“A federal judge on Tuesday placed on hold much of Donald Trump’s order forbidding the federal government from doing business with anyone who hires the law firm Susman Godfrey, making it the fourth time a judge has found the president’s targeting of law firms is likely unconstitutional. ‘The framers of our constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power,’ District Court Judge Loren AliKhan said as she entered the temporary restraining order on behalf of Susman, which represented a voting machine firm that won a $787 billion settlement from Fox News over its airing of lies about Trump’s 2020 loss. Trump’s executive order cited the firm’s election work as a reason it was targeted.” (04/16/25)
“New York Attorney General Letitia James has been hit with shocking allegations by the Trump administration, accusing her of mortgage fraud. In documents obtained by Fox News Channel’s ‘The Ingraham Angle,’ the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice on Tuesday, accusing James of mortgage fraud. FHFA Director William Pulte said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that James appears to have falsified records to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms. Pulte cited a property in Virginia that James allegedly claimed as her principal residence and a property in New York she claimed as a four-unit structure instead of five, which he said could mean she was able to get a different and more favorable loan.” (04/16/25)
“American pastor Josh Sullivan was rescued Tuesday amid a shootout between South African police and his captors that left three suspects dead, authorities said Wednesday. Sullivan, originally from Tennessee, was abducted at gunpoint during a prayer meeting at his church in South Africa on the evening of April 10. According to a statement issued by the the South African Police Service, a specialized unit dedicated to serious crime, known as the Hawks, they led the operation to rescue the 45-year-old. The American was abducted from his Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell Township, outside the coastal city of Gqeberha, and was rescued from a safehouse being used by his captors in that city.” (04/16/25)
“Iran confirmed Wednesday that the next round of nuclear talks with the United States this weekend will be held in Rome after earlier confusion over where the negotiations would be held. The announcement by Iranian state television came as Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian formally approved the resignation of one of his vice presidents who served as Tehran’s key negotiator in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also arrived in the Islamic Republic on Wednesday. His talks may include negotiations over just what access the IAEA inspectors can get under any proposed deal. The state TV announcement said Oman will again mediate the talks on Saturday in Rome. Oman’s foreign minister served as an interlocutor between the two sides at talks last weekend in Muscat, the sultanate’s capital.” (04/16/25)
“The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the U.K. equalities law defines a woman as someone born biologically female. Justice Patrick Hodge said five judges at the court had ruled unanimously that ‘the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman.’ The ruling means that a transgender person with a certificate that recognizes them as female should not be considered a woman for equality purposes. The case stems from a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament stating that there should be a 50% female representation on the boards of Scottish public bodies. That law included transgender women in its definition of women.” (04/16/25)
“A German palliative care doctor has been charged with murdering 15 of his patients using a cocktail of lethal drugs. Prosecutors in Berlin have accused the 40-year-old of setting fire to the homes of some of his suspected victims to cover his tracks. He allegedly killed 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024, though prosecutors have said they believe that total could rise. The doctor, who has not been named due to strict privacy laws in Germany, has not admitted to the charges, prosecutors said. He is accused of administering an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant to his patients without their knowledge or consent. The relaxant ‘paralysed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes,’ the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.” (04/16/25)
“The Pentagon placed two top political appointees under administrative leave on Tuesday after a probe into potential leaks of sensitive information, according to three defense officials. Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted out of the Pentagon by security officers and had his building access suspended pending further investigation, said two of the officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe. Darin Selnick, the Pentagon’s deputy chief of staff, was also suspended as part of the same probe and escorted out of the building, according to one of the officials. The leaks under investigation include military operational plans for the Panama canal, a second carrier headed to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s controversial visit to the Pentagon and pausing the collection of intelligence to Ukraine, the other official said.” (04/15/25)
“While American taxpayers are familiar with the annual rigmarole of filing their federal taxes and realizing just how much of their hard-earned money Uncle Sam is taking away, several House Republicans are pushing a proposal to take some things away from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Guns and ammunition. The ‘Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act’ would disarm the federal agency, prohibiting the commissioner of internal revenue from using funds to buy, receive or store firearms and ammo, and requiring the transfer of IRS firearms and ammunition to the Administrator of General Services. The guns would then be sold or auctioned to licensed dealers and the ammo would be auctioned to the public. Proceeds would go to ‘the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of deficit reduction,’ the measure stipulates.” (04/16/25)
“French jails were hit by a second wave of attacks overnight, including three cars set alight at Tarascon prison in southern France, the Justice Minister and a prison workers’ union said on Wednesday, as authorities sought to identify those responsible. ‘Cars were set on fire very early this morning,’ Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin told CNews TV and Europe 1 radio, speaking of the attack in Tarascon. The hall of a building in Meaux, east of Paris, where a prison guard works, was also set on fire overnight, as was the car of a prison guard who works in Aix-Luynes, in southern France, the FO Justice union said on X. In Tarascon, three cars burned in the prison’s parking lot, it said. Earlier in the week, at least six prisons guarding some of the nation’s most hardened crime kingpins came under gun and arson attack.” (04/16/25)
“The State Department has shut down its office that sought to deal with misinformation and disinformation that Russia, China and Iran have been accused of spreading. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Wednesday that he had closed what had been known as the Global Engagement Center because it had taken actions to restrict freedom of speech in the United States and elsewhere. The center has been a frequent target of criticism from conservatives for calling out media and online reports that it said are biased or untruthful. At times, it has identified U.S. websites and social media accounts that it argued were amplifying misinformation, particularly related to the Russia-Ukraine war. ” (04/16/25)
