Florida to consider new congressional map with 4 more GOP-leaning seats, for potential 24-4 advantage

2026-04-28T12:31:00-0400 / CBS News

By Aaron Navarro Digital Reporter
Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter. He covered the 2024 elections and was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.

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Updated on: April 28, 2026 / 12:39 PM EDT / CBS News

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The Florida Legislature is convening Tuesday to review a new congressional map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in an effort to net Republicans up to four new seats in the latest tit-for-tat in the redistricting wars ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Florida is currently represented by 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one seat vacant after Democratic Rep.Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned last week. DeSantis’ proposed map aims to eliminate or shrink Democratic-leaning districts in Tampa, Orlando and parts of the state’s southeast coast.

Should this map pass, Democratic Representatives Jared Moskowitz, Lois Frankel, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Kathy Castor and Darren Soto are all likely to run in new districts, some of which would have shifted to be more favorable for Republicans.

“The representation for Florida Democrats will clearly be diminished within the state — at least that’s the intention” said University of Florida political science professor Michael McDonald. “Already it’s diminished below what a fair map would be for the state of Florida.”

Florida map shows proposed congressional redistricting

Florida is likely the last state to redraw its congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections after President Trump kicked off the mid-decade redistricting scramble in Texas last year to net more seats for the GOP.

If the Florida Legislature approves the new map and it isn’t successfully challenged in court, the scorecard in the redistricting wars could tip toward Republicans — although no seats are guaranteed for either party.

McDonald, who has served as a consultant to commissions and legislatures throughout the country on redistricting, noted that he did not believe all four of these districts will be won by Republicans.

“Most generously, I would say maybe three districts because there’s one that’s highly competitive, if not Democratic — still Democratic-leaning on some measures,” McDonald said.

Republicans have a majority in the Florida Legislature, and the State House Speaker Daniel Perez said at the start of the session that he hopes to bring the proposed map for a vote on Wednesday. But the new map faces significant legal hurdles since the state has a law, the “Fair Districts” amendment, that bans partisan gerrymandering. However, DeSantis has appointed six of the seven current justices on Florida’s Supreme Court, making any successful challenges difficult for Democrats.

DeSantis gave the map to Fox first, which included color-coded districts representing their expected political lean.

DeSantis told Fox that this mid-decade redraw is needed because of an undercount of Florida from the 2020 census. DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier cited that as the reason for beginning their calls last August for a mid-decade redraw.

In a letter sent by DeSantis’ general counsel David Axelman to legislative leaders on Monday, he criticized the 2010 Fair Districts Amendments race-based requirements and used that as a reason for new, “race-neutral terms districts” in southeast Florida. Axelman also pointed to population growth in Tampa, Orlando and north of Palm Beach County.

“While still based on 2020 census data, the proposed map nevertheless attempts to account for these dramatic population changes by reconfiguring districts around the areas of high growth,” Axelman wrote.

Democratic Rep. Soto’s district in central Florida, a majority Hispanic district, is currently protected under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, although the Supreme Court has a pending decision that could potentially strike down that provision.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday criticized the new map, specifically pointing to the Fair Districts Amendment and the changes to Soto’s district.

Jeffries said DeSantis is “going to try to bully the legislature to enact a map that clearly violates the Florida State Constitution, and by the way, because it goes after communities of color in South Florida and in Central Florida also violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Getting this map passed quickly through the legislature in Tallahassee during this special session and then surviving legal challenges is imperative for Republicans, since ballots get mailed out to overseas and uniformed Florida voters as soon as July 4 for the Aug. 18 primary.

The special session in Tallahassee runs through Friday, May 1.

The bill targets 17 states with sanctuary cities that haven’t entered into agreements with federal immigration enforcement

By Alex Miller, Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: Two Senate Republicans want blue states and sanctuary cities to sign agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are dangling federal funding to get them on board.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who is leading the charge, plan to introduce legislation that would incentivize states and local governments to sign cooperation agreements with ICE. They also plan to beef up federal grants as a sweetener to blue states and sanctuary cities that aren’t part of the program.

Graham said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “While sanctuary states and cities obstruct ICE, this legislation rewards law enforcement agencies who work with the federal government to keep our communities safe.”

“No more excuses. When it comes to combating illegal immigration, local law enforcement has the legal authority and, if they choose, the means to go after criminal illegals in their communities,” Graham said. “Our bill expands that opportunity.”

REPUBLICANS SCRAMBLE TO FUND SECRET SERVICE AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AMID RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., want to incentivize blue states and cities to cooperate with ICE by dangling beefed-up federal grants in exchange for signing agreements with the federal agency.(Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The duo’s 287(g) Expansion Act is a two-pronged effort. On its surface, the legislation is designed to lock in ICE agreements with local law enforcement agencies across all 50 states in exchange for boosted grant funding that would support personnel, equipment, supplies and training, among other perks for local police.

But it’s also the latest in a string of efforts to dissolve sanctuary city jurisdictions across the country by rewarding states and local governments that work with ICE.

The 287(g) program was first established in the late 1990s and allows local governments to enter into agreements with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that effectively delegate some ICE authorities.

Those authorities include identifying and processing removable aliens with criminal or pending criminal charges, training police to serve and execute administrative warrants on illegal immigrants in their agency’s jail, and building local task forces with limited ICE powers.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER SENATE GOP, WHITE HOUSE DEAL AMID SAVE ACT FIGHT

ICE agents depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Feb. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis.(John Moore/Getty Images)

Graham and Blackburn argue that locales that don’t sign on — and, more specifically, the 17 states that have sanctuary cities that haven’t entered into an agreement — undermine federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“State and local law enforcement should be doing everything in their power to partner with the federal government to enforce the rule of law in our communities following the Biden Border Crisis,” Blackburn said.

So far, 39 states have at least one local government or jurisdiction with an agreement with federal immigration enforcement in place.

SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVIVING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT

That’s where the sweetener in Graham and Blackburn’s bill comes in.

Jurisdictions that enter into 287(g) agreements would get a funding boost through the Byrne Memorial JAG program, which already acts as the primary federal funding stream for state and local law enforcement.

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The bill would set aside $20 million a year through 2033 to help boost federal grants, and Graham and Blackburn are eyeing the forthcoming budget reconciliation process as the ideal vehicle to get the legislation passed.

Republicans are embarking on that partisan journey as the DHS shutdown continues, which was spurred 74 days ago when Democrats refused to fund the agency without stringent reforms to immigration operations in the country.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Exclusive: Justice Department indicts former FBI Director James Comey for a second time

2026-04-28T17:38:28.371Z / CNN

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Kristen Holmes, Holmes Lybrand

Updated 54 min ago
Updated Apr 28, 2026, 3:11 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 28, 2026, 1:38 PM ET

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Tuesday over a photo of seashells officials said threatened President Donald Trump, marking the administration’s second attempt to prosecute one of his largest political opponents, three sources first told CNN.

The indictment was brought in the Eastern District of North Carolina, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Comey faces charges of making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, according to court documents.

Trump has long pressed for his political adversaries to face charges, including the former FBI director he sees as a key leader in the perceived effort to “weaponize” justice system against him.

Last May, Comey posted a photo on social media of shells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47,” which critics said referred to taking out or killing Trump.

This now-deleted Instagram post from James Comey shows seashells spelling out the numbers “86 47.” The number 86 can often refer to getting rid of or tossing something out, while 47 corresponds to Trump’s current term in office as the 47th president. Republicans claimed that it was a threat against President Donald Trump, while Comey said he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”

James Comey/Instagram

When used as slang, the number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out. Trump is currently the 47th president. Comey posted the photo of the shells, writing in the caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Almost immediately following his post, Republicans and administration officials went full bore in their criticism of Comey at the time, with then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announcing Comey would be investigated by the Secret Service over what she said was a call “for the assassination” of Trump.

The Secret Service brought Comey in for an hours-long interview with agents in Washington, DC, an uncommon step by the agency over a non-specific threat. Comey told investigators he saw the shells on a beach in North Carolina.

Related article Amy O’Kruk, CNN Tracking Trump’s retaliation 18 min read

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News following Comey’s post that the former director should be “put behind bars for this” and that she was “very concerned” for Trump’s life.

Comey removed the post the same day, writing on social media that he assumed the shells represented “a political message” but “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”

“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” he wrote.

Legal and security experts have told CNN such a case against Comey may be fruitless, especially given the country’s free speech protections.

Moss talks on the indictment of Comey

1:23 • Source: CNN

A second indictment

The case against Comey marks a newly reinvigorated effort by Trump’s Justice Department to convict the former director, who became a staunch critic of the president following his firing by Trump in 2017 over the Russia-meddling investigation.

In September of last year, the Justice Department first brought charges against Comey, accusing him of lying to Congress over leaks to the press. The case was dismissed late last year by a federal judge who found that the interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had been improperly appointed, having skirted approval from the Senate.

Comey’s attorneys declined to comment for this story.

The former director fell out of favor with Trump before he was first elected president, as Comey’s agency investigated the Trump campaign and ties to Russia. Comey was fired in the months after the inauguration.

Since his firing, Comey has become an ardent critic of Trump and key enemy of Republicans in the White House and Capitol Hill.

Maurene Comey lawsuit continues

Earlier Tuesday, a judge allowed a lawsuit brought by Comey’s daughter Maurene, a former high-profile New York federal prosecutor challenging her firing from the Justice Department, to move forward in federal court.

Maurene Comey alleges she was fired as retribution because she is the daughter of the former FBI director. She is seeking back pay and to have her legal fees paid.

She worked on some of the most prominent prosecutions by the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, including the prosecution of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez.

On July 16, two weeks after a jury convicted Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, Maurene Comey received an email from Washington informing her she was fired “pursuant to Article II” of the US Constitution.

‘Weaponization’ efforts

Comey’s indictment comes as Blanche has picked up the pace in bringing cases that the president has publicly jockeyed for.

In his first week in office, Blanche oversaw the release of the Weaponization Working Group’s first report — one that alleged the Biden Justice Department was biased in how it went after abortion protesters. The department fired four prosecutors who worked on the cases.

Moss speaks on the indictment of Comey

0:30 • Source: CNN

He has made changes to the prosecutors overseeing the investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan – one of the most important cases to the president.

And on Tuesday, the Justice Department has been taking steps that are likely to please Trump.

The DOJ is planning to subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ bodyguards, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Willis prosecuted Trump and many others over their efforts to change the results of the 2020 election.

The Justice Department also charged a former senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with concealing records during the Covid-19 pandemic. Republicans have long gone after officials who led the pandemic response over failures, real and perceived, and before leaving office, President Joe Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci – the biggest target of all.

The story was updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.

Ex-adviser at Fauci’s NIAID indicted for allegedly attempting to hide records during COVID-19 pandemic

April 28, 2026 / 2:09 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is facing charges over an alleged scheme to hide federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Dr. David Morens, 78, was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month and charged with five counts, including conspiracy, destruction of records in federal investigations, and concealment of records. He made his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge Monday and is set to be arraigned next week.

Morens served as a senior adviser to NIAID’s Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022. Dr. Anthony Fauci led the institute for nearly 40 years, serving under seven presidents, and retired in 2022 during then-President Joe Biden’s administration.

Prosecutors allege that Morens and two unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators worked together to defraud the U.S. by shielding federal records related to the pandemic from the public. The first co-conspirator, identified as “co-conspirator 1,” served as the president and CEO of a New York-based nonprofit group that received a grant in 2014 titled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.”

The Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, received a subaward from the New York organization on the coronavirus grant, prosecutors said. The second co-conspirator is described in the indictment as a physician, scientist and professor who worked for an academic institute that received federal grants.

Emails released in 2024 by the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic indicate that the New York-based organization is the EcoHealth Alliance and co-conspirator 1 is its president, Peter Daszak.

The charges stem from several Freedom of Information Act requests NIAID received between April 2020 and December 2022 from organizations including Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation that sought communications between Morens, the New York grant recipient and its president.

Prosecutors said that Morens started communicating with the company president, co-conspirator 1, in early 2020 about what was then the emerging coronavirus and received information about the bat coronavirus grant the nonprofit had been awarded. That grant was terminated in April 2020 after the National Institutes of Health said it was reviewing allegations that the pandemic was the result of a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The indictment alleges that Morens and the two co-conspirators used his personal Gmail account to exchange emails about COVID-19, the bat coronavirus grant, and requests for documents about the grant and COVID-19’s origins in an effort to evade federal public records laws.

Morens and his co-conspirators also allegedly used his Gmail account to share nonpublic information from the National Institutes of Health about COVID-19 and “back-channel” information to an unidentified senior NIAID official, which appears to be Fauci, according to the charging document.

The indictment claims that Morens authored a medical journal submission that sought to counter the claim that COVID-19 emerged from a lab and instead focused on evidence that it came from nature, which the Justice Department said was intended to benefit the New York-based company and its president.

Prosecutors said that Morens also used his position as a senior adviser at NIAID to “engage in official acts favorable” to the New York organization and its leader, and received gratuities.

In June 2020, co-conspirator 1 allegedly sent Morens two bottles of wine to his house and included a message stating, “This is the first of what I hope will be a continued series of expressions of gratitude for your advice, support, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans in my battle against your bosses boss, his boss, and the ultimate boss on the hill,” the indictment states.

The document also claims that co-conspirator 1 promised Morens additional gifts, such as a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, Washington, D.C., and New York.

Republicans in Congress launched an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the theory that the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab, as well as Fauci’s handling of the pandemic. Fauci testified for 14 hours before the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2024 and then answered questions publicly later that year.

Morens, too, appeared before the pandemic subcommittee in May 2024, where he was pressed about emails suggesting he was attempting to circumvent FOIA rules.

Fauci distanced himself from the investigation into Morens during his June 2024 testimony, telling lawmakers they worked in different buildings on the National Institutes of Health Campus. He said Morens was not an adviser to him on “institute policy or other substantive issues.”

Fauci also acknowledged that many of Morens’ actions were wrong and violated agency policy, and denied using his personal email to conduct official business.

Rep. James Comer, the Republican leader of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, lauded the Justice Department for pursuing charges against Morens.

“We caught Dr. Morens red-handed as he boasted in emails about how the ‘FOIA lady’ coached him on how to hide records and cover-up information,” he said in a statement. “I applaud the Trump Justice Department for taking action to hold this public official accountable for hiding information from the American people.”

While Fauci regularly appeared beside President Trump at public briefings in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between the two grew tense after Fauci differed with the president on public health guidance.

In the first days of Mr. Trump’s second term, he removed Fauci’s security detail. Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci before the end of his presidency in anticipation that he could be targeted by Mr. Trump.

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Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

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Jennifer Jacobs,

Jennifer Jacobs Senior White House reporter

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Sarah N. Lynch Senior Justice Department Reporter

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Updated on: April 28, 2026 / 2:31 PM EDT / CBS News

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Washington — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again, multiple sources familiar told CBS News, marking the second time he will face charges brought by President Trump’s Justice Department.

The specific charges are unknown but stem from an image he briefly shared to Instagram last year that showed seashells arranged in the sand to form the numbers “86 47,” the sources said. He was indicted in the Eastern District of North Carolina, a source told CBS News.

Comey was interviewed last May by Secret Service agents about the post. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time that the former FBI leader had “just called for the assassination” of the president and said the Secret Service would investigate and “respond appropriately.”

CNN first reported that Comey had been indicted again.

The image shared by Comey sparked outrage from Mr. Trump’s supporters, who interpreted “47” as referring to his status as the nation’s 47th president and “86” as meaning “eject” or “remove.” Comey deleted the photo and wrote in an Instagram post that he believed the shell formation was communicating a “political message.”

“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey wrote. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

Mr. Trump has consistently voiced his anger at Comey since he fired him from his post at the FBI in 2017, during his first term. In a September post to Truth Social, the president told then-Attorney General Pam Bondi “we can’t delay any longer” and urged her to take action against Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.

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Bondi was ousted as attorney general earlier this month and Todd Blanche, her deputy, was installed as acting attorney general.

Comey was firstindicted by a federal grand jury in late September on charges he lied to Congress during testimony in September 2020 and obstructed a congressional proceeding. He pleaded not guilty.

The case — as well as criminal charges against James, the New York attorney general — was dismissed in November when a federal judge found that Lindsey Halligan, the top prosecutor in eastern Virginia who secured the indictments against Comey and James, had been unlawfully appointed to the job.

The Justice Department appealed that decision. Halligan left her post at the Justice Department in January.

Comey sought to dismiss the first indictment on multiple grounds, including on the basis that his prosecution was vindictive and selective. In court filings in that case, Comey’s lawyers said that Mr. Trump had ordered prosecutors to charge him out of “personal spite,” since Comey is a frequent critic of the president.

The judge overseeing Comey’s first criminal case never ruled on that motion.

Justice Department indicts former FBI Director James Comey for a second time

2026-04-28T17:49:43.284Z / CNN

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted a second time by Trump’s Justice Department, two sources familiar told CNN. The specific charges were not immediately clear.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 30: James Comey speaks onstage during Former FBI Director James Comey In Conversation With MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace at 92NY on May 30, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Some groups ask US trade agency for new duties, import bans to fight forced labor

2026-04-28 17:00:42 UTC / Reuters

By David Lawder

April 28, 2026 5:00 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

Shipping containers are stacked at a terminal at the port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, California, U.S., March 10, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo

Summary

USTR holds two-day hearing on forced labor unfair trade practices probe
US bans imports from China’s Xinjiang region, but many other countries don’t, rights groups say
Pro-tariff group says forced labor is a hidden subsidy
Tech group cautions against using probe to reimpose tariffs

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) – Pro-tariff and human rights groups asked the Trump administration on Tuesday to impose ​new import bans, duties and quotas to combat forced labor practices in China and other countries and to press trading partners to adopt U.S.-style ‌enforcement mechanisms.

Some 60 witnesses are scheduled to testify at a two-day public hearing on the U.S. Trade Representative’s “Section 301” unfair trade practices investigation into what it calls the failure of 60 countries to enforce bans on imports of goods produced with forced labor.

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The probe, along with a separate investigation into excess industrial capacity, is part of an effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to rebuild tariff pressure on trading partners ​after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his global tariffs imposed under a national emergencies law in February.

The forced labor investigation, launched in mid-March, could result in new ​tariff actions on countries such as China and Russia, but also U.S. allies, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Britain, Israel, India, ⁠Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said he wants to complete the probes by July, when a temporary 10% tariff is due to expire.

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The witnesses span advocacy ​groups, human rights groups, U.S. industry groups and representatives of foreign governments, according to USTR’s schedule.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a pro-tariff group representing domestic industries, called on ​USTR to “complement tariff action with quantitative import management tools suited to the forced labor problem.”

These include import licensing for supply chains with documented forced labor risks, putting the onus on importers to prove that their goods were not produced with forced labor before clearing customs, CPA senior economist Mihir Torsekar said in prepared testimony.

“Forced labor operates as a hidden production subsidy,” Torsekar said. “When a producer pays workers nothing, ​or suppresses wages through debt bondage, document confiscation, or state-imposed coercion, the cost savings flow directly into lower unit production costs.”

New tariff rate quotas for certain sectors like ​solar products, cotton textiles and seafood would cap import volumes in these high-risk areas, and quotas could be allocated based on demonstrated compliance with forced-labor provisions, he added.

CHINA’S XINJIANG TARGETED

The U.S. already has ‌imposed a ⁠general ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region, which produces a fifth of the world’s cotton and nearly half of its polysilicon, a key ingredient in solar panels. The U.S. has accused China of detaining millions of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in work camps producing such goods, which cannot be imported into the U.S. under the Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

But some witnesses at the hearing said that other countries have failed to take similar steps to ban products from Xinjiang, which is growing as a center of ​critical minerals production.

Samir Goswami, director of forced ​labor programs at Global Rights Compliance, a ⁠human rights non-profit group, said that Britain’s Modern Slavery Act focuses on corporate supply chain transparency, “but it does not prohibit the import of goods made with forced labor.”

An EU regulation is stronger, but it will not fully apply until 2027, Goswami said.

“Without tools comparable ​to the U.S. rebuttable presumption for high-risk regions like Xinjiang, authorities may face significant challenges in identifying forced labor in opaque ​supply chains,” Goswami said, ⁠adding that the U.S. should seek enforceable forced labor import bans as part of its trade agreements.

TECH GROUP URGES TARIFF CAUTION

But some industry groups cautioned against using the forced labor investigation to reimpose broad tariffs.

The Consumer Technology Association said that USTR needs to demonstrate a clear link between a country’s forced labor enforcement regulations and a burden on U.S. commerce.

“The relevant question ⁠is whether forced-labor ​goods enter the U.S. market, not whether they enter foreign markets,” CTA Vice President of International Trade ​Ed Brzytwa said in public comments submitted to USTR.

The group, which represents importers of consumer electronics to tech startups, said USTR should consider alternatives to more tariffs, such as coordinated international actions to help countries build ​up forced labor bans.

“USTR should avoid measures that shift costs onto workers rather than addressing the underlying practices of forced labor,” Brzytwa said.

Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Daniel Wallis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

White House yanks CEO’s nomination to lead National Park Service after he opts out of consideration

April 28, 2026 12:46pm EDT / Fox News

Scott Socha said that he made the decision ‘for personal reasons’

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Scott Socha to serve as National Park Service director after the nominee bowed out of consideration last month.

A White House official informed Fox News Digital on Monday “that Scott Socha has withdrawn his nomination.”

“In March 2026, I withdrew from consideration to serve as Director of the National Park Service for personal reasons,” Socha said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

LONG-LOST SOLDIER’S GRAVE DISCOVERED AT REMOTE US NATIONAL PARK AFTER 150 YEARS

President Donald Trump waves after landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, as he returns to Washington on April 25, 2026.(Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

“I am grateful to the President and the Secretary of the Interior for the confidence placed in me and appreciative of the consideration shown throughout the nomination process,” he continued.

“I remain committed to the stewardship of America’s National Parks and to providing outstanding guest experiences for all visitors,” Socha noted.

‘DISCRIMINATORY’ NATIONAL PARK FEE PLAN SLAMMED BY DEMOCRATS TURNS INTO CONSERVATION WIN, BURGUM SAYS

Tourists flock to Mather Point at Grand Canyon National Park, Oct. 1, 2025, in Arizona.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

He had been nominated for the role in February.

Socha works at Delaware North as president for Parks and Resorts and Delaware North Australia, according to the company’s website.

YOU CAN’T DRIVE TO 5 ICONIC US LANDMARKS — AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THEM UNFORGETTABLE

Close-up of National Park Service shield logo on outdoor sign, San Francisco, California, April 17, 2026.(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

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“The parks and resorts subsidiary provides hospitality services in seven national parks, three state parks, operates Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for NASA, owns and operates lodging in five national park gateway communities, such as Tenaya at Yosemite, a full-service resort, and owns and operates several other hotels and resorts, including The Westin Buffalo at company headquarters,” Delaware North’s site notes.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

U.S. soldier pleads not guilty to charges of gambling on Maduro raid

April 28, 2026 / 2:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the military operation that led to former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s capture has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he used classified information about the mission to bet on Maduro’s removal from office — and win.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, entered the not guilty plea Tuesday in federal court in New York. He has been charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

Van Dyke is accused of winning more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket after allegedly betting that Maduro would be removed from office before news of the raid to capture him was made public. Federal investigators believe Van Dyke, a U.S. Army master sergeant, bet more than $33,000 on Polymarket within hours of President Trump’s January announcement that Maduro had been captured, sources told CBS News when the soldier was taken into custody earlier this month.

The case comes during heavy scrutiny on prediction markets, which allow people to trade or wager on almost anything, as policymakers call for stricter regulation of the platforms amid concerns about insider trading.

The Trump administration has been supportive of the prediction market industry’s expansion. The president’s eldest son is an adviser for both Polymarket and its main competitor, Kalshi, and he is a Polymarket investor. Mr. Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is launching its own prediction market called Truth Predict.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke walks with his attorneys near a federal court building in New York on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Seth Wenig / AP

Prosecutors said Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of Maduro’s capture and had signed nondisclosure agreements centered on the operations, but he eventually placed a series of bets related to Maduro being out of power by Jan. 31.

Polymarket, one of the largest prediction markets, flagged the suspicious activity and turned it over to the government, according to CEO Shayne Coplan.

U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton characterized Van Dyke’s alleged actions as “clear insider trading” in a news release after his arrest.

“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain,” Clayton said. “The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit.”

Van Dyke, who is stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, was granted bond after a court hearing in North Carolina last week and will continue his case in New York. He was represented in court by attorney Zach Intrater.

James LaPorta, Jacob Rosen and Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.

Trump-aligned FCC plans to challenge ABC’s licenses with early review

2026-04-28 1:25 PM EDT / CNN

By Phil Mattingly and Elex Michaelson, CNN

Trump-aligned FCC plans to challenge ABC’s licenses with early review

Inside Politics

Sources tell CNN that the FCC—led by Trump-appointee Brendan Carr—is planning to initiate an early review of Disney’s licenses to use public airwaves, years before they come up for renewal. The FCC is likely to point to an investigation of Disney’s DEI practices for the review, but the announcement comes just one day after President Trump & First Lady Melania Trump called on Disney to fire late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel. CNN’s Elex Michaelson joins the Inside Politics panel to share his insight into the move, and the future of late night.