A US judge ruled on Tuesday that Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in southern California, was “unlawfully serving” as the head of the US attorney’s office and was disqualified from overseeing two criminal prosecutions.

The order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice has said it intends to appeal.

The ruling was part of a long-running legal battle challenging the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep Essayli in office despite not being confirmed by the US Senate. Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker and ally of Donald Trump, became an interim US attorney in April 2025, but he was not formally nominated by the president, which allowed him to lead the office without going through the standard confirmation process.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a last-ditch effort by Missouri Republicans to use a newly drawn congressional map, which was designed to maximize their political power, for this year’s midterm elections.

In a brief order issued by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court left in place a Missouri Supreme Court ruling last week that said the map could not be used while a ballot initiative that could lead to the redrawn map’s being tossed out by voters moves forward. Kavanaugh handles emergency requests that arise from Missouri.

The 2025 Republican redistricting plan, part of a wave prompted by President Donald Trump, was designed to eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic-held seats, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

But the Supreme Court’s decision means the 2022 map, with six Republican-held seats and two Democratic-held seats, will remain in place.

The legal clash erupted after the 2025 redistricting plan was enacted.

A group called People Not Politicians Missouri, led by Richard von Glahn, gathered signatures in support of a state referendum that would veto the Legislature’s map and put it on hold for the 2026 election.

But Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, refused to put the measure on the ballot, arguing that redistricting plans are not subject to being overturned by voters.

The Missouri Supreme Court found that Hoskins should not have rejected the plan, unanimously concluding there is nothing in state law that says redistricting plans are exempt from the referendum process.

The referendum petition was “legal, sufficient and timely,” the court found.

Kacey Musgraves is facing backlash from some fans after she showed support for immigrant families during a birthday performance.

The Grammy-winning country singer celebrated her 38th birthday on Friday by marking the opening night of her Middle of Nowhere tour in Chicago. At one point during the performance, she paused the show and urged the audience to donate to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights as her “birthday wish.”

“It’s a wonderful organization, and they help give aid — legal aid — and money to children whose parents have been deported unfairly,” Musgraves said on stage. “It’s not a political thing. It’s just, these kids need help.”

She continued: “They have no guidance and no way to get through this thing without their home base or their parents. So anyway, 50 cents, whatever the hell, I don't know, whatever you want to do, but that would mean a lot to me. If you don't want to, that's totally fine too.”

The plea was met with applause and cheers from her crowd at the United Center. However, once videos of the moment started circulating online, conservative political commentators were quick to unleash their wrath on the “Follow Your Arrow” singer.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk likely broke Wisconsin law when he handed out $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has found.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office, which can choose to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.

Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in the effort to flip majority control of the highest court in battleground Wisconsin.

The tech titan and groups he supported spent at least $20 million on the candidate backed by Republicans, Brad Schimel. However, he lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.

A month after the lopsided loss, Musk announced that he would be spending far less on political campaigns. Spending on the election topped $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.

Prosecutors will decide if Musk should be charged over the $1 million checks

The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were brought by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, which is in Brown County. Musk handed out checks at a rally there just days before the election.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission, consisting of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in closed session on Thursday to refer the complaints to the district attorney, the commission’s spokesperson Emilee Miklas said.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

The motion approved by the elections commission said it found probable cause that Musk broke Wisconsin law by making a social media post offering $1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election “in order to induce them to vote in that election.”

https://archive.ph/h2Idy

A growing number of candidates are seeking federal office without the backing of either major party, as more Americans identify as political independents heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

A Newsweek analysis of independent congressional candidate lists found 217 entries across U.S. House and Senate races in the 2026 cycle: 170 for the House and 47 Senate hopefuls.

When multiple candidates running in the same House district or Senate state are combined, the lists cover 153 distinct contests—129 House districts or at-large seats and 24 Senate races. The largest concentrations appear in Texas, Illinois, New York, California, Washington and Virginia.

An 11th hour U.S.-Iran cease-fire has triggered a spectacular rally for stocks and the opposite for oil prices.

That’s even as a lasting deal has not been agreed, with an estimated 800- plus stranded vessels in the Persian Gulf.

The worry for some is that the sharp stock rebound may be getting ahead of itself. In that camp is a senior trader at Goldman Sachs, Rich Privorotsky, who sees major risk ahead as the market tries to “move past Iran.”

In a note to clients, Privorotsky cautioned that “this isn’t a great level to chase,” with regard to the S&P 500

He noted that the index had already recouped two-thirds of losses incurred when the conflict began in late February; from its most recent record high in January, the S&P 500 was down about 5%.

Commenting that “cease-fires are fragile by definition,” Privorotsky said strikes have been seen overnight across the Gulf region despite the cease-fire. “You can hand-wave some of that as lag effects, but the disagreement around proxies (e.g. Lebanon with Israel) leaves plenty of scope for this to break,” he said.

The market will ultimately judge “actual flows through the Strait over time,” he said. “I struggle to see new highs for equities, but positioning still argues for forced buying to run its course first.”

U.S. lawmakers will try again next week to pass a resolution to halt the Iran war and force President Donald Trump to obtain ​Congress' approval for any further attacks, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said ‌on Wednesday, hours after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire.

"Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment," Schumer told a press conference at his office in New York.

Trump agreed to the ceasefire ​on Tuesday, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to ​reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its ⁠civilian infrastructure.

Trump's threat that "a whole civilization will die tonight" prompted global concern and ​censure from Democrats, dozens of whom called for Trump's removal from office. The 1949 Geneva ​Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.

Schumer called Trump's statements "unhinged" and criticized the war for failing to weaken Iran's government or rein in its nuclear ​program, while global fuel prices have risen.

The U.S. demanded Wednesday that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the Islamic Republic closed the waterway in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Iran’s move cast doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war would hold.

The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. Israel intensified its attacks in Lebanon, hitting several commercial and residential areas in Beirut without warning. At least 112 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in one of the deadliest days in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The fresh violence threatened to scuttle what U.S. Vice President JD Vance called a “fragile” deal.

An 11th hour U.S.-Iran cease-fire has triggered a spectacular rally for stocks and the opposite for oil prices.

That’s even as a lasting deal has not been agreed, with an estimated 800- plus stranded vessels in the Persian Gulf.

The worry for some is that the sharp stock rebound may be getting ahead of itself. In that camp is a senior trader at Goldman Sachs, Rich Privorotsky, who sees major risk ahead as the market tries to “move past Iran.”

In a note to clients, Privorotsky cautioned that “this isn’t a great level to chase,” with regard to the S&P 500

He noted that the index had already recouped two-thirds of losses incurred when the conflict began in late February; from its most recent record high in January, the S&P 500 was down about 5%.

Commenting that “cease-fires are fragile by definition,” Privorotsky said strikes have been seen overnight across the Gulf region despite the cease-fire. “You can hand-wave some of that as lag effects, but the disagreement around proxies (e.g. Lebanon with Israel) leaves plenty of scope for this to break,” he said.

The market will ultimately judge “actual flows through the Strait over time,” he said. “I struggle to see new highs for equities, but positioning still argues for forced buying to run its course first.”

As Israel contemplates a two-week ceasefire announced by United States President Donald Trump in the war on Iran on Tuesday night, it appears weakened in the eyes of its opponents and critics. Its arch-nemesis, Iran, is still standing; Israel’s defensive stock of missiles is depleted and its prime minister is facing a political backlash.

Following news of the Pakistan-brokered truce, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in English, saying that the PM supports the US decision and claiming that “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbours and the world.”

But there was a caveat. While mediator Pakistan had announced that Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon would also cease, Netanyahu added that he does not regard the ceasefire as extending to Israel’s war on Lebanon, which, for now at least, the US appears willing to allow to continue, subject to its peace negotiations with Iran.

Responding to Netanyahu’s announcement, Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, who had strongly supported his country’s attack on regional nemesis Iran, called the ceasefire one of the greatest “political disasters in all of our history”. Israel had not even been involved in negotiations, he said, adding that, despite its military successes, the prime minister had “failed politically, failed strategically, and didn’t meet a single one of the goals that he himself set”, adding that it would take years to repair the damage inflicted upon the country through the prime minister’s “arrogance”.

OIG’s comprehensive review of 40 focused nursing home inspections completed by CMS found alarming instances of inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs and revealed vulnerabilities in care that have implications for the wider nursing home population beyond these examples. Our review found:

Nursing homes gave antipsychotic drugs to residents with dementia to manage their behavior for the benefit of staff, despite FDA’s warning that these drugs may increase the risk of death.

Even though antipsychotic drugs pose risks to residents’ health, nursing homes did not take required steps to help protect residents who were given these drugs.

Medical directors failed to prevent inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs.

Nursing home pharmacists failed to identify medical concerns and did not recommend dose reductions.

Inadequate nursing home policies and procedures undermined safeguards meant to protect residents.

OIG’s comprehensive review of 40 focused nursing home inspections completed by CMS found alarming instances of inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs and revealed vulnerabilities in care that have implications for the wider nursing home population beyond these examples. Our review found:

Nursing homes gave antipsychotic drugs to residents with dementia to manage their behavior for the benefit of staff, despite FDA’s warning that these drugs may increase the risk of death.

Even though antipsychotic drugs pose risks to residents’ health, nursing homes did not take required steps to help protect residents who were given these drugs.

Medical directors failed to prevent inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs.

Nursing home pharmacists failed to identify medical concerns and did not recommend dose reductions.

Inadequate nursing home policies and procedures undermined safeguards meant to protect residents.

President Donald Trump has ousted Pam Bondi as attorney general, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

She will be replaced for now by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who will serve as acting attorney general, Trump said.

The president wrote on Truth Social that Bondi would be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” praising her for her work in his administration and offering no specific reason for why she would be leaving.

“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900,” Trump wrote.

Trump had been frustrated with Bondi on multiple fronts, sources said, including her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and that she had not investigated or prosecuted enough of his political opponents. She is the second Cabinet secretary to be ousted in recent weeks; last month, Trump removed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Bank of America has ‌settled a civil lawsuit brought by women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court records showed on Monday.

Lawyers for the bank and the women told Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in a March 12 telephone call that they had reached a "settlement in principle," a court filing said. The terms of the settlement were not immediately clear.

Investigators in New Mexico began searching on Monday the former high-plains ranch of Jeffrey Epstein where the late financier and his acquaintances are accused of sexually abusing women and girls, state authorities said.

Democratic-run New ‌Mexico is acting on new information in documents released in January by the U.S. Department of Justice, including an accusation that Epstein ordered the bodies of two foreign girls buried in hills near the secluded property.

The search follows New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez's decision last month ​to reopen the investigation into the late sex offender's alleged criminal activities at ⁠the ranch 30 miles (48 km) south of the state's capital of Santa Fe.

"The New ​Mexico Department of Justice will continue to keep the public appropriately informed, support the survivors, ​and follow the facts wherever they lead," it said in a statement.

On Monday, a Reuters witness heard dogs barking and saw a government vehicle bearing a paw-print symbol, suggesting it was carrying animals, ​leave the ranch. State police and a county fire and rescue vehicle were also ​spotted.

New Mexico closed its previous Epstein ‌investigation ⁠in 2019 at the request of federal authorities. There has never been a full investigation of the alleged assaults by Epstein, his partner Ghislaine Maxwell and ranch visitors.

Last month, New Mexico became the first U.S. state to launch a legislative "truth commission" to uncover possible ​public corruption that allowed ​Epstein to operate ⁠in secrecy at the ranch for 26 years before his death in 2019.

While global stocks have largely sustained ‌the relief rally that followed Monday's wild swings, fear is again resurfacing as Iran vowed to step up its missile strikes.

President Donald Trump's assurance that the war with Iran was "very complete" and could be "over soon" initially injected optimism into markets, even as Iranian hardliners rallied behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and said their blockade of oil would continue.

Within hours of Trump's statements, Iran's military dashed ⁠markets' hopes. "We are the ones who will determine the end of the war," Iran's Revolutionary Guards said.

Such comments brought the exchange back to a familiar tempo with Trump then threatening to hit Iran "TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not let any oil be shipped from the Middle East ​if U.S. and Israeli attacks continue, prompting President Donald Trump to say the U.S. would hit Iran much harder if it blocked exports.

The rhetoric did little to quell a fall ‌in crude prices and a rally in global shares that followed Trump expressing confidence in a swift end to hostilities, even after Iran showed defiance by naming Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader.

Progressive Analilia Mejia has pulled off a long-shot win in a special election primary for New Jersey’s 11th congressional district, defeating favorite Tom Malinowski thanks to AIPAC’s intervention in the race.

Malinowski conceded Tuesday morning, saying in a post on X that Mejia “deserves unequivocal praise and credit for running a positive campaign and for inspiring so many voters on Election Day.”

“But the outcome of this race cannot be understood without also taking into account the massive flood of dark money that AIPAC spent on dishonest ads during the last three weeks,” Malinowski’s post said.