32 Posts
The State Department ordered all US embassies and consulates to screen the social media activity of certain student visa applicants for evidence they support terrorist organizations, two sources familiar with a memo from the department told CNN.
The expansive directive, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, tasks “Fraud Prevention Units” at the Department with taking screenshots of any social media activity that is relevant to the ineligibility of a visa applicant, and to preserve those records in case the applicant deletes the information, the sources said.
Decisions on visas are national security decisions, the memo says while citing executive orders from President Donald Trump to combat terrorism and antisemitism.
CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment. Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein first reported on the cable.
Rubio’s directive comes amid fierce criticism from immigration and human rights advocates over the Trump administration’s detention of some visa holders who have not been charged with a crime.
GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz faced shouts and boos from a frustrated crowd at her town hall Friday in Westfield, Indiana.
One of the biggest confrontations came over the recent Signal chat debacle, which saw top Trump administration officials accidentally include a journalist in a discussion about highly sensitive Yemen attack plans.
A woman who identified herself as Stephanie asked whether Spartz will demand the immediate resignations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and everyone else in the group chat. Many in the crowd cheered when the woman asked the question.
Spartz replied, “No, I will not demand their resignations.” The crowd erupted in anger.
Spartz ultimately did concede that, “It’s not a good situation. So, hopefully we’ll take some look at that.” But she went on to argue that government officials “don’t have any other tools” except Signal to discuss sensitive information.
The big picture: It’s a scene that’s played out at an increasing number of town halls held by Republican lawmakers across the country: Angry constituents confronting them about President Donald Trump’s actions during his first 100 days in office, especially his vast overhaul of government and slashes to the federal workforce.
It hasn’t only impacted GOP politicians: Democrats have also faced riled-up crowds over what voters say is a lack of sufficient resistance to Trump’s actions.
President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson on Friday, just hours before he was set to surrender to prison, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
Watson was convicted last summer for defrauding investors and lying about his company’s finances. He’s a former cable news anchor and investment banker who was accused of being dishonest to investors about the now-defunct startup’s finances and sham deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey.
In December, Watson was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison.
As CNN reported at the time, Ozy imploded in 2021 after news reports questioned its audience numbers and revealed that a top executive had impersonated a YouTube executive during a call with Goldman Sachs bankers in which he claimed the streaming site agreed to pay for exclusive rights to an Ozy show.
The White House declined to comment.
Federal judges on Friday delivered a series of rulings that could challenge President Donald Trump’s agenda, with the news coming in quick succession.
Here’s what you should know:
- Voice of America: US District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken sided with silenced journalists at VOA, issuing a temporary restraining order meant to block any further efforts to terminate the outlet. It’s the latest setback for Trump’s push to shut down US government-funded international broadcasters.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Judge Amy Berman Jackson temporarily blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the CFPB in one of the most significant rulings yet against its efforts to dramatically shrink the federal government. The new preliminary injunction “maintains the agency’s existence until this case has been resolved on the merits,” Jackson wrote, saying the administration had taken action in “complete disregard” of Congress’ decision to create the financial watchdog agency in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis.
- Deporting migrants: US District Court Judge Brian Murphy temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting migrants to countries other than their home country without providing prior notice and an opportunity to seek protection from persecution or torture, according to a Friday filing. In an effort to ramp up deportations, the Trump administration has leaned on regional partners to accept third-country migrants.
- Targeting law firms: Judge John Bates froze parts of Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm Jenner & Block, one of two firms linked to the Robert Mueller investigation Trump has sought to punish.
Meanwhile, a win for the administration:
- US Agency for International Development: Separately, a federal appeals court has greenlit, for now, the dismantling of the foreign aid agency, which fights poverty and hunger around the world and has been accused of wasteful spending by Trump officials. The fate of the agency likely won’t be determined until there are several more court proceedings and potentially the Supreme Court’s intervention.
This post was updated with the latest details on the VOA restraining order.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Friday to support newly signed legislation to ban certain synthetic dyes in food.
The ban is part of a new “Four Pillars of a Healthy West Virginia” plan that Morrisey detailed at a news conference Friday, where he also announced his intent to request that the federal government make soda ineligible for purchase with food stamps.
Kennedy expressed support for the proposed restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides food benefits to low-income families.
“The message that I want to give to the country today and to all the other governors is: Get in line behind Gov. Morrisey,” Kennedy said Friday. “Apply for a waiver to my agency, and we’re going to give it to you.”
Friday’s announcements at a school in West Virginia took place behind a lectern with a sign that said, “MAHA Starts Here,” referring to “Make America Healthy Again,” a spin on President Donald Trump’s slogan adopted by RFK Jr. and his supporters.
The state was the first to institute a sweeping ban on synthetic food dyes, which have been tied to issues with learning and behavior in some children and of which Kennedy has been an outspoken critic. Lawmakers in more than 20 other states are also pushing to restrict access.
President Donald Trump expressed some openness to cutting tariff deals with other countries as he plans to unveil new taxes on imports in the coming days, but he suggested any deals would be made after the tariffs go into place on April 2.
“It’s possible if we can get something for the deal — but, you know, we’ve been taken advantage of for 40 years, maybe more. It’s just not going to happen anymore. But yeah, I’m certainly open to it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to Florida, when asked if he was open to making deals with countries like the United Kingdom that have discussed reducing tariffs on the US.
Pressed on whether that would happen before the tariffs are announced, he said, “No. Probably later.”
Trump also reiterated plans to announce pharmaceutical tariffs.
The president declined to provide a specific rate for those tariffs, but said it would be “enough to get the drugs and the pharmaceutical companies bringing their product into our country — we never want to have to rely on other countries, like we did during Covid.”
He downplayed a shift in tone regarding Canada following his Friday morning call with Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying, “I’ve always loved Canada and we had a very good conversation.”
A federal judge is temporarily blocking the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The new preliminary injunction “maintains the agency’s existence until this case has been resolved on the merits,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in her 112-page ruling Friday, by “reinstating and preserving the agency’s contracts, work force, data, and operational capacity, and protecting and facilitating the employees’ ability to perform statutorily required activities.”
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed reporting.
At the invitation of Director John Ratcliffe, Elon Musk will visit the CIA for the first time on Monday, according to a person familiar with the plans and a US official.
This comes after Ratcliffe told the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that the impact of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is “zero” on the CIA.
Representatives from the organization have not been to either the CIA or the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Ratcliffe and the nation’s spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, said.
“The president understands the essential national security mission that we have and we are going through our own internal systems to be sure we are achieving the effects in an efficient way that is responsible to the American taxpayer,” Gabbard said Wednesday.
Musk, who is helping spearhead President Donald Trump’s effort to vastly shrink and reshape the federal government through DOGE, notably visited the Pentagon last week.
This post has been updated with additional details about Musk and the CIA.
A federal appeals court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump to remove — for now — the chair of a critical “merit board” that reviews federal firings, as well as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, potentially hobbling both agencies by depriving them of a working quorum.
The emergency order issued by the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals removes Merit Systems Protection Board chairwoman Cathy Harris and NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox from their posts while their legal cases move forward.
They previously argued that Trump can’t summarily fire them because federal law specifies the president can only dismiss them for cause.
Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark of not doing an adequate job keeping Greenland safe, arguing the territory would be better off under the United States’ “security umbrella.”
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass filled with incredible people. That has to change,” Vance said at a news conference at the US military’s Pituffik Space Base.
“What Denmark’s security umbrella has meant is, effectively, they’ve passed it all off to brave Americans and hope that we would pick up the tab. We’re simply saying to the people of Greenland, when the president says, ‘We’ve got to have Greenland,’ he’s saying, ‘This island is not safe,’” Vance said.
“What is the alternative? To give up the North Atlantic, to give up the Arctic to China, to Russia and other regimes that don’t have the best interest of the American people at heart? We have no other option. We need to take a significant position in Greenland to keep the people here safe, to keep our own country safe, too,” the vice president added.
Some context: Greenlandic and Danish officials have rejected the US administration’s narrative about the safety of the semiautonomous territory, and a newspaper poll in January found that 85% of Greenlanders did not want to become part of the US, Reuters reported.
Vice President JD Vance said Friday that he does not foresee military force being needed in Greenland while visiting the semiautonomous Danish territory with other Trump administration officials.
“We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary,” Vance told reporters in remarks from a US base in Greenland. “We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we’re going to be able to cut a deal Donald Trump-style to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America.”
Earlier, the vice president reiterated the US’ interest in Greenland, saying that it is needed for “the safety of the American people.”
“What the president has said is that we need to have more of a position in Greenland. We need it, again, for the safety of the American people. And what we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose, through self-determination to become independent of Denmark, and then we’re going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there,” Vance said.
Vice President JD Vance said Friday that he and President Donald Trump are “standing behind” their national security team in the wake of the Signal chat scandal, adding that national security adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility and an update on the internal investigation should be coming “soon.”
“I think we’ll get an update soon. Look, we take it very seriously. We all accept that a journalist should not have been invited into the chat, and members of the administration, including my dear friend Mike, have taken responsibility for it,” Vance said at a news conference in Greenland, accusing the media of having an “obsession” with covering it.
“If you think you’re going to force the president of the United states to fire anybody, you’ve got another thing coming. President Trump has said on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, and I’m the vice president saying it here on Friday, we are standing behind our entire national security team,” he added.
The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief has said that Waltz, who stood next to Vance on the Greenland trip Friday, added him to the group chat among top national security officials about a strike on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
During that chat, Vance said he believed the strikes on the Houthis were a “mistake,” adding that he wasn’t sure if Trump was “aware how inconsistent” it would be with “his message on Europe right now.”
“Sometimes we all agree and sometimes we all disagree, but it’s important that we all have an honest conversation amongst ourselves,” Vance said Friday.
“I support the president’s decision to strike the Houthis. I always supported the president’s decision to strike the Houthis, and I support the national security team having the argument about how best to serve the American people,” he added.
This post has been updated with Vance’s remarks on the Signal chat probe.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told US President Donald Trump that Canada plans to implement retaliatory tariffs on US goods next week in response to the White House’s expected taxes on imports, as well as a new tariff on automobiles and parts announced on Wednesday.
“The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a news release Friday.
“The leaders agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election,” the statement said, referring to Canada’s federal election scheduled for April 28.
In the interim, trade talks are expected to “intensify to address immediate concerns,” it added.
Friday’s call was the first between the two leaders.
Carney’s office described it as a “very constructive conversation” and Trump said in a social media post that the call was “extremely productive.”
Carney warned yesterday that Canada’s relationship with the US had fundamentally changed given the Trump administrations’ tariff threats, and said Canada has “a number of measures that we can take in response.”
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House Friday the US has “to have Greenland” for the sake of global security.
“We need Greenland,” the president said. “Very importantly, for international security, we have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of, you think we can do without it. We can’t.”
Trump argued control over Greenland is a matter of peace “for the entire world,” not just the United States.
“Look at it, you have warships all over the place going through right along Greenland. We’re not going to let that happen,” Trump added.
The president said he believes Denmark and the European Union understand his view of the territory’s importance, adding a warning: “And if they don’t, we’re going to have to explain it to them.”
Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance are leading a US delegation on a visit to the semiautonomous Danish territory Friday, making Vance the first vice president to visit Greenland.
“They will represent us well,” Trump said.
Remember: Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly signaled they are opposed to annexation, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has urged Trump to respect “the fundamental rules of sovereignty.”
A newspaper poll in January found that 85% of Greenlanders did not want to become part of the US, with nearly half saying Trump’s interest was a threat, Reuters reported.
CNN’s Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump says he pardoned Trevor Milton, the CEO of now-defunct hydrogen and electric truck firm Nikola, in part because he believed Milton was persecuted for supporting Trump’s political ambitions.
In October 2022, a New York jury convicted Milton on federal charges of securities fraud and wire fraud.
Prosecutors in the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York had accused Milton of making false and misleading statements about “nearly all aspects of the business” as it pertained to developing electric and hydrogen-powered trucks, as well as defrauding the public through social media and podcast interviews.
He was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison. He had been free on bail as he appealed the conviction.
On Thursday evening, Milton posted on X that he’d received a phone call from Trump, who informed him he’d been granted a “full and unconditional pardon.”
“This pardon is not just about me—it’s about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of people,” Milton wrote.
In his remarks Friday, Trump suggested Milton’s case was unfairly moved to New York from Utah. And he alleged — without evidence — that he was targeted for being a Trump supporter.
President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Skadden Arps on Friday, calling it a “settlement” and saying the firm would provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work during the administration.
“This was essentially a settlement,” Trump said from the Oval office.
“Skadden will provide a total of at least 100 million dollars in pro bono legal services during the Trump administration and beyond,” the president said.
The law firm will also fund a fellowship program, commit to merit-based hiring promotion and retention, and agreed not to deny representation based on political beliefs, Trump added.
CNN is reaching out to Skadden Arps.
More context: Trump has issued executive orders limiting law firms’ ability to work with the federal government and revoking security clearances for lawyers at the firms. The White House has made clear these firms are being punished because of their partners’ or clients’ political work and ties to criminal investigations that probed Trump.
This latest announcement comes a week after Trump rescinded an order targeting the law firm Paul Weiss after it reached a similar agreement with the president.
President Donald Trump said he held a “very good conversation” with his new Canadian counterpart Mark Carney earlier Friday.
The phone call, which came 14 days after Carney was sworn in as prime minister, comes amid a darkening of relations between Washington and Ottawa over Trump’s threat of tariffs and his desire to annex Canada.
Trump revealed little contention, however, describing his call with Carney as a “very, very good talk.”
Earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social he would meet Carney after Canada’s April 28 general election.
“He’s going through an election now, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.
“We’re going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada and a lot of the other countries,” he said.
“We had a very good talk, the prime minister and myself, and I think things are going to work out very well between Canada and the United States,” he went on.
The State Department on Friday formally notified Congress it is effectively dissolving the US Agency for International Development and moving some of its functions under the department.
The reorganization will be done by July 1, the State Department said, sounding a death knell for USAID, a multibillion-dollar agency that fought poverty and hunger around the world.
The Trump administration has accused USAID of mismanaging taxpayer dollars and funding overseas programs that aren’t in US interests. Current and former USAID employees and aid experts argue the agency, while imperfect, meets vital humanitarian needs and bolsters America’s soft power.
We have updates today on two closely watched immigration cases for university students detained by Trump administration immigration officials.
As a reminder, several foreign nationals affiliated with prestigious American universities have been arrested for alleged activities related to terrorist organizations, as President Donald Trump moves ahead with his immigration crackdown. The arrests have sparked outrage from campus protesters and rights groups who say the students are being targeted over their speech.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and Tufts University PhD student, has an initial hearing on removal proceedings set for April 7 in Louisiana, according to an amended petition filed Friday. Her attorneys have asked a federal court in Massachusetts to take jurisdiction over her case and release her on bail in the meantime.
The new court filing says that after Ozturk’s arrest by plainclothes officers in Boston on Tuesday, she was not given access to her medications or legal counsel as she was moved to a facility in southern Louisiana, where she’s currently being held.
The Turkish embassy has been trying to engage with ICE and the US State Department about Ozturk’s case.
Mahmoud Khalil, an Algerian citizen and Columbia University graduate student who played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian protests, was in court Friday. A federal district court judge declined to immediately decide whether Khalil’s case should be heard in New Jersey.
Trump administration lawyers argue the case should be transferred to Louisiana, where Khalil is being held in an immigration detention facility, but his lawyers say that would cause undue hardship for his attorneys and family.
About 100 demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse during Khalil’s hearing to protest the Trump administration’s actions.
Democrat Josh Weil, who is facing state Sen. Randy Fine in the race for Florida’s 6th Congressional District, said he “absolutely” believes that Republicans are now taking his campaign seriously.
“We saw it in the rescinding the appointment for Elise Stefanik today. If you were scared that Randy Fine might lose this race, you’d call up Representative Stefanik and you say, ‘Hey we might have to have a talk on Wednesday.’ But when you know that you’re losing this race, you pull the trigger on Thursday before the election,” Weil told CNN’s Laura Coates on Thursday evening.
The White House earlier Thursday pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be US ambassador to the United Nations amid concerns over slim margins in the House.
CNN has reported that Republicans are bracing for a closer-than-expected result Tuesday in Florida’s deep-red 6th Congressional District. Top Republicans grew so concerned about the lackluster performance of Fine that President Donald Trump’s team and members of House GOP leadership decided to personally intervene.
Asked if he has what voters think it will take to win the special election, Weil said, “Absolutely, and I’m not running against Donald Trump or Mike Waltz. I’m running against Randy Fine.”
“13 years working in Title I schools. You know, in our public schools, we serve every child, every family, every day. And that’s what people expect from their representative,” Weil, a teacher, said.
The 6th District seat became vacant after the president tapped former Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser.
