By Daniel Dale, CNN

(CNN) — Vice President JD Vance made a false claim about manufacturing jobs in a speech on Monday. Then, he made a misleading claim on the same subject while speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

On Monday, Vance said last quarter had the biggest growth in manufacturing employment since Trump’s first presidency. In fact, last quarter’s gain of 18,000 manufacturing jobs was smaller than the gains in six of the Biden administration’s seven full quarters in 2021 and 2022.

On Tuesday, Vance claimed there had been “great rebounds under the Trump administration and under our leadership” in economic statistics including “manufacturing jobs.” He didn’t mention that, even with this 18,000 gain over the first three months of 2026, the economy has lost 77,000 manufacturing jobs since the beginning of the Trump-Vance administration – because the economy shed manufacturing jobs in every month of 2025 and again, according to preliminary data, in April 2026.

Vance’s office declined to comment for this article. Here is a fuller fact check of his assertions.

Multiple Biden-era quarters had bigger manufacturing job growth than the past quarter did

In a Monday speech in Missouri, Vance asked a series of rhetorical questions intended to prove his point that that the Trump-Vance administration “decided to put American businesses and most importantly, American workers first for a change.” One of Vance’s questions was this: “How is it that we’ve seen the biggest growth in manufacturing employment last quarter that we have seen in this country since Donald J. Trump was president the first time?”

The answer is … we haven’t seen that.

In reality, the increase in manufacturing jobs last quarter wasn’t even close to as big as the gains in various quarters of 2021 and 2022 under then-President Joe Biden, whose economic record Vance and Trump have long criticized.

Here are the numbers.

In the first quarter of 2026, the US economy added 18,000 manufacturing jobs: 2,000 in January, 1,000 in February and 15,000 in March, federal figures show. Vance could have correctly said that this was the first quarter without a decline in manufacturing jobs since the last quarter of 2023 under Biden, when the number was flat.

But let’s look at the manufacturing job gains in 2022 (when all four quarters were during the Biden administration) and 2021 (when the last three quarters were under Biden and the first quarter was partly under Trump).

Q1 2022: 137,000 jobs added.

Q2 2022: 93,000 jobs added.

Q3 2022: 82,000 jobs added.

Q4 2022: 46,000 jobs added.

Q1 2021 (Trump was president for most of January, Biden for the rest of the quarter): 76,000 jobs added.

Q2 2021: 18,000 jobs added.

Q3 2021: 146,000 jobs added.

Q4 2021: 144,000 jobs added.

None of the eight quarters in those two years had bigger job growth than the 18,000 gain of the first quarter of 2026. So Vance’s claim that the most recent quarter had the biggest growth in manufacturing employment since Trump’s first preside

Por Ray Sanchez, CNN

Una mujer de Nueva York fue sentenciada el miércoles a una pena de entre 20 años y cadena perpetua por ahogar a sus tres hijos pequeños en el océano y dejar sus cuerpos mojados y cubiertos de arena en la orilla cerca de su casa, en Coney Island.

Erin Merdy, de 34 años, se declaró culpable en marzo de tres cargos de homicidio en primer grado por la muerte de sus hijos —Zachary Merdy, de 7 años; Liliana Stephens Merdy, de 4 años; y Oliver Bondarev, de 3 meses— el 12 de septiembre de 2022, dijo el fiscal del distrito de Brooklyn, Eric Gonzalez, en un comunicado.

El abogado de Merdy no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de comentarios.

“Zachary, Liliana y Oliver eran niños inocentes cuyas vidas fueron arrebatadas de la manera más desgarradora e impensable”, dijo Gonzalez en el comunicado.

“Buscamos la mayor responsabilidad posible en este caso devastador, y aunque nada puede devolver a estos niños, esta sentencia asegura que la acusada será responsable por quitarles la vida.”

Los fiscales dijeron que Merdy llevó a los niños a la playa alrededor de las 12:37 a.m. esa noche, hace casi cuatro años, y los ahogó. Aproximadamente a la 1:25 a.m., caminó desde la playa hacia el apartamento del padre del hijo más pequeño y llamó a miembros de la familia. Estaba alterada y no respondía preguntas sobre dónde estaban los niños, según el comunicado. El padre y los familiares salieron a buscarlos y llamaron al 911.

Alrededor de las 4:30 a.m., la Policía encontró a los niños, inconscientes y mojados, en la orilla de Coney Island, según el comunicado. Fueron declarados muertos en el Hospital de Coney Island. Los fiscales dijeron que los familiares encontraron a Merdy mojada y descalza en la cercana Brighton Beach. Ella les dijo que los niños se habían ido y que lo sentía.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Con información de Mark Morales y Alaa Elassar, de CNN.

The post Madre que ahogó a sus tres hijos pequeños en Coney Island es sentenciada de 20 años a cadena perpetua appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Por John Fritze, CNN

La Corte Suprema asestó un duro golpe a las mayores compañías de cruceros del mundo este jueves, al revivir una demanda en la que se les acusaba de haber hecho negocios con bienes confiscados por el Gobierno cubano cuando atracaban sus barcos en La Habana.

La decisión del tribunal representa un revés para Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Corporation y otras compañías, y se produce en un momento en que la administración Trump está intensificando la presión económica y política sobre Cuba.

El juez Clarence Thomas redactó la opinión de la mayoría en una decisión adoptada por 8 votos contra 1. La jueza Elena Kagan fue la única en emitir un voto disidente.

El fallo se dio a conocer un día después de que el Departamento de Justicia imputara al expresidente cubano Raúl Castro cargos derivados de su presunto papel en el derribo, en 1996, de dos aeronaves civiles en el que perdieron la vida cuatro personas, tres de ellas estadounidenses. Al anunciar los cargos, el secretario de Justicia interino, Todd Blanche, declaró que el presidente Donald Trump haría pronto un anuncio con respecto al embargo a Cuba.

Trump también ha coqueteado con la posibilidad de una acción militar en Cuba, y dijo a periodistas el 17 de marzo que podría tener el “honor de tomar Cuba”.

El caso está vinculado a ciertas propiedades confiscadas en 1960, poco después de que Castro llegara al poder tras la revolución en la nación insular, e involucra una ley aprobada por el Congreso en 1996 que permitía a los ciudadanos estadounidenses demandar en tribunales de EE.UU. por dichas propiedades incautadas.

Havana Docks Corporation construyó los muelles de La Habana en 1905 para el Gobierno cubano, bajo la condición de que operaría el puerto durante 99 años. El Gobierno de Castro incautó los muelles poco después de asumir el poder.

Las líneas de cruceros más grandes del mundo, afirmó la compañía, “atracaron no obstante sus enormes barcos en los muelles confiscados sin la autorización de Havana Docks” entre 2015 y 2019. En su apelación, la compañía describió el caso como el más importante en materia de política exterior estadounidense hacia Cuba que ha llegado a la Corte Suprema en décadas.

“Havana Docks ha demostrado que las líneas de cruceros utilizaron una propiedad confiscada sobre la cual Havana Docks tenía un interés patrimonial y respecto a la cual posee un derecho de reclamación”, escribió Thomas en nombre de la mayoría.

La decisión del jueves no resuelve el fondo del asunto, sino que permite que el litigio de Havana Docks siga su curso.

Kagan, al jueza disidente, argumentó que la Corte interpretó el caso de manera fundamentalmente errónea.

“Los muelles pertenecieron al Gobierno cubano y no a Havana Docks en todo momento”, escribió en su voto. “Lo único que poseía Havana Docks era un interés patrimonial que le permitía utilizar esos muelles durante un periodo determinado. Y ese interés de duración limitada expiró en 2004: más de una década antes de que las líneas de cruceros utilizaran los muelles por primera vez”.

Durante la etapa final del mandato del presidente Barack Obama y gran parte de la primera administración Trump, señaló la compañía, “las líneas de cruceros desembarcaron a cerca de un millón de turistas en esos muelles y pagaron al régimen comunista de Cuba —que atravesaba dificultades financieras— al menos US$ 130 millones en divisas fuertes, sin abonar ni un solo centavo a Havana Docks ni a ninguna persona o entidad cubana no vinculada al régimen”.

La cuestión radicaba en determinar si la empresa podía reclamar daños y perjuicios, aun cuando su contrato de arrendamiento de los muelles habría expirado en 2004 de no haberse producido la toma del poder por parte de Castro.

El Tribunal de Apelaciones del 11º Circuito de los EE.UU., con sede en Atlanta, falló a favor de las líneas de cruceros, y la Ha

By Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is meeting with Senate Republicans Thursday morning, a GOP aide told CNN, in an attempt to save the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund as the party weighs its fate.

“Our members have very legitimate questions about it, and we’ve had some conversations about if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like, and how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said ahead of the meeting.

Blanche was initially scheduled to go to Minnesota where he was expected to speak at a press conference about fraud. Instead, he will meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill where the fund’s future hangs in the balance.

In the latest sign that Senate Republicans may seek to put guardrails around the program, Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins came out against the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion fund for individuals claiming they had been unfairly treated by past Justice Departments.

“I do not support the weaponization fund as it has been described,” said Collins, who faces a tough reelection in November. “I do not believe individuals that were convicted of violence against police officers on Jan. 6 should be entitled to reimbursement of their legal fees.”

Utah GOP Sen. John Curtis said on his way into the meeting he’d “listen with an open mind, but I’m just telling you, I have some serious concerns.”

“What are my concerns? Yeah, an Executive Branch being able to, at their will, send money to people without the proper judicial rule. Those are my concerns,” he continued.

Democrats are also preparing amendments to the GOP’s reconciliation bill to put Republicans on the spot over the fund that could be used to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies. The newly announced fund has run into real issues in the GOP conference this week, with lawmakers expressing concern over the political problems it could raise in a critical midterm election year.

But the White House has doubled down in recent days on its push to fund the president’s priorities as part of the broader package of immigration money. That includes his East Wing ballroom project, which has already run into challenges related to the chamber’s arcane budget rules that would allow the GOP to skirt the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

Ahead of the Blanche meeting, which was first reported by Politico, Republican lawmakers noted that they have questions over how the fund in particular would work.

“I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work. I’m not sure where the money’s coming from. I’m not sure who’s going to decide. I’m not sure how this works with respect to our court system. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about anything, which is why the attorney general’s coming,” Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Manu Raju, Alison Main and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.

The post Read more

By Meteorologist Mary Gilbert

(CNN) — Time is ticking down to the June 1 start of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s first forecast for it is finalized.

NOAA’s team of experts is predicting a below-average hurricane season, similar to other experts’ forecasts in recent weeks. The anticipated return of El Niño — and its potential to become historically strong — is a major driving force behind the outlook.

Overall, NOAA says this season has a 55% chance of being a below-average hurricane season with 35% and 10% chances of near-average and above-average seasons, respectively.

Between eight and 14 total named storms — that means tropical storms and hurricanes — are expected in the basin from June 1 through November 30, when the season ends.

Of those, NOAA expects between three and six to become hurricanes, with up to three of those reaching major hurricane status — Category 3 or higher. An average Atlantic hurricane season generates 14 named storms, of which seven are hurricanes and three are major hurricanes.

The last time NOAA forecast a below-average season was in 2015, which also had an El Niño. Twelve named storms roamed the basin that year.

Last year ended with 13 named storms, five of which were hurricanes. Three of those exploded to rare Category 5 status — Erin, Humberto and Melissa.

El Niño, the ultimate influencer

El Niño is a hot topic of conversation in the weather forecasting world right now and for good reason: It can play a major role how the Atlantic hurricane season plays out.

A quick refresher: El Niño is a natural climate pattern marked by warmer than average water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific that triggers changes in upper atmosphere patterns. Together, these factors influence weather globally over extended periods.

An El Niño isn’t officially in place yet — we’re in a neutral phase between it and its colder counterpart La Niña — but it’s expected to arrive early this summer, according to the latest forecast from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Once in place, it’s expected to stick around at least through hurricane season.

El Niño usually tamps down tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean by increasing storm-disrupting winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere, known as wind shear, which results in fewer storms than normal. That’s not guaranteed anymore in a world warming due to fossil fuel pollution, though.

Extremely warm ocean temperatures acted like rocket fuel during the 2023 Atlantic season, allowing storms to develop and thrive despite El Niño’s increased wind shear.

This season could be different. Sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic are