and we’re looking at that possibility," William said.
Before his death, Borja claimed that De Meyere was behind a land fraud scheme and had scheduled a meeting with legal counsel, a real estate agency and the government’s special crime unit to present evidence against de Meyere, local outlet Amandala reported at the time. But Borja was killed before he could speak out.
BNB also reports that in a January email, Mannsfeld referenced a "massive fraud case" involving millions in stolen assets and noted his involvement in a $3.9 million lawsuit against a former associate.
Williams acknowledged Mannsfeld’s murder could be linked to the deaths of Borja and Darren Taylor.
Fox News Digital reached out to police in Belize for further information but did not receive a response.
Belize is located in Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east and Guatemala to the west and south. (Google Maps)
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A profile of Mannsfeld on his company’s website details how he "fell in love" with the country on his first trip there in 1992 and then made it his "barefoot paradise" in 2006. He spent 10 years in the U.S. working in real estate before moving to Belize, a former British colony bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east and Guatemala to the west and south.
He’s described as enjoying endurance mountain biking, road biking, and snow skiing, among other activities.
Mannsfeld's business sells condos, land plots and other properties in Belize. It also states Mannsfeld was also involved in hotel projects, a concrete company and a renewable energy company.
News of Mannsfeld's death comes after three American women were found dead from a possible overdose at a beach resort in Belize from a possible overdose.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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US Coast Guard rescues 3 after boat capsizes off Florida coast: video | Stepheny Price, Fox News | Video shows the moment three boaters were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard members after their boat capsized off the coast of Florida. (Credit: X/@USCGSoutheast)
Video from the U.S. Coast Guard shows the moment three boaters were rescued after their vessel capsized off the coast of Florida over the weekend.
The rescue mission took place on Sunday after the Coast Guard was called out to find three overdue boaters off Captiva Island.
A family member of one of the boaters notified the Coast Guard around 1 a.m. on Sunday that their last contact with the three boaters was at 8 p.m. on Saturday, and that they were on a 20-foot center console.
A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 helicopter aircrew flew out to search for the missing boaters following the report.
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The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three stranded boaters over the weekend after their vessel capsized off the coast of Florida. (X/@USCGSoutheast)
Video shows the crew finding the three missing boaters sitting on top of their capsized boat – all reportedly in good health.
RETIRED COAST GUARD HELICOPTER COMMANDER DETAILS RISKS TO AIR CREWS FIGHTING LA FIRES
The boaters were reported missing by a family member after they had not been in contact since Saturday night. (X/@USCGSoutheast)
The aircrew also called in assistance from the Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach boat crew, who arrived at the scene and safely transferred all three boaters aboard.
They were then transported to emergency medical services at the Coast Guard station to be evaluated.
MISSING FLORIDA JET SKIER FOUND CLINGING TO ROCKS OFF ST. LUCIE INLET IN DRAMATIC RESCUE: VIDEO
Coast Guard crews located and rescued three overdue boaters, Sunday, near Captiva, after their vessel capsized. (X/@USCGSoutheast)
"We were able to locate and rescue the three boaters thanks to the quick coordination of the Coast Guard and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, along with the use of critical search tools," Chief Warrant Officer Dennise Werre of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg said in a statement.
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"Completing a float plan with a loved one prior to going out on a vessel is critical. Float plans provide first responders with information such as the intended route, how many people are aboard, and what safety equipment may be available."
Officials were unsure of what caused the boat to capsize.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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Cabinet officials caught off guard and frustrated by Musk’s directives to federal employees | Alayna Treene | Elon Musk’s presence at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday will solidify his power in the administration — and how quickly he’s amassed it despite not being elected or Senate confirmed.
But Musk’s attendance at the meeting comes as his attempts to gut the federal workforce and reshape it in Trump’s image, including giving sweeping orders to employees across the government, has begun to grate on Cabinet secretaries and members of Congress, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Those frustrations were escalated when Musk delivered a six-word directive that resulted in rippling chaos throughout the government.
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‘It’s bedlam’: Federal workers left in limbo as clock ticks down to Musk’s email deadline
White House officials insisted they were not caught off guard by a Saturday email from the Office of Personnel Management sent at Musk’s direction, which asked: “What did you do last week?”
But Cabinet officials and members of Congress weren’t given a heads up.
The email — and Musk’s subsequent threats that those who do not respond promptly would be fired — surprised several agency heads and top Trump administration officials, the sources said, swiftly setting off questions over who has the authority to issue directives to employees across different departments.
“A lot of agencies weren’t given a heads up, which caused some headaches,” a senior White House official told CNN, noting that several agencies quickly informed the White House and their employees that the confidential or sensitive nature of their work would prove problematic in responding to the email.
A Trump administration official said the move led to “some annoyance” among not only top officials, but even some Cabinet secretaries, adding that the secretaries “are in charge of their own agencies and need to conduct their own reviews for where cuts may be needed.”
Part of that frustration stemmed from the secretaries only recently being sworn in (some have yet to even have their Senate confirmation votes), and not having time to thoroughly examine their own workforce or properly assess their needs before the threats of firing began.
Another area of concern arose from the notion that perhaps Musk had the power to terminate workers’ employment if they didn’t follow an order that the secretaries themselves had not signed off on.
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Leaders at the FBI and departments of State, Justice, Energy, Homeland Security and Defense all told their employees not to respond to the email given the sensitive nature of their work. And White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear on Tuesday that Musk, a special government employee, does not have the power to hire and fire federal workers and that Trump would defer to his Cabinet secretaries on how best to proceed with the email.
“Nobody was caught off guard,” Leavitt told CNN when asked at Tuesday’s press briefing about officials not being given a heads up.
“Everybody is working as one team,” Leavitt said. “The president respects the decisions of his Cabinet secretaries to tell their staff not to respond to that email because they did so out of interest of national security and they don’t want to obviously risk confidential information.”
Meanwhile, those working in the executive office of the president, for example, were told they do not have to respond and are considered exempt from the email.
But the controversy around the directive is the latest in a string of DOGE moves that have begun to grate on top administration officials, the sources said, who have expressed quiet skepticism over the way in which Musk is carrying out his priorities.
The decision to issue the directive came as Musk and his top advisers working with the Department of Government Efficiency have been popping their heads into offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building — where Musk has his own office — as well as at different agencies asking employees what they do for the government.
Musk has virtually unfettered access to the West Wing, and often walks over from the EEOB unannounced, sources told CNN. He meets occasionally with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, but their staff often meets to coordinate future plans.
Musk has a list of ideas he has “kicked around” and contemplated having DOGE try to implement, an administration official told CNN.
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The email demanding government employees list five things they did last week was one of those that Musk ultimately asked Anthony Armstrong, a banker who worked with Musk to take over Twitter and is now stationed at OPM, to move forward with, according to the source.
In conversations with current and former Trump administration officials, many acknowledged there is likely bloat in the government, and they generally approve of DOGE’s broader efforts to root out waste and abuse. But they also noted concerns with the swift ‘cut and ask questions later’ strategy Musk is using.
Musk, however, has yet to get under the skin of the one person who matters most: Trump.
The president personally believes Musk is bringing the type of disruption to the government that he wants, sources close to Trump told CNN. He also appreciates the fast-paced nature of Musk’s actions, and has told those close to him that he doesn’t want people to wait to take action, he simply wants them to act, the sources said.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/elon-musk-cabinet-officials-opm-email/index.html | 2025-02-25 | 501971b7-039b-5eba-9840-b40da571d08d |
US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine | Jennifer Hansler | The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine Monday in a stunning shift from years of US policy.
The vote against the Ukrainian and European-backed resolution saw the US at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The US again voted the same way as Russia later Monday on a US-proposed UN Security Council resolution that did not call the Kremlin the aggressor or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The resolution passed without the support of five European members of the Security Council.
The US’ shocking alignment with Russia at the United Nations came as the Trump administration has pursued discussions with Moscow about ending the war. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. European partners have rushed to adjust to the shift in US policy and French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump at the White House Monday.
The European-backed General Assembly resolution was adopted with 93 votes in favor. It notes “with concern the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability” and “calls for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine.”
It also demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
The US had introduced a rival General Assembly resolution, which did not call Russia the aggressor or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
It “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” It mourns “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and reiterates “the principal purpose of the United Nations, as expressed in the United Nations Charter, is to maintain international peace and security and to peacefully settle disputes.”
The US introduced the same resolution at the Security Council. It passed with 10 votes in favor, including from Russia, and five abstentions after European efforts to delay the meeting failed. Proposed amendments to strengthen the language, which were added to the US General Assembly resolution, did not pass in the Security Council due to vetoes from Russia.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya commended the brief, three-paragraph US resolution as a starting point for future efforts toward a peaceful settlement.
“The text we passed is not an ideal one, but in essence, it is a first attempt to have a constructive and future-oriented product by the Council which is talking about the path to peace, rather than blowing the conflict up,” he said.
US charge d’affaires Dorothy Shea called the resolution’s passage the Security Council’s first action “to firmly call for an end to the conflict.”
“This resolution puts us on the path to peace. It is a first step, but a crucial one, one of which we should all be proud now we must use it to build a peaceful future for Ukraine, Russia and the international community,” she said after the vote.
However, Shea’s European counterparts had strong words in response to its passage.
“There will be no peace and security anywhere if aggressions are rewarded, and if the law of the jungle wins,” French Ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Rivière said.
“No one wants peace more than Ukraine, but the terms of that peace matter,” UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said. “Only a just peace, one that honors the terms of our charter, will endure.”
“And the terms of the peace must send a message that aggression does not pay. This is why there can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in how this council refers to this war,” she said. “If we are to find a path to sustainable peace, the Council must be clear on the war’s origins. We also owe it to the people of Ukraine, who have suffered so much.”
“Russia chose to launch a war of aggression against a sovereign state, but again, today, is seeking to obfuscate that fact,” Woodward said.
“What, how and on what terms this war ends can only be decided by negotiations with Ukraine. No peace will be sustainable without Ukraine’s consent,” she said.
Earlier in the day at the General Assembly, Shea had urged member states to back the US resolution and said the US “cannot support Ukraine’s resolution, and we urge its withdrawal in favor of a strong statement committing us to end the war and work towards a lasting peace.”
The US ended up abstaining on the vote for its own resolution at the General Assembly after several amendments were passed ahead of the vote to strengthen the language against Russia and reaffirm Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Michael Rios contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/us-joins-russia-ukraine-un-vote/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 4cac1d1f-81f5-5fee-9905-f07626fe5212 |
Elon Musk sees dead people | Zachary B. Wolf | A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
To hear President Donald Trump and Elon Musk tell it, the dead steal elections. They get fraudulent Social Security checks. And now, apparently, dead people are working for the government too.
Musk resurrected a go-to bogeyman to explain why millions of federal workers were asked, in an unsigned weekend email from the Office of Personnel Management, to justify their existence with a bulleted five-point list of accomplishments from last week.
Describing the request as “a very basic pulse check” in a post on X, Musk also separately alleged – as he has with Social Security and foreign aid – that Americans are being defrauded.
“The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all! In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud,” Musk wrote on X.
Trump did not echo Musk’s idea that there are dead people working for the government, but he did endorse the exercise of asking federal workers what they did last week.
“If people don’t respond, it’s very possible that there is no such person or they’re not working,” Trump said Monday during an appearance alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.
Complicating that rationale, however, is the fact that multiple federal agencies – including large-scale employers like the Pentagon and the FBI – told their workers to ignore the request.
If he has proof of fraud, Musk didn’t share it and he didn’t explain what could have led him to believe that dead people are getting paid. We’ve asked OMB, the White House and the Treasury Department for the evidence behind Musk’s claim, but have not yet received any. It is the second time in as many weeks Musk has come back to the idea of dead people getting checks.
If it’s anything like his recent suggestion that an unbelievable number of centenarians – tens of millions – are drawing Social Security benefits, it is possible that Musk is simply misreading the data.
Last week, Musk shared data that purported to show that millions of people over the age of 100 are included in a Social Security database. Trump later repeated the claim, reading from Musk’s list. Both men left the impression that these Social Security numbers are getting Social Security checks. It didn’t hold up to much scrutiny.
There is documented fraud in the Social Security system, the government retirement insurance plan which pays out benefits to tens of millions of older and disabled Americans.
But there is little evidence for fraud on the scale of what Musk implied. Social Security actually only pays checks to fewer than 90,000 people over the age of 100. That’s in line with the US population of centenarians.
Musk doesn’t appear to be much interested in facts, however, as he tried to convince Americans their tax payer dollars are being wasted on a massive scale and that government needs to be shrunk by a lot.
The specter of dead people used in the name of fraud should feel familiar. Trump has long argued that mail-in voting has enabled voter fraud and that voting by dead people and the undocumented cost him the 2020 election.
While there are some isolated examples of such voter fraud, there’s no evidence of a widespread problem of ballots being cast in the names of dead people, as Trump’s own campaign found when they made the allegation in 2020 in Georgia, Michigan and elsewhere. State and local officials largely refuted their claims. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/elon-musk-dead-people-fraud-claims/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 2dd85284-babb-538d-96f5-5b5805e452cf |
Federal judge declines to temporarily restore AP’s full access to White House | Devan Cole, Hadas Gold | A federal judge declined on Monday to temporarily restore the Associated Press’ access to some of President Donald Trump’s events, the Oval Office and Air Force One.
US District Judge Trevor McFadden turned down a request from AP to temporarily lift a ban Trump imposed earlier this month to punish the news organization over its decision to continue using the phrase “Gulf of Mexico” even though Trump renamed the body of water “Gulf of America.”
But while McFadden denied the request for a temporary restraining order during a hearing Monday, the judge scheduled a hearing for March 20 to hear arguments over the AP’s request for a preliminary injunction.
McFadden, of the US District Court in Washington, DC, was appointed by Trump in 2017.
McFadden gave a number of reasons for why he decided to deny the request for emergency relief at this stage in the litigation, including that he wasn’t persuaded that the AP was facing “irreparable harm” as a result of the ban.
He said the news organization “can get access to the same information” from the pool notes that are given to all members of the White House Correspondents’ Association even if it’s barred from being at the events where that news is made.
And he said the organization’s delay in bringing its lawsuit was evidence that it wasn’t being injured in a way that necessitated his intervention more than a week after the White House instituted the ban.
During the hearing, however, the judge appeared somewhat skeptical of the legality of the ban, describing it at one point as “discriminatory” and “problematic.”
And while the judge seemed to take issue with the way the pool is set up, he also noted that the decadeslong practice of having one to cover certain presidential news events is something the White House has long accepted.
“It feels a little odd that the White House is bound by certain decisions that this private organization is making,” he said at one point. But, he added later, the White House “has accepted the White House Correspondent Association’s ability to be the referee here.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a statement on X that said the administration stands by its decision to limit AP’s access to the president. “As we have said from the beginning, asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right,” it said.
“We look forward to our next hearing on March 20 where we will continue to stand for the right of the press and the public to speak freely without government retaliation. This is a fundamental American freedom,” AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said in a statement.
The AP sued Trump White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Leavitt, and deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich last week, arguing the ban violates the First Amendment and the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
During the hastily scheduled hearing Monday afternoon, an attorney for the AP told the judge that the White House was trying to impermissibly force the news organization to adopt “official government vocabulary” through limiting its access to certain presidential events and areas.
The attorney, Charles Tobin, said that the ban’s “ground seems to keep shifting” and explained how its scope has expanded in recent days to include both AP reporters and photographers – and that it now “appears as though it is a total bar” on the organization’s access to nearly all White House press events.
He said that the White House “picked on AP and nobody else” because the organization publishes a widely used stylebook. The government, Tobin said, wanted his client to “help them in their mission of changing the national vocabulary.”
In court papers, Tobin and other attorneys said that without emergency court intervention, the AP will face irreparable harm that would also flow to its member news organization and readers.
“The AP’s exclusion from the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other spaces open to other members of the press pool severely hinders its ability to produce timely, thorough, and informative reporting,” the filings read.
By being blocked from the Oval Office and Air Force One, the AP is not able to access important news moments and ask questions during certain press availabilities. It also is being blocked from its role as part of the White House press pool, a rotating group of journalists who send out moment by moment updates on the president’s activities to a broader group of news organizations.
Attorneys at the Justice Department, which is representing the White House in the case, urged the judge to not intervene at this stage, arguing in court papers that the ban has not impaired the AP’s ability to report thoroughly on the president. They noted that its access is now akin to other news organizations that don’t have the same kind of access the AP enjoyed prior to the ban.
DOJ attorney Brian Hudak said during Monday’s hearing that “the president can choose who to speak with.”
But the judge seemed unpersuaded by the government’s view that being a member of the White House press pool was akin to having a sit-down interview with the commander-in-chief. He described the pool as a small group of journalists who are “witnessing history”
The Justice Department’s written legal arguments were submitted to the court by Ed Martin, the interim US attorney for Washington, DC. Martin was in the well of the courtroom on Monday but did not present arguments during the hearing.
In a statement posted to X as the hearing was underway, Martin described himself and his colleagues as “Trump’s lawyers” — a comment that drew strong criticism from Democrats who argued that he was abusing the power of the Justice Department.
“As President Trumps’ lawyers, we are proud to fight to protect his leadership as our President and we are vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first,” the statement said.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung had previously called the AP’s lawsuit “frivolous and demented” and claimed it is “nothing more than a blatant PR stunt masquerading as a First Amendment case.”
Most other major news outlets are still using “Gulf of Mexico,” although the AP is thus far the only outlet part of the press pool that’s been singled out. The outlet’s journalists have retained their White House press credentials.
Several news outlets, including those seen as Trump’s media allies, have publicly supported the AP. The New York Times, NBC, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Newsmax and CNN signed onto a joint letter to the White House urging the administration to immediately lift the ban on the AP.
Though the AP has changed how it refers to Mount McKinley, which Trump renamed from Denali, it said it would stick with the “Gulf of Mexico” because it is an international body of water and other countries do not recognize the new name. As a global news outlet with customers all around the world, the AP said it will continue using the name “Gulf of Mexico” in its news coverage and influential stylebook while still acknowledging the new “Gulf of America” name.
And in a friend-of-the-court brief submitted Monday, the White House Correspondents’ Association threw its support behind the AP, telling McFadden that Trump’s ban “threatens the integrity of the White House press corps and its first-line coverage of the American presidency.”
During the first Trump administration, the White House revoked then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass. The network brought a federal lawsuit and a judge quickly sided with CNN in the dispute on due process grounds, leading the White House to back down from the legal fight.
This story has been updated with additional details. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/ap-white-house-access-ruling/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 3fb676bb-e428-583e-9b85-ec5789eebc27 |
How the world changed in a month | Stephen Collinson | Editor’s Note: This analysis was originally published in CNN’s Meanwhile in America newsletter. Read past issues and subscribe here.
President Donald Trump spent the first month of his second term on an extraordinary mission — dismantling the global system the United States spent the past 80 years building.
It was always theoretically possible that the West could lose its resonance as World War II and the Cold War became increasingly distant memories. But no one expected to see a US president wielding the ax.
When Trump won last year’s election, there was a sense among some western diplomats in Washington that their governments knew how to handle a president who in his first term often made foreign policy by tweet. But the shock that drove European leaders to an emergency meeting in Paris this week suggests they underestimated just how destructive Trump’s second term would be.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meanwhile told Europeans that they now need to “take ownership of conventional security on the continent” casting immediate doubt on security alliance NATO’s foundational creed of mutual self-defense.
America’s repudiation of its traditional foreign policy is being driven by both Trump’s particular obsessions and wider geopolitical changes. The United States remains the world’s strongest power — but it no longer has the might that can force others — like China — to live by its rules. Indeed, it now has a president who has no intention of observing any economic, trade, and diplomatic rules at all and is threatening to annex Canada.
Not only that, but the new administration is actively seeking to destabilize friendly democracies and fuel a global movement of rightwing populism. Vance’s speech warned that European governments threatened their own security more than China or Russia because of their policies on free speech and immigration. He also met the leader of the AfD, a far-right party in Germany with neo-Nazi roots and sought to boost far-right parties elsewhere who are challenging governments in France and Britain for example. Trump would rather deal with fellow travelers in a Make Europe Great Again (MEGA) movement than centrist leaders now in office.
So, what can Europe do now that America — the country that rebuilt the continent from the ashes of World War II — seems to be becoming an openly hostile power?
French President Emmanuel Macron, acting on the experience of his dealings with Trump during their first terms, has been warning for years that Europe needed to realize that America had become an unreliable partner. With doubts about the US military commitment to its allies, other members of NATO now have no choice but to hike shriveled military spending.
This will be painful since many of Europe’s governments are already struggling to balance the books and are under extreme pressure to maintain their popular welfare states. And getting all members of the European Union to agree on a more independent path will be treacherous. Some nations in Moscow’s old neighborhood – like Poland and the Baltic states – understand the Russian threat all too well, but some smaller, Western European countries perceive the danger to be more distant. And the EU now includes some leaders who’d love to help Trump do Putin’s work for him in dividing the western alliance — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for instance.
In only 31 days in office, Trump has already changed the world.
Barring a big surprise, the big international story will be Ukraine.
We may learn more about the prospects of a peace deal to end the war and how it would be implemented when Macron visits the White House on Monday and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer follows him on Thursday.
The visits will be critical to showing whether there is any scope for US-European cooperation on the war — after the continent was shut out of US talks in Saudi Arabia with Russia this week. Both Britain and France say they’re ready to send troops to Ukraine to monitor any eventual peace — but it’s hard to fathom that such an operation could take place without US air, intelligence, and logistical support. Is Trump prepared to do this and risk angering Moscow, which has already ruled out the idea of foreign troops in Ukraine?
Look out also next week to see if either leader shows up in the Oval Office with an offer to raise their own defense spending — to impress their host.
Macron plans to use his visit to try to insert some steel in Trump’s spine following his latest round of genuflecting to Putin and will appeal to the US President’s highly advanced sense of his own power. “I’m going to say to Trump, ‘Deep down you can’t be weak in the face of Putin, it’s not you, it’s not your trademark’,” Macron said Thursday.
The UK isn’t in the European Union anymore, but it’s been in lockstep with Macron and other leaders from the bloc this week. Starmer is seeking to restore the UK’s former role its traditional role as a bridge between its great friend the United States and Europe.
There’s just one problem. Trump doesn’t cross bridges. He burns them. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/22/world/trump-vance-zelensky-europe-intl-latam/index.html | 2025-02-22 | 05061f01-ec67-5be1-99f2-305474fee3f6 |
Supreme Court orders new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip | Devan Cole, John Fritze, Brynn Gingras | A fractured Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose appeal drew national attention and support from the state’s conservative attorney general, in light of allegations that the state withheld evidence related to its main witness.
The ruling is a major win for Glossip, whose 1998 conviction for arranging the murder of Barry Van Treese a year earlier has been called into question by him and, critically, the state attorney general after new evidence emerged in recent years.
The ruling represents an extraordinary twist in the legal saga surrounding Glossip, who has been scheduled for execution nine times and has eaten his last meal three times only to have his execution stayed.
“We conclude that the prosecution violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority.
At the center of the appeal are notes taken by prosecutors involved in Glossip’s trial about Justin Sneed, the man who killed Van Treese with a baseball bat in a hotel. Even though both sides agree Sneed killed Van Treese, Glossip was charged with orchestrating the murder.
Glossip’s conviction rested on Sneed’s testimony, but years afterward, the state disclosed evidence that Sneed was treated for a serious psychiatric condition. The notes indicate prosecutors knew about Sneed’s diagnosis and treatment at the time of Glossip’s trial and, according to Glossip’s supporters, hid that information from his defense.
“Had the prosecution corrected Sneed on the stand, his credibility plainly would have suffered. That correction would have revealed to the jury not just that Sneed was untrustworthy (as amicus points out, the jury already knew he repeatedly lied to the police), but also that Sneed was willing to lie to them under oath,” Sotomayor wrote. “Such a revelation would be significant in any case, and was especially so here where Sneed was already ‘nobody’s idea of a strong witness.’”
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Five justices sided with Glossip on ordering a new trial. Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett would have sent the case back to a lower court for further consideration.
Thomas, writing in a dissent joined by Alito, argued the court’s decision “imagines a constitutional violation where none occurred, and abandons basic principles governing” how federal courts review state court decisions.
During oral arguments in October, several members of the court seemed puzzled by the scant record surrounding the notes, including liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who said at one point, “It’s my understanding that there’s never been a court determination of any of these facts,” and Alito, who described the notes as “cryptic.”
The Glossip case is arguably the highest-profile death penalty case to reach the court in years, and it drew two of the most experienced Supreme Court lawyers in the nation. Seth Waxman, a former solicitor general, argued on Glossip’s behalf. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican who supports sparing Glossip, was represented by Paul Clement, also a former solicitor general.
Even though Drummond called for a new trial, the Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma upheld Glossip’s sentence, ruling the evidence at issue wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the case and that Glossip’s attorneys knew Sneed was taking lithium.
But Glossip’s attorneys argued that had prosecutors disclosed the lithium treatment and corrected lies Sneed told on the witness stand during the trial about his medical history, it would have cast “serious doubt on his credibility” as the state’s star witness.
Glossip “is thrilled beyond words in many ways,” his attorney, Don Knight, told CNN on Tuesday after speaking with his client.
In a separate statement, Knight called the court’s decision “a victory for justice and fairness in our judicial system.”
“Rich Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for 27 years, will now be given the chance to have the fair trial that he has always been denied,” Knight said. “Since 1997, a lot has happened and the prosecution’s case over the years has not gotten better,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Drummond indicated his office would decide how to proceed in light of the court’s ruling, saying in a statement, “(O)ur work here in Oklahoma is not done.”
“My office will thoroughly review the ruling, visit with the family members, and determine the most appropriate course of action to ensure justice is secured for all involved,” Drummond said. “I am grateful the justices understood the gravity of the situation. I have long maintained that I do not believe Mr. Glossip is innocent, but it is now an undeniable fact that he did not receive a fair trial.”
In a statement, the Van Treese family said they are “confident” a new trial would return the same verdict as those reached in Glossip’s first two trials. Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death in 1998, but that initial outcome was overturned on appeal due to ineffective counsel. He was retried in 2004 and was again convicted and sentenced to die.
“For the last 10,276 days, we’ve been waiting for justice for the murder of Barry Van Treese,” said Barry Van Treese’s son, Derek, on Tuesday.
The family said they want the case to be processed again as a death penalty case, urging prosecutors “not take the easy road of a lesser charge.”
“While it may be difficult to start fresh on a 28-year-old case, I urge the Attorney General and the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office to demonstrate the same perseverance that our family has shown throughout this process,” Van Treese added.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Dakin Andone contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/richard-glossip-supreme-court/index.html | 2025-02-25 | 10f06ae0-0c76-5e8b-9a49-4ad4090e1972 |
Fact check: Eight ways Elon Musk has misled Americans about government spending | Daniel Dale | Elon Musk has repeatedly misled the public about federal spending while playing a leading role in President Donald Trump’s effort to cut that spending.
When Musk was asked earlier this month about one of the inaccurate statements he had promoted, he conceded that “some of the things that I say will be incorrect, and should be corrected.” But “some” might be an understatement. The billionaire businessman has made or amplified numerous false or misleading assertions in the past month alone, largely on the X social media platform he owns.
Here are eight examples.
This list doesn’t include erroneous cost-savings claims on the website of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. And it doesn’t include the many vague Musk assertions that he hasn’t corroborated but that also can’t be definitively debunked at this time.
The White House didn’t respond to CNN requests for comment last week.
As the Trump administration worked to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Musk shared an X user’s post that claimed “USAID spent your tax dollars to fund celebrity trips to Ukraine, all to boost Zelensky’s popularity among Americans.” The post included a video, made to look as though it was from entertainment outlet E! News, that listed large sums various celebrities were supposedly paid for visits to Ukraine.
The video was a fabrication.
E! News never ran any such video. USAID never made those payments to the celebrities.Ben Stiller, one of the actors the phony video claimed had received millions from USAID to go to Ukraine, said he “completely self-funded” his trip and received “no funding from USAID.”
Stiller attributed the “lies” to “Russian media,” and experts said the video indeed had the hallmarks of a long-running Russian deception campaign.
Musk took aim at the Reuters news agency he has previously criticized over its coverage of his business practices. He wrote on X: “Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for ‘large scale social deception’. That is literally what it says on the purchase order! They’re a total scam. Just wow.”
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Musk’s comment itself deceived the public.
The contract Musk was talking about was awarded by the Department of Defense, during the first Trump administration, to bolster the military’s defenses against “social engineering” cyberattacks that use “social deception” tactics to trick humans. The money went to a “data-driven solutions” company called Thomson Reuters Special Services, not the Reuters news agency with which it shares a corporate parent — and, more importantly, neither company was paid to engage in deceiving the public.
Musk’s post didn’t mention that the spending document he was citing prominently features the words “active social engineering defense.” And he continued to post misleadingly about the contract even after his initial comment was fact-checked by news outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post.
Musk shared an X user’s chart that purported to show the value of federal tax credits each year from 1990 through 2021. The chart, dubiously describing the tax credits as “IRS Welfare,” depicted a big jump in 2018, another big jump in 2020, and a peak in 2021.
Musk suggested there was something inexplicable or nefarious about these recent increases. He wrote: “Such a big jump in a short time doesn’t make sense.”
It makes perfect sense. The increases are easy to explain.
Trump signed an expansion of the child tax credit in his 2017 tax law, causing the increase in 2018. His 2020 pandemic relief legislation also provided various forms of relief to Americans through tax credits, causing the increase that year. President Joe Biden then approved a short-term expansion of the child tax credit in the pandemic relief law he signed in early 2021, causing the increase that year.
“There’s no mystery why the child tax credit increased in 2018 and again during the pandemic. The growth is the direct result of child tax credit expansions signed into law by President Trump and then President Biden to increase the credit’s maximum value, refundability and availability,” Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation think tank, told CNN.
Musk, declaring that “NYT is government-funded media,” shared a post from an X user who asserted the US government “gave the New York Times tens of millions of dollars over just the past 5 years,” including $26.9 million from the Department of Health and Human Services and $19.15 million from the National Science Foundation.
But those figures were not even close to correct.
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The X user who made the post, right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong, had done a flawed web search that was not actually limited to federal spending on The New York Times. As University of Central Arkansas economics professor Jeremy Horpedahl pointed out, Cheong’s search also brought up federal spending on other entities with “New York” in their names, such as grants to New York University.
When you limit the search to federal spending on The New York Times in the last five years, you find no Times spending at all from the HHS or National Science Foundation. This correct search shows that total federal spending committed to The Times since the beginning of 2020 was about $1.6 million, and that the biggest chunk came from subscriptions for the Department of Defense.
When press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced at her first White House briefing that the Trump administration had spotted and thwarted a planned $50 million expenditure “to fund condoms in Gaza,” she attributed the supposed discovery in part to Musk’s DOGE team. Musk then promoted Leavitt’s words in a post on X, writing that this was the “tip of iceberg” and that he guessed “a lot of that money ended up in the pockets [of] Hamas, not actually condoms.”
But the claim was pure nonsense; Musk and the White House never had any evidence to substantiate it. Asked two weeks later about the inaccuracy, Musk made his concession that “some of the things that I say will be incorrect, and should be corrected.”
Musk then promptly continued to say incorrect things. Seizing on an inaccurate assertion from the reporter who asked him about the tale about condoms for Gaza, he criticized the US for supposedly sending $50 million in condoms to the African country of Mozambique — though that didn’t happen either.
Musk shared an X post from conservative activist Charlie Kirk that included a brief video clip of a “DOGE Clock,” an animated counter that showed a fast-increasing total of more than $109 billion. Kirk wrote, “Projected DOGE savings now near $110 billion, or over $700 per American taxpayer. And we’re just getting started…”
“Good progress,” Musk wrote.
But the “clock” does not actually measure DOGE’s progress.
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At the time of Kirk’s post, DOGE was making an inflated claim of having saved an estimated $55 billion. In other words, the figure on the “clock” was roughly double DOGE’s own flawed number.
So what is the “clock,” exactly? The website that publishes it, USDebtClock.org, makes clear it is not tracking DOGE’s actual savings; it says it is tracking DOGE’s “savings objective.” The site, which is not affiliated with the government, didn’t respond to a CNN request to explain what precisely “savings objective” means — but Horpedahl said the “clock” tracks “what DOGE would need to have saved to be on track to balance the budget. It’s not a count of actual savings. It literally just adds $4 billion per day, regardless of what is happening in the real budget situation.”
Musk posted a chart on X he said showed how many people in different age brackets had a “death field set to FALSE” in a Social Security database — in other words, who were not listed as being dead. The chart included nearly 9 million people age 130 and older, who are obviously deceased. Musk joked, “Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security” — then added, “This might be the biggest fraud in the history of humanity.”
But the chart didn’t prove any fraud. It didn’t even show that millions of dead people are erroneously being sent Social Security money. Public data from the Social Security Administration shows that about 89,000 people age 99 or over were receiving Social Security benefits in December 2024, not even close to the millions Musk suggested.
That’s because of a critical fact Musk didn’t explain: Someone not having have their death listed in this Social Security database doesn’t mean they are actually getting Social Security money. Social Security already has a system in place to stop payments to people listed as being age 115 and older.
A 2023 report from the inspector general who monitors the Social Security Administration found 18.9 million people age 100 or older who were not marked as deceased on their database entry. But while the inspector general was critical of the Social Security Administration (SSA) over this issue, she also found that only 44,000 of these 18.9 million people were receiving payments.
Even those 44,000 payments were not obviously fraudulent or erroneous. The inspector general noted that a larger number of living people in the US, an estimated 86,000, were age 100 or older.
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“Regarding the 44,000 figure, I’m confident that the vast majority of those are legit payments. So while there probably is some fraud, I don’t think these numbers show any evidence of it,” Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank who served as principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration during the George W. Bush administration, told CNN last week.
Biggs said that “while the SSA clearly should work to better ensure that Social Security numbers are deactivated when a person dies, it does not appear that this computer systems issue results in many benefits being paid out to people who should not receive them.”
The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Leland Dudek, who was elevated to that post by the current Trump administration, tried to set the record straight in a statement last week.
“The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” Dudek said.
Musk claimed on X earlier this month that the DOGE team had “just discovered” that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had the previous week sent $59 million to luxury New York City hotels “to house illegal migrants.” Musk then added, “That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!” He repeated the claim at a conservative conference on Thursday: “They took money from FEMA, meant for helping Americans in distress, and sent that money to luxury hotels for illegal immigrants in New York.”
The money was never meant for American disaster relief.
The cash came from a separate federal initiative, the Shelter and Services Program, in which Congress gave money to FEMA for the specific purpose of helping state and local governments and nonprofits house migrants.
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Congress appropriated $650 million for this program in the 2024 fiscal year. It appropriated a much larger sum, more than $35 billion, for FEMA disaster relief in that fiscal year. These are just two distinct pots of money — as fact-checkers repeatedly noted when Trump and others made similar claims in the fall.
And there is additional context worth noting.
The Shelter and Services Program money was sent to the government of New York City, not directly to hotels, and the city said in a statement this month that of a recent allocation of about $59 million, about $19 million covered direct hotel costs for people seeking asylum; about $26 million was for services like food and security, while about $13 million was for group shelters and related services.
In addition, the city objected to the “luxury hotels” part of the claim, saying, “we have never paid luxury-hotel rates.” A report last year from the city comptroller, which studied the hotels that are part of a city contract to house people seeking asylum, found that the average daily rate paid by the city was $156 and that, of the hotels whose category class could be confirmed, none were in the highest-end “luxury” or “upper upscale” categories, while half were “economy,” 13% “midscale,” 25% “upper midscale” and 8% “upscale.”
Critics are free to make an argument that even this accommodation is overly generous. Regardless, Musk’s claim that it was paid with funds taken from disaster relief is flat wrong.
CNN’s Gloria Pazmino contributed to this article. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/23/politics/government-spending-elon-musk-doge/index.html | 2025-02-23 | 696ae56a-979e-5d66-8532-36c04bd96e03 |
Inside Trump’s new Cabinet: A mix of disruptors, negotiators and TV stars | Eric Bradner | President Donald Trump is set to convene his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday – a gathering of agency leaders who’ve taken different approaches to proving their loyalty to Trump in public and private.
Cabinet meetings, typically staid affairs with brief photo opportunities at their start, morphed into something much different during Trump’s first presidency. He kicked them off by touting his administration’s accomplishments, and then each Cabinet member took a turn lavishing praise on the president while television cameras were rolling.
Wednesday’s gathering is intended to serve as a moment to touch base and ensure Trump’s federal agency heads “are rowing in the right direction,” a White House official said.
Also attending: Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who has led a frenetic effort to slash spending and remake the government that has frequently left agency leaders and federal workers confused and uncertain about their own employment. Musk, nominally a senior adviser to the president, is playing a massive role in Trump’s administration. That’s despite the fact that – unlike actual Cabinet members – he won’t be confirmed by the Senate. (For the record, 18 of 22 Cabinet nominees have been confirmed so far.)
Trump’s second-term Cabinet is a mix of disruptors chosen to take wrecking balls to the agencies they lead, political loyalists certain to implement the president’s agenda, a handful of negotiators with experience in diplomacy and foreign policy, and TV-friendly faces whose primary roles are likely to be selling Trump’s accomplishments to the public.
Here’s a look at who makes up Trump’s Cabinet ahead of Wednesday’s meeting:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
The combat veteran and former Fox News host defended Trump’s firing of the nation’s senior military officer, and has signaled that more firings could come soon. He has also ordered the military to prepare for 8 percent budget cuts in each of the next five years – a massive reduction in the Pentagon’s annual $850 billion budget.
Attorney General Pam Bondi
The former Florida attorney general has already overseen a massive shakeup at the Justice Department, with a wave of firings, including prosecutors who led the investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and resignations, including over the decision to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Bondi has created a list of what she considers “wins” inside the department since she was sworn in that she plans to share with Trump on Wednesday, a source familiar with her preparations told CNN. Those wins are likely to include big picture efforts to “root out” politicization inside the Justice Department, as well as lower-level moves in criminal immigration cases.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy
The anti-vaccine activist is poised to drastically shift the priorities of the agency he now oversees. He postponed a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory panel on vaccine policy. His role also involves overseeing Medicare and Medicaid as Republicans seek massive cuts to federal spending.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
The Trump transition co-chairman said on Fox News last week that Trump hopes to abolish the Internal Revenue Service. He is overseeing Trump’s institution of tariffs that experts say will drive inflation, and Trump has also said he wants to give Lutnick authority over the US Postal Service.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
The former Hawaii Democratic congresswoman narrowly won confirmation earlier this month, despite Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell faulting her “history of alarming lapses in judgment.” How she’ll fit into Trump’s administration remains to be seen. She instructed intelligence community officers not to respond to the weekend email from Musk ordering all federal workers to list five things they’d accomplished the previous week.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought
Vought, a Project 2025 co-author, has already gutted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His influence was on display from the outset of Trump’s administration, as Trump ordered halts to spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, ended civil service protections for federal workers and more.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
The former Florida senator was among the leaders of the US peace talks with Russia. He also said he has taken over as acting director of the US Agency for International Development, and has pushed to keep at least some foreign aid flowing as Trump has sought to gut most such programs.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
In a speech Tuesday, Bessent blamed the Biden administration’s spending for inflation and said Trump wants to “re-privatize” the economy through cuts in spending and regulation. He has also defended the Trump administration’s push for a minerals deal with Ukraine.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe
Under the former congressman and director of national intelligence’s lead, the CIA has implemented some of Trump’s priorities. The agency is flying covert drone missions into Mexico to spy on drug cartels. The CIA also moved to dismiss more than a dozen officers for working on diversity issues, in what amounts to a deeply unusual round of mass firings at the agency.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum
The former North Dakota governor who was on Trump’s vice-presidential short list immediately kicked off an agency push to increase energy production on public lands.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright
The former energy executive made clear the Trump administration’s stark departure from former President Joe Biden as he rolled back Biden-era water standards. He also criticized the British government’s attempts to reach clean energy targets and called the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 “sinister.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins
Collins has pledged improved services for veterans, even as the agency grapples with massive layoffs of probationary workers. Trump also named Collins the interim head of the offices of the Special Counsel and Government Ethics after he removed the previous leader of the government watchdog agencies.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
The former Wisconsin congressman faced a crisis just hours into the job when a jet collided with a military helicopter at Reagan National Airport. He has publicly defended the Trump administration’s cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration and sided with Musk in ordering employees to respond to his weekend email.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
Trump’s relationship with Noem includes visiting the former South Dakota governor in 2020, for a Fourth of July fireworks display at Mount Rushmore. Noem is another public face of the Trump administration, appearing in interviews as well as TV ads urging undocumented migrants to leave the county. Her role puts Noem in a critical position as Trump imposes an immigration crackdown, though CNN has reported that administration officials have been frustrated at the pace of migrant arrests so far.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin
The former New York congressman faced questions this week about an EPA effort to claw back $20 billion in grants for clean energy. Trump and Zeldin have long been allies as Zeldin evolved from a political moderate to a strident Trump backer, with Trump returning the favor by supporting Zeldin in New York’s 2022 race for governor.
Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler
After being confirmed last week, the former Georgia senator gained attention when she posted a social media video showing empty cubicles at her agency as she backed Trump’s call for government workers to return to in-person work.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins
Rollins, a first-term Trump policy aide who became the CEO of the America First Policy Institute, immediately faces challenges as the Trump administration seeks to address the avian flu, which has caused egg prices to soar.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner
The former NFL player, Texas state lawmaker and motivational speaker led Trump’s White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in his first administration. He said in his confirmation hearing that the agency had failed at addressing homelessness and affordable housing shortages.
Elise Stefanik, nominee for United Nations ambassador
Trump chose the New York congresswoman and ardent supporter as his representative to the United Nations, where his administration has already ignited controversy. But with Republicans’ narrow House majority leaving no room to spare and government funding bills needing to be passed, it’s not clear when her confirmation vote will be held.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, nominee for secretary of labor
The former Oregon congresswoman faced questions in her confirmation hearing last week about her support for a bill that sought to strengthen collective bargaining rights – a position at odds with Trump’s administration. But she is backed by the Teamsters Union, as some unions break from their long history of supporting Democrats. Teamsters’ President Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer.
Jamieson Greer, nominee for US trade representative
The Senate on Monday voted to break a filibuster on Greer’s nomination to be USTR, setting up a confirmation vote later this week. Greer would be the US lead negotiator as Trump uses tariffs and trade as a negotiating tactic with China, Canada, Mexico and more.
Linda McMahon, nominee for education secretary
McMahon, who was SBA administrator during Trump’s first term, told New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a written response to questions released by their offices on Tuesday that she “wholeheartedly” agrees with Trump’s calls to abolish the Department of Education. Trump has called for funding and policy decisions to be shifted entirely to states.
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Jeff Zeleny, Betsy Klein and Alayna Treene contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/trump-cabinet-meeting/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 5007463f-7510-5789-a08d-264b2c34f97f |
The Ukraine minerals deal is a perfect metaphor for Trump’s foreign policy | Stephen Collinson | Donald Trump isn’t the only president who knows a bad deal when he sees one.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to sign away nearly half of his country’s rare earth minerals for very few future guarantees is one of many reasons why Trump has been driven into a rage at his counterpart in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president has made clear that exploiting his country’s precious geographical and energy resources will be one way to rebuild its economy and cities after the eventual end of the war. But the offer tendered by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, while being lauded by US officials as a generous ladder to prosperity for Ukraine, is not really a “deal” at all.
However, it provides insights into Trump’s view of foreign policy and his perception of the war after he reversed, rhetorically at least, the Biden administration’s support for the invaded party and threw his weight behind the invader.
As with his plan to relocate all Palestinians out of Gaza so the US can build a “riviera” of beach resorts, the president’s motives appear to be rooted more in extracting the best potential monetary return for the United States than in equitably solving a murderous conflict that endangers the world. Trump is reflecting skepticism among his base voters toward the tens of billions of dollars of military and financial aid that the Biden administration sent to Ukraine after it was illegally invaded by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces three years ago. But Trump’s transactional approach represents a shattering of foreign policy values pursued by the United States for decades, including the principle that mighty nations should not invade smaller ones, which Washington enshrined in the United Nations charter.
His pressure on Ukraine, the victim in the conflict, is also a hardline effort to take advantage of a nation in its darkest hour. While Putin has carved off large chunks of its territory, Trump seeks a large slice of its mineral wealth at a knockdown price. The “deal” looks rather like a form of extortion that Trump tried on Zelensky once before — floating military aid as an incentive for him to announce an investigation into Joe Biden, which led to Trump’s first impeachment.
Still, the White House says Zelensky has no choice but to sign the pact to pay back US taxpayers for Kyiv’s lifeline — even though it contains no assurances that Washington will keep the aid coming in the future.
“President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelensky,” White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Thursday. “The fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered – I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.”
The clash over the rare earth minerals agreement comes amid a serious deterioration of US relations with Zelensky, driven by Trump’s adoption of Russian propaganda on the war, including the false charges that the Ukrainian leader started the conflict and that he is a dictator. The autocrat in this situation is Putin, who has run Russia for 25 years, imprisoned his opponents, crushed the free press and held sham elections. And he started the war.
The staggering US reversal on the war deepened Thursday as the Trump administration haggled with G7 members over a joint statement marking the invasion’s third anniversary, with US diplomats resisting a mention of “Russian aggression” in the document. Officials told CNN that other G7 members fear handing Russia yet another win, following the US siding with Putin over some of his demands on an eventual peace before this week’s talks in Saudi Arabia.
While Trump says he is convinced that Putin wants to stop the war and is serious about talking peace, US and allied intelligence agencies are less bullish. Three sources familiar with Western intelligence told CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand that Putin remains fixated on either subsuming Ukraine into Russia or ensuring a small, weak state that is dependent on Moscow. “If you were to get a ceasefire, then a ceasefire is just time for Putin to take a rest and rearm and come back and get the rest of what he wants,” said one of the sources. “We’ve seen no indications whatsoever that his ambitions have changed.”
The events of the last few days, which have left Ukrainians feeling betrayed, US allies alarmed, and even some Republican senators outraged, have renewed debate about Trump’s motives and how they will influence the chances of a fair peace deal.
Is the president being driven by personal animosity toward Zelensky? Or contempt for a smaller nation in need, as he seeks to reorient US foreign policy to promote a spheres of influence system controlled at superpower summits by strongmen like himself, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping?
Or is Trump, as he often has before, choosing a hardline position simply to create negotiating room for himself? Could his adoption of many of Putin’s talking points and leaning hard on Zelensky be designed to lure the Russian president to the table for a tough bargaining session? Certainly, Trump’s good relationship with Putin could position him, more than any other Western leader, to influence Russia’s conduct and potentially extract concessions.
A peace that endures; permits Ukraine to continue existing as independent, sovereign state; avoids rewarding Putin’s expansionism; and saves millions of lives would be a huge legacy achievement for Trump. The current war of words between Washington and Kyiv does not preclude an eventual and serious negotiation — and will soon be forgotten if a peace can be brokered. Still, Trump is yet to show evidence that he’s drafting a clever plan to call the Kremlin’s bluff. Trump’s wild words often cause his critics to overreact, but words are important in this case — since the president is obscuring the basic facts about what caused the war, which is a fundamental flaw in a leader who is positioning himself to lead peace negotiations.
Trump’s parroting of many of Putin’s positions has also renewed debate about his fascination with the Russian leader, which, in his first term, saw him publicly repudiate his own intelligence agencies’ assessments that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.
Trump’s latest favoritism toward Putin drew a raw public and emotional rebuke from a key Republican senator facing reelection in 2026. North Carolina’s Thom Tillis said he agreed with most of the president’s instincts on national security but added: “Whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin and the future of a stable globe, better go to Ukraine, they better go to Europe.” Tillis went on about Putin: “They better invest the time to understand that this man is a cancer and the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime. And it will be a cancer that spreads into the South China Sea, into Taiwan and metastasized across the globe.”
The proposed minerals deal raises questions not just about its terms but also the White House’s understanding of the political dynamics in Ukraine.
There’s no way that Zelensky or any other Ukrainian president could have accepted the “deal” to hand over much of his country’s geological inheritance and a key to its future economic viability. If he had, his approval rating probably would tumble near to the 4% level that Trump falsely claims it’s already at as he demands that Zelensky hold an election, which has been delayed because of martial law amid Russian attacks. Appreciating Zelensky’s political situation is crucial, because any peace is going to be a painful pill that the Ukrainian leader will have to convince his country to swallow since it is almost certain to enshrine Russia’s hold on stolen territory.
Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference last weekend that he’d not allowed one of his ministers to sign the first draft of the minerals deal with the United States. “The agreement is not ready to protect us or our interests,” he told reporters, noting that he did not see how the draft provided security guarantees for Ukraine.
But it’s still possible that the first US attempt at a deal could provide the framework for a future agreement. Zelensky hasn’t, for example, ruled out an agreement. But he is seeking to use the leverage of his country’s resources to obtain the security guarantees that Ukraine needs to survive after any peace deal.
The original rare earth mineral deal focused on compensating the United States for past aid to Kyiv, and specified the natural resources that would form part of the deal on over a dozen pages, two sources familiar with the document told CNN. Zelensky said Wednesday the contract asked for the US to own, or receive revenue from, 50% of Ukraine rare earth mineral mining and other natural resource sectors. The sources said the document said it asked for compensation not for future US assistance to Ukraine, but for previous aid.
Speaking on Fox News on Thursday morning, Waltz said it was time to for Ukraine to stop “bad-mouthing” Trump because of all the good he and the United States had done for the country. “It’s unacceptable. They need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” he said.
While Ukraine’s language has been spicy in recent days — Zelensky accused the US president of dwelling in a “disinformation space” — most of the heightened rhetoric followed Trump’s own false claims and accusations.
In the United States and Europe, the furor provoked by Trump’s turn against Ukraine is a political issue. But for Ukrainians it’s a matter of life and death.
“Ukrainians feel like they are the only adults left in the room,” Sasha Dovzhyk, director of the Institute for Documentation and Exchange, told Paula Newton on CNN International. “What we have currently in the news is tantrums from someone we considered a world leader, and Ukrainians are basically left to face up to the deconstruction of the world order.”
She added: “We are not new to this fight; the only addition is that currently we are facing aggression and misinformation from another side — which is the side of our great ally the United States of America.” | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/politics/trump-ukraine-mineral-deal-analysis/index.html | 2025-02-21 | acc0e75c-f39d-54a5-a18e-2d0e93544c42 |
Trump’s Cabinet meeting serves as a backdrop to Musk’s power | Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny | If anyone was still in doubt where the power lies in President Donald Trump’s new administration, Wednesday’s first Cabinet meeting made clear it wasn’t in the actual Cabinet.
Most of the Senate-confirmed, top-ranking agency heads sat around the table mostly silent during the more than an hourlong meeting, even though some of them had come prepared to make brief remarks.
Instead, it was the man in the dark coat, sitting in the shadow along the side of the room, whom Trump ceded the meeting to in its opening minutes.
Elon Musk, the billionaire tasked with reforming the government, is now without question Trump’s most powerful adviser. His efforts to dramatically reshape the federal bureaucracy have been met with outcry, confusion and — in the last few days — quiet grumbling even from some Trump allies about his brash tactics.
But if Wednesday’s meeting was any indication, Trump himself has never felt better about empowering his top campaign booster to slash through his government with a proverbial chainsaw.
“Is anybody unhappy with Elon?” he asked Cabinet members at one point, looking around his table.
In elevating Musk and daring Cabinet members to speak up with concerns, in full view of the television cameras, Trump put his team on notice about the power dynamics within his administration. Instead of participating themselves, the members of the Cabinet — those confirmed by the Senate and a handful of nominees still awaiting their votes — served as far more of a backdrop.
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Trump spoke for the vast majority of his meeting. But Musk spoke three times as long as anyone else. It wasn’t until 56 minutes into the meeting that Trump invited Vice President JD Vance to speak, and he only offered 36 seconds of remarks. The housing secretary was invited to speak — but only to offer an opening prayer.
The visuals of the midday conference could hardly have been more apt.
Musk spoke in half-shadow, out of the television lights that had been directed toward Trump and those tasked with leading the departments of Defense, Treasury, State and other agencies of the government.
Those Cabinet officials each get their own assigned chair in the room, with a gold plaque affixed to the seat (most take the chair with them when they depart the administration). Musk sat outside the circle of Senate-confirmed government officials, sandwiched between two mid-level aides.
Even his attire seemed to suggest he wasn’t playing by the normal Washington rules. Unlike Trump’s other male associates in the room, who all wore dark suits and neckties, Musk wore what is now his standard work-wear: a black wool overcoat, a black-on-black “Make America Great Again” hat and a T-shirt underneath with the words “Tech Support.”
That was the description he gave of the job he is doing within Trump’s government.
“As crazy as it sounds, that is almost a literal description of the work that the DOGE team is doing, is helping fix the government computer systems,” he said.
DOGE’s remit extends well beyond tinkering with some software. Young engineers working for Musk have embedded themselves across the federal government, seeking access to sensitive databases, demanding career staffers justify their employment and canceling programs they see as fraudulent.
That had all seemed fine to most of Trump’s Cabinet members, who largely share his objective to reduce the size of the federal government.
“I obviously fully support DOGE. In fact, I turned in the five things I’d done this last week,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said ahead of the meeting. “I’m very proud of that. I’m proud of the employees at USDA.”
It was Musk’s directive over the weekend that all federal employees — from janitors to judges — send an accounting of their work week or risk termination that led to consternation among some secretaries and Cabinet officials, CNN reported Tuesday.
In the federal bureaucracy, chains of command are a way of life — and typically favor those atop the departments and agencies that make up the executive branch. Circumventing that governance structure rubbed some officials the wrong way.
“What we are trying to get to the bottom of is we think there are a number of people on the government payroll who are dead, which is probably why they can’t respond,” Musk said, calling Saturday’s Office of Personnel Management email to the entire federal workforce “a pulse check” not a performance review.
While Trump acknowledged Wednesday that some members of his Cabinet may “disagree a little bit” with Musk’s tactics, the entire meeting sent an unmistakable signal that Musk was operating with the president’s full blessing and there was little room for open dissent.
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Cabinet officials caught off guard and frustrated by Musk’s directives to federal employees
“They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this,” Trump said. “And some disagree a little bit. But I will tell you for the most part, I think everyone’s not only happy, they’re thrilled.”
For a president who takes optics as seriously as Trump does, calling on Musk before any member of his Cabinet – and nearly an hour before Vance – highlighted how Musk has already become a first among equals in the White House and across the government.
Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, who the president has described before as the “most powerful woman in the world,” had a seat at the table during Wednesday’s meeting but did not speak. She departed the meeting early for a luncheon with Senate Republicans, many of whom have questions about Musk’s role.
Wiles laid out the “nuts and bolts” of Musk’s job and said he reports directly to Trump — not to Cabinet secretaries.
“Musk is working directly with the president, and the president then works with the Cabinet secretaries,” Wiles told the group, according to Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, said Wiles explained Musk’s “procedure, what they do and how they do it … how Elon runs it, how he’s hired people, put them together, where they go, what they’re doing next.”
The lion’s share of the Cabinet meeting took place in front of cameras. When Trump sent reporters out of the room after a little more than an hour, the rest of the meeting lasted only about 20 more minutes, hardly much time to discuss the vast challenges facing the administration.
But the president held court on many of those topics himself.
He vowed that his administration would make no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, despite House Republicans passing a budget blueprint that includes a plan to cut $880 billion over a decade from federal health and energy programs. Trump urged GOP lawmakers to support the measure.
“This will not be ‘read my lips,” Trump said, referring to a pledge former President George H.W. Bush once made to not raise taxes by declaring at the 1988 Republican convention: “Read my lips: No new taxes.” Four years later, taxes went up and Bush lost his reelection.
The conversation began with Musk, but quickly devolved into one of Trump’s near-daily question-and-answer sessions. He confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday; his Environmental Protection Agency administrator will cut about 65% of the agency’s workforce and declined to say if he would move to prevent China from taking Taiwan by force.
While some presidents convene their Cabinets during times of crisis or to deliver a unified message, the session on Wednesday signaled the meeting was used for something else: The Trump-Musk show.
CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/cabinet-meeting-musk-trump/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 68f91cad-51a6-5655-ab7d-60e96f9d7a02 |
Anatomy of three Trump elections: How Americans shifted in 2024 vs. 2020 and 2016 | Unknown | By Zachary B. Wolf, Curt Merrill and Way Mullery, CNN
Published: November 6, 2024
President Donald Trump is projected to win the presidency for a second time in a historic comeback. There are some key takeaways in how the countryâs politics have shifted over three straight elections with Trump on the ballot.
CNNâs exit poll results from 2016, 2020 and 2024 reveal how a sour economy was a drag on Vice President Kamala Harris, how she failed to drive an uptick in support among women even though there was an uptick in support for abortion rights, and how Latino men, in particular, gravitated toward Trump.
CNN's exit polls for the 2024 general election include interviews with thousands of voters, both those who cast a ballot on Election Day and those who voted early or absentee. That scope makes them a powerful tool for understanding the demographic profile and political views of voters in this year's election. And their findings will eventually be weighted against the ultimate benchmark: the results of the election themselves. Even so, exit polls are still polls, with margins for error â which means they're most useful when treated as estimates, rather than precise measurements. That's particularly true before the exit poll numbers are adjusted to match final election results.
Exit poll data for 2024 will continue to update and will automatically reflect in the charts below.
Gender
Harrisâ edge among women this year did not exceed either President Joe Bidenâs or former Secretary of State Hillary Clintonâs, a troubling sign for the vice president given that she tried to mobilize female voters on the issue of abortion. Trump maintained an edge among men.
Race/ethnicity and gender
Latino voters, and men in particular, have been moving toward Trump since 2016. This year, Latino men broke in his direction for the first time. Biden won their support by 23 points in 2020 and Trump won them in 2024. Latina women still favored Harris, but by smaller margins than they supported either Clinton or Biden.
Harris maintained strong leads among Black men and women. Trumpâs lead among White men shrank.
Education, race and gender
White voters without college degrees have long represented Trumpâs base of support, something that has remained constant. A shift has occurred among White college-educated voters. They narrowly backed Trump in 2016, but Harris won them in 2024, a split driven by both men and women. Harris won White women with a college degree by about 15 points â an improvement over both Biden and Clinton. Meanwhile, Harris lost some support among voters of color of all education levels.
Age
Democrats lost some support among the youngest voters, a group that overwhelmingly votes for them. But Harris also made gains among the oldest voters, a group that traditionally leans Republican. Itâs an interesting shift.
Where voters live
While Trump lost some support in rural areas in 2020, he returned to full strength there in 2024. Cities remained solidly Democratic. The suburbs stayed the evenly split battleground that decides elections.
View of the economy
Voters were about evenly split in 2020 on whether the economy was in good shape or not, an incredible thing given the raging pandemic that was affecting Americansâ lives that year. In 2024, about two-thirds of voters said the economy was in bad shape. That shift in sentiment benefited Trump.
Familyâs financial situation today
It makes sense that partisans would say their position has or has not improved based on whether the person they support is in the White House. This year, thereâs a big shift. In 2020, just about one-fifth of voters said they were doing worse than four years before. This year, itâs nearly half of voters who say they are doing worse than four years ago. Trump won them overwhelmingly.
Abortion should be:
One story these charts donât fully tell is how the abortion conversation has changed. In 2016, Roe v. Wade guaranteed every American woman a constitutional right to an abortion. In 2024, that federal right is gone, taken away by a conservative majority Trump helped seat on the Supreme Court. In 2020, about half of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In 2024, itâs about two-thirds of Americans who say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. But they didnât necessarily tie that support to their vote for president. About half of people who say abortion should be legal in most cases supported Trump.
Ideology
Liberals and conservatives have moved even further into their partisan corners during the Trump years. Moderates still favored the Democratic nominee in 2024, but by a smaller margin than in 2020.
Vote for president mainly:
People who say they cast their vote more in support of their chosen candidate than against their opponent split for Trump, a signal of his popularity among his supporters. Those motivated more by opposition were largely in Harrisâ camp. Overall, roughly three-quarters of voters said they were mostly voting to support their candidate, not to oppose their rival.
First-year voters
Trumpâs campaign strategy was built around motivating low-propensity voters who donât usually take part in the political process. That paid off because there was a dramatic swing between 2020, when Biden won first-year voters, and 2024, when Trump won them. But thereâs important context in the fact that a smaller portion of voters reported casting their first ballot in 2024 than in 2020.
CNN exit polls are a combination of in-person interviews with Election Day voters and in-person interviews, telephone and online polls measuring the views of early and absentee by-mail voters. They were conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool. In-person interviews on Election Day were conducted at a random sample of 279 polling locations. The results also include interviews with early and absentee voters conducted between October 24 and November 2, in person at 27 early voting locations, by phone or online. Results for the full sample of 22,914 respondents have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points; it is larger for subgroups. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/politics/2020-2016-exit-polls-2024-dg/ | 2025-02-26 | 33585fbc-9a65-53a7-8f24-daca5fb40ecb |
Podcaster and ex-Secret Service agent Dan Bongino will be FBI deputy director, Trump says | Alejandra Jaramillo, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Brian Stelter | Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned right-wing podcaster, has been named the next deputy director of the FBI, President Donald Trump announced Sunday, the latest outsider media personality the president has chosen to be in a significant position of power overseeing large branches of complex government organizations.
The FBI deputy director traditionally is a position held by a career FBI agent. The choice of Bongino is a sign of the blowback toward the interim FBI leadership over its weeklong standoff with Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, over his demand for names of FBI agents involved in the January 6, 2021, and Trump-related investigations.
Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel had told allies initially that Robert Kissane, the acting deputy director, was the likely pick to keep the job until Kissane and Brian Driscoll, the then-FBI acting director before Patel was sworn in, resisted Bove’s demands, according to people briefed on the matter.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday night, Trump touted Bongino as a patriot with “incredible love and passion for our Country” and highlighted his extensive background in law enforcement. He also noted that Bongino “is willing and prepared to give up” his popular daily radio show and podcast, “The Dan Bongino Show,” “in order to serve.”
“Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!” Trump added.
On Friday’s episode of his show, titled “The Golden Age Of Republican Politics, Bongino celebrated the confirmation of his new boss, Patel, saying, “We got Kash through, so now you are going to see what real change is like.”
At nearly the same time Trump posted on social media Sunday, the FBI Agents Association — an organization representing thousands of current and former federal agents — sent a mass email to members welcoming Patel as the new director and outlining the planned collaborative path ahead.
The deputy FBI director has day-to-day oversight of all FBI operations and is responsible for coordinating investigations and intelligence matters in the bureau’s 55 field offices. The deputy director often is briefed on investigations early, and it’s not unusual for the deputy director to know more about cases than the director.
Having an agent in the job is viewed as crucial in helping employees around the country do their work, particularly when conflicts arise with Justice Department prosecutors or other agencies.
In its update to members obtained by CNN, the Agents Association said Patel recently agreed that the next FBI deputy director, who serves as the powerful chief operations officer in charge of the bureau’s approximately 38,000 employees, should be selected from within the ranks of the organization.
FBI officials noted that Patel made no mention of who his deputy would be during his first full day as director.
Following Patel’s Senate confirmation last week, Driscoll returned to his Newark, New Jersey, office and Kissane, the New York FBI counterterrorism chief, was away on a previously planned family vacation.
CNN’s Josh Campbell and Evan Perez contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/dan-bongino-fbi-deputy-director-pick/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 5eb29b26-c36f-52c5-8e30-ff62009f5ee5 |
Trump says US will sell $5 million ‘gold card’ to wealthy foreigners | Michael Williams, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn | President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the US would sell a “gold card” to wealthy foreigners, giving them the right to live and work in the US and offering a path to citizenship in exchange for a $5 million fee.
“We’re going to be selling a gold card,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card.”
Trump said the sale of the cards will begin in about two weeks and suggested millions of such cards could be sold.
Asked whether he would consider selling the cards to Russian oligarchs, Trump responded: “Yeah, possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing alongside Trump, said the card will replace the government’s EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors to pump money into US projects that create jobs and then apply for visas to immigrate to the US.
“They’ll have to go through vetting, of course,” Lutnick said, “to make sure they’re wonderful world-class global citizens.”
Created by Congress in 1992, the EB-5 program can grant green cards to immigrants who make a minimum investment of least $1,050,000, or $800,000 in economically distressed zones called targeted employment areas, to create jobs for American workers, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Businesses connected to Trump and his family have also made use of the program to fund major property developments.
The program drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in Congress during Trump’s first term, with many warning that it had deviated from its goals and was in need of reform.
The Trump administration in 2019 moved to raise the minimum investment amount for targeted economic areas to $900,000, and $1.8 million in other locations, but a federal judge struck down the change in 2021, finding that the acting Homeland Security secretary who authorized the rule had not been properly appointed.
The program was last renewed in 2022 during the Biden administration, with the minimum investment requirements being raised to their current levels. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/us-gold-card-foreigners-trump/index.html | 2025-02-25 | 95070b3b-a2cc-59ac-8b92-d687182fb1ac |
Acting IRS chief to retire amid upheaval at agency | Katelyn Polantz | The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service plans to retire Friday, the agency announced Tuesday, after weathering weeks of chaos and cutbacks at the agency since President Donald Trump took office.
Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell’s departure comes abruptly as the agency heads into the crunch time of tax filing season.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in a news release that the IRS will be led by Melanie Krause, the agency’s chief operating officer who has been sympathetic to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency efforts within the agency. Trump intends for former Rep. Billy Long to head the IRS.
“The IRS has been my professional home for 38 years,” O’Donnell said in a news release. “I care deeply about the institution and its people and am confident that Melanie will be an outstanding steward of the Service until a new Commissioner is confirmed.”
He was named temporarily to the role after IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel stepped down when Trump took office last month. The New York Times was first to report on O’Donnell’s retirement.
Krause’s elevation comes after she spent several years as the IRS’ top data specialist before being promoted to chief operating officer last April. To some within the agency, Krause is seen as more sympathetic to DOGE’s work within the Treasury Department than other long-time career officials.
DOGE’s attempts to gain access to software systems and data at the IRS and within the Treasury Department have spurred significant pushback both within the department and in court, where privacy cases have limited some access to private information and code.
DOGE is seeking to gain access to the IRS’ data systems, which hold highly sensitive personal and financial information on more than 100 million individual tax filers and businesses. A group of taxpayer advocates, small-business groups and unions filed an emergency lawsuit in federal court to “halt DOGE’s unfettered and lawless access to personal data at levels (that) endanger the privacy of hundreds of millions of Americans.” The judge hasn’t yet responded to the requests in the case.
The IRS fired nearly 7,000 workers last week, according to a person familiar with the agency. The workers who lost their jobs were more recently hired and therefore had probationary status, making them easier to cut loose, the source said.
The IRS workers who lost their jobs were described as largely auditors and support workers involved in compliance work, many of whom were hired during the last months of the Biden administration.
This story has been updated with additional developments. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/irs-doug-odonnell-retirement/index.html | 2025-02-25 | eb1ec3fb-9f6f-587a-ace7-a74b9a7d8767 |
White House point man at Homeland Security shared ‘martial law option’ post to keep Trump in office | Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck | The Trump administration’s new point man for dealings with the Department of Homeland Security is a former far-right podcast host and election denier who once shared an article calling for “martial law” to keep Donald Trump in office following his loss in the 2020 election.
Paul Ingrassia and the Twitter account for a podcast he co-hosted posted the remark and similar sentiments on social media in December 2020 and January 2021, according to a CNN KFile review of deleted and still-active posts by Ingrassia himself and the account of the podcast.
The 29-year-old Ivy League-educated lawyer now serves as the second Trump administration’s White House liaison to the DHS, a key role that has historically involved managing the administration’s relationship with the department and overseeing the placement of political appointees.
Since assuming the White House role, Ingrassia was present for the release of prisoners convicted of crimes for the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and, according to The New York Times, had an office near Attorney General Pam Bondi while he was briefly at the Justice Department.
CNN reached out to Ingrassia, his podcast’s co-host, the White House, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for comment but did not receive a response.
On Monday, ABC News reported that Ingrassia was pushed out of the Justice Department as liaison following clashes between him and the chief of staff over pushing to hire candidates with “exceptional loyalty” to the president.
CNN confirmed that Ingrassia is no longer at the Justice Department and his LinkedIn profile now lists him at Homeland Security.
Ingrassia graduated from Cornell Law School in 2022 and during the 2024 Republican presidential primary published a discredited theory that candidate Nikki Haley was not a natural born citizen and not eligible to be president. The claim was later boosted by Trump on Truth Social. Ingrassia later called Haley an “insufferable bitch,” in a recently deleted January 2024 tweet.
Prior to his role in government, his comments on Twitter (now known as X) and the “Right on Point” podcast he co-hosted with his sister echoed some of the most extreme election denial rhetoric of the time. The podcast’s Twitter account – which Ingrassia linked to episode descriptions, his Twitter, and a Parler account he made in December 2020 – sent tweets in December 2020 calling for “secession” if court cases meant to keep Trump in office failed and numerous tweets calling to “support martial law.”
“Time for @realDonaldTrump to declare martial law and secure his re-election! It’s the only way,” the podcast’s account posted in December 2020 in a since-deleted tweet.
In the days leading up to the Capitol riot, Ingrassia publicly mocked conservatives who opposed violent measures to keep Trump in power.
The podcast account also posted a quote from President John F. Kennedy the night of January 6, 2021, reading, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, (will) make violent revolution inevitable.”
In one post from January 2, 2021, Ingrassia called right-wing commentator Seb Gorka “soft” after Gorka rebuked a post that called for then-Vice President Mike Pence to be arrested and executed by firing squad for not supporting attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Both Ingrassia and the podcast have embraced rhetoric branding fellow Republicans as traitors.
Ingrassia’s tweets have likened Pence to Brutus and Judas, saying he belongs in the “ninth circle of hell.” He has repeatedly called for expelling “traitors” from the GOP.
The “Right on Point” podcast’s social media similarly demanded purges of so-called “traitors” from the Republican Party, including then-Attorney General Bill Barr in December 2020, whom the podcast labeled a “Bush-affiliated neocon of the Washington swamp,” – and whom Ingrassia has also labeled a “traitor” and disparaged as being part of the Washington, DC, “swamp.”
Four days after the Gorka tweet, Ingrassia shared a blog post from his podcast that argued for the “martial law option” to keep Trump in power, urging him to use emergency powers to delay Joe Biden’s inauguration. The post claimed Trump had a “moral imperative” to ensure election security and called for a military-run re-vote in key battleground states where he had challenged the results.
The blog post was signed by the pseudonym Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus - an early Roman Republic statesman whom Ingrassia has referenced publicly in tweets and blog posts.
The blog post also contained other references to ancient Rome, including a picture of a statue of the first Roman emperor Augustus that Ingrassia later shared in a 2023 tweet and images of the assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus – the latter of whom Ingrassia has publicly compared to former Vice President Mike Pence.
“To that end, a martial law orchestrated revote in at least the four defendant-states in the quashed Texas lawsuit: Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin is needed,” the post read.
The blog post also suggested the president “should use his emergency powers to postpone Inauguration Day” until a special counsel concludes an investigation into election fraud.
This proposal is unconstitutional. The 20th Amendment of the constitution asserts that the new term of each elected president begins at noon on January 20 of the year following the election.
In the weeks after the election, Ingrassia’s podcast changed its name on X from “Right on Point” to “STOP THE STEAL HQ” and began selling signs for what it said was Trump’s legal defense.
Trump repeatedly reposted articles Ingrassia wrote for the far-right conspiracy website Gateway Pundit on his Truth Social page. Ingrassia himself declares in his social media bio that he is “President Trump’s favorite writer.”
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this story.
Correction: A photo caption was corrected to reflect Paul Ingrassia’s current title as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/paul-ingrassia-trump-administration-liaison-dhs-kfile/index.html | 2025-02-26 | d4416336-a5fb-5dfb-8518-5f76484fd9ac |
Tracking Trump’s overhaul of the federal workforce | Annette Choi, Alex Leeds Matthews, Danya Gainor, Amy O’Kruk | Thousands of federal workers have been laid off or issued immediate termination notifications as part of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s plan to cut spending and downsize the federal government.
CNN is tracking the chaotic and rapidly evolving situation at federal offices in Washington and across the United States, including the percentage of workers impacted at select agencies, reactions from fired workers and more context about the size of the federal workforce across all 50 states. This page will be updated as new reporting becomes available.
Here is what we know about the cuts so far, by select federal departments and agencies:
Some agencies not included in the graphic above have laid off an unknown number of employees or are expecting unknown levels of staffing cuts. This includes the Central Intelligence Agency, which let go a number of probationary employees in early March.
While the numbers tell part of the story, CNN has been talking to countless fired workers across all agencies. Here are some anecdotal reactions about individual terminations:
Wondering what kinds of jobs federal workers do across the 50 states? Click or tap the drop down to explore:
To put the potential impacts of widespread federal employee layoffs into perspective, CNN analyzed data from the US Census Bureau to see where federal employees have recently reported their residences. While a large share of employees reside in the greater Washington, DC, area, federal workers live in all 50 states and are currently represented by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Another way to look at these numbers is to view the regions with the most federal government employees:
This story has been updated with additional information.
Methodology | CNN talked to federal agencies and impacted workers directly, analyzed dozens of statements and internal memos from government officials and evaluated additional reporting from Associated Press, NPR, Politico, New York Times, ABC News and Reuters to determine the approximate number of workers impacted from federal departments and agencies. These numbers are subject to change based on updated figures from government officials and various media reports, and in some instances, include announced firings or reports of announced firings. For this project, CNN is not tracking federal workers who are reinstated after their initial job impacts and is not tracking those placed on administrative leave or those who take voluntary buyouts. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/politics/tracking-federal-workforce-firings-dg/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 5a018e5b-2813-5867-a1f8-b1a05ea322ff |
For Trump, 3 court losses in 90 minutes | Devan Cole | Three different federal judges delivered legal setbacks and slap downs to President Donald Trump in the span of an hour and a half on Tuesday in a series of cases challenging controversial moves taken during the early days of his second term.
The rulings from judges in Washington, DC, and Washington state are the latest to pump the brakes on Trump’s agenda, underscoring the critical role courts have taken on for foes of Trump looking to frustrate his actions.
Related article
Skeptical judges may make the Trump administration explain what it’s doing behind the scenes
In DC, Judge Loren AliKhan issued a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks the administration from freezing federal grants and loans. The ruling expands an earlier block the appointee of former President Joe Biden issued last month shortly after the White House ordered the funding freeze.
“In the simplest terms, the freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning. Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than twenty-four hours. The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable,” AliKhan wrote in her ruling.
She went on to say that the spending freeze was “irrational, imprudent, and precipitated a nationwide crisis.”
The issue of withholding federal funds has become a major flashpoint during the opening weeks of Trump’s second term, with other pending cases challenging the White House’s decision to suspend all foreign assistance.
Shortly before AliKhan issued her ruling, a separate jurist in the DC federal courthouse – Judge Amir Ali – ordered the Trump administration to pay foreign aid-related money owed to government contractors and nonprofit groups by Wednesday night, amid the legal fight over the freezing of USAID and State Department funds.
That order amounted to a legal reprimand after the plaintiffs in the cases repeatedly accused the administration of not complying with Ali’s earlier temporary restraining order that revived the funding contracts and grants that existed at the end of the Biden administration.
Ali – also a Biden appointee – rebuffed an earlier call by the challengers for the administration to be held in contempt for its alleged non-compliance. But he issued a new order requiring, in more forceful terms, that the government pay money owed to contractors and non-profits for work that had already been completed by the February 13 order.
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Supreme Court orders new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip
Meanwhile, across the country in Washington state, a federal judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that halts Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions and funding.
Judge Jamal Whitehead, who was also appointed by Biden, said that Trump’s “actions amount to an effective nullification of congressional will in establishing the nation’s refugee admissions program.”
“While the president has substantial discretion to suspend refugee admissions, that authority is not limitless,” the judge said.
Trump’s executive order, signed on his first day back in office, also directed a review of the refugee program and stated that resettlement should only resume if deemed to be in the “national interest” – a move critics argue is a de facto refugee ban.
The administration is facing at least 80 cases challenging a range of actions taken during Trump’s first few weeks back in office.
The plaintiffs behind those challenges have seen some success as they’ve pressed judges to issue emergency relief during the early stages of the litigation. But the White House, too, has scored some court victories in cases brought against the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce and shutter the US’ foreign aid agency.
Many of the cases are finally getting a more thorough review by judges who are mulling whether to issue preliminary injunctions to block the contested government action. Such a decision is often the final trial court-level ruling issued in cases before they’re appealed by the losing side.
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The White House is now deciding who can cover the president, reversing decades of precedent
As AliKhan explained her reasoning for issuing the preliminary injunction in the funding freeze case, she said the nonprofits that brought the case were likely to succeed on their claims that the freeze was unlawful.
“The scope of power (the Office of Management and Budget) seeks to claim is ‘breathtaking,’ and its ramifications are massive,” she wrote. “Because there is no clear statutory hook for this broad assertion of power, Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of this claim.”
And AliKhan noted that her earlier order temporarily halting the funding freeze was just that – temporary.
“The relief Plaintiffs now seek is a more durable version of the relief they sought then, when their members were on the brink of extinction,” she wrote. “In sum, Plaintiffs have marshalled significant evidence indicating that the funding freeze would be economically catastrophic – and in some circumstances, fatal – to their members.”
CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Angelica Franganillo Diaz contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional details. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/trump-court-losses-immigration-spending-freeze/index.html | 2025-02-25 | b70e4e41-4bae-580b-a028-8cec24bf1845 |
Donald Trump's criminal cases, in one place | Unknown | By Amy O'Kruk and Curt Merrill, CNN
Updated January 10, 2025
President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case. Judge Juan Merchan upheld Trumpâs conviction in the case on January 3, 2025, rejecting the president-electâs effort to throw out the juryâs verdict because of his reelection in November. Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge on January 10.
Previously, special counsel Jack Smith announced on November 25 that he was dropping both his election subversion case and the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump. While Smith is dropping his prosecution of Trump, he said that prosecutors would keep alive their case against two of his employees in the classified documents case.
Since Trumpâs reelection, Smith had been in talks with Justice Department leadership about how to end both cases. Trump has said he would fire Smith once he retook the office, shattering previous norms around special counsel investigations.
On September 12, some charges in the Fulton County case were thrown out by the judge.
Catch up on what you need to know about Trumpâs cases, including key evidence, charges and what could be next in the legal process.
Investigation
Indictment
Arraignment
Trial
Verdict
Appeals
Trump was first indicted in March 2023 by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult-film star in 2016. On May 30, 2024 he was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree by 12 jurors. Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Trump was a part of an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election. Further, they alleged he was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including the $130,000 payment. Trump pleaded not guilty.
On November 19, 2024, the Manhattan District Attorneyâs Office told Judge Juan Merchan it would agree to delay Trumpâs sentencing, which had been set for November 26, to allow time for the anticipated litigation around the president-electâs expected motion to dismiss the case. On November 22, Merchan indefinitely postponed the sentencing and granted Trumpâs request to file a motion to dismiss the case. On January 3, 2025, Merchan rejected Trump's effort to throw out the juryâs verdict because of his reelection in November and upheld the conviction. Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge on January 10.
Investigation
Indictment
Arraignment
Trial
Verdict
Appeals
Trump was indicted in June 2023 by a federal grand jury in Miami for taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the governmentâs attempts to retrieve the materials. Both Trump and his aide Walt Nauta have pleaded not guilty.
On July 27, 2023, the special counsel charged Trump with three new counts, including one additional count of willful retention of national defense information. Nauta was also charged on two new counts. A third defendant, Carlos de Oliveira, was added to the case and charged with four counts, including being added to the obstruction conspiracy charged in the original indictment.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case on July 15, 2024, saying in a ruling that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution.
Smith announced on November 25, 2024, that he was dropping both his election subversion case and the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump.
Use the arrows to see the full list of charges.
Investigation
Indictment
Arraignment
Trial
Verdict
Appeals
Special counsel Jack Smith announced on November 25, 2024, that he was dropping both his election subversion case and the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump.
Smith had filed a superseding indictment on August 27 in his investigation into alleged efforts by the former president and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. The new indictment slims down the allegations against the 2024 Republican presidential nominee in light of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling, though none of the four charges have been dropped. In the reworked indictment, prosecutors argue several times that Trump didn't have any constitutionally assigned presidential duties regarding the post-election transition of power. In one instance, prosecutors pointed to the Electoral College certification proceedings that took place during a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. The criminal charges in part accuse Trump of illegally obstructing the certification proceeding. The Trump campaign has previously denied the allegations and Trump pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
On February 6, 2024, a federal appeals court ruled that Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results. On July 1, the Supreme Court rejected that decision, ruling that Trump can claim limited immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken in office â likely further delaying a trial in the case.
On Oct. 2, 2024, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., released a 165-page filing from Smith in which the special counsel argues that Trump acted to overturn the election in his private capacity as a candidate, rather than in his official capacity as a president. The document, which offers the fullest account of the special counsel's evidence, lays out the prosecution's case for a trial judge in a way that they believe would overcome the immunity protections around the presidency that the Supreme Court outlined.
The initial charging documents repeatedly reference six co-conspirators, but as is common practice, their identities were withheld because they have not been charged with any crimes. However, based on quotes in the indictment and other context, CNN can identify five of the six co-conspirators below.
Investigation
Indictment
Arraignment
Trial
Verdict
Appeals
An Atlanta-based grand jury on August 14, 2023, indicted Trump and 18 others on state charges stemming from their alleged efforts to overturn the former presidentâs 2020 electoral defeat. Four people have pleaded guilty.
The historic indictment is the fourth criminal case that Trump is facing. The charges, brought in a sweeping investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, cover some of the most overt efforts by the former president and his allies to meddle in the 2020 presidential election. Unlike the election subversion charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith, Willisâ case will be insulated if Trump is reelected in 2024; he will not be able to pardon himself or his allies of any state law convictions, nor will he be able to order the state-level prosecutors to withdraw the charges. Trump pleaded not guilty via court filing, waiving an in-court appearance as allowed by Georgia law.
On March 13, 2024, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six of the 41 counts from the indictment, including three that applied to Trump. The partial dismissal does not mean that the entire indictment has been dismissed. McAfeeâs partial dismissal left most of the sprawling racketeering indictment intact.
On June 5, a Georgia appeals court indefinitely paused the case for Trump and some co-defendants until a panel of judges rules on whether Willis should be disqualified.
On September 12, some of the charges were thrown out by the judge.
Use the arrows to see the full list of charges. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/07/politics/trump-indictments-criminal-cases/ | 2025-02-26 | 8c3c8dc2-3039-534c-aa90-e7ac3b5f210d |
‘One of the most shameful incidents in modern history’: Sen. Schiff on US siding with Russia in UN resolution on Ukraine war | Ally Hill | President Donald Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will come to the White House to sign an agreement on natural resources and reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine. Democratic senator from California Adam Schiff joins CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to discuss.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/video/adam-schiff-trump-russia-un-zelensky-ukraine-tsr-digvid | 2025-02-26 | 61145a28-dc5a-5d68-b3fc-7e18cb18c883 |
How Colorado Trump voters feel about the president’s tumultuous new term | John King | Take a ride with David Hayes around his Colorado ranch and you learn right away he is a feisty, funny guy.
“I tried farming for a while,” he told a visitor. “I would rather get run over by a bison.”
There is just one bison remaining on the Spomer Ranch, down from 60 or 70 a few years ago. “I’m retiring,” Hayes said. “Just about 70 and my body isn’t working too good anymore.”
Trouble is the last bison’s name. And Hayes was quick to add that trouble is what he sees in Washington one month into President Donald Trump’s second act.
“I really don’t like him as a person,” Hayes said. “I think he is arrogant. Kind of a jerk.”
Yes, Hayes believes the federal workforce can be trimmed considerably. But to him, the current approach seems more impulsive than coherent. “I’m not sure (Trump) thought through the process,” Hayes said. “It’s kind of like, ‘Let’s just get it over with and dump everybody.’”
Plus, he doesn’t trust or believe Elon Musk and bristles when he hears the billionaire and his team are trying to gain access to sensitive tax and Social Security records.
“I don’t like it,” Hayes said. “I don’t think they should be in our business.”
Hayes rolled his eyes as he recounted Trump and Musk alleging there are numerous people allegedly between the ages of 100 and 150 claiming Social Security.
“Can you believe any of that crap?” he said as we drove across the 100-acre ranch. “You can’t substantiate it. You can’t believe it. So that is a trust issue. … (Trump) is doing all this stuff and I don’t think he understands the ramifications of what he is doing.”
It is a damning take from a blue-collar three-time Trump voter who lives in a rural area where Democrats have struggled in recent years. But Democrats should hold the celebration. We ask Hayes what he would choose if he could redo his 2024 vote now that he has watched Trump’s tumultuous first month. “I would still do Trump,” he said.
That was a recurring theme as we visited Colorado’s 8th Congressional District as part of our “All Over the Map” project. The district stretches from the northern Denver suburbs to just south of the Wyoming border. It is 40% Hispanic, evenly divided politically and will be critical as House Republicans defend their tiny majority in the 2026 midterms. The president’s political standing is almost always the best midterm barometer, and on this first visit we focused on Trump voters.
“I love it,” Esmeralda Ramirez-Ray said of Trump’s frenetic first month. “That is what I voted for.”
She wholeheartedly backed Musk’s march through federal agencies.
“I don’t know why it surprises anybody,” she said, noting Musk’s big role in the final weeks of the campaign. “You haven’t been paying attention if that is a surprise.”
Asked where she gets her news, Ramirez-Ray listed Musk’s X social media platform and the Epoch Times, a far-right publication known for its support of Trump and its history of criticizing vaccines and advancing conspiracy theories. “I don’t watch Fox,” she said. “I don’t watch CNN. I don’t watch ABC, NBC, any of that. … It’s really hard for me to get news I can trust or that I can believe in.”
Ramirez-Ray was raised as a Democrat and said she and her parents faced backlash from other Latinos when they warmed to Trump back in 2016. “They couldn’t believe someone of Hispanic origin would support somebody that was being labeled a racist. We didn’t believe that he was, and we campaigned, and we voted for him.”
Now, she sees a first month of keeping promises. She does air one disagreement with Trump — wishing he would change his tone when it comes to immigration.
“I was raised as a migrant worker working in the fields,” Ramirez-Ray said in an interview at her office in Greeley, 65 miles north of Denver. “Those are the people out there picking their crops. So even though I support Trump, I don’t believe he is the end-all, be-all savior of humanity. Nobody is.”
Ramirez-Ray works as an interpreter for court defendants who don’t understand English, and many of her clients are undocumented immigrants who work in meatpacking plants, construction, farming or other jobs. She agrees that some undocumented immigrants are violent, but said she wishes Trump would understand “the majority of my clients who are here are good, honest people trying to make a living, and there should be a legal pathway for them to remain here.”
Todd Waufle founded Satire Brewing in 2018. It is in Thornton, a community 12 miles north of Denver, that Waufle describes as “50-50” politically and where one bipartisan complaint is the fast-moving suburban sprawl.
“The day after the election, yeah, it was 50-50,” Waufle said. “Half the people were crying in their beers, really upset. I mean really emotional. … Then the other half are, like, high-fiving and cheering and jovial.”
Count Waufle among the jovial, then and now.
“I like him going full-speed,” Waufle said of Trump. “Let’s get things done. Let’s find out if the policies work, if they don’t work. … I’m all for him getting in action.”
Like Ramirez-Ray, Waufle has no issues with Musk and his work, at least not yet.
“He can make things happen, too,” Waufle said. “You got two guys in there playing, working.”
Not that Waufle loves everything in the Trump agenda.
Business at the brewery is solid, and he constantly debates expanding. During a tour, Waufle shows us new fermentation tanks not yet in use and an open space where he wants to install canning machines so he can increase production and sales. But that is on hold for now because of Trump’s tariffs on aluminum.
“If you fly enough, you understand,” he said of navigating the early days of the new Trump term. “Buckle your seat belt. Turbulence ahead.”
But he voiced confidence that things will ultimately settle to a point that he feels comfortable with his expansion plan. Waufle’s approach is a trademark of many Trump voters: accept the things that make them cringe to get the things they believe Trump is best equipped to deliver, beginning with a better economy and a stronger border.
“He’s a little pompous, arrogant,” Waufle said. “It’s not necessarily my style. But it works for him. … Trump is going to say what he is going to say and, yes, some of it is going to be exaggerated, some is not going to be true. But at the end of the day, I think you got to sift through all that. Is he going to get things done? Is he going to get the country moving the right way? Is the border going to get taken care of? Are we going to cut costs?”
Austin Jenkins cast his November ballot hoping lower taxes and less regulation would help his family and small businesses, which include a cocktail bar and the Greeley Hatchet House — an axe-throwing venue.
“I think he is a little outrageous and wild at times,” Jenkins, 28, said of Trump. “I’m not necessarily a Trump guy. I’m just much more conservative in my opinions.’
His wife’s family are Democrats, and the conversation with Jenkins is rich with evidence that his politics are shifting as he starts a family and his businesses take root in Greeley’s diverse community.
“They have taught me a lot and it has softened my heart a lot, too,” Jenkins said.
He worries that Trump’s tariffs will add costs and stress to small businesses already dealing with high costs and high interest rates.
And Jenkins sees fear in a Latino community he describes as vital to his businesses and the area.
“We’ve got friends and family that we care about a lot and, like, they’re nervous they are going to drop their kids off at school and somebody’s going to grab them.”
Jenkins is all for a stronger border and a more organized immigration process. But he wishes Trump would accept the reality of communities such as Greeley that have significant numbers of undocumented workers.
“The hardest-working people I’ve ever met,” Jenkins said. “It’s unfortunate what’s happening. I think there is a better way to go about it. I don’t know if it is necessarily just force them out.”
The blizzard of executive actions also is unsettling.
“I thought there’s supposed to be checks and balances,” Jenkins said.
Trump won’t be on the 2026 ballot, of course, and we are just a month into his new term. But if concerns like those Jenkins has about immigration, Musk and presidential power continue to grow, battleground Republicans such as freshman GOP Rep. Gabe Evans here could find a more difficult midterm climate. Evans won by a little more than 2,000 votes, and the district is already a top Democratic target.
For now, though, what comes up most among voters here is the same issue that dominated the 2024 race.
“The big thing here is the cost of living is getting crazy here in Colorado,” Jenkins said. “It seems like everybody is kind of drowning a little bit.”
Hayes, the soon-to-retire bison rancher, jokes that “eggs are worth more than diamonds” now. He also is trying to solve another cost-of-living issue that makes him cranky — not a good thing for any incumbent politician.
“I have one drug that went from $4.60 in December to $45 in January,” Hayes said. “Nobody knew why. It’s those kinds of things that kind of tick a guy off a little bit.” | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/colorado-trump-voters-prices-immigration/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 51b273ab-8ab3-55b8-8761-5b6fd963c4dd |
Messy House-Senate battle takes shape over fate of Trump agenda | Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju | Senate Republicans are signaling they’re ready to take a buzzsaw to the House’s plans for President Donald Trump’s first major legislative package in a high-stakes clash that is likely just the start of the obstacles Hill Republicans will face this spring.
Just hours after Speaker Mike Johnson and the House GOP passed a hard-fought blueprint that allows lawmakers to start drafting Trump’s sweeping agenda, key Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader John Thune, signaled they won’t simply accept that same plan.
“Last night was a first step in what will be a long process and certainly not an easy one,” Thune told reporters in the Capitol of the House plan, which looks vastly different than what the Senate passed on its own last week. Unlike the Senate’s national security and energy focused blueprint, the House plan also includes temporary tax cuts, deep spending cuts and a two-year debt limit hike.
Other GOP senators were more blunt about the House’s starkly different approach. Asked whether the Senate should simply adopt the House plan, Sen. John Kennedy told CNN: “Short answer is likely no. Long answer is hell no.”
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Kennedy added: “That’s not a denigration of the good work that the House has done. It’s just that senators have thoughts of their own.”
But some House Republicans are just as forceful that they won’t fold on their blueprint. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said there is a “group of us” willing to vote against any plan that removes the $1.5 trillion in cuts in the House plan, which he called “non-negotiable,” referring to their proposal as “the bare minimum.”
“I think our job now is to relay to [the Senate], if they want to get this thing passed, they’re going to pretty well go with what we had,” Norman said. “The House controls the purse strings, not the Senate.”
The urgent — and politically fraught — discussions on how to settle those differences have already begun. And Thune and Johnson met with Trump Wednesday afternoon, after the two Hill GOP leaders huddled earlier in the morning.
Both chambers need to adopt identical blueprints to unlock the procedural powers that would allow Republicans to pass their priorities without Democratic votes.
“My admonition to the Senate is keep it as close as possible to the House version,” Johnson told CNN. “We demonstrated last night how delicate the balance here is, and if you change too many of the terms, it’s gonna be very difficult to pass in the House side.”
If the two chambers fail to pass identical blueprints, Republicans fear that key pieces of Trump’s agenda will be stalled for good. The House GOP’s chief tax-writer, Rep. Jason Smith, has warned that if the Senate scuttles the House plans for taxes, they’ll be forced to work on a package with Democrats, which would scale back their ambitions. The same problem would await Trump on the debt limit if Senate Republicans choose not to pass it in their own bill.
“I don’t love that idea but depending on what else is in there, potentially,” Sen. Mike Lee said when asked if he’d back a debt ceiling increase as part of the final bill.
But both the Senate and House GOP conferences have small majorities with a wide span of ideologies: Thune must satisfy members from Sens. Susan Collins of Maine to Rand Paul of Kentucky, while Johnson must appease both swing-district moderates and hardliners in the Freedom Caucus.
One of the greatest challenges for Republicans is that the Senate and House-passed budget bills aren’t even close to similar.
The Senate bill did not include a roadmap to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts nor did it raise the debt ceiling, an item that some conservatives may be resistant to include in the Senate’s package. Senators are also looking to make tax cuts permanent, a move that could balloon the price tag of the potential package and dwarf the savings targets House Republicans sought.
Another huge hurdle will be getting Senate Republicans to agree to the trillions of dollars in spending cuts that Johnson was forced to add by House hardliners.
The House GOP plan calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts — and if it doesn’t hit $2 trillion, it forces tax-writers to downsize some of their plans. Almost $1 trillion of that will come from savings in the Energy and Commerce committee, which even some Republicans fear could mean steep cuts to the popular health program Medicaid.
That’s yet another nonstarter for some Senate Republicans, particularly those from states where Medicaid enrollment accelerated after local leaders accepted more federal cash under the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, one of the states that expanded Medicaid under the health care law, said any possibility of cuts to the program was a nonstarter for him.
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Hawley told CNN he’s “glad” the House advanced a package to accelerate the process, but said he’s “not going to vote for Medicaid cuts,” adding that 21% of the residents in his home state receive Medicaid or similar benefits.
“Anything that slashes into benefits for people who are working, I’m not going to be for, and I think that’s probably going to be true for a lot of my colleagues,” he said.
“It’s just a framework, but it’ll need to be changed,” Hawley continued, explaining that GOP senators want “a bunch of changes” including making the 2017 tax cuts permanent.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said that she plans to sound the alarm to colleagues over potential Medicaid cuts, warning that could be “devastating” to her home state.
“So we’re getting an update to all of our numbers, but I have shared with colleagues over here that our assessment of it is that the impact, once again, to Alaska, if we see the kinds of cuts that are being floated over on the House right now, could be devastating to Alaska,” she said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, who is up for reelection next year in North Carolina, which also expanded Medicaid, offered a word of caution about the House’s plans for health care cuts.
Asked about Medicaid cuts, Tillis pointed to his experience in the state legislature where he contended they made cuts to programs in an “orderly fashion.”
“If you just do it cold turkey, there’s going to be a lot of unintended consequences that our members need to think through, whether it’s a red state or blue state,” Tillis said.
Many Senate Republicans, including Thune, said they are mindful that the House GOP was forced to include specific provisions, like those big spending cuts, to appease their hard-right flank.
Asked whether Johnson gave up too much on spending to get the budget deal across the finish line, Thune said: “I think they did what they needed to do to pass the bill. They got it done so congratulations to them but it’s step number one in a multi-step process.”
Johnson and his leadership team, Kennedy said, did a “phenomenal job” in advancing their blueprint with essentially no room for error.
“It was a big step, and now we’re going to step two and we’ll take step three and step four and we’ll have some days we’ll take two steps forward and three backwards, but we’re going to get this done,” the Louisiana Republican said, adding that he’s “very, very, very encouraged.”
“We’ll hug and have a cup of hot cocoa and start the real work,” Kennedy quipped about the process ahead.
CNN’s Alison Main, Veronica Stracqualursi and Aileen Graef contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/house-senate-republicans-trump-agenda/index.html | 2025-02-26 | dd130f3e-785c-586f-af07-cd7fd497bbc4 |
Fact check: Trump makes numerous false claims at Cabinet meeting | Daniel Dale | President Donald Trump made numerous false claims in remarks at the first Cabinet meeting of his new administration. The falsehoods spanned a wide variety of topics, including aid to Ukraine, trade with the European Union, the history of the EU, inflation, mail-in voting, drug overdose deaths, and where the US stands in international education rankings.
Trump also left out critical context from two claims related to Elon Musk’s efforts to reshape the federal government. Here is a fact check of some of Trump’s statements.
US vs. European wartime aid to Ukraine: Trump repeated his regular false claim that the US has provided $350 billion in aid to Ukraine while Europe has collectively provided just $100 billion in aid to Ukraine. That is not close to correct.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank that closely tracks wartime aid to Ukraine, Europe – the European Union plus individual European countries – had collectively committed far more total wartime military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine through December 2024 (about $259 billion) than the US committed (about $125 billion). Europe had also allocated more military, financial and humanitarian aid (about $139 billion) than the US allocated (about $120 billion).
The US did have a slim lead in one particular category, military aid allocated, providing about $67 billion compared to about $65 billion from Europe. But even that was nowhere close to the giant gulf Trump described.
It’s possible to arrive at different totals using different counting methodologies, but there is no apparent basis for Trump’s “$350 billion” figure. The US government inspector general overseeing the Ukraine response has said on its website that “as of September 30, 2024, the U.S. Ukraine response funding totals nearly $183 billion, with $130.1 billion obligated and $86.7 billion disbursed” – and that includes funding spent in the US or sent to countries other than Ukraine.
Obama’s Ukraine aid: Trump revived a false claim he regularly made during his first presidency about the Obama administration’s military aid to Ukraine, saying that “they said” that Obama “gave sheets.” While he didn’t say who “they” are, it’s not true that the Obama administration merely provided bedsheets to Ukraine (or “pillows and sheets,” as Trump used to say). While it’s true that the Obama administration declined to provide weapons to Ukraine, it provided more than $600 million in security assistance to Ukraine between 2014 and 2016 that included counter-artillery and counter-mortar radars, armored Humvees, tactical drones, night vision devices and medical supplies.
The European Union and trade: Trump repeated a false claim that the European Union doesn’t “accept, essentially, our farm products.” The claim is false even with the “essentially” qualifier. The EU bought $12.3 billion worth of US agricultural exports in the 2023 fiscal year, making it the fourth-largest export market for US agricultural and related products behind China, Mexico and Canada, according to official data.
The formation of the European Union: Trump repeated his false claim that the European Union “was formed in order to screw the United States; I mean, look, let’s be honest.” Experts on the EU told CNN during Trump’s first presidency that there is no basis for such claims, noting that US presidents had consistently supported European integration efforts.
“The President’s claims are preposterous,” Desmond Dinan, a public policy professor at George Mason University who is an expert in the history of European integration, said during Trump’s first presidency. “The European Communities (forerunner of the EU) were formed in the 1950s as part of a joint US-Western European plan to stabilize and secure Western Europe and promote prosperity, by means of trade liberalization and economic growth, throughout the shared transatlantic space.”
Tariffs on China: Trump repeated two of his regular false claims about tariffs on imported Chinese products. He falsely claimed that the US took in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs “from China” during his presidency, then falsely claimed that before his presidency, no other president took in even “10 cents.”
The US was generating billions per year in revenue from tariffs on China before Trump took office; in fact, the US has had tariffs on Chinese imports since the 1700s. Second, US importers pay these tariffs, not China, and often pass on some or all of the cost to US consumers. Study after study has found that Americans bore the overwhelming majority of the cost of Trump’s tariffs.
Trade with Canada: Trump repeated his vague claim that the US is losing $200 billion per year to Canada; he didn’t define “lose,” but this is how he generally refers to trade deficits, and he has previously claimed the US has a $200 billion annual trade deficit with Canada.In fact, the US goods and services trade deficit with Canada was about $40.6 billion in 2023, according to US government figures; even if you only consider trade in goods and ignore the services trade at which the US excels, the US deficit with Canada was about $72.3 billion, still far shy of Trump’s figure. And it’s worth noting that the deficit is overwhelmingly caused by the US importing a large quantity of inexpensive Canadian oil, which helps keep Americans’ gas prices down.
Inflation during Trump’s first term: Trump repeated his false claim that there was “no inflation” under his first presidency. In fact, year-over-year inflation was 1.4% in the month he left office, January 2021 – relatively low, but not nonexistent – and prices rose about 8% from the beginning of that presidency to the end.
Inflation today: Trump baselessly claimed that “the inflation is stopping, slowly.” Inflation rose to 3% in January (a month largely under the Biden administration), and there is no indication that it is “stopping,” slowly or otherwise; Trump is pushing various policies that many economists describe as inflationary, notably including a variety of tariffs on imported goods. (Some low level of inflation is generally considered healthy for an economy, so the Federal Reserve targets a rate of 2% rather than stopping inflation completely.)
Education rankings: Trump repeated his false claim that the US ranks dead last, 40th out of 40 countries, in international education rankings. When asked by CNN to identify any education rankings list in which the US placed 40th out of 40, the White House couldn’t do so. FactCheck.org and PolitiFact have noted that even among the wealthy, developed countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the US ranks well above average in reading and science and below average, but still far from last, in math.
Fentanyl deaths: Trump repeated his inaccurate rejection of official statistics on overdose deaths, claiming that “we lose 300,000 people a year to fentanyl, not 100 (thousand), not 95 (thousand), not 60 (thousand) like you read…close to 300,000 people, dead.”
There is no basis for Trump’s “300,000” figure. In the 12-month period ending in September 2024, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there were 55,126 deaths involving synthetic opioids including fentanyl – a terrible figure, but nowhere close to what Trump said. Even at the peak, US deaths involving synthetic opioids hovered under 80,000 for any given 12-month period.
When Trump made similar “300,000” claims in 2024, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, medical director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, told CNN that this is “a made-up number,” saying, “I have no idea where Trump is getting ‘300,000’ from.”
Kolodny said it’s likely that the number of US overdose deaths is undercounted, but that there is no apparent basis for Trump’s insistence that the real number is nearly triple the reported number. And Kolodny said the undercount issue is centered not on overdoses from illicit fentanyl smuggled across the southern border but on seniors’ overdoses from accidentally taking too much of their legal prescription medications.
Trump and the defeat of ISIS: Trump repeated his false claim that he “got rid of” the ISIS terror group in just “three weeks” even though “people” had told him it would take five years. The ISIS “caliphate” was declared fully liberated more than two years into Trump’s presidency.
Mail-in voting: Trump falsely claimed, “We’re the only country in the world that has mail-in voting.” Various other countries, including Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Spain allow some or all voters to vote by mail, though the specifics of their policies vary.
Fentanyl and Canada: Speaking of fentanyl, Trump claimed, “A lot of it comes through Canada.” It’s debatable what counts as “a lot,” but US official statistics show that, of 21,889 pounds of fentanyl seized by US border authorities in the 2024 fiscal year, about 0.2% – 43 pounds – was seized near the Canadian border. That’s compared to 21,148 pounds at the Mexican border, about 96.6%.
Military equipment and Afghanistan: Trump repeated his exaggeration that the US left tens of billions of dollars worth of military equipment to the Taliban when President Joe Biden pulled American troops out of Afghanistan in 2021. The Defense Department has estimated that this equipment had been worth about $7.1 billion – a chunk of the roughly $18.6 billion worth of equipment provided to Afghan forces between 2005 and 2021.
The five accomplishments email: Trump, speaking of the federal employees who did not respond to an Elon Musk email blast asking them to list accomplishments from the previous week, said, “Usually that means that maybe that person doesn’t exist, or that person doesn’t want to say they’re working for another company while being paid by the United States government.” He added that these million people who didn’t respond are “on the bubble” for continued employment even though “maybe they don’t exist.”
But Trump didn’t explain that there are benign explanations for the large number of non-responses. Leaders at multiple federal agencies told their employees not to respond to the email, and the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management told agencies that replying was voluntary. And some employees may have been sick, on vacation, on leave or without access to their email account by the response deadline of Monday; the email was sent to federal employees on Saturday.
In other words, a non-response certainly doesn’t mean a federal employee is imaginary or that they are a real person improperly moonlighting at a second job on government time.
Deceased people and Social Security: Trump said of Social Security: “You see people that are 200 years old that are being sent checks for Social Security. Some of them are actually being sent checks. So we’re facing that down.”
It’s certainly possible that some Social Security checks are being sent to some long-deceased people. But as Musk insinuates that millions of long-deceased people might be getting money, it’s important to note that Social Security already has a system in place to stop payments to people listed as being age 115 and older.
A 2023 report from the inspector general who monitors the Social Security Administration found 18.9 million people age 100 or older who were not marked as deceased on their entry in a Social Security database, an issue Musk has discussed. But while the inspector general was critical of the Social Security Administration (SSA) over the issue, she also found that only 44,000 of these 18.9 million people were receiving payments.
Even those 44,000 payments were not obviously fraudulent or erroneous. The inspector general noted that a larger number of living people in the US, an estimated 86,000, were age 100 or older.
“Regarding the 44,000 figure, I’m confident that the vast majority of those are legit payments. So while there probably is some fraud, I don’t think these numbers show any evidence of it,” Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank who served as principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration during the George W. Bush administration, told CNN last week.
The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Leland Dudek, who was elevated to that post by the current Trump administration, tried to set the record straight in a February statement.
“The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” Dudek said. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/fact-check-trump-cabinet-meeting/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 490fc9ec-ee54-52bd-8026-03cf20b7b736 |
Johnson and Trump pull off surprising win to advance GOP agenda after vote whiplash in the House | Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Annie Grayer | Speaker Mike Johnson pulled off a stunning turnaround Tuesday night to rescue a critical vote to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda that had seemed doomed just moments earlier.
Surprising even some of his critics, Johnson and his leadership team capped hours of drama in the Capitol by successfully flipping multiple Republican holdouts to pass a budget blueprint that will mark the first step toward moving Trump’s ambitious agenda forward. With help from last-minute phone calls from Trump, GOP leaders spent all of Tuesday in a furious pressure campaign to win backing for their plan.
“The world didn’t end today. But I do see the edge,” Rep. Pat Fallon, a Texas Republican, said of the whiplash in the House.
Republicans had punted the vote Tuesday night only to turn around minutes later to call fleeing members back to the floor to muscle through the plan.
In the end, Johnson lost just a single vote — fiscal hawk Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — which was all he could afford. The Democrats’ whip team scrambled to get near-full attendance on their side: Rep. Brittany Pettersen flew with her 4-week-old baby to make it in time for the vote and Rep. Kevin Mullin, who is recovering from complications from knee surgery, flew with an IV from California.
But the drama won’t end there: Johnson and his allies acknowledge that what comes next will be much more difficult. Tuesday night’s vote itself was procedural and GOP leaders from the House and Senate will need to agree on how exactly to move ahead with Trump’s sprawling legislative package now that they have adopted divergent plans. The days-long saga over the House budget blueprint laid bare bitter divisions among Republicans that will make it extraordinarily difficult to pass that package in both chambers.
Still, the win comes at a critical time for Trump and Johnson as their party faces crushing deadlines ahead, including avoiding a government shutdown next month and the threat of an economic default later this spring. As with Tuesday night’s vote, navigating those political landmines will require near total unity from the GOP.
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GOP leaders will now get to work on exactly what will make it into Trump’s first legislative package. The newly passed House GOP plan calls for sweeping tax cuts, steep spending cuts and a two-year debt limit hike, as well as new money for border security and energy production. The Senate’s plan, however, contains only national security and energy money, while punting on the more contentious items for later.
The stakes are high for GOP leaders: Trump is eager to pass his agenda as quickly as possible, even as party leaders must comply with the extremely strict constraints of the budget powers that allow their party to pass a package without Democratic votes. And Republicans will need to tread carefully on reforms to popular programs like Medicaid, food assistance and Pell grants — concerns that nearly sunk the budget plan this week.
The successful vote capped a dramatic 12 hours for Johnson. In the morning, he held a tense meeting with House Republicans to convince his members to back the budget blueprint or risk forgoing key parts of Trump’s agenda.
But by the afternoon, House GOP leaders were still struggling to lock down the votes, and even the relentlessly upbeat Johnson acknowledged he may need to pull it.
The votes weren’t there around 7:30 p.m., when the speaker moved to scrap plans to hold the vote at all. But then his leadership team — with help from a Trump call to Rep. Victoria Spartz — was able to win over the last holdouts. So, just moments after dismissing members, Johnson called them back to vote and passed the GOP’s budget blueprint.
Rep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, said he decided to change his vote after he received “assurances” of a future plan that could survive the Senate to trim discretionary spending, though he offered no specifics.
And Spartz added that she spoke with Trump on health care issues, saying, “He’s on board to get some great things done on health care. … I trust his word.”
“I think the last few weeks are showing us how difficult it is to move any package through the House,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, a leadership ally, acknowledged earlier Tuesday. “This is a motley crew.”
Hours before the scheduled vote, hardline conservatives insisted there weren’t enough spending cuts in the plan, even as centrist-leaning Republicans remained uneasy about the size of those cuts and whether they could impact popular programs like Medicaid. And Johnson’s efforts to win support even backfired in some corners. Massie said he left a meeting Tuesday morning even more dug in against the budget than before.
“They convinced me in there, I’m a no,” the Kentucky Republican said, holding up a thick packet of leadership talking points and railing against their plans line by line. By the time of the vote, Massie remained the only GOP “no.”
Johnson and his whip team had spent the last several days trying to win over their more moderate members, many of whom had raised concerns that the budget plan could ultimately lead to cuts to the low-income health program Medicaid.
Ahead of the vote, Republicans from northeastern states were particularly wary of plans to cut $880 billion over a decade from federal health and energy programs, which they fear cannot be achieved without cutting Medicaid, the hugely expensive health program, since Trump has vowed not to touch Medicare.
GOP leaders have strongly pushed back against the idea that benefits would be cut, noting that the budget plan is only a framework and not specific policy. They argue there are ways to cut hundreds of billions in wasted money on federal health programs without slashing Medicaid benefits, though it remains unclear where those cuts would come from.
“This is a procedural vote. You tell me what the cuts are,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told CNN when asked about swing seat lawmakers’ concerns about Medicaid cuts.
In the end, Johnson only recorded a single Republican defection.
“We will get there, as we always do,” the speaker predicted earlier in the day, when he was still lacking at least a half-dozen votes.
This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Alison Main, Morgan Rimmer, Veronica Stracqualursi and Aileen Graef contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/house-gop-budget-trump-agenda/index.html | 2025-02-25 | 97175153-171e-5b32-8071-85e47b666999 |
Trump memo tells federal agencies how to conduct mass layoffs | Tami Luhby | The Trump administration moved forward Wednesday with its plans to conduct large-scale layoffs across agencies, the latest move to downsize the federal workforce.
The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management issued a memo to agency leaders with guidance on how to conduct their reductions in force, known as RIFs, and the reorganizations plans, taking another step to carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order entitled “Implementing The President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.”
The memo comes as the Trump administration is conducting a multi-pronged effort to overhaul federal operations and shed employees. In less than six weeks, it has laid off tens of thousands of probationary workers, placed other employees on administrative leave, offered a deferred resignation package and ordered staffers to return to the office full time.
The moves, along with a confusing weekend demand that staffers list their activities of the past week, have ratcheted up the anxiety levels of many federal workers, who until now had felt they had some job security. The federal government has not conducted a widespread reduction in force since the Clinton administration in the 1990s.
According to Wednesday’s memo, the principles to guide the agencies include conducting “a significant reduction” in the number of federal workers by eliminating positions that are not needed and reducing federal property holdings and budget, as well as providing better service to Americans and increasing productivity, according to the memo.
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The first phase includes submitting lists of agency divisions and employees performing functions not mandated by law or regulation who are not considered essential employees during government shutdowns. The plans should also include lists of all jobs categorized as essential, of agency divisions that provide direct service to Americans and of any statutes that establish the agency, as well as the tools the agencies plan to use to reduce their staffs.
Plus, agencies should provide suggestions for how to engage Congress to gain agreement on major restructuring efforts and on moving funds between accounts. The deadline for submitting the plans, which should include an implementation timetables, is no later than March 13.
In the second phase, OMB and OPM are asking for an outline of “a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward.” Those are due no later than April 14 and should be implemented by September 30.
The information requested includes an agency’s proposed organizational chart and confirmation that it has reviewed all employees’ job descriptions, recent performance reports, length of service and veterans’ status. OMB and OPM also want to know proposed relocations of offices away from the Washington, DC, metro area and plans to reduce costs and improve efficiency through technology.
Agencies’ plans should also include provisions of union collective bargaining agreements that could inhibit cost-savings and efficiency efforts and proposals to renegotiate those provisions. Also, agencies should provide justifications for excluding programs and divisions from the reductions, as well as areas for future large-scale layoffs.
And, as in the executive order, the memo notes that future hiring should be limited to one position for every four people who depart.
Exempted from this restructuring are positions in law enforcement, border security, national security, public safety and immigration enforcement, as well as the military and federal uniformed personnel, including the US Coast Guard. Also, the US Postal Service and the executive office of the President are not subject to the memo.
In addition, the guidance notes that any agencies or divisions providing direct services to citizens, such as Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ health care, should not implement any reductions until OMB and OPM certify that the plans would have a “positive effect” on delivering those services.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional details. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/federal-mass-layoffs-trump-memo/index.html | 2025-02-26 | a8a5b015-065d-532d-9050-9960ac82e540 |
Tulsi Gabbard says more than 100 intelligence officers will be fired for sexually explicit NSA chat messages | Piper Hudspeth Blackburn | Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Tuesday that more than 100 intelligence officers will be fired for participating in sexually explicit messages in National Security Agency chat rooms.
“There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in what is really just an egregious violation of trust,” Gabbard said in an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters. “I put out a directive today that they will all be terminated and their security clearances will be revoked.”
“They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior,” she added.
The messages allegedly exchanged in the chatroom were first reported by conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who writes for City Journal.
DNI spokesperson Alexa Henning said earlier Tuesday on X that various intelligence agencies have been directed to identify and terminate employees who participated in the sexually explicit conversations by Friday, as well as revoke their security clearances.
“The DNI sent a memo directing all intelligence agencies to identify the employees who participated in the NSA’s ‘obscene, pornographic, and sexually explicit’ chatrooms and to terminate their employment and revoke their security clearances,” Henning said.
A senior administration official told CNN that members of the rank and file in the intelligence community have been reaching out to Gabbard about the issue.
Gabbard’s comments come hours after the NSA said that it was aware of posts that “appear to show inappropriate discussions” by intelligence personnel and announced that investigations were underway.
“Potential misuse of these platforms by a small group of individuals does not represent the community. Investigations to address this misuse of government systems are ongoing,” the agency said in a statement on X.
CNN’s Jake Tapper contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/tulsi-gabbard-intelligence-officers-nsa-chat-messages/index.html | 2025-02-25 | c16eeed1-0b6f-540a-8286-c73239cb4eed |
Republicans press House leadership for help as they face pressure over DOGE cuts at home | Annie Grayer | Several House Republicans pleaded with leadership Tuesday for guidance on how to respond to the deluge of questions from their home districts on recent federal cuts, and called for more involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency’s process, multiple sources in the closed-door meeting told CNN.
In an effort to remain publicly in lockstep with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to cut the federal government and its workforce, Republicans have taken to privately urging for humane treatment for federal workers in lieu of condemning elements of the administration’s approach.
GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia spoke out against Elon Musk’s X post earlier this month that included a reference to individuals who rely on federal programs as the “parasite class,” saying during the Tuesday meeting that he has family members that work for the federal government, one of the sources told CNN.
Following his closed-door comments, Scott said in a statement that while he support’s efforts to improve efficiency, requests from Musk’s DOGE for federal employees “should have been coordinated with the agencies before they were issued” and that “referring to Americans who may need government assistance as ‘parasites’ is unacceptable in any circumstance.”
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When it comes to criticism of DOGE, calls for empathy are as far as most Republicans have been willing to publicly go since the effort began last month. Some Republicans have begun to side with some of Trump’s agency heads who have instructed their staff not to reply to Musk’s demand that all federal employees state their weekly accomplishments or risk termination.
And while the quiet lobbying to humanize the federal workforce builds on the GOP’s careful pushback and acknowledgement that certain agencies play vital roles, it’s far from a direct criticism and even those who got an earful back in their districts told CNN they still support DOGE.
GOP Rep. Rich McCormick, who faced tough questions at a townhall in his Georgia district last week about the Trump administration’s early actions to slash the federal government, is part of a group expected to meet with President Donald Trump later Tuesday.
“I want to have compassion,” said McCormick, who told CNN he plans to deliver feedback while meeting with the president.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who supports DOGE, acknowledged that “the processes will be modified and improved” over time.
“This is a brand-new effort. There’s no playbook for how to do it,” Johnson said in response to questions from CNN about how leadership is responding to the concerns from rank-and-file members. “There’s no precedent for it. And so, as Elon Musk himself has said, there will be a few mistakes made along the way because they’re creating a new paradigm with this.”
When pressed on what some of those mistakes are, Johnson said: “Not my place to say. I’m going to leave that up to them.”
In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Monday that “all employees need to be treated in a respectful and dignified way,” though he continued to express his overall support for the DOGE effort.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a state with a number of federal research grants and workers, said his staff has been in touch with various agencies.
“I want to know about some of these terminations. They’ve got to make sense. And if there are sympathetic cases or mistakes, then admit you made a mistake and re-onboard them. It’s that simple,” Tillis, who supports DOGE, said.
McCormick, who faced some booing at his townhall in Georgia last week, is under pressure to act given his proximity to the Atlanta-based US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where hundreds of federal workers were fired as part of widespread layoffs.
“I want this to be a discussion about what does impact my district,” McCormick said.
He said Trump’s executive power will eventually need to be reined in – though he did not provide specifics on what that would look like – and that Congress will need to play a more prominent role in enacting the cuts being made. McCormick also said he didn’t like Musk’s demand that the federal workforce detail its work without consulting federal agencies.
“My personal opinion is that we are out of balance right now,” McCormick told CNN. “I’m a big supporter of President Trump. I want to make that very clear. I need to work with him and Congress and the Senate to get some things done, but I want to see it done in a deliberate way that we all agree, so it can be permanent.”
Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York was more direct in her criticism of some of Musk’s tactics.
“This idea that they were going to just fire people via Twitter, Elon Musk, that to me, seems rash, it seems not appropriate,” Malliotakis said, questioning why Cabinet officials weren’t able to do an “up and down evaluation” of agencies to see where they could find savings.
Other congressional Republicans have pushed for answers in recent days after being pressed for information in their districts. But instead of criticizing the cuts, lawmakers have largely focused on process.
“They were saying, ‘We want you to tell Elon Musk to stop and tell the president to get Elon,’” GOP Rep. Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin said of what he heard back home. “And I was like, ‘Listen you guys, I’m not like engaged on this on a daily basis. I’m learning about this when I see a broadcast as much as anyone else right now. Because we haven’t been briefed on it.’”
GOP Rep. Cliff Bentz of Oregon told CNN he is inquiring with DOGE directly about whether any of the recent reductions in the federal workforce are impacting his constituents given what he heard at four recent townhalls.
“If they are putting anybody at risk I need to know,” Bentz told CNN.
“Do I support the need to reduce the size of government? The answer is yes. When it comes to how it’s being done, that’s going to be a case-by-case thing,” Bentz added.
But GOP Rep. Kevin Hern, who serves in House GOP leadership, downplayed the criticism he received in his district and said it has not deterred him in his full-throttled support of DOGE.
“I’m sticking to it,” Hern said.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Ted Barrett and Alison Main contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/doge-cuts-house-republicans-backlash/index.html | 2025-02-25 | d2d15028-2aa4-58f9-809f-4a953a0f5b09 |
White House breaks norms on news outlets that cover president | Camila Moreno-Lizarazo | Jake Tapper reports
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Trump vs. Black History Month | Zachary B. Wolf | A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
President Donald Trump honored Black History Month with a reception at the White House on Thursday where he talked about all of the statues of Black American heroes he plans to put in a planned sculpture garden celebrating American history.
But the celebration itself, featuring a cameo by Tiger Woods, was at odds with much of what Trump and his government have done in one month of his second term.
As the event took place, CNN was reporting that CQ Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a Black man, is on a list of generals the Trump administration could soon fire – in part for their advocacy of diversity in the ranks.
“Diversity” is now a dirty word in the US government, Civil Rights-era equal employment opportunity initiatives have been rescinded, and some of the first of thousands of federal workers to be fired were those working to make the government look like the rest of the country.
There are questions about how Trump’s effort to ban “radical indoctrination” in American schools will affect instruction on subjects like African American history. At Thursday’s Black History reception, he dissed the 1619 Project, the New York Times’ effort to reframe US history around the stain of slavery.
Trump’s administration has embraced claims of “reverse racism” to try to purge diversity initiatives on US campuses that receive federal dollars.
Cue a chilling effect on how Americans celebrate the contributions of African Americans and other racial minorities and how the government, schools or businesses go about hiring.
But more to the point, while Trump is celebrating Black History Month with an event at the White House, much of the rest of his government banned such observances.
On January 31, Trump issued a proclamation declaring February to be Black History Month, as it has been since the American bicentennial in 1976.
The same day Trump made his proclamation, The Department of Defense declared “Identity Months Dead.”
Then in February, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tried to rewire the nation’s armed forces.
“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,’” Hegseth said at a town hall for employees at the Pentagon.
That’s a new take since integration of the military after World War II under President Harry Truman was a major step on the road toward the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
Hegseth has derisively referred to the qualifications of top military brass, including Brown.
On February 1, the first day of Black History Month, Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy tweeted his own ban on “celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances,” which he said “do nothing to keep planes in the air, trains on the tracks or ports and highways secure.”
It read like an affirmation of Trump’s argument in the immediate aftermath of the deadly collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 and a US Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac, that somehow diversity programs had something to do with the crash. There’s no evidence that was the case, but Trump cited his own “common sense” to make the claim.
The Department of Education on February 14 sent a letter to American schools accusing them of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discriminating against White and Asian students with “pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have have emanated throughout every facet of academia.”
The letter suggests that diversity programs place “unique moral burdens” on and “stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes.” That seems like a tortured allusion to White students who do not want to hear about the history of slavery in the US, for instance.
Schools have “toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism.’” The letter tries to expand upon a 2023 Supreme Court decision that banned the practice of affirmative action and threatens to condition federal funding at schools from preschools through universities within 14 days, or the last day of Black History Month, if schools do not end all diversity programs.
Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, who made her fortune as a pro wrestling executive, had no answer when Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut asked her if his own child’s public school African American history class would fall into the diversity category and thus be outlawed.
“I’m not quite certain and I’d like to look into it further and get back to you on that,” McMahon said.
Murphy noted that Department of Defense schools have cancelled programming related to Black History Month.
McMahon said her view is that Black History Month should be “celebrated throughout all of our schools.”
There’s some carryover from Trump’s first term with all of this. When he was president, the first time Trump stood in the way of a plan to put Harriet Tubman on the $20, arguing it was just “pure political correctness” to replace the slave-owning President Andrew Jackson with the icon of the Underground Railroad. In the closing days of his first term he chose Martin Luther King Jr., Day to issue a report from his 1776 Commission, a refutation of the 1619 Project, which recommended downplaying the institution of slavery as a unique stain on American history and argued that acknowledging the hypocrisy of slave holding Founding Fathers has “a devastating effect on our civic unity and social fabric.”
In an executive action issued on January 29 meant to end “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling,” Trump ordered that the Education Department reestablish the 1776 Commission and promote its recommendations.
“To err is human, to forgive divine,” wrote Elon Musk, the special government employee running Trump’s campaign to quickly shrink the federal government by firing thousands of employees and freezing funding.
He was talking about Marko Elez, the employee of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, who was reported to have shared messages on social media favoring the false and racist concept of eugenics, or racially selective breeding.
Vice President JD Vance said the posts shared by Elez were “stupid,” but Elez should be brought back because to do otherwise would, somehow, reward The Wall Street Journal, which uncovered the old posts, although it’s hard to understand why it would be better not to know that such comments existed.
This story has been updated with additional information. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/politics/black-history-month-trump-what-matters/index.html | 2025-02-20 | c0a7804c-1b61-50fc-b336-817bd6b47e6b |
‘It’s bedlam’: Federal workers left in limbo as clock ticks down to Musk’s email deadline | Tami Luhby, Rene Marsh, Ella Nilsen, Sunlen Serfaty | Federal workers spent Monday trying to figure out how – or even whether – to respond to Elon Musk’s weekend email blast telling them to explain their work last week or risk losing their job.
A day of confusing and often contradictory guidance left many federal workers still unclear ultimately how to handle Musk’s request. Some were told to comply, others were advised not to, and still others were awaiting instructions from their agency’s leaders until late in the day.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump called Musk’s email demand “ingenious” and said that anyone who didn’t respond is “semi-fired or fired.”
Then, a couple of hours later, Trump’s own administration directly contradicted him, when the Office of Personnel Management formally notified agencies that response was voluntary and that any failure to respond would “not equate to a resignation.”
While some agencies conveyed that message in their guidance to employees, not all did, leaving many federal workers in the dark just hours before Musk’s deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday.
“Our chief said it was mandatory. Then OPM said it became voluntary. Then I guess Trump just told us it was mandatory again,” said one career employee with the Department of Veterans Affairs. “No one knows who is in charge and who to listen to.”
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“It’s bedlam,” added one IRS employee.
Another IRS staffer was advised that not responding would be considered insubordination and would result in termination.
CNN spoke to federal employees across multiple agencies on Monday. All but one asked not to use their names for fear of retribution.
Some of the most high-profile federal agencies ended up bucking Musk’s demands, with the Justice Department, State Department, Pentagon, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy all telling staff not to respond to the email.
While the Commerce and Transportation departments all instructed their staffs on Monday to comply, Commerce asked employees to send the information to their supervisors.
Among the Transportation employees who need to reply are the Federal Aviation Administration’s chronically understaffed air traffic controller workforce. Many controllers are working mandatory overtime six-day weeks of 10-hour shifts.
On Saturday, their union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, denounced the move by Musk as a “distraction” to controllers during a time when the air safety system is “fragile.”
NASA, on the other hand, said it will respond on behalf of the agency, adding that workers are not required to answer OPM’s email, and that their employment will not be affected if they opt not to respond.
Ironically, employees at OPM, the agency that sent the initial email, were left in the dark about how to handle the instructions themselves until about 6 p.m. Monday, when they finally got guidance saying a response was voluntary but strongly encouraged, according to an email obtained by CNN.
The chaos began Saturday not long after a mass email from OPM landed in the inboxes of federal workers across the country. Work was disrupted in some agencies as staffers and officials sat in on hastily assembled meetings and tried to decipher a multitude of emails. Agency heads debated how to respond to Musk’s demands, several sources told CNN.
David J. Demas, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3003, which represents 320 Federal Bureau of Prisons workers, said he received 30 phone calls on Monday from his members, who work at US Penitentiary Canaan in Waymart, Pennsylvania, asking how to respond to OPM’s email.
Some workers who were off duty wanted to know whether they needed to come to the prison to reply since they don’t have access to their work email on their phones or home computers. And those who were working asked for guidance on what to include in their five bullet points.
“Today was crazy. A lot of people were coming in from being off to try to send an email, a silly email that doesn’t even make any sense to us,” said Demas, who also woke up at 3 a.m. Monday to find three text messages and 10 emails from worried members.
Just before 11 a.m. Monday, the Department of Justice sent an email to workers saying that they did not need to respond, which Demas then relayed to his colleagues.
At another government facility, officials set up a room to allow employees without computer access – including janitors – to go online to send in their accomplishments during the prior week, one federal worker told CNN.
At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one worker told CNN they “haven’t done any of my actual duties due to the email and having to respond to those below me and trying to get clarification from those above me.”
Like at multiple other agencies, the guidance from NOAA supervisors and leaders shifted with the latest instructions coming from a high-ranking official at the Department of Commerce, who said staffers should provide the five bullet points on their work activities to their supervisors by the deadline. (NOAA is part of Commerce.)
Adding to the confusion, OPM later on Monday sent guidance to department heads that did not reference the response being voluntary but said an agency could exclude workers from the requirement if it explains why to the office. Also, the OPM guidance said agencies should consider whether employees should be expected to submit accomplishment bullets as part of their department’s weekly activity reports or any activity reporting required in the future.
And the guidance also noted that it would be up to agencies to decide what actions would be taken regarding employees who don’t respond. It was unclear whether this left open the door for some workers to be punished for not responding to the mass OPM email.
Another Department of Veterans Affairs staffer told CNN they had to attend multiple meetings on Monday about the directive, which interfered with doing their job.
“That’s all time taken away from patient care,” said the employee, whose leadership recommended that staffers reply to OPM’s email. “It’s totally disruptive.”
At the Department of Health and Human Services, a sprawling federal agency with thousands of workers, employees were told that if they were going to respond to the Musk email, they should refrain from being descriptive and keep answers as general as possible.
“Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly,” read an HHS email obtained by CNN.
Some federal workers took a more sarcastic approach, at least among themselves.
At the IRS, one group of colleagues came up with activities they performed last week as a fake response to Musk’s email. The list included “fought the BS you started, kept the employees from beating up their managers, kept your equipment in a working condition without it being thrown against the damn wall, helped the employees understand that this was the new administration’s decision and not management,” and “trying to minimize the fear, confusion and anger you cause for NO REASON…DURING TAX SEASON!”
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Video screens at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC, on Monday played a fake video of Trump kissing Musk’s toes, featuring the words “Long Live The Real King.” It was later removed and replaced with information “showcasing the wins of the Trump administration,” the agency said in a statement.
At the Environmental Protection Agency, where staffers were told to comply with Musk’s demand, but to do so without divulging certain sensitive information, some workers bristled at the mixed message.
“Nobody has a spine,” said one EPA worker. “Because EPA is a target, they’re trying to play nice with them, thinking that might make them not subject to deeper cuts. When you appease a bully, you give them license to come after you more.”
A State Department official said that people are confused.
“On the one hand, employees want to showcase the important work they’re doing,” but there is concern about “responding from individual email accounts and not knowing where the information is going,” the official said. “I suspect all federal employees everywhere feel conflicted and deeply disturbed by the derogatory narrative coming from our government.”
In his Oval Office remarks on Monday, Trump suggested that employees who didn’t reply might not be working at all.
“We have to find out where these people are. Who are they?” Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. “And we said, ‘If you don’t respond, we assume you’re not around, and you’re not getting paid anymore, too.’”
Musk, however, was undeterred.
On Monday evening, he posted on X, “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”
This story has been updated with new reporting.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Jackie Wattles, Hadas Gold, Michael Williams and Pete Muntean contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/email-elon-musk-federal-employees/index.html | 2025-02-24 | b9c8c365-a2c6-50bd-bdc7-5c1fc2673671 |
French, UK leaders rush to Washington at a historic turning point for the West | Stephen Collinson, Kevin Liptak | An existential week is ahead for Ukraine and the West.
The leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers are rushing to the White House to try to reclaim a central role for themselves and for Ukraine after they were cut out of US-Russia talks on ending the war.
President Donald Trump sent shock waves through the transatlantic alliance last week and played into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands while attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trashing the truth about how the war started.
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Trump on Monday — the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign democracy, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and left Putin and his forces accused of war crimes.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will follow on Thursday, in the most treacherous moment yet of his young premiership, with large gaps opening between Washington and London on the reality of Ukraine’s plight.
Britain and France are drawing up plans for a European “reassurance force,” perhaps including up to 30,000 troops that could deploy to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. The idea, however, faces massive barriers — not least that a deal that both Zelensky and Putin could agree to sign seems highly unlikely. And Starmer has already warned that the force couldn’t work without a US “backstop,” which could potentially include security guarantees, American intelligence cooperation, air support and heavy lift transport. A key takeaway this week will be whether Trump has any interest given Russia’s opposition to NATO troops in Ukraine under any flag.
As Trump leads the US in a new direction on Ukraine, historic schisms are opening that threaten the transatlantic alliance and the post-World War II order. Trump treats America’s longtime friends — who have failed to deliver on calls by successive presidents to spend more on defense — as adversaries. And the new administration has already shattered years of European assumptions about America’s security guarantees to the West.
The president’s siding with Putin over Zelensky — and his bid to extract a punitive deal to export Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as a payback for past US aid — shocked transatlantic allies. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s warning in Brussels this month that Europe must take primary responsibility for its own security called into question NATO’s creed of mutual defense. And Vice President JD Vance’s slam of European governments and values in a speech in Munich was seen in Europe as an attempt to destabilize continental leaders on behalf of far-right populists who take ideological inspiration from the MAGA movement.
In an extraordinary comment that captured the historic times, the likely next leader of Germany Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union that won Sunday’s general election, according to exit polls, set out the new government’s program.
“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” Merz said at a televised roundtable after the exit polls also showed huge gains for the extreme-right AfD party.
“I would never have believed that I would have to say something like that on television. But at the very least, after Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans — at least this part of the Americans in this administration — are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” Merz said.
Trump appears to be aiming for a lightning-fast peace agreement — similar to the velocity of his domestic transformation a month after his return to the White House.
His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has a leading role in the Ukraine talks, on Sunday raised the prospect of a swift breakthrough following the meeting between US and Russian officials last week. “We came very, very close to signing something. And I think we will be using that framework as a guidepost to get a peace deal done between Ukraine and Russia,” Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
He added: “The president understands how to get deals done. Deals only work when they’re good for all the parties. And that’s the pathway that we’re on here.”
Hegseth implied Sunday that Trump’s depiction of Zelensky as a “dictator” last week was meant to avoid annoying Putin in order to get concessions at the negotiating table. “Standing here and saying, ‘you’re good, you’re bad, you’re a dictator, you’re not a dictator, you invaded, you didn’t’ — it’s not useful. It’s not productive,” Hegseth said on “Fox News Sunday.”
But Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, accused Trump of “surrendering” to Putin. “This is not a statesman or a diplomat. This is just someone who admires Putin, does not believe in the struggle of the Ukrainians, and is committed to cozying up to an autocrat.” The Rhode Island Democrat added on ABC’s “This Week”: “Putin will not stop in Ukraine. He will begin in a campaign, both clandestine and in many cases overt, to undermine the other governments in Eastern Europe and it’ll create chaos.”
Trump’s turn against Ukraine and his rush to embrace Putin ahead of a potential summit in the coming weeks has Ukrainians and Europeans fearing that he simply plans to seal a deal with Russia and then impose it on Kyiv. That’s why Macron and Starmer will try to convince the president he will look bad if he fails to drive a hard bargain with Putin.
“What I am going to do is that I am going to tell him basically, you cannot be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s not your trademark,” Macron said, paraphrasing his message to Trump in a social media Q&A on Thursday.
An Elysée Palace official said that Macron shared Trump’s goal of ending Russia’s war of aggression and was bringing proposals that were reaffirmed in his talks with European leaders, particularly with the British. “He is traveling to Washington with this goal in mind, sharing this desire to end the conflict while making every effort to maintain our support for Ukraine, strengthen European security and ensure that Ukraine is fully involved in these efforts, and to ensure that Ukraine’s interests — which are ours as well — are fully taken into account.”
Starmer on Sunday laid out a tough pro-Zelensky approach, which conflicted with Trump’s position, a day after talking to the Ukrainian leader on the phone. “Nobody wants the bloodshed to continue. Nobody, least of all the Ukrainians,” Starmer said at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Glasgow. “But after everything that they have suffered, after everything that they have fought for, there could be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine must have a long-term secure future.”
The phrase “no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine” encapsulated the principles of the Biden administration’s tight coordination with Europe and Kyiv over the war. But that consensus has been buckled by Trump. And Starmer will risk further angering the president before he arrives. Bridget Phillipson, a British Cabinet minister, told Sky News on Sunday that the UK government would unveil a new set of sanctions against Russia on Monday.
Trump says that Zelensky — a hero in the west for leading Ukraine’s resistance to Russia — didn’t deserve to be at the talks. “I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it,” Trump said on Fox News Radio’s “The Brian Kilmeade Show” Friday.
Trump also criticized his visitors. “You know, they haven’t done anything,” he told Kilmeade. “You know, Macron’s a friend of mine, and I met with the prime minister, and you know, he’s a very nice guy, but nobody’s done anything,” Trump said.
Macron may try to correct Trump on that point, one person familiar with the matter said. But the French president is most intent on managing the way forward, providing his view on how Europe can help assure Ukraine’s security, as long as it is incorporated into talks to end the war.
The French and British leaders will also arrive in Washington as Trump demands steep hikes in defense spending by NATO members, which would mean excruciating fiscal choices for governments saddled by constricted public finances. Both Macron and Starmer have spoken of the need for European nations to do more to protect the continent, but their capacity to act is likely to fall far short of the American president’s expectations.
Despite Starmer saying Sunday that Trump was “right” in calling for Europe to step up, Phillipson declined to say, for instance, whether her boss would tell Trump a target date for his government to raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP. The US president has demanded 5%.
Both Macron and Starmer, who spoke by telephone Sunday, are expected to argue that Washington’s continued presence in Europe and security guarantees are critical to peace in the west, despite the Trump administration’s desire to pivot to the challenge posed by China.
The European message is going to be a tough sell to a transactional president who doesn’t appreciate alliances as a force multiplier for American power and who seems to prefer the company of autocrats to that of his fellow democratic leaders.
Macron has already tried to shape Trump’s thinking on Ukraine, arranging a three-way meeting with the then-US president-elect and Zelensky in Paris last December. Trump was respectful and “in listening mode” during the meeting, one official said, as Zelensky laid out the necessity of security guarantees for Ukraine once the war ends. Macron tried to impress on Trump that Putin had changed since he was last in office and warned that if Ukraine was defeated, the US could look weak to its other rivals — namely China.
But two months later, the talks do not appear to have left a lasting impression on Trump, given his comments of the last week. And European officials acknowledge it will be impossible to persuade Trump to abandon his erroneous views of the war, including that it was provoked by Ukraine or that the United States was conned into supporting a man he claims is a dictator.
Instead, they say, it will be more useful to look ahead, as Trump prepares to sit down soon with Putin and the contours of a possible peace agreement emerge. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/trump-macron-starmer-ukraine-analysis/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 9ba3ef66-ded6-58c7-a004-35d8decbeb5d |
Trump and Musk have fun in DC while cuts pile up out in the country | Zachary B. Wolf | A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk look like they’re having a blast in Washington, clear-cutting elements of the federal government and seizing power from states and Congress.
Their glee is at odds with the growing evidence of repercussions and anger out in the country at their approach of cutting first and asking questions later.
The success of Trump’s second term may hinge on how and whether these cuts, imposed indiscriminately and without transparency, are felt out in the country. How small should a bureaucracy be for a country of more than 330 million people that brings in and spends trillions of tax dollars each year?
The White House trolled its critics this week by sharing an image of Trump dressed up like a smiling king after his administration moved to end a congestion pricing program long in the works in New York City.
"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB
Musk, who recently bragged of feeding USAID to a “woodchipper” and essentially ending foreign aid, carried the lumberjack metaphor to a new level when he put on sunglasses and wielded a chainsaw onstage to wild cheering during an annual convention for conservatives just outside Washington on Thursday afternoon.
But while Musk was embracing the role of comic book character, down in Georgia, Rep. Richard McCormick, a Republican, was getting booed.
McCormick, who was reelected with nearly 65% of the vote in 2024, was hearing anger from a community upended by mass government layoffs that will ultimately touch communities across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is based in Atlanta, cut about 10 percent off its 13,000 person workforce as part of the mass government layoffs that, for now, are targeting people hired within the last one or two years. At CDC, that included, according to a CNN report, an entire class of specially trained “disease detectives.”
Probationary workers have been fired at agencies across government, including hundreds at the Federal Aviation Administration just as the agency deals with a deadly plane crash and a string of other incidents that have spooked fliers.
About 6,000 Internal Revenue Service workers were laid off from locations around the country, including at a call center in Utah, just before tax season, sparking a protest in Ogden.
In Roswell, McCormick tried to channel Musk’s point about efficiency, suggesting that some CDC jobs could be done by AI, a comment that did not go over well.
While not criticizing Trump, McCormick also tried to draw an equivalence between Trump’s power grab and the Biden administration.
“I don’t think executive privilege should be as strong as it is. I think we’re out of balance right now,” he said.
But there is, for now, no check on layoffs as federal judges have so far declined to step in. And their admonitions for Trump to stop some spending cuts have been creatively ignored, at least according to some reports saying that international aid programs that should have resumed have not.
Americans generally overestimate how much taxpayer money goes to international aid — it’s less than 1% of the federal budget. And they might not realize that a good portion of that money used to feed the world stays here in the US, as Nick Levendofsky, Executive Director of the Kansas Farmers Union told CNN’s Jake Tapper earlier in February.
Firing all probationary employees is an indiscriminate way to go about cuts, and there have been clear mistakes in who has been let go.
The US Department of Agriculture owned up to mistakenly firing people involved with its Food Safety Inspection Service, which is in need at the moment as the country deals with an outbreak of avian flu. It’s not clear where the mistakenly fired workers, which USDA is working to bring back, were stationed. USDA has labs sprinkled throughout the country and its main lab is in Ames, Iowa.
Mistakenly fired nuclear safety workers — the Trump administration struggled to reinstate them — are based in Texas.
Many workers have been told it was poor performance that led to their termination, but Andrew Lennox, a Marine veteran hired to coordinate care for veterans in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar he had not yet had a performance review and his supervisors had not been consulted. More than 1,000 recently hired workers have been laid off from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Federal workers out in the country, Lennox said, are veterans like him and people choosing public service.
“It’s your neighbors,” he said. “These are not the evil bureaucrats you think that are just coming up to system and living off the system. We want to work hard. We want to help people,” Lennox said.
The Pentagon has paused its plan to fire up to 50,000 employees, most of them outside of the Capitol region, after CNN reported that new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not first conducted a legally required review of what effect the firings might have.
Defense officials were scrambling to create lists of workers who should be exempted from firings because they work in essential roles in cybersecurity, intelligence, operations and foreign military sales, according to CNN’s report by Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky. They add:
Hegseth said in a video posted to X on Thursday that the department was focusing on terminating lower-performing employees first. But defense officials told CNN that the Office of Personnel Management is using a broad justification for the firings, arguing to DoD that these probationary employees don’t contribute positively to the Pentagon’s overall performance because they are no longer needed.
DOGE officials have been on-site at NASA facilities in Florida, according to news reports, alarming scientists and local lawmakers. It’s an area where Musk, the founder of SpaceX, which has multiple contracts with NASA, has a clear conflict of interest.
It’s also a reminder that a lot of government money goes to private companies and public institutions — meaning that a lot of people who rely on the government for funding do not actually work for the government.
Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, issued statements calling for workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to be exempted from firings. She also said planned cuts to grants from the National Institutes of Health will hit her state in multiple areas.
“I have heard from the Jackson Laboratory, the University of Maine, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, the University of New England, and MDI Biological Laboratory, among others, that these cuts, which in some cases would apply retroactively to existing grants, would be devastating, stopping vital biomedical research and leading to the loss of jobs,” Collins said in a statement earlier this month.
There are similar statements from lawmakers around the country trying to protect the research money that is spread around the country. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/22/politics/government-cuts-trump-musk-doge-what-matters/index.html | 2025-02-22 | 039fb317-3790-509d-b42a-0d5514840138 |
Hereâs what Trump has promised to do in a second term | Unknown | Editor's Note: CNN's What Matters newsletter connects the dots of the ever-changing political landscape. Click here to sign up for free.
President-elect Donald Trumpâs transition is in the final stretch, with days to go before he is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. CNN has been tracking the promises he made for a second term throughout the year on the campaign trail.
In recent months, Trump and his team have specifically mentioned the policies that he would enact on Day One â Inauguration Day is January 20, 2025 â of his presidency. They include:
Read more below on what heâs said about these Day One, and other, promises:
Trump has promised to extend the cuts from his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, notably the TCJAâs individual income tax breaks. The former president has also talked about reducing the corporate tax rate to 15%, from 21% â but only for companies that make their products in the US.
âI will make the Trump tax cuts the largest tax cut in history,â the former president said earlier this year at the Black Conservative Federationâs Honors Gala in South Carolina. âWeâll make it permanent and give you a new economic boom.â
I will make the Trump tax cuts the largest tax cut in history.â
In September, Trump said he would push for legislation that would end taxes on overtime pay.
âThat gives people more of an incentive to work," Trump said at a rally in Arizona. "It gives the companies a lot, itâs a lot easier to get the people.â
This summer, during a campaign stop in Las Vegas, Trump also pledged to end taxes on tips, a move targeted to appeal to hundreds of thousands of people working in the city. Itâs a promise Trumpâs incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Fox News in a November 10 interview that he plans to implement on Day One.
The former president has also promised to stop taxing Social Security benefits. He has yet to outline a proposal to replace the lost revenue, which could harm the popular entitlement program, as well as Medicare and the federal budget.
He announced in November that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump had previously proposed as a way to reduce government spending. The commission will âdevelop an action plan to totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months,â Trump said in September remarks at the Economic Club of New York.
The former president has also announced plans to get rid of the $10,000 limit on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions that he signed into law as part of his 2017 tax cuts. Reversing this cap would largely affect higher-income people in high-tax blue states who itemize their deductions.
In an early October speech, Trump promised to make the interest paid on car loans fully tax deductible. He also vowed in an October video to end the double taxation on Americans who live abroad. This move could stop some Americans living abroad from having to pay taxes to both the US and to the country where they live. He has not provided details on how such relief would work.
Trump has also pledged to repeal Bidenâs tax hikes, âimmediately tackleâ inflation and end what he called Bidenâs âwarâ on American energy production. He has promised to rescind all unspent funds from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which put in place a wide array of climate measures and funneled about $80 billion over 10 years to the Internal Revenue Service.
In an effort to address housing affordability, Trump has floated a ban on mortgages for undocumented immigrants, claiming that they push up housing costs. CNN has reported that undocumented immigrants, however, make up a tiny portion of the mortgage market.
To help âworking Americansâ catch up on credit card debt, Trump promised in September to temporarily cap interest rates on credit cards at 10%. The average credit card rate is just under 21%, while the average rate on retail store cards is a record high 30.45%.
At a late October rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden, he also said he would support a tax credit for family caregivers. He has not outlined details about who would be eligible, how large it would be and whether the cost would be covered.
In February, Trump pledged to impose âstiff penalties on China and other trade abusers.â
âItâs called you screw us, and we screw you,â Trump said at a South Carolina rally.
Under his proposed âTrump Reciprocal Trade Act,â the former president said if other countries impose tariffs on the US, the country would impose âa reciprocal, identicalâ tariff right back.
It was the same pledge Trump made in a campaign video in 2023: to impose the same tariffs that other countries may impose on the US on those countries. The goal, the former president said then, is to get other countries to drop their tariffs.
Itâs called you screw us, and we screw you.â
As part of a larger strategy to bring jobs back into the US, Trump also said he would implement his so-called âAmerica Firstâ trade agenda. By setting universal baseline tariffs on a majority of foreign goods, the former president said Americans would see taxes decrease as tariffs increase. His proposal also includes a four-year plan to phase out all Chinese imports of essential goods and stop China from buying up America and US companies from investing in China.
Since winning the election, Trump has promised to put a new 25% tariff on all products coming from Mexico and Canada, as well as raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods by 10%, on the first day of his administration -- in retaliation for illegal immigration and drugs coming across the border. On January 14, 2025, Trump said he will create an âExternal Revenue Serviceâ on Day One of his presidency to collect tariffs and all revenue from âforeign sources.â
At one point earlier this year, Trump had said he would consider imposing a tariff upward of 60% on all Chinese imports. He has also called for adding a tariff of at least 10% on all imports from all countries. At an August campaign event in North Carolina, he suggested that the across-the-board tariff could be as high as 20%.
In September, Trump floated a 100% or 200% tariff on cars made in Mexico. He claimed this would stop Chinese companies from building auto plants in Mexico as a way to avoid US tariffs, which he could impose by executive action.
Trump has also repeatedly expressed interest in ending the federal income tax, pointing to the late 19th century, when the US relied on tariffs to fund federal spending.
âWhen we were a smart country, in the 1890s ⦠this is when the country was relatively the richest it ever was. It had all tariffs. It didnât have an income tax,â Trump said in late October.
Earlier in October, Trump announced he would invoke the six-year renegotiation provision of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was signed into law in January 2020 as a replacement for NAFTA.
The former president has particularly focused on China, vowing in a January 2023 campaign video to restrict Chinese ownership of US infrastructure such as energy, technology, telecommunications and natural resources. Trump also said he would force the Chinese to sell current holdings that may put national security at risk. âEconomic security is national security,â he said.
Trump made immigration and the border a central campaign issue, successfully pressuring Republicans to reject a major bipartisan border deal earlier this year and making a trip to the southern border in February, where he touted his previous hard-line immigration policies.
In a Des Moines Register op-ed published roughly a week before winning the Iowa caucuses in January, Trump vowed to use the âAlien Enemies Act to remove known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members from the United States.â
âWe will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement â including parts of the DEA, ATF, FBI, and DHS,â he wrote.
In a video posted on Truth Social in late February before his border visit, Trump also promised to âcarry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,â a plan Trump has said heâd launch on Day One in the White House.
We will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement â including parts of the DEA, ATF, FBI, and DHS.â
In October, Trump said he would use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to create a federal program to expedite the removal of undocumented gang members. He also warned that "if they come back into our country, they will be told it is an automatic 10-year sentence in jail with no possibility of parole.â CNN has reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement already deports individuals who pose a national security or public safety threat once ordered removed by an immigration judge.
Later that month, Trump promised to create a âcompensation fundâ for victims of crimes committed by migrants by using assets seized from gangs and drug cartels.
Also in October, during a rally in Arizona, Trump promised to hire 10,000 new Border Patrol agents, provide a 10% salary raise and offer a $10,000 retention and signing bonus. His comments came months after Senate Republicans, at his urging, blocked a bipartisan border measure that would have cleared the way for more Border Patrol agents.
Separately, last summer, Trump proposed âautomaticallyâ giving green cards to foreign nationals who graduate from US colleges â comments that break from his efforts to curb both legal and illegal immigration while in office. In May 2024, Trump said that on Day One of his presidency he would issue an executive order, âmaking clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward,â children born to undocumented immigrants would not automatically gain US citizenship.
After the Israel-Hamas war began last October, Trump also promised to terminate the visas of âHamasâ sympathizers.â
âWeâll get them off our college campuses, out of our cities and get them the hell out of our country, if thatâs OK with you,â he added.
The former president has also made waging âwarâ on drug cartels a priority for his second term. Trump said in his November 2022 campaign announcement that he would ask Congress to ensure that drug smugglers and human traffickers can receive the death penalty for their âheinous acts.â
Trump also vowed to âtake downâ drug cartels by imposing naval embargos on cartels, cutting off cartelsâ access to global financial systems and using special forces within the Department of Defense to damage the cartelsâ leadership.
At an August campaign event in Arizona, Trump also vowed to impose a â10-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone guilty of human smuggling, a guaranteed life sentence for anyone guilty of child trafficking, and a death penalty for anyone guilty of child or woman sex trafficking.â
Trump announced plans in a September 2023 campaign video to close the Department of Education and send âall education and education work and needs back to the states.â
âWe want them to run the education of our children, because theyâll do a much better job of it,â he added.
The former president has also promised to âput parents back in charge and give them the final sayâ in education. In a January 2023 campaign video, the former president said he would give funding preferences and âfavorable treatmentâ to schools that allow parents to elect principals, abolish teacher tenure for K-12 teachers, use merit pay to incentivize quality teaching and cut the number of school administrators, such as those overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
We want them to run the education of our children, because theyâll do a much better job of it.â
Trump reaffirmed plans to close the Education Department in a conversation on X with Musk in August, during which the tech billionaire proposed the commission to look for ways to cut government spending.
âThis is where I need an Elon Musk. I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts. I want to close up the Department of Education, move education back to the states,â Trump said.
Trump also said in that 2023 campaign video that he would cut funding for schools that teach critical race theory and gender ideology. In a later speech, Trump said he would bring back the 1776 Commission, which was launched in his previous administration to âteach our values and promote our history and our traditions to our children.â
The former president said he would charge the Department of Justice and the Department of Education with investigating civil rights violations of race-based discrimination in schools while also removing âMarxistsâ from the Department of Education. A second Trump administration would pursue violations in schools of both the Constitutionâs Establishment and Free Exercise clauses, which prohibit the government establishment of religion and protect a citizenâs right to practice their own religion, he said.
Trump has also promised to fund free online classes with funds seized from private university endowments.
Last November, Trump promised to replace the Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare, in a series of posts on Truth Social. A Trump-backed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare failed in 2017 after three Republican senators joined with Democrats to vote against the bill.
âGetting much better Healthcare than Obamacare for the American people will be a priority of the Trump Administration,â he said.
âIt is not a matter of cost, it is a matter of HEALTH. America will have one of the best Healthcare Plans anywhere in the world. Right now it has one of the WORST!,â he continued. He also doubled down on his vow during a speech in early January. But when asked during Septemberâs debate with Harris about whether he has a plan to replace Obamacare, he replied, âI have concepts of a plan.â
Getting much better Healthcare than Obamacare for the American people will be a priority of the Trump Administration.â
Trump also vowed in a June 2023 campaign video to reinstate his previous executive order so that the US government would pay the same price for pharmaceuticals as other developed countries. Some of the former presidentâs pharmaceutical policies were overturned by Biden.
On the abortion issue, Trump said in April that he would not sign a federal abortion ban and has taken the position that laws should be decided by states.
âThe states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,â Trump said in an April recording posted to his Truth Social platform.
Trump also said in May that he did not support banning birth control. He previously said that he was âlooking atâ contraceptives when asked if he supported restrictions.
In August, Trump announced plans to make either the government or insurance companies pay for in vitro fertilization treatments. He did not specify how the treatments would be paid for.
Since winning the election, Trump said heâll nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed vaccine conspiracy theories, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump had said in late October that heâd let his former political rival âgo wild on health.â
âI will revoke every Biden policy promoting the chemical castration and sexual mutilation of our youth and ask Congress to send me a bill prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states,â Trump said at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference last March.
Trump added in a campaign video that he would issue an executive order instructing federal agencies to cut programs that promote gender transitions, as well as asking Congress to stop the use of federal dollars to promote and pay for gender-affirming procedures. The former president added that his administration would not allow hospitals and health care providers to meet the federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare if they provide chemical or physical gender-affirming care to youth.
Trump has promised to use the Department of Justice to attack critics and former allies. In several videos and speeches, the former president also laid out plans to gut the current justice system by firing âradical Marxist prosecutors that are destroying America.â
âI will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,â Trump said in June 2023 remarks. âI will totally obliterate the Deep State.â
Trump said in a campaign video last year that he would reinstate a 2020 executive order to remove ârogueâ bureaucrats and propose a constitutional amendment for term limits on members of Congress.
I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family.â
To address what he labeled the âdisturbingâ relationship between technology platforms and the government, the former president said in a January 2023 video that he would enact a seven-year cooling off period before employees at agencies such as the FBI or CIA can work for platforms that oversee mass user data.
Trump added in multiple campaign releases that he would task the Justice Department with investigating online censorship, ban federal agencies from âcolludingâ to censor citizens and suspend federal money to universities participating in âcensorship-supporting activities.â
In a September 2023 speech at the Family Research Councilâs Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, DC, Trump also touted plans to continue appointing conservative judges.
âI will once again appoint rock-solid conservative judges to do what they have to do in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia; Samuel Alito, a great gentleman; and another great gentleman, Clarence Thomas,â he said.
Trump has also pledged to âappoint U.S. Attorneys who will be the polar opposite of the Soros District Attorneys and others that are being appointed throughout the United States.â
In a September 2023 speech in Washington, DC, Trump also announced that he would appoint a task force to review the cases of people he claimed had been âunjustly persecuted by the Biden administration.â Trump noted that he wanted to âstudy the situation very quickly, and sign their pardons or commutations on day one.â
Itâs a move that could lead to potential pardons of many rioters from the January 6, 2021, insurrection on the US Capitol, which he has repeatedly pledged that he would execute on Day One (though itâs not clear who among the hundreds of convicted rioters, defendants awaiting trial and remaining fugitives would receive clemency, CNN has reported).
At the Libertarian Convention in May, Trump also promised to release Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online black market Silk Road who is serving a life sentence in prison for money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking. Trump declined to commute Ulbrichtâs sentence during his presidency.
*Only promises on judge appointments and congressional term limits are similar to prior campaigns
Trump said in two February 2023 campaign videos that if âMarxistâ prosecutors refuse to charge crimes and surrender âour cities to violent criminals,â he âwill not hesitate to send in federal law enforcement to restore peace and public safety.â
Trump added that he would instruct the Department of Justice to open civil rights investigations into âradical leftâ prosecutorsâ offices that engaged in racial enforcement of the law, encourage Congress to use their legal authority over Washington, DC, to restore âlaw and orderâ and overhaul federal standards of disciplining minors to address rising crimes like carjackings.
Addressing policies made in what Trump calls the âDemocratsâ war on police,â the former president vowed in a campaign video that he would pass a ârecord investmentâ to hire and retrain police, strengthen protections like qualified immunity, increase penalties for assaulting law enforcement officers and deploy the National Guard when local law enforcement ârefuses to act.â
Trump added that he would require law enforcement agencies that receive money from his funding investment or the Department of Justice to use âproven common senseâ measures such as stop-and-frisk.
Trump has continued his attacks against member countries of NATO, a European and North American defense alliance. At a South Carolina rally earlier this year, Trump said he would not abide by the allianceâs collective-defense clause and would encourage Russia to do âwhatever the hell they wantâ if a member country didnât meet spending guidelines.
âNATO was busted until I came along,â Trump said. âI said, âEverybodyâs gonna pay.â They said, âWell, if we donât pay, are you still going to protect us?â I said, âAbsolutely not.â They couldnât believe the answer.â
The former president has also previously pledged to end the war in Ukraine, though heâs offered no details on how he would do so. âShortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,â Trump said at a New Hampshire campaign event last year, adding in another speech that it would take him âno longer than one dayâ to settle the war if elected.
NATO was busted until I came along. I said, âEverybodyâs gonna pay.â They said, âWell, if we donât pay, are you still going to protect us?â I said, âAbsolutely not.ââ
Trump further addressed his strategy of stopping the ânever-ending warsâ by vowing to remove âwarmongers,â âfraudsâ and âfailures in the senior ranks of our government,â and replace them with national security officials who would defend Americaâs interests. The former president added in a campaign video that he would stop lobbyists and government contractors from pushing senior military officials toward war.
In addition, Trump has said he would restore his âwonderfulâ travel ban on individuals from several majority-Muslim countries to âkeep radical Islamic terrorists out of our countryâ after Biden overturned the ban in 2021. That travel ban -- he told a crowd in Minnesota in July 2024 -- would be reinstated on Day One, along with the suspension of refugee admissions.
Trump said in multiple campaign videos that he would spearhead an effort to build so-called âFreedom Citiesâ to âreopen the frontier, reignite American imagination, and give hundreds of thousands of young people and other people, all hardworking families, a new shot at home ownership and in fact, the American Dream.â
In his plan, the federal government would charter 10 new cities on federal land, awarding them to areas with the best development proposals. The former president said in a campaign video that the Freedom Cities would bring the return of US manufacturing, economic opportunity, new industries and affordable living.
In the March 2023 video, Trump added that the US under a second Trump administration would lead in efforts to âdevelop vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles for families and individuals,â not letting China lead âthis revolution in air mobility.â The former president said these airborne vehicles would change commerce and bring wealth into rural communities.
Trump has promised to roll back new car pollution rules at the Environmental Protection Agency that could require electric vehicles to account for up to two-thirds of new cars sold in the US by 2032. Bidenâs electrical vehicle-related policies, Trump claimed at a Michigan rally last September, âspell the death of the US auto industry.â
âOn Day One, I will terminate Joe Bidenâs electrical vehicle mandate, and I will cancel every job-killing regulation that is crushing American autoworkers,â Trump added.
When pressed on whether he would keep Bidenâs $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases, Trump told Reuters in late August, "I'm not making any final decisions on it.â
"I'm a big fan of electric cars, but I'm a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along," he said.
Trump has promised to reduce energy prices by increasing domestic production. In several campaign appearances, he has laid out plans to end delays in federal drilling permits and leases.
âWeâre going to âdrill, baby, drillâ right away,â Trump told a crowd of supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, in January, a refrain he repeated often on the campaign trail throughout 2024.
At a South Carolina rally in February, he pledged to remove limits on American natural gas exports.
Trump said in a January 6, 2025 interview he would try to undo on Day One an action that President Joe Biden took to permanently ban future offshore oil and gas development in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Bidenâs action invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act -- a law that gives presidents broad authority to withdraw federal waters from future oil and gas development and that doesnât explicitly allow presidents to use actions to put waters back into development. Trump would need Congress to change that law before he could act on his proposed reversal.
The Washington Post has also reported that Trump, during an April meeting at Mar-a-Lago, pledged to roll back some of Bidenâs climate policies if oil executives raised $1 billion for his campaign.
As for other energy sources, Trump has also changed his tune on the expansion of offshore wind farms, which he had touted at the start of his presidency as part of a broader push to âunleash the forces of economic innovation to more fully develop and explore our ocean economy.â
In May, Trump described wind farms as âhorribleâ and accused turbines of killing birds and whales, adding that he would âmake sure that ends on Day One.â
Trump has also promoted US cryptocurrency mining, an industry that has grown significantly more reliant on fossil fuels. Bitcoin mining is energy-intensive because servers require enormous amounts of power to solve a complex series of algorithms to verify transactions in order to receive the cryptocurrency as a reward.
At a cryptocurrency conference in July, the former president promised to make it easier for cryptocurrency mining companies to operate in the US.
âIf crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,â Trump said, adding that he would create a âstrategic national bitcoin stockpile.â
On the campaign trail, he also vowed to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who has pushed to regulate the industry. Gensler has said heâll step down on January 20, 2025, which made room for the president-elect to announce he will select Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, to run the agency.
âI will take Bidenâs executive order directing the federal government to target the firearms industry, and I will rip it up and throw it out on Day One,â Trump said at the 2023 National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action leadership forum last April.
The former president also promised in the speech that the government would not infringe on citizensâ Second Amendment rights. In May, he said would sign legislation forcing states to recognize a concealed carry permit from any jurisdiction.
âI will create a special team to rapidly review every action taken by federal agencies under Bidenâs âequityâ agenda that will need to be reversed. We will reverse almost all of them,â Trump said in a campaign video.
Trump added in multiple campaign videos that he would revoke Bidenâs equity executive order that required federal agencies to deliver equitable outcomes in policy and conduct equity training. Trump said he would also fire staffers hired to implement Bidenâs policy, and then reinstate his 2020 executive order banning racial and sexual stereotyping in the federal government. | cnn_politics | https://cnn.it/49SplEC | 2025-02-26 | 38b8a98a-2d55-50b9-828a-e6fdcf99564b |
Skeptical judges may make the Trump administration explain what it’s doing behind the scenes | Tierney Sneed | The Trump administration may soon be forced to answer central questions about its Department of Government Efficiency and about major other actions by government agencies that are now being challenged in court, as the quick-moving legal proceedings head to the next phase.
In multiple cases, President Donald Trump’s legal foes are making somewhat extraordinary requests for judges to order the government to turn over internal documents, explain its decision-making and even require depositions from administration officials.
Some judges have already signaled openness to such requests, remarking upon the lack of public clarity about who is behind the major decisions that have upended the federal government – and about how DOGE in particular is operating.
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“The things that I’m hearing are concerning indeed and troubling indeed,” Judge Tanya Chutkan said during a hearing last week in a lawsuit brought by Democratic state attorneys general making broad constitutional claims against Elon Musk’s role in the administration.
“But I have to have a record, and I have to make findings of fact before I issue something,” Chutkan added.
While the administration’s foes have sometimes lost in their bids for immediate court intervention, getting more information about the administration’s actions could put them on better footing as their cases continue. It is nonetheless unusual for challengers to make the requests now – and for some judges to be proactively inviting more fact-finding at this early phase in the litigation – as discovery is often avoided in cases challenging agency action.
“One cost for a president and agency of doing things quickly even if it means breaking laws is that if courts don’t trust agencies, they will want to look behind the curtain rather than take agency claims at face value,” Matthew Lawrence, a former Justice Department attorney who now teaches administrative law at Emory Law, told CNN via email.
Judge John Bates, who is overseeing a lawsuit filed by federal employee unions over access granted to DOGE representatives at several agencies to sensitive government data, said in an order last week that he was considering ordering discovery because “this is an unusual case,” and because part of the dispute is whether the Trump officials have taken the actions they’re being accused of.
“There’s no way for the Court to decide that question – or the follow-up question of whether those policies were in accordance with law – without some evidence of defendants’ decisionmaking process,” Bates said. He’s ordered more briefing on what kinds of evidence the challengers should be entitled to and signaled he’d make a ruling by the end of the week.
Previously, Bates rejected the request by the plaintiffs for a temporary restraining order that would have restricted DOGE data access at the Department of Labor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department Health and Human Services.
How Bates rules could help guide how other judges navigate the environment, including in similar DOGE data cases in Maryland and New York, where the discovery issue is also being set up.
The FBI agents who are suing over the Justice Department’s demands that the agency survey and identify the bureau employees who worked on January 6 Capitol probes have also sought discovery. The Justice Department must respond by Wednesday.
And in a case challenging Trump’s freeze on foreign aid, the judge signaled Saturday that live testimony and other discovery may be needed to settle disputes over whether the administration is following his court orders restoring some of the funding.
The Justice Department, which has been resisting the challengers’ push for discovery, did not respond to a CNN request for comment for this story. But the department lawyers have warned judges in court hearings that ordering discovery would significantly slow down the litigation, and court filings have even resisted the invitation to file an administrative record – a more limited type of factual record that is assembled internally at agency to explain why it decided to move forward with the challenged policy.
In the case before Bates, the unions are pointing to “uncertainty” about DOGE’s access to data “inconsistencies” in the court filings the administration has submitted so far, which include declarations from a handful DOGE representatives and other government officials.
They’re seeking answers from the administration about who is accessing the data systems, who authorized access at each agency and any software installed on the systems by DOGE. They also want internal documents, such as non-disclosure agreements and other employment-related agreements for DOGE employments and the guidelines and training they received on data cases. And the unions argue they’re entitled to depositions from government officials to ask about the procedures around the data, and about DOGE’s structure and operations writ large.
To buttress their demands, the unions are pointing to contradictions – even in the court declarations submitted by the Trump administration – in the basic assertions the administration has offered, like how many DOGE affiliates are at each agency, as well as how the Trump and administration has seemingly flip-flopped about who is in charge of the whole initiative.
“Defendants have wielded that uncertainty as a tool to question the harms Plaintiffs are or will suffer from DOGE’s access to sensitive records,” the union argued.
“This is an emergent and concerning situation,” said Skye Perryman, the president of the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, which is representing the unions. “Courts have a range of tools to deal with that situation. In some instances, courts grant emergency relief. In other instances, courts want to learn more.”
Similarly, the FBI agents suing the Justice Department want to know who designed a survey that FBI employees were required to complete about their involvement in the January 6 probes, and who – including at DOGE and at the White House – now has access to its results. They also want any internal documents and communications that would shed light on what the administration is intending to do with the list of employees involved in that investigation.
Norm Eisen, a former Obama White House ethics czar and the co-founder of the group State Democracy Defenders Action, which is involved in the FBI case and in other Trump challenges seeking more fact finding, said the “discovery questions are coming to the fore as judges themselves raise legitimate and penetrating inquiries about what the heck is going on here and whether it has been properly documented.”
“We will see,” Eisen said, “but if the government doesn’t produce those materials, that speaks volumes.”
CNN’s Devan Cole and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/discovery-trump-agenda-judges/index.html | 2025-02-25 | 5f732494-9457-5446-9ca4-b69c743367da |
How serious is Trump’s third-term tease? | Zachary B. Wolf | A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
It’s pretty safe to assume that President Donald Trump will talk in the near future about running for a third term even though the Constitution says he can’t.
Trump has shown no fear of contradicting the Constitution. He is actively trying to end birthright citizenship, for instance, even though it is protected in the 14th Amendment. Courts have blocked the effort for now.
He is quickly trying to shut down agencies created by Congress and to stop spending, or impound, money he disagrees with even though it was approved, like the Constitution says it should be, by Congress.
His vice president, JD Vance, has suggested the president could simply ignore courts.
He has recently leaned, at least on social media, into comparing himself to a king.
He has embraced outside-the-box readings of the Constitution and sometimes been rewarded. The court mostly endorsed his expansive view of immunity, ruling that presidents are largely exempt from criminal prosecution for their acts while in office. On the other hand, the court rejected the “independent state legislature” theory, which Trump and his allies used to try to overturn the 2020 election.
With all that in mind, how should Americans view Trump’s frequent jokes – if that’s what they are – about a third term? Trump is at the height of his power at the moment, with Republican majorities refusing to stand up to him in Congress.
Who knows what drama will come in the next four years, but Trump already likes to talk about the next election.
“It will be the greatest honor of my life to serve, not once but twice or three times or four times,” Trump said at rally in Nevada in late January, apparently joking and teasing that the comment would make for headlines. He later clarified: “No, it will be to serve twice. For the next four years, I will not rest.”
“Should I run again?” Trump asked supporters at a Black History Month event at the White House last week to chants of “Four more years!”
“There’s your controversy right there,” Trump said.
There are plenty of other examples from Trump and from his fiercest supporters.
At the Conservative Political Action Committee gathering just outside Washington, Stephen Bannon, who went to prison for contempt of Congress after refusing to testify before the House January 6 Committee, declared “we want Trump in ’28” and led the crowd in a chant.
In December, appearing at a dinner in New York, Bannon argued that Trump could get around the 22nd Amendment, which added a two-term presidential limit to the US Constitution in 1951, because the word “consecutive” is not in the text of the amendment.
In the House, Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, has introduced legislation to begin the long process of tweaking the text of the 22nd Amendment and allowing a president who serves non-consecutive terms to serve a third four-year term. The wording of Ogles’ proposal would exclude two-term former presidents like Barack Obama from coming out of retirement.
Repealing or changing the 22nd Amendment would require two-thirds votes in both the House and the Senate and also the ratification by three-quarters of the states.
No amendment has been ratified since the 1990s and that one was first proposed in the 1700s. Otherwise, it’s been since the 1960s that the 26th Amendment was ratified during the Vietnam era when there was an active draft. That amendment guarantees the right to vote for 18 year-olds.
Even some Trump supporters are opposed to the idea of changing the Constitution for Trump.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the Oklahoma Republican, said he takes Trump’s comments “as a joke, not being literal.”
“I’m not changing the Constitution, first of all, unless – unless the American people chose to do that,” he said. It would take Mullin, every other Republican and a number of Democrats to get a two-thirds vote in the Senate to get the ball rolling on changing the Constitution. Don’t hold your breath.
The only president to serve more than two terms was Franklin D. Roosevelt. The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, in the years following Roosevelt’s death in office.
The text is pretty clear:
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
“It’s illegal. He has no chance. That’s all there is to say,” Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, told me in an email when I asked how seriously to take Trump’s jokes.
The legal reality may be that the Constitution prohibits a person from serving for a third term, but the political reality is that Trump has never been one to let the Constitution get in his way.
Nathan L. Gonzales, the editor of Inside Elections, argues in Roll Call that Americans should be ready for Trump to challenge the two-term rule.
“Just because the Constitution currently prohibits Trump from running again doesn’t mean he won’t try,” Gonzales writes “Challenging norms is what Trump does, and that’s partly why Republicans love him.”
There’s a similar argument from James Romoser in Politico Magazine, who notes that Vladimir Putin in Russia and and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey both found ways around term limits, although the American system of checks and balances should be stronger. A separate idea is that Trump could, perhaps, run for vice president in 2028 and then be elevated to the presidency by a resignation.
While he likes to tease the idea of a third term right now, there have been times when he rejected it, such as in an interview with Time last April, long before his political comeback was complete.
“I’m going to serve one term, I’m gonna do a great job. We’re gonna have a very successful country again… And then I’m gonna leave,” he said. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/trump-third-term-tease-what-matters/index.html | 2025-02-25 | cd086f10-a74a-52b5-b37d-a62bd5a14a5e |
North Korean hackers steal record $1.5 billion in single crypto hack, security firm says | Sean Lyngaas | North Korean hackers have stolen $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency in a single heist, making it the largest crypto hack on record, security experts told CNN.
The hack hit Bybit, which describes itself as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 40 million users.
In a matter of minutes on Friday, the hackers stole a significant portion of North Korea’s reported annual gross domestic product. And over the weekend, the hackers were already laundering about $160 million of the stolen loot through a series of accounts connected to North Korean operatives, according to crypto-tracing firm TRM Labs. In a single hack, the North Koreans have nearly doubled what they stole in crypto last year, the firm said.
It’s an early test for how the Trump administration will address the steep challenge of trying to prevent North Korea from funding its nuclear and missile programs through hacking.
“We’ve never seen anything on this scale before. The ability of these illicit financial networks to absorb such huge amounts of money so quickly is deeply concerning,” said Nick Carlsen, a former FBI intelligence analyst focused on North Korea who now works at TRM Labs.
North Korea’s formidable hacking corps is an essential source of revenue for the nuclear-armed, sanctions-battered dictatorship, according to current and former US and South Korean officials.
North Korean hackers have stolen billions of dollars from banks and cryptocurrency firms in the last several years, according to reports from the United Nations and private firms. About half of North Korea’s missile program has been funded by such digital heists, a White House official said in 2023.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has told users that the firm is solvent and can cover the loss of the $1.5 billion, the firm said in a statement. “Bybit worked closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies to address the hack,” the statement said.
An FBI spokesperson said the bureau had no comment on the Bybit heist.
CNN has requested comment from the North Korean embassy in London.
Once a big crypto heist is carried out, North Korean operatives have to get the money back to Pyongyang. The laundering process usually involves a series of swaps through different types of digital currency, before eventually being converted to US dollars or Chinese yuan.
US and South Korean law enforcement agents monitoring the laundering process usually have mere minutes to pounce and seize some of the stolen loot. CNN previously reported on one such sting operation that clawed back $1 million out of $100 million the North Koreans had allegedly stolen from a California-based cryptocurrency firm.
Investigators are currently trying to intercept some of the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit. One group of crypto security experts said they helped recover about $43 million in stolen funds so far. Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic, another crypto-tracing firm, said that an additional $243,000 of the stolen money had been seized: “A drop in the ocean, but a start.”
Bybit said it would give 10% of any recovered funds to security experts who played a role in retrieving the stolen money.
Carlsen, the former FBI analyst, said the US and others need to be more aggressive in trying to intercept the North Koreans’ stolen crypto hauls.
“The current strategy from governments and industry clearly isn’t working,” Carlsen said. “People should be going back through drawing board right now on how to deter and punish North Korea for these hacks.” | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/north-korean-hackers-crypto-hack/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 535c8325-26e3-56a2-a2bd-b470e1b1e8af |
As Trump touts his dealmaking ability on Ukraine, Macron warns against a ‘weak’ agreement | Kevin Liptak | French President Emmanuel Macron tried Monday to inject a dose of reality into President Donald Trump’s ambitions to end the war in Ukraine, insisting they sought the same outcome of peace while simultaneously warning of Russia’s poor track record in keeping its international commitments.
He stressed repeatedly the necessity of security guarantees to ensure Moscow keeps its promises this time around, and said any agreement must be “checked and verified.” And he recounted his own conversations with Vladimir Putin, saying there was value in talking to the Russian leader but only from a position of strength.
“We want peace. He wants peace,” Macron said of his US counterpart as he stood next to Trump. “We want peace, peace swiftly, but we don’t want an agreement that is weak.”
“This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine,” he said.
Trump, meanwhile, offered no mention of security guarantees when it was his turn to speak at Monday’s joint news conference. Instead, he portrayed himself as a master negotiator in search of a deal.
“I’ve spoken to President Putin, and my people are dealing with him constantly, and his people in particular, and they want to do something,” he said from the East Room. “I mean, that’s what I do. I do deals. My whole life is deals. That’s all I know, is deals. And I know when somebody wants to make it and when somebody doesn’t.”
Macron had hoped to use his yearslong interpersonal relationship with Trump to press Europe and Ukraine’s case after a week of serious deterioration in transatlantic ties. And the men did seem friendly, trading kind words and smiles throughout their hours together. Trump lavished praise on Macron for overseeing the swift rebuilding of Paris’ Notre-Dame cathedral after a fire almost destroyed it.
Macron also sought to emphasize areas of agreement. Reiterating a stance he has held for months, he acknowledged Europeans must shoulder more responsibility for their own security, a stance on which the French leader is aligned in principle with Trump.
But their differences were still rather obvious, and by the end of the day it did not appear Trump had moved significantly from his positions on who was responsible for the Ukraine war or whether Europe had done enough to support Kyiv.
As the two leaders met Monday, a US-led resolution that did not call Russia the aggressor in the war passed in the UN Security Council with support from Moscow and without the backing of the US’ European allies.
And in an extraordinary moment that underscored the strained dynamics of Monday’s talks between the French and American presidents, Macron attempted to correct his US counterpart on the nature of European support for Ukraine, interrupting Trump as he was speaking to suggest he was misstating the facts.
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“Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’re getting their money back,” Trump began as he was preparing to make the case for a new deal to secure Ukraine’s mineral revenues.
That is when Macron reached over to grab Trump’s arm to interject.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants,” he said, as Trump smiled ruefully.
Trump did voice openness to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, a plan he’s expected to learn more about later this week when he receives the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He even said he’d discussed the idea with Putin, and that the Russian president was also open to the idea.
Later, Macron described Europeans as acting as an “assurance force” in Ukraine, with Americans acting “in solidarity,” though it was clear the precise contours of the plan still need to be worked out.
Trump also said he was prepared to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky soon to finalize a deal that would allow US access to Ukraine’s mineral revenues, a development Macron welcomed.
“It looks like we’re getting very close,” Trump said.
The president was adamant that the Ukraine war could end within weeks, would not call Putin a dictator — a word he’s used to describe Ukraine’s leader — and reiterated his goal to visit Moscow at some point in the future.
Even before Trump and Macron sat down for their formal talks, they had already spent more than two hours together for a virtual meeting of the Group of 7. Both beamed in from the Oval Office, Trump behind his desk and Macron next to him, for the call marking the third anniversary of the Ukraine war.
The G7 meeting came against a tense backdrop. Ahead of the talks, US officials had resisted inclusion of a reference to “Russian aggression” in a final leaders’ statement. Trump has also renewed his push to allow Russia to rejoin the group, reviving an argument he had in 2019 with Macron and other leaders at the summit the French president was hosting in Biarritz.
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After Monday morning’s meeting, however, both men suggested the two-hour virtual summit went well. Departing the West Wing on foot, Macron called the talks “perfect.”
For the French leader, whose complicated history with Trump dates to 2017, Monday’s meetings were intended to employ what he believes is a unique rapport with the American president in order to advocate Ukraine and Europe’s case.
Macron said somewhat hopefully last week he thought Trump viewed him with high regard.
“He is someone I respect,” Macron said, “who I believe respects me.”
How much that matters in Monday’s talks wasn’t entirely clear.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump bemoaned what he said were lackluster efforts by both Macron and Starmer to end the war, insisting they “haven’t done anything,” despite significant contributions from both countries to Ukraine’s war effort.
Macron had already used his position to press Trump on support for Ukraine, arranging a surprise three-way meeting in Paris last December with himself, Trump and Zelensky around the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. Trump was respectful and “in listening mode” during the meeting, one official said, as Zelensky laid out the necessity of security guarantees for Ukraine once the war ends.
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Macron tried explaining to Trump that Putin had changed since the US president was last in office. And he warned that if Ukraine was defeated, the US could look weak to its other rivals — namely, China.
Two months later, those talks do not appear to have left a lasting impression on Trump, who in the past week has lashed out at Zelensky and suggested it was Ukraine that started the war.
Starmer, who meets Trump on Thursday, is expected to brief his US counterpart on an emerging plan to deploy as many as 30,000 European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, hoping to demonstrate Europe’s commitment to shouldering more of the burden for the country’s security going forward. He may also reveal the date by which he wants the United Kingdom to raise defense spending to 2.5% of the GDP.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/trump-macron-ukraine-talks/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 0b97ff40-b621-5d4c-b922-bff81e6521b3 |
Trump prepares to use controversial 1798 ‘Alien Enemies’ law to speed deportations | Priscilla Alvarez, Alayna Treene | The Trump administration is preparing to invoke a sweeping wartime authority to speed up the president’s mass deportation pledge, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump said that he planned to invoke a little-known, 18th-century law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, as part of his sweeping slate of immigration crackdowns. The measure gives the president tremendous authority to target and remove undocumented immigrants, though legal experts have argued it would face an uphill battle in court.
The move is being widely discussed at several agencies as administration officials look at how they could implement the law, three sources told CNN, though details are still being finalized and it’s unclear when the administration would move to invoke it.
The primary target as of now, according to three sources, is the Tren de Aragua gang, which was also recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
“Labeling Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization was the first step,” a senior White House official told CNN.
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In the final weeks of his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to invoke the act to deport suspected criminal gangs and members drug cartels. He often referred to Tren de Aragua, and the exaggerated, disputed claims that the Venezuelan gang had “invaded” and “conquered” Aurora, Colorado — to serve as justification for wanting to implement the 18th century wartime law.
Part of the ongoing discussions includes where those migrants would be sent. While Venezuela has agreed to take back its nationals, those repatriation flights are generally limited. Other options include countries that have agreed to take back third-country migrants, like El Salvador.
Using the law has been repeatedly floated among immigration hardliners because it would streamline the deportation process.
Detentions and deportations that occur under the Alien Enemies Act do not go through the immigration court system, which provides immigrants the chance to seek relief and make their case to stay in the country. Experts have noted that the backlogged court system, where cases can take years, could be a significant obstacle to Trump’s mass deportation plans.
The Alien Enemies Act is designed to be invoked if the US is at war with another country, or a foreign nation has invaded the US or threatened to do so. Legal experts say it would be difficult for Trump to use the act when the US isn’t being attacked by a foreign government, even if the administration does cite threats from gangs or cartels. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/trump-controversial-law-speed-deportations/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 0670c444-ec01-5a16-a78a-36d1a51fae89 |
Even as Macron flatters ‘Dear Donald,’ the US is deeply estranged from the West on Ukraine | Stephen Collinson | This is how much Donald Trump has already transformed America’s global role.
Loath to condemn Kremlin aggression on Monday’s third anniversary of the brutal onslaught on Ukraine, the United States chose new voting buddies at the United Nations, including longtime enemies Russia and North Korea.
The drama at UN headquarters better reflected the gaping new transatlantic rift than the scenes in the White House as Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron clasped hands and ladled out mutual flattery.
This was not the only jarring juxtaposition on a day of diplomatic drama stretching from Kyiv to Moscow, from London to Washington and New York as global powers jockey for position in the global great game suddenly shaken up by Trump.
Say one thing for the American president — his craving for a one-on-one summit with his friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin, has unleashed a torrent of crisis diplomacy aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that was frozen for years.
But his mind-boggling turn toward Putin and away from Ukraine has scrambled old alliances and set off a race by America’s allies and adversaries to shape the peace deal he plans to conclude with the Russian leader.
On the anniversary of the invasion, world leaders took the train into wartime Kyiv to stand with President Volodymyr Zelensky — fresh from being lambasted by Trump. They included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who could commiserate with his host after Trump insulted him again Monday as the “Governor” of the supposed 51st state.
In London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will follow Macron’s bid to redirect Trump with his own White House trip on Thursday, said the G7 should take on “more risk” to hurt Russia as he announced a new raft of sanctions. But Trump wants Russia back in the rich nations’ club.
In Moscow, Putin condemned European leaders whom he suggested were too close to Ukraine to help broker peace while dispensing the kind of praise that Trump laps up when he said the president was free from such “shackles.”
Behind the diplomatic theater is a common theme: Leaders know that Trump is desperate for a “deal” to bolster his reputation and worry that in his quest for political adulation at home and an elusive Nobel peace prize, the US president isn’t particular about the details.
“I mean, that’s what I do. I do deals. My whole life is deals. That’s all I know, is deals. And I know when somebody wants to make it and when somebody doesn’t,” Trump said at a news conference with Macron on Monday.
Trump’s subordinates endlessly lionize him for almost super-human prowess at the bargaining table. “He’s the dealmaker in chief. He’s the commander in chief. And it’s only because of his strength that we’re even in this position,” national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Fox Business on Sunday, for example.
The best thing that can be said for the president’s unorthodox approach is that he has offered the possibility of ending a war that is grinding through the lives of young Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and has killed thousands of civilians.
And if he succeeds in inking an agreement with Ukraine to exploit its rare earth metals and minerals — a big if, considering Kyiv refused his previous pillaging demands — he will create a future economic lifeline for the country as it rebuilds and forge a reason for his administration and others to stay engaged.
And no one can say the president isn’t acting on the “America First” promises that convinced many voters to give him a second term.
His administration’s brutalist new approach to Europe has got results. France and Britain are offering to send a “reassurance” force to Ukraine after a peace deal and NATO states look like they will at last start significantly increasing defense spending.
But Ukraine — and for that matter Gaza, which Trump wants to turn into the “Riviera of the Middle East” after sending the Palestinians somewhere else — isn’t a real estate deal.
Peacemaking involves human lives, history’s animosities and complex calculations, including the existential question of whether Ukraine will survive and what a Putin “win” would mean for future European security. There’s no comparison to the branding deals and acquisitions that Trump swung for casinos, golf clubs and skyscrapers during his checkered career as a property developer.
And European concerns were only exacerbated in Monday’s joint news conference with Macron when Trump displayed his apparently limited interest and understanding of how a peace deal without security guarantees could reward Putin’s land grab and lay the groundwork for future wars. The president instead incessantly complained that the invasion would never have happened if he had been in office.
Macron used his extensive repertoire of compliments, tactile body language and handshakes that never seemed to end on “Dear Donald.” And he even got away with correcting him in the Oval Office over his false claims that Washington had almost doubled Europe’s support for Ukraine.
After visiting the White House, Macron sought out another venue to get to Trump — Fox News, telling Bret Baier, “I think the arrival of President Trump is a game changer. And I think he has the deterrence capacity of the US to re-engage with Russia … my concern is that we have to go fast. But we need something first, a truce, which could be assessed, and checked, and full-fledged negotiation.”
Earlier, after turning to Trump at the White House, Macron said: “We want peace; he wants peace. We want peace swiftly, but we don’t want an agreement that is weak.” The French and the British want security guarantees for Ukraine that they argue can only be reinforced by an American “backstop” if Russia is to be prevented from restarting the war.
“The fact that there are Europeans that are ready to engage to provide for these security guarantees and now there’s a clear American message that the US, as an ally, is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach — that’s a turning point,” Macron said. “And that is one of the great areas of progress that we’ve made during this trip.”
But how far “solidarity” goes is unclear since Trump refused to publicly offer US help. Perhaps he doesn’t want to anger Putin before their eventual summit. Or maybe he worries about a possible clash between US and Russian forces if American troops were part of those security guarantees.
Despite Macron’s claims of progress, Trump still views the war through a different lens – as events at the UN showed.
The US delegation voted with some of its most sworn adversaries, including regimes in Moscow and Pyongyang, against a General Assembly resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine and calling for the return of Kyiv’s territories.
Later, Russia and the US voted together again on a Security Council resolution drafted by Washington that did not highlight Moscow’s aggression but that called for a swift end to the war and a lasting peace.
The US resolution passed 10-0 in the Security Council. But several top US allies, including permanent five members France and Britain, abstained. Both countries offered amendments to Washington’s resolution seeking to insert references to the United Nations Charter and Ukraine’s territorial integrity, a European diplomat said. But Russia vetoed them both. “Russia continues to trample on international law and the United Nations Charter by pursuing its aggression against Ukraine,” the diplomat said.
This estrangement between Washington and allies it has protected since World War II was laid bare in the Oval Office when Trump was asked whether Putin, who has killed and imprisoned his opponents, was a “dictator.”
“I don’t use those words lightly,” Trump said days after applying the title to democratically elected Zelensky.
This drew a crooked Gallic grin and a sideways glance from Macron. But it also summed up his enormous task. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/trump-macron-ukraine-united-nations-analysis/index.html | 2025-02-25 | d6ba23f8-cbaf-578b-9514-194eb529b66e |
White House suspending active security clearances of Covington & Burling lawyers who are working with Jack Smith | Katelyn Polantz, Samantha Waldenberg | The White House is suspending the active security clearances of lawyers from the large legal defense firm Covington & Burling who are working with former special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Donald Trump unsuccessfully on behalf of the Justice Department under the Biden administration.
According to a memo released Tuesday by the White House, all executive agencies are to suspend the clearances that may be used by Covington lawyers in private practice as the White House launches a “review and determination of their roles and responsibilities, if any, in the weaponization of the judicial process.”
The direction from Trump is clear pushback to the firm’s work now, as it represents Smith as a private citizen facing investigations from Republicans. It also marks an escalation of the White House’s retaliation against those who have supported the former special counsel’s work.
The president, targeting Smith, said ahead of signing the memo in the Oval Office on Tuesday, “We’re going to call it the deranged Jack Smith signing or bill.”
Covington lawyers are not the first attorneys to represent people perceived as political enemies of Trump who have lost their security clearances. Those clearances can allow them flexibility in practicing law when it relates to national security issues and classified aspects of cases.
The suspension of security clearances for private practice lawyers at Covington who previously held significant DOJ roles is a startling political approach that has rattled lawyers across Washington. It’s long been a protected right for defendants and others facing investigations to be able to use lawyers of their choosing.
“This is nothing less than a petty and vindictive attack on the legal profession, and particularly the ability of a select group of cleared lawyers to defend the interests of officials across the intelligence community,” said Washington national security attorney Bradley Moss in response to the White House’s move. Moss is a law partner of Mark Zaid, who also has had his security clearance revoked. “The bigger question is, how far is he going to take this war against the legal profession, and against anyone who stands for the rule of law?”
White House aide Will Scharf said ahead of the signing, “One law firm that provided pro bono legal services to the special counsel’s office under Jack Smith’s leadership was Covington & Burling. As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review the security clearances for the attorneys and employees at that firm who worked with Jack Smith’s team.”
In response to the White House’s move, a Covington spokesman said on Tuesday: “We recently agreed to represent Jack Smith when it became apparent that he would become a subject of a government investigation. Covington serves as defense counsel to Jack Smith in his personal, individual capacity.”
The firm declined to provide any more information about a possible investigation into Smith, though Trump, appointees in his Justice Department, and Republicans in Congress have made clear they intend to revisit Smith’s office’s work. Covington also didn’t say if or how many of its lawyers had active security clearances.
“We look forward to defending Mr. Smith’s interests and appreciate the trust he has placed in us to do so,” the statement also said.
Smith disclosed in a federal ethics form recently that Covington & Burling provided $140,000 worth of legal services to him as a gift.
The two lawyers at Covington representing Smith are Lanny Breuer, the former head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, and Peter Koski, formerly a public integrity prosecutor. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/jack-smith-covington-burling-security-clearances-trump/index.html | 2025-02-25 | e098953a-7c96-5465-81cc-0c7f525daa46 |
A nascent backlash against Musk sharpens risk for Trump and GOP | Stephen Collinson | The resistance may be stirring.
Elon Musk’s chainsaw is not only slashing away at the bureaucracy but is generating the first warning signs that it could eventually cut deep into the political standing of President Donald Trump and his MAGA allies.
Political risks are rising for Republicans as court defeats pile up for the administration and as confusion is fomented by conflicting instructions from the SpaceX chief-turned-government cost cutter and the rest of the administration.
Trump often prospers in the chaos that he foments, and the erratic swathe that Musk is slicing through the civil service is a direct response to the fury many voters expressed in last year’s election. And for some in Trump’s base who embrace the president’s anti-elite rhetoric, the act of subjecting federal workers to fear and pain may be a political end in itself. Among conservatives more generally, meanwhile, cutting government is perennially popular.
So, Musk’s onslaught may still be a winner – at least for now.
But pushback from some of the most authentic Make America Great Again Cabinet secretaries to Musk’s email to federal workers asking “what did you do last week?” hints at another possibility – concern that confusion and morale-busting assaults on staff could make it harder to enact Trump’s agenda.
Two dozen and counting court challenges to the constitutionality of the administration’s dramatic personnel and cost cutting purges could be similarly chilling to the president’s goals. As could several cases testing whether Musk is acting legally in assuming more power than any private citizen in modern history.
Some GOP members of Congress are meanwhile beginning to experience a backlash over Musk’s frenzy — including in rowdy town hall meetings that have gone viral. While it’s unclear whether these represent the first roots of a political uprising, or just canny progressive organizing, they’re a reminder that the federal government is not limited to Washington but is also a huge red state employer.
And while Musk’s wild anti-government theater fits Trump’s shock-and-awe application of raw power since his White House return, some lawmakers are wondering whether the sheer velocity of his effort could be politically counterproductive.
“Things are happening so fast and furiously,” Rep Nicole Malliotakis told CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday. “We need to take a step back and make sure that we’re doing things in a way that we are rooting out the waste, the fraud and the abuse and the mismanagement, making programs efficient but not resulting in unintended consequences,” the New York Republican said.
Some recent polls have shown majority public disapproval of Musk’s Blitzkrieg through the federal government and concern about his potential overreach. In a CNN/SSRS poll last week, 51% said Trump had gone too far in cutting federal programs and 53% thought it was bad that Musk is so prominent.
If attitudes towards Musk harden, they could crystallize into broader opposition to what many critics see as an unprecedented and unconstitutional attempt to destroy the rule of law and the federal government. This would deepen the intrigue over the friendship between the world’s richest man and its most powerful man. Their capacity to preserve their relationship under stress could also shed light on one of the key unknowns of the president’s second term: If his plans for the most far-reaching shake-up of US governance and society in decades make him unpopular — will he press on or take it down a notch?
So far, Trump has shown no sense of disengaging from Musk or that he’s whipped up an incoming political storm. “I thought it was great,” the president said Monday of his friend’s demand for federal workers to reply to an email justifying their productivity last week. For now, the Tesla pioneer is the personification of his determination to ensure that this term, no one will rein in his power grabs.
The White House will attempt to dispel any suggestions of concern within the administration over Musk’s role when he shows up to the first Cabinet meeting of the president’s second term on Wednesday.
“The president and Elon and his entire Cabinet are working as one unified team,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Tuesday brought another dizzying spate of developments in the high-speed effort to dismember the US government and in the drama surrounding Musk.
— Twenty-one United States Digital Service technology staffers, including skilled engineers, designers and data scientists resigned. The staffers complained of hostile interviews from DOGE employees and said that in the current extreme circumstances they could no longer honor their oaths to serve the people and uphold the Constitution. Their gesture threatens to severely hamper government operations through the loss of experts who best understand its operating system.
But Paul Barrett, deputy director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said that the symbolic value of the resignations of public servants who intimately understand the government’s operating systems, would outstrip any operational risk their departures posed. “The federal government is a big workforce, a couple of million. So, 20 people leaving is not going to change the situation in some dramatic way,” Barrett said. “What’s important here is that, like some of their brother and sister civil servants who have resigned or been willing to be fired rather than cooperating with the Musk-DOGE rampage, these people are saying, ‘We will not cooperate. We will not obey. This is not legitimate.’”
— In another development likely to exacerbate concerns about crushed legal and personnel protections, the Office of Management and Budget, along with the Office of Personnel Management, are expected to issue a memo that will direct agencies to prepare for large-scale firings, CNN’s Alayna Treene reported.
— Trump meanwhile sowed new confusion about Musk’s directive to federal employees to detail their productivity after the tech mogul several times said a failure to respond would be tantamount to a resignation. “Well, it’s somewhat voluntary, but it’s also, if you don’t answer, I guess you get fired,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “What it really is, what it is, is – do people exist?” he added, underscoring the baffling logic and execution of his government gutting plan.
— A federal judge indefinitely blocked the administration from freezing federal loans and grants. That move, in the first days of the administration caused nationwide uproar as vital services were shuttered, showing for the first time how the loss of federal services could impact daily life and be a political liability. “Defendants’ actions were irrational, imprudent, and precipitated a nationwide crisis,” said US District Judge Loren AliKhan.
— Another federal judge halted Trump’s executive order that indefinitely suspended refugee admissions, while a second ordered the administration to pay foreign-aid related funds owed to government contractors and nonprofits by Wednesday following Musk’s evisceration of USAID.
— Hostility towards government runs deep in America’s DNA. But the callous treatment of thousands of government employees who’ve been fired, including probationary workers, often with little notice or compensation, seemingly at the whim of Musk and his young followers, has been callous. Some of those workers spent Tuesday going door to door in the Senate demanding action. “Our goal is to just start putting some faces and names to all the federal workers who have been impacted by the furloughs, layoffs, immediate firings by Musk and DOGE,” said Elizabeth Glidden, who was fired as a technical program officer in USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. “It’s been terrible. I’ve cried everyday,” Glidden said. “I go through waves of crying, anger, frustration.”
The human toll of the firings, as well as the concern among Americans over potentially lost government help is beginning to crest into political momentum, CNN’s Annie Grayer reported. Several House Republicans pleaded with leadership Tuesday for guidance on handling a deluge of questions from constituents about recent cuts, multiple sources said. GOP lawmakers are on a tightrope between pro-Trump base voters and constituents being hurt by Musk’s destruction.
Malliotakis said Trump had appointed “very smart people” as Cabinet secretaries and they should be empowered to make cuts. “This idea that they were going to just fire people via Twitter, Elon Musk, that to me, seems rash,” she said. The New York lawmaker is far from the most endangered Republican in next year’s midterm election, so her concern is notable.
But so far, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is already hampered by a tiny majority, is holding the line. “I think the vast majority of the American people understand and applaud and appreciate the DOGE effort, the goal to scale down the size and scope of government,” the Louisiana Republican said.
GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune was more mindful of the humanity of the federal workers let go, while sharing the goal of trimming government, saying “It needs to be done in a respectful way.”
Respectful is the antithesis of Musk’s approach – one reason why it’s worth watching whether he develops into a political liability for Trump.
Revolts often start from a small pile of political kindling – for instance, the Tea Party movement that reached critical mass in response to the early policies of President Barack Obama. Barrett believes that significant political pressure on even a small number of GOP members in Congress could slow the DOGE purge. He said: “I think there’s every chance in the world that a handful of members of Congress will summon the courage to confront Trump and suffer his wrath if they get enough constituents back home telling them ‘Hey, we sent you to Washington and we’ve had enough of this. This is this is chaos, craziness.’”
Should such a backlash develop, Musk’s swinging of a chainsaw above his head at the Conservative Political Action Conference will be seen less as an exuberant emblem of disruption and more an act of hubris that presaged a political fall. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/trump-musk-political-risk/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 6e83c803-1cdb-5c78-9d65-e8c87dad62f2 |
White House reveals who DOGE acting administrator is | Kaitlan Collins, Tierney Sneed | Amy Gleason is the acting administrator of the US DOGE Service, the agency that houses the temporary Department of Government Efficiency, a White House official told CNN on Tuesday.
The announcement, after weeks of questions about Elon Musk’s official role and authority over DOGE, reveals the technical leader of the Musk-driven initiative tasked with reconfiguring the federal government.
Gleason has a background in health care and previously worked at the US Digital Service, an office created by President Barack Obama and most recently named after DOGE. Her position with DOGE was first reported by the Washington Examiner.
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She also worked in President Donald Trump’s first term, including being placed on the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s data team, led by Dr. Deborah Birx, because of Gleason’s technology background. In that role, Gleason led the creation of the national Covid-19 case tracker database.
Before returning to government work, Gleason joined Russell Street Ventures, a firm founded by Brad Smith, who is now a DOGE adviser.
Despite pledging full transparency, the White House has refused or been unable to identify the administrator of DOGE, including during Tuesday’s press briefing. While Musk has served as the initiative’s public face and continues to issue social-media directives to government workers, the White House has maintained that his status is one of a special government employee, and not a full-time worker.
“So, the president tasked Elon Musk to oversee the DOGE effort,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier Tuesday when asked directly who was administering the initiative. “There are career officials and there are political appointees who are helping run DOGE on a day-to-day basis.”
Justice Department attorneys were grilled in a court appearance Monday about who the administrator was, but none were able to say then, either.
“Who’s involved? Who’s in charge? Who’s giving them direction?” Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly asked government attorneys at the hearing, which examined DOGE’s access to sensitive data systems at the Treasury Department.
Judges, including Kollar-Kotelly, have raised the lack of clarity around DOGE’s structure as impeding their ability to decide the emergency disputes before them.
She and others have raised possible constitutional issues, depending on the chain of command at DOGE and who is behind the sweeping decisions that have the upended federal government’s operations in recent weeks.
The White House official did not say how long Gleason has been the acting administrator.
It had been unclear to some employees if Gleason had the acting administrator position when she led an all-staff meeting in person in Washington, DC, last week. She did not make it known nor did people ask at the time. Gleason gave a message at the meeting signaling, “I am here to move the organization forward and to reassure you that all your projects are a priority,” according to a federal employee who has worked with Gleason but asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to discuss her new role.
The employee described Gleason, in general, as “direct and to the point.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty, Michael Williams and Shania Shelton contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/amy-gleason-doge-acting-administrator/index.html | 2025-02-25 | e12d461b-370c-5c24-82b2-88acac39c496 |
Supreme Court signals it will make it easier for Americans to file ‘reverse discrimination’ suits | John Fritze | The Supreme Court appeared virtually certain to side with an Ohio woman who lost a “reverse discrimination” suit against her employer when her gay boss declined to promote her, a decision that will likely make it easier for some White and straight employees to win similar claims.
At a moment when President Donald Trump has politicized workplace diversity efforts, both the court’s conservative and liberal justices – as well as the attorneys arguing the case – appeared during brief arguments Wednesday to agree that some courts are misreading the law and erecting unfair burdens against discrimination suits filed by employees who are members of a majority group.
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“We’re in radical agreement today,” Justice Neil Gorsuch, a member of the court’s conservative wing, quipped at one point.
Marlean Ames started working for Ohio’s state government in 2004 and steadily rose through the ranks at the Department of Youth Services. She claims that in 2017 she started reporting to a gay boss and was passed over for a promotion that was offered to another gay woman.
Ames is challenging a requirement applied in five appeals courts across the nation that “majority” Americans raising discrimination claims must demonstrate “background circumstances” in order to pursue their suit. A plaintiff might meet that requirement, for instance, by providing statistical evidence documenting a pattern of discrimination against members of a majority.
Ames couldn’t do that in this case and so she lost.
An employee who is a member of a minority group, however, does not face that same initial hurdle.
The requirement was rooted in the notion that it is unusual for an employer to discriminate against a member of a majority group. But neither federal anti-discrimination law nor Supreme Court precedent speak to creating one set of requirements for a White employee to file a discrimination suit and a different set for a Black employee.
The case landed on the Supreme Court’s docket last fall, about a month before Trump was elected and pledged to clamp down diversity and inclusion efforts in both the government and the private sector. But Ames’ case is more procedural than those broader pronouncements, which triggered a series of other lawsuits. In one indication of that, both the Trump and Biden administrations agreed that the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals decision against Ames should be reconsidered.
Neither Trump nor the broader political debates over diversity he has stoked came up during the court’s session.
The justices zipped through their questioning of attorneys for Ames and the federal government on Wednesday and then repeatedly tore into T. Elliot Gaiser, the lawyer representing Ohio.
“You agree that those passages are wrong,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, pressed the state solicitor general on the section of the appeals court opinion that required Ames to show “background circumstances” to win her suit.
“Were not defending the exact language there,” Gaiser acknowledged.
That prompted an incredulous Justice Elena Kagan to jump in.
“I mean, the exact language? You’re defending something like that language?” asked Kagan, a member of the court’s liberal wing. “This is what the court said … I don’t know exactly what to make of this.”
Kavanaugh pressed ahead, asking Gaiser whether Ohio agreed with Ames that the central point of the appeal court decision was wrong.
Gaiser said he agreed on that point, but pressed the justices to craft an opinion that would give guidance to lower courts to avoid tipping the scales too far toward employees in similar suits.
A majority of the court seemed unreceptive to that argument as well.
One telling – and virtually unheard of – sign of just how clearly the court appeared to ready to side with Ames: The justices wrapped up their arguments five minutes early. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/politics/reverse-discrimination-supreme-court-melanie-ames/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 2dab2084-e16b-5a35-8e07-2ca09ef85fe6 |
Tracking Trump’s picks for his Cabinet and administration | Curt Merrill, Way Mullery, Lou Robinson, Henrik Pettersson, Gillian Roberts, Janie Boschma, Annette Choi, Matt Stiles | President Donald Trump moved swiftly to announce his selections for his next Cabinet and key administration posts in the days and weeks following the election. Now that Trump has been sworn in, it’s the Senate’s job to consider his nominations.
See the status of each post, and explore which people Trump has named through official statements. This list will be updated.
Cabinet members include the vice president and the heads of the 15 executive departments in the presidential line of succession. A president may also choose to elevate other roles to join the Cabinet. The following list includes roles that were Cabinet-level in Trump’s first Cabinet or that he specified in the announcement will be included this term.
CNN’s Rebecca Wright contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/politics/trump-cabinet-picks-administration-dg/index.html | 2025-02-26 | 12b4de7c-a747-5dc0-a09f-69ad85c84938 |
Vivek Ramaswamy announces 2026 bid for Ohio governor | David Wright | Vivek Ramaswamy announced Monday evening that he is running for governor of Ohio in 2026, capping a rapid-fire sequence of events in recent weeks that included the former GOP presidential candidate exiting President Donald Trump’s government efficiency effort and being passed over for the US Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance.
“Today, I am honored to announce that I am running to be the next governor of a great state at the heart of the greatest nation known to mankind – the state where I was born and raised, the state where Apoorva and I raise our two sons today – a state whose best days are still ahead,” Ramaswamy said at a rally in Cincinnati.
The entrance by Ramaswamy comes after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced his candidacy last month to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in a race that could draw other GOP contenders. Former Ohio health director Amy Acton is running for the Democratic nomination. Trump won Ohio by 11 points in November’s election.
Trump endorsed Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial bid late Monday night, touting his former GOP primary opponent in a post on Truth Social as “something SPECIAL.”
“Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” the president added.
Ramaswamy had been tapped by Trump in November to co-lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, working alongside tech billionaire Elon Musk. The pair had previewed plans for steep cuts to government spending and regulation.
As Trump’s inauguration neared, Ramaswamy’s future involvement with DOGE became more uncertain. He also courted controversy with social media posts in December criticizing American cultural values, and he clashed with other Trump supporters over visas for highly skilled foreign workers.
The Cincinnati native’s role with DOGE was further muddled as DeWine began deliberating whom to appoint to the US Senate seat ahead of Vance’s swearing-in as vice president.
Ramaswamy’s name came up in discussions surrounding the Senate appointment — despite the fact that he had removed himself from contention in November, saying he was focused on his work with DOGE. Sources told CNN that Trump privately encouraged Ramaswamy to consider the appointment, and Ramaswamy met with DeWine the weekend before the governor made his selection.
DeWine ultimately selected Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, an ally who had long been seen as a potential successor, avoiding a potential GOP primary fight between Husted and Ramaswamy in the race for governor.
Following the Senate announcement, sources familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking told CNN he would focus on his efforts with DOGE before launching a bid for governor. But the timeline for a campaign announcement accelerated, leading the Trump administration to confirm Ramaswamy would no longer be involved with DOGE.
“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE. He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE based on the structure that we announced today. We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last 2 months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again!” Trump transition spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement last month.
In the intervening weeks, Ramaswamy has spent time traveling across Ohio and the country, drumming up excitement for his campaign launch, collecting endorsements from supporters-in-waiting, and sparring on social media while touting the Trump agenda.
Ramaswamy went to a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game and greeted fans there in early February; days later he attended a comedy show in Columbus. In addition, he traveled to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500 in West Palm Beach, Florida — both events also attended by Trump.
Meanwhile, the list of Ramaswamy endorsers has grown in anticipation of his formal entry to the race. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose pre-endorsed Ramaswamy earlier this month, writing on social media, “If he decides to run for governor, he will have my full support.” State Treasurer Robert Sprague and several GOP US senators also voiced support for Ramaswamy, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
But despite Husted’s redirection to the Senate and a slate of prominent supporters, Ramaswamy still faces some hurdles in the GOP primary, including Yost’s rival campaign.
In recent weeks, former championship-winning Ohio State University head football coach Jim Tressel, who was appointed by DeWine to take Husted’s place as lieutenant governor, has signaled he is considering entering the gubernatorial race.
Tressel’s entry could set up an intriguing competition with Ramaswamy, pitting a national symbol of the new brand of conservative politics against a soft-spoken state stalwart recently tapped by the outgoing two-term governor.
Ramaswamy is a recent newcomer to politics, having significantly elevated his profile over the course of a long-shot 2024 presidential campaign — his first run for office, though he had considered running for US Senate in Ohio in 2022.
He launched his White House bid in February 2023 as a little-known former biotech executive whose books “Woke, Inc.” and “Nation of Victims” had given him a growing status in right-wing media. Using his personal fortune, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions, Ramaswamy was able to seed his campaign and gain national prominence.
And despite challenging Trump, Ramaswamy assiduously avoided criticizing the former president during the contest, instead praising Trump’s agenda and making a name for himself with a series of confrontational media appearances, anti-establishment messaging and controversial policy proposals.
Ramaswamy also made a splash at the GOP presidential primary debates (which Trump skipped), lacing into his Republican rivals and drawing sharp rebukes from his opponents — including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who called him “just scum” during one contentious exchange. Their clashes sparked a rivalry that has continued into the new administration; amid the dust-up over Ramaswamy’s comments on American culture and high-skilled immigration last month, Haley responded on social media, “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have.”
Despite his success generating headlines, in January 2024, with Trump’s lead in the primary becoming prohibitive, Ramaswamy suspended his campaign and immediately endorsed the former president. And he turned into an energetic surrogate for the Trump campaign, stumping for the Republican ticket and echoing Trump’s agenda, leading to his DOGE appointment.
Ramaswamy, who is Hindu and the son of Indian immigrants, was raised in Cincinnati. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biology before earning a law degree from Yale University.
In 2014, he founded Roivant, the source of the bulk of his fortune. The company targets drugs that large pharmaceutical companies have shelved because they didn’t fit into the company’s business model. Roivant would buy the right to develop those drugs and share the profits with the original company. The “roi” in the company’s names stands for return on investment.
After Roivant, Ramaswamy helped start Strive Asset Management, an investment management firm that earned a reputation for refusing to consider “woke” ideology in investment decisions, including environmental, social and corporate governance factors — positions he frequently pointed to on the trail.
This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report. | cnn_politics | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/24/politics/vivek-ramaswamy-2026-bid-ohio-governor/index.html | 2025-02-24 | 57b1ccce-540c-5c98-a500-c10b9b4e319d |
Rihanna gives us the most solid tease of new music yet, but still won’t reveal when it’ll drop | Dan Heching | Ladies and gentlemen, the time is almost upon us … we hope.
Rihanna has spoken at length about her next album – a project that has been speculated about, pored over, theorized on and dreamt up for nearly a decade, ever since her eighth album “Anti” came out all the way back in 2016.
In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar published on Saturday, the singer and fashion mogul addressed the near-feverish desire for more information on her new music, saying she “just cracked the code on what I really want to do for my next body of work. I am actually feeling really good about this.”
She also hedged slightly, adding, “I know I kept saying this over the years,” in reference to previous teases, including the (perhaps fan-fictionalized) possibility that her next record would be more reggae-leaning.
The “Work” singer said this weekend that idea is actually “way off!”
“There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited. Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour,’” she continued.
She also said that all the time she spent away from music means that her next project “has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”
And while she stopped short of providing a timeframe for when that wait might finally be over, Rihanna said that her new music “feels right. It feels like it digs right into where I need to be, and I want this. This body needs to come out, and I’m ready to go there.”
In spite of her absence from the spotlight with new music, the Grammy winner also said that she has, in fact, been in the studio all this time.
“This is becoming my new freedom, because when I’m in the studio, I know that my time away from my kids is to blossom something that hasn’t been watered in eight years. I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years,” she said.
“But it didn’t hit me. I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do. ‘This kind of album, not that album.’ I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it’s not going to be commercial or radio digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now,” she added.
Of course, Rihanna hasn’t only been in the recording studio over the last eight years – she also joined the billionaires’ club thanks to her Fenty fashion and beauty empire, along with performing at the Super Bowl in 2023. Oh, and she’s also had two kids with her partner A$AP Rocky, whose felony assault trial she recently attended (he was found not guilty of all charges).
Now seems like the perfect time to pivot back to music, RiRi. | cnn_entertainment | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/22/entertainment/rihanna-tease-new-music-album/index.html | 2025-02-22 | 835550f1-c023-5f73-b402-26f2fbcc3dfc |
Jane Fonda gives politically-charged speech at SAG Awards: ‘Woke just means you give a damn about other people’ | Lisa Respers France | Jane Fonda persevered over some audio issues Sunday night to encourage activism at the SAG Awards.
Fonda received the SAG lifetime achievement award at the event, and the 87-year-old actress reminded the room, “It’s okay to be a late bloomer as long as you don’t miss the flower show.”
“I’m a late bloomer. This is the flower show,” she said, gesturing to her statuette. “Yeah. I love acting. We get to open people’s minds to new ideas, take them beyond what they understand of the world and help ‘em laugh when things are tough, like now.”
The woman who is as much an activist as a star then reminded the world of her political passions, including saying she is “a big believer in unions.”
“And this is really important right now when workers’ power is being attacked, and community is being weakened,” Fonda said.
Fonda then pointed out that SAG, which stands for Screen Actors Guild, is different from other unions since actors don’t create something tangible, but rather “create empathy.” She shared some of her views on acting, including “while you may hate the behavior of your character, you have to understand and empathize with the traumatized person you’re playing, right?” using the example, among others, of Oscar-nominee Sebastian Stan starring as Donald Trump in the film “The Apprentice.”
“Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke,” Fonda noted. “And, by the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people.”
Fonda, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, also made reference to current events.
“A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way,” she said. “And even if they’re of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts and welcome them into our tent because we are going to need a big tent to resist successfully what’s coming at us.”
The two-time Oscar-winner made references to defining events in history, like the Civil Rights movement, and added, “we are in our documentary moment” right now.
She ended by offering words of encouragement, saying, “There will still be beauty, and there will be an ocean of truth for us to swim in” on the other side. | cnn_entertainment | https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/23/entertainment/jane-fonda-speech-sag-lifetime-achievement-award/index.html | 2025-02-23 | 3b853f8a-e555-5b27-b905-8118e76f226e |
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