“A California sheriff running for governor has seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy. County elections officials have disputed the claims by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, called Bianco’s move unprecedented and says it is designed to sow distrust in elections. Bianco held a news conference Friday saying his office had launched the investigation after receiving a complaint from a local citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. In the special election, voters approved a measure to redraw congressional district lines to favor Democrats in the upcoming midterm election. The measure passed in the county by a margin of more than 80,000 votes.” (03/22/26)
“Robert S. Mueller III, who led the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 12 tumultuous years, brought politically explosive indictments as a special counsel examining Russia’s attack on the 2016 presidential election, and then concluded that he could neither absolve nor accuse President Trump of a crime, died on Friday. He was 81. His family confirmed the death in a statement but did not say where he died or give the cause.” (03/21/26)
“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirms that General Ali Mohammad Naeini, its spokesperson, has been killed in an Israeli-US missile attack. … Israel’s Oil Refineries, a refining and petrochemicals company, says an Iranian attack on its complex in Haifa has damaged essential infrastructure. … Iran’s attack on the Ras Laffan gas facility will cut Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity by an estimated 17 percent, which could disrupt supplies to Europe, Asia and beyond. … Millions of Muslims across the Middle East celebrate Eid while Iran also marks Nowruz under the threat of war.” (03/20/26)
“U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining in the same range of recent years despite a broadly tepid labor market. The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending March 14 fell by 8,000 from the previous week to 205,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 215,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting. Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.” (03/19/26)
“British authorities are seeking the cooperation of the Justice Department as they pursue investigations arising from the Epstein files, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said in an interview Wednesday. Commissioner Mark Rowley declined to opine on why the files have resulted in the arrests of two high-profile figures in the U.K. — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, and former ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson — while U.S. authorities have made no arrests or charges in the wake of the files’ release. But Rowley touted British authorities’ willingness to pursue ’eminent’ figures. … He said communication between British and American law enforcement is a precursor to more formal requests British authorities intend to file, including mutual legal assistance treaty — or MLAT — requests.” (03/19/26)
“Federal prosecutors in Florida have subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey as part of a wide-ranging probe into a prior investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, confirmed Comey was subpoenaed in the probe, which is also reviewing the previous investigations into President Trump, including the work of Obama-era intelligence officials. … The probe in Florida has sought information from several former officials, with both NBC and CBS reporting that at least 130 subpoenas have been issued since the investigation began last year. That group includes a number of those previously targeted by Trump, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.” (03/19/26)
“Severe tropical cyclone Narelle was losing strength on Friday after bringing destructive winds, heavy rain and power outages to Australia’s northeast coast that prompted authorities to warn people to stay indoors. Narelle was packing wind speeds reaching about 195 kph (120 mph), authorities said, when it hit land in remote parts of the far north region of Queensland state as a category four system, a rung short of the strongest.” (03/20/26)
“A pro-Kremlin figure who unexpectedly denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine in a social media post this week that went viral has been placed in a psychiatric facility, Russian media reported on Thursday. Ilya Remeslo made a career denouncing Putin’s critics until he became one himself, posting a manifesto late on Tuesday to his 90,000 followers on Telegram entitled: ‘Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.’ He said Putin had prosecuted a ‘failing war’ in Ukraine that had killed millions and torpedoed Russia’s economy to the detriment of its citizens’ well-being. ‘Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate president. Vladimir Putin must resign and be brought to trial as a war criminal and a thief,’ Remeslo wrote in his post. … On Thursday, St Petersburg’s Fontanka newspaper reported Remeslo had been hospitalised in the city’s Psychiatric Hospital No 3.” (03/19/26)
“Lawyers for the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess called on Thursday for his acquittal on charges of rape, as six weeks of high-profile court proceedings that have cast a shadow over the royal family drew to a close. Prosecutors this week sought a prison sentence of seven years and seven months for Marius Borg Høiby, who denies the rape allegations. A verdict is expected at a later date. … He is charged with 40 offenses in total, including four counts of rape between 2018 and 2024 involving women who prosecutors say were unable to give consent because they were asleep or otherwise incapacitated. Defense lawyers for Høiby, who has no royal titles or official duties, said that there was no evidence of rape in any of the cases.” (03/19/26)
“Three men who alleged that actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted them have settled their civil claims before going to trial at the High Court in London, court documents show. The three men alleged that the Academy Award-winning star abused them at times between 2000 and 2013. Spacey has denied the allegations. Civil trials were due to start later this year, but case judge Christina Lambert last week ordered the proceedings paused, saying the parties had ‘agreed to the terms of the settlement.’ … Spacey, now 66, was tried in London in 2023 on nine alleged sex offenses against four men, and acquitted on all counts. … Spacey also successfully defended himself against a $40 million US civil lawsuit in New York in 2022 brought by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp.” (03/19/26)
