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Rare T. rex fossil sells for record $50.1 million at auction

July 14, 2026 12:36 PM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and climate. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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A giant Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold for $50.1 million at an auction in New York on Tuesday, marking a new record price for a dinosaur fossil.

The T. rex, nicknamed Gus, is a towering figure, standing at 12.5 feet fall and roughly 38 feet long, according to Sotheby’s, the auction house that hosted the historic bid. Composed of 183 different bones, in addition to dozens of rare rib specimens that aren’t included in technical bone counts, the assembled fossil is among the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons ever discovered, the auction house said.

Gus was auctioned off as a fully mounted structure, ready to be placed in an exhibit. The last time such an intact dinosaur skeleton sold for such a comparably high price was two years ago, almost to the date, when Sotheby’s auctioned off the mounted bones of a stegosaurus called Apex for nearly $45 million. It was a record sale at the time, which significantly exceeded the estimated price range of $4 to $6 million.

Sotheby’s had predicted that Gus would sell for $20 or $30 million, according to its website. But, after only a 10-minute bidding window, the skeleton became “the most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction,” the auction house said. Just seven bidders participated in the auction.

A massive T. rex skeleton sold for a record $50.1 million at an auction on Tuesday. Matthew Sherman/Sotheby’s

Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice chair, said in a statement that the auction’s outcome “has been years in the making,” crediting Thomas Heitkamp, who led the excavation to uncover the T. rex remnants alongside a team in Harding County, South Dakota. The colossal dinosaur skeleton is named after the late cattle rancher Gary “Gus” Licking, who owned the land on which Heitkamp initially found the fossils.

The T. rex dates back to the late Cretaceous period, approximately 67 million years ago, according to Sotheby’s. Its discovery in South Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation followed a number of similar finds in that region, which is one of the most renowned sites of dinosaur fossils in the world.

But unearthing one like Gus is incredibly uncommon. According to Sotheby’s, just 32 T. rex skeletons have been found since the first was discovered by a paleontologist in southeastern Montana in 1902. Of them, just two, before Gus, proved to be at least 60% complete. The first, called Sue, is now on display at the Chicago Field Museum, while the second, called Stan, is at the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, the auction house said.

The skeleton of Gus is roughly 61% complete, according to Sotheby’s, and it includes what the auction house described as “an exceptionally preserved skull.”

“For me the added bonus was knowing that ‘Gus’ was just one of the many pieces of history hidden in the land that Gary and I loved to share,” said Dana Licking, Gary Licking’s wife, in a statement. “It will be exciting to see how many others will get to enjoy this spectacular discovery.”

DOJ charges 3 Russians in alleged $63M cybercrime scheme targeting Americans

July 14, 2026 2:47pm EDT / Fox News

Alexander Volosovik, Kirill Zatolokin and Yulia Pankova allegedly ran St Petersburg firms enabling ransomware and phishing attacks

By Robert McGreevy Fox News

Three Russian nationals allegedly scammed Americans in 21 states out of more than $63 million, according to a December 2024 indictment that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio unsealed Tuesday.

The trio — Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, 43, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, 34, and Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova, 29 — conducted “malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure” through their St. Petersburg, Russia-based companies Media Land, LLC and ML.Cloud, LLC, according to federal prosecutors.

“From their overseas safe haven, these defendants ran the criminal infrastructure that powered attacks on critical institutions across our nation,” Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement.

GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 276 ARRESTS

“Their actions put the American public at risk. We will continue to dismantle these networks and protect our critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad.”

Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova and Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin.(U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio)

A grand jury indicted the trio on charges of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in December 2024.

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering up to $10 million for information on foreign government-linked associates of the trio or for affiliates of their companies.

FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL

The U.S. and allied countries levied sanctions on the companies in 2025.

Media Land and MLCloud, according to the indictment, provided hosting services and information technology infrastructure for business both in the U.S. and abroad. Specifically, the groups offered “bulletproof hosting” services meant to be used by those trying to evade detection by law enforcement.

The companies “provided infrastructure and tech support to criminal client co-conspirators with the means to infect victim computers with malware and ransomware and then extorted those victims for money and cryptocurrency,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office Tuesday announcement read.

STOLEN IDS SOLD FOR ‘HAPPY MEAL’ PRICES FUEL BILLIONS IN US BENEFIT FRAUD

“Other computer-based crimes facilitated by Media Land and ML.Cloud included supporting criminal marketplaces, fraudulent domain registrations, and providing the platform from which to launch phishing and brute force attacks,” the announcement added.

While many U.S. residents were alleged victims of the group’s products, their organizations targeted victims across the globe, prompting U.S. authorities to collaborate with international partners, a fact the U.S. attorney and the FBI both stressed.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio David Toepfer(U.S. Department of Justice)

“The victims in this case are not only in Ohio, but also in 20 other states across the country, touching every aspect of Americans’ lives. They include banks, schools, government entities, hospitals and media companies,” United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio David M. Toepfer said in a statement.

“Together with our international partners, we will aggressively combat the efforts of individuals who hide behind computers anywhere in the world who seek to profit and wreak havoc by targeting the infrastructures that support our communities.”

Other international organizations that Toepfer thanked included the National Police of the Netherlands and the Netherlands’ Public Prosecutor’s Office, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Federal Police.

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“Today’s announcement underscores the importance of global partnerships and international collaboration, especially in a borderless world riddled with cyber criminals,” FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Josh DelManzo also said.

FBI headquarters in Washington D.C., July 3, 2023.(Celal GÃneÅ/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“The methods used by these bad actors, including ransomware, malware, phishing and other cyber activity, serves as a reminder that whether for business or personal use, when you are online, criminal networks will stop at nothing to hack, attack, share, or sell your information for their own greed, gain, and profit. The FBI and its partners will continue to identify and cripple criminal networks and freeze their infrastructures to reduce or remove the threats to the public and further protect trusting individuals and companies.”

Fox News Digital contacted the DOJ for further comment.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Ohio declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

As cyclosporiasis cases rise, consumers are left guessing which foods to avoid

July 14, 2026 3:45 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Consumers worried about a growing outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a diarrheal illness caused by the cyclospora parasite, are turning to social media for advice on what foods to avoid as public health officials have yet to identify the source.

The illness can cause long-lasting bouts of explosive diarrhea leading to severe dehydration, particularly in young children, older adults and people who are immunocompromised. Public health experts say it is difficult to dispense safety advice because key details about the outbreak remain unknown, leaving the public largely flying blind when it comes to appropriate health precautions.

“This isn’t a problem consumers can solve,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, CBS News medical correspondent and editor-at-large for Public Health at KFF Health News. “We basically have to revert to what you’d tell someone traveling to a developing country: Don’t eat fresh produce that isn’t cooked and can’t be peeled.”

The lack of definitive information has fueled widespread speculation online, with some social media users naming specific grocery stores, restaurants or food producers they believe are responsible for the outbreak.

“Anyone who is sick with cyclospora, what state are you in and have you narrowed down what you ate that may have caused it?” one social media user wrote in a post that received more than 1,300 responses.

Gounder said the absence of an official recall or confirmed source has created fertile ground for online speculation, adding that she cautions against drawing such conclusions before investigators identify the source.

“No recall has been issued for this outbreak,” Gounder added. “And a lot of the viral content treats this as gross-out material, explosive diarrhea, played for shock value.”

On July 13, the state of Michigan, with some 2,600 cases, issued some guidance, saying that “current results point to lettuce or salad greens as a potential source for this outbreak, although other food items cannot be completely ruled out.” The statement didn’t point to any specific producer or retailer, but urged consumers to purchase whole heads of lettuce rather than pre-washed bags of greens.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taco Bell removes some ingredients

On Tuesday, Taco Bell told CBS News that it has “voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.” Federal and local health officials are investigating whether illnesses reported by some customers are connected to the broader outbreak, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Taco Bell told CBS News that public health officials haven’t confirmed a link to its restaurants or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer.

“Until the culprit is found, we really can’t put the blame on a certain farm or processing company,” Dr. Nuwan Gunawardhana, an infectious disease expert at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told CBS News.

Optional cyclospora tracking

Some public health experts say staffing reductions and changes to disease surveillance may have made it more difficult to quickly identify the source of the outbreak.

The outbreak comes about one year after the CDC scaled back monitoring of cyclospora. Before July 2025, the CDC mandated the reporting of cyclosporiasis through FoodNet, a network that tracked laboratory-confirmed infections from cyclospora, Dr. Omer Awan, a physician and senior public health contributor for Forbes, told CBS News.

“Our surveillance systems have been hindered to a large extent because of many cuts we’ve seen from the federal government,” Awan said.

Many of the CDC employees laid off last year worked on disease outbreaks like the current one, reducing the agency’s ability to identify and contain foodborne illnesses, he said.

“Now it’s become optional to report [cyclospora], so our surveillance systems have been hindered, and it’s hard to know what the source is,” he said.

In the absence of specific product recalls, here is how health experts say people can avoid contracting the disease.

Advice on food safety

Because investigators haven’t identified a specific contaminated product, health experts say the safest approach is to follow general food safety precautions.

Michigan health officials noted that previous cyclosporiasis outbreaks have been linked to:

• Bagged salad mixes and kits
• Fresh cilantro
• Fresh basil
• Raspberries
• Snow peas
• Green onions or scallions

People who want to be especially cautious may choose to avoid those foods until investigators identify the source of the current outbreak.

Handwashing is also essential, according to Dr. Jessica Justman, an infectious disease and internal medicine specialist at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

“People should step up their hand washing with soap and water, particularly before handling any food, preparing any food and eating,” she said.

Produce should be rinsed thoroughly before consumption, she added.

Heating fresh produce to 70 degrees Celsius or 158 degrees Fahrenheit is the best way to eliminate the parasite, experts told CBS News.

“The best way to avoid ingesting it is to cook your food,” Dr. Gunawardhana said. He added that brushing or scrubbing vegetables can also help get rid of it. “But it’s also known to be extremely adherent to surfaces, so it won’t protect you 100%.”

Edited by Aimee Picchi

Cyclosporiasis parasite cases skyrocket

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/cyclosporiasis-parasite-cases-found-31-states/

Amy Coney Barrett recalls heartbreaking question from 12-year-old son over bulletproof vest

July 14, 2026 3:41pm EDT / Fox News

Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027

By Elaine Mallon, Fox News

Barrett: Didn’t expect this job meant explaining bulletproof vest to my son, 12

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett says threats around the Dobbs leak forced her to bring home a bulletproof vest — and explain it to her 12-year-old son — as she warned lawmakers that the threat level facing federal judges remains “really high.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett shared before the House Appropriations Committee that the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children.

“They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” Barrett testified Tuesday.

Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was.

“And I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was, and why I had to wear one,” Barrett told the committee.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019

Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices.

Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testify before the House Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill July 14, 2026, in Washington.(Finn Gomez / Getty Images)

Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family’s lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify.

In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police.

AMY CONEY BARRETT DRAWS BACKLASH FROM CONSERVATIVE CRITICS WHO WANT HER TO BE A TRUMP PARTISAN

“I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said.

She also shared that her and other justices are receiving anonymous packages being sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in 2020.

The gunman was an attorney, posing as a delivery driver. Judge Salas was his target. Salas’ husband was seriously injured as well.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett arrives to testify during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2026.(Kent Nishimura / AFP)

MORNING GLORY: THE SUPREME COURT OFFICIALLY CLOSES THE BOOKS ON ANOTHER TERM

“I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear,” Barrett said. “As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high.”

The testimony underscored the urgency behind the Supreme Court’s push for more security funding during its first appearance before Congress since 2019.

In total, the Supreme Court is requesting roughly $89 million to cover their personal security costs, which Kagan said is necessary given that the Justices have experienced a 35% increase in threats just in 2026, compared to a 25% increase in threats the year prior. Kagan noted how recent growth in the budget can be entirely attributed to security expenses.

“For some of us, those threats have come very close and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” Kagan testified.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6401126352112

She recalled that when she arrived at the Supreme Court in 2010, justices did not receive around-the-clock personal protection. Instead, the court’s police primarily guarded the building, and she only had security accompanying her during work-related public events.

But Kagan said the heightened focus on justices’ security began after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. Scalia died while on a hunting trip in Texas, where he was hours away from security personnel after declining a private security detail for the trip.

Kagan recalled that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., came to Chief Justice John Roberts to push them to step up their security.

“This was how the Chief described it to us — they said, kind of like, ‘We think you’re crazy, you know, that you have less security than the director of the Office of Personnel Management does. And we think that you have to do better.’

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“Then, of course, the Dobbs leak happened, and that really increased the urgency of the entire thing,” Kagan said. “But we’ve been working on this now for about a decade and actually, I think, are grateful to Congress for coming to us and saying, ‘You have to up your game in this area.’”

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Dept of Justice launches new trade fraud enforcement unit

July 14, 2026 7:19 PM UTC / Updated 56 mins ago / Reuters

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as “Main Justice,” is seen behind the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

CHICAGO, July 14 (Reuters) – The Department of Justice said on Tuesday it is creating a new global trade enforcement section of its ​National Fraud Division to investigate and prosecute criminal import, ‌trade and customs fraud offenses.

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• The new unit is part of a shift by federal agencies from pursuing administrative fines for import violations to criminal ​prosecutions. Since the DOJ and the Department of Homeland ​Security launched the Trade Fraud Task Force in August ⁠2025, the agencies have exceeded $1 billion in civil and criminal ​recoveries, penalties, forfeitures and publicly charged losses.
• The DOJ’s trade fraud unit’s ​mission is to investigate and prosecute criminal schemes to import goods illegally that violate U.S. product safety and anti-forced labor laws or misreport import values ​and other information to evade tariffs.
• “For too long, fraud actors ​have viewed customs violations as a mere surcharge or cost of doing ‌business,” ⁠Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said in a statement. “By utilizing the Department’s full weight, we are making it clear that trade fraud is a serious economic crime.”
• DOJ and DHS officials made the ​announcement at a ​U.S. Customs ⁠and Border Protection inspection warehouse near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, a major import hub, amid boxes ​of confiscated illegal vaping devices and drones.
• The U.S. ​Attorney’s Office ⁠for the Northern District of Illinois also announced criminal charges in two Chicago-based gold jewelry import cases in which defendants were separately ⁠accused ​of falsely declaring the country of ​origin to evade tariffs. The jewelry had a combined import value of $933 million and ​avoided customs duties of $51.6 million, the office said.

Reporting by David Lawder

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

June’s inflation data showed a big drop. How will that impact the 2027 Social Security COLA?

July 14, 2026 1:30 PM EDT / CBS News

Social Security recipients are still on track for one of the biggest cost-of-living increases in recent years, with new estimates pointing to a 3.6% to 3.8% benefit boost in 2027 after June’s cooler-than-expected inflation report.

The 2027 COLA could rise by 3.6%, according to the AARP, while the Senior Citizens League is forecasting a 3.8% increase, unchanged from its prior month’s forecast but down from its May estimate for a 3.9% boost.

As of January, the average retired worker received $2,071 a month in Social Security benefits, according to the Social Security Administration. A 3.6% to 3.8% COLA would increase the average monthly benefit by about $75 to $79, raising it to roughly $2,149 at the upper end of the range.

The COLA is intended to help benefits keep pace with inflation, but it is based on past price increases. The Social Security Administration calculates the adjustment using inflation data from July through September, meaning the final 2027 COLA could differ from current estimates based on recent Consumer Price Index reports.

The Social Security Administration will announce the 2027 COLA on Oct. 14, after the September CPI report is released, according to the AARP. The advocacy group said this is its first COLA projection ahead of the third-quarter inflation reports that will be used to calculate the official adjustment.

“Inflation is pretty unstable right now,” Alex Moore, the statistician for the Senior Citizens League, told CBS News in an email.

June’s inflation data came in much cooler than economists had expected, rising 3.5% on an annual basis, lower than the forecast of 3.9%. The report reflected a sharp cooling from May, when the CPI hit a three-year high of 4.2%.

Despite annual COLA increases, many seniors say they’re falling behind financially. Research from the Senior Citizens League shows Social Security benefits have lost nearly 14% of their buying power over the past decade because the inflation measure used to calculate the COLA doesn’t fully reflect expenses that disproportionately affect older Americans, such as healthcare.

The Social Security Administration relies on a subset of the inflation gauge called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W. But advocates for older Americans say the index is based on younger workers’ spending patterns and doesn’t accurately reflect older Americans’ spending.

Most seniors are frustrated with their Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, with 89% saying the 2026 hike of 2.8% was too low, allowing their benefits to fall short of inflation, the Senior Citizens League found in a June survey.

Trump says FBI is ‘wasting their time’ if they’re pursuing conspiracy theories in Graham death investigation

2026-07-14T18:24:00.589Z / CNN

By Betsy Klein, Holmes Lybrand, Manu Raju, Alison Main

Updated Jul 14, 2026, 2:36 PM ET
PUBLISHED Jul 14, 2026, 2:24 PM ET

Sen. Lindsey Graham during a Senate budget committee hearing on April 16.

Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images/File

President Donald Trump downplayed the idea Tuesday that Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death was a result of any nefarious activity, saying the FBI is “wasting their time” if they’re pursuing conspiracy theories about the matter.

According to four law enforcement sources who spoke with CNN, investigators have no indication that Graham died from unnatural or nefarious causes. One of the sources said local police are conducting a normal review after someone dies, and the FBI has just offered their resources if necessary.

“I know there’s all sorts of conspiracy theories going along, and I don’t think the FBI — I think the FBI is wasting their time if they’re doing that,” Trump said when asked why the FBI was looking into the death or if he had gotten any updates.

The medical examiner has said preliminarily that Graham suffered an aortic dissection – a tear in his artery that is life threatening in most cases. Commentators online have suggested more sinister theories. Far-right activist Laura Loomer, for example, pointed to Graham having just returned from Ukraine, where he pushed for sanctions against Russia, before his death Saturday. GOP Sen. John Cornyn called for the release of a toxicology report to “rule out any foul play.”

Some in the law enforcement community felt FBI Director Kash Patel added fuel to the fire when he cryptically posted on X following Graham’s death that the FBI was “assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available.” And the public confusion was compounded when FBI agents were seen entering Graham’s home in Washington, DC, on Monday – with no clear indication as to why, as sources had indicated previously there weren’t signs of foul play.

Neither Patel nor the FBI has publicly clarified the director’s statement. Sources told CNN that Patel’s post was meant to reference the normal review process law enforcement takes following a lawmaker’s death.

Much of what is known publicly from those who interacted with Graham in the hours before his death does not point to any foul play.

GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville said one of his staffers was with Graham’s scheduler Saturday evening when the South Carolina Republican called the scheduler to complain of chest pains – which could be a symptom of an aortic dissection – and asked her to call for emergency services.

“Lindsey called, called basically, said, ‘Listen, I’m having chest pains. You know, I need to do something,’” Tuberville told reporters on Monday, relaying the account of those involved. CNN also previously reported that emergency responders were dispatched to a DC address for Graham around 8:30 pm ET for a report of someone suffering chest pains, according to audio of the dispatch on Broadcastify.

Several people have said Graham sounded OK in their interactions with him before he died.

Trump has said he talked to Graham on the phone before his death, and Graham indicated he was tired from the trip but otherwise seemed fine. Sen. Katie Britt told CNN she also spoke with Graham this weekend – after he spoke with Trump – and he was “so excited about getting the White House onboard with the Russian sanctions bill.” She said she had no sense anything was amiss.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal offered a similar account to CNN.

“He sounded absolutely fine,” said Blumenthal, noting he had talked to Graham on Friday and Saturday. “In fact, better than fine.”

Trump said Tuesday an aortic tear is “very hard to detect” and that he has had White House doctors explain the diagnosis to him.

“When that bursts, which it did — it burst — there’s not much, so I don’t see a lot of evil there,” he said.

He added of his friend: “I wish he took better care of himself.”

CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.

Trump’s AG nominee racks up massive support ahead of confirmation hearing: ‘Real results’

July 14, 2026 2:26pm EDT / Fox News

The Fraternal Order of Police and 23 attorneys general urge swift Senate confirmation of the acting attorney general

By Leo Briceno, Peter D’Abrosca Fox News

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Several key groups are coming to the support of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he navigates Senate confirmation to officially become the successor to Pam Bondi, according to the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Support cited by Grassley’s office includes 670,000 sworn officers, 300 angel families, families who lost a loved one to crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and 100 bipartisan U.S. attorneys and DOJ officials.

The office highlighted a statement from 23 attorneys general, among other outpourings of support.

MIKE DAVIS: WHY SENATE MUST IGNORE OBAMA JUDGE’S ATTACK ON AG NOMINEE TODD BLANCHE

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“At a time when Americans expect their government to protect communities from violent crime, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and organized criminal activity, Todd Blanche has shown the ability to deliver real results. His record reflects a commitment to public safety, vigorous enforcement of federal law and effective stewardship of the Department of Justice… we urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Todd Blanche as United States Attorney General,” the statement said.

Support received by Grassley highlighted Blanche’s work as acting attorney general and, in particular, his aggressive stance toward enforcement.

Blanche took over the Department of Justice after Bondi left the role in April.

President Donald Trump dismissed her after what many critics saw as a botched handling of the Epstein Files, overpromising transparency on who may have facilitated the sex trafficking crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and then underdelivering.

WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES

Since taking the role, Blanche has steered the DOJ away from the Epstein controversy and refocused messaging on domestic security. Soon after taking command, he created a National Fraud Enforcement Division and highlighted reductions in violent crime, drug seizures, immigration enforcement and prosecution of gangs and cartels.

Now that Trump has officially tapped him to become the next attorney general, The American Border Story (TABS), which represents Angel Families, said Blanche is key to continuing that work.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Committee Subcommittee hearing “Oversight Hearing — Department of Justice” in the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

“At a time when the Department of Justice must confront violent crime, illegal immigration, human trafficking, child exploitation, cartels, MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and other transnational threats, the country needs clear leadership and sustained operational focus… TABS respectfully urges the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to give full and fair consideration to Todd Blanche’s nomination and to advance his confirmation as Attorney General of the United States,” TABS said in a statement.

The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) echoed that reasoning in a statement of its own.

“We believe Mr. Blanche’s leadership will help ensure that the Department of Justice remains focused on public safety, the rule of law, and providing unwavering support for the law enforcement professionals who risk their lives daily to protect our families and communities… On behalf of the more than 382,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, we commend President Trump on his nomination of Todd W. Blanche to lead the Justice Department and urge the committee to favorably report his nomination.”

Another group of 78 former DOJ officials praised Blanche for steering the department back toward law enforcement and staying away from politically charged controversy.

“Todd Blanche understands that the Department’s mission is to deliver justice — not to serve political interests or entrenched bureaucracies,” the group said.

DEMOCRAT POLITICOS RERUN UNDERHANDED LEFTIST PLAYBOOK IN EFFORT TO TORPEDO TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE

Todd Blanche, nominee for U.S. deputy attorney general, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12.(Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“He has shown the courage and institutional knowledge to restore focus on public safety, law enforcement support, and the rule of law… We firmly believe the Department of Justice and the nation will benefit from his continued leadership at the helm. We urge the Senate in the strongest terms to confirm Todd W. Blanche as the next Attorney General of the United States without delay.”

Blanche is expected to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, and outside witnesses will testify Thursday.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

Killings by immigration agents were a big problem for Trump — and now they’re back

2026-07-14T18:54:54.803Z / CNN

Analysis by Aaron Blake

PUBLISHED Jul 14, 2026, 2:54 PM ET

People place flowers at a memorial at the scene of an ICE shooting that killed a man on July 13, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine.

Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Few if any events in President Donald Trump’s second term have caused his administration to course correct as much as when federal agents killed two protesters against its immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January.

Two top officials overseeing that crackdown have since departed, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and the administration tacitly acknowledged that things had gotten out of hand. Polling backed up just how bad the killings were for the administration.

But things are risking getting out of hand for the administration on this issue again — and at a pretty troubling time, politically.

After months of relative quiet when it came to major deportation controversies, federal agents have killed two people this month — one in Texas last week, then another in Maine on Monday.

As with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the episodes appear primed to test not just Americans’ tolerance for Trump’s immigration agenda, but also the administration’s credibility. The Department of Homeland Security has routinely made dubious and even flatly false claims about such incidents, and questions about its accounts are popping up again.

Notably, in the most recent shooting death in Maine, DHS doesn’t even claim the man who was killed was threatening the lives of the officers — just that he was fleeing the scene and that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was “fearing for public safety.” But that’s generally not a reason to shoot someone.

A Kia sedan reportedly driven by the victim of a fatal shooting can be seen with four bullet holes in the windshield at the scene on Pool Street in Biddeford on Monday, July 13, 2026.

Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

Blood is seen on the pavement at the scene of a shooting involving US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on July 13, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine.

Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

So where does this issue stand politically?

It’s pretty clear that Minneapolis’ impact has lingered. That’s because, despite Trump’s demonstrated success in reducing illegal border crossings to historic lows, he remains substantially underwater on the issue of immigration.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll last month showed Americans disapproved of Trump on immigration, 55%-37%. And they said immigration policy was on the “wrong track” rather than the right one by a 51%-35% margin. Those numbers were very similar to where they were in the aftermath of Good’s and Pretti’s killings in a poll conducted in February.

Quinnipiac University polling showed Trump’s immigration numbers improving modestly since February — going from 21 points negative on immigration to 13 points negative last month. But he was still significantly underwater.

ICE, whose agents shot both people this month, also remained more unpopular than ever, even before these latest shootings in Texas and Maine.

People mourn during a vigil in San Antonio, Texas, on July 7, 2026.

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

People protest outside of a federal immigration office in Scarborough, Maine, on July 14, 2026, after a man was fatally shot by ICE.

Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

A Marquette Law School poll in May showed Americans had an unfavorable view of ICE by a wide margin, 61%-36%.

That roughly 6 in 10 who disapproved of ICE was similar to what other pollsters found in January, in the aftermath of Good’s and Pretti’s killings.

And even just having ICE back in the news would seem to be bad for the Trump administration given the agency’s longstanding unpopularity. In fact, polling as far back as a year ago — well before the Minneapolis killings — showed ICE hitting what was then new levels of unpopularity.

In other words, Americans seem to have had a problem with how the administration has carried out its deportations for a long time. The January killings appeared to raise the salience of that issue in ways that were unhelpful for the administration.

And that’s the political danger in the killings in Maine and Texas.

Ronaldo Salgado holds a photograph of his father, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent, during a news conference, in Houston, Texas, on July 8, 2026.

Antranik Tavitian/Reuters

Much remains to shake out there, and the situations aren’t completely analogous to what happened in Minneapolis.

One key distinction is the lack of video footage as substantial as existed in Minneapolis, where many protesters were around to capture the events. The agents in both shootings this month don’t appear to have worn body cameras, despite efforts after Minneapolis to get such agents outfitted in them.

That footage in Minneapolis not only contradicted what the Trump administration had initially claimed about the killings; it led Americans to conclude by large margins that the immigration agents were at fault.

In pictures: The Minneapolis immigration crackdown

34 photos

Federal agents confront protestors in Minneapolis during clashes in the aftermath of a fatal shooting on January 24. Earlier in the day Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by federal agents.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

In pictures: The Minneapolis immigration crackdown

Mourners in Minneapolis light candles at a makeshift memorial for Renee Good on January 7.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

Blood is seen on the headrest of a vehicle at the scene of Renee Good’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis on January 7.

Ben Hovland/AP

Federal agents confront protestors in Minneapolis during clashes in the aftermath of a fatal shooting on January 24. Earlier in the day Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by federal agents.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

People gather around a makeshift memorial at the site where Pretti died in Minneapolis on January 24.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

A person walks toward a tear gas canister in Minneapolis on January 24.

Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio/AP

A woman cries at the makeshift memorial for Pretti on January 24. The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti had a handgun and “violently resisted” when agents tried to disarm him. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said videos show that account to be “nonsense” and “lies.”

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Thousands of people endure subzero temperatures on January 23 to march in protest of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

Teyana Gibson Brown reacts after a federal immigration officer used a battering ram to break down a door before arresting her husband, Garrison Gibson, in Minneapolis on January 11.

John Locher/AP

A protester holds an umbrella as they react to tear gas being fired by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 14.

John Locher/AP

John Abernathy throws his camera toward fellow photographer Pierre Lavie as he is tackled by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 15. Abernathy was photographing protests in the city and said agents set tear gas in front of him and sprayed pepper spray into his face. The Department of Homeland Security said Abernathy was arrested for obstructing pedestrian and vehicle traffic on federal property.

Pierre Lavie/@just1dudewithacamera

A demonstrator in downtown Minneapolis holds up a sign January 9 that reads, “Love thy neighbor.”

Ryan Murphy/The New York Times/Redux

An American flag is waved as protesters face off with agents outside of ICE headquarters in Minneapolis on January 17.

David Butow/Redux for CNN

Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, is detained by federal agents after arriving home from preschool in a Minneapolis suburb on January 20. He is being held with his father at an ICE facility in Texas, according to school district officials and a family attorney. The boy and his family are originally from Ecuador and presented themselves to border officers in Texas in December 2024 to apply for asylum, the family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, said during a press conference. The Department of Homeland Security said the father was the intended target of the operation.

Ali Daniels/AP

Food is left at an apartment door by Sergio Amezcua, a pastor at Dios Habla Hoy, on January 16. Minneapolis residents have joined a church-run effort to deliver donated groceries to immigrant families who fear leaving their homes.

Todd Heisler/The New York Times/Redux

Aliya Rahman, a US citizen, is dragged from her car by federal agents after she was driving through a protest in Minneapolis on January 13. The Department of Homeland Security tweeted that she was arrested for obstruction after ignoring multiple commands to move her vehicle. Rahman told CNN she was confused by conflicting commands from officers and that she was just trying to go to a doctor’s appointment.

Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu/Getty Images

Taylor Chaika holds an American flag while chanting with a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis on January 8.

Bridget Bennett for Wall Street Journal

A demonstrator stands in front of law enforcement officers outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on January 15.

Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Residents watch from their windows as federal agents sweep through the streets of Minneapolis on January 14.

Todd Heisler/The New York Times/Redux

A protester has a chemical irritant sprayed directly into his face in Minneapolis on January 21. Minnesota Star Tribune photographer Richard Tsong-Taatarii, who captured the image, told CNN that a crowd of protesters became agitated after an ICE agent pushed a cyclist over. That’s when protesters began approaching agents more closely and yelling at them — and agents in turn started wrestling people to the ground, including the man Tsong-Taatarii photographed, he said.

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune/Getty Images

A person stands among a cloud of smoke from a riot-control grenade thrown by a federal agent in Minneapolis on January 12.

Tim Evans/Reuters

Jake Lang, a right-wing influencer, is sprayed with water by a protester outside Minneapolis City Hall on January 17. Lang’s rally was cut short when the crowd chased him off before he could carry out his plan to burn a Qur’an and march to the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, home to the city’s highest concentration of Somali American residents.

Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/Getty Images

Students from Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis take part in a walkout on January 12.

Jen Golbeck/AP

Gregory Bovino, a top Border Patrol official who’s been leading the crackdown in cities across the country, confronts a member of the media in St. Paul on January 11.

Ryan Murphy/The New York Times/Redux

People hug in Minneapolis while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good on January 12. Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, was killed when an ICE agent shot into her vehicle during an encounter on January 7. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good tried to “weaponize her vehicle” and that the agent opened fire out of self-defense. State and local officials have disputed that claim.

John Locher/AP

ChongLy Thao, a naturalized US citizen who goes by the name Scott, is detained after an immigration raid at his home in St. Paul on January 18. He was later returned home without explanation or apology, he told the Reuters news agency. “I was praying. I was like, God, please help me, I didn’t do anything wrong. Why do they do this to me? Without my clothes on,” Thao, a Hmong man born in Laos, told Reuters.

Leah Millis/Reuters

Thao looks out the window with his son Chris as several vehicles with ICE agents idle in the street outside of their home a day after he was taken from his home.

Leah Millis/Reuters

Community members look on as federal agents detain protesters at the scene of a car crash that involved a Border Patrol vehicle in Minneapolis on January 21.

Vincent Alban/The New York Times/Redux

People gather for a vigil on the block in Minneapolis where Renee Good was fatally shot on January 7.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

Demonstrators sit and sing inside a Target store in St. Paul on January 19. Target is headquartered in Minneapolis and has roughly 50 stores in the metro area. Two Target employees were arrested by immigration agents at a store in Richfield.

Mark Peterson/Redux

Posters honoring Renee Good are seen through the windows of a public bus in Minneapolis on January 15.

Todd Heisler/The New York Times/Redux

Federal agents spray a chemical agent at a person in Minneapolis on January 21.

Angelina Katsanis/AP

A person whistles from a window as Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino’s convoy drives by in Minneapolis on January 21.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Federal agents take a demonstrator into custody outside the Whipple Federal Building on January 9.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

A protester attempts to protect themselves as federal agents fire munitions and pepper balls in Minneapolis on January 14.

Ryan Murphy/Reuters

Mourners in Minneapolis light candles at a makeshift memorial for Renee Good on January 7.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

Blood is seen on the headrest of a vehicle at the scene of Renee Good’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis on January 7.

Ben Hovland/AP

Federal agents confront protestors in Minneapolis during clashes in the aftermath of a fatal shooting on January 24. Earlier in the day Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by federal agents.

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times/Redux

People gather around a makeshift memorial at the site where Pretti died in Minneapolis on January 24.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

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In pictures: The Minneapolis immigration crackdown

For now, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says the shooting in her state “raises sufficient critical questions” that she urged DHS to stop non-urgent vehicle stops, which DHS appears to have agreed to do. And both she and Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, are calling to mandate body cameras and for ICE not to investigate itself.

But it’s become abundantly clear that the Trump administration has gone too far with its deportation agenda for Americans’ taste.

Americans broadly liked the idea of deporting undocumented immigrants during the 2024 campaign, and that issue spurred Trump back to the presidency after an influx of illegal immigration during President Joe Biden’s term.

Protesters gather near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Scarborough, Maine, on July 14, 2026.

Robert F. Bukaty/AP

But Americans have routinely said the administration’s tactics have rubbed them the wrong way, according to polling — from wrongful deportations, to sending people without due process to a brutal prison to El Salvador, to the crackdowns in places like Chicago and Minneapolis. After Pretti’s killing, polls showed 6 in 10 Americans said ICE had gone “too far.”

And now, after the administration had seemed to move beyond a political liability, those tactics are back in the news.

Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger, “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot, shares Alzheimer’s diagnosis

July 14, 2026 / 1:42 PM EDT / CBS News

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who famously landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River 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 a post on social media. His statement was first shared with People magazine.

Alzheimer’s is a brain condition that gradually causes problems with memory and other skills. It is the most common 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 a cockpit voice recorder transcript. 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, 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 Alzheimer’s Association.

Sullenberger said he hopes 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.”