DOJ charges Raul Castro with murder for 1996 plane shootdown
Former Cuban President Raul Castro speaks during the National Assembly at Convention Palace on April 19, 2018 in Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini-Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Wednesday charged former Cuban President Raul Castro with murder over his alleged role in shooting down two planes that were carrying humanitarian aid in 1996, according to a newly unsealed court docket. The shootdown resulted in the deaths of three Americans.
The indictment marks a major escalation in the United States’ ongoing pressure campaign to achieve regime change of the island nation’s Communist-led government, though it’s not immediately clear whether the 94-year-old Castro will ultimately see the inside of a U.S. courtroom.
The indictment charges Castro with seven counts including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft and murder for each of the four passengers aboard the planes being flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a group that conducted rescue missions for Cuban exiles who sought to flee the country.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other senior officials are expected to speak about the charges later in Miami.
Demonstrators gather in Commons Park for the ‘No Kings!’ rally and march on October 18, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. (Photo by Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — “No Kings” protesters are expected to take to the streets in more than 3,000 cities and towns across the country Saturday to again call out President Donald Trump and his controversial polices, with organizers saying this one could be the biggest so far.
The “No Kings” protests are the latest since October and organizers said they are looking to send a message addressing what they call “the constant chaos of the Trump administration” since then.
From the use of federal troops for immigration enforcement, to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, to Trump’s war with Iran, members of the National No Kings Coalition said Americans are looking to raise their voices in protest.
“The people coming out will be asked to show up on an ongoing basis for ICE watch, for mutual aid, for support of immigrant communities, for advocacy against this illegal and catastrophic war, for voter registration and all the work of building power locally,” Leah Greenberg, Co-Director of Indivisible, one of the coalition’s groups, said in a statement Thursday.
The organizers, from groups that include the ACLU, National Action Network and the United Federation of Teachers, said that they have over 3,200 events planned across cities and are expecting it to be bigger than the October event, which they say drew more than 7 million protesters.
Saturday marks the third “No Kings” demonstration since Trump returned office.
They have called for protesters to be peaceful just like last time, when there were no disturbances or reports of violence.
In New York City, the rally will begin in Columbus Circle, near Trump International Luxury Hotel, and march down over 20 blocks, according to protesters. It will include a who’s who of celebrities, including actor Robert de Niro.
In Minneapolis, which saw tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets in January and February following the Good and Pretti killings, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Bruce Springsteen are scheduled to speak at the event there, according to “No Kings” organizers.
The White House and other allies have not commented on this weekend’s events, but in the past they and some Republicans argued he protests were “hate America” rallies.
Trump himself dismissed the protests in October telling reporters, “I’m not a king,” prior to the rallies.
Afterward, the president re-posted an AI-generated video on his social media platform showing him piloting a fighter jet, appearing to dumping excrement on protesters.
The White House did not comment on the video. House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, came to Trump’s defense.
“The president uses social media to make the point. You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who’s ever used social media for that,” Johnson told reporters on Oct. 20. “He is using satire to make a point. He is not calling for the murder of his political opponents.”
ecretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks during an event at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch disputed the scathing July 4 report released by the White House, which accused the National Museum of American History and its leaders of presenting a “radical view” of American history.
In an internal letter to staff that was obtained by ABC News, he wrote that Smithsonian leadership is “carefully” reviewing the report’s findings. Bunch has not addressed the report publicly.
“While there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History,” Bunch said in the letter. “At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy, and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America’s story.”
“As public servants and the keepers of this institution, we are charged with helping a nation find understanding, hope, and clarity and as part of that duty, we are dedicated to excellence, reflection, and growth,” Bunch added.
In the letter, Bunch thanked staff members for their “dedication” to their work and their “belief” in the institution’s mission.
“Every day, we are honored to tell America’s stories and hold that responsibility with the utmost regard, respect, and fidelity. We remain committed to fulfilling our mission for generations to come,” he said.
The report was published by the White House Domestic Policy Council. Vince Haley, the group’s director, said in a statement to ABC News that “No American wants the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to be a system of ideological activism.”
“Unfortunately, the report demonstrates that is exactly what the Smithsonian’s flagship museum has become,” he said. “During this 250th anniversary year of our heroic founding, the least we owe our Founding Fathers is an honest and inspiring account of who they were, what they did, and what they built. It is our hope and expectation that the Smithsonian will eventually rise once again to that noble obligation — to tell America’s story for our children, the world, and future generations of Americans.”
Bunch’s letter comes days after the Domestic Policy Council released the scathing 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian Institution of engaging in “extreme political activism” and presenting “a radical view of American history.”
The report particularly took aim at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH), accusing its leadership of adopting “an ideological framework that no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens.”
The report accuses the museum of “anti-White activism,” “illegal alien activism,” and “transgender activism.” It also includes many photos of materials the White House identified as problematic.
Asked about the report, a spokesperson for the Smithsonian, which oversees 21 museums, galleries and the national zoo, told ABC News in a statement on Sunday that the institution remains committed to impartial learning.
“For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so,” the spokesperson said.
The report comes amid an ongoing White House review of the Smithsonian as well as a separate internal review launched by the Smithsonian into its own exhibits and processes.
The White House review was launched in response to President Donald Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
The executive order directed Vice President J.D. Vance, in consultation with the president’s advisers on domestic policy, “to remove improper ideology” from Smithsonian institutions, arguing that materials that cast America in a “negative light” have no place in federal cultural institutions.
“The serious concerns raised in this report are not about a few exhibits or a few controversial labels,” the report says. “As it stands today, it would benefit most Americans, especially parents bringing their children for a tour, if the Smithsonian’s flagship history museum had a label at every entrance that reads: ‘Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want you to love your country.'”
Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association (AHA), previously told ABC News that the White House is seeking to create “a narrowly sanitized version of the American past” at federal cultural institutions “that fits comfortably” into Trump’s executive order.
The AHA, which represents 10,000 historians across various educational and cultural institutions in the U.S., including the Smithsonian, has publicly defended the Smithsonian and urged the White House to “respect and value the expertise of the historians, curators, and other museum professionals who conduct the review and revision of historical content according to the professional standards of our discipline.”
“History is under attack right now, and we are seeing our expertise devalued in the public sphere,” Weicksel told ABC News Live in an interview on Monday. “It is really upsetting to see the executive branch intervening in our work.”
ABC News’ John Santucci and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. (Adobe Stock)
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Voters in Texas go to the polls on Tuesday to decide the Republican nominee in a pivotal Senate race that could decide control of the Senate — and serves as a test of President Donald Trump’s influence.
Also on the ballot are several member-on-member matchups and a candidate, Maureen Galindo, who has already been condemned by top Democrats for her campaign’s controversial comments.
Trump weighs in on Texas Senate race
Trump’s last-minute endorsement in the Texas Senate primary runoff race of Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn has shaken up a race that could become critical for the fight to control the Senate next year.
Cornyn narrowly led the field in March’s primary with 42% of the vote, followed by Paxton’s 40%, to make the runoff over GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt.
This comes after Trump’s endorsement power was proven to prevail in recent primaries — with the president successfully ousting non-endorsed incumbent Republicans this month, including Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.
And while Trump has praised Cornyn as a “good man,” he made clear that he feels the senator was “not supportive” enough in the past. Cornyn is also backed by the campaign arm of Senate Republicans and many of his Senate colleagues have stood by his side despite the president’s endorsement, citing their belief that Paxton’s past controversies could put this safe Republican seat at risk.
The bitter Republican battle is also the most expensive primary runoff, according to AdImpact, after the race already made history as the most expensive Senate primary election in March. According to AdImpact, $100 million has been spent in the primary and $25 million has been spent for the runoff.
Texas House races
The Houston-area 18th Congressional District is no stranger to showing up to vote — this House seat has seen six elections in the last two years.
The deaths of the last two members to represent the district, Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner, left the district without representation for large swaths of time. Rep. Christian Menefee, the current representative for the district, has only served in office for a few months after winning the seat in a special election.
He faces off against Rep. Al Green, a longtime member of Congress, who represents the neighboring 9th District, which has been redrawn to favor Republicans.
In Dallas, another contentious Democratic primary pits a current member against a former one. Redistricting of nearby districts has drawn top candidates into the primary for the state’s 33rd Congressional District: Rep. Julie Johnson, who currently represents the neighboring Texas’ 32nd Congressional District, and Former Rep. Colin Allred, who left that seat in 2024 to run for Senate.
Texas’ 35th Congressional District features competitive runoffs on both the Republican and Democratic sides. The district was redrawn to favor Republicans, but Democrats hope low approval for Trump and a strong candidate could give them a fighting chance.
Galindo, who came in first in the March Democratic primary for the 35th District with 29% of the vote, has been the subject of major controversy for her campaign’s social media posts. A now-deleted Instagram post from her campaign read that Galindo will turn an ICE detention center “into a prison for American Zionists.” She has previously called for all candidates who take campaign contributions from Israel to be “tried for treason.” While she has not denied the comments, she has added that “putting billionaire Zionists in prison does not mean putting all Jews in internment camps.”
She was condemned by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene, who said Galindo’s “vile language” is “disqualifying and has no place in American Politics.”
The largest financial backer of Galindo’s campaign is a newly created Super PAC called “Lead Left.” Democrats have condemned Lead Left’s involvement in the race and accused Republicans of being behind the PAC — with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and DelBene last week calling on House Republican leaders to stop “propping up” Galindo and “forcefully condemn” her comments.
ABC News has reached out the National Republican Congressional Committee for comment.
Galindo’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment. She will face off against former Bexar County Sheriff’s Department Spokesman Johnny Garcia.
State Rep. John Lujan and Trump-endorsed Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz are facing off in the Republican runoff for the 118th Congressional District. They received 32% and 26% of the vote in March’s primary, respectively. Victory for Lujan could mark the first Trump-endorsed candidate to lose their primary this cycle.
