1/ The Justice Department will seek emergency intervention from the Supreme Court to protect the availability of the widely-used abortion pill mifepristone. The decision comes after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially blocked U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order, which suspended the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone. It was the first time a court had ordered the suspension of a long-approved medication. The court, however, ruled that mifespristone could no longer be prescribed after the seventh week of pregnancy, rolled back mail delivery of the pill, and reimposed doctor visits. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “strongly disagrees” with the 5th Circuit’s decision, adding that the administration will “be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care.” Any filing would go to Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency matters from the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit. Alito wrote the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / NPR / CNBC / ABC News / CNN)

2/ Florida’s Republican legislature banned most abortions after six weeks, sending the bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The six-week ban includes exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies, and “fatal fetal abnormalities,” but effectively outlaws the procedure before many people know they’re pregnant. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, patients in the South have been traveling to Florida for abortions. Of the 82,000 people who had an abortion in Florida in 2022, nearly 7,000 of those traveled to the state. Of the 13 states that prohibit nearly all abortions, most are in the South, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. (Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times)

3/ The FBI arrested a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman in connection with the leak of highly classified U.S. intelligence documents, which included maps, intelligence updates, and the assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Federal agents took Jack Teixeira into custody, and the FBI conducted a search of his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, which appears to be his mother’s. Teixeira was the administrator of a chat group where the classified documents first appeared. The chat group of about 20 to 30 people reportedly shared a “love of guns, racist online memes, and video games.” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Teixeira was arrested “without incident” on allegations of “alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.” Teixeira will likely face charges under 18 U.S.C. 793 – better known as the Espionage Act. (

1/ The EPA proposed tougher tailpipe emissions limits that could require up to 67% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be all-electric by 2032 – the nation’s most ambitious climate regulations to date. The new rules are expected to eliminate 7.3 billion tons of CO2 through 2055 – the equivalent of eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions from the entire U.S. transportation sector for four years. The limits would also surpass Biden’s previous commitment to have EVs make up roughly 50% of cars sold by 2030. Last year, EVs accounted for 5.8% of the 13.8 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. The White House has also set aside $7.5 billion to expand the EV charging network – as part of the 2021 $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. And, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act will provide tax credits up to $7,500 for car buyers to incentive EV adoption and affordability. The U.S. is the world’s third-largest market for EVs behind China and Europe. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / NPR)

2/ The Federal Reserve projects the nation’s economy to fall into a “mild recession” by year’s end, according to minutes from the Fed’s March meeting minutes. Central bank officials scaled back their economic expectations for future rate hikes this year due in part to the string of bank failures and instability in the banking sector. Although Fed officials considered skipping a rate increase at their March meeting, they raised their benchmark lending rate a quarter point to a range of 4.75% to 5%. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Forbes / CNBC)

3/ U.S. inflation fell to its lowest level in nearly two years. The consumer price index rose 0.1% from February to March, and 5% from a year ago. Despite the lower prices, inflation is still running more than two-and-a-half times the Fed’s target of 2% and the central bank is on track to raise interest rates at least once more before what they say will be an extended pause to let their work filter through the economy. Economists expect that the federal funds rate to settle around 5.25% and stay there through 2023. The central bank will announce its next policy decision on May 3. (Bloomberg / New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal /

1/ Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Jim Jordan to keep the House Judiciary Committee from interfering in his prosecution of Trump. In a 50-page lawsuit, Bragg describes a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” his office by Jordan and others, calling it “an unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional attack” by members of Congress on the prosecution and investigation of Trump. The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena last week to Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor involved in the criminal investigation of Trump. Bragg is seeking a court order to bar Pomerantz from complying with the subpoena. (New York Times / CNBC / Washington Post / CNN / Politico / USA Today)

2/ Trump appealed a judge’s order requiring Pence to testify before the grand jury investigating his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump is seeking to narrow the scope of the testimony that Pence has to give a grand jury, while also accusing the Justice Department of “attempting to destroy the long accepted, long held, Constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.” Trump has lost several attempts in court to block other top officials from his administration from testifying based on claims of executive privilege. (New York Times / CNBC / NBC News / CNN / ABC News / Politico)

3/ Biden formally ended the Covid-19 national emergency, which was first enacted by the Trump administration in 2020. Biden signed the bipartisan congressional resolution behind closed doors despite publicly opposing the bill, saying it “would be a grave disservice to the American people.” The ending of the national emergency does not, however, affect the public health emergency, which underpins Title 42 – the border policy that allows the expulsion of migrants from U.S. borders without the opportunity to seek asylum. That policy is set to expire on May 11. The coronavirus has killed more than 1.13 million people in the U.S. and disrupted the global economy. (Associated Press / Washington Post /

1/ The Biden administration appealed a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that would block access to the widely-used abortion drug mifepristone. On Friday, a federal judge in Texas suspended the FDA’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill, while another federal judge in Washington State ordered the FDA to keep the pill available. Despite the conflicting orders by two federal judges, mifepristone continues to be available – for now – since the Texas judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, stayed his own order for seven days to allow the FDA time to file an appeal. It’s the first time a federal judge has blocked an approved drug over the objection of the FDA. The Justice Department, meanwhile, asked the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals to suspend Kascmaryk’s order, arguing that the “extraordinary and unprecedented” ruling upends the status quo and should be blocked while they pursue a full appeal of the case. “If allowed to take effect,” Justice Department lawyers said, “the court’s order would thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women.” The government asked the appeals court to issue its decision by Thursday at noon. Kascmaryk’s order is set to take effect Friday. (Washington Post / ABC News / Bloomberg / CNN / CNBC / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Axios / The Hill / NBC News)

2/ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defended the luxury vacations he accepted from a Republican megadonor for more than two decades, saying he was advised “by colleagues and others in the judiciary” that the trips were “personal hospitality” that didn’t need to be disclosed. Last week it was revealed that Thomas had traveled by private jet and yacht at the invitation of Harlan Crow, a Texas real estate billionaire, who is reportedly an avid collector of Nazi memorabilia and has a garden full o...

1/ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted secret luxury vacations from a Republican megadonor for more than two decades without disclosing them. The trips were funded by Harlan Crow, a real-estate billionaire and Republican Party donor, who treated Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas to luxury vacations, stays at his properties and private resort, as well as free travel on his private jet and superyacht. Thomas didn’t disclose that travel on his annual financial disclosure forms, which appear to violate a federal law mandating top officials from the three branches of government, including the Supreme Court, file annual forms detailing their finances, outside income, and spouses’ sources of income. Judges are prohibited from accepting gifts from anyone with business before the court, and until a month ago the judicial branch had not defined an exemption for gifts considered “personal hospitality.” Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Thomas’ actions were “simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court,” adding that “the highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, called for Thomas to be impeached, saying “this is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking - almost cartoonish.” (ProPublica / Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / NBC News / CBS News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

2/ The Supreme Court refused to reinstate a West Virginia law barring transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams at school. West Virginia’s 2021 law – the Save Women’s Sports Act – was challenged by a 12-year-old middle school transgender girl and her parents to allow her to continue running on her middle school cross-country and track teams. The Supreme Court was not considering the ban on the merits but instead addressed whether the law should remain on hold while legal proceedings continue in lower courts. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying they would have granted the request to immediately reinstate the ban on transgender girls from participating on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Some 19 states have enacted laws like West Virginia’s in the last three years. (NPR / ABC News / CNN / Washington Post /

1/ Roughly six hours after pleading not guilty to 34 counts of filing false business records, Trump called the judge overseeing the case “a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family.” Judge Juan Merchan had asked Trump during his arraignment to “please refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.” Nevertheless, Trump went ahead and singled out Judge Merchan and Merchan’s daughter, who is president of a digital campaign strategy agency that’s work with Biden, Harris, and other Democrats. Trump also called the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a “criminal” for, he claims, leaking information about the case. “I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump told supporters at Mar-a-Lago. “The only crime that I’ve committed has been to fearlessly defend our nation against those who seek to destroy it.” (Washington Post / ABC News / New York Times / Reuters)

2/ Pence will not appeal a court order requiring him to testify before the grand jury investigating Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Pence’s decision to not appeal means he will likely testify under oath about Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to pressure him into blocking the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Trump could still pursue an appeal to try to block Pence from testifying about their communications ahead of the Jan. 6 election certification. Trump, however, has lost similar cases previously. (NBC News / Politico / CNN / Washington Post)

3/ Wisconsin voters elected a liberal candidate to the State Supreme Court, flipping majority control from conservatives. Janet Protasiewicz’s victory means that the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans. Protasiewicz’s victory also ends 15 years of conservative control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. (NBC News / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / NPR)

4/ A North Carolina Democratic state lawmaker switched party affiliation, giving Republicans a veto-proof supermajority in the state’s legislature. Tricia Cotham claimed she had been “bullied” for not toeing the party line, saying “They have pushed me out. They’ve made it very clear they do not want me.” Cotham said the turning point came when she was criticized for using the American flag and a prayer-hands emoji on social media and on her vehicles. North Carolina...

1/ Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, the nation’s 45th president and the Republican Party’s leading presidential candidate in the 2024 race, surrendered himself to the Manhattan district attorney’s office and appeared before a judge for his arraignment, where he entered a not guilty plea to falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump is the first former or sitting American president to be criminally charged and faces a maximum of four years in prison if convicted. While in custody, he was fingerprinted like any felony defendant, but special accommodations were made: Trump did not have a mug shot taken and was not handcuffed. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office allege that Trump “orchestrated” a “scheme” to help his 2016 presidential campaign through a series of hush money payments made by others, and then “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records” to “cover up crimes.” Prosecutor Chris Conroy told the court that Trump engaged in an “illegal conspiracy” to aid his campaign and “undermine the election.” All 34 counts against Trump are linked to a series of checks reimbursing Michael Cohen for his role in paying off adult film star Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal, and a former Trump Tower doorman who’d claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock. Hours before the arraignment, Trump posted on his personal social network that the experience is “SURREAL,” adding, “WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America.” Trump is the focus of three other criminal investigations, including efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Following the arraignment, Bragg told reporters: “Everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money and no amount of power changes that enduring American principle.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Associated Press / NPR / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CBS News / CNBC / ABC News / Axios)

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1/ The Justice Department obtained new evidence in the Mar-a-Lago documents case that suggests potential obstruction by Trump. Federal investigators have reportedly gathered new evidence that boxes containing classified material were moved from a Mar-a-Lago storage area after the subpoena from the Justice Department was served, and that Trump personally examined some of those boxes and documents. The additional evidence is based on witness statements, security camera footage, and emails and text messages from a former Trump aide. (Washington Post / CNN)

2/ Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News will go to trial following a ruling by Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who said it was “CRYSTAL clear” that none of the allegations made by Fox hosts and guests in the weeks after the election were true. Fox News had argued that the First Amendment protected the comments and opinions made on its air alleging that the election had somehow been stolen. “It appears oxymoronic to call the statements ‘opinions’ while also asserting the statements are newsworthy allegations and/or substantially accurate reports of official proceedings,” Davis said. The trial is expected to begin in mid-April. (Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News)

3/ Ron DeSantis signed legislation to allow Floridians to carry a concealed loaded weapon without a permit. The new law will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to carry one without a permit. No training or background checks will be required to carry concealed guns in public. The governor signed the bill in a private ceremony in his office with only bill sponsors, legislative leaders and gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, in attendance. Florida is the 26th state to pass some form of permitless carry legislation. The new law takes effect July 1. (NBC News / ABC News / CNN)

4/ Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage as Covid-19 public health emergency safety net comes to an end. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 15 million people – roughly 1 in 6 people on Medicaid – will lose Medicaid insurance. Nearly half of those who lose coverage will be Black or Hispanic. During the public health emergency, states were required to keep people on Medicaid. As of Saturday that prohibition ended and states can begin removing people from the government health insurance rolls. Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia are expected to start their disenrollment process this month. (New York Times / CBS News / CNBC /

1/ The Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump for his role in the hush-money payment to a porn star during his 2016 campaign. While the exact charges are unknown because the indictment remains under seal, Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon and will enter a plea of not guilty at a hearing at the New York State Supreme courthouse in lower Manhattan, at which point the specific charges will be unsealed. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office confirmed that it had contacted Trump’s attorney to “coordinate his surrender” on an indictment that “remains under seal.” Bragg’s office had initially asked for Trump to surrender on Friday, but lawyers for the disgraced former president said the Secret Service needed more time to prepare. Like any criminal defendant, Trump will have his fingerprints and mug shots taken when he is processed. Bragg has been investigating whether Trump falsified business records that violated campaign finance laws as part of the $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels. Michael Cohen has claimed that he fronted the money used to pay Daniels – at Trump’s direction – during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign, and that Trump later reimbursed him, signing monthly checks while serving as president. As part of the scheme, Trump had Trump Organization employees falsely record the repayments as part of a non-existent “retainer” for “legal expenses” to justify the Cohen’s reimbursement. The felony indictment makes Trump the first former president to face criminal charges. Being charged with – or found guilty of – a crime, however, doesn’t disqualify Trump from running for office. (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Politico)

Trump and his aides were reportedly caught off guard by the timing of his indictment, believing that any action by the grand jury was still several weeks away. (New York Times / Washington Post)

Trump, meanwhile, took to his personal social network to call the grand jury indictment “political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history.” Trump accused “Radical Left Democrats” of a “Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement,” calling Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “a disgrace” while casting himself as “a completely innocent person.” (Politico)

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg defended his office’s decision to indict Trump, rejecting accusations by Republican lawmak...

1/ Kevin McCarthy suggested that lawmakers need to see “all the facts” before they consider any gun legislation following the shooting in Nashville where seven people were killed. The Nashville shooting was the 130th mass shooting incident in this U.S. this year, so far. Democrats planned to introduce a measure to boost federal research into the cause of gun violence, but it has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled House. Republican congressman Tim Burchett, meanwhile, said Congress is “not gonna fix” the problem of school shootings and that he doesn’t see a role for Congress in preventing future shootings “other than mess things up.” Instead, the three-term congressman from Tennessee suggested that Americans should focus on more thoughts and prayers, saying: “If you want to legislate evil, it’s just not going to happen. We need a real revival in this country. Let’s call on our Christian ministers and our people of faith.” (CNN / Washington Post)

2/ North Carolina residents no longer need a permit to buy a handgun. The state’s Republican-led legislature eliminated the longstanding permit system that required local sheriffs to perform character evaluations and criminal history checks of pistol applicants. Although Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the measure, the legislature overrode the veto. The permit repeal takes effect immediately. (Associated Press / USA Today)

3/ The Idaho Legislature will vote to establish a new crime – dubbed “abortion trafficking” – that would limit minors’ ability to travel for an abortion without parental consent, even in states where the procedure is legal. House Bill 242 defines “abortion trafficking” as an adult “recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor within this state” without the parent’s consent. The bill passed the Idaho House earlier this month. Less than a year ago, Idaho banned nearly all abortions in the state. (Washington Post / HuffPost)

4/ The Senate voted to formally repeal the war authorizations that justified the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War. The action is largely symbolic since U.S. combat operations against Iraq ended more than a decade ago and would have no effect on any ongoing military operations. Nearly 5,000 Americans lost their lives in Iraq and more than 31,000 U.S. troops were wounded. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands. (NPR / Associated Press)

5/ The Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged hush money payment isn’t expected to hear evidence in the case until late April. The break is due in part to a pre-scheduled two weeks off beginning April 10. The hiatus comes about 10 days after Trump publi...