“A Colorado appeals court on Thursday threw out the sentence of Tina Peters, a former elections clerk, who was convicted in an election data case. Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison in August 2024 on seven of the 10 counts for which she was charged. She allowed an unauthorized person to make copies of voting machine hard drives that included classified information. The data from those drives was then leaked online by conspiracy theorists who falsely said it proved President Donald Trump correct in his assertion that the 2020 election was ‘stolen.’ Trump later pardoned Peters, but Colorado officials said he has no power to do so because she was convicted by the state. … The judges of the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that District Judge Matthew Barrett wrongfully used Peters’ beliefs and promotion of election fraud conspiracy theories in his sentencing.” (04/02/26)
“The Vermont Labor Relations Board has ordered that Gov. Phil Scott’s administration ‘rescind’ a controversial requirement that state employees return to their physical offices three days per week. The board, a non-judicial body that makes decisions on the labor grievances of state employees, said in its decision Wednesday that the state has ‘refused to bargain in good faith and interfered with employees’ exercise of rights’ in requiring in-person work. Scott called the decision ‘disappointing, but not surprising’ in his weekly press conference Wednesday, and said the board’s membership is ‘weighted towards labor.'” (04/02/26)
“A German artist who created carnival displays mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin was sentenced in absentia on Thursday to 8 1/2 years in prison by a court In Moscow. Jacques Tilly was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military and insulting religious feelings. Carnival parades in Germany are famed for their floats mocking a wide variety of domestic and global political figures, and Putin has frequently been a target. Tilly, 62, has been designing and building floats for Düsseldorf’s Carnival parade — one of Germany’s best-known — since 1984. In recent years, his designs have depicted Putin scrubbing himself in a bathtub filled with blood and painted in the colors of the Ukraine flag, while another featured a red-faced Putin biting into Ukraine, which was decorated with the words ‘Choke on it!'” (04/02/26)
“Average US mortgage rates climbed again for the fifth week in a row, making homebuying more expensive than it was just a few weeks ago, before the outbreak of war with Iran. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.46% this week, jumping from 6.38% the previous week and reaching the highest level in seven months, according to Freddie Mac. The rise may be unwelcome news for those hoping to buy a home this spring, typically the busiest time of year for the housing market. During the last week of February, before the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 5.98%.” (04/02/26)
“The Trump administration is preparing to impose new tariffs on [American buyers of] branded drugs from pharmaceutical companies that have not struck landmark deals with the president to lower their U.S. drug prices, CNBC has learned. [American buyers of] Patented medications and their active ingredients would be hit with a 100% tariff, according to a draft of the document obtained by CNBC. But there are pathways for drugmakers to reduce or avoid the levies [on American buyers] if they move their manufacturing to the U.S. or are negotiating deals with the administration. … The plan would represent another shift in Trump’s aggressive trade strategy, more than a month after the Supreme Court struck down the global levies he imposed in 2025, which excluded the pharmaceutical industry.” (04/02/26)
“The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan on Thursday rejected an appeal by a prominent opposition politician who is serving a nine-year prison sentence, his lawyer told Reuters. Tofig Yagublu, 65, is a member of the opposition Musavat party and has been jailed numerous times over three decades for protesting against the government of the South Caucasus country. Yagublu was arrested in December 2023 and convicted in March last year of fraud and document forgery. His supporters say the case is politically motivated, while the authorities maintain he was rightly convicted of crimes.” (04/02/26)
“A woman in Arizona who went missing 32 years ago, when she was just 13 years old, has been found alive, authorities said this week. Christina Marie Plante was reported missing in May 1994 from Star Valley, Arizona, after she ‘vanished without a trace from her community,’ according to a statement released on Wednesday by the Gila county sheriff’s office. … At the time, her disappearance prompted an extensive search effort …. 32 years after her disappearance, the sheriff’s office announced on Wednesday that Plante had been ‘located alive.’ Investigators said that they have ‘confirmed her identify, and her status as a missing person has been officially resolved.’ The sheriff’s office added that ‘out of respect for Christina’s privacy and well-being, additional details will not be released at this time.'” (04/02/26)
“ICC member states have voted to pursue disciplinary proceedings against Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan after receiving reports regarding sexual assault allegations against him, according to a Wall Street Journal report. In a vote on Wednesday by a core group of member states, 15 voted in favour, two abstained and four voted against moving forward with the process, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Khan, who investigates war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has taken leave of absence pending an inquiry into accusations of non-consensual sexual interaction with a lawyer in his office. He rejects any allegations of wrongdoing.” (04/02/26)
“Cloudflare has lifted the wraps off EmDash, a new open source CMS that it deems to be the ‘spiritual successor’ to WordPress. The company explained an overwhelming majority (96%) of WordPress vulnerabilities come from plugins, which have full access to the database and filesystem, and run in the same environment as the core code without any isolation. To tackle this, Cloudflare is putting each EmDash plugin in an isolated sandbox, called Dynamic Workers, with plugins having to declare exactly which permission it needs upfront.” (04/02/26)
“The death in the US of ‘nearly blind’ refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam, who was found outdoors in freezing temperatures days after his release from federal immigration custody, has been ruled a homicide in New York state. The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office said Shah Alam’s death in the city of Buffalo was caused by ‘complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration.’ The designation of homicide may include negligent acts or omissions, the local officials said. It does not imply intent to cause harm or death, or indicate criminality. In response, a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman told the BBC it was ‘another hoax being peddled by the media and sanctuary politicians to demonise our law enforcement.'” (04/02/26)
