U.S. District Judge James Boasberg will hear from Trump administration lawyers and the ACLU on Wednesday evening in a second court case focused on President Donald Trump‘s use of the 1789 Alien Enemies Act to deport certain migrants.

Trump officials have sought to portray Boasberg, a high-profile judge in D.C., as the face of judicial overreach and today’s hearing could put him back in their crosshairs.

Unlike the previous lawsuit heard by Boasberg in March, which sought to temporarily block Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport certain U.S. migrants, plaintiffs are asking the court to hear a larger request for more lasting relief.

The preliminary injunction was filed as a class, and seeks to protect two classes of migrants: Detainees already removed from the U.S. to the infamous Salvadorian prison, as well as those still detained on U.S. soil at risk of imminent removal.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Plaintiffs are seeking broader and more lasting relief for two sub-classes, or groups of individuals at risk of what they argue is “grave and irreparable harm” under the Alien Enemies Act.

For U.S. detainees who could be removed under the law, plaintiffs asked for an order blocking their removal under AEA and requiring the Trump administration to provide them with at least 30 days notice before any planned removals – notice they said would be sufficient to allow them to challenge their removals in U.S. court. 

Migrants who were already deported to CECOT could face a trickier path to relief.

Plaintiffs asked Boasberg in their amended request to order the Trump administration to not only facilitate the return of already deported migrants, but to take “all reasonable steps” to do so. 

This could include requiring the administration to request any contractors or agents in El Salvador to transfer the individuals from CECOT and into the “physical custody” of the U.S., they said. 

It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will take any steps to comply with the order, should Boasberg move to grant the injunctive relief plaintiffs are seeking. If their responses have been any indication, compliance in the near-term seems unlikely.

The hearing comes as the Trump administration has grown increasingly defiant in the face of court orders to return migrants from CECOT back to the U.S. – including two migrants who were erroneously deported to the maximum security prison in March, and ordered back to the U.S. by two separate federal judges.

The administration has refused to return them. So far, the Trump administration has not said whether it has returned any migrants deported from the U.S. to CECOT under the law.

And the identities of these individuals can be difficult to track: To date, the Trump administration has not released a list of the names of individuals it has deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act‚ and the Salvadorian government has also shielded their identities from public disclosure.

The administration’s growing recalcitrance on the issue has sparked fresh concern from Trump critics and some court observers, who have cited fears that the administration could be testing their boundaries on executive branch authorities.

Plaintiffs also cited fears of real harm to the migrants. 

They said in their filing that, absent injunctive relief, the Trump administration “will be free to send hundreds more individuals to the notorious Salvadoran prison, where they may be held incommunicado for the rest of their lives.”

Families who lost loved ones to crimes committed by those in the country illegally took aim at sanctuary policies in Illinois and across the country at a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Wednesday.

Among the speakers was Jim Walden, an Illinois resident who lost his son, Jimmy, several years ago in a motorcycle incident while Jimmy was stationed in Maryland.

“My son was serving in the United States Marine Corps in the intel field. He worked for the National Security Agency. Jimmy was 21 years old,” Walden said.

TRUMP SAYS MEXICAN PRESIDENT IS AFRAID OF CARTELS AFTER SHE REJECTED HIS OFFER TO SEND US TROOPS TO MEXICO

“He was hit and killed by his motorcycle by an illegal that the state of Maryland admitted they knew was illegal five years before he killed my son. And in that five-year period, they had had him in jail five times. He was convicted of domestic violence and put on probation, and he was illegal. He would have been 30 years old yesterday.

“For our governor to get on national television and say that he’s gonna stand up and protect these people is a gut punch to anybody that’s lost one,” Walden said of Gov. JB Pritzker.

“I just call on Gov. Pritzker to be a true governor and stand by the federal laws and deport every one of them, every one. I don’t care if they’re two or 20 or 80. Send them back. We have a path to citizenship. It’s called the naturalization process.”

BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN CALLS ON COUNTY SHERIFFS TO DEFY SANCTUARY LAW, DEM GOVERNOR RUMORED FOR 2028 RUN

Noem said she did the press conference there at the “direction of President Trump today to draw attention to the dangerous policies of Illinois and the Illinois governor and what he has perpetuated as far as violence and criminality against his citizens here in this state.” 

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order asking DHS and the Department of Justice to treat “sanctuary jurisdictions” as states and localities that could lose federal funding.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“Springfield needs attention specifically because of the victims that have been here, but also because of the laws that come out of this city that impact the entire state that is protecting illegal criminals and not prioritizing American citizens and the citizens of this great state,” the secretary added.

She also noted that the location of the event had a special meaning. 

“But we’re standing here on this block today because this is the block where a young woman was killed just a couple of houses away from here. Emma Shafer was brutally stabbed and murdered by an illegal alien who was released into the United States by the Biden administration,” Noem explained.

Pritzker called the event a “publicity stunt” and took aim at the administration’s immigration policies.

BLUE CITY MAYOR SAYS ICE ARRESTS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ARE NOT ‘FOCUSED ON MAKING US SAFER’

“Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law,” Pritzker said in a statement about Noem’s visit. “The Trump administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process and disappearing law-abiding neighbors, including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process.

“Trump-Noem publicity stunts do not make our communities safer or our immigration system smarter. Illinois doesn’t need to abuse power or ignore the Constitution to keep our people safe. Like the millions of Americans asking for sensible, humane immigration reform, I encourage the secretary to spend less time performing for Fox News and more time protecting the homeland.”

FIRST ON FOX: Undercover phone calls released today by pro-life activist group Live Action reveal that Planned Parenthood clinics across several states offer cross-sex hormonal treatments to minors as young as 16 with very little parental or medical supervision.

The group is now calling on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. 

Live Action conducted an undercover investigation in which a woman posing as a 16-year-old minor called dozens of Planned Parenthood locations seeking “gender-affirming care.” At least seven facilities told her they would prescribe cross-sex hormones at the first appointment.

In several instances, Planned Parenthood assured the caller that she could choose to meet with a provider virtually and have access to cross-sex hormones as quickly as the same day, despite the person posing as a minor saying they had just begun considering changing her sex. Facilities in Minnesota and Oregon stated they could schedule the minor within days or on the same day.

Five facilities stated that no prior therapy, mental health clearance or prior documentation was needed for her to obtain cross-sex hormones.

‘GENDER-AFFIRMING’ TREATMENTS DON’T BENEFIT YOUTH, SAYS PEDIATRICIANS GROUP: ‘IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES’

In addition to being the country’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood is also one of the leading distributors of sex-change drugs.

Cross-sex hormonal treatments, such as taking either testosterone or estrogen, are meant to alter the body to exhibit characteristics to conform with a person’s “gender identity.” Besides altering the natural makeup and functions of the body, cross-sex hormonal treatments can result in several harmful side effects, including permanent infertility.

Live Action President Lila Rose told Fox News Digital that the investigation exposes “a chilling reality” that “Planned Parenthood is fast-tracking vulnerable children into irreversible hormone treatments with almost no medical oversight.”

“These dangerous drugs can sterilize, stunt growth and leave lifelong scars. This is not healthcare. It is child abuse, and it must be stopped,” she said.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD UNDER INVESTIGATION BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OVER SALE OF FETAL TISSUE

Live Action is calling on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood of all tax-dollar funding it receives from the federal government.

“Planned Parenthood receives more than $700 million in taxpayer dollars every year. That is a catastrophe, and it must end,” said Rose. “It’s time for Congress and the president to act and defund this abusive corporation of the $700 million they receive from taxpayers every year.”  

This comes shortly after Fox News Digital reported that House Republicans are discussing measures that could potentially end federal funding of groups like Planned Parenthood as cost savings in their multitrillion-dollar bill advancing President Donald Trump‘s agenda.

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Two sources close to the House Energy and Commerce Committee told Fox News Digital that the move was being floated as lawmakers look to find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to offset the cost of Trump’s tax priorities.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said last week that Republicans would target “big abortion” in the budget reconciliation process.

Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

More than 4 million youth and young-adult families face homelessness, statistics show, prompting rare bipartisan action in Congress to expand federal support and address the growing crisis.

Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., will introduce the Homeless Children & Youth Act on Wednesday, which is the former’s first piece of major bipartisan legislation in her short tenure since being sworn-in in January.

Officials must ensure that children experiencing homelessness can get the support they need to exit that situation for good, Alsobrooks told Fox News Digital.

“This legislation will begin to close the barrier to services for many young families and is a true action to one of my guiding principles: ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ No person deserves to experience homelessness, and HCYA is an important step in ending homelessness in our communities and breaking generational cycles,” she said.

NEW LAW CLAMPS DOWN ON HOMELESS AS BLUE CITY ADVOCATE ADMITS THE ‘FRUSTRATION’ IS JUSTIFIED

Britt added, “No child should be prevented from receiving the critical assistance they need,” and that the bill will “streamline” the definition of homelessness across all federal agencies.

The bill seeks to better define homelessness in a federal context in order to provide fuller resources. In that current code, in some areas of government, it excludes counting youths who stay with people other than their parents or live in motel rooms as experiencing homelessness, while other federal programs consider them so.

It would also “improve visibility and understanding” of the issue, as proponents said youth are often overlooked as a bloc of people that can face homelessness.

By standardizing the definition of youth homelessness, and also opening up more federal resources to affected people, the bill will help communities break the cycle, proponents said.

TRUMP SAYS DC MAYOR BOWSER MUST CLEAN UP HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS IN THE CAPITAL

Youth homelessness has been an issue in the Washington, D.C., area, where Alsobrooks led a collar county for several years prior to defeating former Gov. Larry Hogan for her current seat.

During her time as Prince George’s County executive, the county established the Youth Action Board, which aims to directly address the crisis from a young person’s perspective.

In 2024, Alsobrooks credited the Department of Housing and Urban Development for an additional $2 million grant to assist organizations in Prince George’s that combat youth homelessness.

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In nearby Frederick County, north of the nation’s capital, one homeless assistance group praised the legislation.

“Programs like ours could serve these youth immediately upon experiencing homelessness,” Melissa Muntz of Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership of Frederick told Fox News Digital.

“Shortening a young person’s period of homelessness by providing immediate support increases the likelihood that the youth will remain connected to school,” Muntz said.

“We know that youth who do not graduate from high school are significantly more likely to experience homelessness as adults, making this an early intervention to prevent adult homelessness.”

At least 15 other homelessness advocacy groups have also endorsed the act, according to its sponsors.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday, the Punishing Illegal Immigrant Felons Act, which would dramatically increase penalties for criminal activity by illegal immigrants, something the bill’s sponsors believe can help deliver a death blow to organized crime by illegals in the U.S.

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., said the bill already has robust support in the House and that key members of the Trump administration have been very “supportive.”

This comes as the Trump administration has moved quickly to lock down the border and begin arresting the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens present in the country. The Trump administration has promised to be “ruthlessly aggressive” in cracking down on illegal criminal groups endangering Americans.

However, Knott, who introduced the bill Wednesday, told Fox News Digital that, from his experience as a prosecutor, he believes Congress must act quickly to secure the permanent changes needed to deter many of the hardened criminals who have made organized crime in the U.S. “big business.”

NOEM CALLS FOR THE DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING MARITIME HUMAN SMUGGLING ATTEMPT THAT LEFT CHILD DEAD

“There is a very real set group of criminals that a wall and deportations alone is wholly insufficient to deter them from coming to the United States to commit crime,” Knott said. “I have prosecuted people who were deported more than ten times. Yet they come back exclusively to commit crime, whether that is human trafficking, whether it’s drug trafficking, whether it’s money laundering, you name it.” 

Knott said, up until now, there has been an “incentive” for criminals, including members of migrant gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, to come to the U.S. “because they are able to enrich themselves with very low risk of extreme cost.”

“Two years is no deterrent,” he said. “I prosecuted cartel members, and if they got a 24-month sentence, a two-year sentence, it would not interrupt their criminal operation at all.”

During his time as a federal prosecutor, Knott said, instances of illegal felons returning to commit more crimes after being deported were “too many to remember.”

BLUE CITY MAYOR SAYS ICE ARRESTS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ARE NOT ‘FOCUSED ON MAKING US SAFER’

“I talked to someone who was deported more than ten times … and I asked him, ‘Why do you keep coming back to the United States?’ And he was very candid with me. He said, ‘Why wouldn’t I?’” Knott shared. “He could make more money. He could operate in a country that was safer. People were nice. He could enrich himself while poisoning the children that he would sell drugs to.

“This bill in large part closes that gap in the law,” he explained. “It categorizes illegal aliens who commit crimes in a wholly different category.”  

If passed and signed into law, Knott’s bill would increase the punishment for any crime committed by an illegal alien that is punishable by more than one year from a maximum of two years to a minimum of five years.

Illegals who are removed and then reenter the country illegally can also face up to ten years in prison under the law. 

‘OFF OUR STREETS’: ICE MAKES MAJOR ARREST OF INTERNATIONALLY WANTED ‘SUSPECTED TERRORIST’

For illegal felons who have been previously removed from the country and returned again to commit more crimes, the bill would increase the punishment to a minimum of ten years and up to life in prison.

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Knott explained that the bill still leaves flexibility to federal authorities, leaving the option of deportation on the table while simultaneously increasing the legal penalties available to erase the incentives for illegally entering the country to commit crimes.

He said ” flexibility is what law enforcement needs to really combat this on a person-by-person basis.”

11 ALLEGED TEEN TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ATTACK NYPD OFFICERS: POLICE

“The wall is important. Deportations are important, and we must maintain those. But we also must close the gap in the law so that, regardless of who’s president, we have the tools to fight the illegal immigrant criminals who inflict so much pain on this country,” said Knott.

“Immigration should be a net benefit to our country,” he added. “If we don’t punish those who want to come here to commit crimes, we will never have a healthy immigration system again. If we don’t fix this problem now, we might not have the chance to do it.“

President Donald Trump said it was “disappointing” that Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he will not support the president’s nominee to serve as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Ed Martin. 

“It’s disappointing because, you know, I know that he’s very talented,” Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon while taking questions from the media during a swearing-in ceremony for the U.S. ambassador to China, David Perdue. “Crime is down in Washington, D.C. Street crime, violent crime by 25%. And, that’s, people have seen they’ve noticed a big difference.” 

Tillis sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the confirmation process of Martin. The nominee has served as interim U.S. attorney since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration but is facing a May 20 deadline to be confirmed. 

Martin met with Senate lawmakers Monday, and Tillis told reporters Tuesday he wouldn’t support Martin, throwing the nomination into limbo on the committee that is composed of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. 

TILLIS PUTS ONUS ON TRUMP TO AVOID BOASBERG PICKING US ATTORNEY AFTER MARTIN’S NOMINATION APPEARS SUNK

“I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination,” Tillis told reporters Tuesday. 

If an interim U.S. attorney is not confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, however, judges on the federal district court for that district could name a new interim U.S. attorney until the role is filled. Trump antagonist Judge James Boasberg, an Obama-appointed judge at the center of legal efforts targeting Trump’s deportation efforts, is the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

“I didn’t know that.… I feel very badly about it,” Trump continued on Wednesday. “Only in the sense that, in this short period of time that he’s been there, crime is down 25% in Washington, D.C., but that’s really up to the senators. If they, you know, feel that way, they have to vote the way they vote, they have to follow their heart and they have to follow their mind.”

When asked Tuesday if Tillis is comfortable with the left-wing court picking an interim U.S. attorney, his office told Fox News Digital it is the office’s understanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi can pick an acting replacement, bypassing involvement from federal judges. 

DEADLINE LOOMS ALLOWING LEFT-WING COURT TO SELECT US ATTORNEY AS STATE AGS URGE CONFIRMATION OF TRUMP PICK

“Our understanding is that if the Senate does not confirm a U.S. attorney before an acting U.S. attorney’s term expires, the attorney general can still pick the next acting replacement as long as it is done before the original appointment expires under 28 USC 546,” a spokesman for Tillis’ office told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

The code referenced says, “If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.”

TRUMP NOMINATES JAN. 6 DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR TOP PROSECUTOR ROLE IN DC

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice about the statute Wednesday, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Martin previously worked as a defense attorney and represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, which Tillis took issue with, he told reporters Tuesday. Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 Jan. 6 criminal defendants upon taking office.

TRUMP NOMINATES JUDGE TO SERVE AS NEXT US ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

“Mr. Martin did a good job of explaining the one area that I think he’s probably right, that there were some people that were over-prosecuted, but there were some, 200 or 300 of them that should have never gotten a pardon,” Tillis said. “If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district.”

Trump and his administration have rallied support for Martin as his confirmation process comes down to the wire. 

“His approval is IMPERATIVE in terms of doing all that has to be done to SAVE LIVES and to, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

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“Ed Martin will be a big player in doing so and, I hope, that the Republican Senators will make a commitment to his approval, which is now before them.”

President Donald Trump wants India and Pakistan to cease fighting and is open to helping both countries broker a peace agreement, following strikes from India against Pakistan early Wednesday. 

India launched missiles against at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned,” according to India’s Defense Ministry. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military reported that the strikes killed at least 26 people — including women and children — and claimed the strikes amounted to an “act of war.” 

“Oh, it’s so terrible. My position is, I get along with both,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop. And hopefully they can stop now. They’ve got a tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now. But I know both. We get along with both countries very well. Good relationships with both. And I want to see it stop. And if I can do anything to help I will. I will be there as well.”

The Associated Press, Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Nick Kalman contributed to this report. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The chairman of the House’s Aviation Safety Caucus is accusing the former Biden administration of helping fuel the current air traffic control (ATC) crisis, by its choice to fund progressive diversity initiatives instead of modernizing the aging system.

Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that the former administration’s marquee bill, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, was among several “missed opportunities” to fund a revamp of the ATC system.

“That was before I came to Congress, but, you know, you had just mistaken priorities in that, all this DEI policy, DEI staffing, that all got baked into the cake,” Langworthy said. “They could have taken that money and spent it on real modernization of what is critical infrastructure in this country.”

“We had the longest period of incident-free aviation in this country’s history, where we didn’t have a commercial air crash from the time the crash happened in Buffalo, in my district, back in 2009, to just this year, and what happened at [Ronald Reagan Airport]. And it was avoidable.”

HIDDEN REAL ID HASSLES FACING AIRLINE TRAVELERS AND STATES TO AVOID

It comes after a blackout at Newark Liberty International Airport reportedly caused a roughly 90-second outage to its air traffic control screens.

And earlier this year, a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane coming from Wichita, Kansas, in a deadly incident just off the shores of the nation’s capital.

Langworthy clarified that he does not believe DEI policies “necessarily” directly hit ATC.

“It’s what they spent the money [on]. I mean, you know, there’s infrastructure projects, ones in my backyard, where they want to bury and tunnel over our main artery in the town because it’s going to reunite a community somehow,” he said.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

“Aviation is infrastructure. It’s transportation. It should have been spent then. Instead, they did all this social engineering with money and didn’t focus on what has been a glaring problem for the federal government for many years, modernizing our aviation infrastructure.”

Part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill allocated $25 billion over five years to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), specifically for modernization.

But lawmakers now believe that was not enough. Republicans’ plans for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” via the budget reconciliation process include $12 billion for air traffic control modernization, specifically.

During visits with air traffic controllers in his own upstate New York district, Langworthy said the message was simple but critical: “We need more bodies.”

“We should be promoting this to young people that want to look at career service in the government. And it comes with a very competitive salary,” Langworthy said. “But it’s a tough job with a lot of hours. And you know, there’s always gonna be stress involved, but we have to prioritize it and not just take it for granted.”

Langworthy said he would help push for as much funding as needed to meet the issue.

“I will absolutely lead the fight for [Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy] and the president on their plan to modernize our aircraft,” he vowed.

“When Secretary Duffy and the president roll this out as a spending priority, we have to frontload this process. We have to get them the resources that they need to get this done, because the flying public – everyone’s lives hang in the balance on this.”

Former Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to China Wednesday, with President Donald Trump remarking on the timing of the ceremony as trade talks between the two nations are set to kick off. 

“We’re swearing in our next ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. What timing, David. What timing? Only you could have picked this timing,” Trump quipped as Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepared to swear Perdue in. 

The Senate confirmed Perdue April 29 in a 67–29 vote. His swearing-in ceremony comes as China and the U.S. set to begin trade talks following Trump’s tariffs on the nation in recent months. 

“Our new ambassador brings to this position a lifetime of experience at the highest levels of business and politics,” Trump said. “And he is at the highest level. Over four decades in business, he rose to lead several major American corporations, including as the president and CEO of the footwear giant Reebok, where he did very well and did a great job. And later the CEO of Dollar General. Likewise, he did a great job. David also lived and worked in Singapore and Hong Kong for several years, developing a wealth of experience negotiating and doing tremendous business deals for lots of different leaders that he worked with.” 

SCOTT BESSENT SAYS US DOESN’T WANT TO DECOUPLE FROM CHINA AHEAD OF SCHEDULED MEETING WITH CHINESE COUNTERPART

Trump told Perdue to “say hello to President XI when you’re over there.”

The Trump administration has leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries. Trump paused his April 2 reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations in April as countries called on the administration to make trade deals, but he upped the ante on China as the country rebuked Trump’s trade policies with tariffs of its own, including 125% duty taxes on U.S. goods. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with Chinese counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland to discuss economic matters, Bessent said on Fox News Tuesday. 

CHINA’S ECONOMIC WOES THREATEN REAL WAR AMID TARIFF BATTLE

“We have shared interests,” Bessent said. “This isn’t sustainable, as I said before, especially on the Chinese side — and, you know, 145%, 125% is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple — what we want is fair trade.” 

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that officials were “evaluating” an offer from the Trump administration to hold trade talks on the 145% U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

“The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” the statement said, according to Reuters. 

US OFFICIALS TO MEET WITH CHINESE COUNTERPARTS IN SWITZERLAND AMID TRADE WAR

“Attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work,” the statement added. 

Trump and the administration previously have said they were willing to hold trade negotiations with China, including the president saying April 8, “We are waiting for their call. It will happen.”

Trump continued during the ceremony that Perdue would help lead the charge to end the flow of deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl into the U.S., an issue Trump has railed against while leveraging tariffs on China to end the illegal drugs from entering the U.S. 

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“They have to stop fentanyl from coming in,” Trump said. “And that’ll be a very big part. And I had that understanding with President Xi before I left, last time. And we had a deal, and he would have honored the deal. But when Biden came in, of course, nothing ever happened with him. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing. But that would have saved a lot of lives at election caused us a lot of lives and a lot of heartache. The fact that we went through four years of misery, and you look at what’s coming through the border and, the job of getting murderers out of our country, so many, so many bad things happened.” 

 Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report. 

Many of the same Democrats slamming the Trump administration for several ongoing transportation issues were silent as the Biden administration oversaw an understaffed, outdated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that resulted in dangerous travel conditions across the country.

Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have accused the Trump administration of “breaking the federal government” and having “decimated the FAA.” Jeffries blamed the Trump administration for a spate of cancellations at Newark Airport this week.

However, a month-over-month comparison of air accidents under the Biden administration and the first few months of the Trump administration shows a significantly lower number of accidents in March and April. Throughout former President Joe Biden’s four years in office, there were an average of 115 air accidents in April. Under Trump, there were just 67 air accidents in the month of April.

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in March shows that the Trump administration inherited an outdated system from Biden with “severe shortcomings.”

DUFFY BLASTS BIDEN, BUTTIGIEG FOR IGNORING REPORT ABOUT FAILING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM: ‘DID NOTHING!’

After Trump’s return to the White House, GAO advised the administration that it had made nine recommendations to the FAA under the Biden administration that remain open, and that “urgent attention” is needed to remedy the safety issues left by Biden.

GAO said that under the Biden administration the FAA “did not prioritize or establish near-term plans to modernize unsustainable and critical systems.”

Other government reports revealed that the Biden FAA was further hindered by severe staffing issues.

A June 2023 report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Transportation Department revealed that the FAA “made limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing at critical air traffic control facilities.”

AMERICANS DESERVE TO HAVE A ‘STATE-OF-THE-ART’ AIR TRAVEL SYSTEM: SEAN DUFFY

The report said that “as a result, FAA continues to face staffing challenges and lacks a plan to address them, which in turn poses a risk to the continuity of air traffic operations.”

The office said it had determined that 20 of 26 (77%) critical facilities were staffed below the FAA’s 85% threshold. Even major facilities like the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control and the Miami Tower were staffed well below the threshold at just 54% and 66%, respectively.

Another report by the office released later that year said the FAA’s “lengthy hiring process and COVID-19 restrictions” slowed the agency’s onboarding and training activities, resulting in few new hires having completed their training and obtained certification.

The issues had real-world consequences. Politico reported that during January and February 2023, “commercial jets experienced close calls with other aircraft at a faster pace than they had during all of the previous five years combined.”

On Jan. 11, 2023, the FAA had to issue a nationwide ground stop due to a system outage of the aging air traffic control system. The pause was described as the first of its kind since 9/11.

The GAO’s 2025 report said the 2023 national airspace prompted an operational risk assessment, which found that of the 138 air traffic control systems, “51 (37%) were deemed unsustainable by FAA and 54 (39%) were potentially unsustainable.”

TRUMP TO REQUIRE TRUCK DRIVERS TO SPEAK ENGLISH, PASS LITERACY TESTS AS ‘COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS’ MOUNT

In 2024, the GAO found that nearly 40% of FAA control systems were still severely antiquated, requiring “urgent updates.”

“This is not a new problem,” Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We’ve known this problem has existed. There have been multiple GAO reports over the last four years saying you have real problems with Air Traffic Control and you should do something with it before it actually fails. The last Administration spent $1.2 trillion. The largest infrastructure package known to man. Joe Biden signed this at this White House, and how much was spent to rebuild Air Traffic Control? $5 billion. And of the $5 billion that was given, only $1 billion was actually spent.”

“The Biden Administration had made no investments in the system that we now see having issues in Newark. On top of that, they were focused on things like renaming racists roads and changing cockpit to flight deck. This Administration has come in and started looking at the Air Traffic Control system after the DCA crash. Very quickly I saw one piece of the pie where there were issues and then scratched further and there is another piece of the pie. As we looked at it, we see that the whole system needs to be redone and we need to build a brand-new air traffic control system.”

In a Tuesday thread on X, GOP Sen. Mike Lee called out the FAA’s past practices and called out the agency’s “woke” approach.

“I started calling out the FAA’s hiring practices at Air Traffic Control an entire decade ago, pointing out that they were drifting from their longstanding pattern of hiring people with a solid math and science background and / or experience in aviation — recognizing that such people perform better in these important positions,” Lee said. 

“But the ATC’s hiring decisions under Obama and later Biden prioritized basically everything else in favor of woke hiring practices,” he continued.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Biden and Jeffries for comment. 

Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik grilled the president of Pennsylvania’s Haverford College during a congressional hearing Wednesday over disciplinary action on campus-related antisemitism since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Haverford College President Wendy Raymond tried to sidestep Stefanik’s question of whether there had been any disciplinary action taken against a student group that was accused of antisemitism at the college. Raymond said the group’s statements were “repugnant” and indefensible, though did not elaborate on potential discipline.

“I’m asking about the disciplinary action,” Stefanik repeated. “You were the one university president who failed to lay out if any disciplinary action has been taken, if any suspensions or expulsion. So I am asking you, was there any disciplinary action taken?”

Raymond again denounced the group’s statements, but said she would not speak to individual cases. When pressed on whether the college took “any” disciplinary measures related to antisemitism, Raymond began to sidestep again before answering, “Yes, there have been some.” 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LAYS OFF AROUND 180 STAFF AFTER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REVOKES GRANTS

Stefanik then asked about a mathematics professor at the college who allegedly made an antisemitic post online and whether the college launched an investigation or took any disciplinary action against the educator.

“Respectfully, representative, I will not be talking about individual cases,” Raymond responded.

“Respectfully, President of Haverford, many people have sat in this position who are no longer in the positions as president of universities for their failure to answer straightforward questions,” Stefanik said.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS OCCUPY UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON BUILDING, 30 ARRESTED

Stefanik was referencing her grilling of Ivy League college administrators from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, her alma mater, in December 2023 regarding whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” violates the respective school’s codes of conduct. The school leaders, however, waffled in their responses.

“It can be, depending on the context,” Harvard’s then-President Claudine Gay responded to the question.

“Antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation – that is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” Gay said when pressed to answer “yes” or “no” if calls for the genocide of Jews break school rules. 

Both Gay and Penn’s then-President Liz Magill resigned from their high-profile positions shortly after the hearing, while footage of the exchanges spread like wildfire on social media.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., promised President Donald Trump‘s administration “resistance” on Wednesday following Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s immigration press conference near the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield, Illinois. 

“Secretary Noem must have not realized she was visiting during Latino Unity Day where we come together to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of our community,” Pritzker said in a press release. “Today, Secretary Noem was met by a force stronger than her: the people of Illinois. Illinoisans are sending a clear message to Trump’s lackeys that we will not let you mess with us without a resistance.”

Noem hosted the Illinois press conference “to call out the state’s sanctuary policies that undermine the rule of law and endanger fellow Americans,” urging Pritzker and his fellow Illinois Democrats to “abandon these dangerous sanctuary policies” and “return to law and order.” 

Noem was joined by two “Angel Families,” who had family members killed by illegal immigrants in Illinois. 

DEM GOVERNOR BLASTS TRUMP, MUSK IN NEW ATTACK CAMPAIGN AS 2028 BUZZ GROWS

Fox News reported at least two dozen protesters were shouting and holding up signs during Noem’s press conference. Before the press conference began, the location was changed to the site where a woman was allegedly killed by a noncitizen. 

“Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law,” Pritzker fired back after Noem’s press conference. 

POTENTIAL 2028 HOPEFUL ACCUSED OF ‘INCITING VIOLENCE’ AFTER CALL FOR ‘MASS PROTESTS’ AGAINST TRUMP

While Noem raged against Pritzker’s policies, the Illinois governor and potential 2028 presidential contender, who has stood out among the Democratic Party as a vocal opponent to Trump’s second term, accused the Trump administration of violating due process with their illegal immigration crackdown. 

“The Trump administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process, and disappearing law-abiding neighbors, including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process,” Priztker said.

Pritzker continued his streak of speaking out against the Trump administration as their latest contention found its way to his backyard on Wednesday. 

“Trump-Noem publicity stunts do not make our communities safer or our immigration system smarter,” Pritzker said.

Ahead of Noem’s visit, Pritzker trolled the Homeland Security secretary in an apparent dig for once killing a dog, as outlined in her book released last year when she was still the governor of South Dakota. 

“We would urge all pet owners in the region to make sure all of your beloved animals are under watchful protection while the Secretary is in the region,” Pritzker’s office wrote in a statement to reporters. 

The Department of Homeland Security responded to Pritzker’s press release in a statement to Fox News Digital. “What’s unlawful and unconstitutional is Governor Pritzker’s sanctuary city laws that embolden violent criminal illegal aliens that victimize and kill Americans.”

Fox News’ Olivianna Calmes contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump is reportedly to rename the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf ahead of his trip to the Middle East in the coming days. 

The expected announcement was first reported Wednesday by the Associated Press, which clashed with the Trump administration earlier this year over the president renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back. The AP cited two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

Iran’s foreign minister slammed the reported change, writing that, “politically motivated attempts to alter the historically established name of the Persian Gulf are indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people, and are firmly condemned.”

VANCE PREVIEWS US-IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS, SAYS TRUMP ‘OPEN’ TO SITTING DOWN WITH RUSSIANS, CHINESE IN FUTURE

“Such biased actions are an affront to all Iranians, regardless of their background or place of residence. Let’s hope that the absurd rumors about the PERSIAN Gulf that are going around are no more than a disinformation campaign by ‘forever warriors’ to anger Iranians all over the world and agitate them,” Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. 

The foreign minister said the name Persian Gulf “is deeply rooted in human history” and that Iran “has never objected to the use of names such as the Sea of Oman, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, or Red Sea.”

“The use of these names does not imply ownership by any particular nation, but rather reflects a shared respect for the collective heritage of humanity,” Abbas Araghchi wrote, adding that he is confident Trump “is aware that the name PERSIAN Gulf is centuries old and recognized by all cartographers and international bodies and was even used by all leaders of the region in their official communications until as recently as 1960’s.” 

“While any short-sighted step in this connection will have no validity or legal or geographical effect, it will only bring the wrath of all Iranians from all walks of life and political persuasion in Iran, the U.S. and across the world,” he said. 

Trump is traveling in the coming days to the Middle East, where he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which all lie on the body of water. 

TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’

U.S. and Iranian officials are also expected to meet for the fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman in the coming days. Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday the U.S. was negotiating toward a “complete cessation” of Tehran’s nuclear program. 

Arab nations have pushed for a change to the geographic name of the body of water off the southern coast of Iran, while Iran has maintained its historic ties to the gulf under the Persian Empire. 

The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of “Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabian Gulf” is dominant in many countries in the Middle East, according to the AP. The government of Iran – formerly Persia – threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the company’s decision not to label the body of water at all on its maps.

On Google Maps in the U.S., the body of water appears as the “Persian Gulf” followed by “Arabian Gulf” in parentheses. Apple Maps only says the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases.

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A spat developed in 2017 during Trump’s first term when he used the name Arabian Gulf for the waterway. Iran’s president at the time, Hassan Rouhani, suggested Trump needed to “study geography.”

“Everyone knew Trump’s friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is, too,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote online at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Three top committees within the House of Representatives are delivering an update to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday about Republicans’ ongoing investigation into ActBlue.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., have been probing the Democratic fundraising platform for years.

“The Committees write today to draw your attention to our ongoing investigation into ActBlue, a political action committee and fundraising platform for the Democrat Party,” the letter said.

“The oversight has uncovered that ActBlue has weak fraud-prevention practices and overlooks bad actors, including foreign actors, who take advantage of the platform to make illicit political donations.”

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL

They said the platform’s “concerning activities” could even have a “direct effect on U.S. political campaigns and elections.”

Steil first raised concerns about ActBlue in late 2023 after accusations surfaced that it did not require a card verification value (CVV) number to accept donations via credit card, something lawmakers said made donations significantly less secure.

The letter said ActBlue delivered a “lackluster response” to queries on the matter. As recently as August 2024, however, the site had required CVV numbers for donations on pages observed by Fox News Digital, including former Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House campaign.

However, Republicans pressed ActBlue further, the letter pointed out.

Steil’s panel subpoenaed ActBlue for “documents relating to ActBlue’s donor verification policies, contributions originating outside of the United States, deplatformed entities, and reported unauthorized or fraudulent donations.”

“ActBlue’s responsive documents confirmed that the platform accepted unverified payments during a period of record campaign fundraising,” the letter said.

“Although ActBlue has since updated its policies to reject donations without safeguards such as a CVV requirement, the Committees’ oversight found that ActBlue implemented these changes only after ensuring that they would not negatively impact Democrat donations.”

Subsequent inquiries into whether ActBlue and related entities were meaningfully deterring foreign actors “have shed some light on the nature of their operations, but many questions remain.”

The committees released a report last month, claiming “ActBlue executives and staff are aware that both foreign and domestic fraudulent actors are exploiting the platform but do not take the threat seriously.”

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

Fox News Digital reached out to ActBlue with a request for comment.

The platform previously dismissed Steil’s accusations as “inaccuracies and misrepresentations.”

“We rigorously protect donors’ security and maintain strict anti-fraud compliance practices. We have zero tolerance for fraud on our platform,” an ActBlue spokesperson said late last year.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but declined to comment further.

President Donald Trump – whose second-term agenda has been bogged down by judicial roadblocks – announced several judicial picks in Truth Social posts on Tuesday, and complained in a post on Wednesday that the judiciary is preventing him from executing the job Americans elected him to do.

“Our Court System is not letting me do the job I was Elected to do. Activist judges must let the Trump Administration deport murderers, and other criminals who have come into our Country illegally, WITHOUT DELAY!!!” he declared in a Wednesday post.

Trump announced Missouri Principal Deputy Solicitor General Maria Lanahan as a nominee to sit as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, calling her “a true patriot” in a Tuesday post.

He also picked Judge Cristian Stevens to serve on the same court, calling Stevens, who currently serves on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, “a Great Patriot,” in another post.

TRUMP FIELDS QUESTION ABOUT HIS TIMELINE FOR JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS: ‘WE’RE PUTTING ‘EM IN RAPIDLY’

The president also selected Zachary Bluestone to sit on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, referring to him as “a True Legal Warrior” in a Tuesday post.  

A Tuesday White House press release notes that “Zachary Bluestone is appellate chief and a violent crimes prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.” 

Trump is tapping Show-Me State Solicitor General Joshua Divine for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri as well as the Western District of Missouri.

TILLIS PUTS ONUS ON TRUMP TO AVOID BOASBERG PICKING US ATTORNEY AFTER MARTIN’S NOMINATION APPEARS SUNK

“I am proud to nominate Edward Aloysius O’Connell to serve as Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Eddie will help fix Violent Crime in the City by restoring the RULE OF LAW to Washington, D.C.,” Trump declared in a post on Tuesday.

According to the White House release, “Edward Aloysius O’Connell is Chief of Staff and Deputy General Counsel of the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.”

The president’s judicial picks will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS RETURN OF DEPORTED MIGRANT TO US, REJECTING TRUMP REQUEST

Last week, Trump announced his pick of Whitney Hermandorfer to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, calling her “a Fighter who will inspire confidence in our Legal System.” She is the Strategic Litigation Unit director with the office of the Tennessee state attorney general.

Fox News’ Luke Trevisan contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers are re-introducing legislation to make sure parents seeking to only raise a child of their biological sex do not face extra roadblocks in the adoption and fostering process.

The “SAFE Home Act” would prevent agencies that receive federal funding from rejecting those parents or placing additional hurdles or oversight on them.

The legislation introduced by Sens. Jim Banks of Indiana and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, as well as House Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, would ensure that adoptive parents would not be obligated to do any “medical, surgical, or psychological treatments” that would try to make changes to a child’s gender identity.

CENSURED MAINE REP. LIBBY RIPS GOVERNOR AFTER TRANSGENDER ATHLETE REPORTEDLY WINS TRACK EVENTS

“Kids deserve safe, loving homes and parents shouldn’t be blocked from adopting or fostering just because they oppose irreversible sex-change procedures on children. This bill makes sure families aren’t punished for using common sense,” Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Sen. Cotton said the legislation helps tackle “radical gender policies.” Part of the bill’s inspiration comes from a Biden-era Department of Health and Human Services rule that makes sure children are put into homes that affirm their sexual orientation or gender identity in 2023. When that rule came out, Banks first introduced the legislation when he was in the House of Representatives, but it did not move forward.

AMBASSADOR OF RILEY GAINES CENTER DISCUSSES ‘VIOLENT’ PROTESTS DURING FAIRNESS IN WOMEN’S SPORTS RALLY

President Donald Trump has taken multiple executive actions related to transgender policies, including seeking to limit “medical interventions” for people under 19 years old and ensuring federally funded institutions only allow biological women in women’s sports programs. The actions have faced legal opposition, including a transgender military ban that the Supreme Court ruled could go for now on as lawsuits are ongoing.

“We must defend the rights of parents to raise their children in a way that reflects reality and safeguards their future. The SAFE Home Act ensures that parents are not excluded from adopting simply for having common sense and standing against dangerous gender ideologies that threaten the well-being of children,” Miller stated.

USA FENCING PREPARES TO CHANGE TRANSGENDER POLICY AMID FEDERAL PROBE, BACKLASH AFTER ATHLETE’S KNEEL PROTEST

As of fiscal year 2022, there were over 368,000 children in the foster care system, and nearly 109,000 children were “waiting to be adopted” nationwide, according to the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System report from 2023.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to immediately resettle some 12,000 refugees into the U.S. under a court order that partially blocks President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at halting the refugee admissions program. 

U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, a 2023 appointee of former President Joe Biden, issued the order despite the Trump administration saying during a hearing last week that it should only have to process 160 refugees into the country and would likely appeal any order requiring thousands to be admitted.

“This Court will not entertain the Government’s result-oriented rewriting of a judicial order that clearly says what it says,” Whitehead wrote Monday. “The Government is free, of course, to seek further clarification from the Ninth Circuit. But the Government is not free to disobey statutory and constitutional law — and the direct orders of this Court and the Ninth Circuit — while it seeks such clarification.” 

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office suspending refugee resettlement and ordering the Department of Homeland Security to report back in 90 days on whether resuming resettlement would be in the interests of the U.S.

DHS UNLEASHES POSSIBLE MONEY-SAVING MEASURE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS TO SELF-DEPORT: ‘SAFEST OPTION’

In February, Whitehead blocked the Trump administration’s move to suspend refugee admissions into the United States in response to a lawsuit from refugee aid groups.

Whitehead said at the time that Trump’s actions were an “effective nullification of congressional will” in setting up the nation’s refugee admissions program.

NOEM CALLS FOR DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING MARITIME HUMAN SMUGGLING ATTEMPT THAT LEFT CHILD DEAD

Whitehead ordered the Trump administration within the next seven days to resume processing the cases of refugees who are protected by the court order. 

The federal judge also told the government to immediately take steps to facilitate admission to the U.S. for those refugees whose clearances, including medical and security authorizations, have not yet lapsed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Republican leaders in the House are increasingly concerned about China’s presence in Cuba and its capacity to spy on the U.S. from the island.

A new report analyzing open-source intelligence found the addition of what appears to be a circularly disposed antenna array (CDAA) at the Bejucal signals intelligence site near Havana, Cuba. The antenna could pinpoint radio signals from between 3,000 and 8,000 miles away, putting key U.S. military installations and even Washington, D.C., well within range. 

“The CCP’s poisonous alliance with Cuba has posed significant threats to U.S. national security for decades,” House Intel Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. 

“Their alleged involvement in signals intelligence hubs in Cuba is outward, unconcealed adversarial behavior against the U.S. The CCP’s actions are becoming increasingly more bold and thereby detrimental to Western Hemisphere security.” 

CHINA AND EGYPT WRAP FIRST JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE AS BEIJING LOOKS TO COZY UP TO AMERICAN ALLIES

The chairman called on the U.S. and its partners to work to thwart CCP influence in the Western Hemisphere. 

The report’s authors at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said work on the CDAA is ongoing, but satellite imagery shows it is “already easily identifiable as a CDAA by its circular shape.”

A group of House leaders requested a briefing from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the matter on Tuesday. 

“The PRC is positioning itself to systematically erode U.S. strategic advantages without ever firing a shot,” read a letter penned by Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., China Committee Chair John Moolenaar, R-Mich., Transportation and Maritime Security subcommittee Chair Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., and Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-S.C. 

“The geographic proximity of suspected PRC-linked facilities in Cuba to sensitive U.S. installations, including Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Kennedy Space Center, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, may enable the PRC to monitor American detection and response capabilities, map electronic profiles of U.S. assets, and prepare the electromagnetic environment for potential future exploitation,” the lawmakers wrote. 

CHINA DENIES NEW REPORT LINKING CCP TO FOUR SITES IN CUBA ALLEGEDLY USED TO SPY ON THE US

Cuba has a history of allowing U.S. adversaries to use its soil to snoop on U.S. communications. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union operated a surveillance facility at the Lourdes Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Complex near Havana. That site monitored U.S. satellites and intercepted sensitive military and commercial telecommunications. After Russia, China moved in – pouring $8 billion into infrastructure projects on the island, including telecoms networks built by Huawei and Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation, which are sanctioned by the U.S. due to surveillance concerns. 

“If left unchecked, the PRC’s activities in Cuba could establish a forward operating base for electronic warfare, enable intelligence collection, and influence operations that directly undermine U.S. national security interests,” the lawmakers added. 

Cuba offers Beijing a platform to “monitor U.S. military movements, disrupt critical communications in the event of a crisis, and shape political dynamics throughout the region to its advantage.”

China has denied having any ties to surveillance infrastructure in Cuba, and nothing in the unclassified space shows indisputable links to China. But U.S. officials have long warned about China’s access to spying facilities on the island. 

An earlier report from CSIS identified four SIGINT sites as “highly likely” to be supporting CCP surveillance operations on the U.S. 

“These sites have undergone observable upgrades in recent years, even as Cuba has faced increasingly dire economic prospects that have drawn it closer to China,” that report’s authors said. 

Vice President JD Vance previewed the next round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on Wednesday, saying President Donald Trump would be “open” to sitting down with Chinese and Russian officials in the future to prevent proliferation.  

U.S. and Iranian officials are scheduled for a fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman in the coming days. Trump will visit the Middle Eastern countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week. 

At the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, former German ambassador to the U.S., Wolfgang Ischinger, asked Vance if the administration would “go for zero enrichment” by Tehran and noted the unresolved “Gaza issue.” 

TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’

Vance cited “two big issues” with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name of the Iran nuclear deal secured in 2015 during the Obama administration. 

Trump has said the flawed deal did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb. The vice president on Wednesday added that former President Barack Obama’s agreement had “incredibly weak” enforcement regarding inspections, and he, therefore, didn’t believe “it actually served the function of preventing the Iranians from getting on the pathway to nuclear weapons.” 

Secondly, Vance said the Trump administration believes there were some elements of the Iranian nuclear program that were actually “preserved” under the JCPOA.

“Yes, there weren’t nuclear weapons. Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon,” Vance said, arguing the deal “allowed Iran to sort of stay on this glide path towards a nuclear weapon if they flip the switch and press go.” 

“We think that there is a deal here that would reintegrate Iran into the global economy,” Vance said ahead of the talks. “That would be really good for the Iranian people, but would result in the complete cessation of any chance that they can get a nuclear weapon. And that’s what we’re negotiating towards. And as the president has said, that’s Option A.” 

If Option A is “very good for the Iranian people,” Vance offered that Option B “is very bad.” 

“It’s very bad for everybody. And it’s not what we want, but it’s better than Option C, which is Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That is what is completely off the table for the American administration. No ifs, ands or buts,” Vance said. 

ISRAEL SAYS TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST VISIT IS THE ‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR HOSTAGE DEAL 

Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday that he would only accept “total dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program. 

The vice president on Wednesday said the Trump administration’s broader objective is to prevent nuclear proliferation, noting that he believes the president would be “open” to sitting down with China and Russia down the road. 

“If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, which country then next gets a nuclear weapon, and then when that country gets a nuclear weapon, which country after that? We really care not just about Iran, but about nuclear proliferation,” Vance said. “The president hates nuclear proliferation. I hate nuclear proliferation. And I think that the president would be very open to sitting down with the Russians and the Chinese and saying, ‘look, let’s get this thing in a much better place. Let’s reduce the number of nuclear weapons that are in the world writ large.’ That’s obviously not a conversation for tomorrow. That’s a conversation, God willing, for a few years from now.” 

“But there is no way you get to that conversation if you allow multiple regimes all over the world to enter this sprint for a nuclear weapon,” Vance added. “And we really think that if the Iran domino falls, you’re going to see nuclear proliferation all over the Middle East. That’s very bad for us. It’s very bad for our friends. And it’s something that we don’t think can happen.” 

As for negotiations with Iran, Vance gave a grade of “so far, so good,” thanking intermediaries, including the Omanis, for ensuring that the talks are “on the right pathway.” 

“But this is going to end somewhere, and it will end either in Iran eliminating their nuclear program — their nuclear weapons program,” Vance said. “They can have civil nuclear power. Okay. We don’t mind that. But let me ask this basic question – which regime in the world has civil nuclear power and enrichment without having a nuclear weapon? And the answer is no one.” 

“So our proposition is very simple. Yes, we don’t care if people want nuclear power. We’re fine with that. But you can’t have the kind of enrichment program that allows you to get to a nuclear weapon. And that’s where we draw the line.” 

Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. military, which has been bombing Iran-backed Houthis since March 15 to defend freedom of navigation, would stop its strikes on the Yemen-based terror group, which communicated it does “not want to fight” anymore. The Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile launched from Yemen that struck near the main terminal of an Israeli airport last weekend hours before the Israeli Cabinet voted to expand fighting in Gaza. 

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From the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump also teased a “very, very big announcement” happened before his Middle East trip, but declined to clarify the subject, besides saying it “wasn’t necessarily about trade.” 

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman reacted Tuesday to what he called a “dumb hit piece” in New York Magazine that cited former staffers who questioned his hardiness for the job amid recent health issues.

Fetterman, who suffered a somewhat debilitating stroke during his 2022 campaign, told Fox News Digital that being attacked in the story that broke late last week was like being “in ‘Goodfellas.’”

“Everyone takes a beating sometimes. It was just a dumb hit piece, and we’ve all moved on,” Fetterman said.

He also claimed former staffer Adam Jentleson, who was quoted by the magazine, must hold a “bizarre grudge” that he would speak so critically of him, as many staffers who have spoken out have expressed irritation at his shift from being a progressive favorite.

JOHN FETTERMAN FACES NEW SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTH, FAMILY DRAMA, SPARKING ONLINE UPROAR

The story said Jentleson, previously a top aide to Sen. Harry M. Reid, D-Nev., wrote to doctors at Walter Reed that Fetterman “frequently exhibits the kind of alarming behavior you told us to look out for when he was discharged and… appears to be off his recovery plan.”

“But that’s where we are, and we all moved on,” Fetterman said Tuesday before stepping into an elevator in a Senate Office Building.

The exposé about Fetterman’s time on Capitol Hill set social media ablaze on Friday. 

FETTERMAN SPOKESWOMAN REAMED FOR REPORTEDLY CONTRADICTING BOSS ON ISRAEL: ‘UNPARALLELED HUBRIS’

The report also raised questions about alleged tensions with his wife, Gisele, over his health regimen, his stance on Israel and her reported run-ins with his staff.

In the article, “All By Himself: John Fetterman insists he is in good health, but staffers past and present say they no longer recognize the man they once knew,” the magazine laid out recollections from current and former staff members like Jentleson, who worked for the Pennsylvania Democrat.

The article relayed several reported instances, including a February 2023 situation at a Democratic caucus retreat at the Library of Congress.

A staffer told the outlet that he received a message questioning how Fetterman was doing, as he was found sitting at a table alone, silently drinking a soda.

The report went on to claim the lawmaker was “nearly struck by a car” and found “wandering” Capitol Hill.

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Physicians at George Washington University Hospital later determined he was severely dehydrated and had not had a second stroke as feared, the report claimed.

A reported ensuing discussion with then-Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, found Fetterman to be nearly “catatonic” when Brown tried to talk with him. Soon after, on Feb. 15, he was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center.

After being discharged, Fetterman “threw himself into” his Senate work and became more vociferous than ever on issues like the Israel-Gaza conflict and other topics that have rankled his Democratic colleagues, according to sources quoted in the article.

Fox News Digital reached out to New York Magazine but did not immediately hear back.

Jentleson declined to comment, but he has been critical of the progressive left as well as of late.

He recently told The Bulwark that some people have been trying to “justify” their “bad choices” when it comes to rhetoric on the Israel-Gaza situation.