Habeas corpus is a legal principle that allows people who believe they are being unlawfully detained or imprisoned to petition for their release in court. Immigrants and rights groups have filed habeas petitions in recent months as Trump has tried to speed up deportations as part of his immigration agenda. Still, habeas petitions are notoriously difficult to win in federal court, and it will be a challenge for most immigrants to obtain lawyers. Lee Kovarsky, law professor at the University of Texas and expert on habeas corpus, said it would be a “national historical disaster.” “The executive could just detain you, and there would be no recourse,” he said. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Friday the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus and it “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.” But the Constitution allows habeas corpus to be suspended only when “in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” “The Constitution makes clear that suspension of habeas corpus is to be reserved for actual rebellion or invasion posing the most dire threats to public safety. And Congress has never passed a law authorizing deportations without any court involvement, as Miller suggests,” CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said. Kovarsky said the reason why suspension of habeas corpus is so restricted “is precisely because it's so severe.” So in a way, the cash value of your substantive rights is zero if you don't have a judge to evaluate them,” he said. The Supreme Court issued a murky, unsigned order on April 7 allowing Trump to use the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportations for now while at the same time, the court said migrants subject to deportation under the act were entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal through federal habeas corpus petitions, marking a partial win for migrants. Following the Supreme Court's decision, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a series of habeas lawsuits seeking to protect identified clients as well as “similarly situated” Venezuelans who could potentially be targeted under the Alien Enemies Act. Habeas corpus has been used in US courts including over issues with detaining alleged enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in recent years. Another high-profile case related to habeas corpus involves Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and legal permanent resident who was detained by immigration officers in March. Khali filed a habeas corpus petition to challenge the legality of his detention, and his case still faces legal challenges as he faces deportation.

A core group of top US officials — including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State and interim national security adviser Marco Rubio, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — had been closely monitoring the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan when on Friday morning, the US received alarming intelligence, Trump administration officials told CNN. Vance himself would call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vance encouraged Modi to have his country communicate with Pakistan directly and to consider options for de-escalation, the officials said. live updates India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after weeks of tensions “There was a lot of effort going on to try and tamp down escalation earlier in the week, and it was clear at that point that the two sides weren't talking,” one of the officials familiar with Rubio's calls to his counterparts said. “The goal earlier this week was to encourage India and Pakistan to talk with our counterparts and figure out a path to de-escalation through a ceasefire, and through the course of those conversations, US officials were able to gain insights into what those potential off-ramps look like for both sides, and be able to help relay that message and bridge some of that communications divide, which then allowed the two sides to actually talk and get to the point where we are now,” the source said. But from the US perspective, Vance's call to Modi was a critical moment. Vance traveled to India and met with the prime minister last month, and Trump officials believed his relationship with Modi would help on the call, officials said. analysis The US takes credit for India-Pakistan ceasefire, but it was pushing on an open door “You know, America can't tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can't tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. The ceasefire was reached following a day of intense fighting Saturday. Trump announced the “full and immediate ceasefire” on social media Saturday morning, and Rubio minutes later posted, “I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the ceasefire was a result of several conversations between Rubio and Vance over the past 48 hours between top officials in each country. “It was a beautiful partnership,” Bruce said Saturday on NewsNation, praising Vance and Rubio for “implementing the insight and vision of President Trump.” Related article India and Pakistan agree to a ceasefire, but will it hold? While Pakistan praised US involvement in the talks, India has downplayed it. “We thank President Trump for his leadership and proactive role for peace in the region,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X about three hours after Trump announced the ceasefire. It should not be surprising that these bitter rivals have given contradictory accounts of how the ceasefire was reached. In their long history of tensions, India and Pakistan have both viewed foreign intervention differently. India, which views itself as an ascendant superpower, has long been resistant to international mediation, whereas Pakistan, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid, tends to welcome it, analysts say. CNN's Kit Maher, Sophia Saifi and Christian Edwards contributed to this report.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Kip Tom, vice chair of the "Farmers First Agenda" from America First Policy Institute (AFPI), tells Fox News Digital the goals of the program and the role that farmers play in "Making America Healthy Again." Richard Irvine, 65, founded his smokery about three years ago, said news agency SWNS, after first "falling in love" with the Hebridean island in the 1980s when he and his wife honeymooned there. His business, Colonsay Smokery, supplies smoked salmon to the shop as well as to local restaurants and venues off the island. Richard Irvine's business supplies smoked salmon, such as the above, to a number of locations. He's now hoping to find new owners and is offering to mentor the right people. "Attracting younger people to live here is a constant driver for island efforts," he said, SWNS reported, as the current population is growing older. "Many of my peers on the island have devoted their skills and time in a voluntary capacity to help develop the island economy … [They've aimed] to increase the amount of affordable accommodation, which is great," he said. "Call it a desire to help an island I love." "But housing is only one side of the island's problems. He said he wants to "pass this business and the opportunity it presents on to someone who has the desire to run and grow a business, but perhaps is missing the initial capital to get it set up. The owner of a Scottish island business is giving it away for free to a young family looking to move to the area for the long term. Irvine founded the smokery after retiring from a career as a brand consultant, he said. "I moved here after retiring early from a career that encompassed building, working as a chef, commercial writing and running a successful design and brand consultancy," he said. "I did so as we've [vacationed] here for almost 40 years since I took my wife here on our honeymoon." The couple originally planned to buy a plot and build a home on Colonsay, but realized they needed a place to stay during the process. Within months, they found and purchased a house with sea views. While his wife stayed on the mainland with their son, Irvine took on the task of renovating their new island home. The ideal candidates would have an "entrepreneurial spirit," he said. "I conceived the idea of creating a business that would benefit the island that I love and that I could hand over to someone to encourage them to relocate here." The ideal candidates would have an "entrepreneurial spirit," he said. The process of smoking salmon takes five days. It includes fileting and curing the fish in salt, before it is dried, smoked and left to mature, the BBC noted. It is then sliced and packed before being sold. "I'll mentor and teach them for three months as a handover if they need it … The only thing I will do is retain a form of ‘golden share' to ensure they keep the business going, and hopefully growing, for five years." He said that ideally, he's hoping to find a family who would appreciate the close-knit nature of Colonsay's tiny primary school, and the opportunity to swap a small city flat for a larger, more affordable home just minutes from work, as SWNS reported. "If you think you might be that couple – write to me telling me why," he said. Reem Amro is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. A look at the top-trending stories in food, relationships, great outdoors and more. By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Sasha had only heard a little about South Carolina, and even less about the town of Hartsville, when he and his family moved there in September 2022. They were forced to suddenly leave behind their life in Kyiv because of the war with Russia. They are not the only Ukrainians in the “small, rural community” where they have been welcomed and begun to rebuild their lives. “For me, the United States, it was like a fortress of democracy, of freedom, of opportunities, and I thought, finally, finally, I'm in the place where I can begin my life all over again,” Sasha, who is not using his last name for fear of reprisal, told CNN. Sasha, his wife and his young daughter are among the approximately 280,000 Ukrainians who have relocated to the United States through “Uniting for Ukraine” (U4U), a US government humanitarian parole program that allowed private US citizens to sponsor and help support Ukrainian refugees. Now, Sasha's family and scores of others who came to the US under the U4U program fear their lives may once again be uprooted, as decisions on parole extensions, temporary protected status, and work authorizations have been paused amid the Trump administration's sweeping changes to the immigration system. A spokesperson for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said there is “an administrative hold on all pending USCIS Benefit Requests filed by Parolees Under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) Process.” “This is pending the completion of additional vetting to identify any fraud, public safety, or national security concerns,” they said in a statement to CNN. “USCIS is committed to safeguarding the integrity of our nation's immigration system and carrying out President Trump and Secretary Noem's mandate to make America safe again.” For Liana Avetisian and Alina Mirzoian, Ukrainian cousins who settled with their family in DeWitt, Iowa, that “administrative hold” could spell the end to their American dream. They paid thousands in application fees through the immigration system but have not yet received temporary protected status (TPS) and the administration suspended processing humanitarian parole extensions before theirs were granted, their sponsor Angela Boelens explained. The lack of action threatens to leave them in limbo. Boelens, who is also the president of Iowa Newcomer Community & Exchange (IA NICE), said the community feels betrayed too. We don't know what we're going to do with all the home mortgages here in town, the people who are losing their valuable employees, their friends in school are crying. They had to hire a counselor at the school locally to help the children understand some of what's going on,” she told CNN. Boelens explained that the community “had raised half a million dollars to buy transitional houses” for newcomers to stay in. Some have since been able to buy houses of their own. “This entire community feels really hurt, and this is a very, very red community, they're in disbelief,” she said. Sam Heer, who employs four Ukrainian workers including Avetisian and Mirzoian, told CNN “it would hurt” if they had to leave. Heer said the community is committed to helping them with their bills. They want to provide for their families,” he said. “They have become such an integral part of our community,” Lee told CNN, noting at least one company that relies on skilled labor from resettled Ukrainians. And it's going to tear us apart if that happens.” Lee warned that the US government “doing nothing will actually force many of them to leave.” “They should at least give them some certainty,” he said, “even if they just kicked the can down the road and gave them all a blanket parole and work authorization until after the midterms.” “We are basically taking on the burden of resettlement,” he noted. “Little towns like mine, we need to have people coming in, just from a pure population standpoint, and especially ones that are going to bring additional talent and diversity,” he said. “For all this talk of, well, you know, we're going to get rid of the immigrants that supposedly aren't good for the US – that's not this group.” Avetisian who came with her husband as well as her now 14-year-old daughter, and Mirzoian came to DeWitt in May 2023 from near Kyiv. They had returned to Ukraine after relocating for two months to Bulgaria at the start of Russia's war, but then in autumn 2022 found that life there was “harder and more dangerous” amid Moscow's relentless attacks on critical infrastructure. “No light, electricity, and it was cold, and we were sitting in our houses with candles,” she explained. When they came to DeWitt, they were welcomed into the community, where a couple of other Ukrainian families had also settled. His family fled Kyiv with just minutes to pack their suitcases after explosions near their home and separated for several months – his wife and daughter went to Italy while he remained helping build shelters in Ukraine. Speaking over video chat with Lee and his wife, Barbara, who were their sponsors, helped assuage some of those fears, he said. Their concerns were further eased when they arrived. Now, Sasha has restarted his construction business in Hartsville, building affordable tiny houses out of shipping containers. When you can't answer this question, I can't even explain how it feels,” he told CNN. “A couple months ago, she started to call this place where we live in, she started to call it home.”

Jeff Landry have discussed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow challenging U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy in next year's Republican primary, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The Republican governor's promotion of a new challenger to Cassidy reflects unease within Trump's base about the two-term senator. And Cassidy, who is a medical doctor, expressed doubts about Trump's pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nation's health secretary before voting to confirm Kennedy. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and have a favorable electoral map in the 2026 midterms to help them keep control. But Cassidy is among several GOP senators up for reelection next year who are facing challenging primaries over past moves to distance themselves from Trump. And I don't think he has the mindset to say, ‘I made a mistake,'” said Eddie Rispone, the Republican nominee for Louisiana governor in 2019 and a Cassidy supporter. Landry, a close Trump ally, spoke last month with the president about Letlow as a potential Senate candidate, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation. They were granted anonymity to share contents of a conversation they were not authorized to discuss publicly. A spokesperson for Letlow declined to comment on a potential campaign for Senate or the discussion between Landry and Trump. Landry, elected in 2023, has been advocating for Letlow to consider a run, according to the people who confirmed their April conversation about Letlow. Republican insiders describe Landry and Cassidy not as close, but as having a cordial working relationship despite a difference in their feelings of loyalty to Trump, which creates some distance between Cassidy and segments of the party base in the state. “He's worked hard to support the President's agenda and we're confident voters will re-elect him next year.” Letlow is a three-term Republican representative from northeast Louisiana. She won the seat in a special election in March 2021 after her husband, Luke, had been elected but died of complications from COVID-19. Letlow sits on the influential House Appropriations Committee. Her district was a mostly rural swath of northeast Louisiana when she arrived in Congress. It has shifted as a result of a redistricting map ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 and now also include parts of metropolitan Baton Rouge, where Cassidy lives. Cassidy already faces one major challenger, Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, a former congressman. Some Republican activists in the state condemned Cassidy for his 2021 vote to convict Trump, a vote Cassidy said afterward he was “at peace” casting. The state Republican executive committee voted unanimously to censure Cassidy. The Republican committee in Bossier Parish, which includes the city of Shreveport in northwest Louisiana, adopted a censure measure describing Cassidy as “an object of extreme shame” and called for his resignation. Trump revived his public contempt for Cassidy a year ago after the senator spoke out when the then-former president promised to pardon those convicted in connection with the Capitol riot; Trump did that after taking office in January. In an April 2024 post on Truth Social, Trump called Cassidy “one of the worst Senators in the United States Senate” and a “disloyal lightweight.” Louisiana's new congressional primary election system also could be a wrinkle for Cassidy. Next year, only voters who note Republican affiliation on their voter registration — and those who affiliate with no party — will be able to participate in the GOP Senate primary. “It does tighten it a little bit for him, because you do have the far-right Republicans — for them, it's going to be hard to forgive him for that impeachment vote,” Rispone said. Still, Cassidy has a clear fundraising advantage, with more than $7.4 million in his campaign account at the end of the first quarter. Cassidy has also begun laying the campaign groundwork in Louisiana and is expected to announce his candidacy formally in the coming weeks. And in a sign things might not be as bad with Trump as they were, Cassidy received different sort of recognition from the president at an economic event at the White House this month.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, mocked Democrats for advocating for the return of illegal immigrant and wife beater Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying, "I think they hate Donald Trump so much that it's driven them to crazy town." Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, mocked "crazy town" Democrats for defending illegal immigrants like alleged MS-13 gang member and Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia over U.S. citizens, saying that many seem to have an incurable case of Trump derangement syndrome. The remarks also came just before Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday after joining several members of Congress in storming an ICE detention facility. "It is a very bizarre political decision that the Democrats have made," Cruz said. "They have decided that they are the party of illegal immigrants and the party of gang members." "The vast majority of Americans," he went on, "don't want more gang members and violent criminals in this country, and it really is a shame the Democrats have gotten so extreme in their hatred of Donald Trump that the one thing they can stand for is more illegals and more gang members." Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, mocked "crazy town" Democrats for defending Salvadoran illegal immigrants like alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia over U.S. citizens. Bringing up Van Hollen's and other Democrats' trips to El Salvador on behalf of Abrego Garcia, Cruz said: "We're seeing Democrat senators, Democrat house members flying down to El Salvador and putting all their political capital behind the position that we need more illegal immigrants in America, we need more criminals in America, and we need more MS-13 gang members in America." "I think Trump derangement syndrome is a real mental illness," he went on. "I think they hate Donald Trump so much that it has driven them to crazy town. Why is it that Democrats care so much about supporting violent criminal illegal aliens, they care so much about supporting MS-13 gang members?" Though many Democrats claim that Abrego Garcia is an innocent man who was wrongly deported, the administration has pointed to considerable evidence that he is a member of the MS-13 gang. According to police and court records shared with Fox News Digital, Abrego Garcia was arrested in Hyattsville, Maryland, in October 2019, at which point he was identified by the Prince George's County Police Gang Unit as an MS-13 gang member. A federal immigration court in Baltimore further determined that Abrego Garcia was not eligible for release, because he had "failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his release from custody would not pose a danger to others, as the evidence shows that he is a verified member of MS-13." Several DHS sources have confirmed to Fox News Digital records indicating that Abrego Garcia also had been pulled over by a Tennessee highway patrol trooper while driving an SUV belonging to Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, another illegal alien who in 2020 confessed to human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. Fox News Digital has also reviewed court documents filed by Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, alleging that he had seriously beaten and verbally abused her multiple times and mentally abused her children. In April, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision ordering the Trump administration to arrange Abrego Garcia's return. Jennifer, Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wife, cries as Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) speaks during a press conference after returning from El Salvador, where he had met with the man, on April 18, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, VA. (Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images) The court required the "government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador." After Fox News Digital asked Van Hollen whether he was aware of the domestic violence allegations against Abrego Garcia before he went to visit him in El Salvador, the senator became defensive, saying: "What I said here was these issues need to be litigated in the courts, okay?" "What Donald Trump needs to do is put up or shut up in the courts, and he's just not done that," he went on. "My response is, always stick to the Constitution, stick to the due process rights of people who live in America, and if we all do that, then we'll be doing the right thing for our country." Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Editor's note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel's weekly newsletter. (CNN) – In travel news this week: Couples who moved from the US to South America, Venice's radical plan to save the city from flooding, plus Air New Zealand reveals its much anticipated new Dreamliner cabin design. The new cabin experience is spread across Business Premier, Business Premier Luxe, Premium Economy and Economy. The front row of Business Premier is given up to Luxe seats, which have a full closing door, a larger bed and space for two to dine. Premium Economy seats have increased storage space, side wings for privacy, plus a fixed outer shell so that passengers can recline their seats without disturbing the person behind them — a detente in the reclining seat war. Economy passengers will get 50% bigger inflight entertainment screens, new snack trays and stowage options, plus there's a new Economy Stretch seating option with 39% more legroom. The aircraft will enter service on May 19, flying from Auckland, New Zealand, to Brisbane, Australia. Later that day, the Dreamliner will complete its first long-haul trip from Auckland to San Francisco. An Albuquerque couple relocated to Ecuador two years ago in the hope of enjoying a peaceful retirement. Just as the pair were settling in, however, the country was plunged into a state of emergency. Moving abroad is a decision that requires plenty of research and planning. Some of the best countries for American expats are in Central America, such as Costa Rica and Panama. Here's what to know before you go. The average sea level in Venice has risen nearly a foot since 1900, while the city itself has subsided by close to 10 inches. The famous “floating city” has become a sinking city, but now there's a daring plan to lift the entire town above rising floodwaters. Svalbard locals told CNN how they're preparing for the future. And a teeny low-lying island nation in the Pacific ocean is selling citizenship to save itself from rising seas. Nauru has introduced a controversial “golden passport” scheme, with a price tag of $105,000, and the money raised will be used to relocate people to higher ground. Alcatraz has been making headlines this week, thanks to President Donald Trump's declaration that he wishes to reopen the notorious prison. Then she reunited on vacation with her teenage summer romance. Double-decker passenger planes are a dying breed. It's called the Las Vegas of Asia. But locals say they never go to casinos.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. First lady Melania Trump hosted a special ceremony on Thursday announcing the latest commemorative stamp honoring the legacy of former first lady Barbara Bush alongside Mrs. Bush's daughter, Doro Bush Koch. Washington, D.C. – First lady Melania Trump hosted a special ceremony this week announcing the latest commemorative stamp honoring the legacy of former first lady Barbara Bush. Fox News Digital was on hand for the event. Mrs. Trump was joined on stage in the East Room of the White House on Thursday by Doro Bush Koch, daughter of Barbara Bush; Alice Yates, CEO of the George & Barbara Bush Foundation; and Judy de Torok, vice president of corporate affairs at the U.S. "Barbara's unwavering conviction, dignity and deep loyalty to her loved ones have left an indelible mark on our hearts and history," said Mrs. Trump. Barbara Bush, wife of 41st President George H. W. Bush, served as first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and second lady from 1981 to 1989. From left to right, Judy de Torok, corporate affairs vice president at the U.S. The stamp features a portrait of Mrs. Bush by American artist Charles Fagan, who was also in attendance. "The unveiling of this commemorative stamp honors Barbara Bush's contributions as first lady and her enduring impact on our nation," Melania Trump also noted. "May this tribute inspire us to lead with compassion, act with strength, and uphold the values that direct us toward a meaningful existence." The youngest daughter of Barbara and George paid a special tribute to her mother, touching on her personal life, parenting, cause of literacy and dedication to the nation. Doro Bush Koch, daughter of Barbara Bush, spoke at the stamp unveiling to honor her mother on Thursday. "Barbara Bush, known to many as mom, Ganny, the Silver Fox, or most famously in our family, the Enforcer, will forever be remembered for her strength, abounding love for family, quick wit, and deep commitment to literacy," said Bush Koch. "[My father was the] only man she would ever kiss at a school dance," their daughter added. "Two years later, she was engaged to George H.W. Bush, beginning a partnership that would span decades and help shape history. "Mom told her staff she wanted to do something every day to help others, so that's what she did. She scheduled many events and visits that highlighted a need helped encourage volunteerism or focused on literacy," Bush Koch shared. Melania Trump and Bush Koch both highlighted Barbara Bush's 1990 commencement speech at Wellesley College, in which she encouraged graduates to believe in something larger than themselves, to get involved in some of the big ideas of the day. "While she is known for championing literacy, she also supported women's empowerment, changed the national conversation on AIDS, and took a stance supporting gay rights," said the first lady. Her message, which emphasized the importance of family and personal integrity, encouraged women to carve their own paths in life," said Trump. "That simple, compassionate act, captured in a photo that made national headlines, spoke louder than words ever could. Mom was never one to shy away from speaking the truth or taking a stand," said Bush Koch. Mrs. Trump shared that the hallmark of Bush's legacy is not just her respect for tradition but also the ways in which she broke convention. The stamp features a portrait of first lady Barbara Bush by American artist Charles Fagan. "While she is known for championing literacy, she also supported women's empowerment, changed the national conversation on AIDS, and took a stance supporting gay rights," said the first lady. It's unlikely that Mom ever pictured herself on a postage stamp, and it's very likely that she would be wondering what all this fuss is about today," said Bush Koch. A look at the top-trending stories in food, relationships, great outdoors and more. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

In a world with too much noise and too little context, Vox helps you make sense of the news. We don't flood you with panic-inducing headlines or race to be first. We focus on being useful to you — breaking down the news in ways that inform, not overwhelm. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? As a country, we have vastly more capacity to grapple with difficult challenges and complex tradeoffs when those issues haven't been subsumed into partisan politics, so I was relieved at the time that Covid hadn't become a partisan issue. It seemed to me that we could handle it as long as we worked hard to keep things that way. I've had this story on my mind because, over the last few years, I've watched as the rapidly falling rates of family formation in the US — and much of the rest of the world — go from a niche issue to a mainstream issue to an increasingly partisan issue. Ensuring that our economy and society support people in deciding whether they want children, and the ability to have as many children as they want, is way too important to surrender to the culture wars. And yet that's where we seem to be headed. Just about everywhere you look, birth rates are collapsing. Many demographers thought that the global population would stabilize around mid-century. You might wonder: What's the big deal? But the economics of population don't work this way. It means there will be fewer people to do all of the things that don't technically need to be done, but that make life richer and more interesting. Surely, though, this would still be better for the environment, right? Richer societies are better positioned to combat climate change, and while we have been headed in the right direction, with rich countries' per capita emissions falling rapidly over the last decade, that progress would be likely to reverse in a fiscally overburdened, rapidly shrinking society. In many ways, the most environmentally destructive civilizations in our history were the poorer, early industrial ones, and returning to that state shouldn't be heralded as a good sign for the environment. But this looming demographic crisis, one every bit as real and serious as climate change itself, has been met so far with significant ambivalence, if not outright denial. And part of the reason is growing political polarization. As my colleagues Rachel Cohen and Anna North have written, there's been a surge of interest in falling birth rates on the right. Elon Musk tweets about it (and reportedly pays an enormous number of women to impregnate them); a Natalist Con in Austin recently featured some good, serious discussion of these issues, but also some fairly awful right-wing provocateurs. The significant right-wing interest in pronatalism has many liberals convinced it's a stalking horse for the end of women's rights, and not worth taking seriously except to rebut. I will never forgive Elon Musk for the damage he did to PEPFAR, but if he accurately says the sky is blue, that doesn't suddenly make it red. Rather, that's all the more reason to talk about it. One of the most important triumphs of the modern era is that, for the first time in history, people have meaningful control over when and whether they have children. That is a social good on which we absolutely shouldn't compromise. No one who doesn't want children should have to have them, and any pronatalist who makes anything like that argument should be ignored. But there are a lot of policies around population that add to freedom, will make people's lives materially better, and give them more choices that align with other liberal priorities and would likely increase birth rates. Americans right now have fewer children than they say they want, and figuring out a way to close that gap would all by itself produce a more stable population. No single policy is a silver bullet — not even close — and the whole suite of them would be very expensive. But it arguably wouldn't be as expensive as the costs of failing to address this, and marginal efforts do produce marginal improvements. And there are lots of potential progressive wins that could be connected to pronatalism: less expensive housing, universal pre-K, support for new parents, better schools, and more affordable healthcare. Beyond any specific policy prescription, though, I think population is a very real problem, and it is corrosive to pretend otherwise. A largely stable population would be okay. A population that shrinks somewhat and then stabilizes would also be fine. A population halving every 50 years is absolutely not going to be fine. We should all be proactively working to ensure that does not happen, and that means not ceding one of the most important issues we face to the worst people in politics. A version of this story originally appeared in the Future Perfect newsletter. You've read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country. Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change. We rely on readers like you — join us. More contagious than Covid-19 and with a 30 percent mortality rate, smallpox was one of history's biggest killers. How to block the next Covid in mid-air.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Paul LePage, in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview, points to President Trump and says a main reason he's coming out of retirement to run for Congress is ‘I have a friend in the White House right now' Paul LePage of Maine says President Donald Trump is a major reason why he's coming out of political retirement at age 76 – and he's eyeing a campaign comeback. "I never, ever had any aspirations to go to Washington until now," LePage said this week in his first national interview after launching his bid for the House in Maine's Second Congressional District, which is a top swing seat the GOP aims to flip in the 2026 midterm elections. And I think that's a big, big thing for me," LePage said as he was interviewed in the Maine city where he was born and raised. LePage highlighted, "I have a friend in the White House right now. I know several of his secretaries very well. And so I think this is a good time. It's a good time for me to go help." "I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular," LePage joked at the time, in a line that's since become famous. The conservative governor, who grabbed national attention with controversial comments made during his tenure, briefly moved with his wife, Ann, to Florida after finishing his second term in 2019. But LePage re-established residency in Maine five years ago and challenged his successor as governor, Democratic Gov. LePage ended up losing his bid for a third term by 13 points to Mills, but he did carry the 2nd Congressional District in that race. Moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a U.S. Marine veteran who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who often bucks his own party in Congress, has held the seat since first winning it in 2018. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, at a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, has represented Maine's 2nd Congressional District since first winning the seat in 2018. And Trump, who carried the district in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections by nine, seven and 10 points, earned an electoral vote each time, as Maine and Nebraska, are the only two states in the union to allocate their electoral votes partially by congressional district. Golden, in a statement after LePage announced his candidacy, said, "I thought Paul was doing his best work in retirement." But the 42-year-old Golden has yet to announce whether he'll seek re-election next year or instead run for either the state's Senate seat or the open governor's office. Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spotlighted LePage's tenure as governor. "Paul LePage's time in office was defined by his obsession with blocking Mainers' ability to receive quality health care, opposing Medicaid expansion at every possible opportunity," DCCC national press secretary Viet Shelton argued in a statement. "At a time when Republicans in Congress are pushing the largest cut to Medicaid in history, Mainers can't afford LePage's crusade to rip health care away from people." In his Fox News interview, LePage reiterated that the nation's debt is a top motivation for him to return to politics. "It's the spending and the debt that this country has, and I'm worried about my grandchildren, great-grandchildren. And I think we have a president now that's really willing to tackle it, and I'm willing to help," he said. But LePage added that "the other thing that is really big is what's happening in our country with the woke environment. Having boys play in girls' sports is really sad." He also highlighted his Tuesday meeting—part of a three-day swing through the congressional district—with Maine student Cassidy Carlisle, whom he described as "the courageous young woman fighting unfair male competition in girls' sports." Maine's 2nd Congressional District shares a long border with Canada. When asked if he'll be spotlighting border security and immigration as major issues in his campaign, Lepage said, "Big time." "I'm all for the tariffs," LePage said. "The tariffs will fix our international trade and lower taxes." LePage acknowledged: "Is it going to hurt in the short term? Yeah, it's going to hurt a little bit in the short term, but I think it's necessary." And he predicted that "the tariffs are going to be a short-term problem. I think they're going to settle out." LePage spoke with Fox News at Lewiston's Franco Center, a performing arts center and historic site of Franco-American culture located in a former Gothic church built in 1907 for French Canadian immigrants in Maine, which is located alongside the city's historical mills and canals. Paul LePage, who's running a 2026 Republican campaign for Congress, tours the Franco Center, a performing arts center and historic site of Franco-American culture located in a former Gothic church in the city of Lewiston, on May 7, 2025. Lepage was baptized as a child in the church. The former governor, who survived a troubling and often brutal upbringing, gave Fox News a tour of the many dwellings within blocks of the Franco Center, where he spent his childhood. The eldest son of 18 children, LePage grew up speaking French in an impoverished home with an alcoholic and abusive father who was a mill worker. He lived on the streets of Lewiston and often crashed on friends' couches for a couple of years before earning a living shining shoes, washing dishes at a restaurant, and haling boxes for a local truck driver. Paul LePage points in the location of a building where he lived during his childhood, in Lewiston, Maine, on May 7, 2025. LePage, speaking in the church where he was baptized and sought refuge during his family troubles, told Fox News, "It feels good coming in this building. A couple of nuns and priests were really helpful in my upbringing." He later enjoyed success as a businessman, including greatly expanding Marden's Surplus and Salvage, a Maine-based discount store chain. Years later, he ventured into politics, winning election to the Waterville city council and later serving as the city's mayor before winning statewide office in 2010. The former governor says his rough childhood has influenced his political life in a way that not many other politicians can understand. And he lamented, "Unfortunately, the mentality in the current society is not to help people get out of poverty, but it's to keep them in poverty." "I want to help get them out of poverty," he said. "I think there are so many programs that we can institute that will elevate people in poverty, rather than keep them." Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Jari Honora, family historian for the Historic New Orleans Collection, shows genealogy material of the grandparents of Pope Leo XIV in New Orleans, Friday, May 9, 2025. Marc Morial, Former New Orleans Mayor and current president of the National Urban League, speaks to the Associated Press about the creole roots of Pope Leo XIV, in New Orleans, Friday, May 9, 2025. All four of Pope Leo XIV's maternal great-grandparents were “free people of color” in Louisiana based on 19th-century census records, Honora found. As part of the melting pot of French, Spanish, African and Native American cultures in Louisiana, the pope's maternal ancestors would be considered Creole. “It was special for me because I share that heritage and so do many of my friends who are Catholic here in New Orleans,” said Honora, a historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum in the French Quarter. Honora and others in the Black and Creole Catholic communities say the election of Leo — a Chicago native who spent over two decades in Peru including eight years as a bishop — is just what the Catholic Church needs to unify the global church and elevate the profile of Black Catholics whose history and contributions have long been overlooked. Leo, who has not spoken openly about his roots, may also have an ancestral connection to Haiti. His grandfather, Joseph Norval Martinez, may have been born there, though historical records are conflicting, Honora said. Andrew Jolivette, a professor of sociology and Afro-Indigenous Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, did his own digging and found the pope's ancestry reflected the unique cultural tapestry of southern Louisiana. “There is Cuban ancestry on his maternal side. So, there are a number of firsts here and it's a matter of pride for Creoles,” said Jolivette, whose family is Creole from Louisiana. “So, I also view him as a Latino pope because the influence of Latino heritage cannot be ignored in the conversation about Creoles.” Jari Honora, family historian for the Historic New Orleans Collection, shows genealogy material of the grandparents of Pope Leo XIV in New Orleans, Friday, May 9, 2025. Most Creoles are Catholic and historically it was their faith that kept families together as they migrated to larger cities like Chicago, Jolivette said. In the coming years, the Jim Crow regime of racial segregation rolled back post-Civil War reforms and “just about every aspect of their lives was circumscribed by race, extending even to the church,” Honora said. The pope's mother, Mildred Agnes Martinez, who was born in Chicago, is identified as “white” on her 1912 birth certificate, Honora said. “You can understand, people may have intentionally sought to obfuscate their heritage,” he said. “Always life has been precarious for people of color in the South, New Orleans included.” The pope's grandparents' old home in New Orleans was later destroyed, along with hundreds of others, to build a highway overpass that “eviscerated” a stretch of the largely Black neighborhood in the 1960s, Honora said. As a Catholic with Creole heritage who grew up near the neighborhood where the pope's grandparents lived, Morial said he has contradictory feelings. Ajani Gibson, who heads the predominantly Black congregation at St. Peter Claver Church in New Orleans, said he sees the pope's roots as a reaffirmation of African American influence on Catholicism in his city. “I think a lot of people take for granted that the things that people love most about New Orleans are both Black and Catholic,” said Gibson, referring to rich cultural contributions to Mardi Gras, New Orleans' jazz tradition and brass band parades known as second-lines. Shannen Dee Williams, a history professor at the University of Dayton, said she hopes that Leo's “genealogical roots and historic papacy will underscore that all roads in American Catholicism, in North, South and Central America, lead back to the church's foundational roots in its mostly unacknowledged and unreconciled histories of Catholic colonialism, slavery and segregation.” Kim R. Harris, associate professor of African American Religious Thought and Practice at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said the pope's genealogy got her thinking about the seven African American Catholics on the path to sainthood who have been recognized by the National Black Catholic Congress, but haven't yet been canonized. Harris highlighted Pierre Toussaint, a philanthropist born in Haiti as a slave who became a New York City entrepreneur and was declared “Venerable” by Pope John Paul II in 1997. While it's not known how Leo identifies himself racially, his roots bring a sense of hope to African American Catholics, she said. “When I think about a person who brings so much of the history of this country in his bones, I really hope it brings to light who we are as Americans, and who we are as people of the diaspora,” she said. “It brings a whole new perspective and widens the vision of who we all are.” Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, the only historically Black Catholic university, said he was “a little surprised” about the pope's heritage. It also shows us that the church transcends national borders.” Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Maren Morris is back with her fourth studio album, ‘DREAMSICLE.' (May 9) (AP interview and production by Gary Gerard Hamilton) Maren Morris poses for a portrait on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in New York. Maren Morris poses for a portrait on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in New York. Maren Morris poses for a portrait on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in New York. Maren Morris arrives at Variety's Power of Women on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) NEW YORK (AP) — When country star Maren Morris would voice support for the LBGTQ community, including publicly clashing with Jason Aldean's wife over gender-affirming care for transgender youth, she thought she was doing it as an ally. “I just maybe, internally, hadn't had the bravery to go there in myself, and say the words out loud,” said Morris, who recently came out as bisexual. “When you spend the majority of your life in straight relationships and you haven't explored that part of yourself … is now the right time for me to tell everyone while I'm married that like, 'Hi, I'm also attracted to women? These learning curves shaped “Dreamsicle,” her fourth studio album, out now. Following 2022's “Humble Quest,” the 35-year-old singer-songwriter crafted 14 tracks filled with an eclectic, yet cohesive mix of traditional country, pop, soft-rock and dreamy bluegrass vibes. Production includes superstar pop producer Jack Antonoff, John Ryan, Laura Veltz and The Monsters & Strangerz production team, with Morris credited as a writer on every song. … I was really just avoiding going home, and I would stay in my sessions late, and also write on days that I probably should have just taken a nap or gone to see my therapist,” Morris said. Standout moments include the beautiful Americana-esque “grand bouquet” where Morris sings, “been so busy praying for my grand bouquet/not noticing you gave me a new flower every day.” There are also her staple poppy songs like “cry in the car” that attempt to mask the pain and frustration of heartbreak behind upbeat tempos. Maren Morris poses for a portrait on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in New York. “I went on a date with a woman for the first time, and I was just like I want to write about this,” she said, noting she felt safe exploring the topic with the queer-identifying band. “It was the first song for one of my albums that I wrote alone and I don't often do that,” said Morris, who added “Dreamsicle” came to her at one night as a 3 a.m. realization that change was necessary. “Everything that I thought was going to be permanent in my life, like in some form or fashion, either ended or evolved into something completely different.” Morris is currently prepping for her global tour in July, with more than 40 dates mixing headlining shows and festival appearances. Since coming out, she emphasizes she's received an abundance of love throughout Nashville, and has been overwhelmed by the support in the country music space that some have criticized as intolerant. It deals with the friends that helped patch you back together,” Morris said. … If I can do it, ... someone will hear it and feel like they can get through that day that they're in.” Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV is just over a day into his pontificate and is already capturing style critics' attention with his return to form on papal aesthetics. It might seem silly to fuss over the pope's image. However, when one's life is spent almost entirely in the public eye, how one is presented ceases to be superfluous. When he first emerged on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday, one message was immediately clear — Leo values tradition. He appeared in the same white cassock, red mozzetta, and papal stole combo worn by most modern popes but abandoned by his predecessor, the late Pope Francis. Francis, known for his rejection of ornate clothing and accessories during his reign, was a singular personality in the Vatican. His appreciation for simplicity came from his lifelong embrace of material poverty, adhering to the Jesuit vow of poverty, admired by many who believed it conveyed a sense of closeness with the world's poor. He wore black orthopedic shoes instead of the traditional crimson papal slippers. On cold days, he opted for a plain white coat and similar scarf. Instead of residing in the luxurious papal accommodations enjoyed by pontiffs before him, Francis stayed in a modest Vatican guesthouse. There were simple fashionistas among these critics, but others expressed a deeper consideration — that the individual man is obscured and minimized behind the beautiful wardrobe. There have been a few other notable fashion choices from Leo in his first 48 hours. At his first Mass as pope on Thursday morning, he carried a gold ferula that was originally gifted to Pope Benedict. He will also reportedly be moving into the Apostolic Palace, a sprawling residence immediately next to St. Peter's Basilica and decorated with centuries' worth of fine art and sculpture. It's important to keep in mind that Leo's change in personal style from Francis is hardly a rebuke of the late Jesuit. When a man is elected pope and ceases to be himself, he walks into an office with 2,000 years of accumulated possessions. Each one will settle into his own style.