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Judge won’t order DOJ to return seized 2020 ballots to Fulton County

2026-05-06 7:21 PM ET / CNN

By Tierney Sneed

An employee of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections processes ballots in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 5, 2020.

Brandon Bell/Reuters

A federal judge said Wednesday he would not order the Justice Department to return ballots from the 2020 presidential election it seized from Fulton County, Georgia, rejecting a request by county officials.

Judge JP Boulee said the county had not met the high legal bar that would allow him to intervene, even as he acknowledged that “events leading up to this case are, in a variety of ways, unprecedented.”

The order comes months after the FBI searched a Fulton County elections office in January and seized election materials. That search was based on a warrant application that leaned on allegations of election fraud that have long circulated in far-right circles. The county quickly filed a lawsuit to retrieve the documents.

The FBI has been probing what the DOJ has described as irregularities in how Fulton County carried out the 2020 election, which President Donald Trump has falsely claimed was rigged.

Fulton County officials have proposed in court filings the criminal investigation appears to be a “pretext to acquire records that this Administration was unable to quickly secure via the civil litigation process.”

An FBI employee stands inside the Fulton County Election Hub as the FBI takes Fulton County 2020 Election ballots, on January 28, 2026, in Union City, Georgia.

Mike Stewart/AP

But the Justice Department has argued that theory is “nonsensical for multiple reasons” and that the county had not met the high bar required for ordering the seized materials be returned.

The FBI moved seized the election materials just a few weeks after opening a criminal probe, an unusually fast pace for a case of its kind, experts previously told CNN.

Meanwhile, the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections is trying to block the Justice Department from gaining access to the personal information of thousands of 2020 election workers.

CNN’s Aleena Fayaz, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.

Jeffrey Epstein’s possible suicide note released by judge

May 6, 2026 / 7:59 PM EDT / CBS News

By Faris Tanyos

Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast. Read Full Bio

An apparent suicide note written in 2019 by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released Wednesday.

A U.S. district judge ordered the release of the document at the request of The New York Times.

The note had been submitted to the court in May 2021 as part of the criminal murder case for Nicholas Tartaglione, a former cellmate of Epstein. Tartaglione has previously claimed that the note was written by Epstein after a failed suicide attempt less than a month before his death.

Tartaglione claimed in a podcast interview that he found the note in a book the morning after Epstein’s death, and he gave it to his lawyers, who included it in his appeal. The note was not mentioned in Bureau of Prisons records.

CBS News has not independently verified the note. CBS News has reached out to the FBI and Justice Department for comment.

The scrawled note appears to read: “They investigated me for month — found nothing!!! So 15 year old charges resulted.”

The note also includes the phrases “time to say goodbye” and “No fun — not worth it!!”

A possible suicide note written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

CBS News previously reported that on July 23, 2019, 18 days before he died, Epstein claimed that he was attacked by Tartaglione in the cell they shared. However, former Attorney General Bill Barr later testified before the House Oversight Committee that the July 23 incident was “viewed as an attempted suicide.”

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting prostitution in exchange for having a federal case against him dropped. He served 13 months in county jail and had to register as a sex offender.

Then, in July 2019, a New York federal grand jury indicted him on child sex trafficking charges. On Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. His death was ruled a suicide.

Epstein’s connection to the rich and powerful has come under renewed scrutiny amid the recent release by the Justice Department of millions of documents related to the investigation, some of which showed his links to prominent figures.

Daniel Ruetenik, Cara Tabachnick and Jacob Rosen contributed to this report.

伊朗油轮突破美军封锁未果 美战机开火阻止

2026年5月7日 07:56 / 联合早报

伊朗油轮突破美军封锁未果 美战机开火阻止

4月19日，美军导弹驱逐舰斯普鲁恩斯号在阿曼湾武力拦截试图突破美军海上封锁的伊朗货船Touska号。 （路透社档案照片）

美国中央司令部说，伊朗一艘空载油轮周三试图突破美军封锁，驶往伊朗在阿曼湾的一座港口，美军战机炸坏船舵使船只无法继续航行。这是美伊在霍尔木兹海域发生的最新冲突。

综合彭博社和新华社报道，美国中央司令部星期三（5月6日）在社媒X平台发声明说，这起事件发生在美东时间周三上午9时左右，开火目标是悬挂伊朗国旗且未装载货物的哈斯娜号（Hasna）油轮。这艘油轮当时正途经国际水域，驶向阿曼湾沿岸一处伊朗港口。

美军指这艘油轮违反美国的封锁令，多次发出警告，但油轮未遵从警告。美国海军一架从林肯号航空母舰上起飞的F/A-18型“超级大黄蜂”战斗机（Super Hornet）向油轮发射数发20毫米口径机炮炮弹，击中船舵。

美国中央司令部说，这艘油轮现已停止向伊朗方向航行，但没有提及后续如何处置。

美国中央司令部强调，美国针对试图进出伊朗港口船只所实施的封锁依然全面有效。

特朗普暂停自由计划 美伊或近达成停战备忘录 美伊在霍尔木兹海峡交火 阿联酋再遭袭击

美国总统特朗普周二（5日）在自家社媒Truth Social发文宣布，为促成与伊朗达成结束中东战争的协议，他将暂停疏导受困霍尔木兹海峡船只通行的“自由计划”行动，但对伊朗港口的封锁将继续全面有效。

4月19日，美军导弹驱逐舰斯普鲁恩斯号（USS Spruance）首次在阿曼湾武力拦截并控制了试图突破美军海上封锁的伊朗货船Touska号。伊朗军方指责美国此举是“武装海盗”行径。

Trump ‘right to be outraged’ by Europe’s betrayal on Iran, says former Thatcher advisor

May 6, 2026 2:49pm EDT / Fox News

‘The lack of support for the United States has been nothing less than treacherous,’ says Nile Gardiner

By Benjamin Weinthal

As President Donald Trump continues to express anger at NATO European allies for their lack of help in the war with Iran, he’s making clear their behavior comes at a cost.

In the weeks during the war and since the ceasefire, the president has hit back not just with words but with definitive actions against several of those countries.

Germany

On Saturday, Trump said that he would withdraw more than the initial 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany as stated by the Pentagon, after Berlin’s leader denigrated the American effort to stop Iran’s regime from building a nuclear weapon.

TRUMP WEIGHS PULLING US TROOPS FROM GERMANY AMID CLASH WITH CHANCELLOR OVER IRAN WAR

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 2026, to discuss issues including recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A day earlier he said about Germany that “We’re gonna cut way down. We’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.” The Trump administration previously announced a contraction of 5,000 troops in Germany after the country’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran’s regime “humiliated” Trump.

In an apparent state of panic, Merz walked back his attack on Trump and his Iran strategy on Sunday. The chancellor wrote on X: “The United States is and will remain Germany‘s most important partner in the North Atlantic Alliance. We share a common goal: Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.”

Trump ratcheted up his troop reduction number against Germany amid his comments about downsizing U.S. boots on the ground in Spain and Italy because they failed to aid America in the war against Iran. The president’s anger at Western European countries has been simmering for weeks and could lead to profound changes in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

TRUMP CRITICIZES SPAIN AMID IRAN, NATO RIFT AS PM SANCHEZ FACES QUESTIONS OVER POLITICAL MOTIVES

Nile Gardiner, the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital, “The lack of support for the United States has been nothing less than treacherous. I think the president has the right to be outraged by the lack of support from key European allies.”

An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes on March 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.(Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

He said, “There is a very deep-seated cultural appeasement in Europe toward the Iranian regime that goes back many decades, and a flat-out refusal to accept the reality of the immense dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. European leaders are sleepwalking toward destruction with this perilous path they have taken.

TRUMP IS RIGHT ABOUT NATO’S WEAKNESS — THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW DOES AMERICA FIX IT

“The lack of support for the United States is how far Europe has gone toward losing its moral compass. Iran is a genocidal regime that threatens to wipe Israel off the map.” He noted that the Islamic Republic has killed huge numbers of its population.

Gardiner, a former advisor to Lady Margaret Thatcher said, “If you listen to European leaders, it’s as if the U.S. is the villain here.”

Merz, speaking last week in Marsberg, criticized the U.S. approach to Iran, saying Washington was being “humiliated by the Iranian leadership” and expressing hope the conflict would end “as quickly as possible.”

Gardiner said of Merz’s remarks, “Comments like these actually help the propaganda of the Iranian dictatorship. It is astonishing that a German chancellor would make these kinds of remarks at a time of war… and the German chancellor is giving comfort to the Iranian regime. It is disgusting.”

Numerous Fox News Digital press queries sent to Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius were not returned.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the U.S. conflict with Iran “reckless” and “unjust.”(Yves Herman/Reuters)

Spain and Italy

Before his announcement on the troop withdrawal from Germany, and in response to a question about reducing U.S. troops in Spain and Italy, Trump responded, “I mean, they haven’t been exactly on board. Yeah, probably. Yeah, I probably will… Italy has not been of any help to us. And Spain has been horrible. Absolutely horrible.”

Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has taken a belligerent stand toward the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against the Iranian regime, forbidding the U.S. from using its military bases in Spain to refuel aircraft or prepare for military action. He has decried the campaign as illegal while staying quiet on the regime’s murder of thousands of protesters and its increased drive to produce ballistic missiles and acquire nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium.

Gardiner said, “The Spanish have been the worst by a long way. At least the Germans and Italy have allowed the use of its own bases. The Spanish have refused to cooperate in any way with the war.”

Trump told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera last month about the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, “I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.”

The Europe expert, Gardiner, sees a wide gulf between how mainly Western European countries and the United States view the preservation of Western civilization, freedom, democracy and liberty.

French President Emmanuel Macron listens to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a working session with world leaders at the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, on June 13, 2024.(Andrew Medichini/AP)

“Europe has lost both its ability and its will to fight. The United States is clearly willing to fight to defend Western civilization and the free world. Much of Europe has given up on this, especially Western Europe. It is an appeasement mindset cojoined with weakness and pacifism and also a growing acceptance by European leaders of mass migration and Islamification.”

He added, “Europe has fundamentally changed over the last 20 years beyond recognition, and yet Europe’s ruling elites accept it seemingly as a fact, with some notable exceptions.”

France and the U.K.

Trump took the United Kingdom and France in March to task for their postion on the war against Iran.

“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!,” he wrote.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Feb. 17, 2025, before an informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security.(Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump also wrote, “All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you.”

“Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”

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Gardiner said the crisis over the Iran war shows that Europe has surrendered. The big Western Europeans have embraced “defeatism,” and “they do not care. It is as simple as that. And future generations will have to pay the price for the course Europe is taking now,” he said.

Fox News’ Brittany Miller and Solly Boussidan contributed to this report.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

Internet erupts after California Dem on debate stage ‘admits quiet part out loud’ on immigration

May 6, 2026 2:32pm EDT / Fox News

An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants entered California from 2021 to 2023 as overall population grew by just 20,000

By Robert Schmad , Andrew Mark Miller Fox News

Former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democratic candidate in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary, is facing backlash after saying illegal immigrants are driving population growth in the state, a claim long advanced by Republicans.

“The job of the California governor is to protect every single Californian,” Porter said after being asked if she would work with federal authorities to deport illegal immigrants at Tuesday’s California gubernatorial debate.

“The sanctuary state policy is designed to make sure that our state resources — the taxpayer dollars, the public servants that we have — are focusing on doing their jobs, which is not cooperating with the federal immigration authorities.

KATIE PORTER INTERVIEW GOES VIRAL AS JOURNALISTS MARVEL AT DEMOCRAT’S MELTDOWN

“These are Californians. They contribute to our economy. They pay taxes. And they’re one of the only ways that our state has been growing in recent years,” Porter said of illegal immigrants.

Gunther Eagleman, a popular right-wing X account, accused Porter of saying “the quiet part out loud” by stating that illegal immigrants have mitigated population decline in California.

Rep. Katie Porter speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2022.(Andrew Harnik/Pool/Reuters)

“Katie Porter accidentally admits out loud that Californians are fleeing California and are being replaced by imported illegals,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X.

Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have accused Democrats of resisting efforts to deport illegal immigrants because it could cost them seats in the House of Representatives. Illegal immigrants counted by the Census help determine the total number of House seats a given state is entitled to when the chamber is reapportioned every ten years.

“So she’s saying Cali has too many seats in the House?” another X user said in response to Porter’s comment.

While Trump and others have attempted to add a citizenship question to the Census in an effort to remove noncitizens from calculations determining the number of House seats each state has, the Constitution does not mention citizenship status in relation to congressional apportionment.

NEW POLL REVEALS MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIANS OPPOSE THIS KEY BENEFIT FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Rep. Katie Porter speaks to supporters, volunteers and staff at an election night watch party at the Hilton Orange County Hotel in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2022.(Getty Images)

“California is cooked: Katie Porter says criminal illegal aliens are ‘one of the only ways California has been growing in recent years,” Republican communications operative Steve Guest wrote on X.

“Democrats have been in total control of California for the past 16 years.”

An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants entered California from 2021 to 2023, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Between July 2021 and July 2023, California’s overall population grew by just under 20,000, per data published by the California Department of Finance.

“Thats because all the billionaires, millionaires big business and anyone that can afford it is leaving California faster than you pouring a pot of boiling hot potatoes on your ex partners head,” one X account wrote, responding to Porter and alluding to an allegation of domestic violence against the gubernatorial candidate.

SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE BUDGET FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAUNTS BLUE STATE TAXPAYERS

Rep. Katie Porter was questioned by hosts on “The View” about allegations of domestic abuse and staff mistreatment.(Screenshot/ABC/TheView)

California saw a net population loss of 215,542 from domestic migration in 2025, compared to a net gain of 125,473 from foreign migration that same year, according to the state’s Department of Finance. Migration out of California has cost the state billions of dollars per year in tax revenue, according to California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Other critics seized on Porter’s assertion that illegal immigrants benefit California’s economy.

“If you think the best way to promote economic growth involves letting in illegal aliens, you’re doing it wrong,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote.

California’s illegal immigrants paid roughly $8.5 billion in state and local taxes during 2022, according to an estimate from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Conservative critics argue that illegal immigrants consume more than that in public services, such as education and subsidized healthcare, though the costs of such things are difficult to quantify.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Some studies, including a report recently published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have also found that illegal immigration causes the cost of living to go up by increasing demand for housing.

“I contained myself well, I think,” Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the two Republicans who participated in the gubernatorial debate, chimed in.

iPhone owners could get up to $95 from Apple settlement. Here’s what to know.

May 6, 2026 / 2:08 PM EDT / CBS News

By Mary Cunningham

Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. She previously worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

Read Full Bio

iPhone owners could receive up to $95 under a proposed $250 million settlement resolving claims that Apple misled customers about Siri’s artificial intelligence features, according to a recent court filing.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on behalf of U.S. consumers, claims that Apple deceived customers by marketing “Enhanced Siri features” that did not yet exist, leading them to buy iPhones based on false advertising.

The plaintiffs are seeking a settlement payment of $250 million, according to a recent court filing. If approved by a judge, it could rank among the largest settlements involving Apple.

“Apple has reached a settlement to resolve claims related to the availability of two additional features,” an Apple spokesperson said in an email to CBS News. “We resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”

Here’s what to know about the recent settlement.

Am I eligible?

The settlement covers people who purchased an iPhone 16 model, iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025.

Approximately 37 million iPhone owners are eligible, according to the court filing.

Customers will be notified by either email or mail if they can file a claim. An online social media campaign will also provide information about the settlement website and who is eligible, according to the court filing.

How much money could I get?

Eligible customers will initially receive $25 per device. Depending on how many claims are submitted and other determining factors, the final payment may increase or decrease, but it will not exceed $95 per device, according to the court filing

How do I file a claim?

Claim filing details are not released yet. Clarkson Law Firm, which filed the original lawsuit against Apple, said on its website that a settlement website with more details will be available in “a few weeks.”

According to the court filing, the website “will include all necessary information to learn about the settlement” and a number consumers can call with questions.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/iphone-users-could-get-money-from-apple-settlement/

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo skipping Preakness Stakes, won’t make Triple Crown run

May 6, 2026 3:48 PM EDT / CBS News

By Alex Sundby

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will skip the Preakness Stakes and not make a run for horse racing’s Triple Crown, his trainer’s stable announced Wednesday.

“Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort,” said a statement from trainer Cherie DeVaux’s stable posted to social media. “His health, happiness, and long-term future will always remain our top priority.”

The last time a horse won the Triple Crown — the three-race series consisting of the Derby, the Preakness in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York — was in 2018.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Cherie DeVaux on making history with Golden Tempo’s Kentucky Derby winhttps://www.cbsnews.com/video/cherie-devaux-on-making-history-with-golden-tempos-kentucky-derby-win/

Trump just reasserted his domination of the GOP. But that might not be good news for the party in 2026

May 6, 2026 1:36 PM ET / CNN Politics

Analysis by Aaron Blake

President Donald Trump arrives for a small business summit at the White House on May 4.

Annabelle Gordon/UPI/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Just two months after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol — even as some Republicans harbored illusions about moving beyond Donald Trump — Sen. Lindsey Graham stepped forward with a reality check.

The South Carolina Republican likened the Trump-era GOP to a hostage situation and urged his party to make the best of its captivity.

“He could make the Republican Party something that nobody else I know can make it. He can make it bigger. He can make it stronger. He can make it more diverse,” Graham told “Axios on HBO.” Then the senator added: “And he also could destroy it.”

Graham said Trump both had a “dark side” and was capable of “magic” — and that it was best to hope the party got the magic.

Tuesday’s elections proved how right Graham was — even as the GOP is decidedly staring down the perils of a historically unpopular president’s dark side.

Five months ago, Indiana state Senate Republicans delivered perhaps the most stunning rebuke of Trump to date from members of his own party. They called into question his domination of the party by firmly rejecting his new congressional map — and his pronounced threats over it.

But on Tuesday, Trump successfully sanctioned their apostasy.

Trump and his political operation unseated at least five of seven state senators they had targeted for voting against that map. (One primary race remains unresolved. One senator survived.)

The significance of those defeats shouldn’t be understated. Most lawmakers never have to worry about losing a general election in today’s polarized age, which makes primaries their only real hurdle to reelection. Trump has used this fact to great effect. He’s enforced loyalty by making life hell for any Republican who runs afoul of him, and he’s ushered plenty of them out the door — often via forced retirement.

Tuesday showed that even a politically diminished Trump still has the juice to end a Republican’s career if they don’t toe his line.

“Sometimes you can vote your feelings, but sometimes you need to vote with the party,” James Blair, a top Trump political adviser, told CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday. “As the elected party leader, the president gets to decide which vote is which, and he is always clear and up-front about it. Nobody should be surprised about any of this.”

And that message won’t be lost on Republicans who might have thought, like some did after January 6, that the paradigm had shifted. They’ll continue to live in fear of him.

But while this is great news for Trump’s political capital, it is decidedly less great news for a GOP whose midterm hopes the president is sinking.

In any normal midterm year where the president had an approval rating sinking into the mid-30s, you’d see lawmakers tripping over themselves to create some distance from him and trying to adjust the party’s political course. Think George W. Bush in 2006 and 2008; he and his vice president didn’t even attend the 2008 Republican National Convention.

But Republicans are doing quite the opposite, because they feel they must to survive.

Perhaps nothing drives this home like Trump’s ballroom.

This issue is a political albatross for the GOP and has been for six months. It’s emblematic of Trump’s politically bizarre insistence on slapping his name and likeness all over Washington and building fancy things, even as Americans see him neglecting their cost-of-living concerns.

But over the past week, Republicans haven’t just humored the project; they’ve embraced it. Graham and others proposed making taxpayers pay for it (despite Trump’s promises that taxpayers would pay nothing). And now Senate Republicans have slipped $1 billion into an unrelated bill to shore up security for the ballroom.

This would seem to be political malpractice six months before the midterms, but Trump demands it. That’s why we’ve seen some politically safe lawmakers use the issue to curry favor with the president — even though it could work against their more vulnerable brethren.

The Iran war — and Trump’s haphazard approach to it — presents similar dynamics.

On Tuesday, he sent out his secretaries of defense and state and the chairman of his Joint Chiefs of Staff to detail and espouse the supposed strategic brilliance of “Project Freedom,” the questionable effort to try to guide ships through the logjammed Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats. But then, mere hours later, Trump said the project was paused as he yet again suggested a peace deal could be near.

Trump has suggested a deal was close many times before, but it’s yet to arrive and the details of what it could entail remain scant. He’s also repeatedly bluffed. So it’s possible this is merely the latest head-scratching strategic moment in a war that is fast becoming a major liability for Trump and the GOP.

Polling last week showed 61% of Americans labeled the war a mistake after just two months; the Iraq war took three years for the “mistake” number to reach that high, and the Vietnam war took six.

But through it all, congressional Republicans have demonstrated vanishingly little interest in asserting their constitutional powers to rein in Trump’s war powers — or in at least trying to convince the White House to change course. Most of them seem paralyzed, as if they have no choice.

And Tuesday showed why they feel that way.

So it appears most of the GOP will keep pushing Trump’s highly unpopular ballroom and his highly unpopular war.

They’ll excuse his attacks on a highly popular American pope and legitimize his legal retribution campaign, which Americans appear to view rather dimly.

They’ll scramble to draw him more GOP congressional districts, even though some new districts could backfire on the party and result in marginal gains in 2026 — not nearly enough to beat back an increasingly likely blue wave.

None of it appears to be doing Republicans any political favors in the midterms, but it’s what Trump demands, so they do it.

Because what else is a hostage to do?

Fetterman under fire as Gov. Shapiro pushes wild card senator to ‘get back’ to being a Democrat

DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta called Fetterman ‘a mess’ while Hakeem Jeffries said the senator ‘knows better’

2026-05-06 15:14 EDT / Fox News

By Peter Pinedo, Fox News

Published May 6, 2026 3:14pm EDT

Fetterman breaks down current image of the Democrat Party

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., discusses bipartisan efforts to combat Medicaid fraud. He then criticizes the Democratic Party’s evolving stance on issues like foreign policy and moral clarity, expressing concern over current trends.

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Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has taken a critical tone toward maverick Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., urging him to “get back to what he was elected to do” as a Democrat.

While speaking on CNN this week, Shapiro, another rumored 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, appeared exasperated about Fetterman amid reports that he is receiving pressure to jump ship on the party.

“Look, I don’t know what Sen. Fetterman is going to do,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I know that Pennsylvanians voted for a Democrat to represent them in the United States Senate.”

“So, I think he needs to honor that and continue with his service to Pennsylvania, and, hopefully, get back to what he was elected to do and reflect the will of the people,” he added.

KNIVES OUT FOR FETTERMAN: MAVERICK SENATOR JOINS LONG LINE OF DEMS PUNISHED FOR BREAKING FROM LEFT

Maverick Sen. John Fetterman (left), D-Pa., is facing criticism, including from Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro (right), for siding with President Donald Trump and the Republicans on several recent issues.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Fetterman’s relationship with Shapiro has cooled since his election. The senator wrote in his book, “Unfettered,” released last November, that he and Shapiro “no longer speak” with one another. He wrote that the relationship deteriorated into an “ugliness” from which “we have never recovered.”

Fetterman has stirred up significant controversy by backing portions of Trump’s agenda. Notably, Fetterman is one of just six Democratic senators who represent states that President Donald Trump won in the 2024 election.

He was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of advancing Trump’s new pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, former Sen. Markwayne Mullin. During the prolonged government shutdown fight last year, Fetterman voted with Republicans to reopen the government, explaining his vote was choosing “country over party.”

In 2025, he voted with Republicans about 26 percent of the time, according to Congress Vote Tracker.

This has left many in the Democratic Party frustrated, including Shapiro. On a recent episode of the “Talk Easy” podcast with Sam Fragoso, Shapiro asserted, “I’ve got no beef with John” but said, “John’s got a lot of questions that I think he needs to answer for the people of Pennsylvania.”

“I think there’s a lot of people who want to know kind of what happened, why he does some of the things he does,” he continued.

In February, Shapiro declined to say whether he will support Fetterman if he seeks re-election in 2028, saying, “I don’t know if he’s running for re-election. I think he needs to decide if he’s running, and then we’ll make a decision from there.”

FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS OVER SHUTDOWN, VOWS TO PUT ‘COUNTRY OVER PARTY’

Sen. John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro arrive to speak during a Democratic National Committee rally in Philadelphia.(Getty Images)

Shapiro is not the only major Democratic leader who has criticized Fetterman in recent months. Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta slammed Fetterman in April, labeling the senator “a mess.”

“Almost every day now my US Senator comes on this site to attack his constituents and many people who worked hard to elect him. Suggesting that they have ‘derangement syndrome’ for opposing this administration. You’re a mess @JohnFetterman,” Kenyatta wrote in an X post.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also called out Fetterman over his response to the war in Iran and said on CNN in April that he “knows better.”

This comes asPolitico reported Monday that some Republicans were trying to persuade Fetterman to change his party affiliation.

DNC VICE CHAIR ATTACKS DEMOCRATIC SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN: ‘YOU’RE A MESS’

Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, speaks to reporters after a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.(Eric Lee/Bloomberg)

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However, Fetterman told the outlet in an interview, “I’m a Democrat, and I’m staying one.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman and Shapiro for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

Man charged with assaulting Secret Service agents near Washington Monument

2026-05-06T18:02:30.864Z / CNN

By Kaanita Iyer

2 hr ago

PUBLISHED May 6, 2026, 2:02 PM ET

Metropolitan Police Department officers respond after a person was shot by law enforcement near the Washington Monument in Washington, Monday, May 4, 2026.

Rod Lamkey/AP

A man who allegedly fired at Secret Service agents near the Washington Monument earlier this week has been charged in connection with the shooting.

The man, Michael Marx, faces three charges, according to the criminal complaint, including assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, using or discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime.

A Secret Service special agent described in an affidavit filed Wednesday how the shooting unfolded, alleging that the suspect was carrying a weapon and walked “along the path” of Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade as it passed by. A source previously told CNN that Vance’s motorcade had diverted from its intended destination out of an abundance of caution while his security team assessed the situation.

The man ran when approached by Secret Service and then turned around to fire in the direction of one of the officers, the Secret Service special agent alleged in his affidavit. USSS Deputy Director Matt Quinn told reporters during a press conference Monday that the man wounded a juvenile bystander when firing at Secret Service.

Secret Service officers then fired at the suspect, hitting him “in the hand, left arm, and upper abdomen,” the special agent said in the affidavit. When the officers attempted to provide aid to the suspect, who had “collapsed” on the ground, he spit at the officers, the special agent wrote.

A Texas driver’s license was found on the suspect, according to the affidavit.

He was then transported to a local hospital and in the ambulance, he said, “F**k the White House” and “Kill me, kill me, kill me,” the Secret Service special agent alleged in the affidavit. US Attorney for Washington, DC, Jeanine Pirro earlier shared that the suspect had made those comments during an interview with ABC News on Tuesday.

It is unclear what the full context of his alleged statement was. CNN has not identified a lawyer for the suspect.

“President Trump was not in any danger,” Quinn told CNN in a statement on Monday. He also said at the time there was no “known nexus between the incident and the White House.”

The shooting came less than two weeks after Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from California, was accused of opening fire at the DC hotel where the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was being held. Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

CNN’s Brian Todd, Josh Campbell and Kit Maher contributed to this report.