“A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the government not to review materials seized during the search of a Washington Post reporter’s home last week. The ruling, from Magistrate Judge William B. Porter, was in response to a legal filing by the newspaper on Wednesday arguing that the seizures violated the First Amendment and demanding the return of the items. ‘The seizure chills speech, cripples reporting and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on protected materials,’ the company said in the filing. Judge Porter wrote that The Post and the reporter, Hannah Natanson, had shown ‘good cause’ to maintain the ‘status quo’ while the issues were being sorted out in court.” (01/22/26)
“Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday defended his decision to secure two criminal indictments against President Trump and asserted his team had gathered enough evidence to convict. Smith gave his first public testimony about his work Thursday, appearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Republican members of the panel attacked Smith’s move to collect phone records of lawmakers who had been in contact with Trump allies around the time of the Capitol riot in 2021. And they cast the historic investigations of Trump as politically motivated. … In a videotaped deposition, Smith said the president had only himself to blame, for charges he tried to overturn the will of voters in 2020.” (01/22/26)
“US President Donald Trump’s proposal to cap credit card costs would be ‘an economic disaster’, the boss of one of the world’s biggest banks has warned. JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon said the plan would remove credit from the majority of Americans and hit restaurants, retailers, travel firms and schools. Trump this month wrote on Truth Social that interest rates on credit cards should be limited to 10% for one year from 20 January. The cap has yet to come into force and the president did not say how it might be introduced or whether such a move would be legally enforceable. Asked about the cap at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Dimon said: ‘It would be an economic disaster, and I’m not making that up because our business … we would survive it by the way.'” (01/22/25)
“The German government on Thursday announced the expulsion of a Russian diplomat over a case in which a woman was arrested on suspicion of supplying information related to the war in Ukraine to an intelligence contact at Moscow’s embassy in Berlin. The Foreign Ministry said in a social media post that ‘the German government doesn’t tolerate espionage in Germany, still less under the disguise of diplomatic status.’ It said it summoned the Russian ambassador and told him it was expelling ‘the person in question who spied on behalf of Russia.’ The main suspect in the case, a German-Ukrainian dual citizen, was arrested in Berlin on Wednesday.” (01/22/26)
“The restart of a reactor at the world’s largest nuclear power plant has been suspended in Japan, a day after the process began, its operator, which also manages the wrecked Fukushima plant, said. But the reactor remains ‘stable.’ The No 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in north-central Japan – closed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster – reactivated on Wednesday as plant workers started removing neutron-absorbing control rods from the core to start stable nuclear fission. But the process had to be suspended hours later due to a malfunction related to control rods, which are essential to safely starting up and shutting down reactors, the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) said.” (01/22/26)
“Federal prosecutors sought to charge former CNN journalist Don Lemon in connection with an anti-immigration-enforcement protest that disrupted services at a Minnesota church Sunday, but a magistrate judge declined to approve the charge, two people familiar with the development said. Lemon’s name appeared among eight defendants in a federal court docket reviewed by POLITICO Thursday afternoon. However, a short time later the case disappeared altogether from the public docket.” (01/22/26)
“President Donald Trump is suing JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, and its CEO Jamie Dimon, alleging it improperly dropped him as a client in 2021 for political reasons. The suit in state court in Florida seeks $5 billion in damages. The suit says that the bank notified Trump and his various businesses it was closing their banking accounts at the bank in February 2021, giving them 60 days notice before the closures went into effect. The suit also charges that Trump, his family and various businesses were placed on a “blacklist” by JPMorgan ‘for any wealth management accounts that they have title to.’ The suit alleges that placement on the blacklist was authorized by Dimon and that being placed on the blacklist led other banks not to deal with Trump and the other plaintiffs in the suit.” (01/22/26)
“Federal authorities have arrested two anti-ICE agitators after a mob stormed a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday. Bondi named Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen as the suspects. FBI Director Kash Patel said Armstrong’s arrest was in connection with a violation of the FACE Act, which prohibits interfering with the exercise of religion at a place of worship. Armstrong is expected to appear Thursday before U.S. Judge Douglas Micko. Allen is charged with conspiracy to deprive rights, the Department of Homeland Security said.” (01/22/25)
“A man facing federal charges in what authorities have called the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history was deported to Ecuador late last month, bringing the case against him to a crashing halt, according to recent court filings. Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven men charged last year with breaking into a Brinks big rig and stealing around $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches in 2022. … Flores faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment. He has pleaded not guilty. But, in a complicated sequence of events, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Flores on or about Dec. 29, according to his attorney, John D. Robertson. In a Jan. 9 motion to dismiss the case against Flores, Robertson said he had ‘just learned’ his client had been deported.” (01/22/26)
“A former Georgia House member has pleaded guilty to lying to collect federal unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Karen Bennett’s guilty plea to one count of making false statements to collect $13,940 had been expected after she waived her indictment on Jan. 5. Bennett, 70, had resigned from the House in the days before she was charged. … Prosecutors said Bennett, a physical therapist, lied in 2020 when she stated she was being prevented by quarantine from working for Metro Therapy Providers, a company Bennett owned. Prosecutors said that in reality, Bennett’s role with the company was administrative and she worked from a home office, instead of providing therapy to clients. They also allege that Metro Therapy continued operating and generating income after a brief disruption. In addition, prosecutors say Bennett failed to disclose that she was also receiving $905 in week pay from a church.” (01/21/26)
