Dem Senate nominee distances herself from Kamala Harris ahead of visit: ‘Will not be attending’

April 8, 2026 1:06pm EDT / Fox News

Harris plans to headline the Shackelford Dinner in Little Rock, her first campaign event since the 2024 election loss

By Leo Briceno, Fox News

Hallie Shoffner says she did not invite Kamala Harris to campaign with her ahead of the former vice president’s upcoming appearance in Little Rock.

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The Democratic nominee for a Senate seat in Arkansas is trying to distance herself from messaging tied to the mainstream Democratic Party, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, as she wages an uphill bid to flip a Republican Senate seat.

“Arkansas is a very independent state. In fact, if you look at our voting history, we are often split-ticket voters,”Hallie Shoffner told Fox News Digital.

“I feel that both of the parties just walked away from rural America — Democrats included,” added Shoffner, who is pushing back on claims that she invited Harris to campaign with her.

Her comments come as Harris plans to deliver keynote remarks at the Arkansas Shackelford Dinner in Little Rock later this month — the first campaign event she has headlined since she lost the 2024 presidential election.

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Hallie Shoffner, left, pictured alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris(Fox News Digital; Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Shoffner strongly denied she had any intention of campaigning with Harris at her upcoming appearance.

“We had nothing to do with bringing the former vice president here. She’s speaking at a Democratic Party of Arkansas event, an event I will not be attending,” Shoffner said.

“This woman is coming, and she’s going to be here for all of two hours,” she said.

Shoffner believes the party should focus on its future, rather than highlighting high-profile names of the past. She blasted Republican attempts to link Harris’ appearance to her Senate bid.

“The Republican Party of Arkansas is talking like I’m the one who’s responsible. Why? Tom Cotton and the Republican Party, why are we relitigating the 2024 election right now?” Shoffner said, referring to her political opponent, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Instead, Shoffner said she is trying to emulate different Democrats who have used middle-of-the-road platforms to attract rural voters.

“If I were Hallie Shoffner, I’d pretend like I didn’t know Kamala Harris either,” Joseph Wood, the chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas, said in a fiery response to her comments. “But Shoffner can’t hide two very important things: her 25 donations to Harris, or that Harris is coming to Arkansas to raise money that will be used to try and help her failing campaign.”

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The U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

SUSAN COLLINS SHRUGS OFF ATTACKS BY DEMOCRATS AND TRUMP, SAYS MAINE VOTERS ‘DON’T VOTE PARTY LINE’

Shoffner mentioned former Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who was defeated in 2024, as an example of a different Democrat.

“One of the things I really like about Sen. Tester is he takes the same approach when he’s going into diverse political communities in Montana,” Shoffner said.

“We’re all Arkansans. We’re all Montanans. You know, we want to be able to buy our groceries. We want to put gas in our car. We want to know that our job is going to be there the next day,” Shoffner said.

Tester represented Montana as a senator from 2007 to 2025. He lost his re-election bid to newcomer Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont.

Despite asserting confidence in charting her own course, Shoffner faces an uphill race against Cotton, the current chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Cotton, who was handpicked by former Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to run for the Senate in 2014, has come to the defense of President Donald Trump’s military engagement against Iran.

REPUBLICAN MAJORITY AT RISK? A LOOK AT THE 6 GOP SENATE SEATS MOST IN JEOPARDY IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Sen. Tom Cotton argued that the war with Iran would continue for weeks, not days, as the U.S. continues to kneecap their offensive abilities.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Shoffner believes that’s a weakness she can exploit.

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“Does it work for the people of Arkansas? That’s the point of Congress. That there should have been an Arkansan up there in D.C. who said, ‘Now, wait a minute, they need diesel and fertilizer prices to be low.’ That is when a senator or a representative from a state is supposed to step in and say, ‘My people at home will be affected,’” Shoffner said.

Shoffner will face off against Cotton in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

Police dog named Hulk sniffs out 48 tons of marijuana in record bust in Brazil

April 8, 2026 / 3:14 PM EDT / CBS/AFP

Brazilian police seized a record 48 tons of marijuana in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, uncovered by chance by a sniffer dog during a regular operation against criminal factions.

During the operation in the Complexo da Mare, a large complex of favelas in the north of the city, a dog named Hulk indicated there was something suspicious under an abandoned water tank.

An officer “discovered a bunker inside where this entire quantity of drugs had been hidden,” said Lt. Col. Luciano Pedro Barbosa, commander of the Canine Operations Battalion.

In a post on Instagram, the battalion touted the bust and posted an image of Hulk after the operation.

“Hulk deserves 48 tons of treats,” quipped one commenter.

A police dog that took part in an operation in which 48 tons of marijuana were seized poses in front of packages containing the drug and weapons in Rio de Janeiro on April 8, 2026. Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images

Barbosa told AFP the seizure was the largest in Brazil’s history and “represents a financial loss of almost $10 million for the criminal faction involved.”

“All of this was thanks to the work of the dog,” he said. “It wasn’t based on intelligence.”

A military police statement said it took dozens of officers five hours to remove the drugs, which were transported in four trucks.

During the removal, officers came under fire from criminals “triggering a shootout” and leading to the arrest of a suspected gunman.

The previous record for the largest drug seizure in Brazil was in 2021 when highway police seized 36.5 tons in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

The police operation, launched Tuesday, involved 250 military police officers, who also seized five rifles, four pistols and 26 stolen vehicles, including cars and motorcycles.

Police posted video of the operation showing Hulk at work and officers seizing evidence.

Hulk, a police dog that took part in an operation in which 48 tons of marijuana were seized, poses in front of packages containing the drug and weapons in Rio de Janeiro on April 8, 2026. Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images

Large swaths of Rio de Janeiro — mainly low-income, densely populated communities — are under the control of criminal factions who engage in drug trafficking and other crimes.

Police dogs routinely help investigators uncover drugs around the world. Last July, a K-9 sniffed out $1 million worth of cocaine in a Chicago drug bust. In December 2023, police dogs helped detect over $10 million of drugs hidden in jalapeno paste at the U.S.-Mexico border. Earlier that year, an Italian K-9 helped sniff out three tons of cocaine hidden in a case of bananas in the port of Gioia Tauro.

Bondi will not appear for House interview on Epstein files, DOJ says

2026-04-08 5:20 PM UTC / Reuters

By Nolan D. McCaskill and Andrew Goudsward

April 8, 2026 5:20 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 15, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• DOJ says Bondi subpoena invalid after her dismissal as attorney general
• House panel says it will seek to schedule interview
• Committee investigating DOJ handling of Epstein files

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) – Former U.S. Attorney General ​Pam Bondi does not plan to appear for a planned interview with a House of Representatives ‌committee on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files following her firing by President Donald Trump, the Justice Department told Congress on Wednesday.

Bondi was subpoenaed last month to testify in her formal role as attorney general, rendering the demand invalid now that she no longer ​holds that title, a Justice Department official wrote in a letter to the House Oversight chairman, Republican ​Representative James Comer of Kentucky. Trump fired Bondi last week, in part over discontent ⁠with her management of the release of records related to Epstein, the late financier and sex offender who died ​in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

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“The Department’s position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her ​to appear on April 14. We kindly ask that you confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn,” Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis, the DOJ’s top liaison with Congress, wrote in the letter, which was seen by Reuters.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi ​for questioning on the Justice Department’s compliance with a bipartisan law passed in November that required DOJ to ​release nearly all of its files on Epstein. Lawmakers have complained that redactions in the files appear to exceed what is ‌allowed in ⁠the law and that the Justice Department publicly released names of victims in some documents.

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A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said the panel will contact Bondi’s personal lawyer to “discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”

A Justice Department spokesperson said the DOJ “remains committed to working cooperatively” with the committee but the subpoena to Bondi “no longer applies.”

The panel’s ​top Democrat, Representative Robert Garcia ​of California, threatened to ⁠begin contempt proceedings against Bondi if she did not appear before the panel, a move that would require Republican support to advance.

“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, ​she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight ​Committee about the ⁠Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” Garcia said in a statement.

The House Oversight Committee has been conducting a wide-ranging probe into Epstein’s ties with wealthy and powerful individuals and the Justice Department’s handling of criminal investigations into Epstein ⁠and his ​former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Bondi and her then-top deputy, Todd Blanche, who ​is now acting attorney general, appeared last month to privately brief the committee on the Epstein files. Democrats walked out during the session, demanding ​that officials answer questions under oath.

Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill and Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis

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By Jasper Ward

April 8, 2026 6:44 PM UTC Updated 48 mins ago

节点运行失败

Governor of Indiana Mike Braun attends a press conference about ‘Operation Midway Blitz’, an immigration enforcement campaign, from a hangar in Gary, Indiana, U.S., October 30, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

April 8 (Reuters) – Indiana on Wednesday became the second U.S. state to suspend its gas tax amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with ​Iran.

Governor Mike Braun, a Republican, said the suspension of ‌the 7% usage tax on fuel will last 30 days and could be extended depending on “the circumstances in the Middle East.”

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“I am declaring a ​gas tax holiday to give Hoosiers relief from the pain ​at the pump from high gas prices. Affordability is ⁠my top priority,” Braun said after issuing an emergency declaration, ​using a term to describe residents of the state.

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He said the ​state will be “patrolling the pumps” to make sure the tax relief is passed directly to consumers. Braun also called on the state’s attorney general to ​enforce protections from price gouging by retailers.

Iran and the U.S. ​agreed on Tuesday to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, but fighting was still ‌taking ⁠place on Wednesday.

Braun said it will take time for residents of Indiana to feel the effects of the ceasefire.

The average gas price in Indiana is $4.137, according to the American Automobile Association. The ​average price was $3.466 ​a month ago, ⁠AAA said.

Fifty-five percent of respondents in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said their household finances had taken at ​least “somewhat” of a hit from the increases in ​gas prices. ⁠Among those seeing an impact, 21% said their finances were affected “a great deal.”

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Georgia became the first state last month to suspend its gas ⁠tax ​as fuel prices continue to surge in ​response to the conflict, which started February 28.

Trump has called the rise in gas ​prices a “short-term increase.”

Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington Editing by Rod Nickel

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Judge blocks Trump’s push to deport Abrego Garcia, rebukes DOJ for trying to ‘dictate’ court

April 8, 2026 3:26pm EDT / Fox News

Xinis blocked the Trump administration’s bid to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia, for now — the latest in a 13-month legal fight

By Breanne Deppisch Fox News

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s allegations are ‘very broad,’ Shannon Bream says
‘Fox News Sunday’ anchor Shannon Bream on the eruption of anti-ICE protests across the country and the case against MS-13 suspect Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

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A U.S. judge in Maryland rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, using an otherwise procedural order Tuesday to scold the Justice Department for its conduct and for attempting, in the judge’s view, to “dictate” the actions of the court.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis took umbrage at the government’s demand that she rule by mid-April on their request for her to dissolve her injunction keeping Abrego Garcia in the U.S. for now, and allowing them to deport him to Liberia.

She sharply disputed the Justice Department’s assertion that the court “must” rule by that date, at risk of having the injunction ignored.

“Respondents cannot dictate the Court’s schedule or the outcome of the motion,” Xinis said. “Nor can they appeal a judicial order that does not exist.”

ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT

Katheryn Millwee holds a portrait of Kilmar Abrego Garcia outside the federal courthouse on June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.(George Walker IV/AP Photo)

Ultimately, Xinis said Tuesday, the request was “not ripe” for the court to rule on the government’s removal of Abrego Garcia, and set new briefing dates for both parties.

She also set a new briefing schedule, with filings due on April 20, and a new hearing date, scheduled for April 28.

Lawyers for the Trump administration told the court during a hearing hours earlier that they still intend to deport Abrego Garcia to the African country of Liberia, despite a new agreement between the U.S. and Costa Rica that would allow him to be sent there.

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons argued that allowing Abrego Garcia to be sent to Costa Rica, his preferred country of removal, would be “prejudicial” to the U.S., citing what Lyons described as the “significant” government resources and capital the U.S. has invested in negotiating his removal and the removal of certain other migrants to Liberia.

Another official suggested Abrego Garcia could “remove himself” to Costa Rica, should he choose to live there, which the judge noted was a “fantasy.”

ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testifies during a House Committee on Homeland Security oversight hearing.(AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March 2025, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, despite a 2019 order from an immigration judge. He was returned by the Trump administration to the U.S. late last spring.

Xinis, who has presided over Abrego Garcia’s civil cases for the last 13 months, has developed a reputation for her careful, methodological style of questioning — a process she previously likened to “eating an elephant, one bite at a time.” But the laborious review process has sparked criticism from Trump allies and Justice Department lawyers alike, who have expressed frustration with the lengthy timeline and what they argue are undue delays to removal efforts.

ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT

The Justice Department seal is seen before the start of a press conference in Washington, D.C.(AFP via Getty Images)

The Justice Department has bitterly disputed Abrego Garcia’s current status in the U.S. for months, as well as the injunction keeping him in the country, for now.

His case has been further complicated by several details, including the November 2025 determination that Abrego Garcia had not been issued a final notice of removal needed to deport him to a third country.

Still, Xinis’s unusually pointed order lays out what the judge described as a “careful recapitulation” of the case history, before concluding that “if anyone, Respondents bear the responsibility for substantial delay.”

Trump administration officials have for months sparred over the final notice of removal in question, as well as whether the court should consider a retroactive removal order that an immigration judge issued in December. Other hearings have focused on what, if any, assurances the four African nations previously identified for Abrego Garcia’s removal had provided, should he be deported there.

Lawyers for the Trump administration have suggested on multiple occasions that Xinis lacks jurisdiction to review Abrego Garcia’s case, citing matters involving diplomacy and foreign sovereigns, an area where presidential powers are at their strongest.

Senior Trump administration officials have assailed Xinis and other district judges as “activist” judges whom they say have overstepped their powers in halting or pausing some of the president’s biggest policy priorities, including on immigration issues and enforcement.

Xinis, for her part, has proceeded unfazed. She said in February that the government had failed to provide the court with any “good reason to believe” that they plan to remove Abrego Garcia to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future.”

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Instead, she said, the government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.”

Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.

Human remains identified as pair who vanished after Oklahoma car chase 13 years ago

April 8, 2026 / 12:26 PM EDT / CBS News

Two sets of human remains discovered by authorities in Love County, Oklahoma were identified as those of a young man and woman who disappeared in 2013, officials said.

Molly Miller and Colt Haynes were last seen on July 7, 2013, according to a missing poster from the Chickasaw Ligthorse Police Department. Miller was 17 and Haynes was 21. They were passengers in a vehicle driven by James Con Nipp, according to a missing poster for Haynes. The car became involved in a police chase in Carter County, Oklahoma, and authorities lost the vehicle in Love County. CBS affiliate KXII reported that the vehicle crashed and Con Nipp walked away, while Haynes and Miller stayed behind.

The next day, Haynes and Miller called friends asking for water and a ride, saying they were lost near a local road, according to Haynes’ missing poster. Two weeks later, the vehicle was found abandoned in the woods. There was no sign of Haynes or Miller.

Molly Miller. Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department

Their bodies were discovered on February 18, 2026, according to the Chickasaw Lighthouse Police Department, as the department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Missing and Murdered Unit searched over 1,000 acres for information about the missing pair. The area had not previously been searched, according to a news release from the bureau. It was identified as a search site “after new information emerged and access to the land was obtained,” the bureau said. KXII reported that the area has rough terrain, and searchers examined the area on foot.

The remains of Miller, who was a Chickasaw Nation member, were identified by the medical examiner on March 31, the Bureau of Indian Affairs said. The date of Haynes’ identification was not specified. Both families were notified.

Authorities did not say how Miller and Haynes died. Police said the investigation “into the circumstances surrounding Molly and Colt’s deaths remains active and ongoing.” The Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit said that it will “continue to pursue every lead” in the case. The local district attorney said it will present the case to a multi-county grand jury for formal charges once the investigation is concluded.

Colt Haynes. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

Misty Miller Howell, Miller’s older cousin, told KXII that the discovery has brought some closure to the family.

“Molly would have never been found if it wasn’t for” continued official efforts, Miller Howell said. She and her family still have questions about how and why Miller and Haynes died. She believes the couple were subject to foul play.

“Right now we’re a little angry, you know, and we can’t help from not being angry,” Miller Howell said. “The case is moving forward so that pretty much told us right then that there was foul play involved. So we’re ready. We’re ready for this multi-county grand jury. I think once we get justice then we’ll get peace.”

Schumer calls Trump ‘a military moron’ and says US ‘worse off’ now than when Iran war started

April 8, 2026 12:25pm EDT / Fox News

Trump announced a two-week ceasefire Tuesday after threatening that an entire ‘civilization will die tonight’

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. blasted President Donald Trump as “a military moron” in a Wednesday post on X, asserting that the nation is “worse off” now compared to when the commander in chief first launched the Iran war effort.

“Trump is a military moron.His war, with a price tag of $44 billion and $4+ gas, made us worse off today than we were when he started it,” Schumer asserted in the post.

“And if he restarts this war we will be in even worse shape. We must pass our War Powers Resolution to end this war for good,” the senator added.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CEASEFIRE WITH IRAN DRAWS PRAISE FROM WORLD LEADERS

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) returns to the U.S. Capitol Building on March 20, 2026, in Washington, DC.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly declared, “Like many Democrats, Chuck Schumer has spent decades talking about the threat posed by Iran, but doing nothing about it. President Trump took courageous action to ensure Iran can never use a nuclear weapon against our homeland, and as he said, we are far along with a definitive agreement to deliver lasting peace.”

AOC DOUBLES DOWN ON CALL FOR TRUMP’S OUSTER EVEN AFTER CEASEFIRE ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

After warning on Tuesday morning that an entire “civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump later announced a two-week ceasefire agreement was reached with Iran on Tuesday evening.

Responding to Trump’s threat on Tuesday morning before the ceasefire announcement later that day, Schumer slammed the president as “an extremely sick person,” adding, “Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is.”

CHUCK SCHUMER INSISTS CALLING DHS FUNDING SHUTDOWN ‘POLITICAL POSTURING’ IS ‘NOT FAIR’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, during a news conference following the weekly Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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After the ceasefire announcement, Schumer said in a Tuesday post on X, “I’m glad Trump backed off and is desperately searching for any sort of exit ramp from his ridiculous bluster.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Trump pushes for Strait of Hormuz reopening without tolls, White House says.

2026-04-08 6:03 PM UTC / Reuters

By Trevor Hunnicutt

April 8, 2026 6:03 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

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U.S. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions from the media during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) – President Donald ​Trump wants to see the Strait ‌of Hormuz open up for oil tankers and other traffic without any limitations, including tolls, White ​House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on ​Wednesday.

“The immediate priority of the president is ⁠the reopening of the strait without ​any limitations, whether in the form of ​tolls or otherwise,” Leavitt said.

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The U.S. has seen an uptick in traffic in the Strait of Hormuz on ​Wednesday, Leavitt told reporters.

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Leavitt was asked ​who currently controlled the Strait of Hormuz and declined ‌to ⁠answer.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime chokepoints, with about 20% of the world’s seaborne ​crude oil ​and liquefied ⁠natural gas flows passing through it.

Amid ceasefire talks with the ​U.S. and Israel, Tehran has sought ​to ⁠formalize this control by proposing fees or tolls on vessels passing through the Strait, and ⁠Trump ​on Wednesday suggested the ​U.S. and Iran could collect tolls in a joint ​venture.

Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

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Artemis II astronauts head for home, wrapping up final tests and experiments

April 8, 2026 / 2:47 PM EDT / CBS News

By William Harwood

Hurtling back toward Earth after a historic loop around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts worked through a relatively light day in space Wednesday, wrapping up a few final tests before packing up for re-entry and splashdown Friday.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen planned to hold a news conference late Wednesday, answering reporters’ questions about the flight, the first piloted trip around the moon in more than a half century.

The crew then plans to take another turn at manually piloting their Orion capsule, testing their ability to precisely maneuver the spacecraft.

The Artemis II astronauts posed for a group photo Tuesday, floating in the cabin of their Orion spacecraft. Left to right: Christina Koch, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover and commander Reid Wiseman. NASA

Earlier tests with all four astronauts demonstrated the precise response to pilot inputs that could be needed during future dockings with lunar landers in the moon’s orbit if problems prevent automatic operations.

Flight controllers, meanwhile, reviewed the re-entry timeline and Navy recovery crews headed to the splashdown site off the Southern California coast near San Diego where the Orion capsule is expected to splash down at 8:07 p.m. ET Sunday.

Back at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, scientists continued poring over thousands of photographs captured by the astronauts as they passed over the far side of the moon Monday, along with video and recorded audio descriptions of various high-priority targets.

Nine three-man Apollo crews flew over the moon’s far side between 1968 and 1972, but those flights were launched when the near side was fully illuminated and the far side was in shadow.

The Artemis II astronauts were the first humans to see, with their own eyes, large swaths of the far side in daylight, giving researchers insights that could lead to a better understanding of the moon’s evolution.

A view of the moon from the Artemis II Orion capsule as it closed in for a loop around the normally unseen lunar far side Monday evening. NASA/edited CBS News to bring out detail

So far, NASA’s first piloted moon mission since the final Apollo landingin 1972 has gone off like clockwork with only a small number of anomalies. One of those involved the ship’s toilet, which has had problems dumping liquid waste overboard as required.

While an annoyance at times for the crew, it’s been a relatively minor issue given the technical challenges of safely flying to the moon and back.

Leavitt rebukes media outlets running with Iranian narratives on 10 demands

April 8, 2026 2:22pm EDT / Fox News

Leavitt says the publicly released Iranian plan was ‘thrown in the garbage’ by Trump’s negotiating team

By Anders Hagstrom, Fox News

Leavitt rebuked media outlets for running with an Iranian narrative that President Donald Trump had agreed to a wildly slanted 10-point peace plan from Tehran on Wednesday.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rebuked media outlets for running with an Iranian narrative that President Donald Trump had agreed to a wildly slanted 10-point peace plan from Tehran on Wednesday.

Leavitt made the comments while speaking to reporters at a press conference, saying the version of the 10-point plan Iran had released publicly was very different from the one Trump and the U.S. had agreed to.

“So let me be clear and correct the record,” Leavitt said. “The Iranians originally put forward a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable and completely discarded. It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team,” Leavitt said.

“Many outlets in this room have falsely reported on that plan as being acceptable to the United States. And that is false,” she added.

WHITE HOUSE ERUPTS OVER CNN REPORT CLAIMING TRUMP TEAM UNDERESTIMATED IRAN RESPONSE ON HORMUZ

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C.(Reuters/Nathan Howard)

Leavitt said negotiations with Iran are taking place behind closed doors, and she did not offer details about the version of the agreement that Trump described as “workable” prior to the Tuesday night truce.

The plan Iran released publicly makes several eyebrow-raising demands, including that the U.S. end all primary and secondary sanctions against Tehran. The plan also demands that Iran gain full control over the Strait of Hormuz, something it did not enjoy even before the war began.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The plan also demands compensation for damage sustained by Iran during the war and a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East.

TRUMP’S APOCALYPTIC IRAN WARNING RAISES STAKES FOR SWEEPING US STRIKE THREAT

Trump publicly blasted that version of the plan in a statement on Wednesday.

“Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Video

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“There is only one group of meaningful “POINTS” that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.

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