博客

JD Vance praises Sen. Susan Collins, a GOP moderate and occasional Trump foe

May 14, 2026 at 5:19 p.m. EDT / The Washington Post

The warm words came at a Maine rally as the vice president touted Republican House candidate Paul LePage and highlighted anti-fraud efforts.

By Praveena Somasundaram

BANGOR, Maine — Vice President JD Vance traveled to this key battleground for control of Congress on Thursday to energize Republican voters by promoting his administration’s anti-fraud efforts.

He was stumping for the state’s former governor Paul LePage (R), now running for Congress in a House district seen as one of the GOP’s best opportunities to flip a Democratic-held seat. But the state’s most prominent Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, was notably absent as Vance offered measured praise for the moderate who, at times, has crossed President Donald Trump.

Vice President JD Vance in Bangor, Maine, on Thursday. (Tierney L. Cross/Pool/New York Times/AP)

韩咏红：特朗普访华一次峰会两套表述

2026年5月15日 05:00 / 联合早报

AI摘要
特朗普访华，随行代表团阵容强大，涵盖政商精英。文章探讨了此次访问的背景及其对中美关系的影响，特别是在经贸合作和地缘政治议题上的互动。这次峰会如何在复杂多变的国际局势中寻求平衡，值得关注。

本摘要由AI辅助生成，仅供参考

在中美元首会谈结束后，中国国家主席习近平（右）星期四（5月14日）下午陪同美国总统特朗普（左）参观天坛。 （路透社）

美国总统特朗普终于展开了他心心念念的中国行，随行的豪华代表团更是汇集了美国政商界的顶级精英，包括两度被中国政府制裁的国务卿鲁比奥、财政部长贝森特、战争部长赫格赛斯、贸易代表格里尔，还有马斯克、黄仁勋等17名腰缠万贯的美企巨头。

有评论人称，17大富豪再加一就凑足18罗汉了。他们难得同步访华，显然都抱有签订商贸大单的期望，或者如黄仁勋一样须要推动H200晶片在中国实现交付。对了，特朗普的次子埃里克与妻子也是代表团成员。埃里克是特朗普集团执行副总裁，运营家族企业，显然也认为能指望带订单回家。

特朗普星期四（5月14日）上午在人民大会堂与中国国家主席习近平会谈时称，企业家是前去对习近平本人与中国“表达敬意”，为了生意和贸易。他又再次恭维习近平是“伟大的领袖”与他的“朋友”。这些小细节透露了特朗普的内心定调——他为谈生意而来，客气低调姿态还让人有些不适应，但这也正反映出特朗普脑海里的中美关系：平起平坐的对手兼交易方。尤记得，去年10月他在韩国釜山与习近平会晤前，突然在社媒上宣布中美是“G2”。

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Appeals court shows some skepticism of Trump’s effort to punish law firms

2026-05-14T21:51:18.341Z / The Washington Post

A panel of judges pressed a Justice Department lawyer about the president’s sanctions, meant to target firms that raised his ire.

May 14, 2026 at 5:51 p.m. EDT Yesterday at 5:51 p.m. EDT

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving for Beijing on Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images)

By Mark Berman

A federal appeals panel in D.C. expressed some skepticism Thursday about President Donald Trump’s effort to punish prominent law firms, pressing a Justice Department lawyer about sanctions that have been blocked by lower courts.

No English content available

US Supreme Court lets abortion pill mail delivery continue

2026-05-14T21:23:25.346Z / Reuters

By Andrew Chung

May 14, 2026 9:23 PM UTC Updated 29 mins ago

https://www.reuters.com/world/deadline-passes-us-supreme-court-extend-order-ensuring-abortion-pill-mail-2026-05-14/

https://www.reuters.com/world/deadline-passes-us-supreme-court-extend-order-ensuring-abortion-pill-mail-2026-05-14/

https://www.reuters.com/world/deadline-passes-us-supreme-court-extend-order-ensuring-abortion-pill-mail-2026-05-14/

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• Summary

• Louisiana challenged abortion pill telemedicine rule
• Federal appeals court backed Louisiana’s challenge
• Mifepristone is used in about 64% of US abortions
• Justices Thomas and Alito dissent from court’s action

May 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ensured that the abortion pill can continue to be prescribed through telemedicine and dispensed by mail, as the justices restored for now a 2023 federal rule challenged by Republican-governed Louisiana that had made access to the medication easier.

The justices granted requests by two manufacturers of the abortion pill, called mifepristone, to lift a lower ​court’s block on the rule that was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration, while Louisiana’s legal challenge plays out.

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The brief order was unsigned and offered no reasoning, as is common with ‌emergency actions by the Supreme Court. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 had ordered the imposition of a previous federal rule that required an in-person clinician visit in order to receive mifepristone.

Drugmakers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro appealed the 5th Circuit action restricting access to mifepristone, a drug that was given FDA regulatory approval in 2000. The two companies welcomed the court’s action on Thursday.

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The case had put the contentious issue of abortion back in front of the justices, with the November U.S. congressional elections looming and President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans fighting to retain control of Congress.

SUPREME COURT’S DOBBS RULING

The ​Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority. The ongoing battles over abortion rights follow its 2022 ruling that overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent that had recognized a woman’s constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy and legalized abortion nationwide.

That ruling, in a case ​called Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, prompted 13 states to enact near-total bans on the procedure, while several others sharply restrict access. Those laws have driven a surge in medication abortion.

Since the Dobbs ruling, anti-abortion ⁠advocates have targeted mifepristone, claiming it is unsafe for women to take and that the FDA should not have approved it or relaxed limits on its use.

In his dissent on Thursday, Alito said that the delivery of abortion pills by mail from out-of-state providers has thwarted efforts by states ​like Louisiana that have sought to make abortion illegal in the wake of the Dobbs ruling.

“Louisiana’s efforts have been thwarted by certain medical providers, private organizations and states that abhor laws like Louisiana’s and seek to undermine their enforcement,” Alito added.

In a separate dissent, Thomas said the federal Comstock Act ​prohibits the mailing of drugs intended for abortion.

The drugmakers, Thomas said, “are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes.”

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration opposed Louisiana’s legal challenge, citing an ongoing FDA review of safety regulations concerning mifepristone. The administration also argued that Louisiana does not have legal standing to pursue its case.

Abortion rights advocates have called the legal challenges to mifepristone the biggest threat to abortion access in the United States since the court’s Dobbs decision. They also have ​called the Trump administration’s review politically motivated and unnecessary given decades of studies showing the safety of mifepristone, and said it could lead to tighter restrictions on the medication.

The Supreme Court in 2024 unanimously rejected an initial bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to roll back FDA regulations that had ​eased access to the drug, ruling that these plaintiffs lacked the necessary legal standing to pursue the challenge.

Boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, are seen at Alamo Women’s Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 9, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

‘ATTACKS ON OUR RIGHTS’

Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said, “The Supreme Court just did the bare minimum, but this ruling is a relief for patients who can continue to get the ‌care they need. We ⁠know this is just one in a long line of attacks on our rights and our care.”

Lizzy Hinkley, legal director for the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine advocacy group, said, “Even this conservative Supreme Court is not willing to endorse anti-abortion extremists’ latest desperate attempt to deprive women of needed healthcare. This case is a deliberate effort to disrupt access to telemedicine abortion across the country and cause undue confusion among patients and providers.”

The brand-name version of mifepristone, Mifeprex, is Danco’s only product, and GenBioPro derives most of its revenue from the generic version, the companies said in court filings.

GenBioPro’s CEO Evan Masingill said that the company is committed to providing “evidence-based, essential medication to all who need it.”

“We are pleased that a safe and effective drug Americans depend on will continue to be available while this litigation proceeds,” Danco spokesperson Abby Long said.

Carol Tobias, president of the anti-abortion group National Right to ​Life, called Thursday’s decision deeply troubling.

“Women facing unexpected pregnancies deserve real medical ​care and support, not a one-size-fits-all mail-order abortion system that minimizes ⁠risks and leaves women isolated during medical emergencies,” Tobias said.

A TWO-DRUG REGIMEN

Medication abortion, typically a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone followed by misoprostol, accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. abortions and is used to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks.

The FDA has said mifepristone was approved based on scientific evidence and continues to be safe and effective for its intended purpose when used as directed.

Reproductive health experts note that hundreds of clinical ​trials, studies and medical reviews have shown that mifepristone is safe and that complications are exceedingly rare.

“Mifepristone is one of the safest and most well-studied drugs on the market,” said Camille Clare, president of the ​American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists physicians’ ⁠group.

Louisiana sued the Food and Drug Administration in 2025 claiming that the 2023 rule that eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement was illegal and has allowed medication abortions to skyrocket despite the state’s near-total ban on abortion. Louisiana claimed the FDA ignored the risks of serious adverse events posed by mifepristone for women taking it, including sepsis and hemorrhaging.

Separate from Louisiana’s case, two other pending lawsuits by five Republican-led states are aiming to curb access to the abortion pill even more drastically, including by cutting it off altogether.

In December, Texas and Florida filed a lawsuit targeting the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and several ⁠subsequent approvals and regulations ​that eased access, including the mail-order access rule. And separately, Missouri, Kansas and Idaho are arguing that the FDA acted improperly when it eased restrictions on mifepristone in 2016.

The ​Supreme Court in interim decisions on May 4 and May 11 had put the 5th Circuit’s May 1 action on hold to give the justices more time to decide how to proceed.

Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Additional reporting by John Kruzel, Dan Wiessner, Ahmed Aboulenein and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Will Dunham

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Fetterman defends Erika Kirk’s emotional response to WHCA Dinner shooting: ‘What’s wrong with people?’

May 14, 2026 4:41pm EDT / Fox News

The Pennsylvania Democrat recalled a ‘very personal human interaction’ with Charlie Kirk’s widow after the shooting

By Hannah Brennan Fox News

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said his “heart breaks” for Erika Kirk after she had to live through the White House Correspondents’ Dinner assassination attempt not even a year following her husband’s murder.

The Pennsylvania Democrat described their exchange as a “very personal human interaction” amid the chaos of the shooting as he recalled to Fox News Digital a conversation he had with the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“How triggering that must have been for her,” Fetterman said.

“I expressed how sorry I am,” he detailed of the moment. “She was frantic, understandably, after her husband was assassinated.”

DEMOCRAT JOHN FETTERMAN DECRIES ‘DEHUMANIZING’ ATTACK AGAINST CHARLIE KIRK’S WIDOW ERIKA

Sen. John Fetterman defended Erika Kirk following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, calling attacks targeting the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk “bonkers” while also weighing in on Iran, China and defense spending.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Fetterman expressed his frustration over online attacks targeting Kirk following the shooting after a video went viral that showed her leaving the hotel in tears and pleading: “I just want to go home.”

“It blows,” he said. “People attack a widow. I mean what’s wrong with people? That’s bonkers.”

Kirk’s husband was assassinated in September during one of his famous college outreach events on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Fetterman has often been lauded as the lone Democrat willing to go across party lines to vote with and side with Republicans on a handful of issues — this includes his support for Israel.

FETTERMAN CALLS FOR US TO SUPPLY ANYTHING ISRAEL NEEDS FOR IRAN ATTACK: ‘MILITARY, INTELLIGENCE, WEAPONRY’

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington on April 1, 2026.(Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Beyond the emotional aftermath of the shooting, Fetterman also weighed in on escalating tensions with Iran, signaling his support for prioritizing U.S. foreign policy and defense to restrain nuclear threats.

When asked about President Donald Trump’s proposed gas tax relief, Fetterman pivoted to emphasizing the need to continue applying pressure on Iran to disarm and abandon its nuclear ambitions.

“I think it’s important to stand and demand Iran to surrender its nuclear material,” he said. “I mean, my views haven’t changed.”

Fetterman has previously called out members in his party for criticizing Trump’s efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, citing their opposition may give Iran hope Trump will succumb to political pressure to pull back. He was the only Democrat on Wednesday to vote against a Senate war powers resolution aiming to limit American involvement in the conflict with Iran — for the seventh time.

He also suggested China should take a more assertive role in pressuring Iran and share in the economic consequences.

“I think China should feel that pain,” Fetterman said. “I think that’s entirely appropriate. Why can’t China demand that?”

“Why not? Unless they want to create Iran as a nuclear power, and that would be incredibly dangerous for the whole world peace.”

IRAN FUNDING EMERGES AS KEY TEST FOR JOHNSON’S RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves during a meeting with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam at the Office of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi on April 14, 2025.(NHAC NGUYEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program continue, China has been scrutinized by U.S. officials over its economic ties to Iran, including allegations that Chinese entities have helped Tehran evade sanctions and supported its military infrastructure.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fetterman also indicated his support for Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027 — the largest request ever made by an administration.

“I’m very open to this,” he said. “The idea that we are the arsenal of the free world.”

“It’s really important to make sure that we have whatever’s necessary to defend democracy in the global stage.”

Hannah Brennan is a Digital Production Assistant on the Politics team. She previously interned at the Aspen Daily News, where she covered local government meetings, community developments, cultural events and nationally significant political events. Her reporting included coverage of the Aspen Security Forum and appearances by prominent leaders such as former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. She graduated early with high distinction from the University of Colorado Boulder in December 2025 and joined Fox News Digital in January 2026.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395581735112

Supreme Court allows telehealth and mail access to mifepristone for now

2026-05-14T21:30:24.217Z / CNN

By John Fritze, Devan Cole

Updated May 14, 2026, 6:02 PM ET

PUBLISHED May 14, 2026, 5:30 PM ET

People pass in front of the US Supreme Court building on May 4, in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed women to continue to access the abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth visits, maintaining the status quo while officials in Louisiana continue to push for limiting availability of the drug in lower courts.

The conservative Supreme Court imposed a pause on a May 1 decision from the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that abruptly required women to obtain the drug through in-person visits. The focus will now return to the New Orleans-based appeals court, which will decide the merits of Louisiana’s challenge.

The court did not explain its reasoning, nor did it disclose the vote count. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision.

The order landed nearly half an hour after an earlier “administrative” stay extending widespread access to the drug expired at 5 p.m. ET.

“The court’s unreasoned order granting stays in this case is remarkable,” Alito wrote in his dissent.

“What is at stake,” he added, “is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision” overturning Roe v. Wade four years ago.

Thomas wrote in a brief solo dissent that he thought a long-dormant 19th Century law that bans the mailing of drugs used for abortions, as well as the state’s strict abortion ban, barred the manufacturers from getting courts to intervene on their behalf.

The companies, he wrote, “are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes.”

Also notable was that the court did not agree to hear arguments in the case, as both sides had asked it to do. Instead, the decision means the merits of the case will now be hashed out in a federal appeals court and the issue will likely reach the Supreme Court again in the future.

Related article Rhyannon Bartlett-Imadegawa, CNN Tracking the major Supreme Court cases of 2026 1 min read

The case is the most significant involving abortion to reach the high court since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 precedent that established a constitutional right to abortion. And both the case and mifepristone are heavily wrapped up in that decision. After the fall of Roe in 2022, many conservative states banned in-clinic abortions, which increased demand for mifepristone.

Women have been able to obtain mifepristone – one of the two drugs in the medication abortion regimen – through telehealth appointments since the pandemic. President Joe Biden’s Food and Drug Administration finalized that situation in 2023, ending the requirement that the medication be obtained through an in-person doctor’s visit.

As conservative states responded to the Supreme Court’s decision by banning or severely limiting access to clinic abortions, demand for use of telehealth to access mifepristone increased. Medication abortions were already the most common option — they account for more than 60% of abortions in the US, according to Guttmacher Institute research. And the Society of Family Planning, a research group that has opposed mifepristone restrictions, estimates that roughly 1 in 4 abortions nationwide were provided through telehealth in 2025, up from up from fewer than 1 in 10 in 2022.

Related article Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women’s Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. Mifepristone is taken first to stop the pregnancy, followed by Misoprostol to induce bleeding. – In the wake of Friday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade and the federally protected right to an abortion, women from Texas and other states are traveling to clinics like the Women’s Reproductive Health Clinic in New Mexico for legal abortion services under the state’s more liberal laws. – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images What is mifepristone? 4 min read

Data analyzed by CNN show that mifepristone is safer than other common, low-risk prescription drugs, including penicillin and Viagra. There were five deaths associated with mifepristone use for every 1 million people in the US who have used the drug since its approval in 2000, according to the FDA as of 2023.

Louisiana sued the FDA over that policy last year, asserting in part that the Biden-era regulation undermined its own strict abortion ban. A federal district court in April partly sided with the state, finding that the FDA’s new policy was arbitrary because, it said, the agency did not have adequate data to gauge the drug’s safety. But the district court blocked its decision from taking effect to give the FDA time to complete an ongoing review of the drug.

But a 5th Circuit panel of three judges, all appointed by Republican presidents, put the FDA’s rule about mifepristone on hold immediately earlier this month. That meant that women seeking to access the drug were suddenly required to do so with in person visits. Medical providers who spoke to CNN described the hours following that order as some of the “craziest” and most “chaotic” they’ve experienced.

Danco Laboratories, the maker of mifepristone, raced up to the Supreme Court on May 2 with an emergency appeal, warning of the chaos. GenBioPro, which makes a generic version of the drug, filed its own appeal asserting that the 5th Circuit’s ruling risked “cutting off access for patients nationwide.”

The appeal is largely a repeat of an issue the justices just took up two years ago. In 2024, a unanimous court rejected a lawsuit challenging the same FDA regulation dealing with the same drug. But the court resolved that dispute by concluding a group of doctors and anti-abortion organizations that challenged access to the drug did not have standing to sue. That technical, narrow decision meant that future challenges were almost guaranteed to reach the justices again.

“We recognize that many citizens, including the plaintiff doctors here, have sincere concerns about and objections to others using mifepristone and obtaining abortions,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the court. “But citizens and doctors do not have standing to sue simply because others are allowed to engage in certain activities – at least without the plaintiffs demonstrating how they would be injured by the government’s alleged under-regulation of others.”

Similar questions are already being raised about whether Louisiana has standing to sue over a decision by the FDA to regulate a drug on a nationwide basis. The state has made two claims to argue it can bring its suit, first that it has suffered “sovereign harm” because the drug use allows women to effectively bypass the state’s ban on abortion. But that theory rests on the idea that the state can stop activity beyond its border to enforce its laws.

Louisiana also says it has suffered an economic injury because of state-funded Medicaid costs for women who take mifepristone and endure costly complications. But the Supreme Court rejected the idea that parties could claim “downstream” economic injuries from an FDA-approved drug just two years ago in the earlier mifepristone case.

The dynamic of defending the FDA rule on mifepristone – for now – has put the Trump administration in the unusual position of being on the outs with anti-abortion groups, who want the White House to reverse Biden’s expanded access to the drug. So far the administration has declined to do so, and it opposed Louisiana’s challenge at the 5th Circuit. Even though the legal fight before the Supreme Court deals with a decision by the FDA, the agency has said nothing – allowing a deadline to submit a brief pass without comment.

CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Jamie Gumbrecht contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional details.

特朗普谈中国行 冀中美关系更上层楼

2026年5月15日 07:08 / 联合早报

特朗普时隔九年，再次以美国总统身份访华。 图为5月14日，习近平和特朗普在北京人民大会堂举行的国宴上握手。 （路透社）

美国总统特朗普在社交媒体上说，他希望美国和中国的关系“比以往任何时候都更加牢固”。

正在北京访问的特朗普星期五（5月15日）在Truth Social贴长文，称中国国家主席习近平“非常委婉地提到美国可能是一个正在衰落的国家时，他指的是我们在‘瞌睡虫’’拜登四年执政期间所遭受的巨大损害，他是百分之百正确的”。

特朗普写道：“习近平主席指的并非美国在特朗普政府执政的16个月里向世界展现的惊人崛起，包括股市和401K退休金计划创历史新高、在委内瑞拉取得军事胜利并建立蓬勃发展的关系、对伊朗的军事打击（未完待续！）——迄今全球最强大的军队、再次成为经济强国（其他国家对美国的投资高达创纪录的18万亿美元）、美国历史上最好的就业市场（目前在美国工作的人数比以往任何时候都多）、终结了破坏国家的多元、公平和包容政策，以及其他数不胜数的成就。事实上，习近平主席祝贺我，在如此短的时间内取得了如此多的巨大成就。”

18万亿美元约为23万亿新元。

特朗普还写道：“两年前，我们确实是一个正在衰落的国家。对此，我完全同意习近平主席的看法！但现在，美国是世界上最炙手可热的国家，希望我们与中国的关系能够比以往任何时候都更加牢固、更上层楼！”

特朗普和习近平15日将举行双边茶叙和工作午餐，之后特朗普就结束访华行程，返回华盛顿。

U.S. moving to indict Cuba’s Raúl Castro, sources say

2026-05-14 19:06 EDT / CBS News

By Jennifer Jacobs, Sarah N. Lynch
Updated on: May 14, 2026 / 7:24 PM EDT / CBS News

The U.S. is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel, in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The potential indictment — which would need to be approved by a grand jury — is expected to focus on Cuba’s deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

Raúl Castro, then president of Cuba, during a visit to France on Feb. 1, 2016. Chesnot / Getty Images

The plan comes as the U.S. heaps pressure on the Cuban government. The Trump administration has threatened heavy tariffs on any country that exports oil to Cuba, leading to energy shortages as oil shipments are largely cut off. President Trump has pressed for major reforms in Cuba and has floated a “friendly takeover” of the country.

Raúl Castro formally stepped down as the leader of Cuba’s Communist Party in 2021, but he is still widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in the country. His grandson Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as “Raulito,” is viewed as both a representative of the 94-year-old and a key point of contact between the U.S. and Cuba.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with the younger Castro on Thursday, following an earlier U.S. visit last month. Ratcliffe personally delivered President Trump’s message that the U.S. is “prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes,” a CIA official said. The official added that Cuba can “no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.”

Miami’s top federal prosecutor several months ago spearheaded a new initiative targeting Cuban communist leaders. That initiative, which involves federal and local law enforcement and the U.S. Treasury Department, is pursuing prosecutions involving economic crimes, drugs, violent crimes and immigration-related violations, with a focus on targeting those in the Communist Party leadership, CBS News previously reported.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/690496e0-9837-4838-bb37-77fd46598fde

Earlier this year, Florida’s attorney general said at a news conference in March that he was re-opening a shuttered state investigation into the same 1996 plane incident.

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott has also recently called on the Justice Department to charge Castro and bring him to justice in the United States.

This is a breaking story; it will be updated.

Explainer: US Supreme Court ruling preserves abortion pill access for now as other challenges loom

2026-05-14 23:18:13 UTC / Reuters

By Daniel Wiessner

May 14, 2026 11:18 PM UTC Updated 26 mins ago

May 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court has for now refused to block a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be prescribed via a telehealth appointment and dispensed through the mail, preserving access to a drug used in more than 60% of U.S. abortions.

WHAT IS MIFEPRISTONE?

Mifepristone, first approved by the FDA in 2000 ​under the brand name Mifeprex, blocks the effects of the hormone progesterone, which is essential for maintaining a pregnancy. It is generally taken as part ‌of a two-drug regimen with misoprostol, which aids in emptying the uterus. The FDA initially approved mifepristone in 2000 for use in the first seven weeks of pregnancy, and raised that to 10 weeks in 2016.

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WHAT DOES THE FDA RULE DO?

Adopted during the administration of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, the 2023 rule removed a prior requirement that mifepristone be prescribed and dispensed in person. That allows the drug ​to be prescribed via telehealth appointments and distributed through the mail. The FDA in 2023 also established strict requirements for retail pharmacies to sell mifepristone.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ​IN THE CASE?

The Supreme Court’s decision stems from a 2025 lawsuit by Louisiana, which argued that the FDA rule was unlawful and ⁠has allowed medication abortions to skyrocket despite the state’s near-total ban on abortion.

The Republican-led state is appealing a federal judge’s decision to stay the lawsuit until a new FDA ​review of the safety of mifepristone is complete. That review has been delayed until after the November midterm elections, according to media reports.

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The appeal is pending at the New Orleans-based 5th ​U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is widely considered the most conservative federal appeals court. The 2023 rule will remain in effect until that appeal is decided or the case returns to the Supreme Court on further appeal.

ARE THERE OTHER CHALLENGES TO MIFEPRISTONE ACCESS?

Boxes of mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at Women’s Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, U.S., January 13, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Two other pending lawsuits by five Republican-led states have the potential to curb access to abortion drugs even more drastically, including by cutting it off altogether.

In December, ​Texas and Florida filed a lawsuit targeting the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and several subsequent approvals and regulations that eased access, including the mail-order access rule. ​And separately, Missouri, Kansas and Idaho are arguing that the FDA acted improperly when it eased restrictions on mifepristone in 2016.

As it did in Louisiana’s case, the Trump administration has asked judges to pause ‌both of ⁠those lawsuits pending the FDA review of mifepristone. Texas and Florida have agreed to a pause but drugmakers GenBioPro and Danco Laboratories, which intervened in the case to defend the FDA regulations, oppose it.

ARE THERE ANY LAWSUITS SEEKING TO EXPAND ACCESS?

Physicians and medical groups are challenging FDA rules also adopted in 2023 requiring providers and pharmacies to be certified to prescribe and dispense mifepristone and to obtain a signed authorization from patients. They claim the restrictions are unwarranted because mifepristone is safe and effective.

A federal judge in Hawaii ruled last year that ​the FDA had failed to explain why the ​dispensing requirements were necessary and directed ⁠the agency to reconsider them, but said the rules would remain in place in the meantime. A judge in Virginia is expected to rule soon in a similar case, which the FDA is seeking to pause pending its review.

Separately, challenges are pending to laws in West ​Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana that limit access to mifepristone despite its approval on the federal level.

HOW COULD STATES THAT BAN OR ​RESTRICT ABORTION RESPOND?

If courts ⁠preserve access to mifepristone, more states could move to limit it by prosecuting out-of-state doctors who prescribe it within their borders. In an unprecedented interstate conflict, a New York state judge in October rejected a bid by the Texas attorney general’s office to order a New York county to enforce a $100,000 judgment against a doctor for sending abortion pills to Texas, which has appealed ⁠the ruling.

The case ​will test New York’s so-called shield law precluding the enforcement of other states’ abortion bans against New Yorkers. ​About 20 other states have similar laws.

Texas and Louisiana also passed laws in 2025 allowing private citizens to sue anyone who mails or distributes abortion medication to or from the state. A California doctor who was the ​first person sued under Texas’ law has asked a federal judge to rule that it is unconstitutional.

Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Sanjeev Miglani

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.