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FIRST ON FOX: SPLC’s legal woes grow as Jim Jordan fires latest salvo at left-wing group

April 23, 2026 6:00pm EDT / Fox News

Prosecutors allege the nonprofit used shell companies to pay informants who promoted racist groups, including the KKK

By Ashley Oliver Fox News

SPLC accused of funding extremists and pushing false narratives

Steve Harrigan reports on the Southern Poverty Law Center being accused of funding extremist groups and facing a DOJ indictment for financial fraud.

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FIRST ON FOX:The House Judiciary Committee escalated scrutiny of the Southern Poverty Law Center on Thursday, demanding documents from the nonprofit after a federal indictment alleged the group funneled millions in donor funds to extremist organizations.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to SPLC President Bryan Fair that the GOP-led committee was investigating any coordination between the SPLC and the Biden Department of Justice and FBI, both of which had used the left-wing nonprofit as a resource.

Jordan demanded a slate of documents from the SPLC by April 30, a request that comes after his Republican counterparts in the Senate also ramped up scrutiny of the SPLC and after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hinted at more possible indictments related to the group.

The intensifying investigations into the SPLC, expanding from the DOJ to Congress, come after Jordan’s committee previously investigated the group, saying it was known for “maligning several mainstream conservative and religious organizations as ‘hate groups,’” such as Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA, and that the Biden DOJ improperly used it for civil rights enforcement.

[SPLC SAW REVENUE SURGE AFTER CHARLOTTESVILLE RALLY AS DOJ ALLEGES INFORMANT TIES]

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a committee session.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

“Publicly available documents revealed how the Justice Department partnered closely with the SPLC during the Biden-Harris Administration, including scheduling regular meetings, giving the SPLC early access to federal law-enforcement data, and allowing SPLC employees to train federal prosecutors,” Jordan wrote. “The new information about the SPLC alleged in the indictment only raises further questions.”

Jordan also noted that a controversial internal memo originating from the FBI Richmond Field Office during Director Christopher Wray’s tenure, which framed so-called radical-traditionalist Catholics as a group of people more prone to violent crime, used the SPLC as a source for its findings. The memo surfaced in 2023, with Wray later retracting it and saying it was an “appalling” breach of religious freedom.

Jordan’s letter pointed out that the Richmond memo was among more than a dozen FBI documents that used the SPLC as a resource.

The DOJ on Tuesday charged the SPLC with several counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit money laundering, alleging the group defrauded donors for more than a decade.

[RADICAL HOUSE DEM APPOINTED TO GOP-LED COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING JANUARY 6: ‘WE WILL EXPOSE THE LIES’]

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel at the Department of Justice April 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C., about the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center on charges related to money laundering.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Prosecutors said the nonprofit, which promotes its efforts to fight White supremacy, misled donors by using shell companies to mask how donor funds were used. More than $3 million was paid through the shell companies to informants who participated in activities involving the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, among others, prosecutors alleged.

“The SPLC’s paid informants … engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website,” prosecutors wrote, noting one informant allegedly went so far as to help plan the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Congress has an important interest in protecting Americans from extremist violence and criminal activity,” Jordan wrote in his letter. “The Committee on the Judiciary has been conducting oversight of the Biden-Harris Administration’s close coordination with the SPLC on federal civil rights matters.”

[BIDEN DOJ SUBPOENAED JIM JORDAN’S PHONE RECORDS COVERING MORE THAN TWO YEARS]

Neo-Nazis, the alt-right and White supremacists take part in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.(Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday set its sights on a woman previously affiliated with the SPLC who was a federal judge and Biden appointee serving a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

“Every individual associated with SPLC should have to answer for what they knew about the organization’s extremist ties, and when,” committee Republicans wrote in a statement on X.

“That includes Nancy Abudu, SPLC’s former litigation director who Biden appointed as a lifetime judge on the 11th Circuit.”

Just before the DOJ announced charges, Fair said in a public statement that the federal investigation was political rather than sincere.

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“They have made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy,” Fair said, noting the group no longer works with paid informants but adding they had “risked their lives” to infiltrate extremist groups.

Fox News Digital reached out to the SPLC and Abudu’s chambers 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.

US FDA rejects AbbVie’s wrinkle treatment due to manufacturing concerns

2026-04-23 20:19:38 UTC / Reuters

By Padmanabhan Ananthan

April 23, 2026 8:19 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

节点运行失败

Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Abbvie logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights

Abbvie Inc
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

April 23 (Reuters) – AbbVie said on Thursday ​the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ‌declined to approve its experimental wrinkle treatment, trenibotE, citing issues in manufacturing.

Here are some details:

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• TrenibotE is ​a botulinum toxin for treating facial ​wrinkles such as frown lines, with effects ⁠wearing off as early as 8 hours ​compared to Botox’s duration of over two ​weeks.
• The setback removes a near-term catalyst for AbbVie’s aesthetics business, but Street expectations for trenibotE were modest, Citi ​analyst Geoff Meacham said.
• Meacham also noted ​that manufacturing‑related requests have likely delayed approval into 2027.
• AbbVie ‌added ⁠the agency did not raise concerns about the treatment’s safety or efficacy, and did not ask for new patient studies.
• The company dominates ​the aesthetics ​market, generating ⁠multi-billion-dollar revenues from its Botox treatment, which are used for wrinkle ​smoothing, migraines and muscle disorders.
• The company ​said ⁠trenibotE has been studied in more than 2,100 patients, including two late-stage trials and a ⁠safety ​study.
• AbbVie said regulatory reviews of ​the treatment in other countries are still underway.

Reporting by ​Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Only one Trump “gold card” visa has been approved so far, Commerce’s Lutnick says

April 23, 2026 / 4:57 PM EDT / CBS News

The Trump administration has approved one gold card visa since starting to accept applications for the new U.S. residency permit in December, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday.

Lutnick, who offered the update while testifying at a House subcommittee hearing, said that the process for applying for the gold card visa was recently finalized with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the program. The visa program is available to foreigners who pay a $1 million donation to the U.S. government.

“They have approved, recently, one person, and there are hundreds in the queue,” Lutnick said Thursday. “They wanted to make sure they did it perfectly.”

He added that the vetting process for gold card applicants is “the most serious … in the history of government.”

President Trump announced the program last year, touting it as an expedited path for wealthy foreigners to secure legal residency in the U.S. and as a way to generate government revenue. Applications for the new visa went live in December, with the government website for the gold card stating that it can help foreigners receive residency approval in “record time.”

Applicants for the visa pay $15,000 in processing fees to the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to the $1 million donation. Homeland Security referred questions about the program to the Commerce Department.

Lutnick didn’t disclose details about the individual approved for the gold card visa, and the Commerce Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Asked by Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York, how the $1 million donations from the program will be used, Lutnick said that the money will be directed toward “the betterment” of the U.S.

“That will be determined by the administration,” he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-signs-1m-gold-card-visas-adds-100000-fee-skilled-worker-visa-applicants/

Fox News Poll: Modest boost in support for Iran conflict, but concerns persist

April 23, 2026 6:00pm EDT / Fox News

Voters are split on US support of Israel

By Victoria Balara, Fox News

Trump cracks down on Iranian ships placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz

Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas and Retired Marine Corps General Arnold Punaro discuss military pressure and economic impact on Iran, which is reportedly losing $500 million daily.

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As the war in Iran nears the two-month mark, a new Fox News Poll shows a modest uptick in support, though voters remain divided on key aspects of the conflict – especially over its long-term consequences and U.S. safety.

The survey, released Thursday, shows support for the current military action in Iran at 45%, up from 42% support last month. A majority of 55% oppose it.

FOX NEWS POLL: 56% DOUBT WHITE HOUSE’S COMPETENCE AT MANAGING GOVERNMENT

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Still, a slim majority thinks things are going well in Iran (51% well vs. 49% not well), a flip from March when voters said the action was not going well (47% vs. 52%).

FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC GLOOM, TRUMP RATINGS SIGNAL TOUGH GOP MIDTERM PATH

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The bump in support for the war can be mostly attributed to non-MAGA Republicans (+11 points in support), Hispanic voters (+10), men over age 45 (+8), and independents (+5).

Looking at the likely effect on security, voters still narrowly say the action will make the U.S. less safe (36% safer, 39% less safe, 25% no difference). However, this gap has narrowed since March (33%, 44%, 23% respectively).

Voters are also not convinced the costs of the war are worth it. A 57% majority believes the action will not improve U.S. safety enough to justify the problems it has created, while 43% say the short-term problems will be worth it in the long run.

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Although voters across the board express skepticism, partisan differences are stark. Roughly 3 in 10 Republicans, 7 in 10 independents, and 8 in 10 Democrats, think improved safety does not justify the challenges.

The most important objectives for voters are avoiding a prolonged conflict and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open (80% say it is extremely or very important for each).Majorities also think it’s extremely or very important to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program (72%), support the people of Iran (65%) and bring about changes to Iran’s government (55%).

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The top objective for Democrats and independents is avoiding a prolonged conflict, while for Republicans it’s ending Iran’s nuclear program.

Six in 10 (59%) rate the performance of the U.S. military in the conflict as excellent (32%) or good (27%), about where sentiment was last month (58% excellent/good).

More than 5 in 10 independents (53%) and 8 in 10 Republicans (81%) rate the military positively, while just 4 in 10 Democrats agree (40%).

“One of the more remarkable statistics attesting to the country’s intense polarization is that when asked about the U.S. military’s performance in Iran, by 20 percentage points Democrats rate it negatively, and it’s difficult to proffer an explanation other than those who dislike President Trump are unwilling to say anything positive about anything he touches,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who works on Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson.

Among those who have served in the military, support for the current action in Iran has dipped slightly (down 4 points since March), but a majority still supports it (57%), thinks things are going well (65%), rates the military positively (78% excellent/good) and half think the military action will make the U.S. safer (50%).

Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will extend its ceasefire with Iran, a day before it was set to end and amid a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. This comes as peace talks in Pakistan involving Vice President JD Vance were delayed as Iran has not committed to participating yet.The survey was conducted April 17-20.

When asked to rate how tough Trump has been on Iran, more voters say he’s been too tough (40%), rather than not tough enough (28%) or about right (30%).

The 40% saying Trump is too tough is up from 18% in May 2019 (the last time the question was asked) – mainly driven by Democrats and independents thinking he’s too tough now.

When it comes to the president’s approach to China, however, results are reversed: 21% say he’s too tough, 40% not tough enough, and 38% about right.

More broadly, Trump’s job performance on foreign policy is underwater by 20 points (40% approve, 60% disapprove). He does slightly better on his handling of China (42%, 57%) but worse on Iran (37%, 63%).

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His overall job rating sits at 42% approve and 58% disapprove, about where it was last month (41%-59%).

Some Cabinet officials are also facing headwinds in their job performance. Vance’s net approval rating is -11 points (44% approve – 55% disapprove) and down from -8 in December.

Sec. of State Rubio’s net approval rating is -12, down from -5, which is the steepest decline in the Cabinet (44% approve, 56% disapprove).

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Sec. of War Hegseth’s rating ticked up 2 points to -17, but he remains the lowest rated of the three (41% approve, 58% disapprove).

Iran is not the only foreign policy issue where voters are divided.They are split on U.S. support of Israel, as 40% say it’s too supportive, another 40% about right, and 19% say not supportive enough.

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At 40%, the share saying the U.S. is too supportive is the highest since 2023, up from 35% the last time the question was asked in September 2025.

Democrats under age 45 (+9 points saying too supportive since 2025) and Republicans under age 45 (+7), are increasingly more likely to feel the U.S. is too supportive of Israel. Republicans ages 45+ have the highest share of those who think support is about right (70%) while Democrats ages 45+ say too supportive (57%).

The largest share of Protestants (45%), Catholics (44%), and White Catholics (48%) say support is about right.

On Ukraine, 39% of voters say the U.S. should be doing more to support them against Russia, 26% say less and 34% feel the U.S. is doing the right amount.This is close to where sentiment has been since last summer.

One more thing…

Trump is a frequent poster on social media, and a majority of voters see these posts as instant reactions to current events (65%) rather than strategic efforts to accomplish goals (34%).

Still, the number viewing them as strategic is up 15 points since 2018, when only 19% said his tweeting had a broader purpose. At that time, 28% of Republicans felt his tweeting was strategic compared to the 52% who feel that way about his social media posts today.That compares with smaller increases among independents (+13 points) and Democrats (+4).

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Conducted April 17-20, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,001 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (116) and cellphones (635) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (250). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Air travel prices likely to get worse in coming weeks, Chevron CEO says

April 23, 2026 / 5:14 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Chevron’s chief executive predicted travelers could see airline fares rise and fewer flights available in the coming weeks, as the standoff with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz continues to rattle global markets and drive up the price of fuel.

“We’ve seen some upward pressure on gasoline prices now. I think aviation is clearly an area where it’s going to probably get worse over the next few weeks,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said in an interview Thursday with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

“We are seeing jet fuel tighten very quickly in Europe, in Asia, and we’re seeing airlines announce adjustments in their flight schedules. We’re seeing it flow through into fares. I think that’s one of the first places it will be felt most broadly,” he said.

Wirth said there was already a jet fuel shortage in certain parts of the world before the war with Iran began on Feb. 28. Airlines have hiked their bag check fees and cut routes since the start of the war in response to the crisis. Carriers based in the U.S. are slightly better positioned than European airlines because the U.S. produces its own jet fuel.

“I think the upward pressure that they’re seeing on prices and the tightness in the market is likely to lead to further route optimization. And so flights may not be as abundant as they otherwise would have been. I think planes will probably be more full than they would have been,” Wirth said.

“And yes, fares — fares could be higher,” he added.

In North America, jet fuel prices have surged more than 80% compared with this time last year, according to the International Air Transport Association.

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The average cost of gas nationwide was $4.03 per gallon on Thursday, approaching nearly a dollar more than the price per gallon a year ago, according to CBS News’ price tracker. Diesel, which powers trucks, boats and trains, has risen more quickly than regular gasoline and was at $5.47 per gallon on Thursday.

Watch more of the interview Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Trump urges Congress to update law to ensure access to cannabidiol products

2026-04-23 22:35:04 UTC / Reuters

By Reuters

April 23, 2026 10:35 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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U.S. President Donald Trump points a finger as he participates in a healthcare affordability event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper Purchase Licensing Rights

April 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President ​Donald ‌Trump in ​a ​Truth Social post ⁠on ​Thursday ​called on Congress ​to ​update the law ‌to ⁠ensure that Americans ​can ​access “full-spectrum” ⁠cannabidiol (CBD) ​products.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

Reporting ​by ⁠Ismail Shakil ⁠and ​Ryan ​Patrick Jones ​in Toronto

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump says he’ll resurface the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, turning it blue

April 23, 2026 / 5:51 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump’s renovation kick has now reached the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The president told reporters Thursday that his administration is planning to pour down a new surface onto the bottom of the pool, atop its stone flooring. The surface — made out of the “latest and greatest filament” — will be colored “American flag blue,” he said.

Built in the 1920s, the Reflecting Pool and its surroundings were comprehensively renovated in 2012, paid for by $34 million in Obama-era stimulus funding. The National Park Service has carried out some renovations since then, and the pool is also periodically drained to scrub out algae, garbage, goose droppings and other detritus.

But during an Oval Office event on drug prices, Mr. Trump said he is disturbed by the “terrible” condition of the pool, a historic sight that featured heavily in Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington and other major events at the Lincoln Memorial.

He estimated that renovating the pool will take about a week and cost roughly $1.5 million. He said contractors have begun working on the stones, and started laying down its new “industrial-grade” surface on Thursday.

“You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it’s supposed to be,” he said, showing photos of the construction process. “Much better than it ever was, actually.”

President Trump holds an image of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during an event on health care affordability in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Washington. Mark Schiefelbein / AP

Mr. Trump told reporters he drew inspiration for the project from his days as a New York real estate developer, during which he estimated that he built more than 100 swimming pools. He said it was “essentially a pool surface” and that he told one contractor to “think of it as a swimming pool.” (The basin is more than 300,000 square feet and the length of about 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools.)

Tasked with choosing a color for the pool floor, Mr. Trump said an unspecified contractor talked him out of picking Bahamas-style turquoise, arguing “American flag blue” would look more appropriate.

Mr. Trump has pledged to deal with the Reflecting Pool in the past. In November, he posted to social media a video of garbage strewn next to the pool surface, writing: “Study it hard because you won’t be seeing this Biden filth and incompetence much longer!”

Earlier this month, he wrote that he and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will fix the pool “at a fraction of the cost” that the administration was initially quoted.

Since returning to the presidency last year, Mr. Trump has sought to put his stamp on major landmarks in the D.C. area, making changes large (tearing down the White House’s East Wing to make way for a ballroom) and small (adding a “Presidential Walk of Fame” to the West Wing).

He has also proposed overhauling the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, building a gigantic triumphal arch across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial and painting the Eisenhower Executive Office Building white.

Mr. Trump has pitched the renovation projects as a way to beautify the city and address long-overdue maintenance needs, and has argued that his planned White House ballroom will serve as a much-needed event space that can be used for state dinners and other functions.

But some of the projects have drawn criticism from preservation groups and congressional Democrats who argue that he is unilaterally changing — and in some cases, tearing down — iconic public spaces without sufficient input from Congress or the public.

The president has also faced criticism over the funding mechanism for the ballroom, paid for with hundreds of millions in private donations, and for a decision by the Kennedy Center’s board last year to add Mr. Trump to the center’s name.

DeSantis taunts Jeffries with Florida invite — Dem leader responds with $20M warning shot

2026-04-23 16:39 EDT / Fox News

Florida’s special legislative session on congressional redistricting gets underway Tuesday amid national GOP pressure

By Paul Steinhauser, Fox News

Published April 23, 2026 4:39pm EDT

House Democratic Leader Jeffries claps back at GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fishing invite, vows $20M Florida push

It’s day two of congressional redistricting trash talk between House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. (Credit: NBC Pool)

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There’s no let up in the verbal fireworks between House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in their war of words over congressional redistricting.

One day after DeSantis on Wednesday taunted Jeffries, saying “there’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries … everywhere around this state,” the top Democrat in the House fired back.

Pointing to the announcement Thursday morning from a top super PAC aligned with House Democrats that it will shell out $20 million to target potentially vulnerable Florida Republican members of Congress, Jeffries said the move is “making it clear that we’re on offense. That’s our Democratic gift to Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republicans, who he is putting in jeopardy.”

The trading of trash talk between the congressman from New York and the two-term Sunshine State governor comes ahead of next week’s special session of the Florida legislature that DeSantis called to enact congressional redistricting to create additional right-leaning U.S. House seats.

DESANTIS, JEFFRIES TRADE VERBAL FIRE OVER CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

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Florida is the latest battleground between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats in the high-stakes showdown over congressional redistricting. Both parties have been redrawing the House district lines in states they control to gain partisan advantages heading into this year’s midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its razor-thin congressional majority.

Pressure from fellow Republicans is mounting on DeSantis to take action after the passage earlier this week in Virginia of a congressional redistricting referendum, which if it clears legal hurdles, will give the Democrat-controlled legislature — rather than the current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election.

It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.

VIRGINIA VOTE GIVES DEMOCRATS MIDTERM MAP EDGE – SPARKS GOP BLAME GAME

Signs urge early voters to vote yes or no on the Virginia redistricting referendum at the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Early voting continues across the state for Virginia’s redistricting ballot referendum.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

DeSantis called next week’s special session to create more GOP-friendly congressional seats in a state where Republicans currently control 20 of 28 congressional districts.

But the road ahead for Florida Republicans isn’t easy: they already changed the House district lines four years ago, and it’s illegal under the state constitution to draw maps for partisan gain, which is known as gerrymandering.

Jeffries on Wednesday took aim at what he’s dubbed “dummymander,” which is a play on gerrymander, and argued that redrawing the maps in a state where the GOP suffered setbacks earlier this year in special legislative elections would harm Republican members of Congress.

“Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out,’” Jeffries told reporters as he referenced next week’s redistricting legislative session. Jeffries said the redistricting move would lead Democrats to increase their target list of vulnerable Florida House Republicans.

He warned DeSantis and Republicans that “the electoral tide is turning in Florida,”

DEMOCRATS NARROWLY WIN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING SHOWDOWN IN VIRGINIA

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, left, pictured alongside U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right.(Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Pushing back, DeSantis said “Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign.”

“I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing,” the governor added.

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office in Sacramento on Nov. 4, 2025.(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

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Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Virginia was in the redistricting spotlight the past month, leading up to this week’s election, where the Democrat-supported referendum passed by a narrow three-point margin.

Now, the fight moves to Florida, where the special legislative session gets underway Tuesday.

But no proposed maps have been circulated yet to state lawmakers, and DeSantis and Republicans in the legislature have had strained relations.

Regardless, there’s pressure coming from Washington, in wake of the Virginia vote, for Florida to take action.

“Florida has the right and the intention to do it. And my view is that they should,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Florida’s maps should be redrawn in time for the midterms.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

U.S. special forces soldier who won $409K charged for betting on Maduro’s removal before raid was reported

2026-04-23T17:58:00-0400 / CBS News

By Nicole Sganga, Jacob Rosen, James LaPorta

Updated on: April 23, 2026 / 7:54 PM EDT / CBS News

A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was arrested on Thursday after allegedly betting on Maduro’s removal from office before news of the raid was made public, a law enforcement source and a senior military official told CBS News.

Federal investigators believe U.S. Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke made bets of more than $33,000 on the prediction market Polymarket within hours of President Trump’s announcement in January that Maduro had been captured, the source said. The bets hit and resulted in winnings of more than $409,000.

According to an indictment unsealed Thursday in the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke was charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and engaging in monetary transactions from unlawful activity.

In a press release, the Justice Department said that Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the operation to capture Maduro.

“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain,” U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York Jay 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. That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”

Van Dyke was a communications specialist supporting Joint Special Operations Command, the unit that oversees Tier 1 special mission units such as the Army’s Delta Force and the Navy’s SEAL Team Six, multiple officials told CBS News.

The indictment said he has been on active duty since 2008 and has been a master sergeant since 2023, and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina at the time of the alleged crime. Fort Bragg houses the headquarters of the Joint Special Operations Command.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, Mr. Trump announced in a Truth Social post that the Venezuelan president and his wife had been “captured and flown out of the Country.”

Shortly before Mr. Trump’s post, a Polymarket account holder placed a $32,537 bet on the likelihood that Maduro would be “out by January 31, 2026.”

Three additional bets were made via the same Polymarket account: a $1,000 wager on the U.S. invading Venezuela by Jan. 31; a $250 wager that Mr. Trump would invoke the War Powers Act against Venezuela by Jan. 31; and a $146 wager that U.S. forces would land in Venezuela by the end of the month.

Polymarket said in a statement on X: “When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation.”

“Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof the system works,” the company said.

During an unrelated Oval Office event Thursday, Mr. Trump told reporters he hadn’t heard about the alleged betting on Maduro’s removal but would look into it.

“That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team,” the president said, referring to the MLB legend who was banned from the sport for gambling. Mr. Trump has defended Rose, saying last year he would issue a posthumous pardon.

Asked about concerns that prediction markets could play host to insider trading, Mr. Trump said he’s “not happy with any of that stuff.”

“The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things,” he said. “I was never much in favor of it. I like it conceptually, but it is what it is.”

While the arrest is a first for U.S. authorities, two Israeli soldiers were charged in connection with the suspected use of classified information to place bets on the prediction platform Polymarket back in February.

In a “60 Minutes” interview last year, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan addressed the issue of users trading on inside information.

“I think that people going and having an edge to the market is a good thing,” he said. “Obviously, you need to curate them and you need to be really clear and stringent on where the line is drawn and … ethics, and we spend a lot of time on that.”

Megan Cerullo and Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report.

韩咏红：中国基层干部的政绩观

2026年4月24日 05:00 / 联合早报 韩咏红

中共今年2月下旬在全党启动“树立和践行正确政绩观学习教育”，计划到7月底基本结束。江苏宿迁泗洪县上塘镇18个社区今年均对拟办的民生实事推行投票表决制度。图为4月19日，垫湖村党委书记周磊（右二）向村民代表介绍今年拟办的民生实事。 （新华社）

中共今年2月下旬在全党启动“树立和践行正确政绩观学习教育”，计划到7月底基本结束。眼下，这项政治任务正蓄积能量全面铺开，各主流媒体和中共党组织纷纷推进，宣传正确政绩观，但本周意外地出现了一阵小波澜。

事缘中共中央机关报《人民日报》星期二（4月21日）刊文，剑指基层干部群体中存在的“过度请示”现象。文章归纳出，“过度请示”背后的原因，包括基层干部“向上甩锅”的避责心理、“刷脸表态”的投机心理、“为官不为”的躺平心理、本领恐慌的依赖心理。如此种种，让一些事务陷入“程序空转”，长此以往，不仅贻误发展良机，更会透支群众信任。

这篇题为“过度请示，该纠偏了”的文章也指出，“过度请示”是源自干部政绩观不正；不沾责任、不沾风险、不沾矛盾；只想当官不想干事，只想揽权不想担责，只想出彩不想出力。文章认为，要破除“三不沾”，还须树起鲜明导向，让敢干事、敢担责的干部受肯定、有底气。

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