EXCLUSIVE: Trump State Department unveils bold new design for America250 passports

2026-04-28T12:39:37-04:00 / Fox News

The limited-edition passports will prominently feature an image of President Donald Trump surrounded by the Declaration of Independence

By Peter Pinedo , Katelyn Caralle Fox News

Published April 28, 2026 12:39pm EDT | Updated April 28, 2026 1:21pm EDT

Washington DC to host Great American State Fair for America250

Ambassador Monica Crowley discusses the Great American State Fair, set to transform the National Mall in Washington D.C. from June 25 to July 10. Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the 16-day event will feature pavilions from all 50 states and six territories, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, traditional games, and rodeo competitions, aiming to unite the country.

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FIRST ON FOX — The State Department is rolling out limited-edition U.S. passports to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. The new passport designs, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, prominently feature President Donald Trump’s image on the inside cover.

Mock-ups show Trump’s image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and American flag along with the president’s signature in gold. Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader “America250” celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.

TRUMP URGED TO DECLARE ‘AMERICAN’ THE OFFICIAL US LANGUAGE AHEAD OF 250TH ANNIVERSARY

The mock-up of the new U.S. passports set to be released in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary prominently feature an image of President Donald Trump.(Courtesy of the U.S. State Department)

“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed U.S. passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital.

Featuring customized artwork and enhanced imagery, Pigott maintains the identification booklets will include the “same security features that make the U.S. Passport the most secure documents in the world.”

The cover of the commemorative U.S. passports has been slightly altered with the words “United States of America” enlarged and placed at the top of the passport, above the crest. The back cover will feature an American flag with “250” centered between the 13 stars featured on the 1777 version of the flag.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR ARTIFACTS UNEARTHED AT SITE OF INFAMOUS COLONIAL AMERICAN HEIST: ‘VERY SURPRISED’

Special commemorative America 250 U.S. passports are being released by the State Department this summer.(Courtesy of the U.S. State Department)

A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for “any American citizen” who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability. The passports will only be available at the Washington Passport Agency, the official detailed.

The launch is expected to coincide with the 250th Anniversary in July, the official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Americans all over the country are preparing for the major kickoff this summer of a nationwide celebration that’s been years in the making.

NEARLY 500 PUBLIC FIGURES FROM POLITICS TO HOLLYWOOD WILL READ BIBLE COVER TO COVER TO MARK AMERICA’S 250TH

Trump’s spoke at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, where he kicked off America250(Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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An Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Under President Donald J. Trump, America’s 250th birthday will be marked by a once-in-a-lifetime celebration that encapsulates the American spirit — including a spectacular fireworks display at Mount Rushmore that honors our history at the monument that symbolizes those who built it.”

Between June 25 and July 10, 2026, the National Mall in Washington, D.C. will transform into the “Great American State Fair” and feature rodeo-style events, a Ferris Wheel and pavilions from all states and territories.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393222719112

In Trump-like tone, government lawyers ask court to undo ruling halting work on White House ballroom

2026-04-28T16:02:05.107Z / CNN

By Devan Cole

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Apr 28, 2026, 12:02 PM ET

A construction crane stands over the White House, on April 1.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In an unusually biting court filing that mimicked the classic tone of President Donald Trump, the Justice Department asked a federal judge late Monday to undo a ruling that would have halted construction of a massive new White House ballroom.

The DOJ’s request argued the suspected gunman who showed up at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner “confirms” that the injunction issued by US District Judge Richard Leon “is intolerable and unsustainable.”

The sharply worded filing represents the Trump administration’s latest bid to get out from under a protracted legal battle brought by the nation’s top historic preservation group against the ballroom project, which has resulted in several key rulings from Leon that say Trump cannot proceed with the project until Congress expressly authorizes it.

The latest eight-page filing signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stan Woodward is dotted with language that has become commonplace in the president’s social media.

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a beautiful name, but even their name is FAKE because when they add the words ‘in the United States’ to the National Trust for Historic Preservation it makes it sound like a Governmental Agency, which it is not,” the filing begins.

Related article A crane being used to construct the new White House ballroom is seen next to the White House, on April 5, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Judge: Trump can’t claim that entire White House ballroom project is needed for national security 4 min read

Though Leon’s decisions have been put on hold by a federal appeals court, lawyers for Trump over the weekend demanded the National Trust for Historic Preservation drop its case against the ballroom, which the group is refusing to do. In response, the administration turned to Leon to ask him to rescind a ruling earlier this month that said workers could not move forward with any above-ground construction of the ballroom but could proceed with finishing a highly sophisticated bunker being built under the site of the former East Wing.

The filing, which was not signed by any career lawyers at the department, claims the underlying case is “frivolous,” though Leon has never made such a finding in the matter. It criticizes the Trust as having “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and asks why anyone would object to the project given the fact that it’s being paid for through private donations.

“This Court should never have enjoined this project, but now, after the Saturday night attempted assassination, which could have never taken place in the new facility, reasonable minds can no longer differ – The injunction must be dissolved,” the lawyers wrote in the filing.

“The fact that an assassin came mere seconds from shooting the president – along with his family, the bulk of his Cabinet, his senior staff, and the Washington press corps—lays bare that D.C. does not have a secure space for large high-profile events, or one able to ‘accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government,’” the filing reads. “What he did on Saturday night could not have taken place in this new and highly secure facility!”

Related article President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a shooting incidental outside the ballroom at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 25, 2026, as first lady Melania Trump listens at left, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, listen. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Jose Luis Magana/AP Trump’s strange focus on his ballroom after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting 5 min read

Observers, however, have pointed out that the press gala is a private event held outside the White House and that a new ballroom would not change that reality.

And Leon has previously rejected claims from the administration that halting work on the project endangers the life of the president or others at the White House.

“The court has taken defendants’ invocation of national security and presidential security seriously throughout this case, which is why I included a safety-and-security exception in my original order,” Leon wrote in his ruling earlier this month that rejected Trump’s bid to continue work on the entire project for national security purposes.

Lawyers for the trust, too, have stressed that they consider the safety and security of the president to be “of critical importance.” They told the Justice Department on Monday that its “assertion that this lawsuit puts the President’s life at ‘grave risk’ is incorrect and irresponsible.”

The group emphasized in a letter to the department that the case wasn’t focused on whether there should be a new ballroom built at the White House but rather whether Trump could proceed with such a massive change to the presidential residence without congressional approval.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, is set to hear arguments in early June over whether Leon erred when he ordered Trump to pause construction on the above-ground, nearly 90,000 square-foot event space.

Appeals court rejects Trump administration’s mandatory ICE detention policy

April 28, 2026 / 3:02 PM EDT / CBS News

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez

Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent

Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization’s social media accounts.

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Camilo Montoya-Galvez

A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration’s policy of making many of the immigrants it is trying to deport subject to mandatory detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including those who have lived in the U.S. for years.

A panel of judges from the New York-based 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals called the policy the “broadest mass-detention-without-bond mandate in our Nation’s history for millions of noncitizens.”

The panel wrote that the Trump administration’s interpretation of mandatory immigration detention would “send a seismic shock through our immigration detention system and society, straining our already overcrowded detention infrastructure, incarcerating millions, separating families, and disrupting communities.”

The ruling creates a judicial divide over the mass ICE detention policy. While most judges across the country have declared the policy illegal, the 5th Circuit and 8th Circuit Courts of Appeals, based in Louisiana and Missouri, respectively, have endorsed the Trump administration’s interpretation of mandatory detention. The 2nd Circuit’s decision applies to Connecticut, New York and Vermont.

Tuesday’s opinion was written by U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph Bianco, an appointee of President Trump, who was joined by Clinton appointee Jose Cabranes and Biden appointee Alison Nathan.

Last year, the Trump administration reinterpreted a 1990s immigration law to disqualify broad groups of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from having the ability to ask an immigration judge to be released on bond after being arrested by ICE.

Previously, undocumented immigrants who had lived in the U.S. for years were generally eligible for bond hearings and could seek to convince an immigration judge that they should be allowed to fight their deportation outside of a detention center because they were not flight risks or threats to public safety.

Mandatory detention had previously been largely limited to those who had recently entered the U.S. illegally, including along the southern border, as well as detainees convicted of certain crimes.

But the Trump administration has taken the position that anyone who entered the U.S. illegally, irrespective of how long ago, is subject to mandatory detention while their deportation cases are decided.

The sweeping policy change has led ICE to indefinitely hold detainees who entered the U.S. illegally years or even decades ago and who previously would have been eligible for bond, including those without criminal records beyond alleged civil immigration violations.

In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said the administration is enforcing the immigration detention law “as it was actually written to keep America safe.”

“Regarding decisions from federal courts about mandatory detention, judicial activists have been repeatedly overruled by the Supreme Court on these questions,” DHS said. “ICE has the law and the facts on its side and will be vindicated by higher courts.”

King Charles US state visit live: Monarch meets with Trump before speech to Congress on US-UK ties

2026-04-28T13:26:37.104Z / https://www.reuters.com/world/king-charles-us-state-visit-live-trump-meeting-before-speech-congress-2026-04-28/

Summary

1. King Charles meets with US President Donald Trump
2. In address to Congress, Charles will stress shared values
3. State visit marks 250th anniversary of US Declaration of Independence

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Queen Camilla and Melania. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett节点运行失败

Melania Trump attended the welcome ceremony for the royal couple wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and a white skirt suit.

The White House said her silk-and-wool jacket and skirt were by U.S. designer Ralph Lauren. She paired the outfit with Manolo Blahnik snake pumps.

Wide-brimmed hats are becoming a bit of a staple for the first lady.

She wore one during Trump’s state visit to Britain in September and, most famously, during her husband’s inauguration in January 2025.

The Trumps during their state visit at Windsor Castle, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

January 20, 2025. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS

Trump welcomes Charles at the White House, April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett节点运行失败

As we mentioned earlier, the U.S. president and the king are now due to hold a private bilateral meeting.

During a phone interview last week, Trump told me that Iran, NATO and Britain’s digital services tax were among the topics he planned to discuss with Charles.

“I’m going to talk about everything,” Trump said. “I’m going to talk about it. He is a friend of mine, and he is a great guy.”

Charles’ visit comes against the backdrop of the worst relations between the two countries since the Suez Crisis in 1956.

Trump has repeatedly criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his refusal to join Iran war and made dismissive remarks about Britain’s military capabilities.

The U.S. president has also threatened to impose tariffs on Britain if Starmer does not drop the digital services tax.

Trump has finished his welcome remarks.

The flyover at the White House April 28, 2026. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

As he and his wife Melania and Charles and Queen Camilla stood on the White House’s Truman Balcony, four military jets flew overhead in tight formation, cutting across the gray sky above the South Lawn ceremony.

Trump, Charles, Melania Trump, and Queen Camilla on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst节点运行失败

JD Vance greeting Charles, April 28, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

REUTERS/Nathan Howard

REUTERS/Matt McClain节点运行失败

Trump praised the U.S.-British relationship in glowing terms during his welcome remarks.

“Americans have had no closer friends than the British,” he said.

“We share that same root. We speak the same language. We hold the same values. And together, our warriors have defended the same extraordinary civilization under twin banners of red, white and blue,” he added.

Trump on April 28, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Making his welcome remarks under an overcast sky after rainfall, Trump opened with a quip about Britain’s notorious weather.

“What a beautiful British day this is,” he said, to laughs from the guests.

He then moved onto personal praise for the monarch.

“Then you’re going over to Congress, and you’re going to make a speech that’s going to make everybody very envious of that beautiful accent of yours. Very elegant. He’s a very elegant man.”

Here are some of the guests I can see from where I’m standing on the South Lawn of the White House.

REUTERS/Nandita Bose节点运行失败

A color guard has moved onto the lawn from both sides, carrying rows of British and American flags.

Sailors in dark dress uniforms and white caps marched across the grass in tight formation, rifles held upright with bayonets fixed.

REUTERS/Nandita Bose节点运行失败

The band performing at the White House, April 28, 2026. REUTERS/ Nadita Bose节点运行失败

I’m on the South Lawn at the White House, where guests are awaiting the start of the formal welcome ceremony for the king and queen.

A short while ago, a military band in red dress uniforms performed under a large American flag, marching across the lawn in formation.

It has started to rain, and umbrellas have made their appearance among the rows of guests, while staff have rolled out a large tarpaulin over the area where the Trumps and the royal couple are expected to gather during the ceremony.

Charles and Trump at the White House, April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool节点运行失败

After Monday’s informal welcome, Charles and Camilla will be formally welcomed to the U.S. with an event at the White House at 10:35 a.m. (1435 GMT) that will feature a ceremonial military review.

About an hour later the king and Trump will hold a private bilateral meeting.

The focal point of the day will be Charles’ address to a joint meeting of Congress, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

Later on, the king and queen will return to the White House for evening engagements, culminating in a state dinner hosted by Trump and his wife Melania at 8:05 p.m.

Charles and Camilla touched down at Joint Base Andrews on Monday, where they were greeted by diplomatic, state and federal officials as well as senior members of the British embassy.

They accepted flowers from the children of British military families stationed in the U.S.

Queen Camilla, King Charles and US Protocol Chief Monica Crowley in Maryland, April 27, 2026. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS节点运行失败

REUTERS/Nathan Howard节点运行失败

Then, they headed to the White House for a private tea with Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

The two also attended at a garden party at the British ambassador’s recently renovated residence, where a choir sang the British and American national anthems.

They mingled with a crowd that included media leaders, Washington socialites and officials such as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and ambassadors from other countries.

You can read more about the first day of the king’s visit here.

Tea at the White House. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool节点运行失败

REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool节点运行失败

At the British Embassy. Roberto Schmidt/Pool via REUTERS

John Trumbull’s “Declaration of Independence” painting projected on the Washington Monument, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura

The stated reason is to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from British rule.

From London’s perspective, it is important to highlight friendly relations with Washington at a time when Americans are celebrating the end of British rule back in 1776.

In a similar vein, the king’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, made one of her four state visits to the United States in July 1976, during celebrations of the U.S. Bicentennial.

Trump is escorted out of the dinner in Washington, D.C., April 25, 2026, still image from video. REUTERS/Bo Erickson节点运行失败

Charles’ state visit comes days after a shooting at a White House ​Correspondents’ Association dinner attended by Trump and senior officials in his administration.

Buckingham Palace said ​discussions had taken place between British and U.S. authorities to determine if the incident would impact the royals’ plans.

“The king and queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case,” a palace spokesperson said on Sunday.

A palace source said there might be small operational changes to ​one or two engagements.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was confident Charles would be safe during his U.S. visit.

The suspect in Saturday’s shooting, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, appeared in court on Monday. He was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump. Allen did not respond to the allegations at the brief hearing.

The king and his wife Camilla arrived in the U.S. on Monday to begin their four‑day visit.

Trump and first lady Melania welcomed the king and queen at the White House.

The visit coincides with the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from British rule — and marks the first U.S. visit by a British monarch in nearly two decades.

Charles on his coronation day, London, May 6, 2023. Jeremy Selwyn/Pool via REUTERS节点运行失败

Charles became monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.

Born in 1948, Charles was crowned alongside his second wife Camilla on May 6, 2023.

He waited longer than any previous British heir to become monarch and was the oldest sovereign to take the throne in a lineage that dates back 1,000 years.

The eldest of Elizabeth’s four children, Charles previously held the title of Prince of Wales.

He had two children with his first wife Princess Diana: heir-to-the-throne Prince William and younger son Harry, who has moved to the United States to live with his wife Meghan.

The king was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in February 2024 following tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate and is still undergoing treatment.

Charles and Trump at the White House, April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool节点运行失败

Tuesday is day two of King Charles’ state visit to the United States.

He is scheduled to address both houses of Congress at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT), the focal point of his four-day tour with Queen Camilla.

The long-planned visit aims to celebrate ties forged between Britain and its former colony in the 250 years since independence, but it is unfolding against a backdrop of tensions between the allies.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Britain for declining to support ​the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping the king’s visit will shore up the so-called “special relationship” between the two countries.

In his speech to Congress, the king will steer clear of recent acrimony, instead talking about unity and shared values.

“Time and again, our two countries have always ​found ways to come together,” he will say, according to a palace source.

Later on, Charles and Camilla will be hosted by Trump and his wife Melania for a lavish state dinner at the White House.

One ⁠issue Charles ​will try to avoid during his visit is the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Charles’ brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is facing police inquiries over his connections to the late U.S. sex offender. The former Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.

Stay with us for updates as Tuesday’s program unfolds.

Colombia offers record bounty for man accused of ordering bomb attack that killed 21

April 28, 2026 / 9:41 AM EDT / CBS News

Colombia is offering a record 1.4 million U.S. dollars reward for information leading to the arrest of the man accused of ordering an attack that killed 21 people Saturday and wounded dozens more.

The country’s defense minister, Pedro Sanchez, said Iván Jacob Idrobo Arredondo, also known as “Marlon,” was behind the bombing of a motorway in the Cauca region, in the country’s southwest, as well as several other nearby attacks.

The explosion Saturday killed at least 15 women on the busy motorway, according to the governor of Cauca, Octavio Guzmán, leaving behind the twisted metal debris of multiple vehicles by a 650-foot crater in the road.

Red Cross workers operate at the site of an explosion as people look on after a bomb attack at El Tunel, on the Popayan-Cali road, in Cajibio, Cauca department, Colombia, on April 25, 2026. JOAQUIN SARMIENTO /AFP via Getty Images

Guzmán said the bombing was the “most brutal and ruthless attack in the region against the civilian population in decades.”

In a video on Sanchez’s Facebook page, in which the defense minister looked down on the site of the attack from a helicopter, he described Marlon as “demented” and “a terrorist” who killed “humble people who were only seeking the best.”

He added they would do “everything necessary” so “this doesn’t happen again.”

The bomb was detonated after attackers blocked traffic with a bus and another vehicle, the head of the country’s armed forces, Hugo López, said in a press conference Saturday.

The country’s president, Gustavo Petro, described the attackers as “terrorists” and “fascists” in a post on X, adding, “I want our very best soldiers to confront them.”

Relatives mourn by the coffin of Daniela Valencia Holguin, a fatal victim of a highway bombing in Cajibio, Cauca department, Colombia, on April 27, 2026. JOAQUIN SARMIENTO /AFP via Getty Images

Saturday’s bombing was one of 26 targeting public infrastructure in the Valle del Cauca and Cauca regions in two days, according to López. It comes with armed violence a central issue in the run-up to Colombia’s presidential election on May 31.

Marlon is part of an armed group led by Colombia’s most wanted man, Iván Mordisco. Described by Petro as a “drug trafficker dressed as a revolutionary,” Mordisco runs the Central General Staff, one of several dissident offshoots of the now-defunct Marxist-Leninist guerrilla organization the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

A 2016 accord between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC, saw some 7,000 rebels disarm, but Mordisco, whose real name is Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, was one of the 2,000 or so self-styled rebels who refused to lay down their arms.

Saturday’s bombing was one of the deadliest in Colombia since the FARC killed 36 people in the bombing of a Bogotá night club in 2003.

Red Cross workers carry an injured person on a stretcher after a bomb attack at El Tunel, on the Popayan-Cali road, in Cajibio, Cauca department, Colombia, on April 25, 2026. JOAQUIN SARMIENTO /AFP via Getty Images

Another of the FARC dissident groups, the National Liberation Army, killed 21 people on a police academy campus in 2019.

Last August, Mordisco’s Central General Staff killed at least 18 people in a drone attack on a helicopter and a car bombing.

El Colombiano reported Tuesday that security forces believe the arrest of four of Mordisco’s brothers and the death of his girlfriend in a bombardment by the Colombian air force may have been a motivation for the recent spate of bombings. Mordisco was wounded in the same strike, El Colombiano reported.

Saturday’s attack came just over a month out from national elections in Colombia, in which voters will choose between Iván Cepeda, the successor to the left-wing current president, who is currently ahead in the polling and who favors further peace negotiations with guerrilla groups, or right-wing alternatives, who take a tougher stance on the armed fighters.

Security has been a central issue of the election campaign. The conservative front-runner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot while out campaigning in Bogotá last June, and died two months later of his wounds.

Many of the victims of Saturday’s attack were reportedly from a village near the town of Cajibío, where a vigil was held Monday, with hundreds of people dressing in white as a sign of peace.

“Please, no more death, no more violence,” Joao Valencia, 42, a relative of a woman killed in the attack, told Agence France Presse, as she help up her picture.

“These kinds of women should die of old age,” he added, “not have their lives taken from them in such a tragic way.”

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U.K. counter-terror police investigate arson attack at Iran memorial wall in north London

April 28, 2026 / 10:54 AM EDT / CBS News

By Frank Andrews

Frank Andrews is a CBS News journalist based in London.

Another suspected arson attack has taken place in the Golders Green area of north London, British police said Tuesday.

The attack targeted a memorial wall that has displayed photos of people killed by the Iranian regime. Police say it was not damaged.

The Metropolitan police said the incident took place in the early hours of Monday morning and that they were not treating it as terror-related, although counter-terror police were leading the investigation.

It is unclear who was behind the attack, and no group has claimed responsibility for it. No one has been arrested and “officers are keeping an open mind about the motive behind the attack,” police said in a statement.

The wall stands across the road from a Jewish care home for the elderly.

Fire damage to a cabinet beside the memorial wall on Limes Avenue in Golders Green, northwest London, where counter-terror police were investigating a suspected arson attack, April 28, 2026. Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images

Another attack took place last month in the same area when vehicles belonging to a Jewish ambulance service were set on fire.

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group – The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous – claimed responsibility for that incident and a series of recent attacks targeting Jewish institutions across Europe. A group representative told CBS News in March: “We’ll keep threatening U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide until we’ve avenged every child in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and the resistance nations.”

The head of policing in northwest London said Tuesday about the latest attack, “We recognize that this incident will heighten concerns in the Golders Green area, where residents have already faced a series of attacks.”

“Since last month’s attack in Golders Green, we have stepped up our work to reassure communities,” he said. “This includes armed police patrols as well as deployments of officers from Project Servator, who are specially trained to spot anyone who may be planning or preparing to commit criminal acts.”

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group has also claimed it was behind other incidents across London recently, including an attempted arson attack at the offices of a Persian-language media outlet in northwest London on April 15, and an arson attack on a synagogue in Kenton, in northwest London, on April 19. A 17-year-old pled guilty in the synagogue incident.

The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom in 2025, the second-highest total ever reported to the organization.

Billionaire’s son offers home for Colombia’s “cocaine hippos” rather than have them killed

April 28, 2026 / 11:36 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

An Indian billionaire’s son offered on Tuesday to take the so-called “cocaine hippos” descended from those introduced to Colombia by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, rather than have the animals killed.

Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said he had formally requested the Colombian government to stay a decision to kill the animals, which have wreaked havoc on rivers in the South American nation.

Instead, he has asked to allow the “safe, scientifically-led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home” at his Vantara animal center.

The vast zoo in India’s western state of Gujarat bills itself as “one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centers.”

Vantara is already home to hundreds of elephants, as well as 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, among other animals, according to India’s Central Zoo Authority.

Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara’s massive animal intake, including the import of critically endangered and rare species. The shelter was at the center of angry protests after an ailing elephant was relocated to Vantara last year, BBC News reported.

Escobar brought hippos — which are native only to Africa and can weigh up to several tons — to Colombia in the 1980s.

After Escobar’s death, hippos from his private zoo made a new life in the lush river banks of the Colombia’s Magdalena River — where they have attacked fishermen, prompting moves to cull them.

Colombia declared them an invasive species and experts have said sterilization alone is not enough to control the growth of the animals, which is why the government previously arranged for the possible transfer of hippos to overseas sanctuaries. But the cost of deporting the hippos is also expensive — an estimated $3.5 million.

In this file photo from Feb. 4, 2021, hippos float in the lake at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago, in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia. Fernando Vergara / AP

Anant Ambani, son of the billionaire head of the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, said he had submitted a detailed plan to give the animals a new home at Vantara.

The animal center is located alongside the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery Complex, which the conglomerate says is the world’s largest crude oil refinery.

Summers there can get extremely hot, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ambani’s proposal sets out a veterinary-led capture and transport, as well as the creation of a “purpose-designed naturalistic setting” for the hippos, the animal center said a statement.

“Vantara has the expertise, infrastructure and resolve to support this effort, entirely on Colombia’s terms,” the statement said.

“These 80 hippos did not choose where they were born, nor did they create the circumstances they now face,” Ambani added. “They are living, sentient beings, and if we have the ability to save them through a safe and humane solution, we have a responsibility to try.”

The hippos are one of the main attractions at the Nápoles ranch, which was confiscated by Colombia’s government as it seized Escobar’s properties. It now functions as a theme park, featuring swimming spools, water slides and a zoo that includes several other African species.

Last October, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the country handed over a chunk of Escobar’s ranch to women caught up in the nation’s armed conflict.

Animal welfare activists in Colombia have long opposed proposals to kill the hippos, arguing they deserve to live. They say that addressing the problem through violence sets a poor example for a country that has gone through decades of internal conflict.

Independent journalist Audrey Huse, who has lived in Colombia for years, previously told CBS News that because the hippos roam freely, they end up killing fish and threatening endemic species like manatees, otters and turtles.

“Because they have no natural predators here, as they would in Africa, the population is booming and it’s affecting the local ecosystem,” Huse said. “Because they are such large animals, they consume considerable amounts of grassland and produce significant waste, which then poisons the rivers.”

United Arab Emirates says it will permanently leave OPEC on May 1

April 28, 2026 / 10:47 AM EDT / CBS News

The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that it is leaving the OPEC oil cartel after more than 50 years of membership.

The UAE said its decision to exit OPEC followed an “extensive review” of its production policy and future capacity. The statement also cited “geopolitical fluctuations” affecting short-term oil supplies, a reference to the Iran war. The conflict has caused oil prices to surge as the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply normally flows daily, remains blocked.

The UAE also said it is leaving the wider OPEC+ group, which is led by Russia.

“This decision reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile, including accelerated investment in domestic energy production, and reinforces its commitment to a responsible, reliable, and forward-looking role in global energy markets,” the UAE said.

“Following its exit, the UAE will continue to act responsibly, bringing additional production to market in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions,” the country added.

UAE eager to boost production

There has been speculation about whether the UAE would continue to participate in OPEC, given the country’s desire to increase oil production, according to Capital Economics.

“The bigger picture is that the UAE has been itching to pump more oil; it ultimately feels that being outside of its OPEC+ ‘obligations’ will give it more ‘flexibility’,” analysts with the investment advisory firm said in a report on Tuesday. “The UAE’s desire to pump more oil has been placated up to now by a combination of the rest of OPEC turning a blind eye to its overproduction and also raising its quota levels.”

The UAE first joined OPEC in 1967 through the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and then continued after the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971.

In recent years, however, the country has increasingly clashed with Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, over political and economic issues in the Mideast.

“The UAE’s dissatisfaction with OPEC has been clear for some time, with the country of the belief that OPEC quotas are an unfair limit, constraining the nation’s major infrastructure investment projects,” Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, a brokerage firm, said in an email.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

节点运行失败

外交部长维文医生（左三）在文莱参加第25届亚细安—欧盟外长会议，强调人们必须支持《联合国宪章》及国际法治。 （外交部提供）

《联合国宪章》并未承诺每一条边界都符合历史原貌，也未保证世间所有不公都会得到纠正。人们之所以必须支持宪章，以及国际法治，是因为它严禁以修正历史错误、清理殖民遗留问题或纠正世界不公为借口，诉诸武力威胁或使用武力。

新加坡外交部长维文医生强调，如果无法认识到这一点，转而向动武的诱惑低头，那就无异于为大国发放许可证，纵容它们打着纠正“历史错误”或“伸张正义”的动听旗号，肆意放纵扩张的野心。

第25届亚细安—欧盟外长会议在文莱举行。新加坡外交部星期二（4月28日）下午发文告说，维文在会上肯定了亚细安和欧盟长久以来的伙伴关系，并强调两个地区共同承诺支持多边主义。

根据外交部公布的发言稿，维文在会上也指出，如今欧盟和亚细安都本能地理解，一旦屈服于使用武力的诱惑、妄图走捷径，抛弃国际法治和《联合国宪章》，会产生什么样的后果。

他说：“特别是除了泰国以外，东南亚各国都曾经沦为殖民地，而欧盟自身也有一段复杂的内部历史，彼此之间曾发生过多次战争，最终在上个世纪引发两次世界大战。这正是欧盟和亚细安需要加大力度、加强合作并携手行动的战略基础。 ”

维文认为，欧盟与亚细安必须明确肯定航行与飞越自由的重要性，确保用于国际航行的海峡，能够安全且无阻碍地通行，并依据《联合国海洋法公约》加以保障。

他说：“我相信欧盟与亚细安的立场，在这一基本原则上并无分歧。”

欧盟和亚细安也可以在能源安全方面展开合作。维文欢迎欧盟分享在跨境能源贸易的技术与监管经验，以及未来对亚细安电网进行投资。

维文呼吁：加快亚细安—欧盟自贸协定谈判步伐

在贸易方面，欧盟与新加坡及越南的自由贸易协定已获批准并正式生效，与印度尼西亚的协定则已经谈妥。维文呼吁欧盟各成员国，以及亚细安其他成员，加快亚细安—欧盟自贸协定的谈判步伐。他也希望，欧盟能够加入今年较迟时候签署的亚细安数码经济框架协议。

维文在发言中，也向与新加坡合作向加沙运送人道主义援助物资的塞浦路斯致意，并认为欧盟和亚细安也可以在这一方面加深合作。

维文在会议间隙，也分别同柬埔寨、捷克、塞浦路斯、德国、立陶宛、葡萄牙、斯洛伐克、泰国，以及欧盟的外长见面，各方就全球及地区局势发展交换意见，并重申将致力加强合作，共同维护以规则为基础的国际秩序。

百年世乒团体赛 中国“20年来最弱”男队冲12连冠考验大

2026年4月28日 23:49 / 联合早报

王楚钦在这个月初首次赢得世界杯男单冠军，如今他将在上届队友樊振东放弃参赛资格、马龙淡出赛场的情况下，肩负领军中国男队重任。 （新华社）

王楚钦在这个月初首次赢得世界杯男单冠军，如今他将在上届队友樊振东放弃参赛资格、马龙淡出赛场的情况下，肩负领军中国男队重任。 （新华社）

2026年世界乒乓球团体锦标赛于4月28日至5月10日先后在伦敦两座奥运会场馆铜箱馆（Copper Box Arena）和‌OVO温布利体育馆（OVO Arena Wembley）举行，男女各64支球队将向斯韦思林杯（男团）与考比伦杯（女团）发起冲击。

这也是国际乒联（ITTF）自1926年12月6日至1926年12月12日在伦敦举办首届世乒赛一百年后，带领这项赛事重返它的发源地，让全球乒乓球运动迎来一场意义非凡的百年庆典。而为了这次的“百年纪念”，国际乒联在本届推出了全新赛制，引入了“分层晋级”机制和一个全新的“种子排位赛”，其挑战性堪称历史之最。

所谓分层晋级机制，就是男女团体各64支队伍被分为16个小组，每组四队打单循环。创新点在于16个小组被分成A、B两个阶段，分别承担“排位”和“晋级”任务。A阶段（种子排位赛）由世界前七和东道主英格兰共八支强队组成，分两组对抗。这八队直接锁定32强，但在小组赛的名次将决定淘汰赛种子排位。B阶段的56支男队和56支女队，则通过小组赛争取其余24个男队和24个女队的淘汰赛席位。

中国男队阵容显单薄 争冠格局开放

作为卫冕冠军，中国男队和女队均以头号种子身份出战，直接参加5月2日和5月3日在‌OVO温布利体育馆打响的A阶段种子排位赛。

根据抽签，中国男队与瑞典、韩国和英格兰同组。瑞典有莫雷高德、安东·卡尔伯格；韩国有张禹珍、安宰贤等名将，两队年龄结构合理，阵容厚度较为明显。

在新赛制下，种子排位赛阶段赛程密集，被极限压缩至两个比赛日完成。中国男队要在短时间内打三场高强度对抗，这对主力消耗极大，且每场都不容闪失。

从中国男队派出的阵容来看，在冲击12连冠的道路上将面临严峻考验。相较于上届釜山世乒赛樊振东、马龙、王楚钦、梁靖崑、林高远的夺冠组合，此次由王楚钦领军，辅以林诗栋、周启豪、向鹏、梁靖崑，被外界形容为“20年来最弱的一届”。除了阵容略显单薄外，更令人担忧的是其核心几乎都受到伤病困扰。

艾利克斯（左）和弟弟菲利克斯组成的兄弟档所在的法国队，是中国队的主要挑战者之一。（WTT档案照片）

艾利克斯（左）和弟弟菲利克斯组成的兄弟档所在的法国队，是中国队的主要挑战者之一。（WTT档案照片）

与此同时，本届世乒赛竞争格局空前开放。由勒布伦兄弟领衔的法国是最大挑战者。日本一哥张本智和和18岁的松岛辉空近期表现出色，具有挑战的能力。瑞典则由奥运亚军莫雷加德领衔，德国名将奥恰洛夫、邱党、弗朗西斯卡、杜达实力不俗。韩国是上届亚军，向来以意志品质著称。奥恰洛夫坦言：“如今有五六支队伍具备冲冠实力，这种格局是我职业生涯中前所未有的。”

截至2024年釜山世乒赛，中国累计23次斩获斯韦思林杯冠军，自2001年大阪起实现世乒赛男团11连冠。来到百年世乒赛舞台上，因自身阵容变化与强敌围堵，让中国卫冕成为近20年来最难一战。若想登顶，须要更顽强的比赛风格、更快速有效的临场调整，且王楚钦须完成从顶尖单打到团队领军的角色转换。

中国女队“豪华五人团” 争取七连冠

女队方面，中国由世界前三的孙颖莎、王曼昱和陈幸同，以及第七的蒯曼和第八的王艺迪组成了“豪华五人团”。尤其是孙颖莎、王曼昱，无论是外战统治力还是大赛经验都是中国卫冕女团冠军的“定海神针”，王艺迪和陈幸同则迎来第三届世乒赛团体赛之旅，尽管新秀蒯曼是首次参赛，但单打具有很强的实力。

孙颖莎（左）和王曼昱是中国女队的“定海神针”。两人本月初在国际乒联女子世界杯决赛交手，孙颖莎4比1获胜。（新华社）

孙颖莎（左）和王曼昱是中国女队的“定海神针”。两人本月初在国际乒联女子世界杯决赛交手，孙颖莎4比1获胜。（新华社）

中国女队落入A阶段种子排位赛第一组，同组还有韩国、中华台北和罗马尼亚，同样要在短时间内完成三场高强度对抗。韩国由在澳门世界杯上表现不俗的申裕斌领衔；中华台北老将郑怡静经验丰富；罗马尼亚的伯纳黛特打法细腻多变。

从1965年首次夺冠到2024年，中国女队已23次捧起考比伦杯，实现世乒赛六连冠。本届她们的最大对手仍是由张本美和领衔的日本，后者在上届败给中国女团获得亚军。其他队友还包括早田希娜、长崎美柚、削球手桥本帆乃香和新人面手凛，阵容年轻有冲击力。

但从整体实力来看，无论阵容厚度、大赛经验还是竞技状态，中国占有明显优势，团体赛拼的是五场三胜的综合实力。用中国队总教练秦志戬的话说：“中国女队参赛五人从整体实力、世界排名、年龄结构来看，都是最强的。”

不过，张本美和的快速成长、赛制改革带来的不确定性等因素，还须中国女队高度重视。