By Christine Coleman
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
Hip-Hop Icons Tell Justices That Texas Turned Rap Lyrics Into a Death Warrant
The Supreme Court received expert assistance from towering figures in the world of hip-hop, including Killer Mike, T.I., Young Thug, Fat Joe, N.O.R.E., and Travis Scott in the form of briefs supporting James Broadnax, a man convicted of two 2008 murders and sentenced to death in Texas. In the original trial, prosecutors introduced lyrics written by Broadnax into evidence, which the jury used to determine whether to sentence him to death. In their briefs, the artists argue that prosecutors mistook the fantasy that is gangster rap for a literal account amounting to a confession.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/supreme-court-rap-lyrics-death-penalty.html
Justice Department and Live Nation Reach Settlement Terms in Antitrust Case
The Justice Department said that it had reached a tentative settlement of its antitrust litigation against Live Nation, a week into a high-profile trial that examined competition in the music industry. Under the terms of the deal, Live Nation agreed to change how it makes ticketing deals with venues, allowing them to use multiple vendors to sell tickets to fans, rather than work with Ticketmaster exclusively. In addition, the company would allow touring artists to use other promoters when performing in its amphitheaters. Live Nation would also pay up to $280 million in damages to be split among the states that join the settlement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/arts/music/live-nation-ticketmaster-antitrust-suit-settled.html
Dozens of States Weigh Continuing Live Nation Antitrust Case
A group of dozens of states may continue to litigate an antitrust case against Live Nation despite the settlement the company reached with the federal government one week into the trial. In a brief hearing, the judge overseeing the case, Arun Subramanian, told lawyers for the states that they should be prepared to proceed with the trial, presenting to the same jury that had been selected last week. However, Judge Subramanian also urged the states to pursue a settlement in earnest, telling both sides to hunker down in the courthouse to make their best efforts to hammer out an agreement by the end of this week. If the states do not reach a settlement with Live Nation, they should expect to proceed to trial this week.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/arts/music/live-nation-antitrust-states.html
Bill Cosby, Out of Prison and the Public Eye, Faces Civil Trial
Bill Cosby is front and center at a civil trial in California this week as he faces accusations from one of the many women who have accused him in recent years of being a sexual predator. The suit in Los Angeles Superior Court accuses Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting Donna Motsinger, a former waitress at a Sausalito restaurant, after escorting her to one of his comedy shows in 1972.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/arts/television/bill-cosby-civil-trial-sexual-assault.html
Andrea Constand Testifies in Support of Another Bill Cosby Accuser
Eight years after her testimony led to Bill Cosby’s conviction on sex assault charges, and five years after that verdict was overturned, Andrea Constand returned to the witness stand to provide evidence in Motsinger’s civil case. Constand is one of three women whom Motsinger’s lawyers have said they plan on calling as witnesses because their accounts of being abused by Cosby so closely resemble their client’s.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/arts/andrea-constand-bill-cosby-civil-trial.html
Casey Wasserman’s Name Is Erased From the Company He Founded
Casey Wasserman’s name was removed from the sports and marketing agency he founded, as company officials sought to distance it from Wasserman following his appearance in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The company is continuing to seek a buyer for the business. The company redirected visitors from the old Wasserman agency website to a new page featuring its rebranded name, The Team, and a new logo.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/casey-wasserman-epstein-company-name.html
15 Are Sentenced to Life for Moscow Concert Hall Massacre
A Moscow court handed down life sentences to 15 men in connection with a 2024 massacre that killed at least 149 people at a concert hall, the deadliest terror attack in Russia in two decades. The attack on the Crocus City Hall building, a popular entertainment venue outside Moscow, took place just before a rock concert was scheduled to start. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, and U.S. officials attributed it to ISIS-K, a regional affiliate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/world/europe/moscow-concert-hall-attack.html
Arts
Fed Up With High Costs, American Theater Takes a Trip to London
For American artists telling American stories, American productions remain the dream and the goal. However, the costs of developing and running shows in the United States have skyrocketed. $20 million Broadway budgets, rare a decade ago, are now common, and profitability rates have plunged. As a result, investors have become increasingly skittish, leading to a wave of offshoring in London, allowing producers and artists to refine new work and build word-of-mouth before staging higher-risk productions in New York.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/theater/broadway-theater-london-prices.html
2 Teen Mariachi Musicians Released From ICE Detention
Two teenage brothers and mariachi stars who visited the White House last summer were released with their family from ICE detention centers in South Texas, immediately following the visit of a delegation of Democratic lawmakers who pressed for them to be freed. The case had drawn national outrage, and Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, who led the delegation, had been working to secure their release since the family was detained over a week ago.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/politics/mariachi-teens-immigration.html
An Artist Renounced His Family. They Sued to Acquire His Life’s Work.
A settlement was reached in the case of portrait photographer Mike Disfarmer, who renounced his family and died without a will. Decades later, his family sued the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation to determine who controls the archive and copyright, and ultimately the legacy, of the artist and his works.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/arts/design/mike-disfarmer-family-legacy.html
Why I’m Suing Grammarly
In a guest essay, investigative journalist Julia Angwin discusses how she discovered that Grammarly was using her name when suggesting how to edit a piece of writing and that she learned that Superhuman, an A.I. company, was selling a deepfake of her mind. This led to her becoming the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Superhuman in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that it violated New York and California publicity laws by not seeking consent before using writers’ names in a paid service.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/opinion/ai-doppelganger-deepfake-grammarly.html
New York Academy of Art Gives Away Money Donated by Jeffrey Epstein
The New York Academy of Art, where a former student was among the first to complain to authorities about the behavior of Jeffrey Epstein, announced that it was giving away money that Epstein had donated after new revelations about his involvement there were made public. Files recently released by the Department of Justice showed that some of Epstein’s ties to the academy, which was co-founded by Andy Warhol, were more extensive than previously known, with involvement years after he had been investigated in Florida in connection with the sexual abuse of underage girls.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/nyregion/new-york-academy-of-art-epstein.html
An Ancient Temple at the Heart of a Modern Conflict
A rare visit to a Khmer temple on Thailand and Cambodia’s border showed how deadly clashes between the two countries have scarred a heritage site.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/world/asia/thailand-cambodia-preah-vihear-temple.html
Sports
New Jersey Is Reconsidering Legalizing Casinos Outside Atlantic City
A decade after New Jersey voters categorically rejected a proposal to allow casinos to expand beyond Atlantic City, momentum is building among real estate developers and elected officials to give it another try. The owners of the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks have been pitching state officials to get behind a campaign to legalize casinos in northern New Jersey. Legislation has been introduced to authorize two new casinos at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks to compete against the three new casinos planned for New York City.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/nyregion/casinos-new-jersey-meadowlands.html
Two Major League Soccer players banned for life for gambling on games, including their own
Major League Soccer (MLS) announced lifetime bans for former players Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah for betting on MLS matches. Jones and Yeboah were placed on administrative leave pending league review of potential violations of MLS league rules in October 2025. MLS said it had received suspicious betting alerts through integrity partners and retained the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP to investigate. The investigation found that the players “engaged in extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams, during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.”
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7102073/2026/03/09/mls-players-banned-life-gambling-derrick-jones-yaw-yeboah/
Falcons’ James Pearce Jr. charged with felonies in incident involving WNBA’s Rickea Jackson
Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. is facing three felony charges and one misdemeanor stemming from a February 7 incident involving WNBA star Rickea Jackson. The charges were brought by the Miami-Dade County state attorney of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
Pearce was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing the police, and resisting an officer with violence, all felonies. He is also facing a misdemeanor stalking charge.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7113545/2026/03/12/falcons-james-pearce-charged-3-felonies-misdemeanor/
After Turning Away Refugees, Trump Presses to Protect Iranian Soccer Team
President Trump, who closed down the U.S. asylum system at the start of his second term, made an unusual offer. He said the 26-member Iranian women’s soccer team could come to the United States as refugees if Australia refused to take them in. For a president who frequently expresses conflicting views, the break between his call for asylum for the Iranian athletes and his own hardline immigration policies, which have left thousands of refugees in limbo, was striking.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/politics/iran-womens-soccer-team-asylum-trump.html
Trump’s talk of threats to Iran’s football team exposes Infantino’s strategy of cozying up to the U.S. president
FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s strategy of cozying up to Trump poses notable questions about how, or if, Iran can play in this summer’s World Cup. More broadly, it calls into question Infantino’s entire judgment and strategy in handling Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7112400/2026/03/13/trump-iran-threat-infantino/
Australia Gives Asylum to Members of Iranian Women’s Soccer Team
Australia has given asylum to five members of the Iranian national women’s soccer team after the players were labeled “traitors” by Iran’s state media for declining to sing their country’s national anthem at their opening game in the Asian Cup tournament. The five women were moved to a safe location by the federal police and their applications for the visas were finalized. However, three more members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team, who had applied for asylum in Australia after facing threats of punishment at home for an act of protest, have decided instead to return to Iran.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/world/australia/iran-soccer-womens-team-australia.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/world/australia/iranian-soccer-asylum-australia.html
World Athletics Strips Five Ethiopian U20 Records Amid Age Fraud Investigation
World Athletics and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) have disqualified five World U20 records previously held by Ethiopian athletes, following an investigation that revealed discrepancies between the athletes’ actual ages and those listed on their official documents. The findings confirmed that the athletes were significantly older than their passports indicated, rendering them ineligible for U20 competition.
https://capitalethiopia.com/2026/03/08/world-athletics-strips-five-ethiopian-u20-records-amid-age-fraud-investigation/
Technology/Media
Federal Communications Commisison Chair Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters’ Licenses Over War Coverage
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over their coverage of the war with Iran; his latest move in a campaign to stomp out what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts. As the war entered its third week, Carr accused broadcasters of “running hoaxes and news distortions” in a social media post and warned them to “correct course before their license renewals come up.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/world/middleeast/fcc-broadcasters-iran-war.html
Pete Hegseth Says ‘the Sooner David Ellison’ Buys CNN, ‘the Better’
Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, said that he was looking forward to CNN being controlled by the billionaire David Ellison and implied that the channel’s journalism would improve under new leadership. Hegseth’s remarks, made during a lengthy complaint about coverage of the war in the Middle East, underscored concerns within CNN and elsewhere in the media industry that Ellison could shift the network’s reporting in a Trump-friendly direction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/media/pete-hegseth-david-ellison-cnn.html
Pentagon Bars Photographers From Briefings on Iran War
In its first briefing after the United States attacked Iran, the Pentagon welcomed photographers from news outlets. However, the Pentagon has since enacted strict limits that bar access to photographers from news organizations, the latest move by the Defense Department under Secretary Hegseth to restrict press access.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/business/media/pentagon-bars-photographers-from-briefings-on-iran-war.html
A Call for Reporting Tips Rankles Pentagon Officials
According to defense officials, a Washington Post appeal for information about the military qualified as a prohibited “solicitation” that is not protected by the First Amendment, and could prompt punishment under new restrictions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/business/media/a-call-for-reporting-tips-rankles-pentagon-officials.html
They Don’t Want Their Company’s Surveillance Tool Used by ICE
When employees of Thomson Reuters in Minnesota learned that the company was providing ICE with investigative software to pull public and private information about individuals and to track license plates, it felt personal and they mobilized. As a result, more than 200 Thomson Reuters employees have signed a letter to management asking that the company not renew its ICE contract when it expires in May.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/technology/thomson-reuters-ice-minnesota.html
As Kari Lake Sought to Shutter Voice of America, Parent Agency Rebuffed Auditors
The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, and whose Trump-appointed leadership has been deemed illegal by a judge, failed to cooperate with a required annual audit of its finances. The audit report by an independent accounting firm, Kearney and Company, dated February 27, stated that the agency failed to provide information required for a proper examination for 2025. The report says the omission of documents was so “material and pervasive” that the firm declined to express an opinion on the agency’s financial numbers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/politics/voice-of-america-audit.html
Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Label
Anthropic sued the Department of Defense, challenging the Pentagon’s decision to label it a “supply chain risk” and escalating a rancorous dispute over the use of artificial intelligence in warfare. The AI company filed two lawsuits, one in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California and one in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, accusing the Pentagon of using the supply chain risk designation inappropriately to punish it on ideological grounds.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/technology/anthropic-defense-artificial-intelligence-lawsuit.html
Microsoft Takes a Stand Against the Trump Administration
Microsoft filed a court brief supporting Anthropic’s lawsuit against the Pentagon, a momentous decision for one of the nation’s biggest companies that is also one of the largest government contractors. The company filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging a federal court to temporarily block the Pentagon’s designation of the AI company as a supply chain risk.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/business/dealbook/microsoft-anthropic-pentagon.html
Social Media Addiction Trial Nears End. Society Long Ago Rendered Its Verdict.
Closing arguments began in a landmark trial that put online behavior under a microscope. In many ways, it has already been decided.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/technology/social-media-addiction-society-verdict.html
AI Incites a New Wave of Grieving Parents Fighting for Online Safety
A new generation of parents is blaming chatbots for encouraging their children to take their own lives, and they are joining an earlier push for better protections by parents who say that social media contributed to their children’s deaths.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/technology/ai-social-media-child-safety-parents.html
School Wins $75 Million from Course Hero
A jury awarded Post University, a Connecticut school, $75 million in damages in its case against Learneo, the owners of Course Hero, a “homework helper” website where students upload class-related documents to receive advice, often generated with AI. Post University sued Learneo, alleging that the site was committing both copyright and trademark infringement. Learneo claimed that its actions were protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as the documents are uploaded by users, not Course Hero or Learneo employees.
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2026/03/09/school-wins-75-million-from-course-hero/
YouTube Adds Tool to Help Public Figures Report Fake Videos
YouTube is adding a detection tool for government officials, political candidates, and journalists to catch and report videos that use artificial intelligence to display their likeness without permission. The pilot program is arriving as social media companies and a patchwork of new laws start to address the problem of deepfakes, which are spreading as AI video technology rapidly improves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/technology/youtube-deepfakes-detection-tool.html
The Trump Administration Goes to War, by Any Memes Necessary
Iron Man, Walter White, SpongeBob, and many more figures from movies, TV, sports, music and video game memes appeared in a series of short, trolling videos from the White House, on platforms including TikTok and X, that reduce the Iran war’s carnage and upheaval to flippant, dystopian amusements.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/arts/television/iran-war-trump-memes-social-media-videos.html
His Father Lost His Life’s Savings in a Scam. A Fake Lawyer Offered to Help
A recovery scam is a common ruse used by cybercriminals who try to exploit prior victims’ desire not only to get their money back but to reverse, or somehow rewrite, this often dark and devastating chapter in their lives. Given the enormous sums that victims are increasingly losing in individual scams, they are more likely to shell out even more money in hopes of a recovery.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/financial-fraud-money-scams-elderly-recovery.html
AI Chatbots Want Your Health Records. Tread Carefully
Microsoft unveiled a tool that will let users share records from multiple health providers with its chatbot, Copilot. Microsoft’s announcement echoed moves by Amazon, OpenAI, and Anthropic, which began testing similar tools this year. By collecting health data and offering direct feedback, the companies, whose AI chatbots have made headlines for contributing to some users’ psychosis, isolation, and unhealthy habits, are treading into risky territory.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/technology/personaltech/microsoft-copilot-health-ai-chatbots.html
U.S. Tech Giants Flocked to the Persian Gulf. Now They Are Targets.
Amazon, Google, and others struck deals in the Persian Gulf to foot the bill for AI development. Iran has threatened attacks against the companies’ infrastructure in the region.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/technology/amazon-google-persian-gulf-war.html
Adobe Settles With U.S. Over Hard-to-Cancel Subscriptions
The Justice Department settled a lawsuit that accused Adobe of making it difficult for customers to cancel their subscriptions to Photoshop and other software, according to a filing in federal court. Adobe agreed to pay $75 million to the Justice Department and provide customers with $75 million worth of free services.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/technology/adobe-settlement-doj.html
Cascade of AI Fakes About War With Iran Causes Chaos Online
A torrent of fake videos and images generated by artificial intelligence have overrun social networks during the first weeks of the war in Iran. The videos, showing huge explosions that never happened, decimated city streets that were never attacked, or troops protesting the war who do not exist, have added a chaotic and confusing layer to the conflict online.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/14/business/media/iran-disinfo-artificial-intelligence.html
TikTok Investors Set to Pay $10 Billion Fee to Trump Administration
Investors in a deal to create a U.S.-controlled TikTok are set to pay $10 billion to the U.S. Treasury, the latest example of the Trump administration’s inserting the federal government into corporate deal-making in unusual ways. The fee, which the U.S. government is considering a transaction fee for its role in helping bring about the deal, will be paid by new investors in the U.S. TikTok.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/trump-tiktok-10-billion-fee.html
Ukraine to Make Drone Videos Available for Training A.I. Models
The Ukrainian military will make available millions of drone videos and other battlefield data to Ukrainian companies and the firms of its allies to help train artificial intelligence models. Ukrainian drone videos have recorded attacks on soldiers, equipment such as vehicles and tanks, and surveillance footage. These videos can be used to train AI models for automated targeting, according to experts on AI and warfare. However, allowing the use of genuine battlefield videos showing drones targeting people has raised ethical concerns.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/world/europe/ukraine-drones-ai-models-training.html
General News
War With Iran Becomes World’s Latest Economic Hazard
Trump has repeatedly said that the war he commenced with Iran would be short-lived, rendering it unnecessary for the U.S. government to mount a major economic response. However, it is becoming the world’s latest economic headache, one that has sent foreign leaders scrambling for ways to contain the possible fallout.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/business/economy/trump-iran-oil-economy-fallout.html
Democrats Demand Hegseth and Rubio Testify on Iran War
Senate Democrats demanded that Trump immediately dispatch Defense Secretary Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify under oath on the war in Iran, saying his administration had failed to explain the objectives, scope, and endgame for the sweeping military operation in the Middle East. In a letter sent to Trump, the Senate’s top Democrat and the ranking members of the armed services and foreign affairs committees noted that it has been common practice for cabinet officials to come before Congress when the country is at war. They pointed to the dizzying series of changing explanations from the president and senior officials about the justification and goals for the military campaign, along with its high cost.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/politics/democrats-rubio-hegseth-iran.html
U.S. Tomahawk Hit Naval Base Beside Iranian School, Video Shows
A newly released video adds to the evidence that an American missile likely hit an Iranian elementary school where 175 people, many of them children, were reported killed. The video shows a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a naval base beside the school in the town of Minab on February 28. The U.S. military is the only force involved in the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/world/middleeast/iran-minab-school-strike.html
More Marines and Warships Being Sent to Middle East, U.S. Officials Say
About 2,500 Marines aboard as many as three warships are heading to the Middle East from the Indo-Pacific region, as Iran increases its attacks on the Strait of Hormuz. The shift comes as Iran’s response to two weeks of aerial bombardment and long-range artillery strikes has proved more resilient than Trump administration officials anticipated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/world/middleeast/us-marines-warships-middle-east.html
U.S. Tells Citizens to Leave Iraq After Second Attack on Embassy
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged all American citizens to leave Iraq immediately after the embassy was attacked overnight for the second time since the war with Iran started. The warning said militias allied with Iran had carried out numerous attacks on targets associated with the United States, including diplomatic facilities, American companies, and hotels frequented by foreigners.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/14/world/iran-war-trump-oil-israel
Trump Administration Approves Ultra-Deepwater Oil Drilling Plan
The Trump administration approved a $5 billion oil drilling project in ultra-deep waters off the Gulf of Mexico over protests from Democrats and environmental activists who said the venture posed significant risks to wildlife and communities. The project by the British energy giant BP would be about 250 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Known as Kaskida, it would be the company’s second deepwater project in the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010, which set off the worst oil spill disaster in U.S. history.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/climate/trump-bp-gulf-of-mexico-drilling.html
Two Supreme Court Justices Debate Handling of Trump Emergency Cases
Two Supreme Court justices publicly sparred over how the Court is handling a barrage of emergency requests to clear the way for Trump administration policies. The polite but forceful back-and-forth between Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett M. Kavanaugh gave a rare glimpse into the justices’ sharply differing viewpoints about how to navigate repeated emergency requests by the Trump administration to greenlight its policies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/politics/supreme-court-justices-emergency-cases.html
A bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance.
The congressional impasse over funding the Department of Homeland Security is entering its second month after the Senate again deadlocked over providing money for the agency, even as airports continued to experience security line backups. With Democrats refusing to back money for the agency without significant new restrictions on federal immigration officers, legislation providing new funding failed on a vote of 51 to 46, well short of the 60 votes required to advance the bill.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/12/us/trump-news#section-156291943
Senate Resoundingly Passes Housing Bill, but Challenges Lie Ahead
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the largest piece of housing legislation in 36 years, as Republicans and Democrats banded together to tackle a major cost-of-living issue just months before midterm elections in which affordability is expected to be a main focus. However, the bill still faces major hurdles, as Republicans feud over what should be included and Trump, who backs the measure, signals that it is not a priority.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/senate-housing-bill.html
In Scathing Ruling, Judge Says Trump Prosecutors Are in Unlawful Roles
Judge Matthew W. Brann addressed whether the three prosecutors who have led the New Jersey federal prosecutor’s office since December were doing so lawfully, as well as the national trend in which the Justice Department fires judicially appointed prosecutors as soon as they take office. Judge Brann declared the three-person leadership to be unlawful and said Trump’s insistence on handpicking U.S. attorneys showed that the White House cared more about personal control than public safety.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/nyregion/us-attorney-nj-prosecutors.html
Judge Is Skeptical of Penn’s Argument Against Trump Demand for List of Jews
Federal judge Gerald J. Pappert considered whether the Trump administration’s demand for the names of many Jewish people at the University of Pennsylvania went too far. Although the judge did not immediately rule, he appeared receptive to the government’s argument that it should be able to subpoena such information as it investigates potential episodes of antisemitism on campus, including some related to protests over the war in Gaza. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s demand has upset many Jewish faculty and students, and Penn has refused to comply, calling the Trump administration’s subpoena unconstitutional and “disconcerting.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/trump-penn-list-of-jews-subpoena.html
D.C. Bar Begins Disciplinary Proceedings Against Ed Martin
The disciplinary body for lawyers in the District of Columbia has filed ethics charges against Ed Martin, a senior Justice Department official in the Trump administration, accusing him of misconduct in seeking to punish Georgetown University’s law school. Martin, who has spearheaded efforts by Trump to use the Justice Department to punish the president’s perceived enemies, faces two counts of misconduct and is accused of violating his oath of office after swearing to support the Constitution, conducting unauthorized ex parte communications with a judge, and “engaging in conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/politics/dc-bar-ed-martin-disciplinary-hearing.html
Democrats Sue to Find Out if Trump Will Send Armed Officers to Election Sites
The Democratic National Committee sued the Trump administration to try to compel the government to say whether it was planning to put armed federal agents or military personnel at polling places or election offices this year. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., says that 11 separate Freedom of Information Act requests filed in October to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense have prompted no meaningful response, which is a violation of the law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/politics/democrats-sue-to-find-out-if-trump-will-send-armed-officers-to-election-sites.html
FBI Subpoenas Records in Arizona in Expansion of 2020 Voting Inquiry
The FBI has expanded its criminal investigation into purported irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, issuing a grand jury subpoena for reams of information about voting results in Maricopa County, Arizona, the largest and most influential county in the swing state. The subpoena was issued to the Arizona State Senate, which oversaw a sprawling but partisan audit of the vote result that was ordered by Senate Republicans in Maricopa County in the months after Trump lost to Joseph R. Biden Jr.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/nyregion/fbi-subpoena-arizona-maricopa-county-election.html
The voting company Smartmatic says Trump is targeting it for vindictive prosecution.
Smartmatic, a voting technology company that is suing Fox News and supporters of Trump for defamation, asserted in court papers that a federal indictment the administration had leveled against it amounted to a politically motivated counterattack. In a filing, the company said the criminal charges that the administration brought in October were part of Trump’s “campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies . . . chief among them those who undermine his mantra that the 2020 election was rigged.”
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/10/us/trump-news#smartmatic-trump-indictment-vindictive-prosecution
Eye Doctor Named to Air Pollution Advisory Board Draws Pushback
The Trump administration has tapped Brian Joondeph, an eye doctor with no background in air pollution science, to advise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on what levels of air pollutants are safe to breathe. The EPA named Joondeph, a Colorado-based ophthalmologist and political commentator, to the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, an influential panel that advises the agency’s leadership on the latest scientific evidence on soot, smog, and other hazardous pollutants. It was the government’s latest move to sideline or shun scientific expertise, drawing criticism from past members of the advisory panel.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/climate/epa-science-adviser-brian-joondeph.html
Trump Administration Suggests Tariff Refunds May Take Significant Time
As soon as the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s steep global tariffs last month, a flood of U.S. businesses began to file lawsuits in the hopes of getting their money back. Yet there was a problem, or so the administration later said: It could take the government as many as 4,431,161 hours to manually process all of the refund requests. The admission has come to underscore the legal and technical obstacles that surround the roughly $166 billion collected under Trump’s now-invalidated emergency duties.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/trump-tariff-refunds-delay.html
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Demand for Student Race Data
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from demanding detailed student admissions data from colleges, a mandate that a group of 17 Democratic state attorneys general has argued is unlawful. The order, from Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the Federal District Court in Boston, was a victory for universities, at least for the moment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/trump-lawsuit-college-admissions.html
With Disputed Legal Maneuver, Trump Tries to Set Policy Without Legislation
By suing Republican states and making sharp reversals in old cases, the Trump administration is using courts to fast-track major shifts in policy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/trump-lawsuits-settlements.html
To Address Farm Labor Shortage, Trump Administration Turns to Migrant Workers
As the president’s immigration policies squeeze an already tight supply of farm labor, the Trump administration is making it cheaper to hire foreign farmworkers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/farm-labor-trump-migrant-workers-h2a.html
Justice Dept. Drops Prosecution of Veteran Who Burned American Flag
The Justice Department moved to dismiss charges against veteran Jay Carey, who set an American flag on fire outside the White House in August in protest of an executive order that seeks to punish flag burning. Carey had not been charged with flag burning itself, but with two misdemeanors related to setting a fire on federal land. If convicted, he would have spent up to six months behind bars. Under a Supreme Court ruling in 1989, flag burning has been considered an act of political expression protected by the First Amendment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/veteran-flag-burning-case-dismissed.html
Judge Quashes Justice Dept.’s Subpoenas of Fed, Crippling Its Pursuit of Trump’s Rivals
Judge James E. Boasberg, a federal judge in Washington, threw a major roadblock into a criminal investigation of Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, quashing grand jury subpoenas issued to the central bank by federal prosecutors over renovations underway at its headquarters in Washington. In his 27-page unsealed decision, Judge Boasberg derided the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington for pursuing a case against Powell, delivering a serious setback to Trump in his effort to use the criminal justice system to punish political foes or pursue his agenda.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/jerome-powell-trump-subpoenas.html
Federal Judge Blocks Order Ending Deportation Protections for Somalis
A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for more than 1,000 Somalis living in the United States, largely because lawyers for the Trump administration had been unprepared to defend it in court. In a four-page order, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts wrote that the government had not filed a brief or even assigned a lawyer to represent the government in the lawsuit seeking to block the order. Judge Burroughs stayed the order indefinitely, writing that it would give the federal government time to prepare and brief the court on the facts of the case.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/somalis-tps-deportations-trump.html
The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics
Extraordinary spending on campaigns is ushering in a new era of political power for the rapidly growing number of billionaires minted over the past eight years. An analysis by the New York Times found that 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion, 19% of all contributions, in federal elections in 2024, either directly or through political action committees. Money at that scale can be game-changing in tight races, and many of those billionaires are not only hoping to reshape the federal government, but to win influence in state legislatures, City Councils, school boards, and courthouses.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html
Wall Street Bankers Offered Lucrative Access to Join the Pentagon
A headhunting presentation aimed at recruiting Wall Street investment bankers to the Pentagon dangled access to government officials and foreign royal families that could be used to raise capital in the future. The presentation said that the Pentagon is seeking to build a 30-person investment team to deploy up to $200 billion in government investment over the next three years, and joining the team offers “unmatched access to top-level government officials and privileged information flow . . . whatever you need, you can get.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/wall-street-access-pentagon.html
Trump Files Missing in Epstein Release Highlight Justice Dept.’s Missteps
The Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files has only fueled questions about its commitment to transparency, painting a portrait of an agency under intense political scrutiny that failed to make public key documents, even after officials sought to identify tips involving Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/us/politics/trump-epstein-files-fbi-doj.html
After Latest Attack, Some Jews Wonder How Much More Security Is Possible
A driver rammed a truck into a large synagogue outside Detroit and died after an exchange of gunfire with security guards. Security measures in Michigan very likely prevented a more deadly outcome, some noted. Yet the intense escalation of antisemitic violence has left many people across the country feeling scared, angry, and defeated. Some are asking what more they could possibly do.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/antisemitism-michigan-synogogue.html
Florida Republicans Pass Bill Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote
Republican state lawmakers in Florida passed a bill that would require voters to verify their citizenship when registering and limit which forms of identification they can present at the polls. Critics say the new requirements would result in the removal of perhaps thousands of voters from the rolls and in the disenfranchisement of young voters.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/elections/florida-voting-citizenship-proof-bill.html
Trump Administration Fires New Shot in Fight Over California Clean Car Rules
The Trump administration filed a new lawsuit against California over its strict limits on planet-warming pollution from cars, arguing that the restrictions would unlawfully force a rapid transition to electric vehicles in the state. The suit comes roughly nine months after the Republican-controlled Congress moved to block California from banning sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. It targets clean car rules that California has continued to enforce even after the congressional action and, if successful, could reverberate far beyond California.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/climate/trump-california-tailpipe-emissions.html
Alabama Governor Spares Death Row Inmate Who Didn’t Pull the Trigger
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted the sentence of death row inmate Charles Burton to life in prison without the possibility of parole, two days before he was scheduled to die. It is only the second commutation for Ivey, a Republican who has presided over 25 executions since becoming governor in 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/alabama-ivey-charles-burton.html
Judge Dismisses Bulk of Lawsuit Over Trump’s Funding Freeze for Tunnel
Judge Richard A. Hertling of the Court of Federal Claims in Washington said that the Trump administration had paid what it owed on the rail tunnel project being built under the Hudson River and largely dismissed a lawsuit over the federal government’s temporary hold on more than $200 million in funding. Now that the federal Department of Transportation has provided all of the money it had promised for the tunnel project, known as Gateway, the agency overseeing the work no longer has much of a claim against the department, according to Judge Hertling.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/nyregion/gateway-hudson-tunnel-project-trump-funding.html
Homemade Bombs in ISIS-Inspired Attack Were Deadly, N.Y.P.D. Says
In recent weeks, NYPD officials have continued to warn about the dangers posed by those seeking to cause havoc in the city. Rebecca Weiner, the deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, said at a news conference that last week’s attempted attacks were “very much in keeping with the trend we were seeing with ISIS- inspired adherence.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/nyregion/gracie-mansion-bomb-mamdani-pennsylvania.html
Alexander Brothers Found Guilty on All Counts in Sex-Trafficking Trial
Three brothers, including two who were among the country’s most prominent real estate brokers, were convicted in Manhattan of engaging in a yearslong conspiracy to traffic women and girls for sex. The brothers, Tal, Oren, and Alon Alexander, were found guilty on every count they each faced, and all could now receive up to life in prison when the judge, Valerie E. Caproni, sentences them on August 6. The verdict comes more than a month after the trial began in Federal District Court, where the jury heard weeks of emotional and often graphic testimony from 11 women who had accused the brothers of rape or sexual assault.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/nyregion/verdict-alexander-brothers-sex-trafficking.html
Jared Kushner Solicits Funds for His Firm While Working as Mideast Envoy
Jared Kushner, one of the U.S. government’s chief negotiators in the Middle East, is trying to raise more money for his private equity firm from governments in the region. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, has spoken with potential investors in recent weeks about raising $5 billion or more for Affinity Partners, his investment firm.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/jared-kushner-affinity-mideast-funds.html
Lobbyist Arrested in Extortion Attempt of Client Who Received a Trump Pardon
Josh Nass, a conservative lawyer and lobbyist, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn to face accusations of attempted extortion that appeared related to a client, Joseph Schwartz, who was pardoned by Trump. The filings accuse Nass of instructing a person he hired to “do anything and everything” to collect the outstanding funds from the client’s son, explaining, “they are gonna end up paying me every penny of what they owe.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/us/lobbyist-trump-pardon-extortion-charge.html
‘A Lot of Life Years Lost’: How NAFTA Shortened American Life Spans
A new paper by economists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago found that American workers in communities that were more exposed to competition from Mexican imports saw a significant shortening of their life spans after NAFTA went into effect in 1994. The researchers saw increases in mortality across most major causes of death, including illness, drug overdoses, and suicides.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/a-lot-of-life-years-lost-how-nafta-shortened-american-life-spans.html
Weakened by War, Iran Hits Back by Strangling a Vital Waterway
Nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran with an extraordinary display of firepower, Iran has found a way to inflict pain back on its enemies by strangling one of the world’s most vital waterways. By threatening shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, attacking tankers in an Iraqi port and beginning to lay mines in the strait, Iran has sent oil prices surging and slowed global trade. It has also made clear that it is intent on using what advantages it has to sap the will of the United States to sustain the war.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/strait-of-hormuz-iran-war.html
Trump Removes Sanctions on Russia to Help Oil Flow Amid Iran Conflict
The United States temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil that is currently at sea, allowing it to be shipped to buyers around the world as the Trump administration scrambles to contain energy prices that have been soaring because of the war in Iran. The exemptions, which were issued by the Treasury Department, will be in place until April 11. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimated that freeing Russian oil could add hundreds of millions of barrels of crude to global markets, curbing prices that have been hovering near $100 per barrel as a result of the Iran conflict.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/trump-russia-oil-sanctions.html
Globalization Faces Its Next Crisis
Beyond its effects on oil and gas, the unfolding war in the Middle East is roiling shipping and air freight, threatening the availability of a vast range of goods.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/economy/iran-war-global-supply-chain.html