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Noncitizen ex-Kansas mayor pleads guilty to illegally voting multiple times

April 23, 2026 4:56pm EDT / Fox News

Jose Ceballos pleaded guilty to three counts of disorderly election conduct after serving two terms as Coldwater mayor

By Charles Creitz Fox News

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A Mexican native green card holder who recently served as mayor of a small Kansas town pleaded guilty to voter fraud after illegally voting multiple times, according to federal authorities. He also falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on voter registration documents.

The case comes as debate continues over voter fraud and election integrity, with the Trump administration pushing measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and tightening election safeguards.

Jose “Joe” Ceballos, who formerly served as mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, for two terms, pleaded guilty this week to three counts of disorderly election conduct following a prosecution by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Ceballos also has a prior conviction for battery in 1995. He was issued a green card in 1990 and applied for U.S. citizenship in February.

COLOMBIAN WOMAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2024 ELECTION STEALING $400,000 IN TAXPAYER FUNDED BENEFITS

Authorities say Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, shown inset, unlawfully voted in U.S. elections despite not being a citizen, according to DHS.(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File ; Department of Homeland Security)

On that citizenship application, federal authorities allege he falsely claimed that he had never previously claimed to be a U.S. citizen.

Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis credited the Trump-era SAVE program for helping bring Ceballos to justice.

The database is used to help states determine who is in the country legally versus illegally, but Democrats, including the Shapiro administration in Pennsylvania, have blamed alleged discrepancies in the system after illegal immigrant truckers were found to hold their state’s CDLs.

“The SAVE program is a critical tool for state and local governments to safeguard the integrity of elections across the country,” Bis said. “President Trump has been unequivocal: Nothing is more fundamental than the integrity and security of our elections.”

Bis said the Ceballos case is an exemplar for why Congress must pass the SAVE America Act, which she called “commonsense legislation that requires voters to present photo ID and implements other critical measures to protect federal elections from fraud.”

“Our elections belong to American citizens, not foreign citizens,” she said.

STATE CONSERVATIVES DEMAND ACTION ON NONCITIZEN VOTING: ‘TIME FOR CONGRESS TO LISTEN’

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6380418587112

Bis’ office shared with Fox News Digital a facsimile of a Kansas state voter registration form on which Ceballos falsely claimed to be a citizen, as well as his naturalization application on which he had attested that he had never made such a claim.

Since April 2025, more than 24,000 cases have been identified via the SAVE system as potential noncitizens who were on the voter rolls, according to DHS.

In November, Kobach announced the original charges against Ceballos, describing him as “recently reelected” in Coldwater.

NICK SHIRLEY ALLEGES POTENTIAL VOTER FRAUD LOOPHOLE IN CALIFORNIA THAT COULD ENABLE ILLEGALS TO VOTE

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6389195596112

At the time, USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser called the situation “absolutely unacceptable and sad,” but said it was no surprise “given the years of lax voting security in the United States.”

“From day one, the Trump administration has made strengthening the SAVE program a top priority so states can verify that only U.S. citizens are on the voter rolls,” he said.

“I’m grateful that President Trump implemented the SAVE program to help states and to prevent situations like this,” added Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab.

Fox News Digital’s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Trump says will be looking into banks regarding Los Angeles wildfires

2026-04-23 23:28:41 UTC / Reuters

By Christian Martinez

April 23, 2026 11:28 PM UTC Updated 51 mins ago

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Wells Fargo mockup credit card in front of the Wells Fargo logo, in this illustration taken January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on ​Thursday his administration will be looking into ‌banks, singling out Wells Fargo (WFC.N), regarding payments and the treatment of debts in the aftermath of the Los Angeles ​wildfires, after he met with Los Angeles ​Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County ⁠Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

“Wells Fargo, in particular, has ​been very difficult to deal with,” Trump said ​in a post on Truth Social. “The Banks must treat those people, who so horribly lost their Homes in this ​tragic fire, very fairly and well.”

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In a ​joint statement posted to Bass’ X account on Wednesday, Bass ‌and ⁠Barger said they “they had a very positive discussion about FEMA and other rebuilding funds, as well as the support of the President to continue ​joining us ​in pressuring ⁠the insurance companies to pay what they owe – and for the big ​banks to step up to ease ​the ⁠financial pressure on L.A. families.”

The 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles and Eaton Fire in Altadena ⁠killed ​22 people, destroyed some 12,000 ​homes and caused over $50 billion in property damage.

Reporting by Ismail Shakil, ​Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by Chris Sanders

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

GOP infighting erupts over immigration bill that would shield millions from deportation

April 23, 2026 4:30pm EDT / Fox News

House Republicans split over Salazar’s immigration bill as Trump is urged to act

Rep Brandon Gill calls the bill ‘a betrayal of the values that we ran on’ in the 2024 election cycle

By Adam Pack, Fox News

House Republicans are sharply divided over a bipartisan immigration reform bill, with one GOP lawmaker calling on President Donald Trump to intervene.

For months, GOP lawmakers have fiercely debated the Dignity Act, whose Republican sponsor, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, is pushing for the immigration proposal to be marked up in committee and receive a vote on the floor.

The Miami Republican has quickly run into opposition from a swath of conservatives in the GOP conference who have ripped the proposal as “mass amnesty” and a wholesale rejection of the president’s immigration enforcement agenda.

“The DIGNIDAD Act …is a betrayal of the values that we ran on last election cycle,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview, referring to the bill’s original Spanish name. “We ran on mass deportations. We said we’re going to do that, so we should.”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, has slammed the Dignity Act as “mass amnesty” and a betrayal of Republicans’ 2024 campaign promises.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

LATINO VOTERS ARE ‘NO LONGER SLEEPING,’ UNIVISION PRESIDENT WARNS GOP, DEMS

But Salazar, whose Latino-heavy district Trump narrowly won in 2024, is offering a starkly different approach.

“Now that the border is secured … what are we going to do with those people who do not have a criminal record and have contributed to the economy,” Salazar said at a press conference Wednesday. “The economy still needs them.”

The immigration standoff highlights the fissures in the coalition that elected a Republican trifecta in 2024. The Miami Republican is one of Democrats’ top targets in November’s midterm elections.

Salazar, who first introduced the legislation several years ago, said she has been in conversation with the White House but did not specify whether she had talked directly with Trump.

“It’s up to him, as an elected official, to determine when is the right timing,” Salazar said of Trump. “When does he want to do this within his presidency?”

“No other president has the political guts to do this, Republicans or Democrats, in the last 40 years.”

When reached for comment, a White House official told Fox News Digital the administration is happy to review legislation but is “focused on enforcing the current immigration laws and deporting the millions and millions of criminal illegal aliens that Joe Biden let in our country.”

Salazar’s Dignity Act does not provide a pathway to citizenship, but it would make millions of migrants who came into the United States prior to Biden’s presidency eligible for work without fear of deportation.

The legislation would also increase funding for border security, require employers to use E-Verify to verify an individual’s legal status and create a pathway for DACA recipients to obtain permanent residency, among other provisions.

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., left, is urging President Donald Trump to support the Dignity Act, while Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, right, has sharply criticized the legislation for breaking with the president’s mass deportation agenda.(Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Latino Wall Street; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

HOUSE DEMS CLASH OVER SCHUMER-TRUMP DEAL AS JEFFRIES BLASTS LACK OF ICE REFORMS

GOP supporters say the bill is attempting to appeal to the “mass middle” who want some legal protections for long-term migrants with no criminal records who are contributing to their communities, while also slamming the door shut on those who illegally entered the country beginning in 2021.

“I think, frankly, this is what America is looking for,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a Republican cosponsor of the bill, told Fox News Digital. “It covers a lot of concerns left and right.

“I think most people want some level of decency,” Bacon added. “You’ve been here for a while, you’ve got a family, you’re working, no criminal record.”

Conservative Republicans aren’t buying it.

“It’s just amnesty. That’s all that is,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., an immigration hawk, told Fox News Digital.

Gill said he remains vigorously opposed to the bill after meeting with Salazar for nearly an hour Wednesday to discuss the Dignity Act.

“This is one we’re just diametrically opposed to in irreconcilable ways,” the Texas Republican said, adding that he and Salazar agree on many other policy issues. “I do believe that it very clearly constitutes amnesty.”

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., is one of more than a dozen House Republicans who have cosponsored the Dignity Act.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

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Despite no clear path forward, Salazar has vowed to continue engaging skeptics about the immigration reform legislation.

She has also shot down the idea of using a discharge petition to team up with Democrats and force a vote on the House floor.

“I’m going to do it the hard way,” Salazar told Fox News Digital.

“I am sure we’re going to be able to get to a yes, and we’re going to be able to solve immigration within the Trump administration,” she added. “I have no doubt about that.Only God the Father knows the time. I’m just waiting.”

One person approved for $1 million US Gold Card visa program so far, commerce secretary says

2026-04-23 20:47:40 UTC / Reuters

By Reuters

April 23, 2026 8:47 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

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U.S. President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order on gold card visa in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – The Trump administration has approved only one Gold Card visa under a program granting ​U.S. residency to non-citizens for a $1 million fee, ‌Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday, stressing that hundreds more had applied.

In December, U.S. President Donald Trump launched ​the “Trump Gold Card” visa program that allows ​applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department ⁠of Homeland Security for speedy processing. After a ​background check or vetting process, applicants must then ​make a “contribution” of $1 million to get the visa, similar to a green card, which allows them to live and work ​in the United States.

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“They have approved recently one ​person and there are hundreds in the queue going through the ‌process,” ⁠Lutnick said in a congressional hearing.

“This is a new program and they’ve just set it up and they wanted to make sure they did it ​perfectly,” he ​added, noting that ⁠the process included “rigorous vetting.”

In December, Lutnick told Reuters that some 10,000 people ​had signed up for the Gold Card ​during ⁠a pre-registration period and that he expected many more to do so. “I would expect over time that we’d ⁠sell, ​you know, thousands of these ​cards and raise, you know, billions, billions of dollars,” he added ​at the time.

Reporting by Alexandra Alper Editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Planning to fly this summer? Book now before prices surge, airline experts say.

April 23, 2026 / 7:17 PM EDT / CBS News

As many Americans plan their summer vacations, airfares are taking off.

Airline ticket prices have jumped because of higher oil and jet fuel costs stemming from the Iran war. With prices likely to stay elevated, aviation experts urged consumers to move quickly to lock in their travel plans.

“If you haven’t booked for this summer, get busy,” Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, told CBS News.

“Don’t wait, hoping that the fares are going to go down,” he added. “They’re not.”

Travelers eager to save money should consider leaving later in the summer, when demand is typically lower and jet fuel prices are potentially more certain, Harteveldt said.

Jet fuel prices, which account for roughly 25% to 30% airlines’ costs, were up more than $2 a gallon as of earlier this month and remain elevated. With operational costs sharply higher than before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, airlines are passing along some of those expenses to travelers.

As of April 13, the average domestic round-trip flight cost $358, up 18%, or about $55, from the same period a year ago, according to Kayak. International flights have also gotten pricier. Data from the travel booking website shows that the cost of a round-trip economy flight from the U.S. to foreign destinations has increased by an average of $115 over the last year to $1,064.

Overall, airfares were up nearly 15% in March compared to the same time last year, according to government data. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told CBS News in an interview last month that the carrier has raised its fares by 15% to 20%.

In addition to raising ticket prices, carriers including American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United have increased their bag fees to help offset rising fuel prices, while other airlines have sought to cut costs by eliminating less profitable routes. That includes United, which plans to cut its flight volume by 5% this summer due to higher oil prices, Kirby said.

Epstein fallout grows as DOJ watchdog digs deeper into handling of the case

April 23, 2026 5:55pm EDT / Fox News

Inspector General William Blier announced an audit will focus on the DOJ’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act

By Brittany Miller Fox News

Fox News correspondent David Spunt reports on the Justice Department’s release of remaining Epstein files, drawing bipartisan questions over the handling of documents on ‘Special Report.’

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The Justice Department’s (DOJ) internal watchdog is investigating whether the agency properly handled the release of records tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein amid concerns it may have failed to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Deputy Inspector General William M. Blier announced Thursday that his office will audit “the DOJ’s identification, collection and production of responsive material,” focusing on whether the department fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law requiring the public release of certain Epstein-related records, including materials tied to his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The audit centers on whether the DOJ withheld documents covered under the law, raising new questions about transparency in one of the most high-profile criminal cases in recent history.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed in November, followed mounting pressure on the DOJ to release additional information related to Epstein, including materials officials previously indicated were under review. The law requires the department to identify and disclose responsive records to the public.

PEDO ACT: LAWMAKER MOVES TO PROTECT EPSTEIN FILES, ACCUSES ‘CERTAIN FBI AGENTS’ OF TRYING TO DESTROY DOCS

A tablet screen displays a portrait of Jeffrey Epstein alongside the U.S. Department of Justice webpage with the Epstein Library in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2026.(Véronique Tournier/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

“If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider addressing other issues that may arise during the course of the audit,” the inspector general said in a statement, adding that a public report will be issued at the conclusion of the review.

The DOJ did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The investigation comes amid broader scrutiny of the DOJ’s handling of Epstein-related disclosures and internal leadership changes at the department. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired earlier this month after public frustration over the pace and scope of document releases tied to the Epstein case.

‘SEPARATED FROM REALITY’: SENATE REPUBLICANS FUME AS DEMS USE EPSTEIN SAGA TO BLOCK TRUMP’S AGENDA

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and former Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke with the media in the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, however, pushed back on suggestions that Bondi’s firing was linked to the Epstein files during an episode of “Jesse Watters Primetime.”

“I have never heard President Trump say that the attorney general was — that anything that happened to her — had anything to do with the Epstein files,” Blanche said.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend a “Batman Forever” event in New York City June 13, 1995.(Patrick McMullan/Getty Images)

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“What happened when the president signed the Transparency Act is the Department of Justice has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga. … Attorney General Bondi and I appeared in front of Congress voluntarily a couple weeks ago to answer any questions they had,” he told Fox News.

“We have made every single congressman, senator available to come and see any document redacted, unredacted.”

Fox News Digital’s Nora Moriarty, Katelyn Caralle and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Brittany Miller is a Breaking News Writer for Fox News Digital. Tips can be sent to brittany.miller@fox.com and @BrittMillerFox on X.

Former federal prosecutors see legal flaws in DOJ’s indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center

2026-04-23T16:24:56-0400 / CBS News

The Justice Department’s indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center may contain serious legal defects that could lead to a full or partial dismissal because it struggles to articulate the elements of the alleged crimes, former federal prosecutors told CBS News.

The 11-count indictment alleges that the civil rights nonprofit organization, best known for its work to oppose the Ku Klux Klan, lied to donors about paying confidential informants to infiltrate hate groups and deceived banks about the bank accounts used to make those payments.

It charges the group with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and making false statements. The group denies all the charges and vows to defend itself in court.

“Not a valid indictment”

Legal experts say it is not clear exactly how the SPLC’s statements to donors represent material falsehoods or omissions, or why its past use of paid informants would run counter to its mission of dismantling white supremacist groups, a tactic that federal and local law enforcement also utilize to infiltrate and break up criminal organizations.

“I don’t think any prosecutor with white-collar experience would look at this indictment and believe it makes out the elements of a crime,” said Kyle Boynton, an attorney who previously worked both as a federal civil rights prosecutor and an FBI agent. “It’s not a valid indictment.”

In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson noted that the grand jury agreed to indict the group on 11 counts, just based on a portion of the evidence presented.

“These issues will all be litigated in court and the government remains confident in its case. It’s a shame that these former prosecutors aren’t aghast at these allegations of severe fraud, manufactured racism, and abuse of donor dollars,” the spokesperson added.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has long been at the center of the right-leaning groups’ ire, and represents the first of what is expected by many in the nonprofit world to be the first of more progressive groups who are likely to find that they’re in the Justice Department’s sights.

Allies of the Trump administration have accused the group of being “anti-Christian” and unfairly targeting Republican-aligned groups like Turning Point USA, the Family Research Council and Moms for Liberty.

In October, FBI Director Kash Patel severed the bureau’s ties to the group, which for decades has worked closely with law enforcement to pass along tips and intelligence about hate groups that could pose public safety risks, according to the group’s spokesperson. The spokesperson added that there were never formal ties, but that the group frequently shared evidence about potential threats with law enforcement officials.

At a press conference earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche focused largely on the wire fraud charges, saying that between 2014 through 2023, the Southern Poverty Law Center paid at least $3 million to eight different informants who were affiliated with groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Movement and the Aryan Nation.

To prove wire fraud, the government must show at trial that the Southern Poverty Law Center intentionally tried to fleece its donors and that those misstatements or omissions of facts were material.

The indictment points to statements the SPLC made on its website, where the group said it partnered with communities to “dismantle white supremacy” and it would “pursue a bold action agenda” that included “investigating and exposing candidates using hate and extremism to gain power.”

The vague fundraising language cited in the indictment, according to the lawyers, is not likely strong enough to show the group made affirmative false statements, omissions or half-truths, and the use of paid informants to obtain intelligence about hate groups does not on its face run contrary to its mission statement, with some predicting that the charges could be dismissed before the case makes it to trial.

“When I looked at this indictment, I was very surprised that anyone would have ever charged a case like this,” said William Johnston, a former assistant chief at the Justice Department’s fraud section who has experience prosecuting charity fraud cases.

“There have to be material misstatements or half-truths. And here, they really haven’t alleged anything explicit that the use of the money contradicted,” he said. “The idea that diverting money to insiders is not dismantling — it is very stretched.”

If the Southern Poverty Law Center is able to defeat the wire fraud charge, then the money laundering charge would automatically falter because a federal money laundering charge rests on certain predicated offenses, or underlying criminal acts that generate illicit proceeds, lawyers said.

The indictment relies on the underlying wire fraud allegations to support the money laundering claims.

Bank fraud charges stronger, but problems remain

The other charges against the group center on statements it made to various banks about checking accounts it opened in order to facilitate payments to its confidential informants.

Of all of the charges in the indictment, some lawyers say those are arguably the strongest part of the case and have a better shot at making it to a jury trial without being dismissed by a judge.

The indictment alleges that two employees from the SPLC opened bank accounts in the names of fictitious entities in order to mask how it was paying the informants. Prosecutors say the employees made “false or misleading” statements to the banks by certifying they were the sole owners of the accounts.

“Those are serious allegations,” said Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor. “You cannot set up phony accounts at a bank and then allegedly lie to the bank about the phony accounts.”

At the same time, former prosecutors told CBS News said there are still a host of possible challenges with the bank fraud charges, too.

For one, the Justice Department did not charge SPLC with a more generic bank fraud statute, but went with a narrower one under 18 USC 1014, which criminalizes fraud involving “loan and credit applications.”

That statute itself does not explicitly include the opening of a checking account as one of the actions covered, and several different federal circuit courts are split on the issue of whether it can be included or not, lawyers said.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the Middle District of Alabama where the indictment was returned, has yet to weigh in on the matter.

The bank fraud statute charging SPLC also requires a showing that the defendant intended to influence the bank’s action, and such an allegation is absent from the indictment, said Joe Rillotta, an attorney who previously prosecuted financial crimes at the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

“You don’t have a pleaded allegation that references the object of the scheme as required by the statute. What bank action are you seeking to influence?” he said.

Several former Justice Department attorneys also predicted that the Justice Department may need to return to the grand jury to correct errors in the indictment’s discussion of the bank fraud charges.

The indictment alleges that the employee who opened the bank accounts in question made “false or misleading statements.”

But the Supreme Court last year, in Thompson vs. USA ruled that this bank fraud statute only criminalizes false statements — and not statements that are misleading but not false.

“The Supreme Court made crystal clear that false statements under 1014 must be actually false, not merely misleading,” said Aaron Zelinsky, a former federal prosecutor now with Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.

“This indictment appears to allege statements that were potentially only misleading. That’s not a crime.”

FIRST ON FOX: SPLC’s legal woes grow as Jim Jordan fires latest salvo at left-wing group

April 23, 2026 6:00pm EDT / Fox News

Prosecutors allege the nonprofit used shell companies to pay informants who promoted racist groups, including the KKK

By Ashley Oliver Fox News

SPLC accused of funding extremists and pushing false narratives

Steve Harrigan reports on the Southern Poverty Law Center being accused of funding extremist groups and facing a DOJ indictment for financial fraud.

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FIRST ON FOX:The House Judiciary Committee escalated scrutiny of the Southern Poverty Law Center on Thursday, demanding documents from the nonprofit after a federal indictment alleged the group funneled millions in donor funds to extremist organizations.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to SPLC President Bryan Fair that the GOP-led committee was investigating any coordination between the SPLC and the Biden Department of Justice and FBI, both of which had used the left-wing nonprofit as a resource.

Jordan demanded a slate of documents from the SPLC by April 30, a request that comes after his Republican counterparts in the Senate also ramped up scrutiny of the SPLC and after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hinted at more possible indictments related to the group.

The intensifying investigations into the SPLC, expanding from the DOJ to Congress, come after Jordan’s committee previously investigated the group, saying it was known for “maligning several mainstream conservative and religious organizations as ‘hate groups,’” such as Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA, and that the Biden DOJ improperly used it for civil rights enforcement.

[SPLC SAW REVENUE SURGE AFTER CHARLOTTESVILLE RALLY AS DOJ ALLEGES INFORMANT TIES]

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a committee session.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

“Publicly available documents revealed how the Justice Department partnered closely with the SPLC during the Biden-Harris Administration, including scheduling regular meetings, giving the SPLC early access to federal law-enforcement data, and allowing SPLC employees to train federal prosecutors,” Jordan wrote. “The new information about the SPLC alleged in the indictment only raises further questions.”

Jordan also noted that a controversial internal memo originating from the FBI Richmond Field Office during Director Christopher Wray’s tenure, which framed so-called radical-traditionalist Catholics as a group of people more prone to violent crime, used the SPLC as a source for its findings. The memo surfaced in 2023, with Wray later retracting it and saying it was an “appalling” breach of religious freedom.

Jordan’s letter pointed out that the Richmond memo was among more than a dozen FBI documents that used the SPLC as a resource.

The DOJ on Tuesday charged the SPLC with several counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit money laundering, alleging the group defrauded donors for more than a decade.

[RADICAL HOUSE DEM APPOINTED TO GOP-LED COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING JANUARY 6: ‘WE WILL EXPOSE THE LIES’]

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel at the Department of Justice April 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C., about the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center on charges related to money laundering.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Prosecutors said the nonprofit, which promotes its efforts to fight White supremacy, misled donors by using shell companies to mask how donor funds were used. More than $3 million was paid through the shell companies to informants who participated in activities involving the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, among others, prosecutors alleged.

“The SPLC’s paid informants … engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website,” prosecutors wrote, noting one informant allegedly went so far as to help plan the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Congress has an important interest in protecting Americans from extremist violence and criminal activity,” Jordan wrote in his letter. “The Committee on the Judiciary has been conducting oversight of the Biden-Harris Administration’s close coordination with the SPLC on federal civil rights matters.”

[BIDEN DOJ SUBPOENAED JIM JORDAN’S PHONE RECORDS COVERING MORE THAN TWO YEARS]

Neo-Nazis, the alt-right and White supremacists take part in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.(Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday set its sights on a woman previously affiliated with the SPLC who was a federal judge and Biden appointee serving a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

“Every individual associated with SPLC should have to answer for what they knew about the organization’s extremist ties, and when,” committee Republicans wrote in a statement on X.

“That includes Nancy Abudu, SPLC’s former litigation director who Biden appointed as a lifetime judge on the 11th Circuit.”

Just before the DOJ announced charges, Fair said in a public statement that the federal investigation was political rather than sincere.

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“They have made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy,” Fair said, noting the group no longer works with paid informants but adding they had “risked their lives” to infiltrate extremist groups.

Fox News Digital reached out to the SPLC and Abudu’s chambers for comment.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

US FDA rejects AbbVie’s wrinkle treatment due to manufacturing concerns

2026-04-23 20:19:38 UTC / Reuters

By Padmanabhan Ananthan

April 23, 2026 8:19 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

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Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Abbvie logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights

Abbvie Inc
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

April 23 (Reuters) – AbbVie said on Thursday ​the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ‌declined to approve its experimental wrinkle treatment, trenibotE, citing issues in manufacturing.

Here are some details:

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• TrenibotE is ​a botulinum toxin for treating facial ​wrinkles such as frown lines, with effects ⁠wearing off as early as 8 hours ​compared to Botox’s duration of over two ​weeks.
• The setback removes a near-term catalyst for AbbVie’s aesthetics business, but Street expectations for trenibotE were modest, Citi ​analyst Geoff Meacham said.
• Meacham also noted ​that manufacturing‑related requests have likely delayed approval into 2027.
• AbbVie ‌added ⁠the agency did not raise concerns about the treatment’s safety or efficacy, and did not ask for new patient studies.
• The company dominates ​the aesthetics ​market, generating ⁠multi-billion-dollar revenues from its Botox treatment, which are used for wrinkle ​smoothing, migraines and muscle disorders.
• The company ​said ⁠trenibotE has been studied in more than 2,100 patients, including two late-stage trials and a ⁠safety ​study.
• AbbVie said regulatory reviews of ​the treatment in other countries are still underway.

Reporting by ​Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore

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Only one Trump “gold card” visa has been approved so far, Commerce’s Lutnick says

April 23, 2026 / 4:57 PM EDT / CBS News

The Trump administration has approved one gold card visa since starting to accept applications for the new U.S. residency permit in December, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday.

Lutnick, who offered the update while testifying at a House subcommittee hearing, said that the process for applying for the gold card visa was recently finalized with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the program. The visa program is available to foreigners who pay a $1 million donation to the U.S. government.

“They have approved, recently, one person, and there are hundreds in the queue,” Lutnick said Thursday. “They wanted to make sure they did it perfectly.”

He added that the vetting process for gold card applicants is “the most serious … in the history of government.”

President Trump announced the program last year, touting it as an expedited path for wealthy foreigners to secure legal residency in the U.S. and as a way to generate government revenue. Applications for the new visa went live in December, with the government website for the gold card stating that it can help foreigners receive residency approval in “record time.”

Applicants for the visa pay $15,000 in processing fees to the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to the $1 million donation. Homeland Security referred questions about the program to the Commerce Department.

Lutnick didn’t disclose details about the individual approved for the gold card visa, and the Commerce Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Asked by Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York, how the $1 million donations from the program will be used, Lutnick said that the money will be directed toward “the betterment” of the U.S.

“That will be determined by the administration,” he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-signs-1m-gold-card-visas-adds-100000-fee-skilled-worker-visa-applicants/