7 hearings in 7 days: The takeaways from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s week of congressional testimony

2026-04-23T17:28:56.530Z / CNN Politics

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:28 PM EDT, Thu April 23, 2026

7 hearings in 7 days: The takeaways from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s week of congressional testimony

Inside Politics

Dana Bash and the “Inside Politics” panel analyze the political fallout of a week of fiery congressional hearings with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., where lawmakers pressed him on vaccines. Abby Livingston tells Bash, “So much of the midterms are going to be about independent voters… and independent voters tend to support vaccines.”

5:18 • Source: CNN

‘Queen of DEI’ running for Congress ripped her rural state as ‘backwards’ on podcast

April 23, 2026 12:08pm EDT / Fox News

Christina Bohannan also said she was ‘glad’ a Republican bill banning the 1619 Project failed in Iowa

By Elaine Mallon

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Christina Bohannan, a Democratic candidate in a battleground Iowa district, is facing scrutiny from Republicans over past remarks in which she said the state would be viewed as “backwards” without diversity training in schools and argued the nation’s founders were motivated by preserving slavery during the Revolutionary War.

Bohannan, a law professor and former Iowa state representative, is making her third attempt to unseat incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, in the state’s 1st Congressional District after losing by less than a percentage point in 2024. The razor-thin margin has set up a high-stakes rematch this cycle, as Republicans work to defend one of their most competitive seats while highlighting Bohannan’s past positions on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“DEI Queen Christina Bohannan thinks George Floyd is a role model, and George Washington should be cancelled,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft said in a statement to Fox News Digital.”Iowans will channel the spirit of 1776 to reject this two-time loser once again so she can return to her day job calling everyone and everything racist.”

Bohannan made the remarks now under GOP fire on the podcast “Under the Dome” in 2021.

CROCKETT’S POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR HAS REPEATEDLY RAILED AGAINST US IN REPARATIONS PUSH: ‘IT’S BEEN EVIL’

Christina Bohannan, candidate for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, holds a press conference following a visit to the Washington County Hospitals & Clinics July 30, 2025, in Washington, Iowa.(Julia Hansen / Iowa City Press-Citize)

Bohannan, then a state representative, said she was “really concerned” about a bill in the Iowa legislature banning diversity training, including implicit bias training, from being taught at public schools and universities. She said that implicit bias, an unconscious attitude a person may have toward someone based on race, is “very real,” and is “serious.”

“I think that it is going to be very divisive if passed,” Bohannan said at the time. “I think that it’s going to send a very bad message about Iowa and that it is going to seem like are kind of this backwards state that doesn’t understand there are things like systemic racism.”

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed that bill into law in June 2021.

Bohannan also said on the podcast that she was “glad” that a Republican-backed bill banning the 1619 Project, a New York Times initiative that suggests slavery is central to the nation’s founding, failed during the legislative session.

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER SUGGESTS ‘SLAVE MENTALITY’ BEHIND HISPANIC TRUMP VOTERS

Christina Bohannan, candidate for Iowa’s first congressional district, listens during a roundtable on affordable housing Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa.(Iowa City Press-Citizen)

The 1619 Project focuses “on the fact that there were some Revolutionary leaders who became supportive of that Revolution because they wanted to preserve the institution of slavery,” Bohannan said, noting there were other reasons for the revolution, such as taxation.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bohannan for comment.

Bohannan has supported diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as police reform and migrant rights groups, for years.

DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH

While in the Iowa legislature, she co-sponsored a bill requiring implicit bias training for health professionals, but the bill never made it out of committee.

As chairwoman of the University of Iowa law school’s DEI Committee, she pushed students to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. In a letter to students, she listed five different funds students can donate to, including the Minnesota Freedom Fund and the National Bail Out Fund, which both support defunding the police.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16, 2025.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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During a candidate forum in 2020, at the time of Bohannan’s first congressional campaign, she said she was “very active” in Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, a group focused on abolishing ICE, the Washington Free Beacon reported. A year prior, Bohannan donated money to the Prairieland Freedom Fund to help bail illegal immigrants out of jail. The Prairieland Freedom Fund seeks to establish a “world without police.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Miller-Meeks’ campaign for comment.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Trump praises ousted Navy Secretary Phelan amid tensions with Pentagon leadership

April 23, 2026 3:42pm EDT / Fox News

Navy insiders say Hegseth grew frustrated that Phelan at times bypassed him and took issues directly to Trump

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

John Phelan replaced as Navy secretary in Pentagon shakeup

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports as Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been replaced, effective immediately, amid Pentagon shakeup.

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5 min

Navy Secretary John Phelan was removed from his post after months of tensions with senior Pentagon leadership, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Multiple officials told Fox News Digital that both War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg had concerns with Phelan’s leadership, and tensions had simmered for months. One flashpoint came after Hegseth fired Phelan’s chief of staff, John Harrison, in October 2025, according to sources.

Those frustrations were in part fueled by concerns over Phelan’s execution of major shipbuilding programs, one source confirmed.

But President Donald Trump struck a different tone publicly, praising Phelan in a post on Truth Social Thursday afternoon.

NAVY SECRETARY DEPARTS IMMEDIATELY AS UNDERSECRETARY TAKES OVER IN ACTING ROLE

“John Phelan is a long time friend, and very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job serving as my Secretary Of The Navy for the last year,” Trump wrote. “John helped my Administration rebuild Sleepy Joe Biden’s rapidly depleted, and almost abandoned, Navy. Now, because of John, and all of the Great Men and Women lovingly and tirelessly involved, we have the strongest Navy in the World — BY FAR!”

Trump added that he would “certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future” and said Phelan “decided to move on,” a characterization at odds with what other administration officials have told Fox News Digital.

A senior administration official said Trump and Hegseth “agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed.”

The official added that Hegseth informed Phelan of the decision before Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the move in a post on X Wednesday.

The leadership shakeup comes at a critical moment for the Navy, as U.S. forces confront escalating tensions amid a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks and mine threats have disrupted a vital global oil choke point. It also comes as Trump has pushed the Navy into a “wartime footing” for expanding the nation’s lagging shipbuilding capacity.

Navy Secretary John Phelan was removed from his post this week after months of tensions with senior Pentagon leadership, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.(Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.(Alex Brandon/AP)

Phelan, a billionaire and former fundraiser for Trump, and his wife, Amy, hosted a bridal shower for Donald Trump Jr’s fiancé at Mar-a-Lago in mid-April.

Other Navy insiders described the tensions as more personal, saying Hegseth grew frustrated that Phelan at times bypassed him and took issues directly to Trump.

Phelan declined to comment to Fox News Digital. Hegseth aides could not be reached for comment on the tensions.

Phelan is the second senior level Pentagon official to lose his job in April after Army chief of staff Randy George, in the midst of the U.S. operation against Iran. His exit also comes amid a broader Cabinet shakeup: Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer all departed their roles since March.

Phelan’s departure also comes amid heightened pressure on the Navy to address persistent shipbuilding challenges. The Navy’s Columbia-class submarine program — its top priority — remains behind schedule and over budget, with delivery of the lead vessel now expected to be delayed by roughly 17 months into 2029.

“John Phelan is a long time friend, and very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job serving as my Secretary Of The Navy for the last year,” Trump said.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)

More broadly, major Navy shipbuilding programs have continued to face delays and cost pressures during Phelan’s roughly yearlong tenure, even as he made shipbuilding a central focus of his leadership. He launched reviews of major programs and pushed changes aimed at accelerating production, while the Navy has invested heavily in efforts to address workforce shortages and production bottlenecks, including a $900 million initiative in 2026 to automate submarine manufacturing.

Tensions escalated as Feinberg moved to centralize oversight of major shipbuilding programs, in some cases stripping Phelan of authority over key efforts, according to New York Times reporting citing a congressional official.

Phelan also drew scrutiny in recent days after suggesting the Navy could explore alternatives such as outsourcing shipbuilding as it grapples with capacity constraints.

“Everything’s on the table,” Phelan said at the Sea-Air-Space conference Monday. “We just need to look at it, understand it, understand the implications behind it and decide if we think that makes sense or not.”

ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF ORDERED TO RETIRE IMMEDIATELY AS HEGSETH CONTINUES PENTAGON SHAKEUP

Phelan is the second senior level Pentagon official to lose his job this month, in the midst of the U.S. operation against Iran.(Sahar AL ATTAR / AFP via Getty Images)

Hung Cao, the Navy’s under secretary, has stepped in as acting Navy secretary following Phelan’s removal, bringing a sharply different background and leadership profile to the role. Unlike Phelan, a businessman, Cao is a retired Navy captain and special operations officer who served more than two decades in the military, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, before entering politics and later joining the Pentagon’s civilian leadership.

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Cao has also emerged as a prominent voice within the Trump administration on military culture and readiness, taking a hardline stance on recruiting and force standards.

In a political debate while he was running for the Virginia Senate seat in October 2024, Cao said: “When you’re using a drag queen…to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we need. What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds.”

Foreign-flagged tanker ships US oil from Texas to Pennsylvania after waiver

2026-04-23 17:53:33 UTC / Reuters

HOUSTON, April 23 (Reuters) – A foreign-flagged tanker delivered a load of crude oil from Texas to a ​U.S. refinery on Thursday under ‌a temporary waiver issued by President Donald Trump to combat price increases and supply disruptions ​due to the Iran war.

​The Malta-flagged HTM Warrior loaded light, ⁠sweet Bakken crude from refiner Phillips ​66’s terminal in Beaumont, Texas, in early April ​and discharged the cargo at Monroe Energy’s Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania last week, Kpler and LSEG ​ship tracking data showed.

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The Trump administration ​in March announced a 60-day waiver of the 1920 ‌Jones ⁠Act shipping law, temporarily allowing foreign-flagged vessels to move fuel, fertilizer and other goods between U.S. ports. The rare ​waiver underscored ​the administration’s ⁠urgent response to a crisis that has led to ​a sharp rise in gasoline ​prices ⁠and disrupted critical fertilizer supplies for U.S. farmers.

The administration is considering extending ⁠the ​Jones Act waiver, Axios ​reported on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials.

Reporting by Arathy ​Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Paul Simao

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

By Holmes Lybrand

Updated 1 hr 2 min ago

Updated Apr 23, 2026, 2:57 PM ET

PUBLISHED Apr 23, 2026, 1:18 PM ET

Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice.

Department of Justice

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is launching a review into the DOJ’s production of files and documents related to Jeffrey Epstein as controversy continues over the handling of the case of the convicted sex offender.

The Inspector General will focus on “the DOJ’s identification, collection, and production of responsive material,” it said in a statement Thursday, as well as “processes for redacting and withholding material” and how the Justice Department addressed issues following the release of Epstein documents.

Related article Printed copies of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department in connection with court cases involving the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, are seen in this photo illustration. Taken in Brussels, Belgium, on 8 February 2026. (Jonathan Raa / Sipa USA) Strictly for editorial news purposes only (Sipa via AP Images) Jonathan Raa/Sipa USA/AP Epstein’s victims say other men abused them. Files shed little light on how investigators followed up 14 min read

The vast files collected throughout investigations related to Epstein were ordered to be released by Congress in a law that passed late last year. Some members of Congress have ridiculed the Justice Department for over-redactions and tracking their searches as they went through unredacted versions of the material.

“Men need to be perp-walked in handcuffs to the jail, and until we see that here in this country … we don’t have a system of justice that’s working,” Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-sponored the Epstein document law, told the BBC in March.

Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November after repeated failures from the Justice Department to deliver on past promises that they would be releasing information on Epstein – even material it did not have, like the long-fabled list of contacts and co-conspirators that now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed was on her desk ready to be released early last year. No such list has been produced and the Justice Department has not charged anyone beyond Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

Bondi was fired by President Donald Trump early this year in part because of her continued bungling of the Epstein investigation.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, in his new role leading the department after Bondi’s ousting, argued during a press conference this month that the new DOJ under Trump’s second term “has been a lot more transparent” than past administrations.

But Blanche has also tried to hurry the Epstein scandal to the dustbin of history.

“I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward,” Blanche said in an interview with Fox News earlier this year.

“I’m not sure you totally get what people feel about that,” Fox News host Jesse Watters said later over Blanche’s answers to questions related to Epstein.

The DOJ’s Inspector General previously found that, after an investigation, Epstein killed himself in a jail cell in 2019. Maxwell, his longtime business partner, is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in conspiring with Epstein to procure minors for him to sexually abuse.

Related article Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas, on March 26, 2026. Daniel Cole/Reuters Todd Blanche takes over the Justice Department, where there’s no escaping the Epstein files shadow 6 min read

Blanche also met with Maxwell last year in Florida. She was given limited immunity so that she could discuss her criminal case, but did not promise any other benefits in exchange for her testimony, according to a transcript released by the Justice Department.

However, Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp shortly after the interview was completed. DOJ has said there’s no connection between Blanche’s meeting and her transfer.

Police seek 17-year-old suspect in connection with mass shooting near University of Iowa

April 23, 2026 / 8:30 AM EDT / CBS News

Police are searching for a 17-year-old suspect charged in connection with a shooting near the University of Iowa over the weekend. The shooting left five people wounded, some severely.

Damarian Jones, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, faces five counts of attempted murder, three counts of willful injury assault causing serious injury, two counts of willful injury assault causing bodily injury, and one count of going armed with intent, according to police. The final charge is brought against someone for allegedly carrying a dangerous weapon “with the specific intent to use it without justification against another person,” according to Iowa state law.

Iowa City police announced the charges against Jones on Wednesday. The suspect still had not been located, and anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to submit tips to authorities. Police said they expect to file additional charges, and make additional arrests, as they continue to investigate the case.

Jones has been at large since Sunday morning, when he is accused of shooting five people in the middle of a crowded mall at around 1:45 a.m. Jones fired six rounds from his handgun inside Iowa City’s Pedestrian Mall, near the University of Iowa campus, after engaging in a physical fight “against numerous opposing individuals,” police said in an arrest affidavit.

The suspect, Damarian Jones, in an image released by Iowa City Police. Iowa City Police

The suspect fought alongside others “on his side” and eventually “obtained a firearm” as the altercation continued. During a break in fighting, he walked away from the opposing group, raised his gun and proceeded to fire six rounds toward them, according to the affidavit, which struck the five injured people while they were “in the direct line of fire.”

None of the five victims were targets in the shooting, police said, adding, “there is no reason to believe they were otherwise affiliated with this incident.”

Police brought the charges after reviewing video footage, and obtaining images of Jones and other persons of interest, according to their announcement and the affidavit. Based on the footage and crime scene evidence, the charging document said, “There is probable cause to believe the defendant, with the specific intent to cause the death of another, performed an act constituting a substantial step toward the commission of murder.”

Although police believe Jones fired every shot that caused the five injuries, authorities said they recovered three firearms, numerous accessories and multiple rounds of ammunition during their investigation.

Of the five people struck by gunfire, two remained hospitalized on Wednesday, according to police. One person suffered a life-threatening head injury in the shooting and was hospitalized in critical condition, and another suffered serious injuries requiring surgery after being struck in the arm and chest. The third victim suffered serious injuries that required multiple surgeries after being shot in the leg, the fourth was struck in the side of the stomach, and the fifth was struck in both legs, police said.

“Their lives have been forever changed by this senseless act of violence,” Iowa City Police Chief Dustin Liston said in a statement. “We pray for their full recovery and stand ready to support them in any way possible during this difficult time.”

US labor market shows no signs of stress yet from Iran war

2026-04-23T12:40:27.203Z / Reuters

By Lucia Mutikani

April 23, 2026 12:40 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

A “Help Wanted” sign hangs in restaurant window in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

• Summary
• Companies

• Initial jobless claims increase 6,000 to 214,000
• Labor market appears stable during survey week for April’s nonfarm payrolls
• Continuing claims rise by 12,000 to 1.821 million

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits edged up last week, pointing to continued labor market stability ​in April, though economic uncertainty and higher prices stemming from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pose downside risks.

The absence of widespread ‌layoffs suggested by the Labor Department’s report on Thursday supports financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve will probably not cut interest rates this year as the nearly two-month conflict fans inflation and strains the global economy.

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“The labor market has become more vulnerable since the start of the war, but the claims data over the last two ​months show no evidence of cracks,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “However, it’s always been our expectation that ​the spike in oil prices would take some time to become apparent in the labor market data.”

Initial claims ⁠for state unemployment benefits rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 for the week ended April 18. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 210,000 ​claims for the latest week. Claims remain tucked in their 201,000-230,000 range for this year. The four-week moving average of claims, which irons out ​week-to-week volatility, rose by only 750 to 210,750.

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The war has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, boosting the price of oil and other commodities, including fertilizers, petrochemicals and aluminum.

Tehran effectively closed the strait after the start of the war on February 28. Economists worry a prolonged conflict could undermine an already fragile labor market.

President Donald ​Trump’s sweeping import tariffs and immigration crackdown were blamed for the labor market’s stumbles last year. Trump on Tuesday indefinitely extended the ceasefire with ​Iran, though a U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

Financial markets expect the U.S. central bank to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate in ‌the 3.50%-3.75% ⁠range through the end of this year, though some economists still believe a reduction in borrowing costs is possible, especially if the labor market deteriorates as they anticipate.

Monthly consumer prices increased by the most in nearly four years in March. Higher fuel costs are already hurting margins for some businesses, with American Airlines (AAL.O) on Thursday cutting its 2026 profit forecast.

U.S. stocks opened lower. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies.

A line chart with the title ‘US unemployment claims’

LOW-HIRE, LOW-FIRE LABOR MARKET

The claims ​data covered the period during which ​the government surveyed businesses for ⁠the nonfarm payrolls component of April’s employment report.

The four-week average of claims was unchanged between the March and April survey periods. Payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs in March after declining by 133,000 in February. Payrolls have dropped ​in six of the last 15 months.

The labor market has remained anchored by low layoffs, even as ​employers show little appetite ⁠for expanding headcount. Data next week on the number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, will shed more light on the state of the labor market this month.

The so-called continuing claims increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.821 million during the week ⁠ended April ​11, the claims report showed.

While continuing claims have retreated from last year’s highs, the ​decline could partly be due to workers exhausting benefits, which are capped at 26 weeks in most states. The data also excludes some unemployed young people with little or no ​work history, a group that is facing difficulties finding work.

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

VIEW Cannabis rescheduling fuels optimism across industry

2026-04-23 15:21:28 UTC / Reuters

By Reuters

April 23, 2026 3:21 PM UTC Updated 31 mins ago

节点运行失败

A man passes a marijuana joint during the 420 Hippie Hill festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California U.S., April 20, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

April 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice is immediately loosening restrictions on some marijuana products and accelerating the process of reclassifying the drug as less dangerous in one of the biggest changes to U.S. drug policy in decades.

The Trump administration on Thursday ​moved FDA-approved marijuana products and state-regulated medical marijuana from a group of drugs classified as highly addictive to one ‌that has a low to moderate potential for abuse.

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Here are some comments from company executives and policy experts:

IRWIN SIMON, CEO, TILRAY BRANDS

“Rescheduling has the potential to accelerate clinical research, broaden access and elevate the quality, consistency, and safety standards that establish medical cannabis as a legitimate pillar of modern healthcare.”

KIM RIVERS, CEO, TRULIEVE

“This sends ​a signal that marijuana should not be in the same classification as heroin, and that there is absolutely an acknowledgement, ​it’s a requirement for Schedule 3, that there are acceptable medical uses for marijuana.”

INESA PONOMARIOVAITE, FOUNDER AND CEO, ⁠NESA’S HEMP

“If this transition is going to deliver real public health benefits, it has to be paired with a commitment to data-driven standards, ​better education around the endocannabinoid system, and a more collaborative approach across healthcare, regulatory bodies and industry.”

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ARAS AZADIAN, CEO, AVICANNA

“Since the initial executive order, ​we have been preparing for what could be a post rescheduling landscape in the U.S. and the opportunities to advance R&D, clinical development and translate our comprehensive platform for cannabinoid-based medicine from Canada into the U.S. market.”

MELISSA STURGESS, CEO, ANANDA PHARMA

“For Ananda, it means we can speed up our clinical trials and plan ​to bring a licensed CBD-based medicine to market for the treatment of endometriosis pain. The millions of women suffering from this debilitating condition ​deserve a non-hormonal treatment that will relieve their suffering.”

TERRY MENDEZ, CEO, SAFE HARBOR FINANCIAL

“We expect this action, along with the broader rescheduling effort currently under review, ‌to drive ⁠increased interest from banks and credit unions. As perceived federal risk moderates, more institutions are likely to explore cannabis banking, expanding the addressable market for compliant, technology-enabled solutions.”

ANTHONY CONIGLIO, CEO, NEWLAKE CAPITAL PARTNERS

“This is a partial measure, not full reform. The order does not extend to adult-use cannabis, does not legalize marijuana federally, and does not resolve the industry’s banking challenges. The broader rescheduling proceeding remains critically important, and the upcoming ​DEA hearing process should move forward ​on an expedited basis so ⁠the market can get the clarity it has been waiting for.”

BETTY ALDWORTH, CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MAPS, CHAIR OF THE MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT

“If this administration is serious about reform, it must go beyond rescheduling to address ​criminalization, lifelong restrictions due to arrests, and financial exclusion. Anything less will continue to leave patients, providers, ​and communities, especially ⁠those most harmed by prohibition, waiting for change that never fully arrives.”

BRETT SCHUMAN, CO-CHAIR OF CANNABIS PRACTICE AT GOODWIN

“We can’t forget the many people still sitting in federal prison serving life or other lengthy sentences for non-violent cannabis offenses. Today’s change in federal law requires that those sentences be ⁠revisited and, ​in most cases, commuted.”

MARK LEWIS, PRESIDENT OF SPECIALTY PAYMENTS, LUT

“Dispensary operators still have to ​figure out how to pay employees, how to accept payments without disruption and how to keep cash flow moving in a system that doesn’t fully support your business. That ​won’t change overnight, if at all with rescheduling.”

Reporting by Christy Santhosh, Sriparna Roy, Mrinalika Roy and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar

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Lebanon accuses Israel of war crime after drone strike kills journalist

April 23, 2026 / 12:09 PM EDT / CBS News

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon that killed a journalist on Wednesday were a war crime, Lebanon’s prime minister said. A journalists’ union said rescuers were prevented from accessing the destroyed building where the reporter was left trapped beneath rubble.

Amal Khalil, 43, a journalist with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, bled to death in the ruins of a building that was hit in an Israeli drone strike after Israeli forces’ gunfire prevented ambulance crews from reaching her “for nearly four hours,” according to Lebanon’s Union of Journalists.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of war crimes in a social media post Wednesday, saying Israel’s “targeting of media workers in the south while they carry out their professional duties is no longer isolated incidents, but … an established approach that we condemn and reject.”

Amal Khalil, a veteran correspondent for the daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, is seen in the southern Lebanese border village of Jebbayn in 2024. AFP via Getty Images

Photojournalist Zeinab Faraj was also wounded in the attack, the union said.

The Israel Defense Forces denied that troops had prevented rescue teams from reaching the site of the attack and said in a statement Wednesday it “does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them while maintaining the safety and security of its troops.”

Khalil and Faraj were working near the town of Al-Tayri in southern Lebanon when an Israeli drone struck a car in front of them, killing two civilians, before attacking the journalists’ vehicle, according to the union.

The IDF said it had identified and targeted two vehicles that left “a military structure used by Hezbollah … and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety.” The union said the IDF then struck a building where the two reporters were sheltering two hours later.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said the IDF pursued Khalil and Faraj, “targeting the house to which they had fled.”

“When the Lebanese Red Cross arrived to transport the injured,” the ministry said, “the enemy prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission, firing a stun grenade at the ambulance and targeting it with gunfire, so it was not possible to extract Khalil.”

The rescue workers were able to extract Faraj and the bodies of two men who were killed in the attack.

Journalist Zeinab Faraj, 21, is seen in her hospital bed in Tibnine, Lebanon, April 23, 2026. Benoît Durand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

The ministry called the incident a “blatant double violation” for allegedly obstructing rescue efforts and targeting a Red Cross ambulance.

Clayton Weimer, the executive director of Reporters Without Borders, said the organization had contacted the Israeli army asking it to allow the ambulances through.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israeli forces have killed at least 260 media workers since the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza, most of them Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

The IDF has not acknowledged Khalil’s death. Last month, it described three journalists who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar TV network, who were killed in an Israeli strike, as terrorists from the group’s military wing.

In 2024, Khalil and the journalists’ union said she was targeted by an “Israeli death threat” and warned to leave the south of Lebanon.

“They said, ‘We will separate your head from your shoulders,’” she claimed in a video that has gone viral in the wake of her death.

On Thursday, mourners carried Khalil’s coffin, draped in a Lebanese flag, through the streets of Baysariyah, her hometown in southern Lebanon. A blue flak jacket and helmet sat perched atop the casket.

The killing comes with Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors meeting in Washington, D.C., Thursday to discuss an extension of a 10-day ceasefire signed on April 16. Both Hezbollah and the IDF have accused each other of violating the fragile truce.

以军空袭加沙北部广场 五人死亡多人重伤

2026年4月23日 23:37 / 联合早报

4月23日，在加沙地带中部布雷吉（Bureij）巴勒斯坦难民营以南的萨拉赫丁街，人们正在查看一辆以色列空袭摧毁的民用车辆。空袭造成三人死亡。 （法新社）

巴勒斯坦安全部门消息人士说，以军袭击加沙地带北部拜特拉希亚地区，造成包括三名儿童在内的五人死亡。

消息人士说，一架以军无人机星期三（4月22日）晚间向加沙北部地区一处公共广场上的人群发射了一枚导弹，造成五人死亡，另有多人重伤。

新华社引述以色列国防军23日发表的声明说，22日晚在加沙北部靠近黄线附近区域发现数名巴勒斯坦伊斯兰抵抗运动（哈马斯）武装分子，以军发动空袭致他们身亡。

哈马斯发言人哈齐姆·卡西姆23日发表声明说，以军直接针对平民和儿童的军事行为证明了以色列种族灭绝政策，严重违反国际法和人道主义原则；同时表明所谓的“和平委员会”在阻止以方侵犯人权行为和履行加沙地带第一阶段停火协议方面无法履行义务和职责。

卡西姆呼吁停火协议调解国和担保国以及“和平委员会”参与国履行职责，阻止以方对加沙的种族灭绝。

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巴勒斯坦加沙地带卫生部门23日发布的数据显示，自2023年10月7日新一轮巴以冲突爆发以来，以军在加沙地带的军事行动已造成7万2000多人死亡，另有17万2000多人受伤。自2025年10月10日停火协议生效以来，已有972名巴勒斯坦人在以方军事行动中死亡、2235人受伤。