CBS News – Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø News Washington's Top News Thu, 16 Jul 2026 01:27:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2021/05/WtopNewsLogo_500x500-150x150.png CBS News – Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø News 32 32 Flights grounded at DC-area airport due to security concerns for Iraqi leader /local/2026/07/flights-grounded-for-hours-at-d-c-area-airport-due-to-security-concerns-for-iraqi-leader/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:43:38 +0000 /?p=29432212&preview=true&preview_id=29432212

Flights were halted at Ronald Reagan National Airport for several hours on Tuesday, leading to over 100 canceled flights and cascading delays, due to security measures meant to protect the Iraqi prime minister during his visit to Washington, D.C., during the war with Iran, sources familiar with the situation told CBS News.

Commercial flights were postponed from taking off or landing at the D.C.-area airport from 11 a.m. ET until around 3 p.m. Over 300 flights were delayed and at least 126 flights were canceled, according to the flight tracking site .

The disruptions took place in one of the most congested and tightly controlled airspaces in the country, where hundreds of daily commercial flights contend with military traffic and snake around federal buildings in Washington and northern Virginia.

Helicopter flights in the D.C. airspace have been limited since the between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter conducting a training mission.

Since , which killed 67 people, helicopter routes near the airport have been restricted and new rules have been put in place for helicopters taking off from the Pentagon for the transport of high-ranking military officials.

White House and Federal Aviation Administration officials shared timing updates during Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit in an effort to minimize the impact, a senior administration official said. They allowed some of the planes that were holding in the air to land at DCA and those on the ground to depart, the official said.

Spokespeople for the FAA and Department of Transportation declined to comment.

President Donald Trump hosted al-Zaidi, who was elected in May, to discuss the future of U.S.-Iraqi relations during his first visit to the United States.

Mr. Trump extended their meeting by inviting the Iraqi leader to lunch. “It wasn’t scheduled, but we are going to do it on the fly because we have a tremendous chemistry together,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday morning.

Al-Zaidi’s motorcade left the White House for the Pentagon at 1:30 p.m., later than expected, with a security helicopter circling overhead, traveling through DCA airspace.

He became prime minister after Mr. Trump for Iraq if a candidate who was seen as overly close to Iran won. The Iraqi leader has a with neighboring Iran, which has significant influence within Iraq. The country’s governmentÌý for Iraq’s powerful pro-Iranian militias to disarm by Sept. 30, when U.S. troops are scheduled to leave.

The U.S. war with Iran, now in its fourth month, has prompted security concerns both in the Middle East and domestically. Some that Iran has sought to take action in the U.S. in the past, sometimes tapping into a network of U.S.-based surrogates to attempt and against regime opponents.

The federal government has also warned of non-Iran-related threats, particularly in light of the recent assassination attempts against Mr. Trump.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invited certain members of Congress to the Pentagon Tuesday night to brief them on the military’s proposed budget, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. The $1.5 trillion budget includes money for weapons and military capabilities, which would help the U.S. deal with critical threats.

Last month, the FBI said it foiled a using snipers and explosive-laden drones, later . Sources told CBS News last month that no actual drones had been recovered, and the idea of using drones in the alleged plot was believed to still be in the discussion-and-research phases.

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‘Miracle on the Hudson’ pilot, Capt. ‘Sully,’ shares Alzheimer’s diagnosis /health-fitness/2026/07/miracle-on-the-hudson-pilot-capt-sully-shares-alzheimers-diagnosis/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:27:54 +0000 /?p=29430860&preview=true&preview_id=29430860

Capt. , who famously in 2009, shared Tuesday he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

“It is early stage. For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey,” he wrote in on social media. His statement was first shared with .

Alzheimer’s is a brain condition that gradually causes problems with memory and other skills. It is the cause of dementia. There is no cure.

Sullenberger became a national hero when his quick thinking saved 155 people on board US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15, 2009. Shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, both engines of the plane started to fail due to a bird strike. In less than four minutes, Sullenberger and his crew executed an emergency water landing in the Hudson River, after determining landing at an airport wasn’t feasible, according to . All passengers and crew members were then evacuated from the plane and rescued by first responders.

The landing would become known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” and was portrayed in the 2016 film titled “Sully.”

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, with a photo of the “Miracle on the Hudson” landing, at the premiere of “Brace for Impact” on Jan. 5, 2010 in New York City.Theo Wargo/WireImage/Getty Images

Sullenberger, who went on to serve for years as an on-air expert for CBS News, is an advocate for aviation safety.

Since his diagnosis, the retired pilot said he has learned how prevalent Alzheimer’s is. More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, according to the .

Sullenberger said he hopes that by sharing his diagnosis, others with the disease will also speak up.

“Over the years, when people would ask about the successful outcome of Flight 1549, I would say that ‘courage can be contagious,’ and on that day it helped everyone band together to get everyone off that airplane successfully,” he wrote. “Now we need that courage to battle this disease. I am now part of a larger community with many of you, and we will be courageous together.”

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New Library of Congress exhibit features rare draft of Declaration of Independence /local/2026/07/new-library-of-congress-exhibit-features-rare-draft-of-declaration-of-independence/ Sun, 12 Jul 2026 10:09:56 +0000 /?p=29423692&preview=true&preview_id=29423692

WashingtonÌý— They are words etched into America’s conscience: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Visitors to the Library of Congress can rediscover those foundational principles in a rare, original draft of the Declaration of Independence written by President Thomas Jefferson. It’s on display in a new exhibit titled “The Declaration’s Promise” that debuted this month for America’s semiquincentennial and will continue through July 2027.

“This is Jefferson’s fully-realized draft,” Ryan Reft, lead curator for the exhibit, told CBS News. “You can see them changing words throughout and kind of distilling the initial draft into the draft that we know today.”

The document contains edits from fellow Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, like using the word “citizens” instead of “subjects.”

“They were breaking from a monarchy and they were breaking from the idea of kinship through ethnicity, creating a country based on this critical idea established in the Declaration that was new and that we were not subject to anyone,” Reft explained. “We were subject to each other. We were citizens.”

And there were other changes, according to historian Kevin Butterfield, acting chief of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress.

“Initially, Thomas Jefferson had said, ‘We hold these rights to be sacred and undeniable.’ And Ben Franklin said, no, actually, maybe we should say ‘self-evident,'” Butterfield said.

But it was the phrase “all men are created equal” that took time to evolve.

“The ‘all men are created’ probably only applied to White men,” Reft said. “It ignored women and enslaved folks, Native Americans and others. But that’s the great thing about the Declaration — even in its weaknesses there is strength — the sense that the language he created, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, consent of the governed, enabled those folks who were unequal at the time to get to judge for themselves what equality was.”

The exhibit showcases the nation’s evolution through other items, like President Abraham Lincoln’s draft of the Gettysburg Address during the Civil War.

“He (Lincoln) says, well, why are we here? Why did we fight this war? And he comes down to one basic idea, equality,” Reft told CBS News.

The collection also features a Declaration of Rights read by Susan B. Anthony in support of women’s suffrage, as well as speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis during the Civil Rights Movement.

“These are moments to kind of look back and see where we are, and see where we should be,” Reft said.

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Judge vacates convictions of 4 Proud Boys in Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection /national/2026/07/judge-vacates-convictions-of-4-proud-boys-in-jan-6-capitol-insurrection/ Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:43:12 +0000 /?p=29421571&preview=true&preview_id=29421571

A federal judge on Friday agreed to dismiss the convictions of four members of the far-right Proud Boys group for their actions in the .

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly signed off the convictions against Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola, but not before saying that President Trump’s views about are based on “fiction” and citing a lack of other levers he could pull to stop the move.

“There is little mystery about why the Government is moving to dismiss this case, or whether dismissal is in fact what the Executive seeks,” Kelly wrote in his memorandum. “President Trump’s views about the prosecution of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6—whether those views are based on fact or fiction—are well known, as is his intention to extend clemency to them through the Executive Order.”

, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were convicted of seditious conspiracy and all sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

Pezzola became one of the more recognizable faces of the attempted insurrection after video showed him smashing a Capitol window with a riot shield.ÌýÌýof assaulting or resisting officers, robbery involving government property, obstruction and other charges.

The Justice Department said at the time that Nordean and Pezzola “participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol,” leading a group of Proud Boys onto the Capitol grounds, resulting in the dismantling of barricades, breaching of the Capitol building, assaults on police and destruction of property.

Proud Boys Members Speak To The Media Outside US Capitol Building
Ethan Nordean, a member of the far-right group the Proud Boys, speaks to journalists on the east side of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Immediately after taking office in January 2024, about 1,500 people who had been convicted for their actions on Jan. 6. However, in his proclamation at the time, the sentences of 14 people to time served, but kept their convictions in place. Biggs, Nordean, Pezzola and Rehl were among them. Rehl is the former leader of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys.

In April, the Justice Department moved to vacate the convictions against a dozen former members of the right-wing Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, most of whom were convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Kelly’s ruling Friday was a procedural measure after a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia signed off on the dismissal of the convictions in May, and sent the case back down to him.

“It is unclear what the Court would do with more detailed information about the Government’s reasons for seeking to dismiss,” Kelly said in his decision. “… It is hard to see how any course other than granting the motion in full could make practical sense.”

CBS has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

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White House considering plan to add permanent fencing on Pennsylvania Ave. /white-house/2026/07/white-house-considering-plan-to-add-permanent-fencing-on-pennsylvania-ave/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:56:30 +0000 /?p=29420217&preview=true&preview_id=29420217

Washington — Trump administration officials are discussing a plan for permanent fencing on the block of Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House and around Lafayette Square, in an effort to bolster security and reduce the recurring costs of erecting and dismantling temporary barriers for special events, sources familiar with the deliberations told CBS News.

Pennsylvania Avenue is an iconic street in the nation’s capital, connecting the White House to the U.S. Capitol. It provides tourists and pedestrians with the famous view of the North Portico, the public entrance to the White House. 

Donald Trump
Scaffolding on the North Portico of the White House is seen through the fence around Lafayette Park, Friday, July 10, 2026, in Washington. 

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

By Friday, the decision hadn’t been finalized and was still awaiting President Trump’s approval. It was not immediately clear whether the president might object to the fencing for aesthetic reasons.

The proposal is still preliminary, and no contractors have been hired. Under the plan being discussed, the U.S. Secret Service and the White House would retain the ability to open and close sections of the fencing as operational and security needs demand.

Rather than purchasing an entirely new perimeter fence, officials are considering repurposing existing fencing materials that are already regularly used for major events and security operations, the sources said, though it’s unclear how much additional construction would be needed.

The proposed permanent fencing would be located near 15th and 17th Streets, NW, along Pennsylvania Avenue.

A White House official also told CBS News there is work underway to improve the security of the front doors on the White House’s North Portico. Those doors face out to Lafayette Square and pedestrian traffic.

“The work on the North Portico doors is for security enhancements and upgrades,” the White House official said. “The North Portico project is expected to be finished around mid-September.”

There have been persistent security concerns about the presidential complex, particularly after a near the White House complex in late May that unfolded near the 17th Street entrance.

The first reported the proposal. The Secret Service referred CBS News to the White House. 

“There are always discussions ongoing about how to make the White House Complex as safe as possible. However, nothing is confirmed at this time. Any projects that are pursued will go through the necessary review process,” a White House official said in a statement to CBS News.

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Vance family to rent home in Virginia countryside /virginia/2026/07/vance-family-to-rent-home-in-virginia-countryside/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:17:20 +0000 /?p=29420617&preview=true&preview_id=29420617

Washington — The Secret Service has been providing security measures to accommodate an additional residence for Vice President JD Vance and his family in Middleburg, Virginia, two senior law enforcement officials confirmed to CBS News.

Sources familiar with the decision say the rental property would supplement — not replace — the official vice presidential residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Middleburg is roughly 40 miles from the capital and is well-known for its hunting and horses. 

Since the Vance family moved into the vice presidential residence at 1 Observatory Circle, they have made several upgrades, including a new fence for the 72-acre property and the addition of a new chicken coop. 

Vance and his wife, Usha, have three young children, and are this summer.

Middleburg has been home to previous presidential retreats. Former President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline built their Wexford retreat in the Virginia countryside near the town. Ronald and Nancy Reagan later rented the estate during the 1980 campaign. 

first reported that the Vance family was considering leasing a property in Middleburg.

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband suspected in Napa County hit-and-run /national/2026/07/rep-nancy-pelosis-husband-suspected-in-napa-county-hit-and-run/ Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:34:07 +0000 /?p=29404909&preview=true&preview_id=29404909

Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is suspected of crashing into a parked car and driving away from the scene Friday afternoon in Northern California, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said.

Pelosi allegedly struck a vehicle on the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville, around 2:30 p.m. local time, the sheriff’s office said. The vehicle, which was unoccupied, was legally parked on the side of the roadway and was left with major rear damage, according to the sheriff’s office. Yountville is located about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Deputies said they were told by a witness that the driver who hit the car briefly stopped, but then left the scene. The vehicle that left the scene was described as a brown-colored convertible, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office said deputies soon found the suspect vehicle partially blocking Yountville Cross Road and that a California Highway Patrol vehicle was parked behind it.

Deputies then learned that the driver was 86-year-old Paul Pelosi and noticed that the vehicle had significant damage on the front right side, the sheriff’s office said.

According to the sheriff’s office, Pelosi admitted to hitting something but told them he did not know what he hit so he had kept driving. He allegedly told deputies he continued to drive until his vehicle became disabled.

Deputies said an investigation ruled out alcohol being a factor in the crash and that Paul Pelosi was not arrested in accordance with misdemeanor arrest laws.

“A California DMV re-evaluation referral form will be submitted to DMV, which is common for elderly drivers,” the sheriff’s office said.

The case was forwarded to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office.

In a statement provided to CBS News, a spokesperson for the Pelosi family said: “Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle and assured them that he would take responsibility for the damage to their vehicle. Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”

In October 2022, Paul Pelosi was the victim of in the couple’s San Francisco home.

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Victor Willis, Village People lead singer, dies at 74 /music/2026/07/victor-willis-village-people-lead-singer-dies-at-74/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:52:43 +0000 /?p=29395479&preview=true&preview_id=29395479 Victor Willis, lead singer of the disco group Village People whose hit “Y.M.C.A.” became a fixture at rallies for President Trump, has died, his wife and the band said in Facebook posts on Wednesday. He was 74.

“It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband, VICTOR WILLIS,” Karen-Huff Willis said in aÌýon the musician’s Facebook page. “Victor passed away on Tuesday June 30, 2026 as a result of a short, but aggressive illness.”

The band shared a on its Facebook page.

The Texas-born musician was a co-founder of the Village People and co-wrote hits including “Y.M.C.A,” “In the Navy” and “Macho Man” that swept the world’s dancefloors in the late 1970s.

With their flamboyant costumes and choreography, the group became a pop culture phenomenon, targeting disco’s large gay audience with camp fantasy characters of butch builders, bikers, cowboys and soldiers.

Willis left the group in 1980 but rejoined in 2017.

Riot Fest 2019
Angel Morales, Victor Willis (center) and J.J. Lippold of Village People perform during Riot Fest at Douglas Park on Sept. 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.Ìý(Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Redferns/Getty)

He struggled with drug addiction and took a plea deal over cocaine possession in 2006.

“I got very depressed over the years and decided to just drop off the map. So I got into drugs,”Ìý.

“Y.M.C.A.,” whose lyrics urge “young men” to head to the Young Men’s Christian Association in New York, became an anthem for the LGBTQ community and beyond.

But some say the song has been co-opted by the American right wing movement following its use at rallies and events supporting Mr. Trump.

“I don’t endorse Trump, I’ve never endorsed Trump, nor has the Village People,” Willis told the BBC in 2020. “But because of the copyright laws in the United States, he’s able to play our music any time he wants to.”

The at a Trump rally in January 2025, before the Republican was inaugurated for his second term as president.

“Let’s give President Trump a chance, regardless of what you may have thought about him in the past,” Willis said at the time. “Let’s see what he’s going to do moving forward, and if he does things to restrict LGBTQ rights, Village People will be the first to speak out.”

In 2012, when Willis was away from the group, a the singer could reclaim at least partial ownership of the copyrights to more than two dozen of the their songs, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.” The resolution paved the way for his return to the group in 2017, BBC News .

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Maryland historian retraces Underground Railroad to mark America’s 250-year journey /national/2026/06/maryland-historian-retraces-underground-railroad-to-mark-americas-250-year-journey/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:05:19 +0000 /?p=29386292&preview=true&preview_id=29386292

As the United States marks theÌý of the nation’s founding, one historian is traveling 750 miles to remind Americans where that history has taken us.

Anthony Cohen, 62, isn’t the first person to make this trek. It’s a path that was once part of the . a secret network of routes traversed by thousands of enslaved people who had escaped captivity and sought freedom in Canada.

, first traveled the Underground Railroad in 1996 from his home state of Maryland to Ontario, Canada. Since then, he has established the , which creates immersive, history-based experiences to teach audiences about the Underground Railroad.

For , he wanted to again bring the once-treacherous journey into the spotlight. He chose another route, this one from Sandy Spring, Maryland, to Toronto. Cohen says he used “a lot of historic maps” and historical accounts to determine the route, which he calls the “Freedom Walk.”

The trip has wound through Delaware, New Jersey and New York. A lot of the journey has been on foot, but sometimes Cohen uses other forms of transportation, including a train to upstate New York that closely follows the historic route.

“Any freedom movement is about putting one foot in front of the other and going for it,” Cohen said.

He isn’t alone. The Menare Foundation shared a list of stops he would be making, allowing people to come learn about the history and his journey along the way. The Harriet Tubman Journey to Freedom statue is accompanying them on the walk.

Cohen also invited Tom DeWolf, whose family was once the largest slave-trader in the United States, to join him.

“I said, ‘But I’m a White guy,'” DeWolf said. “And he said, ‘White people, White people helped.’ And then he said ‘You can write a new legacy for your family.'”

At events, Cohen and DeWolf are speaking about the history of the slave trade, the Underground Railroad and the walk itself.

Cohen will cross into Canada on July 1. He is slated to arrive in Toronto and complete his journey on July 4, just in time for the 250th anniversary of the United States.

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Nancy Guthrie ransom note, believed to be from abductor, said she died, sources say /national/2026/06/nancy-guthrie-ransom-note-believed-to-be-from-abductor-said-she-died-sources-say/ Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:44:45 +0000 /?p=29371772&preview=true&preview_id=29371772

Authorities believe two ransom notes addressed to Nancy Guthrie’s family days after her disappearance — including a note that said she had died — were likely sent by the person or group of people who abducted her, according to investigators familiar with the case. Investigators believe the same person or people sent both notes and that both were likely sent from the same computer IP address.

The demanded millions for Nancy Guthrie’s release. In the second note, sent a few days later, the apparent abductors revealed that Nancy Guthrie had died. The note indicated that they did not mean for her to die, according to sources who reviewed the notes.

Her daughter, “Today” show co-hostÌý , said in an interview with NBC in March that the family believes the two notes are authentic.

“There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came, and I think most of them — it’s my understanding — are not real, and I didn’t see them,” she said. “But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”

The first note, sent on Feb. 2, one day after Nancy Guthrie, 84, was from her home in Tucson, Arizona, was sent to three media outlets — two local news stations and TMZ — via their online tiplines. That note gave highly specific details about Guthrie’s home, including that an Apple Watch with a white band was on the floor of her bedroom and that her back porch light was broken, according to investigators. The note was addressed to Savannah Guthrie, according to multiple sources familiar with the note.

The second note was sent on Feb. 6 and was similar in language and style but did not make any demands, according to sources who reviewed both notes.

Savannah Guthrie and her siblings Ìýtheir mother’s in an Instagram video posted after the second note was sent.

“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. … This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

The task force made up of FBI and Pima County detectives continues to and search for Guthrie and her abductors.

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Kennedy Center to establish new endowment in Trump’s name /dc/2026/06/kennedy-center-to-establish-new-endowment-in-trumps-name/ Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:05:59 +0000 /?p=29350556&preview=true&preview_id=29350556

The Kennedy Center is establishing a new endowment in President Trump’s name to support previously existing private endowments and its $257 million in federal funding.

The fund was created at a Thursday meeting of the performing arts center’s board of trustees, with the members voting unanimously to acknowledge the president’s contributions to the center by all legal means. The Kennedy Center’s board is chaired by Mr. Trump and largely made up of his allies.

The Kennedy Center this weekend from the building to comply with a ruling by a D.C. District Court judge last month, according to a notice of compliance filed by the administration. The administration filed a last-minute request to stay the judge’s injunction pending their appeal, but it was ultimately rejected.

The board during Thursday’s meeting also voted to file Friday’s emergency appeal to stay that earlier ruling.

“We remain fully compliant with the court’s directive while we evaluate legal options regarding the Board’s unanimous vote,” said Roma Davari, Vice President of Public Relations at the Kennedy Center. “The establishment of the Trump Kennedy Center Fund is intended to recognize President Donald J. Trump’s significant contributions and dedication to America’s premier cultural center, while furthering our founding mission like never before.”

Trap covers the name of The Kennedy Center
A work crew adjusts the tarp covering the scaffolding on The Kennedy Center to allow access to a large door on June 13, 2026. (Photo by Robb Hill/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A Kennedy Center official told CBS News that the Trump Kennedy Center Fund is “a landmark commitment to securing the future of the nation’s preeminent performing arts institution and its enduring legacy of artistic excellence.” A source with knowledge of the plans for the endowment suggested it will focus on the “physical disrepair” of the building, an element the current board feels has been neglected in the past.

In the court filing last week, the administration argued that if it was required to revert back to its original name, it would be obligated to refund any donations made to The Trump Kennedy Center.

“Without the name, ‘Trump’ on the Building, our fundraising will not only come to a halt, but any and all monies raised or committed would be obligated to be returned, refunded, or terminated,” the government wrote.

The establishment of the fund comes less than two weeks after a district court judge ruled the Kennedy Center’s board acted unlawfully in adding the president’s name and in making plans for two years of closure and renovations. mandated Mr. Trump’s name be removed from the building by June 12.

In a statement to CBS News, lawyers representing Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, who sued the administration over the name change and closure last year, called the administration’s Friday appeal an “11th hour gambit,” after they waited almost two weeks to challenge the decision. After the name removal this weekend, Beatty said in a statement, “Today’s victory is the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people,” adding, “The rule of law prevailed, and that is worth celebrating.”

A Kennedy Center official said Mr. Trump will retain his role as chairman of the board, and the center will remain a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new fund in the president’s name.

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Pentagon updates religious codes after criticism from Mormons /politics/2026/06/pentagon-updates-religious-codes-after-criticism-from-mormons/ Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:26:05 +0000 /?p=29333044&preview=true&preview_id=29333044

The Pentagon on Monday updated its religious affiliation codes after members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints criticized the list because it did not describe LDS as a “Christian” faith. 

On Friday, the Pentagon cut the number of religious affiliation codes from over 200 to 31 to help military chaplains streamline religious support services. The 31 codes included the Church of Latter-day Saints – but not as one of the 21 religions described as “Christian,” which angered members of the LDS community, including Republican Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee of Utah. 

 “It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets,” Curtis wrote on X on Saturday. 

The Pentagon released a new list Monday afternoon that removed the “Christian” descriptor from other religions and provided just the code and the name of the religious faiths.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the list from Friday, which was posted by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, included “redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed.”

“In order to clarify the work of chaplains, and simplify the work of commanders, the Pentagon has consolidated and simplified the list to roughly thirty codes – using the previously used labels for faiths,” the Monday statement said. “The Pentagon’s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks.” 

In response to the statement, “I agree with this statement, and am grateful to [Secretary] Hegseth for correcting the error.” 

Hegseth, who often invokes his Christian faith, began monthly voluntary prayer services early in his tenure and has welcomed the Christian evangelical pastor Doug Wilson to speak. Wilson, whose beliefs include that to give women the right to vote, has argued Mormons are not Christian. 

In a video post from December, Wilson said, “Mormonism is not Christian. Not to put too fine a point on it – the Christian faith is monotheistic and Mormonism is polytheistic.” The nonprofit civil rights organization FAIR, which supports the LDS Church, that is not true – that the church believes in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, not multiple gods.  

On Sunday, before the Pentagon updated the list, Lee said the government should not weigh in “on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations.” 

Some of the other religions represented on the list include Presbyterian, Quaker, Church of Christ, Christian (Non-Denominational), Catholic, Episcopal, Islam, Hindu, Sikh, and Judaism. 

The list is part of Hegseth’s effort to overhaul the Military Chaplain Corps that he announced in December. His goal is to create “a top down cultural shift, putting spiritual wellbeing on the same footing as mental and physical health.” Amid this effort, the U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains Major Gen. William Green Jr. was fired from his position in April. 

Hegseth initially announced the list of codes would be trimmed from over 200 to just 31 back in March after he said an internal review committee determined the roughly 30 codes were the most used by service members, but the Pentagon didn’t release the list publicly until Friday. 

The codes are shown below:

religious-code.png
Updated Pentagon religious codes list, June 8, 2026
religious-faith.png
June 2026: Original Pentagon list that did not include Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian religion.

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Trump walks out of interview with NBC /tv/2026/06/trump-walks-out-of-interview-with-nbc/ Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:27:00 +0000 /?p=29332724&preview=true&preview_id=29332724

President Trump walked out of an in Wisconsin after he was challenged on his claims of election fraud and struggled to provide evidence for those claims. 

In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker that was taped Friday and aired Sunday, Welker pressed the president for evidence on his claims of election fraud in the 2020 election and claims that election fraud is currently happening in the . California, which allows for last-minute mail-in ballots, is taking days to finish counting ballots in close primary contests. California’s gubernatorial primary and Los Angeles mayoral race are still undecided nearly a week later. to take days and even weeks to count the millions of mail-in ballots due to California laws and processes. 

The president, however, claimed it’s taking California days to count the ballots “because they’re cheating on the election,” and Welker asked, “Do you have evidence to support that?” The president retorted, “All I have to do is look,” without citing support for his claims, aside from the length of time. “But that’s not evidence,” Welker responded. 

After the president accused Welker of being “crooked or stupid,” he insisted that there’s “more evidence than ever presented” that the 2020 election was rigged. When Welker pointed out that the president and his allies went to court to litigate those election claims — and only prevailed in one minor case — the president again called Welker and NBC “crooked,” adding that he thinks the same thing about ABC, CBS and CNN. 

“You’re a one-sided crooked network,” Mr. Trump said. “Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”

After another moment of exchanges in which Welker urged him to stay, the president walked off camera. 

The California election system is famously slow, and experts have warned it could take days or weeks to finish counting votes. Experts and California Gov. Gavin Newsom knew the vote counting would be slow even before it began. Last month, Newsom to county election officials, urging them to speed up the counting process to fight off unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about election security.

“California really cares about counting its ballots,” , USC professor of political science, told CBS News before the primary election. “And so as a result, we have a lot of different ways to vote.”

Trump-nominated first assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said over the weekend that his office has opened “multiple election fraud investigations,” alleging the system in California has “serious structural vulnerabilities.” His office is attempting to audit the state’s voter rolls. 

Mr. Trump defended the idea of using money from the “anti-weaponization fund” created by his administration to pay Jan. 6 rioters, saying the 2020 election was “rigged.” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Trump administration is “not moving forward” with the fund, but he refused to commit to that in writing. 

When Mr. Trump was asked if he thought people convicted of assaulting police officers deserved a payout from the fund, “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it.”

During the interview, which aired on “Meet the Press,” Mr. Trump also claimed he never promised not to get the U.S. into new wars. 

“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” the president told Welker. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”

But on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump repeatedly pledged to “expel the warmongers from our government” and strongly hinted there would be no new wars, like was the case in his first term. 

“I’m going to keep you out of wars, I kept you out of wars,” the president said in a July 24, 2024, campaign rally. 

And in his November 2024 victory speech, he said, “We had no wars. Four years, we had no wars. Except we defeated ISIS. We defeated ISIS in record time. But we had no wars. They said, ‘He will start a war.’ I’m not going to start a war, I’m going to stop wars.” 

The NBC Interview was not the first time the president has ended an interview abruptly over the questions. 

In October 2020, he walked out of a with CBS News’ Lesley Stahl, voicing complaints about “tough questions.” In January 2022, he ended an interview with NPR when he was challenged about his 2020 election claims. 

NBC News published a full of the interview. 

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Trump’s name must come off the Kennedy Center by June 12 /dc/2026/06/trumps-name-must-come-off-the-kennedy-center-by-june-12/ Thu, 04 Jun 2026 22:11:40 +0000 /?p=29322200&preview=true&preview_id=29322200

Lawyers for what is currently called the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are instructing staff to immediately begin switching the name of the facility back to its original title.

The instructions, laid out in a memo sent Thursday by the center’s general counsel and obtained by CBS News, are the first official signal the national arts hub is complying with a federal court order to drop President Trump’s name and reconsider plans to close for two years of renovations.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper last week ruled in favor of Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a member of the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees, who filed a lawsuit challenging theÌýÌýÌýfor extensive repairs beginning this summer.

Cooper found the board had overstepped its authority and ordered the president’s name to be removed from “the institution’s title, as represented on the façade of the Center, any other physical or digital signage, and official materials.”

The memo to staff Thursday said staff “must immediately change email signatures, letterhead, and other documents to reflect the name as ‘The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,’ or ‘Kennedy Center.'”

Changes to interior and exterior signage and any furniture carrying the current name must be switched back by next Friday, according to the memo.

“We are complying with the court’s order while evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump’s leadership,” Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said in a statement.

The memo also says center officials still are “considering their options and will provide further guidance shortly” on whether the center will remain open after July 5, when extensive renovations costing $257 million are set to begin.

In his order, Cooper agreed renovations to the arts center are “sorely needed,” but he wrote his preliminary injunction does not “categorically” bar the board from closing the Kennedy Center, “should it come to this decision anew after independently balancing its multiple obligations to the Center in a prudent fashion.”

“By way of this opinion, the Court does not purport to dictate how the Center should be run, nor does it prescribe any particular plan for the institution — construction, closure, or otherwise — moving forward,” he wrote. “It simply holds the Kennedy Center Board to certain minimum requirements imposed by law. Beyond that, the Court will let the parties play on.”

In the early weeks of his second term, Mr. TrumpÌýÌýof the center’s Board of Trustees with senior members of his administration and close allies, who then elected him as chair.

In December, the Kennedy Center’s board the performing arts institution’s name to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Within hours, the Kennedy Center’s website was updated to read “The Trump Kennedy Center” and crews went to work adding Mr. Trump’s name to the building’s facade. But lawmakers and legal scholars said such a change required congressional action.

Several artists who were set to perform at the institutionÌýÌýand the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, which performs at the Kennedy Center, left for a new job.

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Possible flesh-eating screwworm case in Texas, USDA says /bugs-and-insects/2026/06/flesh-eating-screwworm-detected-25-miles-from-u-s-border-usda-says/ Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:26:44 +0000 /?p=29315181&preview=true&preview_id=29315181

Update: The USDA has in a 3-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. Read earlier developments below.


A possible case of the flesh-eating New World screwworm is being investigated in Texas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday. 

This comes after screwworm was detected last week in Mexico, just 25 miles from the United States border, . That encounter was the closest to U.S. soil since at least last September, federal data shows. 

Wednesday’s potential case was found in southern Texas, the USDA in a social media post, and a sample was sent to the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, lowa, for confirmation. 

“We have already activated personnel on the ground and are working with local partners,” the USDA said.

Rep. Don McLaughlin of Texas told Reuters that samples were taken from calves on a cattle ranch in La Pryor, a small southwest Texas community located about 50 miles from the Mexican border. 

“If this case is confirmed I will stand lock step with every local, state and federal agency to work together and fight this horror,” McLaughlin . 

The screwworm detected in Mexico was found in a 5-year-old goat on May 28 in Mexico’s Coahuila state, which shares a border with southwestern Texas. U.S. officials have tracked 32 cases of the parasitic fly throughout the Mexican state, including 19 active cases, according to the USDA.  

Overall, at least 26,216 screwworm cases have been identified across Mexico, and upward of 2,700 remain active, the USDA said. The department shares updates twice a week on any new cases found within 400 miles of the U.S. in Mexico, and it prominently notes on a dedicated to the New World screwworm that the pest “is not currently present” stateside and that “the current risk to livestock, other animals, and people in the United States remains very low.”

But in recent months and years, the parasite has shown up closer to the U.S. than ever before. In April, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced it had been found at a location in Mexico that was 60 miles from the U.S. border, CBS Texas  at the time. Texas officials have warned outdoor enthusiasts about the parasite , when the state’s Parks and Wildlife Department issued an advisory saying the screwworm had recently been detected in a cow in southern Mexico.

Last year, the first case of a New World screwworm infestation in a human , the Department of Health and Human Services announced at the time. The case was detected in a traveler who had returned to Maryland from El Salvador, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told CBS News in a statement. Maryland health officials the person had recovered, and investigators did not find evidence of transmission to other people or animals.

The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that feeds on warm-blooded animals and people. It lays its eggs in open wounds or orifices like the eyes, ears, nose or mouth, which can then eat living tissue or flesh once they hatch, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The screwworm is typically found in South America and parts of the Caribbean, but it has been detected farther and farther north in Central America and Mexico over the last three years, the CDC said. 

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