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In a dilapidated home on the outskirts of Havana, Heidy Sánchez shows off photos from a past life.

She flips though images on her iPhone of visits to Sea World with her husband and 17-month-old daughter and the couple dressing up in Santa attire for Christmas.

“I don’t know if it was the American dream,” Sánchez said. “But it was my dream, my family.”

That dream and family were ripped away in late April when Sánchez was deported from Florida to her native Cuba, even though both her daughter and husband are US citizens.

Sánchez crossed into the US from Mexico in 2019 when the first Trump administration required asylum seekers to wait on the other side of the border for immigration appointments as part of the “Remain in Mexico” program.

But Claudia said threats from cartels, which often target Cubans for kidnappings and extortion, prevented her from making her appointment. When she finally did cross the border again she told immigration agents her life was at risk in Mexico and she was allowed to stay. After nine months in immigration custody, she was released and able to join her family in Tampa.

There she studied to become a nursing assistant, met her husband, a naturalized US citizen also from Cuba, and after several in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, finally realized her dream of becoming a mom.

Sánchez maintains she hardly fits the stereotype of the dangerous undocumented immigrants that the Trump administration says it is taking off US streets.

“I never had so much as a ticket,” she said.

Still, with the immigration hearing she had missed in 2019 and the changing political fortunes for Cuban immigrants who previously had residency in the US all but guaranteed, Sánchez’s time in the US was running out.

In April, Sánchez was contacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that an appointment she had with officers was being moved up to the next day. Still, her attorneys told her it was likely a routine check-in. Instead, when she showed up for the appointment with her daughter Kailyn and an attorney, ICE agents told her she was being taken into custody and to hand over her daughter to relatives.

“Call the father to come get her, you are staying here,” Sánchez said the agents informed her.

‘Don’t take away my daughter’

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security denied Sánchez and her attorney’s accounts that she was not given the option to take her daughter with her.

“We take our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

“The Trump administration is giving parents in this country illegally the opportunity to self deport and take control of their departure process with the potential ability to return the legal, right way and come back to live the American dream,” the statement continued.

Sánchez’s attorney said they tried to stop her deportation by arguing that her removal would hurt her daughter, who she was breast feeding and has suffered seizures. But two days later, as Sánchez’s attorneys were requesting a hearing in the case, she was already in the air on a deportation flight to Havana.

Cañizares said the manner in which Sánchez was repeatedly moved from different ICE facilities – making it impossible to see her client – before her fast-track deportation was “shady.”

Now any possible legal avenue for Sánchez to return to the US could likely take years, Cañizares said. Sánchez and her family are hoping that backlash to her story could lead to enough public support – particularly among the Cuban-American community that supported Trump in the 2024 presidential race – to enable a reunification.

“The Trump administration is ripping families apart for political games,” US Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) posted on X along with a photo of her meeting Sánchez’s husband Carlos.

“We are pursuing every action to reunite this family and unfortunately are still waiting for a response from the White House to explain their illegal actions,” she posted.

As controversy swirls around her case, Sánchez is struggling to adapt to the dire situation in Cuba where daily power outages and increasing scarcities have made life even tougher on the island than when she left six years ago.

She lives in a house with relatives where parts of the ceiling are caving in and electricity is cut for hours each day. The cell reception from the one state-run provider is so spotty in the area she either has to walk several blocks away or scale up to the roof of the house to call her husband and daughter.

Her family is only a 90-minute flight away but for the immediate future remains agonizingly out of reach.

“I have to pump milk which should feed my daughter and throw it in the trash,” Sánchez said. “That hurts me so much to do.”

She worries constantly about her young daughter who has trouble sleeping and has suffered convulsions again following her mother’s deportation.

“Her father puts recordings of me singing to her so that she can sleep,” Sánchez said. “I am suffering but I know my girl is suffering more.”

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Marine salvage experts on Sunday began operations to recover from the seabed off Italy’s Sicilian coast the British-flagged superyacht “Bayesian,” which sank last summer, killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others.

Operations will be conducted by two floating cranes: “Hebo Lift 2,” which has remotely operated underwater equipment and vehicles, and “Hebo Lift 10,” one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe, which docked Saturday in the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese after arriving from Rotterdam.

The Italian coast guard is supervising operations and patrolling the security perimeter to ensure the safety of personnel working on the recovery. It said that the overall operation to retrieve the Bayesian could take from 20 to 25 days. After the wreck is brought ashore, judicial authorities investigating the sinking will examine it.

Prosecutors are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the August 19, 2024, sinking. The 56-meter (183-foot)-long, 473-ton yacht sank during what appears to have been a sudden downburst, or localized powerful wind from a thunderstorm that spreads rapidly after hitting the surface.

The yacht’s 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast – the second tallest in the world — will be cut to allow the hull, which lies 49 meters (160 feet) below the surface, to be brought to the surface more easily, said coast guard Capt. Nicola Silvestri.

In addition to Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and wife Judy, attorney Chris Morvillo and wife Neda, and ship’s cook Recaldo Thomas died in the shipwreck.

With the help of nearby vessels, 15 of the 22 people were rescued in the initial phase, one body was recovered, and six others reported missing. The bodies of the six missing people were found following long and complex search efforts, which continued until August 23.

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President Donald Trump has renewed his threat of using military force to annex Greenland, saying in an NBC News interview he wouldn’t rule it out to make the self-governing Danish territory a part of the United States.

It’s the latest in Trump’s many comments about seizing control of the resource-rich island, which he insists the US needs for national security purposes.

“I don’t rule it out,” he told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in an interview that aired on Sunday. “I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything.”

“We need Greenland very badly,” Trump said. “Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care of, and we’ll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security.”

He added that he doubted it would happen – but that the possibility is “certainly” there.

Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in buying the island, or the US taking it by force or economic coercion, even as NATO ally Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea.

There are a few factors driving that interest; Greenland occupies a unique geopolitical position, sitting between the US and Europe, which could help repel any potential attack from Russia, experts have said. It also lies along a key shipping lane, and is part of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, a strategic maritime region.

But experts also suspect Trump is eyeing other aspects of Greenland such as its trove of natural resources, which may become more accessible as climate change melts the territory’s ice. These include oil and gas, and the rare earth metals in high demand for electric cars, wind turbines and military equipment.

Since Trump began voicing plans for his presidency in December, his desire to annex Greenland has raised questions about the island’s future security as the US, Russia and China vie for influence in the Arctic.

But Greenland has pushed back strongly.

“President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future,” the island’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in March after Trump again suggested the use of military force.

Greenland’s not the only sovereign territory Trump has his sights on; the president has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and make it the US’ “51st state,” souring relations between the two longtime allies.

Last week, Canada’s Liberal Party swept to victory in federal elections, with Prime Minister Mark Carney riding on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment and using his victory speech to declare Canada would “never” yield to the United States.

During the NBC interview on Sunday, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he’d use military force to annex Canada.

“I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you,” he said.

He added that he’d talked on the phone with Carney after his election win, calling the Canadian leader a “very nice man.” Trump had congratulated Carney, but they did not discuss the threat of annexation of Canada, he said.

Carney is set to visit Trump in Washington on Tuesday. When asked whether the topic would come up during that visit, Trump responded: “I’ll always talk about that.”

If Canada was a state, “it would be great,” Trump added. “It would be a cherished state.”

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Israel’s security cabinet voted Sunday to expand military operations in Gaza and establish a new framework for the delivery of aid, according to two Israeli officials.

The vote came hours after the military said it would mobilize tens of thousands of reservists, strengthening its capacity to operate in the besieged Palestinian territory.

One Israeli official said the new plan for Israel’s war in Gaza involves “the conquest of territory and remaining there.” The Israeli military will displace the Palestinian population to southern Gaza while carrying out “powerful strikes” against Hamas, the official said.

Over 2,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since mid-March when Israel launched a wave of deadly strikes, shattering a ceasefire which had been in place for nearly two months. More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The expansion of the fighting will be gradual to give a chance for a renewed ceasefire and hostage release deal before US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region in mid-May, the officials said. Trump is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar next week, but there is currently no stop planned in Israel.

The cabinet also discussed allowing the resumption of aid deliveries into Gaza under a new framework which was approved, but has not yet been implemented, according to the source.

An Israeli blockade of all humanitarian aid into the strip is now in its ninth week.

Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan 11, reported that a confrontation had broken out during Sunday’s meeting over the resumption of aid deliveries with two far-right members of the cabinet, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and settlements minister Orit Strook opposed to any resumption of aid and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir arguing Israel was obligated to facilitate them under international law.

According to the source, the Israeli media reports about the arguments over the aid “are not wrong.”

Israel says it cut off the entry of humanitarian aid to pressure Hamas to release hostages. But international organizations say its actions violate international law and risks creating a man-made famine, with some accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war – a war crime.

The delivery mechanism in the works is intended to allow aid to reach the Palestinian population with safeguards to ensure it is not diverted by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, according to a State Department spokesperson.

An unnamed private foundation would manage the aid mechanism and the delivery of the humanitarian supplies into Gaza, the spokesperson said.

The US expects the United Nations and international aid organizations to work with the framework of the foundation’s mechanism to ensure that supplies do not reach Hamas, the spokesperson said.

Aid agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territory rejected the new framework for aid deliveries Sunday saying the plan appeared “designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items” and would fail to ensure aid reached Gaza’s most vulnerable residents.

“The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have made clear that we will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” the groups said in a joint statement.

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Japan’s estimated child population has shrunk for the 44th straight year to a record low, government data showed Sunday, as the country grapples with a demographic crisis underscored by falling birth rates and a rapidly aging population.

The number of children aged 14 and under, was 13.66 million as of April 1, down 350,000 from a year ago, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications ahead of the country’s Children’s Day public holiday.

Children make up just 11.1% of Japan’s total population, which stood at 123.4 million last year, marking a marginal decline from the year prior.

By comparison, the proportion of children to the population was roughly 21.7% for the US in 2023 and 17.1% for China in 2024, according to respective government figures.

The demographic crisis has become one of Japan’s most pressing issues, with its birth rate continually declining despite government efforts to encourage young people to get married and start families.

Japan’s fertility rate – the average number of children born to women in their lifetime has stayed relatively flat at 1.3 in recent years – far below the 2.1 required to maintain a stable population.

For decades, it has been on a downward trend that has also seen the number of deaths overtaking births each year, causing the total population to shrink – with far-reaching consequences for Japan’s workforce, economy, welfare systems and social fabric.

In 2024, the country recorded 1.62 million deaths, according to the Health Ministry – more than double the number of births. The number of marriages rose only slightly, up around 10,000 from the year prior, but remained low, figures showed, while the number of divorces also rose.

Experts say the decline is expected to continue for at least several decades and is to some extent irreversible due to the country’s population structure. Japan is a “super-aged” nation, meaning more than 20% of its population is older than 65. The country’s total population stood at 123.4 million in 2024 – but by 2065 it is expected to have dropped to about 88 million.

There are several factors to explain why fewer people are opting to marry and have children, experts say, including Japan’s high cost of living, stagnant economy and wages, limited space, and the country’s demanding work culture.

Japan has a deeply-ingrained overwork culture. Employees across various sectors report punishing hours and high pressure from supervisors, leaving many young people of childbearing age to focus on their careers rather than starting a family.

Increasing living costs, which have been worsened by the weak yen, a sluggish economy and high inflation have contributed to public discontent, experts say.

The government, however, has sought to soften the impacts of its changing demographics, launching new government agencies to focus specifically on boosting fertility rates and incentivizing marriage. It has launched initiatives such as expanding child care facilities, offering housing subsidies to parents, and in some towns, even paying couples to have children.

Several of Japan’s neighbors, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea have also struggled with population decline, as do several European nations such as Spain and Italy. However, unlike many of their East Asian counterparts, European nations have been far more open to immigration to soften the aging of their societies.

China, until recently the world’s most populous country, saw its population fall for a third consecutive year in 2024 with the number of deaths outpacing new births. India has now overtaken China on population size.

Correction: This article’s headline has been corrected to 14 years-old and under.

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Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance and their young children are adjusting well to life as the Second Family, with the vice president telling Fox News Digital that they are trying to ‘deliver as much normalcy to the kids in a very abnormal situation.’ 

Vance sat down for an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital this week. 

‘Everyone is adjusting well—they are doing very well,’ Vance said. ‘It’s different, right?’ 

‘My seven-year-old son Ewan, he’s adjusting, but he’s also aware of all of it,’ Vance said. 

‘And then we have our five-year-old son, Vivek, who I think is a little bit less aware of it,’ Vance continued. ‘To him, it’s just fun. He has a bunch of Secret Service agents to play with, and he gets to go wherever he wants to, and he really likes that.’ 

‘And Mirabel, who’s three, has no idea what’s going on,’ Vance said of his youngest. 

Vance shared a photo of Mirabel, which he and his wife display in their home in the Naval Observatory, ‘in her pajamas reviewing this Indian troop formation.’ 

‘It’s so funny—it’s maybe my favorite photo of the entire 100 days that we’ve had so far—it’s very cute,’ Vance said. ‘So, you sort of see different levels of kids’ understanding of it.’ 

Vance said the children ‘have a good school situation.’ 

‘We have good friends here, and they spend a lot of time at the White House,’ Vance said. 

‘Of course, our primary residence—we still have our home in Cincinnati—but our primary residence is the Naval Observatory,’ Vance said. ‘It’s very isolated, so it’s nice, because, for the kids, it’s not like growing up in a fishbowl.’ 

Vance said the children ‘have a lot of room to run around.’ 

‘There aren’t cameras everywhere, and it feels very, very private—very normal for the kids—which is all we could ask for,’ Vance said. 

As for his wife, Vance said ‘each second lady approaches the role differently—there’s not like, a manual that says—this is how you will be second lady.’ 

‘I think what Usha has done is she has focused on some issues she cares about and she is very involved in the Kennedy Center—she really likes the arts and that is a project that she’s taken on,’ Vance explained, adding that she plans to ‘take on additional projects.’ 

‘But she also is a mom,’ Vance said. ‘And the kids are really young, and she saw this as an opportunity to try to deliver as much normalcy to the kids in a very abnormal situation.’ 

He added: ‘But she’s doing well, and she really likes it—I think the role suits her and she’s having fun. She’s amazing.’ 

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President Donald Trump downplayed rumors that he intends to seek a constitutionally prohibited third term in the White House on Sunday.

Trump addressed the issue during an interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ that aired Sunday, telling host Kristen Welker that he has no plans to pursue another term.

‘So many people want me to do it,’ Trump said when Welker asked about a third term.

‘It’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do. I don’t know if that’s constitutional,’ he added. ‘But this is not something I’m looking to do.’

Welker then pressed Trump about who he believes could be a successor to the MAGA movement once he leaves office, and Trump referenced both Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

‘There’s a lot of them that are great,’ he said of his political allies. ‘I also see tremendous unity. But certainly you would say that somebody’s the VP, if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage.’

The wide-ranging interview went on to address illegal immigration, where Trump emphasized that he has no plans to end his emergency declaration relating to immigration.

‘We have an emergency. We have a massive emergency overall,’ Trump told Welker.

Trump’s administration says illegal border crossings have dropped roughly 96% compared to President Joe Biden’s term in office, though the White House’s deportation programs have faced legal troubles.

‘The border now is not the emergency,’ Trump said. ‘The border is — it’s all part of the same thing though. The big emergency right now is that we have thousands of people that we want to take out, and we have some judges that want everybody to go to court.’

Just ahead of Trump’s 100th day in office last week, the White House claimed there had been 139,000 deportations since his inauguration.

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The White House slammed the ‘radical left’ in a social media post Sunday, showing an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump wielding a lightsaber in celebration of May the Fourth, or ‘Star Wars Day.’

May 4 has long been regarded as a day to celebrate the iconic movie franchise as fans post on social media ‘May the Fourth be with you,’ an offshoot of the memorable Star Wars quote ‘May the force be with you.’

On Sunday, the White House took an opportunity to celebrate the popular day with a post on X, while also taking digs at the Trump administration’s biggest critics.

‘Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire,’ the White House wrote. ‘May the 4th be with you.’

The post included an AI-generated image of Trump, who not only donned a Jedi robe and set of ripped arms but also held a red lightsaber. Behind him in the image were two bald eagles and two American flags.

The post received mixed reactions.

‘Our efforts to FOIA info about a reported ‘Death Star’ have been stonewalled. And we pulled The Honorable Darth Vader as a judge when we sued so THAT will go nowhere,’ a user wrote.

Another user asked X’s AI feature Grok what the meaning of a red lightsaber is in Star Wars. Those who follow the science fiction franchise will remember Darth Vader, Kylo Ren and others associated with the dark side or Sith powers used a red lightsaber of some sort.

The Star Wars fandom website Wookieepedia explains that in the process of making a lightsaber, negative emotions like rage, hate, fear and pain would result in a red hue.

‘How do you not have one nerd on staff to tell you what color lightsaber is good and what color is bad???’ a user asked in reaction to the White House post.

But supporters of the president were quick to respond to reactions about the color of the lightsaber Trump is holding in the image.

‘People arguing Trump using a red lightsaber equates him to evil…R ed is literally one of the three colors in our nation’s flag,’ a user wrote. ‘He is the leader of the Republican Party which is often ascribed the color Red. Context matters.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on the matter.

Still, the White House was not the only federal government agency to have fun with May the Fourth.

The U.S. Army Pacific posted an AI-generated image to social media of two soldiers with lightsabers – one holding red and the other holding a red, white and blue weapon – walking into combat at night, with the Milky Way Galaxy behind them.

‘Across every galaxy – known and unknown – no force rivals our discipline, strength, and precision,’ the post read. ‘We don’t just defend the world. We protect the future. Victory is forged not found. May the 4th be with you.’

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The U.S. could withdraw from peace talks with Ukraine and Russia if the two sides show no progress, President Donald Trump says.

Trump made the comments during an interview on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that aired Sunday, telling host Kristen Welker that there is ‘tremendous hatred’ between Ukraine and Russia.

The president says he remains hopeful a peace deal is possible, but confirmed that the U.S. would not remain a mediator indefinitely.

‘I do believe we’re closer with one party. And maybe not as close with the other, but we’ll have to see,’ Trump said. ‘Five thousand soldiers a week on average, are dying. They’re not American soldiers. But I want to solve the problem.’

‘How long do you give both countries before you’re going to walk away?’ Welker asked.

‘Well, there will be a time when I will say, okay, keep going, keep being stupid,’ Trump replied.

‘Maybe it’s not possible to do,’ he added. ‘There’s tremendous hatred. Just so you understand, Kristen, we’re talking tremendous hatred between these two men and between, you know, some of the soldiers, frankly, between the generals, they’ve been fighting hard for three years. I think we have a very good chance of doing it.’

The interview comes just days after Trump blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin, questioning whether his Russian counterpart has any interest in peace.

Trump spoke up on social media last week after Russian forces launched missiles into Ukrainian cities.

‘There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,’ Trump wrote. ‘It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also appeared to temper expectations for a major peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia last week.

Rubio argued it was ‘silly’ to put a specific date or timeline on when the U.S. might pull out from mediation, but he said this will be ‘a very critical week.’

Days later, the White House signed a rare earth minerals agreement with Ukraine, a months-long priority for Trump.

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President Donald Trump decried the state of the motion picture industry in a social media post on Sunday while announcing plans to implement a Hollywood-related tariff.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump wrote that the ‘Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death.’

‘Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States,’ Trump claimed. ‘Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated.’

The president said that the situation was a ‘concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat.’

‘It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!’ Trump wrote.

The Republican said that his plans to institute a tariff are in the works, and he authorized the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative ‘to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.’

‘WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!’ Trump concluded.

The comments come after several of Trump’s tariff plans have been paused in recent months due to market turmoil and backlash. On Sunday, Trump said that he would not drop tariffs on China to get Beijing to come to the negotiating table.

‘At some point, I’m going to lower them, because otherwise you could never do business with them,’ Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker. ‘And they want to do business very much like their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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