Barney Frank, former Massachusetts congressman and gay rights advocate, dies at 86
Committee chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill February 24, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Barney Frank, the former Massachusetts congressman who championed Wall Street reform and served as one of the first openly gay members of Congress, has died at 86, sources told ABC News.
The former U.S. representative served as chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee from 2007 to 2011 and was a leading co-sponsor of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts the “The Shield of the Americas Summit ,“ a gathering with heads of state and government officials from 12 countries in the Americas at the Trump National Doral Golf Club on March 7, 2026 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at a ‘Shield of the Americas’ Summit on Saturday in Doral, Florida, an event that is billed by the White House as a ‘historic’ grouping of over 17 Latin American countries that are committed to cooperating with the U.S. in taking on the cartels and securing the American border following the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump will host heads of state from 12 nations across the Western Hemisphere, according to a White House official.
They are:
Argentinian President Javier Milei, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles Dominican Republic’s President Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona Ecuadorian President Daniel Roy Gilchrist Noboa Azín El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele Ortez Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali Honduran President Tito Asfura Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino Quintero Paraguayan President Santiago Peña; and the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar
“On Saturday, the point of this newfound Latin America Summit is to promote freedom, security and prosperity in our region,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing this week.
“The President will be speaking with the leaders of this country who have really formed a historic coalition to work together to address criminal, narcoterrorist gangs and cartels encounter illegal and mass migration into not only the United States but the western hemisphere, which remains a key and top priority of this President,” she added.
Trump’s relationships with some Latin American leaders have turned tense at times and his policies have drawn criticism. Some leaders criticized the U.S. raid that captured Maduro as an attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty. Trump has also been critical of Mexico’s efforts to fight drug cartels and traded barbs with the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. However, following the Jan. 3 Venezuela raid, the two leaders appeared to have patched up their differences. Trump invited Petro to the White House and the two issued complimentary statements.
The summit has shifted in prominence after Trump announced he was removing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her post and shifting her to a new role as a special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas.”
Noem emailed DHS staff overnight on Thursday, informing them that her official final day at the department will be March 31 and writing, “In my new role, I will be able to build on the new partnerships and national security expertise I forged over my time as Secretary of Homeland Security.”
The summit also comes amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has resulted in major movements in the U.S. energy markets.
To combat the spikes in crude oil prices, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday on Fox that the U.S. was “drilling expeditiously here at home” and tapping into the new markets in Venezuela.
A Border Patrol Vehicle Stands Watch at the Mexican American Border Wall Outside of El Paso Texas. (Photo by Joey Ingelhart/E+)
(WASHINGTON) — An appeals court on Friday affirmed a district court’s ruling that an executive order invoked by President Donald Trump to suspend immigration asylum claims is unlawful.
In a divided 2-1 ruling, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a court order saying the Immigration and Nationality Act allows migrants who cross the southern border apply for asylum.
“The INA does not allow the President to remove Plaintiffs under summary removal procedures of his own making,” the court wrote. “Nor does it allow the Executive to suspend Plaintiffs’ right to apply for asylum, deny Plaintiffs’ access to withholding of removal under the INA, or curtail mandatory procedures for adjudicating Plaintiffs’ Convention Against Torture claims.”
On Day 1 of his second term in office, President Trump issued an executive order he called “Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion,” which aimed to block immigrants from seeking asylum and other forms of relief once they enter the United States and to allow for their swift removal from the country.
Friday’s ruling means that migrants who make it to U.S. soil, whether at a legal port of entry or in between, can legally seek asylum as has been allowed in previous administrations.
The Trump administration will likely appeal the decision, which could set up a possible showdown at the Supreme Court.
“This decision will potentially save the lives of thousands of people fleeing grave danger who were denied even a hearing under the Trump administration’s horrific asylum ban,” said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the appeal.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said they “strongly disagree” with the ruling and that “this will not be the last word on this matter.”
“America’s asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card. President Trump’s top priority remains the screening and vetting of all aliens seeking to come, live, or work in the United States,” the spokesperson said. “We will use all of the tools in our toolbox to ensure that the integrity of our legal immigration system is upheld, fraud is uncovered and expeditiously addressed, and illegal aliens are removed from the country.”
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference on the Epstein Files on Capitol Hill February 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate will vote Wednesday on a Democratic-led Iran war powers resolution, according to a press release from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and bill co-sponsors Sens. Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff.
The resolution would direct the removal of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Iran that have not been authorized by Congress. It comes after recent U.S. strikes on Iran that killed several Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.
There is no timeline in the bill, so if it passed and President Donald Trump signed it, the U.S. would have to draw down troops.
Because this bill is privileged, it would only need 51 votes to advance and ultimately be approved by the Senate. It’s not yet clear whether the legislation will have that support, but at this time it seems unlikely to advance.
Earlier this year, a similar resolution concerning military action in Venezuela passed an initial procedural test vote when a small handful of Republican senators voted with Democrats to move it forward. Some of those Republicans were ultimately swayed to revoke their support for that legislation during a vote on final passage, and the bill was ultimately defeated by Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote.
This time around though, Republicans seem even more inclined to support Trump’s actions in Iran.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, of Missouri, was one of the Republicans who initially supported the Venezuela war powers resolution before ultimately voting against it during a vote of final passage. His switch in position during that vote in January came after Trump attacked Hawley and the other Republicans who initially supported the proposal in a post on social media.
Hawley told ABC News on Tuesday that he would vote against the Iran war powers resolution.
The legislation cites the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which states that in the absence of a declaration of war but when armed forces are introduced, the president must report to Congress within 48 hours the circumstances necessitating their introduction and must terminate the use of U.S. armed forces within 60 days unless Congress permits otherwise. If approval is not granted and the president deems it an emergency, then an additional 30 days are granted for ending operations.
“I think they’re in compliance with the statute. The statute gives them 60 days, gives the administration 60 days to conduct activity without having to come back to … Congress for authorization, unless they’re ground troops. My view has always been, ground troops will require congressional authorization. So they’re currently none involved, none have been involved, and they’re following the War Powers Act,” Hawley said.
Still, Democrats say the vote is critical. Sen. Kaine, of Virginia, who is leading the Iran resolution and who has been an outspoken proponent of Congress’ role in declaring war, said the vote will show where everyone stands on the conflict.
“We’re going to put everybody on the record [Wednesday]. Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end run around the Constitution,” Kaine said on Tuesday. “Everybody’s got to declare whether they’re for this war or against it.”
Without the support of at least a few Republicans, the Iran resolution is likely to fail to advance during Wednesday’s vote.
Even if this legislation were to pass, it would still require approval in the House and the signature of the president to become law. It is highly unlikely Trump would sign the bill should it make it to his desk.
