博客

也门胡塞武装的支持者4月3日在也门首都萨那集会，声援伊朗和黎巴嫩，地面展示一面巨大的伊朗国旗。 （法新社）

有消息指，中东多国推动美国与伊朗停火的努力陷入僵局，卡塔尔也拒绝担任主要调解方。

美国《华尔街日报》星期五（4月3日）引述调解方人士说，伊朗已正式告知，不愿在未来几天于巴基斯坦首都伊斯兰堡与美国官员会面，并明确指出美方停火条件不可接受。土耳其和埃及仍在努力寻找打破僵局的途径，正考虑把会谈地点改在卡塔尔首都多哈或土耳其伊斯坦布尔，并提出新方案。

报道说，美国和一些地区国家希望卡塔尔充当主要调解方，但卡塔尔方面上周告诉美方，不热衷于在调解中发挥关键或主导作用。这令设法推动谈判的努力变得更复杂。

巴基斯坦、土耳其、埃及、沙特阿拉伯四国外交部长3月29日在伊斯兰堡会晤。巴基斯坦外长达尔说，四国决定成立一个由四国外长组成的委员会，协商制定解决当前冲突的具体方案。他还介绍了在伊斯兰堡举行美伊谈判的前景。

达尔3月26日说，美国和伊朗间接谈判正通过巴基斯坦传递信息的方式进行。据媒体报道，伊朗此前通过调解方收到美国一份包含15点内容的停战方案。

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore: U.S. is “lurching again into another forever war”

April 3, 2026 / 4:25 PM EDT / CBS News

By Melissa Quinn

Washington — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore fears the United States is “lurching again into another forever war” paid for by the American people — yet with no clear articulation from President Trump as to what success in the military operation against Iran looks like.

In an interview with CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe on Friday, Moore, a Democrat, likened the ongoing war with Iran to the war in Afghanistan, where the governor served as a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

“I feel like we are lurching into another one of these forever wars that we’re asking the American people to pay for… but the president of the United States and the commander-in-chief has still yet to articulate what exactly it is that we’re doing,” he said.

Moore said that while Mr. Trump often touts the military success of Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the military campaign in Iran, he fails to acknowledge “the fact of the long road ahead.” The president, he continued, has not clearly addressed what the U.S. is doing in Iran or what success looks like.

The war in Afghanistan lasted roughly 20 years, while the U.S. operation against Iran is in its fifth week. U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that an American F-15E fighter jet was downed over Iran on Friday, and one crew member has been rescued. The fighter jet is flown by a two-member crew and a search-and-rescue operation is ongoing, the sources said. U.S. officials told CBS News the plane was shot down by Iranian forces.

The downing of the jet comes after U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooker said Thursday that the military is “making undeniable progress” in Iran. Mr. Trump said during a primetime address to the nation Wednesday that the U.S. would complete its mission “very shortly,” and predicted Iran would be hit “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.

Citing the destruction of Iran’s navy and its degraded ability to launch missiles and drones, the president said in his speech that the operation’s “strategic objectives are nearing completion.” The other objectives laid out by Mr. Trump and senior members of his administration include destroying Iran’s defense industrial base, preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and protecting allies in the Middle East, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Since military operations from the U.S. and Israel started on Feb. 28, at least 16 MQ-9 Reaper drones have also been lost over Iran, CBS News reported earlier this week. Three American F-15 fighter jets were shot down over Kuwait in a “friendly fire incident,” but all crew were safe. Thirteen American service members have been killed since the war began.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s expectation that the war would be over in two to three weeks, Moore said that timeline “is sitting horribly with me.”

“I’m thinking about the families of our service members, who right now are afraid to pick up the phone because they’re afraid to hear what is on the other end of the line,” he said.

Moore said he is praying for the families of the crew of the downed F-15 jet, as well as “some clarity from the White House.”

Watch more of O’Keefe’s interview with Moore on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/maryland-wes-moore-warns-us-forever-war-iran-conflict/

Pam Bondi is out as AG — here are the contenders who could replace her

April 3, 2026 2:12pm EDT / Fox News

Todd Blanche steps in as acting AG while names like Lee Zeldin, Harmeet Dhillon and Jeanine Pirro swirl

By Ashley Oliver Fox News

Bondi was ‘every bit as undercut and impeached’ by Republicans as she was the left: Trey Gowdy

Fox News host Trey Gowdy discusses President Donald Trump’s frustration with the Justice Department and suggests potential AG replacements on ‘Fox & Friends.’

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President Donald Trump announced a Department of Justice shakeup on Thursday, ousting Attorney General Pam Bondi and looking to name her permanent successor.

Trump tapped Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to fill the role in an acting capacity, but other names, like Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin’s, have swirled since the announcement of Bondi’s departure, which was first reported by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, could serve as acting attorney general for up to 210 days. Trump is staring down the possibility of Senate Republicans shrinking or losing their majority in the midterms, which could complicate the president’s ability to secure a nominee’s confirmation if he waits too long to replace an acting official.

KARL ROVE: TRUMP DROPPED BONDI, BUT THE REAL POLITICAL FIGHT IS JUST BEGINNING

Contenders for attorney general, one of the most prestigious and influential, yet least secure jobs in Washington, would also need to win over tough but critical votes from current senators.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the committee tasked with vetting attorneys general, ruled out anyone who defended the 2021 U.S. Capitol breach in a CNN interview Thursday.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“The threshold for somebody following Pam Bondi ends the moment I hear they said one thing that excused the events of January the 6th,” Tillis said.

Bondi faced a series of public missteps during her time as attorney general. They involved her failure to tamp down bipartisan criticism about the DOJ’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking cases and her inability to find enough evidence to bring reliable criminal charges against politicians viewed as Trump’s political foes aside from former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who was indicted for mishandling classified documents.

Asked for comment about possible contenders to succeed Bondi, a White House spokesperson pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post from Thursday announcing Bondi’s exit and Blanche as her interim replacement.

Todd Blanche

Trump did not rush to tease a permanent replacement when he announced that Blanche would be filling in, leaving the incoming acting attorney general to effectively try out for the permanent role.

Blanche could persuade Trump to nominate him and the Senate to confirm him in the coming months, having both proven his loyalty to Trump while retaining traditional bona fides as a longtime lawyer in the Southern District of New York and in private practice. He left a prestigious New York law firm in 2023 to defend Trump against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and special counsel Jack Smith.

“Our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.

PAM BONDI FACES BIPARTISAN SUBPOENA OVER FRUSTRATION WITH DOJ’S RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, joined by President Donald Trump, speaks at a news conference on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House June 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Blanche’s direct involvement in those cases could present tricky conflicts of interest as the DOJ pursues investigations into the people involved with prosecuting Trump, and Democrats have made clear that Blanche is, in their view, a top culprit in the department’s handling of the Epstein files.

Lee Zeldin

Trump has spoken with Zeldin about potentially serving as attorney general, including this week, Fox News Digital reported Thursday.

One downside for the president, however, would be that Zeldin’s transition to attorney general would require two major confirmation hearings, one for Zeldin and one for a new EPA administrator. One source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that Zeldin was interested in the job.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, speaks during his Senate Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Harmeet Dhillon

A vocal contingent online has urged Trump to promote Dhillon from the head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division to attorney general.

“That’s up to the president,” Dhillon told Fox News Digital when asked about the prospect. “I’m flattered to be mentioned by many online, but it’s his choice and I serve at his pleasure only.”

Harmeet K. Dhillon speaks at the IAC National Summit 2026 at The Diplomat Beach Resort Jan. 17, 2026, in Hollywood, Fla.(Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Several conservative influencers sang Dhillon’s praises on X upon Bondi’s firing. Scott Presler said she would be an “exceptional” attorney general. Mike Cernovich said Dhillon was “filing civil rights lawsuits on behalf of Trump supporters who were attacked by ANTIFA. In 2016. Who was around in 2016?”

Jeanine Pirro

Trump tapped Pirro, a close ally, to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., the most high-profile of the 93 in the country.

A former Fox News host, judge and district attorney, Pirro has risen to the occasion, filling the jobs of ousted prosecutors and promoting her role in reducing violent crime in the nation’s capital.

Still, Pirro’s seen some hurdles, including failing to convince grand juries to indict six Democratic lawmakers and a man who stood accused of throwing a sandwich at an immigration officer. Pirro reduced the man’s charge, but a jury acquitted him.

Trump told New York Magazine Pirro was “fantastic” when asked if she would replace Bondi. Fox News Digital reached out to Pirro’s office for comment.

TRUMP CABINET SHAKEUP EXPANDS AFTER NOEM EXIT, BONDI FIRING — WHO’S UNDER PRESSURE NEXT?

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, spoke during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Eric Schmitt

Schmitt, the former attorney general of Missouri, was on Trump’s first shortlist for attorney general and is now making the rounds as an option again.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., Feb. 9, 2023.(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

As a state attorney general, Schmitt led high-profile litigation against the Biden administration, including a closely watched jawboning lawsuit challenging the federal government’s involvement in social media censorship. The Supreme Court sidestepped weighing in on the case, but last month Missouri and Louisiana notched a victory by reaching a settlement with several government agencies.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schmitt’s office for comment.

Unlikely contenders

Several conservative influencers also floated Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, as an option, but Lee poured cold water on the idea on Friday, saying on X, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Other long-shot options include Alina Habba, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Alina Habba speaks from a podium.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Habba promoted her tight relationship with Trump online on Friday, but one source said Habba was happy in her current role as a DOJ senior advisor, while another said she was not having active conversations about the job but had not been ruled out as a possibility.

DeSantis’ name made the rounds online, and the Florida governor, whose stardom rose during COVID-19 but faltered during his failed presidential run, remains constantly in touch with the White House. Fox News Digital reached out to his office.

Paxton is an unlikely choice, according to another source. The Texas attorney general, once impeached over bribery allegations but acquitted by the state Senate, has Republican enemies in the upper chamber who would be needed for votes come confirmation time.

Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Justice” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2026.(Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty)

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative Judicial Watch, told Fox News Digital the attorney general “need not be a lawyer.”

“I would support most anyone if there were a serious commitment to massive reform, transparency, etc.,” Fitton said. “The agency should be shrunk, transformed and defanged.”

Justice Connection, a group comprising many former DOJ employees who resigned or were fired under Trump, warned against a nominee who would mimic Bondi’s allegiance to Trump.

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“Replacing [Bondi] with a more competent attorney general who — like her — believes their sole client is the president and not the country may just make things worse,” Stacey Young, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

Katelyn Caralle contributed to this report.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

Stronger, broader hiring could ease Fed job market worries

2026-04-03 16:24:30 UTC / Reuters

By Howard Schneider

April 3, 2026 4:24 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

节点运行失败

View of the facade of the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

• Summary

• March jobs report shows broader hiring gains
• Fed likely to keep rates on hold given job market resilience
• Rising energy prices and ongoing Iran conflict add uncertainty to inflation and future Fed policy

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – Hiring that strengthened and broadened in March will likely cement the U.S. Federal Reserve’s plans to keep interest rates on ​hold for the foreseeable future, easing concerns about a weakening labor market and keeping policymakers focused on whether rising energy prices threaten higher inflation.

The March jobs report showed the economy adding workers across sectors. Manufacturing gained 15,000 jobs, the most since November 2023 when factories added 22,000 new positions, and there were gains in construction, leisure and hospitality, and transportation as well.

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The Black unemployment rate, considered a harbinger in the U.S. of coming job weakness, fell to 7.1% from 7.7%.

Along with weak job growth, Federal Reserve officials had been concerned ​that employment gains were so concentrated in healthcare that it meant the rest of the economy might be faltering, with policymakers such as Governor Christopher ​Waller closely tying their views about further rate cuts to the evolution of hiring.

“It would take a big surprise to pressure them ⁠to cut now,” Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist for Fifth Third Commercial Bank, wrote following the employment data. “They are very likely on hold for at least the ​next decision or two.”

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In a shortened holiday session on Friday, U.S. Treasury yields rose after the data and rate futures continued to price in almost no chance the Fed ​would cut rates from the current range of 3.5% to 3.75% this year. U.S. stock markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Until the start of a U.S. war with Iran drove up global oil prices more than 50%, investors had anticipated that the expected confirmation of Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh later this year would lead to at least some rate easing. Warsh is ​Trump’s pick to replace current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who the president has pressured for rate cuts since returning to office.

The war changed that calculus, with markets for ​a while anticipating rate hikes before settling on the current view of an extended pause as the Fed sees whether rising energy costs cause a bigger shock to inflation or a ‌bigger shock ⁠to growth if firms and households pull back on spending.

The March jobs report doesn’t shed light directly on that debate. Hourly wages rising at a 3.5% annual rate, for example, are in the range that Fed officials consider roughly consistent with their 2% inflation target.

But it does show life in the job market beyond the “low-hire, low-fire” dynamic that Fed officials say has characterized the U.S. economy for much of the past year, an equilibrium that left them uncomfortable that the relatively low unemployment rate could quickly grow ​worse.

Yet even as the number of people ​in the labor force dropped by ⁠around 400,000 to 170 million, the lowest since President Donald Trump returned to office and instituted tough immigration policies, businesses found new hires among the ranks of the unemployed, which fell by more than 300,000, and also by pulling people into the job ​market. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed the number of people moving from “not in the labor force” directly into a ​job increased by 140,000 ⁠from February to March.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4% the month before, remaining in a range of 4% to 4.5% where it has been since June of 2024.

The March report may say little about the risks ahead. The U.S. began bombing Iran on February 28, and the surveys for the March jobs report would not have reflected changes ⁠in hiring ​or spending triggered by a conflict that continues to disrupt global oil supplies.

Inflation data for March will ​be released next Friday, another point in the Fed’s assessment ahead of its April 28-29 meeting.

“The U.S. labor market continues to be resilient, defying even the harshest skeptic,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris ​Financial Group. “The bad news is, if the labor market remains this stable, it will be very difficult to justify further rate cuts.”

Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Bipartisan senators probe Kremlin-linked delegation’s meetings with US officials

April 3, 2026 1:56pm EDT / Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan pair of top-ranking senators want to know why sanctioned Russian officials were in Washington, D.C., and given access to the Capitol and meetings with administration officials as wars in Iran and Ukraine rage on.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, raised counterintelligence concerns over the recent visit of a delegation of Russian Duma members, all of whom are sanctioned for “conduct deemed to be harmful to U.S. national security.”

“The delegation came onto U.S. soil for one purpose: to advance the Kremlin’s strategic aims — including gathering additional useful intelligence,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jeanne Shahenn, D-N.H., raised counterintelligence concerns with the recent visit of a delegation of Russian officials to Washington, D.C.(Alex Wong/Getty Images; Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

“They did not come to engage in dialogue or pursue democratic aims,” they continued.

The lawmakers argued that Duma members “include Kremlin subordinates who have committed numerous cyber and ransomware attacks on Americans and have facilitated war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.”

“Remarkably, they are now helping Iran target U.S. military and diplomatic personnel across the Middle East,” Wicker and Shaheen wrote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Moscow-appointed head of Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Yevgeny Balitsky, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Nov. 18, 2024.(Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin via AP)

Several members of the Russian Duma visited Washington, D.C., late last month on a trip organized by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. She was joined by Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, for a meeting with the delegation.

Luna later gave them a tour of the Capitol after posing for photos outside the United States Institute of Peace.

“As representatives of the world’s two greatest nuclear superpowers, we owe our citizens open dialogue, the exchange of ideas, and open lines of communication,” Luna said on X following the meeting. “We will continue to foster this dialogue and push for peace in support of this administration’s efforts, as well as economic opportunity.”

Wicker and Shaheen noted that the Duma members were “far from innocent participants in a cultural exchange.”

“It included Vyacheslav Nikonov, who in 2023 referred to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as the ‘Fourth Reich’ on Russian television. Mikhail Delyagin has advocated for destroying Ukraine’s energy sector. Boris Chernyshov once claimed that Russian retaliatory strikes were ‘an expression of our hatred [of Ukraine],’” they wrote.

Wicker and Shaheen demanded that Rubio and Bessent explain why sanctions were waived for the Russian officials’ visit, what meetings the delegation had with Trump administration officials, what counterintelligence assessments were conducted on the visiting Russians, and provide a complete manifest of who traveled from the Russian Federation.

The lawmakers wrote that the delegation’s visit came “at a time when Russia’s intentions are unambiguously clear.”

“Numerous public reports have cited Russian support for Iran’s military targeting of American service members in the Middle East,” they wrote. “European intelligence agencies have reported that Russia intends to attack NATO member states in the coming years. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that peace in Ukraine is a mirage. His singular ambition for Ukraine is to erase its existence.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Vance tapped as ‘fraud czar’ as Trump targets blue states over taxpayer theft

2026-04-03T15:11:50-04:00 / Fox News

The announcement was made after Vance revealed his fraud task force busted a $50 million hospice and healthcare fraud scheme in LA

By Peter Pinedo, Fox News

Published April 3, 2026 3:11pm EDT

Amid several monumental Cabinet shakeups, President Donald Trump is signaling his continued confidence in Vice President JD Vance by having him address an “unprecedented” problem in Democratic-run states and declaring him the nation’s “fraud czar.”

Vance announced Thursday his fraud task force busted an alleged $50 million hospice and healthcare fraud scheme in Los Angeles. Following this news, Trump took to Truth Social Friday morning to officially proclaim he was naming Vance fraud czar.

Trump said Vance’s focus would be “EVERYWHERE” but with a special emphasis on Democratic-controlled states.

“Vice President JD Vance is now in charge of ‘FRAUD’ in the United States,” Trump wrote. “We will call him the ‘FRAUD CZAR,’ and his focus will be ‘EVERYWHERE,’ but primarily in those Blue States where CROOKED DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS, like those in California, Illinois, Minnesota (Somalia beware!), Maine, New York, and many others, have had a ‘free for all’ in the unprecedented theft of Taxpayer Money.”

VANCE ANTI-FRAUD TASK FORCE SUSPENDS 221 CALIFORNIA HOSPICE AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SO FAR

The president called the fraud problems in the U.S. “massive and pervasive” and suggested the implications for the country are enormous.

Vice President JD Vance and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

As fraud czar, “the job (Vance) will be doing, in conjunction with many great people within the Trump Administration, will be a major factor in how great the future of our Country will be,” Trump wrote.

“The numbers are so large that, if successful, we would literally be able to balance our American Budget.”

He emphasized the work Vance already has done in California, writing, “Raids have already started in L.A.” and concluding, “Good Luck JD!”

The president already had placed Vance in charge of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is a government-wide crackdown on fraud in federal benefit programs.

However, Trump’s designation of Vance as fraud czar, an informal title, emphasizes the significance he is placing on the task force and his confidence in Vance to get the job done.

PAM BONDI ALREADY FIRED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, CABINET OFFICIAL TEED UP AS REPLACEMENT: SOURCES

President Donald J. Trump delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 24, 2026(Kenny Holston/Pool via Reuters)

Trump first announced he would be putting Vance in charge of the “war on fraud,” and the position was solidified by Trump’s executive order establishing the fraud task force and placing Vance at the helm.

The announcement followed reporting revealing allegations of widespread fraud and abuse in Minnesota largely involving the state’s Somali immigrant community.

Trump’s announcement comes the day after news broke that the president was removing Attorney General Pam Bondi from her role at the Department of Justice, a move that political analyst Jonathan Turley said hit Washington, D.C., like a “thunderclap.”

JD VANCE RELEASING BOOK ABOUT FAITH JOURNEY, CONVERSION TO CATHOLICISM

Vice President JD Vance during a news conference with President Donald Trump.(Getty Images)

Just weeks before that, the president also removed former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

There are widespread rumors of Trump being displeased with several other high-ranking members of his Cabinet, though he has not publicly said so himself.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Vance’s office for comment.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

Judge denies Justice Department request to revive Federal Reserve subpoenas

2026-04-03 13:20 EDT / CBS News

By Sarah N. Lynch

Sarah N. Lynch Senior Justice Department Reporter

Sarah N. Lynch is the senior Justice Department reporter for CBS News, based in Washington, D.C.

Read Full Bio

Sarah N. Lynch

April 3, 2026 / 1:20 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Friday rejected efforts by the Justice Department to revive two subpoenas it served to the Federal Reserve as part of its criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell and the Fed’s building renovations, after the judge had quashed them on the grounds they were pretextual and not based on evidence of a crime.

“The Government’s arguments do not come close to convincing the Court that a different outcome is warranted,” wrote Chief Judge for the District of Columbia James Boasberg.

In January, Powell revealed that the Federal Reserve had received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into him.

The subpoenas threatened a criminal indictment related to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June 2025, according to Powell. The chairman — who has drawn President Trump’s ire for declining to rapidly slash interest rates — said the probe centered on his comments about a years-long renovation project at the Federal Reserve’s office buildings. The investigation has not resulted in any criminal charges.

In sealed proceedings, lawyers for the Federal Reserve asked Boasberg to quash them. Boasberg granted the request and unsealed his decision last month, prompting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to accuse him of being an “activist judge” whose decision was “untethered to the law.”

The government is both appealing the ruling and filed a separate motion asking Boasberg to reconsider his decision.

US judge upholds block on subpoenas to Fed’s Powell, teeing up likely appeal

2026-04-03T16:54:09.25Z / Reuters

By Andrew Goudsward and Nate Raymond

April 3, 2026 4:54 PM UTC Updated 36 mins ago

节点运行失败

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

* Summary

* Judge says prosecutors presented no evidence of fraud
* U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro expected to appeal
* Senator Tillis has vowed to block Kevin Warsh’s nomination while any appeal is pending

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Friday stood by his prior decision to block subpoenas issued in a criminal ‌investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, setting up a likely appeal that could further delay President Donald Trump’s move to install a more compliant central bank head.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C. rejected the Justice Department’s bid to reconsider his earlier ruling, which had effectively halted the criminal ​probe into Powell.

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Boasberg in a March 13 ruling determined that subpoenas to the Fed’s Board of Governors in January were issued ​for the improper purpose of pressuring Powell to accede to Trump’s demands to rapidly lower interest rates or ⁠resign.

The subpoenas, issued by Washington, D.C.’s top federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, a stalwart Trump ally, sought information about cost overruns in ​renovations at the Fed’s headquarters and Powell’s testimony to Congress last year about the project.

Boasberg, in Friday’s ruling, opens new tab, said Pirro’s office had “not come close ​to convincing the Court that a different outcome is warranted,” adding that prosecutors had a “total lack of a good-faith basis to suspect a crime.”

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“The Government’s fundamental problem is that it has presented no evidence whatsoever of fraud,” wrote Boasberg, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama.

A spokesperson for Pirro in ​a statement said her office “will absolutely appeal the judiciary’s interference with our access to the grand jury.”

The Fed declined to comment.

The ​ruling is Powell’s latest victory in his battle with Pirro’s office about the investigation, which he has called a pretext for Trump to gain more ‌influence ⁠over the Fed and monetary policy.

Any appeal by Pirro would be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Justice Department leadership has backed the decision to appeal, according to a source familiar with the matter.

SUCCESSOR CONFIRMATION DELAY

The appeal could delay confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to succeed Powell as Fed chair.

U.S. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican member of the Senate ​Banking Committee who has criticized the ​probe into Powell, has vowed ⁠to continue blocking Warsh’s nomination while any appeal plays out.

Powell has pledged not to leave the central bank until the probe is over.

Prosecutors have said they are investigating Powell for potential fraud charges and ​false statements to a congressional committee. But a top lawyer in Pirro’s office acknowledged in court ​on March 3 ⁠that prosecutors do not currently know what evidence exists that Powell committed a crime, according to a court transcript.

Pirro’s office faced a high legal bar to convince Boasberg to reverse his earlier decision, having to show that either new evidence emerged or that the judge made a ⁠clear legal ​error.

Justice Department lawyers argued that Boasberg set too high a standard for prosecutors ​to meet at the early stages of an investigation and misinterpreted the timeline of the probe.

Lawyers for the Fed’s Board of Governors argued that Boasberg’s initial ruling ​was backed by “overwhelming evidence.”

Reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Washington and Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci and Bill Berkrot

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Samuel Alito was treated for dehydration after falling ill at event in March, Supreme Court says

April 3, 2026 / 2:31 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was treated for dehydration after falling ill at an event in Philadelphia on March 20, the court’s public information office said Friday.

“Out of an abundance of caution, he agreed with his security detail’s recommendation to see a physician before the three-hour drive home,” the office said in a statement. “After that examination and the administration of fluids for dehydration, he returned home that night, as previously planned.”

CNN revealed the incident in a report earlier Friday, saying Alito had been taken to the hospital for treatment. Alito was attending a Federalist Society event in Philadelphia, CNN said. The court said he was “thoroughly checked by his own physician” and returned to work as usual.

Alito, 76, has participated in oral arguments at the court in the two weeks since the episode, most recently on Wednesday, when the justices considered President Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.

One of the court’s most conservative members, Alito was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2006, and is now the third-longest-serving justice currently on the court.

Speculation about his possible retirement has swirled since Mr. Trump returned to office last year, and has ramped up heading into the midterm elections. If Democrats win control of the Senate, filling any vacancy would become extremely difficult once a new Congress convenes in January.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/why-supreme-court-oral-arguments-did-not-go-well-trump/

Cuba releases 2,000 prisoners amid Trump pressure, energy crisis

April 3, 2026 2:15pm EDT / Fox News

Those released include young people, women, older adults and foreign nationals, the Cuban Embassy said

By Michael Dorgan Fox News

Cuba’s government released more than 2,000 prisoners as the island faces mounting economic pressure linked to U.S. sanctions and worsening fuel shortages.

The Cuban Embassy in Washington said authorities granted pardons to 2,010 inmates under provisions of the country’s constitution, citing factors such as good behavior, time already served and health conditions.

“This humanitarian and sovereign gesture was based on a careful analysis of the nature of the offenses committed by the inmates, their good conduct while in prison, and the fact that they had served a significant portion of their sentences,” the embassy said in a statement posted on X.

RUSSIA SHIPS FUEL TO CUBA USING ‘SPOOFING’ TACTIC CHALLENGING TRUMP EMBARGO: REPORTS

Inmates celebrate as they walk free from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026, after Cuba announced it would pardon 2,010 prisoners amid mounting U.S. pressure.(Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)

Officials said those released include young people, women, older adults, as well as foreign nationals and Cuban citizens who live abroad but were imprisoned on the island.

The government said it excluded prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including murder, sexual assault, violent robbery, drug offenses and corruption of minors, as well as repeat offenders.

CUBA’S ENTIRE ELECTRICAL GRID COLLAPSES, LEAVING WHOLE ISLAND WITHOUT POWER

The move marks the second prisoner release this year and comes during Holy Week, which Cuban officials described as a customary period for such actions.

The release comes as Cuba grapples with a deepening economic and energy crisis driven in part by a renewed pressure campaign from the Trump administration aimed at cutting off the island’s access to foreign oil. The restrictions have contributed to widespread fuel shortages, blackouts and growing unrest across the country.

WATCH: Cuban power blackout sparks protests as Trump hints at US intervention

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391172223112

President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba and has pressured nations such as Mexico to halt shipments as part of a broader effort to squeeze the island’s energy supply.

The U.S. also allowed a tanker to deliver fuel to Cuba earlier this week after months of severe shortages, with the White House framing the move as a humanitarian exception rather than a shift in policy.

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A man embraces a loved one after being released from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026, as Cuba began freeing more than 2,000 inmates.(Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has also escalated his rhetoric, recently saying “Cuba’s next” while discussing U.S. actions abroad, though he later sought to downplay the remark.

The deepening crisis has also sparked protests and clashes across the island.

Cuba has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, and is now led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded Raúl Castro in 2018.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.