Government
Trump Signs Executive Order to Resume DHS Pay Amid 48-Day Shutdown. President Trump announced he will sign an executive order directing the resumption of paychecks for Department of Homeland Security employees who have worked without pay during the ongoing partial government shutdown — now the longest in U.S. history at 48 days. The move bypasses Congress, where the House has so far refused to take up a bipartisan Senate bill passed 100–0 on April 5 that would fund most of DHS through the fiscal year while withholding appropriations for ICE and CBP. (Federal News Network)
Army Veteran Indicted for Leaking Classified Delta Force Information. A federal grand jury indicted Courtney Williams, 40, a former Department of Defense employee at Fort Bragg, on one count of illegally communicating classified national defense information. Williams, who held a Top Secret/SCI clearance and worked in a support role for the Army’s elite Delta Force unit from 2010 to 2016, allegedly shared operational details — including tactics, techniques, and procedures — with a journalist. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison. Her defense team has called her a whistleblower who exposed sexual harassment and gender discrimination within the unit. (DOJ Press Release)
California AG Charges 21 in $267 Million Medi-Cal Hospice Fraud Scheme. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced felony charges against 21 suspects in “Operation Skip Trace,” a takedown of a Los Angeles-based fraud ring that allegedly stole identities from the dark web, enrolled them in Medi-Cal, and billed for hospice services never rendered. Five suspects have been arrested and investigators seized over $757,000 in cash during raids at 12 Southern California locations. Only about $30 million of the $267 million in alleged fraudulent billing has been recovered to date. (CA Attorney General)
Courts
Federal Judge Finds Pentagon Violating Court Order on Press Access. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that the Department of Defense is violating his March 20 order to restore reporter access to the Pentagon building. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s team had attempted to comply by instituting new rules requiring all journalists to be guided by escorts — a policy the judge found equally restrictive. The ruling marks the second time in a month the court has sided with The New York Times in its challenge to Pentagon press restrictions. (Federal News Network)
CBP Building Automated System to Process IEEPA Tariff Refunds. U.S. Customs and Border Protection disclosed it is developing a new system called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) to process refund requests from importers following the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The lead case at the Court of International Trade, Atmus Filtration v. United States, was dismissed on April 6 as the CIT works through procedural steps to implement the ruling. (International Trade Insights)
International
Pakistan Hosts New Round of US-Iran Ceasefire Talks in Islamabad. Pakistan has invited delegations from the United States and Iran to Islamabad on Friday for further negotiations aimed at converting a two-week ceasefire into a lasting settlement. The truce, brokered by Pakistan, halted 40 days of U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran. The Strait of Hormuz and its impact on global energy markets remain the central sticking point. (Al Jazeera)
Apple Subsidiary Settles with UK for Violating Russia Sanctions. Apple Distribution International, the tech giant’s Irish subsidiary, agreed to pay £390,000 to the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) for instructing a UK-based bank to make two payments totaling £635,618 to a sanctioned Russian entity, in violation of the UK’s Russia sanctions regime. (Sanctions Expert)
Worth Watching
OPM Medical Data Requests: The Office of Personnel Management is asking insurers covering federal employees and retirees to hand over detailed medical visit records and pharmacy claims data — a move that has raised privacy concerns among federal workforce advocates.
Birthright Citizenship Ruling: After oral arguments on April 1, a majority of the Supreme Court appeared likely to rule against the administration’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship. A decision could come within weeks.