U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that suspects in the leak of sensitive military information will face potential charges from the Department of Justice, the New York Post reported.
Struggles within the Pentagon intensified after several aides were fired amid unauthorized revelations of classified documents and discussions.
Hegseth, speaking on Fox News, has been vocal in condemning those responsible for leaking critical military strategies and personnel changes. The ongoing investigation aims to unmask those who disseminated details about U.S. operational plans for the Panama Canal and a confidential briefing with tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The inquiry follows a shake-up within the Department of Defense, where notable figures like Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, Colin Carroll, and John Ullyot all lost their positions. Hegseth has placed the blame squarely on these individuals for contributing to the current unrest by leaking information.
In particular, John Ullyot faced scrutiny for his prior involvement in pulling down an official tribute page to legendary athlete Jackie Robinson. This action reportedly stirred controversy in Politico, adding to the challenging circumstances under Hegseth's leadership.
The leaking scandal deepened when former files indicated Hegseth's possible involvement in sharing classified information. Screenshots reportedly showed him discussing airstrike details against Houthi militants, transmitted through the messaging app Signal.
Despite suggestions of misconduct, Hegseth has actively rejected claims that war plans were discussed via text messages. Meanwhile, past national security officials have noted that these airstrike missions, as sensitive undertakings, were typically classified.
The integrity breach intensified as accidental disclosures reached Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, forwarded inadvertently by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. This mishandling emphasized concerns regarding secure communication within defense circles.
Allegations of carelessly forwarding classified flight schedules to family members surfaced as part of the scandal's narrative. Hegseth has consistently maintained his stance that the truth will surface in the investigation's findings, emphasizing that "no one’s texting war plans."
As the inquiry progresses, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has kept the administration's support for Hegseth steadfast, countering rumors of considering replacements. President Trump’s backing remains unequivocal amid the unfolding situation.
Meanwhile, departing spokesperson John Ullyot described the working environment under Hegseth as extremely challenging, referring to the ordeal as a complicated "month from hell." His forewarning of imminent, revelatory stories adds to the anticipation and uncertainty surrounding the defense department.
Hegseth has made it clear that, once substantial evidence from the probe is gathered, those implicated will face prosecutorial measures from the DOJ if necessary. He acknowledges the swift pace at which these developments have unfolded.
He stressed that "those folks leaking have been pushed out," pointing to the action against former aides to safeguard the department's continuing objectives. Hegseth's remarks have indicated his expectation for accountability to emerge from the ongoing investigation.
In this turbulent backdrop, opinions among current and former officials vary. Released staffer Dan Caldwell has emphatically rejected claims, insinuating they would have led to his arrest if factual.
President Trump is restarting student loan collections for those in default, reversing a COVID-era policy that Trump himself enacted and which was later embraced by President Biden.
The federal government will start collecting on defaulted loans on May 5, ending a five-year pause that started during the pandemic.
After a 30-day warning, the government will start garnishing wages.
“Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment — both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.
The Trump administration's reversal will immediately impact the 5 million borrowers in default - but the number is expected to rise to nearly 10 million since only 40% of borrowers are up to date on their payments.
Trump initially paused student loan payments during his first term, at the start of the COVID pandemic, but Biden extended the policy and went further by eliminating debts altogether.
Biden's campaign pledge of sweeping debt forgiveness ran into roadblocks in court, forcing his administration to devise legal workarounds. The initiative was widely condemned by Republicans as a form of political patronage that would be paid for by taxpayers, but Biden proudly touted his efforts to sidestep the law.
“The Supreme Court blocked it,” Biden said. “But that didn’t stop me.”
By the time he left office, Biden had forgiven $175 billion in student loans. His initial, more ambitious program to forgive $20,000 per borrower was blocked by the Supreme Court.
The student loan moratorium technically ended in 2023, but Biden gave borrowers a one-year grace period that lasted through the 2024 election cycle.
While Trump's critics accuse him of being cruel, Education Secretary Linda McMahon says the status quo was unfair to taxpayers - and it did no favors for borrowers who were given false hopes of forgiveness.
“President Biden never had the authority to forgive student loans across the board, as the Supreme Court held in 2023,” McMahon wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
“But for political gain, he dangled the carrot of loan forgiveness in front of young voters, among other things by keeping in place a temporary Covid-era deferment program.”
The reversal is also necessary to put America's fiscal house in order, the administration says. The Education Department noted that nearly one quarter of all loans could soon be in default after years of leniency.
Michelle Obama made an appearance with her husband Barack at an Italian restaurant.
The outing comes after months of speculation that the couple was headed for divorce, as Michelle failed to show up at major events.
The former president and his wife were filmed waving to an adoring crowd of diners at Osteria Mozza, where main courses range in price from $34 to $175.
The restaurant is in Washington D.C.'s fashionable Georgetown neighborhood, just a short distance from Obama's mansion in Kalorama.
Barack Obama was previously spotted dining there by himself in January, fueling rumors of a marital rift. His dinner date with Michelle is the first time they have been seen together in months.
The speculation started brewing after Michelle Obama failed to appear at two major state events in January: Jimmy Carter's funeral and President Trump's second inauguration.
Barack Obama appeared to respond to public speculation by sharing a gushing birthday tribute to his wife just days before Trump was sworn in. The post included a photo of the Obamas holding hands awkwardly across a dining table.
Barack Obama also acknowledged recently on a podcast that their marriage needed some work after years spent in public life.
His wife broke her silence on a recent podcast appearance with actress Sophia Bush, in which Michelle Obama, an outspoken feminist, complained about society's assumptions.
"That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people," she said.
"So much so that this year people were, you know, they couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing," she added.
"That this couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?"
Even as she denied rumors of marital trouble, the Former First Lady made clear that she is enjoying new freedom.
“Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, ‘Who do I truly want to be every day?’ And that changes,” she said. “So, who do I want to have a lunch with? How long do I want to stay in a place? Do I want to travel? If a girlfriend calls and says, ‘Let’s go here,’ I can say ‘Yes! I can.’ And I’m trying to do that more and more.”
J.D. Vance's tour of India was rocked by a deadly terrorist attack that killed 26 people in Kashmir.
The vice president was in northwestern India when extremists ambushed a scenic resort town that is popular with Indian tourists, Pahalgam. The attack is one of the worst in years to hit Kashmir, a disputed region nestled in the Himalayas that is renowned for its natural beauty.
"Usha and I extend our condolences to the victims of the devastating terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India," Vance wrote on X.
"Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack."
Indian police said that armed men dressed in military garb emerged from the forests surrounding the Baisaran meadow and began shooting.
The scenic area can only be reached from Pahalgam by foot or horseback, the Indian Express reported.
“I was on a pony, about to enter Baisaran, when there were gunshots. People started to run for their lives,” an officer quoted a survivor as saying. “As I tried to escape, a bullet hit me in the elbow. I don’t know where it came from.”
Most of the people killed were Indian tourists, making it the worst attack on Indian civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
President Trump condemned the "deeply disturbing" massacre and said the United States "stands strong with India against terrorism."
Since 1989, insurgents have been fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, which is predominantly Muslim. The separatists want Kashmir to either become independent or merge with Pakistan, which has a Muslim population.
Under India's nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has asserted greater control over Kashmir while promoting tourism in the region.
The militant group claiming responsibility for Tuesday's attack, The Resistance Front (TRF), formed after India revoked Kashmir's partial autonomy in 2019 and reduced it to a territory.
India and Pakistan each control a portion of Kashmir, with India holding the larger share of territory, but they both claim it in its entirety. The neighboring countries, which both have nuclear weapons, have fought two wars over Kashmir since the partition of British India in 1947.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have increased after Tuesday's attack, with India ordering Pakistani nationals to leave India within 48 hours.
Vice president Vance is on a four-day tour of India with his family. He was in the northwestern city of Jaipur on Tuesday after a meeting with prime minister Modi the day before to discuss trade.
The vice president also found time for pleasure, touring the Taj Mahal with his wife Usha and their kids on Wednesday.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal judge has canceled a Joe Biden-era rule that required businesses to promote abortion.
The rule, perpetrated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Biden, demanded that employers provide abortion-related leave and other practices that violated the beliefs of a multitude of business operators and owners.
A report in the Washington Stand explained the impact of the ruling from Daniel Traynor, a Trump appointee to the District Court of North Dakota, is that 9,000 Catholic businesses now do not have to grant abortion leave and other practices contrary to their beliefs.
The EEOC under Biden, who promoted abortion in a multitude of ways throughout his presidency, had issued rules creating a new meaning to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act so that abortion was promoted.
"The actual language of the PWFA requires protections for 'pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,'" the report explained. Biden expanded that to say, "current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential pregnancy, lactation (including breastfeeding and pumping), use of birth control, menstruation, infertility and fertility treatments, endometriosis, miscarriage, stillbirth, or having or choosing not to have an abortion, among other conditions."
The report said that move "effectively reversed the pro-life effect of the law, and the explicit inclusion of fertility treatments also ran afoul of the religious convictions of some Catholics."
The challenge was brought by the Catholic Diocese of Bismarck and the Catholic Benefits Association representing 9,000 Catholic businesses. They charged it violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Traynor granted a preliminary injunction last year and now has made that permanent.
In his ruling, he concluded, "The CBA is likely to succeed on the merits of the RFRA violation claim because the law forces members to choose between expressing sincerely held beliefs and compliance. This harm is irreparable and upholding constitutional rights always weighs in favor of the public interest and an injunction. The agency should have known it would not be allowed to force individuals to violate sincerely held religious beliefs."
Other cases also had challenged Biden's agenda.
The Washington Stand commented, "The entire scenario serves as a reminder of the Biden administration's troubling record of anti-Catholic bias. As ironic as it may seem, political appointees of the nation's second Catholic president distorted the meaning of a pro-life law to require employers to subsidize abortion and other practices objectionable to Catholics. These actions were not only lawless but fruitless, as they provoked Catholics to challenge the rule in court, where they easily won. But what else could we expect from an administration whose suspicion of Catholics ran so deep that they installed undercover agents in Catholic parishes to spy on their worship services?"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., had a busy Easter weekend, with at least two men offended by the congresswoman's stand against the LGBT agenda confronting her in public.
The first was Saturday as Mace shopped for some face wash in a makeup store. A man "wearing daisy dukes," the lawmaker reported, confronted her, calling her a "nasty b*tch."
Two days later, Mace spoke at a University of South Carolina Turning Point USA event and was approached by a man in a dress who had been offended by her use of the word "babe."
According to the Gateway Pundit, 20-year-old student Harley Hicks, who uses she/they pronouns, approached the stage and demanded an apology from Mace.
"Does your husband call you 'babe'?" Hicks asked Mace.
Mace responded by pointing out that she was not married. Hicks then became angrier and demanded an apology from the congresswoman.
"Even better. So I would like for you to apologize because it is derogatory," he retorted. "And second of all …"
At that moment, Mace interrupted Hicks and asked her interrogator:
"Is tranny derogatory?"
Upon hearing this, Hicks' voice suddenly changed and became deeply masculine.
"Well, yeah! Of course it f**king is!" he bellowed. Oops.
"This guy in a dress wanted me to apologize for using the word 'babe.' Told him no. That I didn't care if he was offended," Mace said on X.
"And then I dropped the word tr*ns, fast. Look what happened next."
A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's administration from defunding Voice of America, The Hill reported. Trump previously signed an executive order closing the federally funded news outlet's parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered USAGM to rehire employees previously dismissed from VOA, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Network. The judge said that the agency must not stop the "consistently reliable and authoritative" new outlets from operating.
The cuts at the agency came courtesy of former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. She was charged with slashing "waste, fraud, and abuse running rampant" at the government agency.
The Department of Justice argued that staff cuts are "adverse employment actions" that warrant only monetary compensation, rather than an injunction. Lamberth disagreed, stating that her USAGM's actions threaten the "very existence" of the news outlets.
In Tuesday's decision, Lamberth made the case for propping up USAGM. The judge claims that the cuts were "immediate and drastic" and made "without considering its statutorily or constitutionally required functions as required by the plain language of the EO, and without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world," Lamberth wrote.
"It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here," he added. VOA was put on the chopping block as part of the executive order to shut down USAGM.
Following the order, contractors and employees of USAGM were placed on administrative leave. In response to this move, affiliated labor unions, reporters, and the activist group Reporters Without Borders filed a lawsuit against the administration.
They requested additional funding for VOA and other networks under USAGM, including Radio Free Asia, Open Technology Fund, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It claimed these were essential organizations and that dispensing with them would undermine the interests of the U.S.
"In many parts of the world, a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored news media is left to fill the void. The second Trump administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely," the lawsuit stated, according to Fox News.
The USAGM was just another in a target-rich environment of wasteful government programs. As one of Trump's first orders of business, he created the Department of Government Efficiency to trim the fat across the board.
Besides the waste, the administration believed the news organization served as a mouthpiece against Trump, backed by taxpayer dollars. "Voice of America has been out of step with America for years," a senior White House official said.
"It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now," the official added. The Associated Press noted that the VOA was established to counter enemy propaganda during World War II and has long been lauded as a necessary entity.
While it's true that it is created through statute for an important purpose years ago, it does not diminish the fact that it has a liberal bent today. Even without that fact, there is a glut of news outlets that already exist that will further the interests of the U.S.
This move by the judge is another way to thwart the Trump agenda and its effort to cut government spending. However, the checks and balances afforded by the courts are an essential part of keeping the government balanced, and sometimes that means stopping the president from fulfilling his agenda.
Former ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Patrick has passed away from natural causes at 80 years old, the Daily Caller reported. Patrick's career as an announcer spanned several sports over several decades before his retirement in 2018.
Local authorities confirmed Patrick's death on Tuesday. He is best remembered as the announcer for "Sunday Night Football" on ESPN, where he spent 18 years of his career.
Beginning his stint on the show in 1987, Patrick worked with other greats, including fellow broadcaster Paul Maguire and former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann. Patrick would tell ESPN that he ended his media career satisfied with his life's work.
“It’s wonderful to reflect on how I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do with my life. At the same time, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with some of the very best people I’ve ever known, both on the air and behind the scenes," he said when announcing his retirement.
According to ESPN, Patrick is a graduate of George Washington University, where he served as a commissioned U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant. He began his broadcasting career at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania, in 1966.
Patrick would become the sports director at a Jacksonville, Florida, television network and would become a Hall of Fame sports broadcaster for his coverage of Jacksonville University's basketball team. In 1975, Patrick used that experience in Washington, D.C., where as a weekend anchor and sports reporter for WJLA-TV.
Between 1975 and 1982, Patrick announced play-by-play for Washington and Maryland football and basketball from 1975 to 1978. Notably, Patrick also covered more than two dozen ACC basketball championships and called the NCAA Women's Final Four from the 1996 season to the 2009 season for the network.
However, Patrick would become an icon for his time in the broadcasting booth at SNF and become the iconic voice of the broadcast. The last time Patrick used his talents at ESPN was announcing the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, held on December 30, 2017.
Patrick died on Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia. His death was confirmed by his doctor as well as city officials in his native city of Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Patrick was remembered by some of the greats in broadcasting, including fellow college basketball sportscaster Dick Vitale. "I'm so sorry to learn about the passing of Mike Patrick," Vitale said Tuesday as news of Patrick's passing broke.
"I called him Mr. ACC as he had a great love for doing the big ACC games. Mike had great energy and a keen knowledge of ACC basketball, and I truly enjoyed sitting next to him calling so many special games over the years," Vitale said.
Basketball analyst Jay Bilas took to social media to remember Patrick. "So sorry to learn of the passing of the great Mike Patrick. Mike was the voice of ACC Basketball when I was a player, and I had the honor of working with him and calling him a friend. Mike Patrick was a pro’s pro. RIP Mike Patrick," Bilas posted to X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday.
So sorry to learn of the passing of the great Mike Patrick. Mike was the voice of ACC Basketball when I was a player, and I had the honor of working with him and calling him a friend. Mike Patrick was a pro’s pro. RIP Mike Patrick. pic.twitter.com/AGkzs07StY
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) April 22, 2025
Patrick was one of the greats in sports broadcasting, as even his colleagues have recognized. His passing is a sad day, but his legacy will live on as others attempt to fill his empty spot in the booth for years to come.
Protesting what they saw as pressure from the Justice Department to express remorse for pursuing the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, three federal prosecutors from Manhattan resigned on Tuesday.
Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom all accused DOJ Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of trying to get the to lie and "express regret" to re-establish their employment in relation to the case that accused Adams of accepting bribes from Turks in exchange for travel perks, the New York Post reported.
“We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none,” the three prosecutors, who had been placed on “administrative leave,” wrote in a scathing one-page letter obtained by The Post.
The DOJ under President Trump “has decided that obedience supersedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington,” the prosecutors claimed.
Dale Ho, the judge presiding over Adams' case, recently ruled that the prosecutors involved were only acting within the bounds of legality, which led to the departures.
“The record before the Court indicates that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York prosecutors who worked on this case followed all appropriate Justice Department guidelines. There is no evidence — zero — that they had any improper motives,” the judge wrote.
During their time working for the SDNY office, Rohrbach, Cohen, and Wikstrom mentioned that they had experience working under both Republican and Democrat presidents.
This is the office is responsible for supervising high-profile trials, such as the Sean "Diddy" Combs case. According to the outgoing employees, they’d been allowed to do their jobs “without fear or favor."
Both Rohrbach and Cohen were heavily involved in the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was a client of Jeffrey Epstein, and Cohen was in charge of a number of local mob prosecutions.
The resignations occurred on the very first day that Jay Clayton, who was appointed by Trump to serve as an interim leader of SDNY, assumed office. The Department of Justice's February campaign to dismiss Adams' case led to the resignation of five SDNY prosecutors.
In her resignation letter, the then-interim head of the SDNY, Danielle Sassoon, accused the White House of arranging a corrupt "quid pro quo" arrangement in which Adams consented to meet Trump's demands over immigration policy in return for the dismissal of his case.
Hagan Scotten, who was the primary prosecutor in the Adams case, has also stepped down.
Danielle Sassoon was part of the turnover, tendering her resignation in February in protest of the Justice Department's order to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. Because of that change, Matthew Podolsky agreed to step down and took over for Sassoon.
Following Trump's firing of Edward Kim, who had served as U.S. attorney throughout the transition in administrations, Sassoon was appointed to the position.
Until federal judges in Manhattan confirm or appoint him, Trump's choice Jay Clayton will serve as an interim for a maximum of four months. Throughout Trump's inaugural year in office, Clayton oversaw the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Prior to becoming head of the SEC, Clayton advised Wall Street firms and other corporations on complying with federal regulations while working as a partner at the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of more than 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, passed away Monday in Rome at the age of 88, spurring an outpouring of tributes from global leaders, including notable figures such as former President Barack Obama, Breitbart reported.
Pope Francis' death has prompted worldwide mourning and tributes, underscoring his impact on people from all walks of life, as the Vatican prepares for a papal conclave to choose his successor.
The Vatican's announcement of his death sent shockwaves across the globe. Pope Francis, who became pope in 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, was known for his humility and efforts to address global issues such as poverty and inequality.
Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to the pontiff on social media, acknowledging his exceptional leadership. "Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people," Obama expressed, highlighting the significance of the pope's actions and messages.
Obama, joined by former First Lady Michelle Obama, shared a heartfelt message of mourning alongside those around the world who found inspiration in the pope's example. They reflected on his encouraging words to "never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope."
In addition to Obama, President Donald Trump also shared his condolences in a brief statement, posting, "Rest in Peace, Pope Francis! May God bless him and all who loved him!" Such declarations underscore the pope's widespread appeal and influence across political divides.
Despite ailing health in recent years, Pope Francis persisted in his duties as head of the Catholic Church. His declining health necessitated that he delegate the celebration of Mass to another cardinal, a sign of his enduring commitment to his congregation even in difficult times.
Just a day before his passing, Pope Francis met with Vice President JD Vance and his family in a hotel room, suggestive of his dedication to personal connections and engagement with global leaders until the end.
The pope, originally from Argentina, will be remembered for his warmth and devotion to social justice, embodying a humble approach that resonated with believers and secular admirers alike.
With Pope Francis' passing, the Vatican is poised to initiate the papal conclave, a centuries-old tradition for the election of his successor. This assembly of 137 cardinal electors will convene inside the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel, surrounded by Michelangelo's masterpieces.
The conclave, steeped in history and ceremony, plays a crucial role in determining the future leadership of the Catholic Church. It provides a chance for the cardinals to reflect on the values and vision that will guide the faith's future course.
This gathering takes on renewed significance as the world awaits the identity of the next spiritual leader who will steer the church through contemporary challenges and opportunities.
Pope Francis' passing marks the end of a significant era in the Vatican. His papacy, initiated in 2013, was characterized by efforts to bring the church closer to the people while addressing pressing social and environmental issues.
The late pope's legacy extends beyond his religious leadership. He appealed to people across faiths through actions like embracing the marginalized and advocating for those in need, leaving an indelible mark on global consciousness.
This moment serves as a poignant reminder of his commitment to principles of compassion and moral obligation, encouraging the world to embrace acts of kindness and community service in his memory.