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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer exits Trump admin; Keith Sonderling named acting head

April 20, 2026 5:32pm EDT / Fox News

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving her post, with high-ranking official Keith Sonderling tapped to lead the agency in an acting capacity.

By Louis Casiano, Alec Schemmel Fox News

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer is leaving the Trump administration and will be temporarily replaced by Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling.

Sonderling, who serves under DeRemer, will become the agency’s acting secretary. Her exit comes after a whistleblower complaint accused the labor secretary of an affair with her security guard, drinking on the job and using staff to fabricate official travel for personal trips at taxpayer expense.

“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on Monday afternoon. “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.”

NANCY MACE MOVES TO EXPEL FELLOW REPUBLICAN CORY MILLS, SETTING UP RARE HOUSE VOTE THIS WEEK

Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving the Trump administration.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The news of Chavez-DeRemer’s exit comes as an inspector general investigates a slew of complaints against her, such as that she created a hostile work environment, used work trips for personal leisure, engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of her security team, and that her husband was making unwanted advances toward Labor Department officials.

Reporting on the complaints indicates Chavez-DeRemer requested staff to perform private errands for her and her husband, like picking up their dry cleaning, getting them wine and cleaning out the Secretary’s closet, while using threats to ensure compliance. Text messages obtained by the Labor Department’s Inspector General also reportedly showed Chavez-DeRemer’s family members routinely sending personal requests and messages to young staff members. Meanwhile, other complaints have alleged drinking on the job and keeping stashes of liquor around the office, according to the New York Post, which first reported the complaints in January.

A large U.S. flag is seen on the facade of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington D.C., Sept. 8, 2025. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)(Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime. At the Department of Labor, I am proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business and labor and always put the American worker first. We created new pathways to mortgage-paying jobs, prepared workers to excel in the age of AI, took steps to lower prescription drug costs, promoted retirement security, and so much more,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement she posted on X after news of her leaving the department broke.

HOUSE LAWMAKERS EXPRESS DISGUST OVER SWALWELL NOT BEING EXPOSED SOONER: ‘IT’S SHAMEFUL’:

“Thinking back to my first job packing peaches in rural California, it taught me the value of hard work – a value that I have carried with me every single day in this job and throughout my time in public service. We live in the best country in the world, and I am incredibly grateful that I had this opportunity to meet workers across the nation, listen to their stories, and deliver wins for them and their families,” she continued, before thanking President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump (right) and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (left).(Getty Images/Reuters)

“While my time serving in the Administration comes to a conclusion, it doesn’t mean I will stop fighting for American workers. I am looking forward to what the future has in store as I depart for the private sector,” Chavez-DeRemer concluded.

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Chavez-DeRemer becomes the third top-ranking official in the Trump administration to resign in the past few weeks, following former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The Department of Labor did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the Labor Secretary’s resignation.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

Senate Democrats press Fed chair pick Warsh on plan to divest holdings

2026-04-20 8:31 PM UTC / Reuters

By Michael S. Derby

April 20, 2026 8:31 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

节点运行失败

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh speaks during a monetary policy conference at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution in Palo Alto, California, U.S. May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Saphir/File Photo

• Summary

• Senate Democrats question transparency of Warsh’s asset divestiture plan
• Concerns raised over Warsh’s ties to billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller
• Warsh updates divestiture plan after ethics office talks, faces tough confirmation path

NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) – Democratic members of a Senate panel set to hold a confirmation hearing for ​Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh on Tuesday are worried about the potential central bank leader’s pledge to unload assets ‌not allowed by current ethics rules.

In a report on Monday, the group pointed to Warsh’s recent plan to unload millions of dollars in assets if made Fed leader and asked who might buy this large volume of holdings, some of which may be hard to sell.

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Warsh “has not provided key details regarding his plans to divest his ​assets,” which means it is unclear to Congress and the general public who or what will be buying these assets, minority ​members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs wrote in their report.

“Without transparent information on ⁠his holdings and divestitures, there is no way for the public to have confidence that Mr. Warsh is making decisions based on what is ​in the best interest of our economy, instead of his own bottom line or the interests of his Wall Street billionaire associates,” the report ​said.

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The Democratic report also pointed to Warsh’s very close ties to financier Stanley Druckenmiller and wondered if he would be an avenue to help Warsh unload his holdings.

“The vast majority of Mr. Warsh’s assets are tied to Mr. Druckenmiller, raising concerns that if Mr. Warsh divests his assets as he has committed to, Mr. Druckenmiller ​could be one of the people cutting a check to Mr. Warsh,” the report said. “It is not unreasonable for the public to question an ​arrangement in which a billionaire investor cashes out the future Fed Chair to the tune of millions, as he takes office,” the legislators wrote.

Warsh did not immediately ‌respond to ⁠a request for comment on his divestiture plans. On Monday he updated his plan to divest holdings after interactions with the central bank’s ethics office.

Last week, ahead of his confirmation hearing, Warsh released financial disclosures detailing wealth of over $100 million. Among his extensive holdings of assets, Warsh did not provide details for a number of investments and pledged to divest any holdings that are forbidden by Fed ethics rules.

Central bank rules put in ​place in 2022 sharply limit what ​top Fed officials and their ⁠families can invest in. That which can’t be held has a window in which it can be sold, with rules governing how those assets are unloaded.

If he is confirmed, Warsh, chosen for the job by President ​Donald Trump after extolling the need for interest-rate cuts after a long period of being hawkish, would be ​the wealthiest Fed ⁠leader in the central bank’s history.

Over recent years, Fed officials have faced a range of challenges managing their assets and some have been formally rapped for creating conflicts of interest with their investing activities.

Warsh faces a challenging path to becoming Fed leader. A key Republican said he would oppose any vote ⁠to confirm ​Warsh until legal investigations into the Fed by the Trump administration are ended. Current ​Fed chair Jerome Powell will see his leadership term end next month.

Most Fed watchers put low odds on Warsh being confirmed in time to take over for Powell and given ​the issues at play, it could be some time before the one-time Fed governor gets his vote.

Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Daniel Wallis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nancy Mace moves to expel fellow Republican Cory Mills, citing misconduct allegations

April 20, 2026 5:52pm EDT | Fox News

The resolution accuses the Florida Republican of stolen valor and sexual misconduct, among other charges

By Adam Pack, Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: The House of Representatives could soon face another expulsion vote after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she would seek the removal of an embattled Republican from Congress.

Mace filed a motion to expel Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., on Monday evening. The measure is not privileged, though Mace could move to force a vote in the future.

Mace’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accuses Mills of misrepresenting his military service, sexual misconduct, campaign finance violations and illicit involvement in federal contracts as a member of Congress, among other charges.

The expulsion push comes after NOTUS reported on Monday that Mills was drafting a similar resolution to remove Mace from the chamber.

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., addresses the media outside of Manhattan Criminal Court on behalf of former President Donald Trump on May 14, 2024, in New York City.(David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

NANCY MACE CALLS ON CONGRESS TO RELEASE SEXUAL HARASSMENT RECORDS, WANTS AN ‘AVALANCHE OF RESIGNATIONS’

A spokesperson for Mills did not immediately return a request for comment on Mace’s expulsion resolution or the status of the congressman’s measure targeting Mace.

“As a survivor, I will always stand up and right the wrongs of others,” Mace, who is running for governor of South Carolina, wrote on social media Monday. “He is only coming after me because he knows he’s next.”

Mills has faced a bevy of recent scandals, including allegedly threatening an ex-girlfriend with revenge porn after they broke up and a separate assault allegation that law enforcement responded to in Washington, D.C., last year.

He has denied any wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged. Mills is seeking a third House term this November and President Donald Trump has endorsed his re-election campaign.

It is unclear whether Mace’s resolution could clear the two-thirds threshold required to expel a member of Congress.

Rep. Nancy Mace previously introduced a censure resolution against fellow House Republican Rep. Cory Mills, but it failed.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images/David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

HOUSE LAWMAKERS EXPRESS DISGUST OVER SWALWELL NOT BEING EXPOSED SOONER: ‘IT’S SHAMEFUL’:

Lawmakers in both parties have largely stopped short of calling for Mills’ removal, though many have voiced concern about the serious allegations against him.

“If there’s evidence of criminal misconduct and wrongdoing, I hold the same standard for every member of Congress, whether they’re a Democrat or Republican,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital last week when asked about whether she would support expelling Mills.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., is also expected to face an expulsion vote as soon as Tuesday if she does not resign.

The House Ethics Committee is expected to recommend its suggested punishment against Cherfilus-McCormick for violating more than two dozen ethics rules during a hearing Tuesday afternoon. She is also facing a separate federal criminal indictment.

Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, resigned last week to avoid looming expulsion votes, though both scandal-plagued lawmakers were likely at higher risk of being successfully removed by their colleagues. Swalwell has been accused by at least five women of sexual misconduct, while Gonzales admitted to an extramarital affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

Former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Cory Mills, R-Fla., have all been hit with allegations of misconduct during their time in office.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

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The looming expulsion vote is not the first time Mace and Mills are set to clash on the House floor.

Mace’s push to censure Mills and strip him of two committee assignments was overwhelmingly rejected by the House in November 2025. More than 300 lawmakers voted to send the matter to the House Ethics Committee, which is also investigating Mills for domestic violence and misrepresenting his military service, among other allegations of misconduct.

House GOP leadership has continued to stand by the embattled Florida Republican.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has urged lawmakers to let Ethics Committee proceedings run their course prior to punitive measures, told reporters last week that he would be “looking into” the status of the Mills probe.

The House Ethics Committee released a statement Monday stating that its investigation into Mills that began in November 2025 was still ongoing. The panel noted its inquiry involves “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.”

The traditionally secretive panel did not specify a timeline for when it plans to wrap up the probe.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer out as Labor secretary

2026-04-20T21:18:39.414Z / CNN

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Alicia Wallace

Updated 6 min ago
Updated Apr 20, 2026, 8:07 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 20, 2026, 5:18 PM ET

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee on on May 15, 2025.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is stepping down from the Trump administration to take a job in the private sector amid an internal investigation into possible misconduct.

“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” White House communications director Steven Cheung announced in a statement. “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.”

Keith Sonderling will serve as acting secretary of the Department of Labor, Cheung added.

CNN has asked the White House for more details, including when Chavez-DeRemer’s departure will take effect.

In a statement on X, Chavez-DeRemer wrote that it had “been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime.”

“I am proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business and labor and always put the American worker first,” she wrote.

Sonderling wrote on X after the announcement, “Thank you to President Trump for the opportunity to serve as Acting Secretary of Labor. We will keep up the fight to put American workers first.”

Chavez-DeRemer’s brief tenure has been one marked by turmoil as she’s come under internal investigation following complaints within the department about her conduct. The New York Times previously reported that her husband had been banned from the department’s headquarters amid sexual assault allegations. A criminal investigation into that matter has been closed.

In March, two of her top aides were forced out amid an investigation into misconduct at the agency.

For months, the Labor Department’s Inspector General’s Office has been investigating a complaint that Chavez-DeRemer was having a sexual relationship with a member of her security team, as well as other allegations of inappropriate behavior, such as sending staff to pick up liquor and attempting to use business trips as excuses for personal travel, according to a Department of Labor source with knowledge of the situation.

For example, Chavez-DeRemer had expressed a desire to go to events such as a UFC fight in Chicago, a Morgan Wallen concert and to see friends and family in various states, and asked staff to design work trips that would provide her openings to attend those events, the source said.

As part of the investigation, text messages between Chavez-DeRemer, her close family members and staff members at the department that were personal in nature were turned over to the inspector general, according to the source. The messages included exchanges between Chavez-DeRemer’s husband and at least one young staff member, in which he asked to be kept abreast of her whereabouts.

Chavez-DeRemer’s lawyer, Nick Oberheiden, said in a statement to CNN before her new job was announced, “Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has made a name for herself as a zealous advocate for American workers. Mission-focused and committed to President Trump with utmost loyalty, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer will not comment on biased and absurd allegations against her.”

Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in as secretary of labor in March 2025, a time when the Trump administration, via the Department of Government Efficiency, sought to slash federal funding, cut programs and drastically reduce the federal workforce by cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

As of February, the Labor Department’s workforce was nearly 25% smaller than it was in September 2024, US Office of Personnel Management data shows.

Reductions in staffing at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in particular, stoked concern from policymakers, economists, academics, researchers and others, who sounded the alarm that existing funding and staffing were not adequate to make the “gold-standard” data more modernized and robust. And the agency faced acute upheaval when Trump fired Commissioner Erika McEntarfer following a jobs report that contained large revisions.

In the days following McEntarfer’s firing, Chavez-DeRemer told Fox Business that it was her job to support the president in the matter.

During her tenure, Chavez-DeRemer’s Labor Department announced sweeping deregulatory efforts aimed at rewriting or repealing more than 60 workplace regulations it deemed obsolete. Those included proposals to eliminate a minimum wage requirement for home health care workers, remove a standard requiring lighting in active construction areas and reduce health and safety regulations in the mining industry.

Chavez-DeRemer is the third Cabinet secretary to leave Trump’s government in recent weeks, after he fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Rene Marsh and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.

Leaked memos reveal how Supreme Court steamrolled Obama climate plan in 2016 showdown

2026-04-20T18:15:31-04:00 / Fox News

The 5-4 decision in 2016 is now seen as an early example of the emergency ‘shadow docket’ shaping national policy

By Ashley Oliver Fox News

Published April 20, 2026 6:15pm EDT

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The Supreme Court’s emergency order blocking former President Barack Obama’s signature clean energy initiative in 2016 came after a series of leaked internal memos among the justices that revealed a fight along ideological lines about whether to intervene.

The rare glimpse at the high court’s internal memos, obtained by the New York Times, showed Chief Justice John Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, urging the Supreme Court to block Obama’s effort, while liberal justices pushed back.

Roberts and the court’s conservatives were concerned not just with Obama’s policy itself, but with the possibility that the Clean Power Plan could reshape the power sector before the justices could fully review whether it was lawful, the newly revealed memos show.

“Absent a stay, the Clean Power Plan will cause (and is causing) substantial and irreversible reordering of the domestic power sector before this court has an opportunity to review its legality,” Roberts wrote in one of the memos published by the New York Times on Friday.

JACKSON-KAVANAUGH TENSIONS SURFACE IN CANDID EXCHANGE OVER SUPREME COURT ‘SHADOW DOCKET’

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court’s communications team Monday for comment on the leaks.

The push from Roberts came as the justices were considering what was viewed at the time as an unusual request on the emergency docket, sometimes called a “shadow docket,” from red states and outside groups to halt the Obama-era regulation, which aimed to cut carbon emissions over the next 25 years, before lower courts had fully weighed in, a step that the liberal justices warned would break from longstanding practice.

The emergency docket allows litigants to bypass typical court proceedings and seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court if lower courts block them through restraining orders or preliminary injunctions.

The Clean Power Plan would have involved the Obama Environmental Protection Agency regulating coal, oil and gas plants under the Clean Air Act. Roberts wrote that without the Supreme Court stepping in, “both the states and private industry will suffer irreparable harm from a rule that is — in my view — highly unlikely to survive.”

In another memo, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, disagreed, saying “the unique nature of the relief sought in these applications gives me real pause.”

JONATHAN TURLEY: CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS COULD LEARN FROM BASEBALL GREAT TED WILLIAMS WHEN IT COMES TO LEAKS

Former President Barack Obama during a campaign event on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.(Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Justice Samuel Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, circulated a memo the same day as Kagan in which he agreed with Roberts.

“A failure to stay this rule threatens to render our ability to provide meaningful judicial review — and by extension, our institutional legitimacy — a nullity,” Alito wrote.

Within a matter of days, the justices temporarily blocked Obama’s Clean Power Plan 5-4 along ideological lines, effectively dealing it a death blow because Democrats would lose the White House later that year. The New York Times noted that the Obama White House dismissed the ruling at the time as a small hurdle but that “behind closed doors, officials were astonished that the court had intervened so quickly.”

The back-and-forth in the memos during the short period of time, from the end of January 2016 to Feb. 9, when the brief decision was issued, showed how fast the justices moved to weigh in on a major presidential action.

Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University, wrote in an op-ed that the anonymous leak of the memos to the New York Times, the second leak of confidential material after the Dobbs opinion leak in 2022, was “clearly designed to wound some of its members.”

“For an institution that prides itself on its confidentiality and insularity, the court is looking increasingly porous and partisan in these leaks,” Turley wrote.

KAGAN SCREAMED SO LOUDLY AT LIBERAL ALLY AFTER DOBBS LEAK THE ‘WALL WAS SHAKING,’ BOOK CLAIMS

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks to the 2025 Supreme Court Fellows Program, on February 13, 2025, at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.(JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The New York Times’ report highlighted that legal experts have long viewed the Clean Power Plan decision as one of the first examples of the Supreme Court using the emergency docket in a way that limits executive power over national policy.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has been among the most vocal dissenters in emergency cases during President Donald Trump’s second term as the president frequently benefits from the fast-paced docket. Jackson is sometimes joined by her two liberal colleagues, Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissents, and emergency cases have often split 6-3 in favor of Trump.

Last week, Jackson aired her grievances in a different forum, blasting emergency docket decisions during a Yale Law School speech as rushed, “scratch-paper musings” that undermine the high court’s purpose.

“Given the real world facts that a stay request asks the court to consider, the court’s stay decisions can, at times, come across utterly irrational,” Jackson said. “We cannot expect the public to have faith in our judicial system if, without clear explanation, we consistently greenlight harmful acts.”

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Legal experts have attributed the heightened activity on the emergency docket to a rise in presidents attempting to shape national policy through through executive orders.

“[An increase in emergency motions] coincides with the rise of executive orders and other forms of unilateral executive action really as the primary form of lawmaking in our country with the disappearance of Congress, and that has posed enormous challenges for the court,” attorney Kannon Shanmugam said during a Federalist Society panel last fall.

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office for comment.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

High-level US delegation visits Cuba as Trump ups pressure

2026-04-20 4:31 PM ET / CNN

By Jennifer Hansler

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Apr 20, 2026, 4:31 PM ET

The National Capitol of Cuba rises amid the Havana skyline, on March 5.

Norlys Perez/Reuters/File

A senior US delegation met with Cuban government officials in Cuba as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to pressure Havana into a deal as it continues to exert its economic chokehold on the island.

It was the one of the highest-level visits of US officials in roughly a decade and comes as President Donald Trump continues to raise the specter of potential military action. It also comes as Cuba’s economic crisis continues to deepen amid sharp restrictions, including on fuel, from the US administration. Cuba’s president, meanwhile, has made increasingly defiant calls to resist US military aggression in recent days.

The senior State Department delegation, which visited the island in recent weeks, stressed that time was running out for Havana “to make key US backed reforms before circumstances irreversibly worsen,” a US State Department official told CNN.

It was the first time a US government aircraft touched down in Cuba – other than at the US base in Guantanamo Bay – since 2016, when former President Barack Obama visited amid an effort to expand relations with Havana.

According to the State Department official, the US delegation stressed “Cuba’s need to make significant economic and governance reforms to enhance competitiveness, attract foreign investment, and allow private sector-led growth.”

They discussed a proposal to bring Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet to Cuba, as well as proposals to compensate US people and corporations “for confiscated assets and properties” – something that would likely be welcomed by the Cuban diaspora in the United States.

The delegation put forward demands that the Cuban government release political prisoners and increase “political freedoms” for the population, the State Department official said. They also expressed concerns “about foreign intelligence, military, and terror groups operating with Cuban governmental permission less than 100 miles from the American homeland,” the official said.

The official declined to provide details on the members of the delegation. They noted that one senior State Department official met separately with Raul Castro’s grandson during the visit.

On Monday, a top Cuban official confirmed that a meeting between Cuban and US delegations “was recently held” on the island.

Speaking to state media, Alejandro García del Toro described the meeting as “respectful and professional,” and said that “eliminating the energy blockade against the country was a top priority for our delegation.”

In later March, the Trump administration allowed a Russian-flagged oil tanker into Cuban waters, breaking the fuel blockade, saying: “They have to survive.” The White House afterward said this was “not a policy change.” Still, the overall blockade has significantly hamstrung the island.

Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly suggested that the US could pursue military action against Havana, following what he has described as a significant military success against Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

“In January, our warriors flew straight into the heart of the Venezuelan capital, captured the outlaw dictator Nicolás Maduro and brought him to face American justice,” Trump said at an event Friday. “And pretty soon, this great strength will bring about a day 70 years and waiting. It’s called a new dawn for Cuba.”

Embattled Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, while commemorating the 65th anniversary of the victory by Cuban soldiers at the Bay of Pigs over CIA trained exile forces, Díaz-Canel vowed to “open fire” on any new US attempts to invade the island.

On Sunday, Díaz-Canel was shown on Cuban TV with other officials signing a declaration to never “negotiate the principles of the Cuban revolution.”

CNN’s Patrick Oppmann and Michael Rios contributed reporting.

Chavez-DeRemer steps down as US labor secretary amid misconduct probe

2026-04-20 21:18:57 UTC / Reuters

By Jasper Ward

April 20, 2026 9:18 PM UTC Updated 40 mins ago

节点运行失败

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer speaks at a press conference with U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and other House Republicans, more than a month into the ongoing U.S. government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 4, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Summary

Deputy Keith Sonderling named acting labor secretary, White House announces
Inspector general probe includes allegations of misconduct, misuse of resources, inappropriate messages
Chavez-DeRemer previously received bipartisan Senate support and union backing for her nomination

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – U.S. Labor Secretary ‌Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned on Monday amid allegations of misconduct at the department, stepping down as the Labor Department’s inspector general neared the end of an investigation into claims involving her and her top aides.

Her deputy, Keith Sonderling, will serve as acting secretary, the White ​House said.

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“While my time serving in the Administration comes to a conclusion, it doesn’t mean I ​will stop fighting for American workers. I am looking forward to what the future has ⁠in store as I depart for the private sector,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

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The Labor Department’s inspector general ​is nearing the end of a months-long investigation into a whistleblower’s allegations of professional misconduct by Chavez-DeRemer, including claims ​that she had an affair with a member of her security team and used department resources for personal trips. Chavez-DeRemer was expected to be interviewed in the matter in the coming days.

Her departure makes her the third to leave U.S. President Donald Trump’s ​cabinet in recent weeks. Kristi Noem was fired as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in March ​and Pam Bondi left as attorney general less than a month later.

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Trump had been weighing a broader cabinet reshuffling as he grows increasingly ‌frustrated ⁠with the political fallout from the war with Iran, five people familiar with internal White House discussions told Reuters earlier this month.

Chavez-DeRemer took the helm of the agency in March 2025 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for two years. Her nomination received bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the American ​Federation of Labor and ​Congress of Industrial Organizations ⁠were among the unions that supported Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination.

At the time, the AFL-CIO praised her “history of supporting the freedom of workers to organize, join unions and other fundamental values ​of the labor movement.”

The Teamsters did not immediately respond when reached about Chavez-DeRemer’s departure. ​The AFL-CIO said ⁠a labor secretary who “understands working people and will work to make our lives better” is needed.

Chavez-DeRemer’s tenure was fraught with allegations of misconduct at the department that resulted in the resignations of her chief of staff and deputy chief ⁠of staff.

The ​department’s inspector general has also investigated Chavez-DeRemer and her aides over ​claims that they sent personal text messages and inappropriate requests to young staff members, according to the New York Times.

Reporting by Jasper Ward ​in Washington; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose, Gram Slattery and Andrea Shalal, Editing by Caitlin Webber and Stephen Coates

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Gunman at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids kills Canadian tourist, injures at least 4 people

April 20, 2026 / 7:23 PM EDT / CBS News

A Canadian tourist was shot and killed Monday while visiting the Teotihuacán pyramids in Mexico, according to local authorities.

Mexico’s security officials said a gunman opened fired at the popular tourist spot, killing a Canadian woman and injuring at least four people. The shooter later took his own life, the Security Cabinet said.

In a video posted on X, verified by CBS News, a man with a gun is seen pacing near the top of the Pyramid of the Moon. In another video, gunshots can be heard as visitors of the archeological site are seen walking at the bottom of the pyramid.

At least two other people were injured from falls, officials said.

Mexico’s Security Cabinet said a firearm, a bladed weapon and ammunition were found at the scene.

Forensic workers carry the body of a victim down a pyramid after authorities said a gunman opened fire, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026. Eduardo Verdugo / AP

“What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement on Monday. “I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families.”

Mexican authorities are in contact with the Canadian embassy about the incident, Sheinbaum said.

The Teotihuacán pyramids are located 30 miles north of Mexico City. The pyramids are one of Mexico’s most important and visited archeological sites, with millions of tourists flocking to them each year.

Warren says her ‘kind of man’ is left-wing Senate hopeful rocked by Nazi-tattoo, Reddit controversies

Combat veteran and oyster farmer leads Gov. Janet Mills by 38 points ahead of the June 9 Democratic primary

2026-04-20T18:00:26-04:00 / Fox News

By Ashley J. DiMella Fox News

Published April 20, 2026 6:00pm EDT

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner cites military ‘culture’ for controversial behavior, faces backlash

In a CBS News interview, Democrat Graham Platner said his time in a “hyper masculine, hyper violent” military culture shaped past controversial views. Republican veterans, including Rep. Don Bacon and Sen. Tim Sheehy, pushed back on the claim.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., long a progressive force in New England, traveled to Maine over the weekend to boost left-wing Senate candidate Graham Platner ahead of the state’s pivotal Democratic primary.

“Graham is a combat veteran. He’s an oyster farmer, he is an organizer, and he is the person who is going to beat Susan Collins,” said Warren at his campaign rally on Saturday in Portland.

At one point during the rally, Warren said Platner was her “kind of man,” recalling that she first noticed him in an interview where he argued the system was “rigged” after the 2008 financial crash as no bankers were jailed.

Warren is championing Platner as a “fighter” for Maine voters, drawing national attention to the candidate ahead of a showdown with two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. A series of controversies, however, trail Platner.

MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT

U.S. senatorial candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025 in Ogunquit, Maine. Platner, a veteran of the U.S. Marines and an oyster farmer, is running for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).(Sophie Park/Getty Images)

“Insiders who go along to get along are not going to hose the corruption out of Washington. We need Graham Platner to come in and get the corruption out of Washington,” said Warren from the rally.

ELIZABETH WARREN ENDORSES NAZI-TATTOOED GRAHAM PLATNER IN HIGH-STAKES MAINE SENATE PRIMARY

“There are people who realize that when the system is this broken, when there are this many billionaires who have this much control over our country, it is no longer time to make little change at the margins, it is time for big, structural change,” Warren added.

Maine’s Democratic primary is June 9, with Platner working to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November’s general election.

Platner’s past controversies have been political fodder for the Mills campaign, including directing voters to his decade-old Reddit posts in which he appeared to place blame on sexual assault victims and defended Hamas military moves, among other messages from the 2013 and 2014 era. Platner also came under fire for having a chest tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, which he has since apologized for and covered.

“For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,” Platner said in an apology video in 2025.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questions former executives of failed banks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill May 16, 2023, in Washington.(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Warren, who is one of President Donald Trump’s most relentless critics, notably condemned Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth last year for his Christian tattoos, which include the Jerusalem Cross and the Latin phrase “Deus Vult,” which translates to “God wills it.”

“We cannot have a Defense Secretary whose fellow service members feel concerned enough about to report as a potential insider threat,” Warren wrote in a lengthy letter to Hegseth in 2025 over her concerns with his tattoos.

The Massachusetts Democrat has downplayed Platner’s past controversies since her endorsement of the Senate candidate.

“Look, he has apologized for that, and he’s out there talking to the people of Maine every single day,” Warren told HuffPost when asked about Platner’s controversies.

DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE LAUGHS WHEN PRESSED IF VOTERS CAN TRUST HER AFTER PUBLIC BIDEN DEFENSE

Graham Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, in August launched a Democratic run for the U.S. Senate in Maine.(Graham Platner)

WARREN WARNED HEGSETH’S TATTOO MADE HIM A POTENTIAL ‘THREAT’ — NOW SHE BACKS CANDIDATE WITH NAZI-LINKED INK

The race has amplified divisions within the Democrat Party, with left-wing lawmakers such as Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders back Platner, while Schumer and Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have backed Mills for the Senate.

Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday in Portland, Me.(WGME via AP)

Platner, angling himself a Washington outsider, spoke Saturday about wealth being shifted to the “ruling class” through a system created by establishment politicians.

“The money went somewhere, and it wasn’t down here. It was stolen from us, stolen from us in a system that was built by establishment politicians like Susan Collins,” said Platner, as Democrats increasingly lean into slamming the Trump administration and GOP for its economic policies in the lead up to the midterms.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Warren and Planter for comment on Monday.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

俄预计未来数年对华天然气售价将比对欧低约三分之一

2026年4月21日 07:16 / 联合早报

俄预计未来数年对华天然气售价将比对欧低约三分之一

今年俄罗斯对中国的天然气价格预计平均为每千立方米258.80美元。图为工人正在检查“西伯利亚力量”天然气管道。 （路透社）

俄罗斯政府预计，未来数年向中国出售天然气的价格将比欧洲支付的价格低约三分之一，凸显出其转向亚洲的举措尚未完全弥补失去大部分西方市场所带来的损失。

据彭博社报道，两位了解政府预测的人士称，今年俄罗斯对中国的天然气价格预计平均为每千立方米258.80美元（约329新元），比仍在采购的少数欧洲买家支付的价格低逾38%。

这些人士表示，价差在未来三年将逐步缩小，但到2029年幅度仍将略高于27%。

由于相关计划尚未公开，知情人士要求匿名。俄罗斯政府新闻部门未立即回应置评请求。

报道称，价格差距表明，尽管中国现在是莫斯科最大的天然气客户，但与以前俄罗斯和欧洲的贸易关系相比，中国带来的利润要少得多。

中俄协议增加天然气出口 分析：威胁特朗普能源出口战略

2022年初俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后，大部分商业联系被切断，只有匈牙利、斯洛伐克、塞尔维亚和土耳其等少数几个欧洲国家仍在通过管道接收俄罗斯的天然气供应。俄罗斯政府和国有企业俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司传统上将土耳其划入欧洲地区。