U.S.

April 26 (UPI) — The Trump administration asked the National Trust for Historic Preservation on Sunday to end its legal challenge to President Donald Trump‘s ballroom following Saturday’s arrest at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, saying its lawsuit “puts the lives of the president, his family and staff at grave risk.”

“Enough is enough. Your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today in light of last night’s assassination attempt on President Trump,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a letter to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawyers.

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., was arrested Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner hosted at the Washington Hilton Hotel with Trump, his family, members of his Cabinet and many others in attendance.

U.S. Secret Service agents apprehended the suspect — armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives — who allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel’s lobby, authorities said.

Law enforcement and the suspect exchanged gunfire, resulting in an agent sustaining an injury when shot in the bullet-resistant vest. The injured agent and the suspect, who was not struck by gunfire, were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Trump has been locked in a monthslong legal battle with the preservation organization over his plans to construct a $400 million donor-paid ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that the Trump administration needs congressional approval for the project and its financing mechanism, while the Justice Department argues the project is legally authorized and that, now that construction has begun, completing it is necessary for the security and the safety of the president.

A federal judge has sided with the preservation organization, ruling that Trump needs congressional approval for the plan to proceed. After the judge earlier this month permitted only below-ground construction for security purposes, the D.C. Circuit issued an administrative stay allowing the project to continue while the government’s appeal proceeds, with oral arguments scheduled for June 5.

Calls of support from the White House and Republicans have increased following Saturday’s incident, with Trump stating in a press conference that night, “We need the ballroom.”

In his letter on Sunday, Shumate said the ballroom would mean the president would no longer need to leave the White House to attend large gatherings.

He said the National Trust for Historic Preservation has until 9 a.m. Monday to dismiss the lawsuit or the Justice Department will move to dismiss the case “in light of last night’s extraordinary events” and state that the preservation organization opposes the motion.

UPI has asked the National Trust for Historic Preservation for comment.

April 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Sunday a suspect arrested in connection with a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., had written an anti-administration “manifesto.”

Other reports indicated the suspect, identified as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrence, Calif., had sent a communication to family members minutes before the late Saturday incident at the Washington Hilton Hotel

In the note, he reportedly said he was targeting members of the Trump administration in his attack.

Trump told Fox News Allen’s “manifesto” indicated he “is a sick guy.

“When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians. That’s one thing for sure. He hates Christians, a hatred. And I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. You know, they were even complaining to law enforcement. So he was, he was a very troubled guy.”

Security camera footage supplied by the White House showed a man charging through a security checkpoint outside the hotel ballroom where the correspondents’ dinner was being held.

The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said one person was in custody in connection with the incident and it is believed he acted alone. Two firearms and multiple knives were recovered at the scene and a Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was injured and hospitalized with “non-life threatening injuries,” they added.

The White House told Fox Sunday Allen’s family members had notified the New London, Conn., police department on Saturday when they received the communication. Administration officials also claimed Cole Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told the Secret Service her brother had been making “radical” statements and was in possession of weapons.

Meanwhile, NBC News reported the communication shows Allen apologized to his parents, colleagues, students, bystanders and others for what he was about to do.

“I don’t expect forgiveness,” Allen reportedly wrote. “Again, my sincere apologies.”

He also reportedly criticized the president without specifically mentioning him and noted that security precautions at the hotel were not as stringent as he had expected them to be.

Administration officials “are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” he wrote, according to NBC News, adding, “I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”

The New York Times reported federal authorities in Los Angeles served a search warrant on Allen’s house in Torrance but refused to comment on Trump’s assertion that Allen had penned a “manifesto” before correspondents’ dinner attack.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said a preliminary investigation had determined the suspect “traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, D.C., where he checked into the hotel where the correspondent’s dinner was at in the last day or two.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Blanche said authorities believe that the two firearms the suspect carried during the attack had been purchased “within the past couple of years,” adding, “We believe that he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack. But that’s, again, quite preliminary as law enforcement continues to go through all the evidence.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters Allen is expected to be arraigned Monday. He is facing two preliminary charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

Media analyses of Allen’s social media accounts portray him as self-described independent computer game developer, including a game called “Bohrdom” that was released in 2018. He reportedly earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology.

At a press briefing after returning to the White House following the incident, Trump said he believed that this was a “lone wolf” attack as he praised the response of Secret Service and law enforcement after recognizing the threat.

Trump said there was no indication of a motive, political or otherwise, but that “we’ll find out very quickly” about this “very sick person.”

Allen has been taken to the hospital, as has the Secret Service agent who was injured, The Washington Post reported.

Dinner was being served at the annual gathering of the Washington press organization when shots could be heard from the ballroom, causing many in the room to freeze.

President Trump, Melania Trump and other members of the administration on the dais and in the ballroom were evacuated within minutes of shots being heard over C-SPAN and other networks broadcasts.

As the officials were cleared from the room, Secret Service agents swarmed it and ordered other guests to stay in their seats.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he wanted to return to the dinner and for the “SHOW TO GO ON,” but security insisted that they leave the hotel and return to the White House.

Most of the other guests remained in the ballroom after organizers made an announcement that the show would continue shortly.

There was also speculation whether Trump would return to the dinner after the announcement the show would continue and the Presidential Seal was not immediately removed from the podium on the dais.

“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do immediately,” Trump posted about an hour after the incident.

“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” Trump posted. “I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days.”

An announcement in the ballroom mirrored Trump’s announcement about rescheduling the dinner for next month.

C-SPAN reported that waiters started to clear the salad portion of dinner as guests started to open wine while waiting for more information about the situation before the announcement that the dinner is going to be rescheduled.

April 26 (UPI) — U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said on Sunday that he will end his blockade of Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as Federal Reserve chair after the Department of Justice ended its investigation into current chair Jerome Powell.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Friday said the Justice Department was ending its investigation into Powell over the Fed’s budget for renovations to its headquarters and has threatened him with criminal charges over testimony he gave about the costs.

Tillis made the announcement during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” because the department assured him that it has “completely and fully ended” the investigation.

He had previously said he would block all Trump nominees until the probe was dropped.

“We worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we have assurances from the Department of Justice that I needed to feel like they were not using the department as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed,” Tillis told NBC News.

The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into Powell in January after President Donald Trump questioned the Fed being over budget on renovations to its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The investigation was condemned by several members of Congress as improper, including Tillis, because it was seen as politically motivated punishment from Trump for not setting interest rates at levels he preferred.

Pirro said Friday that she has asked the Federal Reserve’s inspector general to investigate the renovation costs, which she said is “billions of dollars” over budget, and that she expects a “comprehensive report” on the matter.

She noted, however, that she “will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.”

Leonardo DRS has for the first time shown its Maritime-Mission Equipment Package (M-MEP) integrated on an autonomous unmanned surface vessel (AUSV). The M-MEP is a platform-agnostic suite of systems that are collectively designed to protect vessels from attacks involving single or multiple small to medium-sized unmanned aerial systems (UAS). M-MEP was demonstrated on a Sea Machines Stormrunner USV at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space 2026 trade event just outside Washington D.C.

Leonardo DRS has adapted its range of ground-based Counter-UAS (C-UAS) systems for sea-based operations under the M-MEP project. The modular design, coupled with an open system architecture, allows for the integration of multiple kinetic and non-kinetic effectors, software-definable sensors, and communication packages. Leonardo DRS says this flexibility ensures that the M-MEPs remain platform-agnostic, capable of being configured across a range of small-to-large USVs of varying sizes from 14 feet in length. The C-UAS sensors and effectors are designed to complement existing naval capabilities.

The M-MEP system utilizes active and passive radars and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) systems, with situational awareness facilitated through real-time data processing and threat assessment, enabling faster decision-making and response. Leonardo DRS says that M-MEP employs a range of non-kinetic electronic warfare systems for the active disruption and neutralization of UAS guidance systems, while integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) is intended to help predict and mitigate emerging threats.

TWZ‘s Jamie Hunter spoke with Bo Mancuso from Leonardo DRS about the M-MEP program.

SAS Leonardo DRS v1 for review

April 25 (UPI) — Two wildfires in Georgia have burned thousands of acres and dozens of homes over a couple of days amid extreme drought in the Southeast.

The fires — the Highway 82 Fire in Brantley County and the Pineland Road Fire in Clinch County — have between them scorched more than 40,000 acres and destroyed at least 120 homes, ActionNewsJax and CBS News reported.

Each of the two fires is roughly 10% contained, and are among a host of blazes being fought in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida, where the weather is not expected to cool off any time soon.

“So we got the two most dangerous, biggest, problematic fires anywhere in the United States in the small area we’re having to fight,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters on Friday.

“We need a change in the weather, but until we get that, we’re just going to stay after these fires and do everything we can to get them contained,” he said.

The Highway 82 fire, which grew overnight by a few thousand acres, has destroyed around 90 homes and businesses, is thought to have been started by a mylar balloon landing on a power line that started to spark, News4Jax reported.

The Highway 82 Fire so far has burned nearly 10,000 acres, prompting mandatory evacuations in some parts of Brantley County and voluntary evacuations across the entire county, according to reports.

Brantley’s county manager, Joey Cason, told reporters that strong winds are expected in the area later today and recommended that people follow mandatory evacuation orders if they are issued.

The Pineland Road Fire, which is burning on what is privately owned forest, was started by sparks from somebody welding a gate, ABC News reported.

That fire has already burned more than 32,000 acres and is experiencing the same weather conditions as neighboring Brantley County.

April 25 (UPI) — An attraction planned for Central Florida called Sloth World Orlando will not open after at least 31 of its sloths died during the last two years in a facility that had not been properly permitted.

Sloth World Orlando had imported at least 69 wild-caught sloths that it planned to put on display in an educational “slotharium,” but an investigation by The Sloth Conservation Foundation, The Sloth Institute and investigative reporters found the animals were being mistreated and dying, the organizations said.

Orange County, Fla., building inspectors had posted a stop-work order at a warehouse that Sloth World Orlando was storing its sloths because of alterations made to the building with permits, and because the last use permit issued for the building was for vehicle storage, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Ben Agresta, who owns Sloth World Orlando, told Fox35Orlando, that he has ended plans for the slotharium and plans to file for bankruptcy after it was forced to give up its 13 surviving sloths in the wake of the reports.

The 13 sloths will live at the Central Florida Zoo until the Association of Zoos and Aquariums can help find long-term homes for them.

The two Costa Rica-based non-profits have been running a campaign about the facility and “following the initial press release, we received reports from former employees raising concerns about the welfare of the animals,” they said in a press release.

The organization’s report, published by Inside Climate News, found that at least 31 of Sloth World Orlando’s sloths died between December 2024 and February 2025 when they started importing the animals, and that another 24 slots remain unaccounted for.

A separate report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last year performed unannounced routine inspection of the storage facility that resulted in warnings about the sloths living conditions and improper records being kept on all of them.

Among the issues raised about the facility was the lack of power, heat or air conditioning and no water.

The state report also noted that in one shipment of 10 sloths wild-caught sloths, two arrived deceased, and the other eight appeared to be in poor health and later died as well.

Agresta said in a statement that allegations the animals were poorly treated are “false and inaccurate,” claiming instead that the company “lost sloths that had a virus with showed barely any symptoms and was undetectable even after necropsy.”

April 25 (UPI) — An Egyptian family of six that was released from custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement days ago was rearrested on Saturday and may be headed for a quick deportation, their lawyer said.

After an emergency appeal earlier in the day, U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery said the family’s immediate deportation should be paused, The Guardian and The Texas Tribune reported.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children had been held in the Dilley detention center outside San Antonio, Texas, which has been criticized for lack of medical care and food, for ten months.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney on Thursday ruled that the family, which came to the United States in 2022 on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, should be freed while they wait for a decision on their case.

After the family was arrested again on Saturday morning, El Gamal’s attorney, Eric Lee, posted on X that the family had already been put on a flight to Michigan, where they are expected to be deported to Egypt.

Calling the agency’s actions “an absolutely brazen violation of separation of powers,” Lee said the flight “constitutionally” should not be permitted to take off, posting “stop this travesty of justice from taking place.”

The family was arrested in June after El Gamal’s husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd rallying in support of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.

A judge already had temporarily halted their deportation in June after their arrest.

U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-21) “Blackjacks” gave TWZ a personal tour of one of its MH‑60S Seahawk helicopters and filled us in on some of key capabilities during the Dubai Air Show in November 2025. 

The MH-60S is a versatile multi-mission, medium‑lift maritime helicopter that is designed for a broad range of missions, such as vertical replenishment (VERTREP) at sea, search‑and‑rescue, airborne mine countermeasures, anti‑surface warfare, and electronic warfare.

The U.S. Navy operates both the MH-60S and the MH-60R variants of the H-60 and the two share a common airframe, General Electric T700 powerplants and many avionics, enabling streamlined logistics, maintenance and training across the fleet while allowing each variant to be customized for distinct operational roles. The MH-60R is primarily configured for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) but it too has anti-surface warfare (ASuW) capabilities and has been used to shoot down drones.

The MH-60S features a modern glass cockpit, twin General Electric T700‑GE‑401C engines and a flexible, modular, mission‑systems suite that supports interchangeable payloads, internal fuel tanks, and advanced mission packages.

“Sikorsky is leveraging its global MH-60R and MH-60S Seahawk users to constantly iterate while we operate, ensuring the aircraft is mission ready and evolves. This commitment to production, sustainment and modernization enables the MH-60R to stay ahead of emerging threats and maintain its position as the premier global ASW platform,” the company commented to TWZ.

Check out the full MH-60S walk-around video below:

U.S. Navy MH-60S Pilot Talks Multi-Mission Roles Of The Seahawk

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

April 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump returned to the White House after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.

There was a shooting incident near the main security screening area at the Washington Hilton, with one person in custody as law enforcement assesses the situation, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said in a statement.

All protectees, Guglielmi said, are safe, including the president, first lady and members of the Cabinet who were at the dinner.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he wanted to return to the dinner and for the “SHOW TO GO ON,” but security insisted that they leave the hotel and return to the White House.

“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do immediately,” Trump posted about an hour after the incident.

“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” Trump posted. “I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days.”

An announcement in the ballroom mirrored Trump’s announcement about rescheduling the dinner for next month.

The FBI confirmed that the suspect is in custody in a statement.

The suspect has been taken to the hospital, as has a Secret Service agent who was injured, The Washington Post reported.

Trump also said he would give an update from the press briefing room at the White House later this evening.

Dinner was being served at the annual gathering of the Washington press organization when shots could be heard from the ballroom before Trump was evacuated by security, according to video of the event.

President Trump, Melania Trump and other members of the administration on the dais and in the ballroom were evacuated within minutes of shots being heard over C-SPAN and other networks broadcasts.

As the officials were cleared from the room, Secret Service agents swarmed it and ordered other guests to stay in their seats.

Most of the other guests remained in the ballroom after organizers made an announcement that the show would continue shortly.

There was also speculation whether Trump would return to the dinner after the announcement the show would continue and the Presidential Seal was not immediately removed from the podium on the dais.

C-SPAN reported that waiters started to clear the salad portion of dinner as guests started to open wine while waiting for more information about the situation before the announcement that the dinner is going to be rescheduled.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

April 25 (UPI) — The scientists and engineers serving on the National Science Board received letters from the Presidential Personnel Office Friday telling them they have been fired.

The board, which was created in 1950 to be an independent entity to guide the National Science Foundation, is made up of scientists and engineers from universities and industry. Board members are appointed by the president but serve six-year terms to help ensure they cross administrations.

The NSF provides grants for scientific research and has helped develop technology used in MRIs, cellphones, LASIK eye surgery and more.

The letters they received, according to screenshots shared with The Washington Post, said, “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the ranking member of the Science Committee, said in a statement, “This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation. The NSB is apolitical. It advises the president on the future of NSF. It unfortunately is no surprise a president who has attacked NSF from day one would seek to destroy the board that helps guide the Foundation. Will the president fill the NSB with MAGA loyalists who won’t stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries? A real bozo the clown move.”

Marvi Matos Rodriguez, a senior vice president in the energy sector who works on fusion, received one of the letters Friday. She has been on the board since 2022.

“The idea of having six-year terms is you get to do something significant, impactful and go beyond administrations, political administrations,” she told The Post. “I serve the board at nights and on weekends,” Matos Rodriguez said.

It’s not clear how many members of the board were dismissed and if they will be replaced.

April 25 (UPI) — Two police officers were wounded in a shooting Saturday at a Chicago hospital, leaving one of them in critical condition, officials said.

The two officers were shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital on the north side of Chicago at around 11 a.m., the hospital’s parent company said on Facebook. Endeavor said the shooter was brought to the Emergency Department for treatment around 9 a.m. CDT Saturday in the custody of the officers. He was wanded and escorted by the officers at all times, Endeavor said. At around 11 a.m. he shot the officers and left the building. He was caught and is in police custody.

Law enforcement sources told the Chicago Sun Times that the shooter disarmed one of the officers before opening fire.

No patients or hospital staff were injured.

“The safety of our patients and team members remains our top priority,” Endeavor said. “We are cooperating with law enforcement during their investigation and our deepest compassion remains with the officers and their families.”

The condition of the other officer isn’t clear.

The hospital was locked down Saturday afternoon, but there is no ongoing threat.

April 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has canceled the trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, in which Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were planning to meet with Iranian officials.

“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there,” Fox News’ White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie reported the president said. “We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”

The two were scheduled to fly to Pakistan Saturday to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the White House confirmed Friday.

But Iranian state news agency IRNA said that no meeting had been scheduled.

Araghchi landed in Islamabad on Friday night for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Axios reported. A Pakistani official told Axios that the meeting was expected to focus on relaunching negotiations with the Trump administration.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has departed Islamabad and is on his way to Muscat, Oman, CBS News reported.

Earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance traveled with Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad for talks with Iran, but the negotiations failed. The war in Iran has continued since the first attack by the United States in late February. The Strait of Hormuz, a key oil corridor, has been closed by Iran and the United States since the war began.

April 24 (UPI) — Hundreds of rallies are planned nationwide on Saturday as part of a “Communities Not Cages” action aimed at protesting the number of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The protests come amid ICE’s plans to construct eight new detection centers and 16 processing centers, adding at least 116,000 beds to the number the agency has available for detaining people who are allegedly in the country illegally, Axios reported.

At the end of March, No Kings held its third protest — which saw more than 3,000 simultaneous demonstrations across the United States — since President Donald Trump retook office and engaged in a crackdown on immigration.

Detention Watch Network, the organization behind this Saturday’s rallies, called the scouting, purchasing and retrofitting of warehouses to detain between 1,500 and 10,000 people each “particularly horrifying.”

“Shockingly, ICE’s budget now exceeds many militaries around the world,” the organization said on its website.

“In the face of the administration’s unrelenting expansion of immigration detention, communities across the country are demanding to shut down detention centers and halt detention expansion,” it said.

One local group that is coordinating with Detention Watch Network’s “Communities Not Cages National Day of Action” is Shut Down Etowah, a group that previously protested the Biden administration until it stopped detaining people there, AL.com reported.

The Etowah County, Ala., facility is “too broken to be fixed,” the group said this week in a press release, noting that its’ “atrocious” conditions include bed bugs, 23-hour lockdowns and light fixtures that have not been fixed.

ICE earlier this year said it was launching a program under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act after lauding its 2025 record of motivating 2.5 million alleged illegal immigrants to leave the country, more than 600,000 of whom were arrested and deported.

A day after President Donald Trump ordered U.S. forces to destroy Iranian ships laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday said efforts to prevent mining are already underway.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) “has a variety of smaller Boston Whaler-size boats,” Air Force Gen. Dan Caine told reporters, including from The War Zone, during a Friday morning media briefing. “We have forces up there deterring and preventing them from continuing to [lay mines], and will continue to do so pursuant to the orders of the Secretary and the President.”

You can hear Caine’s comments on Iranian mining at the 23-minute mark in the following video.

Caine did not offer specifics about what assets are involved, when they arrived or what actions they have taken. The Pentagon and CENTCOM have declined to comment. A U.S. official, however, did provide us with some additional information.

“Iran likely placed some mines in or near the Strait at some point during the conflict,” the official told us, speaking anonymously to discuss operational details. “We’re not talking about a high volume. In fact, more than 95% of Iran’s naval mines were destroyed during Operation Epic Fury.”

U.S. forces “are actively addressing the matter using a combination of manned and unmanned capabilities to ensure passage through the Strait is safe.” The official declined to say if the U.S. is actively searching for mines already laid or provide further details. In our story yesterday, we spelled out what assets the Navy has for its surface fleet to conduct demining operations, though it remains unclear how many are in the region. You can read more about that here.

As we noted, the Independence class littoral combat ship USS Canberra is the only confirmed mine sweeper currently in CENTCOM, according to a post on the Pentagon’s image sharing site that shows the ship patrolling in the Arabian Sea.

As we have frequently reported, the IRGC has invested heavily in its fleet of small boats for decades. In addition to being armed with short-range anti-ship missiles, as well as artillery rockets and other weapons, they can also be used to lay naval mines. While the president claimed that 159 Iranian ships have been destroyed, the IRGC still has a large number of these small vessels.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth, also speaking at the briefing, said “reckless mining like that is a violation of the cease fire.” He declined to say how long it will take to clear the Strait of mines.

“We would not speculate on a timeline,” he proffered in response to a question about a Washington Post story claiming Congress was informed it could take up to six months to do so. “We feel confident in our ability, in the correct period of time, to clear any mines that we identify, and we encourage other countries to be a part of such an effort as well. But we’re tracking that very closely.”

It isn’t clear why these efforts to keep small boats from mining the Strait have not been persistent and ongoing from early in the conflict, but especially now that Iran professes control over the strategic waterway. However, Hegseth derided the IRGC as a fighting force.

“Iran’s battered military, the IRGC, specifically, has been reduced to a gang of pirates with a flag,” the secretary scowled.

Sec. Of War Pete Hegseth: “The IRGC specifically has been reduced to a gang of pirates with a flag… They know that we, the United States of America, control the flow of global shipping — and we know that they know. Their real navy is at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf.” pic.twitter.com/94HNDITkMn

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 24, 2026

UPDATES

Caine offered some new details about the three Iranian-linked ships the U.S. interdicted this week. Those efforts started Sunday with the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska, which was fired upon and later boarded.

At about 9 a.m. EDT on Sunday, the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Spruance “disabled the Touska‘s engine by firing nine inert rounds from the destroyer’s Mk-45 5-inch gun precisely into the engine room and engine space on board the Touska,” he explained. Seven hours later, CENTCOM gave the command for Marines to fast-rope in from helicopters and “seize the shot,” Caine added.

.@thejointstaff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine: As of this morning, 34 ships have met the U.S. blockade and made the wise choice to turn around. One ship did not. Over several hours this past Sunday, the U.S. conducted maritime interdiction operations against the Touska, whose crew… pic.twitter.com/GG5UxxDACa

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 24, 2026

China on Friday pushed back against Trump’s claim that the Touska contained a “gift from China perhaps.” The president made that claim earlier this week on CNBC. .

“China rejects any assertion and speculation that lack factual evidence,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded. “Normal trade between countries should not be disrupted.”

MFA Spokesperson’s response to President Trump’s remarks that the Iranian cargo ship intercepted by the U.S. might have carried a “gift” from China:

China rejects any assertion and speculation that lack factual evidence. Normal trade between countries should not be disrupted. pic.twitter.com/0aGAa7174N

— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) April 24, 2026

The Touska was carrying “vital dialysis supplies and medical equipment,” Al Jazeera reported on X, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The War Zone cannot independently verify that claim.

Caine also addressed the fate of two other Iranian-linked ships – the Tifani and the Majestic X – that were stopped in the Indian Ocean this week. The vessels and their crews “remain in U.S. custody, and we will continue to conduct similar maritime interdiction actions and activities in the Pacific and Indian Oceans against Iranian ships and vessels of the Dark Fleet,” Caine noted.

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said the Tifani and Majestic X each contained 1.9 million barrels of oil.

Overnight, pursuant to a seizure warrant submitted by my office and signed by a federal magistrate, U.S. forces interdicted the dark fleet vessel, M/T Majestic (formerly known as the M/T Phonix), while carrying approximately 1.9 million barrels of Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean.…

— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) April 23, 2026

German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd told us that one of its ships has recently transited the Strait of Hormuz.

“For security reasons, we will not comment on the timing or provide further details regarding this passage or on individual ships still in the Persian Gulf,” the company explained. “What we can tell you is that of the original six ships, we currently have four remaining in the Persian Gulf with approximately 100 seafarers.”

“The safety of our crews remains our highest priority,” Hapag-Lloyd’s spokesperson added. “We are in close contact with the vessels, local authorities and naval forces, and continue to monitor the situation closely. At this moment, it is not possible to predict any change of this situation.”

Overall, global trade intelligence firm Kpler’s Risk & Compliance tracker showed that transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue to be reduced.

Between April 22 and 23, “traffic remained low at 17 crossings of both commercial and non-commercial vessels, well below pre-crisis levels,” Kpler stated. “Ongoing monitoring provides critical insight into supply flows and potential disruption risks.” 

Strait of Hormuz | Daily Vessel Crossings:

Kpler’s Risk & Compliance tracker provides daily monitoring of vessel activity through one of the world’s most strategic maritime routes. Across 22–23 April, traffic remained low at 17 crossings of both commercial and non-commercial… pic.twitter.com/8J0pE4XjO7

— Kpler (@Kpler) April 24, 2026

Oil output from Persian Gulf nations has been running 14.5 million barrels a day below pre-war levels this month, Bloomberg News reported, citing Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which estimated any resumption would take months.

The region-wide total is 57% lower than before the outbreak of the Iran war, analysts including Daan Struyven said in an April 23 note. A possible restoration would likely take “a few months,” a scenario based on a full-and-safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and no renewed strikes, according to Goldman Sachs.

Goldman: Oil output from Persian Gulf nations has been running 14.5 million barrels a day below pre-war levels this month. The region-wide total is 57% lower than before the outbreak of the Iran war. A possible restoration would likely take “a few months,” a scenario based on a…

— Annmarie Hordern (@annmarie) April 24, 2026

Saudi Arabia has “achieved a huge boost in crude exports through its Red Sea terminals, but has yet to stabilize flows at its target level for the route,” Bloomberg also noted.

Shipments of crude to overseas destinations from Yanbu “have averaged about 4 million barrels a day in the first three weeks of April,” data compiled by the outlet show. “That’s about five times as much as Saudi Arabia exported on the route before the conflict in Iran started, but still only about 80% of Riyadh’s target.”

Saudi Arabia has achieved a huge boost in crude exports through its Red Sea terminals, but has yet to stabilize flows at its target level for the route. https://t.co/uzIybMCFqk

— Bloomberg (@business) April 24, 2026

CENTCOM provided some additional context to the arrival yesterday of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush into the region.

Joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R Ford, it marks the first time since 2003 that there were three carriers in the area of responsibility since 2003. Combined, the three carrier strike groups have 200 aircraft, nine Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers, and 15,000 sailors and Marines.

For the first time in decades, three aircraft carriers are operating in the Middle East at the same time. Accompanied by their carrier air wings, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) include over 200 aircraft and 15,000… pic.twitter.com/fbMdz1IYn8

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 24, 2026

There may be some movement toward new talks to end the war. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the U.S. is sending a negotiating team to Pakistan where Iran’s foreign minister is already headed. The swiftly moving situation follows on the heels of previous diplomatic efforts that failed to end the 55-day-old conflict.

“I can confirm that Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be off to Pakistan again tomorrow morning to engage in talks, direct talks – intermediated by the Pakistanis who have been incredible friends and mediators throughout this entire process – with representatives of the Iranian delegation.”

“The Iranians want to talk,” Leavitt told reporters. “They want to talk in person. And so the president is, as I’ve said many, many times, to all of you, always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out. We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting, and we will see that the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, will be waiting here in the United States for updates.”

Vice President JD Vance, she added,”is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it’s a necessary use of his time.”

CNN reported that Witkoff and Kushner will “participate in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.”

Scoop: Trump is sending his special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to participate in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, two administration officials tell CNN.

VP JD Vance is not currently planning to attend given Iran’s Speaker of the…

— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) April 24, 2026

The move to send a U.S. team to Pakistan follows Araghchi’s announcement earlier on Friday that he will head to Pakistan Friday night and then to Oman and Russia to “closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.”

Embarking on timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow.

Purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.

Our neighbors are our priority.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 24, 2026

At the time of Araghchi’s announcement, it was believed that the Iranian delegation was not expected to speak with US representatives, CNN reported, citing a U.S. source and Iranian state media. However, “the Pakistanis anticipate the meeting will lead to a second round of talks between the US and Iran,” the cable network suggested. 

All this follows a second round of peace talks that failed to materialize this week after Iran declined to send negotiators to Islamabad. However, Trump extended the ceasefire to what has been reported to be sometime over this weekend. As we discussed yesterday, a large reason for Iran’s reluctance to talk may be a schism between hardliners in the IRGC and more moderate elements of the government like Araghchi. While Trump is pushing that narrative, Iranian officials are pushing back, claiming no such divide exists.

In response to Trump’s claim that there are divisions among Iranian officials, the country’s authorities released a joint statement, whose translation was also shared in a tweet by President Pezeshkian 👇 https://t.co/DnhWk9l9KD pic.twitter.com/miTVh211a4

— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) April 24, 2026

Another factor that may be contributing to Iran’s lack of a concrete response to U.S. demands may be the condition of its putative leader. A reporter from The New York Times said that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was so badly injured on the first day of Epic Fury that his face and lips are burned to the point where he has trouble speaking and that one of his legs may have been amputated.

NYT reporter says Supreme Leader Khamenei’s face is severely burned, he has trouble speaking and may need a prosthetic leg. She also says he uses a long chain of human couriers to send hand-written messages from hiding. pic.twitter.com/f9dyjuDBIK

— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) April 24, 2026

Pakistan says Araghchi called its Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar today. 

“Both sides exchanged views on regional developments, the ceasefire, and ongoing diplomatic efforts being pursued by Islamabad in the context of US-Iran engagement,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry stated on X. Dar “underscored the importance of sustained dialogue and engagement to address outstanding issues, in order to advance regional peace and stability at the earliest. Araghchi appreciated Pakistan’s consistent and constructive facilitation role in this regard, and both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.”

DPM/FM Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 received a call today from Foreign Minister of Iran H.E. Abbas Araghchi @Araghchi.

Both sides exchanged views on regional developments, the ceasefire, and ongoing diplomatic efforts being pursued by Islamabad in the context of… pic.twitter.com/eJ1fuVTVKE

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 24, 2026

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to Saudi Arabia today, where he said he had a “very productive meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.”

“We appreciate our constructive cooperation,” Zelensky stated on X. “There is a strategic security arrangement that we are actively developing across three key areas. The first is the export of Ukrainian security expertise and capabilities in air defense. The second is energy cooperation, which makes Ukraine more resilient in this difficult time. The third is the area of food security. We are working together to strengthen our peoples and our partners. We have set tasks for our teams, and I expect their prompt and full implementation.”

Last month, Zelensky said he inked 10-year defense cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

A very productive meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We appreciate our constructive cooperation. There is a strategic security arrangement that we are actively developing across three key areas.

The first is the export of Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/Uc7fVXBHSs

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 24, 2026

After suffering through intense Iranian missile and drone barrages, UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said it will take a long time to reconcile with Tehran.

“You can’t be attacked with 2,800 missiles and drones then talk to me about trust,” he stated. “That will take ages and ages.”

UAE President MbZ’s Advisor Anwar Gargash on Iran:

You can’t be attacked with 2,800 missiles and drones then talk to me about trust. That will take ages and ages. pic.twitter.com/ComhPnA7fz

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 24, 2026

An internal Pentagon email “outlines options for the United States to ​punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands,” Reuters reported. It based the information on what it was told by a U.S. official.

“The policy options are detailed in a note expressing frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights – known as ABO – for the Iran war,” the news outlet added, citing the anonymous official.

However, an alliance official told us that “NATO’s Founding Treaty does not foresee any provision for suspension of NATO membership, or expulsion.”

While Trump and CENTCOM say Iran’s ability to produce weapons has been destroyed during Epic Fury, Tehran says otherwise.

Iran’s Defense Ministry says “the Islamic Republic will continue producing military equipment and that it is fully prepared to meet the armed forces’ needs in all scenarios, including war and peacetime conditions,” Iran’s official Press TV news outlet claimed on X.

Iran’s Defense Ministry says the Islamic Republic will continue producing military equipment and that it is fully prepared to meet the armed forces’ needs in all scenarios, including war and peacetime conditions.

Follow: https://t.co/mLGcUTSA3Q pic.twitter.com/yoKrUMFDlt

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) April 24, 2026

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry (MoD) said two northern border centers were struck by fiber-optic guided drones launched from Iraq.

The attack caused material damage, but no casualties, said MoD spokesman Colonel Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi.F

بيان رقم (60)
صادر عن المتحدث الرسمي لوزارة الدفاع
العقيد الركن سعود عبدالعزيز العطوان

استهدف صباح اليوم موقعان من المراكز الحدودية البرية الشمالية لدولة الكويت، لهجوم عدواني آثم بواسطة عدد (2) طائرة درون مفخخة، موجّهة بسلك الألياف الضوئية، قادمة من جمهورية العراق، ما أسفر عن… pic.twitter.com/UwRQCxGqgv

— KUWAIT ARMY – الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) April 24, 2026

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

April 24 (UPI) — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held her last press gaggle on Friday before starting maternity leave, as she is expected to give birth to her daughter some time next week.

Leavitt is due in early May, though she noted that she will be at the White House Press Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday evening in Washington., USA Today reported.

The White House told NewsNation that it will not formally replace Leavitt during her leave, but rather will have a variety of administration officials handle her official press briefings.

“This will likely be my last gaggle for some time,” Leavitt told reporters.

“As you can see, I’m about to have a baby any minute, so I will see you guys very soon,” she said.

Leavitt announced in December that she and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, were pregnant with a daughter, and said after Christmas that she is “so excited to be a girl mom!”

There has been no indication how long of a leave Leavitt, 28, will take, but The Hill reported that federal employees across the government earn 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

Among those expected to show up in the briefing room are likely to be members of President Donald Trump‘s Cabinet, Vice President JD Vance and possibly Trump.

“I know you’ll be in very good hands with my team here at the White House, and I know all of you have the president’s phone number personally,” Leavitt said to reporters on Friday, joking about how many reporters have Trump’s phone number.

RALEIGH, N.C. — A U.S. special forces soldier who took part in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be released on bond on charges accusing him of using classified information about the operation to win more than $400,000 in an online prediction market, a federal magistrate said Friday.

The magistrate in North Carolina said he would allow Gannon Ken Van Dyke to be released and told him to report to a New York federal courthouse by Tuesday to continue his case there.

Bearded with arm tattoos, Van Dyke said little during the nearly hourlong hearing, during which he was appointed a federal public defender who declined to comment afterward. The $250,000 unsecured bond did not require Van Dyke to put up any money.

Federal prosecutors say Van Dyke used his access to classified information about the operation to capture Maduro in January to win money on the prediction market site Polymarket.

The sites allow people to trade on almost anything — from the Super Bowl to U.S. elections and even the winners of the TV reality shows.

Van Dyke, who is stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, N.C., was charged Thursday with the unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

He could face up to 10 years on four of the criminal counts, and up to 20 years on a fifth, the government said Friday. A publicly listed phone number listed for Van Dyke isn’t in service.

Van Dyke, 38, was involved for about a month in the planning and execution of capturing Maduro, according to the New York federal prosecutor’s office. He signed nondisclosure agreements promising to not divulge “any classified or sensitive information” related to the operations, but prosecutors say he used what he knew to make a series of bets related to Maduro being out of power by Jan. 31.

“This involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post.

Polymarket, one of the largest prediction markets, said it found someone trading on classified government information, alerted the Justice Department and “cooperated with their investigation.”

Massive profits from well-timed bets aroused public attention days after the raid in Venezuela and brought bipartisan calls for stricter regulation of the markets.

The sudden rise of these markets has led to growing scrutiny by Congress and state governments. Some lawmakers alarmed by highly specific, well-timed trades on the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran and wagers on President Trump’s next moves have pushed for guardrails against insider trading.

The Trump administration has been supportive of the industry’s expansion. The president’s eldest son is an advisor for both Polymarket and its main competitor, Kalshi,, and is a Polymarket investor. Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is launching its own prediction market called Truth Predict.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that regulates prediction markets, announced Thursday that it had filed a parallel complaint against Van Dyke.

That complaint alleges that Van Dyke moved $35,000 from his personal bank account into a cryptocurrency exchange account on Dec. 26 — a little over a week before U.S. forces flew into Caracas and seized Maduro.

Van Dyke made a series of bets on when Maduro might be removed from power, according to the complaint. He placed those bets between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, with the vast majority occurring the night of Jan. 2 — just hours before the first missiles struck Caracas.

The bets resulted in “more than $404,000 of profits,” the complaint says.

“The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way,” said Michael Selig, the commission’s chairman.

Robertson writes for the Associated Press. AP reporters Allen G. Breed in Raleigh and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

April 24 (UPI) — The Trump administration is working on a bailout of Spirit Airlines, which is in bankruptcy for the second time in a year, to keep it from shutting down.

President Donald Trump several times this week that the government may get involved in the situation — specifically highlighting his concerns about jobs and the airline industry — after increases in jet fuel cost made the airline’s situation even worse, CNBC and USA Today reported.

Spirit has not commented on the bailout negotiations, which would have to be approved by its creditors, but the administration has offered Spirit a $500 million loan, with the government receiving the right to own 90% of the company when it exits bankruptcy, CBS News reported.

“We’re thinking about doing it, helping them out, meaning bailing them out, or buying it,” Trump said on Thursday.

“I’d love to be able to save those jobs,” he said. “I’d love to be able to save an airline. I like having a lot of airlines so it’s competitive.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has argued it is necessary for the government to step in and save Spirit because if it is shut down and liquidated during bankruptcy, at least 7,500 jobs will be lost.

The White House may use the Defense Production Act, which gives the government the ability to compel private companies to prioritize its contracts in the event of an emergency and to loan money to those companies, to give Spirit a loan.

The loan would make the government Spirit’s main debtor and, while the company is working its way through bankruptcy, the Department of Defense would use extra seats for transporting troops or moving other military cargo.

The union that represents Spirit’s ramp service employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, urged the administration to prioritize employees at the airline, The Hill reported.

“IAM Union members at Spirit, and all frontline aviation workers, did not cause this crisis,” the union said in a statement.

“They should not be the ones forced to pay the price. Any federal assistance must prioritize protecting jobs, preserving pay and benefits, and maintaining the affordable air service that millions of Americans rely on,” the union statement said.

Spirit filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024 after a judge blocked its proposed $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airlines in March of that year, and filed for bankruptcy again in 2025.

Spirit’s current bankruptcy plan includes the cost of jet fuel, which has roughly doubled for the company since the United States and Israel launched the war in Iran. The cost of fuel has also tanked their current business model, according to reports.

Spirit missed an interest payment this week, leading to it being warned that it could be in default with its creditors — to which Spirit has warned they may only have days to operate, which spurred the bailout talks.

The federal government already is working with the company’s creditors and has made a loan offer, CBS News reported, and Spirit has said it continues to operate normally, which includes deeply discounted flights.

April 24 (UPI) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have paused artificial intelligence data center construction in the state for 18 months.

Mills said she decided to veto it because it would have potentially harmed a permitted and in progress data center expected to create hundreds of jobs, both for construction and once the center opens.

The project, a $550 million data center in Jay, Maine, is a multi-year effort to redevelop the former Androscoggin Mill, which was damaged in a 2020 boiler explosion and then closed in 2023, took with it hundreds of jobs and 22% of the town’s tax revenue.

The bill would have been the first in the country restricting or slowing the spread of large-scale data centers required for power-hungry AI systems, which have driven up the cost of both electricity and water for residents living near them, NBC News and Politico reported.

“A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and electricity rates,” Mills said in a press release.

“But the final version of this bill fails to allow for a specific project in the Town of Jay that enjoys strong local support from its host community and region,” she said.

There are more than 5,000 data centers in the United States — more than any country in the world — and that number has grown significantly in the last four years as artificial intelligence has become a focus the tech industry.

While many state and local leaders have started to respond to concerns among residents about the huge amounts of electricity needed to power AI data centers and the huge amounts of water needed to keep them cool, as have some members of Congress.

As states have contemplated increased regulation and scrutiny from tech and AI companies, President Donald Trump at the same time has worked to keep the cuffs of tech companies because they “must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” he said in December.

“Excessive state regulation thwarts this imperative,” Trump said in an executive order meant to prevent states from creating new regulations.

Mills said she worked with Maine’s legislature to carve out an exemption for the data center in Jay but was unsuccessful, so she vetoed the law.

The development in Jay, she said, is under contract and permitted, and is expected to create 800 construction jobs, more than 100 high-paying permanent jobs and “substantial tax revenue” for the Town of Jay.

In a letter informing the legislature that she planned to veto the bill, Mills said she plans to issue an executive order to establish a council to study the impacts — real and potential — of data centers in Maine.

“I believe it necessary and important to examine and plan for the potential impacts of large-scale data centers in Maine, as the use of artificial intelligence becomes more widespread,” Mills said.

“Given the serious conversations about data centers here and around the country, I believe this work should commence without delay,” she told legislators.

LOGAN, Utah — President Trump’s administration took the unusual step this week of sending a government plane to Cuba to return a 10-year-old from Utah who is at the center of a complicated and contentious custody fight involving the child’s gender identity.

The child’s parent, Rose Inessa-Ethington, a transgender woman, is accused of taking the child to Cuba without the permission of the biological mother. Federal and state authorities sought the return of the child after a family member expressed concern that Inessa-Ethington went to Havana to get the child gender transition surgery.

Inessa-Ethington, who had run a popular Utah political blog in the 2010s, was arrested along with her partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, and charged in the U.S. with international parental kidnapping.

The couple traveled with the child to Canada ostensibly for a camping trip in late March with Blue’s 3-year-old child. However, the two adults turned off their phones after telling the older child’s mother they had arrived in Canada. They flew from Vancouver to Mexico and then to Cuba on April 1, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in federal court in Utah.

The charges don’t say if the couple actually planned on getting the child gender-affirming surgery in Cuba or how they would get it because that surgery isn’t legal for children in Cuba.

The FBI said that Blue Inessa-Ethington withdrew $10,000 from her checking account before leaving. Agents also found at their home a note with instructions from a mental health therapist in Washington, D.C., “to send the therapist the $10,000.00 and instructions on gender affirming medical care for children.” That note didn’t mention Cuba.

The use of the Department of Justice plane in a parental kidnapping investigation comes after the Trump administration sought to block access to gender-affirming care for minors and pressured healthcare providers over the issue.

The Associated Press left telephone and email messages with the court-appointed attorneys who represented Blue and Rose Inessa-Ethington in Virginia. The defendants will be returned to Utah to face one count each of international parental kidnapping, according to court filings.

Search began after child wasn’t returned as scheduled

The search for the child began on April 3 when they were not returned to the mother in Utah as scheduled, court documents show.

The 10-year-old’s mother, who was divorced from Rose Inessa-Ethington and had shared custody of the child, filed a missing-person report with police in Logan, Utah, a college and dairy farming town about 70 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Logan City Police Chief Jeff Simmons said his department’s initial focus was on the custodial interference allegations in the case, and he said investigators did not learn until later about concerns over gender-affirming surgery.

Logan police spokesperson Sgt. Brandon Bevan said those concerns were raised by one family member. He declined to say who.

“They just had the concern about it, no actual physical evidence,” Bevan said.

A Utah state judge ordered the return of the 10-year-old to the child’s mother on April 13. Three days later, a federal magistrate judge issued an arrest warrant for the Inessa-Ethingtons. On the same day, Cuban law enforcement located the group. They were deported to the U.S. aboard the government plane Monday and arraigned in federal court in Richmond, Va.

The 10-year-old was returned to the child’s biological mother, First Assistant U.S. Atty. Melissa Holyoak in Utah indicated in a statement. Representatives of the FBI and U.S. attorneys office in Utah declined to say what happened to the 3-year-old child who had been with the group.

Parents engaged in custody dispute

The custody dispute between the parents does not appear to be a new development. An online fundraiser created five years go by Blue Inessa-Ethington titled “Help a Trans Mother Keep Custody of Her Child” raised $9,766.

“Last week, Rose’s ex relocated several counties away, negatively impacting Rose’s parent-time with the child,” she wrote on the fundraising page. She said the money would be used to seek a court order that would keep the child “safe and stable throughout this process.”

Anyone who has spent time with Rose knows “how much care and thought she puts into parenting her gender open child,” she wrote.

Family members said the child was assigned male at birth but identifies as a girl because of what they believed to be “manipulation” by Rose Inessa-Ethington, according to an April 16 affidavit from FBI Special Agent Jennifer Waterfield.

Gender-affirming care for minors has been limited

The Trump administration moved in December to cut off gender-affirming care for minors, prompting a third of states to sue.

It was the latest in a series of clashes between an administration that says transgender healthcare can be harmful to children and advocates who say it’s medically necessary.

Gender-affirming surgery is rare among U.S. children, research shows. Guidance from several major medical organizations calls for caution around surgery for minors and says decisions about treatments are case-by-case. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, such as hormones or puberty blockers.

In Cuba, gender-affirming surgeries are banned for minors and performed only for adults through the public health system under strict supervision in designated public hospitals for Cuban citizens. They must be authorized by a medical commission after a comprehensive review of the patient’s file. That process often takes years because it requires a wide range of medical and psychological evaluations.

Brown, Boone and Schoenbaum write for the Associated Press. Brown reported from Billings, Mont., and Boone from Boise, Idaho. AP journalists Eric Tucker in Washington, Cristiana Mesquita in Havana and Devi Shastri in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

April 24 (UPI) — Talks with Iran are set to resume with special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump‘s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner heading to Pakistan on Saturday to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the White House confirmed Friday.

Iranian state news agency IRNA said that no meeting has been scheduled, Axios reported.

“The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person, and the president is always willing to give diplomacy a chance,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday.

“We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive development will come from this meeting. We have certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last few days.”

Araghchi landed in Islamabad on Friday night for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Axios reported.

A Pakistani official told Axios that the meeting was expected to focus on relaunching negotiations with the Trump administration.

“A trilateral meeting with the U.S. will be assessed after our meeting with Araghchi,” the Pakistani official said.

“We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days. Again, the president has made the decision to send Steve [Witkoff] and Jared [Kushner] to hear the Iranians out, and so we’ll see what they have to say this weekend,” Leavitt said about the potential for a peace deal.

Araghchi is scheduled to travel from Islamabad to Muscat, Oman, and then on to Moscow, Axios said. It’s not clear when he will meet with Witkoff and Kushner. Two sources told Axios that the meeting could happen Monday, after Kushner and Witkoff have talks with Pakistani mediators.

Vice President JD Vance will not travel to Pakistan for these meetings.

ir