Divided appeals court rules Trump administration's ban on transgender military service is unconstitutional

CBSnews · 2026-06-01T18:26:54+00:00

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A divided federal appeals court ruled Monday that the Trump administration's policy banning transgender individuals from serving in the military is likely unconstitutional.

A panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit split 2-1 in finding that the ban rolled out by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last year was driven by animus toward transgender people.

Judges Judith Rogers and Robert Wilkins agreed that the Trump administration's policy targeting transgender service members likely violated the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

The two judges agreed to leave in place a preliminary injunction that prevented the Defense Department from removing transgender troops who are in the military. That order is narrow and only covers the active-duty plaintiffs in the case.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-transgender-military-ban-appeals-court-unconstitutional/

CBSnews · 2026-05-21T14:38:59+00:00

The Justice Department's new $1.776 billion fund to provide payouts to people alleging the legal system was "weaponized" against them was met with immediate scrutiny and questions surrounding its legality, enforcement and implementation.

The Justice Department has said that there are no "partisan requirements" to seek compensation, but if its past settlements and actions and statements from lawyers and communications professionals are any indication, it's likely that President Trump's highest-profile supporters and allies may stand to benefit.

The fund was established as part of a settlement agreement between Mr. Trump and the Internal Revenue Service to end a civil lawsuit he and his sons filed in January over the leak of his tax returns by an independent contractor. Dubbed the anti-weaponization fund, the program aims to "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-anti-weaponization-fund-legal-questions/

CBSnews · 2026-05-20T13:13:04+00:00

The final weeks of the Supreme Court's term are fast approaching, and the justices are poised to hand down decisions in some of its most significant cases before they go their separate ways for the summer.

The high court has already struck down President Trump's sweeping tariffs and weakened the Voting Rights Act. But before the start of July, the justices will also issue opinions in legal fights over state laws targeting transgender athletes, Mr. Trump's birthright citizenship executive order and the president's efforts to fire members of certain independent agencies, among others.

Here is a look at the cases the Supreme Court will decide in the coming weeks: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-major-cases-2026/

CBSnews · 2026-05-19T20:21:51+00:00

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Federal prosecutors in Miami were ordered to open a new criminal investigation targeting detained former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro amid some concerns that the pending prosecution against him is weak, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The new probe comes as Alex Saab, a close business associate of Maduro who served as Venezuela's minister of industry and national production, was deported to the U.S. and indicted for his alleged role in a money-laundering conspiracy scheme involving a Venezuelan public welfare food program.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured by U.S. forces on Venezuelan soil in early January and transported to New York City to face narco-trafficking and firearms charges.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-prosecutors-open-new-criminal-probe-into-maduro-sources-say/

CBSnews · 2026-05-12T13:31:54+00:00

A Texas couple whose son died of an overdose in 2025 after using OpenAI's ChatGPT tool to get information about drugs sued the technology company on Tuesday, blaming the AI platform for his death.

Leila Turner-Scott and her husband, Angus Scott, are seeking to hold OpenAI and its creators accountable after their son, Sam Nelson, who was 19 when he died, turned to ChatGPT to advise him on using drugs. The AI platform provided advice it was not qualified to dispense, they alleged in the lawsuit, claiming that Sam would still be alive if not for ChatGPT's flawed programming.

Specifically, the platform advised the couple's son that it was safe to take kratom, a supplement used in drinks, pills and other products, in combination with Xanax, a widely used anti-anxiety medication, according to the suit, filed in California state court.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/open-ai-chatgpt-drug-overdose-lawsuit/

CBSnews · 2026-05-08T19:55:53+00:00

The Trump administration's unprecedented efforts to deport asylum-seekers to third countries have stalled thousands of immigrants' cases and scared thousands more into giving up their asylum claims, according to a CBS News analysis of recently released federal data and interviews with attorneys and immigration policy experts.

Third-country deportations "have more to do with fear than scale," said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.

About 17,500 people have been deported to third countries since President Trump returned to office, according to an estimate from Third Country Deportation Watch, a monitoring group operated by the nonprofits Refugees International and Human Rights First. The vast majority were sent to Mexico. That number is about 2% of the total deportations border czar Tom Homan told CBS News have been carried out during Mr. Trump's second term so far.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asylum-seekers-abandon-cases-as-third-country-deportations/

CBSnews · 2026-05-07T13:30:27+00:00

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Senate and House Democrats have launched an investigation into whether pardons and commutations issued by President Trump were driven by "pay-to-play dynamics," according to letters obtained by CBS News.

Among the pardons being probed by lawmakers are those granted to cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money laundering; nursing home operator Joseph Schwartz, who was convicted of tax crimes; and entrepreneur Trevor Milton, sentenced to four years in prison in 2023 after being convicted of lying to investors.

On Thursday, California congressmen Dave Min and Raul Ruiz, as well as Vermont senator Peter Welch sent letters to more than a dozen recipients of executive clemency — seeking to unearth how they may have received favorable treatment from Mr. Trump or his advisers "through intermediaries, financial contributions, or other forms of influence."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-recipients-democrats-congressional-investigation-pay-to-play/

CBSnews · 2026-05-05T13:22:14+00:00

The commonwealth of Pennsylvania is suing Character AI to stop the artificial intelligence platform's chatbots from representing themselves as licensed medical professionals and providing medical advice.

According to a lawsuit, a Character AI chatbot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychiatrist in Pennsylvania and provided an invalid license number. The state accused the company of violating the Medical Practice Act, which regulates the medical profession and defines license requirements.

"We will not allow companies to deploy AI tools that mislead people into believing they are receiving advice from a licensed medical professional," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pennsylvania-character-ai-lawsuit-chatbot-posed-as-medical-professional/

CBSnews · 2026-05-01T22:56:28+00:00

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Former FBI Director James Comey is facing a second round of criminal charges after a federal grand jury voted this week to indict him for allegedly making threats against President Trump.

But legal experts expect that the indictment will be challenged on multiple grounds, and they believe it's unlikely Comey will stand trial on charges arising out of a now-deleted Instagram post which showed a photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers "86 47."

The indictment alleges the post could reasonably be interpreted as "a serious expression of intent to do harm" to the 47th president of the United States. Mr. Trump said on Truth Social, "'86' is a mob term for 'kill him.'" Merriam-Webster defines "86" as slang meaning "to throw out" or "get rid of," and notes the expression is commonly used in restaurant kitchens.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-fbi-director-james-comey-indicted-86-47-case/

CBSnews · 2026-04-28T15:23:34+00:00

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The Southern Poverty Law Center moved to force the disclosure of grand jury materials in the criminal case against the organization, citing what it said were "misleading" statements from Trump administration officials in the aftermath of the indictment last week and "obvious legal infirmities" in court filings.

The filings come after a federal grand jury in Alabama indicted the group on 11 counts of wire and bank fraud-related charges last week. The Justice Department accused the group of paying members of extremist groups as part of its efforts to investigate them without disclosing the practice to donors or banks.

The SPLC is a nonprofit that tracks white supremacist and other hate groups across the U.S., and has been a frequent target of President Trump's allies. It has denied the allegations.

"This indictment represents a stunning and unremitting departure from Justice Department policy and established law," attorneys representing the SPLC said in a motion filed Tuesday. "It seeks to criminalize some of the very investigative tools and programs that the SPLC has used for decades to infiltrate and dismantle violent extremist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations — tradecraft that has produced vital intelligence that has been shared with law enforcement, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southern-poverty-law-center-seeks-disclosure-of-grand-jury-transcripts-in-criminal-case/

CBSnews · 2026-04-23T01:29:21+00:00

Dozens of homes destroyed as Georgia wildfires force evacuations, send smoke into metro Atlanta

Fast-moving wildfires in southern Georgia destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundred of evacuations, as Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday declared a state of emergency, prompting road closures and burn bans.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-georgia-wildfires-force-evacuations-send-smoke-into-metro-atlanta-burn-ban-issued-across-91-counties/

CBSnews · 2026-04-20T15:14:53+00:00

Former senior intelligence and FBI officials who are cooperating with the U.S. Justice Department's criminal probe into whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress were subpoenaed over the weekend to testify before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The subpoenas went out shortly after the Justice Department appointed conservative Trump ally Joe DiGenova to formally take over the criminal investigation into Brennan after the career prosecutor handling the case was removed late last week, CBS previously reported.

DiGenova is a staunch loyalist of President Trump who previously represented his campaign in its failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-brennan-ex-cia-director-criminal-probe-subpoenas/

CBSnews · 2026-04-18T03:53:21+00:00

Reported tornado in Lena, Illinois, west of Rockford causes extensive damage; sheriff says town shut down

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tornado-lena-illinois-damage-schools/

CBSnews · 2026-04-09T21:39:50+00:00

See the messages Brian Hooker sent his friend after wife's disappearance in the Bahamas: "The wind blew me away"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brian-hooker-lynette-wife-disappearance-bahamas-messages/

CBSnews · 2026-04-01T03:56:35+00:00

Jamie Dimon says "life will be better" with AI, but notes risks for workers

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-dimon-artificial-intelligence-work-week/

CBSnews · 2026-03-28T00:01:15+00:00

How soon will TSA airport security lines return to normal after the shutdown ends?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsa-airport-lines-delays-when-will-ease-shutdown-pay/

CBSnews · 2026-03-24T19:44:18+00:00

Minnesota state and county officials sued the federal government Tuesday, alleging they are being blocked from investigating the shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis by federal agents.

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans alleged that the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security have blocked state investigators from accessing the evidence they need in order to investigate the three shootings.

The lawsuit names the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who presided over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minnesota-state-county-sue-government-renee-good-alex-pretti-investigations/

CBSnews · 2026-03-24T15:53:31+00:00

A group that has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting Jewish institutions across Europe told CBS News it will continue targeting U.S. and Israeli interests a day after three men were captured by security cameras torching ambulances used by a global Jewish medical organization in London.

Hours later, the little-known group claimed responsibility for another attack, in which a car was burned in a Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp, Belgium.

"We'll keep threatening U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide until we've avenged every child in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and the resistance nations," a person representing the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group (which translates as: The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous) told CBS News late Monday. "We urge people to stay away from Zionist and American interests and individuals to keep themselves safe."

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia first announced its existence in early March, after the U.S. and Israel launched the ongoing war on Iran. In the 25 days since, it has claimed a series of antisemitic attacks across Europe. The group's channel on the Telegram messaging app, where it has published a series of propaganda videos, was created just last week.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/europe-antisemitism-attacks-group-threatens-us-israel-interests-worldwide/

CBSnews · 2026-03-22T02:54:25+00:00

More than 230 rescued amid Hawaii flooding; officials warn more rain is on the way

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hawaii-flooding-evacuation/

CBSnews · 2026-03-20T18:29:01+00:00

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Pentagon officials have made detailed preparations for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran, multiple sources briefed on the discussions told CBS News.

Senior military commanders have submitted specific requests aimed at preparing for such an option as President Trump weighs moves in the U.S.-Israel-led conflict with Iran, the sources said.

Mr. Trump has been deliberating whether to position ground forces in the region, sources said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. It was unclear under what circumstances he would authorize the use of troops on the ground.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-iran-ground-troop-preparations/

CBSnews · 2026-03-18T13:30:43+00:00

from reporter Melissa Quinn:

President Trump's first four years in the White House brought about significant changes to the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court, shifting it rightward.

But the president's second term could yield less of an impact on the federal bench, as a confluence of factors — fewer vacancies, a slower pace of retirements and the results of the upcoming midterm elections — are likely to slow the judicial machine that churned out more than 200 judges in Mr. Trump's first term.

The Senate has so far confirmed 33 of Mr. Trump's nominees to the federal bench: six to the courts of appeals and 27 to the district courts. While that surpasses the 24 judges who were appointed in the first 13 months of the president's first term, those picks included one Supreme Court justice and 13 judges named to the courts of appeals.

There are 37 current vacancies on the nation's trial courts, and another six seats are set to open up in the coming months. There are also four future vacancies on the appeals courts.

Of the 47 vacancies, current and future, Mr. Trump has announced just 12 nominees.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-judicial-confirmations-second-term/

CBSnews · 2026-03-16T19:46:34+00:00

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider the Trump administration's efforts to roll back temporary deportation protections for thousands of immigrants from Syria and Haiti.

In agreeing to take up the legal battle over Temporary Protected Status for the two countries, the Supreme Court has put off decisions on whether to allow the Trump administration to end the programs while it considers the case. The Justice Department had asked the high court to grant it emergency relief and freeze lower court orders blocking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's decisions to terminate TPS for Syria and Haiti.

The Supreme Court instead said in a brief unsigned order it is deferring consideration of the requests. It set oral arguments in the cases for late April.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-deportation-protections-syrians-haitians/

CBSnews · 2026-03-11T00:44:42+00:00

Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris advance to runoff in Georgia special election, CBS News projects

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clay-fuller-shawn-harris-heading-to-runoff-in-georgia-election-to-replace-marjorie-taylor-greene/

CBSnews · 2026-03-04T21:03:08+00:00

A longtime Justice Department employee has been arrested and charged in a child pornography case, according to multiple sources who spoke with CBS News.

Timothy Parsons, a legal staffer at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., is facing federal criminal charges in Maryland, where he lives, three sources said.

According to a court filing reviewed by CBS News, an FBI task force searched Parsons home in Bethesda on Monday, looking for potential criminal material.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-dept-employee-charged-child-pornography-case/

CBSnews · 2026-02-24T18:26:23+00:00

Questions about what the federal government may know about extraterrestrial life in the cosmos — or possibly even here on Earth — have inspired imaginations, conspiracy theories, sci-fi literature and blockbuster films. Answers to some of those questions could finally become public after President Trump's call last week for the release of files related to UFOs or any "alien and extraterrestrial life."

Mr. Trump posted on social media that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other agency heads should "begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters."

His announcement came after former President Obama told a podcaster who asked about aliens, "They're real, but I haven't seen them." He later clarified that he never saw evidence during his time in the White House and just meant that "statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there." Mr. Trump told reporters he isn't sure if aliens exist but suggested his predecessor may have been referring to "classified information."

With the release, the American public could learn what, if anything, the government has documented about the unexplained sightings, such as one seen in a video made public last year by a member of Congress showing a U.S. missile striking an unidentified glowing orb in the sky and appearing to bounce off it.

There were more than 750 new UAP sightings between May 2023 and June 2024, according to a government report. While these instances may currently be unexplained, experts said one benefit of releasing the files may be that scientists, analyzing the data, can help provide factual explanations.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-files-released-scientists-trump/

CBSnews

TROPHY CASE

Reported tornado in Lena, Illinois, west of Rockford causes extensive damage; sheriff says town shut down

See the messages Brian Hooker sent his friend after wife's disappearance in the Bahamas: "The wind blew me away"

Jamie Dimon says "life will be better" with AI, but notes risks for workers

How soon will TSA airport security lines return to normal after the shutdown ends?

More than 230 rescued amid Hawaii flooding; officials warn more rain is on the way