A Los Angeles judge on Friday ruled California's law requiring corporations to diversify their boards with members from certain racial, ethnic or LGBTQ groups unconstitutional, AP reports.
Driving the news: The ruling — which didn't explain the judge's reasoning — granted summary judgment to Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group that sought a permanent injunction against the corporate diversity law.
As the nation enacts a new historic anti-lynching bill into law, experts say there needs to be increased attention on a dark and largely untold piece of Asian American history: lynchings that terrorized communities.
The big picture: Under the new law, which comes after over 200 failed attempts to codify federal anti-lynching legislation, a crime could be prosecuted as a lynching when a conspiracy to commit a hate crime results in death or serious bodily injury. Some of the first anti-Asian crimes that could fall under this definition were recorded in the 1800s at the height of white economic anxiety.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday said he would not give in to pressure to expedite charges stemming from the Jan. 6 investigation in the House.
Driving the news: Democrats are pushing Garland to charge Trump loyalists who have refused to cooperate with subpoenas issued by the House Select Committee probing the Jan. 6 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol.
The Department of Defense will provide up to $300 million in security assistance and equipment to Ukraine as the nation continues to rally against Russian forces, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby announced Friday.
Why it matters: The move comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia's invasion has reached a "turning point," and that he had spoken with President Biden about Ukrainian forces needing more military help.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) told Politico Friday that his video appearance at a conference hosted by a white nationalist last month was due to a staff error.
Why it matters: Gosar and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have both come under fire for appearing at the America First Political Action Committee event, which was organized by the outspoken Holocaust denier, antisemitic, homophobic and racist activist Nick Fuentes, who has been labeled a "white supremacist" by the Justice Department.
A Florida man was sentenced on Friday to 18 months in prison for making violent threats to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx.
Driving the news: Paul Vernon Hoeffer, 60, pleaded guilty in January to threatening to cut Pelosi's head off "Jihadist style" and calling Ocasio-Cortez to tell her he would "rip her head off," according to Politico.
A federal judge on Friday sentenced Lonnie Coffman to 46 months in prison for bringing Molotov cocktails and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices near the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she hadn't heard an explanation for why Coffman had "almost a small armory in his truck, ready to do battle," AP reports.
The Biden administration is officially ending its use of Title 42, a pandemic-era public health policy to expel migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday.
Driving the news: The policy, used by both the Trump and Biden administrations during the pandemic, will end May 23, according to the CDC.
The House on Friday voted to decriminalize cannabis on the federal level and allow for the expungement of some marijuana convictions.
Why it matters: The legislation would monumentally reshape U.S. drug policy and the decades-long war on drugs, keeping pace with states across the country that have legalized marijuana.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki is in exclusive talks with MSNBC to join the network after she leaves the White House around May, according to a source close to the matter.
Why it matters: It's been speculated for weeks that Psaki would leave the White House for a TV gig. White House communications staffers often negotiate TV jobs once they leave an administration.
The U.S. Navy announced Friday that it will name a future replenishment oiler ship after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
What they're saying: "As we close out women’s history month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality," Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said in a statement Friday.
Peter Baker and Susan Glasser will be out Sept. 20 with a sweeping history of the Trump presidency, "The Divider," billed as "an ambitious first cut at this historical moment."
The backdrop: Baker, who is chief White House correspondentfor The New York Times (and taught me to play poker back when we were both young Richmond correspondents), and Glasser, a staff writer for The New Yorker who wrote its weekly "Letter from Trump's Washington," have covered every president starting with President Bill Clinton.
A New York judge on Thursday struck down Democratic-drawn congressional and state legislative maps, ruling that they reflect partisan gerrymandering and thus violate the state constitution.
Why it matters: The decision puts a dent in Democrats' hopes to hold onto their slim majority in the House. The state's Democratic leaders have already said it plans to appeal, which will temporarily put Thursday's decision on hold until the state appeals court takes it up, the Washington Post reports.
A federal judge on Thursday ruled that parts of Florida's newly enacted Republican-driven voting law are unconstitutional and racially biased.
Why it matters: The ruling marks the first time a federal court has rejected major components of a myriad of voting laws that have been passed by conservative-leaning states since the 2020 election.
Progressives don’t like what they hear when they listen to Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) talk about a potential climate and deficit-reduction bill.
Why it matters: With the holdout senator hinting at supporting some climate provisions as part of a slimmed-down Build Back Better legislation, both House and Senate progressives worry any final bill will be heavier on energy independence favored by Big Oil — and lighter on the carbon reduction they seek.
Immigration is about to roar back as a major crisis for President Biden: Republicans are already testing harsh new border messages for the coming midterm ad war.
Driving the news: This week's reports — that the administration plans to end the use of a COVID-19 immigration ban called Title 42 by May 23 — put a timeline on a scenario for which Homeland Security officials have spent months preparing.
