“The Justice Department is turning to former Trump attorney Joeseph diGenova to spearhead a probe into ex-CIA Director John Brennan and others over the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, as the department reshuffles leadership of the sprawling inquiry. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has tapped diGenova to serve as counsel overseeing the matter, according to a New York Times report, putting a former Trump attorney in a key role in the high-profile probe. A federal grand jury seated in Miami has been impaneled since late last year. … DiGenova, a former U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., who represented Trump during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, has repeatedly accused Brennan of misconduct tied to the origins of the Russia probe — allegations that have not resulted in criminal charges.” (04/19/26)
“A judge has granted the makers of the ‘ICE Sightings — Chicagoland’ Facebook group and the Eyes Up app a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump administration from coercing platforms to take these projects down. Judge Jorge L. Alonso of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois found that the plaintiffs, Kassandra Rosado and Kreisau Group, are likely to succeed in their case, which alleges that the government suppressed protected speech under the First Amendment by strong-arming Facebook and Apple into removing ICE monitoring efforts.” (04/18/26)
“Multiple people in Glendale have been sentenced in a bizarre felony insurance fraud case involving a bear costume and luxury cars. Officials from the California Department of Insurance launched the investigation back in 2024 after an insurance company flagged an unusual claim of a Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan being damaged after a bear climbed inside near Lake Arrowhead. The grainy surveillance footage appeared to show a bear rummaging through the vehicle, and photos submitted showed scratches on the interior of the car, which can retail for over $400,000 when new. But the video and photos from the scene didn’t look quite right. During the investigation, detectives sent the footage to a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who ‘concluded the animal shown was clearly a human in a bear suit,’ according to the news release from the California Department of Insurance.” (04/17/26)
“A Canadian man facing murder charges for allegedly selling lethal substances online to people at risk of self-harm has agreed to plead guilty to 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide, his lawyer said on Saturday. In turn, Canadian prosecutors will withdraw all 14 murder charges filed against Kenneth Law, lawyer Matthew Gourlay told The Associated Press in a email. … Canadian police say Law, from the Toronto area, used a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be deadly if ingested.” (04/18/26)
Every so often (and one really big time closer to the end of each year) I come to our readers to remind you that we’re a reader-supported publication. It’s not time for our year-end fundraiser and won’t be for several more months, but this is one of those “every so often” bits. PLEASE do one or both of the following things:
Tell your friends about us! The more readers we have, the better in every way … especially when it comes time to ask for money. Many hands make light work, etc. Send people you know our way at:
“A 10-day ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon took effect at 5 p.m. Thursday, after Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah — an Iranian proxy — had threatened the ceasefire in the wider Iran war.” (04/17/26)
“The House unanimously passed a short-term of the [regime’s] spy powers until in the wee hours Friday morning — pushing the deadline from April 20 to April 30 — after GOP rebels dramatically rejected a late-night, last-minute deal to extend for five years while adding some additional reforms and language intended to woo the holdouts. The move buys time for leaders to figure out how to address Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after the deal crumbled, while avoiding a lapse in the authorization that expires on April 20. … it marked one of the most notable instances of the GOP’s right flank outright defying Trump’s wishes on a major vote.” (04/17/26)
“A Russian overnight drone attack damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine’s largest Danube river port Izmail and one drone strayed into Romanian territory, Ukrainian and Romanian authorities said on Friday. The port lies on the southwestern tip of Ukraine facing Romanian territory across the Danube. It has become an important and frequently hit logistical area for wartime Ukraine.” (04/17/26)
“An ICE agent who was part of the federal immigration surge in Minnesota earlier this year was charged with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, a Minnesota prosecutor announced Thursday. The agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., is accused of pointing a gun at the heads of two civilians in a vehicle, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. This is the first case of an ICE agent facing charges related to the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, which drew national outrage after the [murders] of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration authorities. Morgan was charged Thursday with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, one count for each victim, and there is a warrant out for his arrest, Moriarty said. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the charges.” (04/16/26)
“Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, whose tenure was marred by sexual assault allegations, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their home and then killed himself, police said. The couple’s two teenage children were inside the home when the shootings occurred, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, noting their son had placed the 911 call. Fairfax County police responded to the home in Annandale, Virginia, shortly after midnight Thursday, where they found a man and woman dead inside, police said earlier. The same firearm appears to have been used in both shootings, Davis said. The shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding ‘what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,’ Davis said.” (04/16/26)
