Reality star Taylor Frankie Paul’s baby daddy Dakota Mortensen has been granted a temporary protective order against his ex and has reportedly gotten temporary custody of their child. The order states that Taylor cannot have contact with Mortensen and is not allowed to “abuse or threaten to abuse” him. The “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” celeb has been ordered to stay at least 100 feet away from her ex and is forbidden from contacting him, per People. Taylor will be able to plead her case at a scheduled hearing on April 7, and won’t be able to see her youngest child, Ever, prior to that point. Dakota alleged that Taylor choked him during an incident on February 23, and attacked him again the next day, February 24.  “I was unable to safely leave while this was happening, and my child had been left inside the home during the chaos under her watch due to our custody agreement,” Dakota stated in documents obtained by TMZ. The reality star was slated to be “The Bachelorette” beginning Sunday evening, but her season, which has already been filmed, was abruptly canceled when a video of her fighting with Dakota and throwing metal bar stools was leaked to TMZ earlier this week. Taylor had already pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023 immediately after the incident, but the video footage was not released until now. TMZ also reported that an anonymous source said Taylor’s ex-husband, Tate Paul, had not seen the video before its release. Tate shares two children with Taylor, including the child in the video who was allegedly struck by the bar stool. A child can be heard crying in the video after the stool is thrown, and the police report from 2023 allegedly said the child had a goose egg on her head. Taylor, meanwhile, claimed during an episode of “The Viall Files” podcast last year that her daughter didn’t have any injuries. She admitted that she was out of control on the evening in question. “I was feeling so low I went and drank that night,” the reality star said on the podcast. “…and Dakota picks me up and he’s angry that I drank.” Taylor said she was “so sad” at the time. “I remember, like, throwing things, and I don’t know my daughter is on the couch,” she went on. “We had babysitters there, so I think they’re upstairs sleeping.” “I’m, like, so gone I don’t care, and I throw another chair,” she said, also telling the podcast host, “We didn’t know if it hit her or not, it might have not hit her at all…” Taylor also claimed the child had no “noticeable injuries” and insisted “everything was good.”  Tate and Taylor were married from 2016 until 2022. TMZ reported that Tate responded to the domestic incident in 2023 by having his lawyer seek full custody of the children, and that after meeting several demands including alcohol education classes, the reality star earned back shared custody about six months later.

Cuba is preparing for the possibility of military conflict with the United States, a top Cuban official warned Sunday, as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate. “Our military is always prepared, and in fact it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression,” Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said in an interview on “Meet the Press.” “We would be naïve” not to consider the possibility, he added, while insisting that Havana “truly hope[s] that it doesn’t occur” and sees “no justification whatsoever” for conflict. The warning comes after a series of statements from President Donald Trump as his administration ramps up pressure on the island’s communist government. He said he would have the “honor” of “taking Cuba in some form … Free it. Take it. I think I could do anything I want with it.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also signaled that Cuba’s leadership is in a precarious position, warning that those in power “don’t know how to fix” the country’s mounting crises. Fernández de Cossío dismissed those remarks, insisting that regime change is “absolutely” not up for discussion. “The Cuban political system is not up for negotiation,” he said. “Cuba is a sovereign country … and would not accept becoming a dependent state of any other power.” The standoff comes as Cuba faces a severe and worsening economic crisis, driven in large part by an energy shortage that has crippled the island. The Trump administration has moved to choke off fuel supplies by threatening penalties on countries that export oil to Cuba, a policy Cuban officials describe as a “very severe” blockade. “What’s happening today is that the U.S. is threatening … any country that might export fuel to Cuba,” Fernández de Cossío said, arguing the pressure campaign “cannot be sustained forever.” However, Cuba has already experienced repeated nationwide blackouts in recent weeks, including multiple grid collapses that left much of the island without electricity. With limited fuel, transportation, hospitals, and food distribution systems have all come under strain. Tensions have also intensified following a U.S. military operation earlier this year that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, a key ally of the Cuban regime. The loss of Venezuelan oil shipments, long a lifeline for Cuba’s economy, has compounded the island’s crisis and further strained relations with Washington. Despite the rhetoric, both sides have acknowledged ongoing communication. Fernández de Cossío confirmed that Cuban and U.S. officials remain in dialogue on certain bilateral issues, though he stressed that core political questions such as leadership and single-party governance are off the table. “No sovereign country negotiates its internal political system,” he said. Cuban officials have rejected calls for political reform, with Fernández de Cossío criticizing the U.S. system in return, noting that America itself operates under a two-party structure. While Cuban officials emphasized readiness, they also sought to downplay the likelihood of imminent conflict. “Our country has historically been ready to mobilize … for military aggression,” Fernández de Cossío said. “We truly always see it as something far from us. We don’t believe it is something that is probable.” Still, he reiterated that failing to prepare would be a mistake given current global tensions. The warnings come as Cuba faces one of the most precarious moments in decades: economic collapse, widespread blackouts, and growing public frustration. At the same time, the regime continues to reject any discussion of structural political change, even as pressure mounts from both abroad and within the island. For now, Havana is signaling two things at once: it wants to avoid war, but is preparing for it anyway.

Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter discussed Iran’s attempted ballistic missile strike Saturday targeting Diego Garcia, the joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean more than 2,000 miles from Iran. Appearing Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash, Leiter was first asked about the missile strikes in Israel on Saturday evening that caused significant damage. “Israel’s emergency response service declared a mass casualty event, as I mentioned. Can you give an update on the ground there? And also, what kind of response do we expect from Israel?” Bash asked. Leiter said there were “a number of fatalities” and that more than 150 people were injured in the attacks on Arad and Dimona. “The response is going to be to continue with this campaign until we bring this regime to its knees,” Leiter stated. “We cannot live anymore with a country that is malign, that has intent on destroying us, that declares it’s going to destroy us all the time, and is now firing ballistic missiles into all of its neighbors. This has to stop.” Bash then pressed Leiter on the ICBMs that were fired at Diego Garcia: “Doesn’t that fly in the face of the claim by the president and the prime minister that the missiles that the Iranians have have been obliterated?” Leiter hit back, saying that the missile launch reinforces the point that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump have made, which is that Iran lies. “The Iranian regime lie. These are murderers who lie. It shouldn’t surprise us — and they said they don’t have intercontinental ballistic missiles. Well, now they prove that they do have them. Not only do they have them; they’re willing to shoot them,” the ambassador said. “They claimed, until now, there was no such thing as an ICBM in Iran. They didn’t develop them.” Leiter then painted a frightening scenario, asking Bash to imagine that the ICBMs Iran lied about having don’t simply travel 2,000 miles, but 4,000 miles or more, which would allow them to strike a major city in the United States. “That’s what they’re planning to do. Now, imagine that those ICBMs are tipped with nuclear warheads, which they were planning to do as well. So, we have to face a very difficult situation,” he said before noting that while gas prices are temporarily higher as a result of the war, they will return to normal. “But this malign government is intent on taking lives. Lives don’t come back, okay? It’s a temporary issue we have to face economically in order to protect lives and save lives from malign regime interested in taking lives.” Israeli Ambassador to US Michael Leiter says the war in Iran will continue “until we bring this regime to its knees” pic.twitter.com/z24YbIaCYZ — State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 22, 2026

Border czar Tom Homan detailed the plan to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports beginning on Monday to aid TSA workers in the wake of the ongoing DHS shutdown. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday with host Dana Bash, Homan first explained that he is working with the administrator of TSA and the director of ICE to develop a game plan. “First of all, are ICE agents even remotely trained to handle security at airports?” Bash asked, to which Homan replied that ICE already operates at airports, and this new wave of agents would be helping in mostly non-specialized security-related areas. “[We’ve] got TSA agents covering exits — you know, people that enter through the exits. Certainly a highly-trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit, make sure people don’t … enter the airport through the exits, and stuff like that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to reduce those lines,” Homan said. “So, wherever we can provide extra security.” The border czar went on to note that he doesn’t foresee ICE agents manning X-ray machines because they’re not trained to do so. However, agents can be utilized in broad security roles allowing TSA workers to focus on specialized passenger screening jobs. Bash pressed Homan on the exact roles ICE agents would fill, but Homan noted that discussions are “a work in progress” and will be finalized by the end of the day Sunday. “Are there specific airports that you’re thinking about starting with, and how many ICE agents are you considering deploying to do this?” Bash asked. While discussions are ongoing, Homan said, he believes airports experiencing the longest TSA wait times should be the priority. Bash pressed Homan on timing: “With respect, if you’re doing this in 24 hours, how well thought out could it possibly be again?” Homan hit back: “How much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit to make sure no one comes through that exit?” “And we were talking about security options, and these officers are well trained in security, and they’re well trained in identification, and we’re going to do what we can to help TSA move those people to the line,” the border czar added. Bash attempted to catch Homan at the end of the segment, asking him: “Is it just going to be crowd control, or will ICE officers also be doing immigration enforcement while they are at the airport?” “We do immigration enforcement at airports all the time,” Homan replied. “So it’s not going to change. This is about helping the men and women with TSA. They’ve lost several hundred employees; the lines are really slow because the shutdown. This is about going to helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as they can while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols.” NEWS: White House Border Czar Tom Homan confirms President Trump will send ICE agents into airports across the country tomorrow. “We’ll have a plan by the end of today what airports we’re starting with and where we’re sending them,” Homan tells @DanaBashCNN. pic.twitter.com/Ue2VNlpKw6 — State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 22, 2026 The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has been ongoing since February 14, leaving TSA agents — as well as FEMA and the Coast Guard — without pay. As a result, over 300 TSA agents have quit and lines at major airports across the country have begun to extend dramatically. On Friday, the wait at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson — the busiest airport in the United States — surged beyond two hours during the morning travel rush, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, saw 90-minute wait times with one checkpoint closed altogether. Shocking videos circulating on social media have shown lines stretching significantly longer in recent days as the shutdown drags on. President Trump recently blasted Democrats on Truth Social over the shutdown: “What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will.”

Cuba said it had begun efforts early on Sunday to restore power after its grid collapsed for the second time in a week amid a U.S. oil blockade that has dealt a major blow to the island’s already ailing energy infrastructure. The grid collapsed Saturday evening at 6:32 p.m. (2232 GMT) after a major power plant in Nuevitas, in eastern Cuba’s Camaguey province, failed and went offline, grid operator UNE said, causing a cascade effect that knocked out power to the nation’s approximately 10 million people. Cuba’s energy and mines ministry said early on Sunday it had established microsystems – smaller, closed circuits – in all of the island’s provinces to restore power for vital services like hospitals, water supply and food distribution. The country’s two gas-fired power plants, operated by Energas, were running in Varadero and Boca de Jaruco, and electricity had reached the nearby Santa Cruz oil-fired plant, the energy ministry said on social media. Shortly after sunrise on Sunday, the streets of the capital Havana were crowded with early risers sitting on doorsteps, lamenting the situation with neighbors and swatting mosquitoes in cool weather under clear skies. “Life doesn’t change. We’re stuck in the same rut,” said Havana resident Leoni Alberto, who said he was forced to cook with firewood at least twice a week due to the outages. “It’s absolute madness. There’s no other way around it.” Cellular service and internet was almost entirely unavailable in most areas, leaving many without communication of any kind. Cuban prime minister Manuel Marrero said the recovery effort was taking place under “very complex circumstances.” Cuba’s electrical grid has been teetering on the edge of collapse and unreliable for months, leaving the island’s residents in the dark for hours a day, and sometimes longer, even in better times. But Saturday’s blackout incident marks the third major power outage this month, as a majority of the system went down on March 4 when a key thermoelectric generating plant failed. The power grid also went completely offline on Monday for unexplained reasons. Cuba has experienced a series of total outages in recent years, but two nationwide blackouts in the space of a week is exceptional. U.S. President Donald Trump began taking measures to block oil from reaching the Caribbean island after Washington deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3. Venezuela had previously provided oil to its close ally on favorable terms. Since then, Trump has cut off Venezuelan exports to Cuba and threatened other countries with punitive tariffs if they sell oil to the island. Cuba has long blamed the U.S. trade embargo for economic failures including its obsolete power grid, while Washington has attributed the shortfalls to Cuba’s Soviet-style command economy. (Reporting by Dave Sherwood in Havana; additional reporting by Anett Rios and Alien Fernandez, Editing by Hugh Lawson)