Woman accuses Eric Swalwell of rape in 2018, reports it to authorities  —  Her attorney said at a news conference that she will not present evidence to the media.  —  Summary  —  A woman accused former congressman Eric Swalwell (D-California) of raping her in a West Hollywood hotel in 2018 …

Justice Department moves to toss seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys  —  The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders who were sentenced to prison terms …

Trump's Latest Meltdown  —  Attacking the pope was only part of the president's disturbing night on Truth Social.  —  On many recent nights, Donald Trump has been posting obsessively on his Truth Social site into the wee hours.  The president, of course, has never been one for a solid night's sleep …

‘Be careful.’ Vance issues warning to Pope Leo when discussing theology  —  Vance said it was wrong for Pope Leo to criticize those who wield the sword because Europe would never have been liberated during WWII without the U.S. military.  —  After President Donald Trump clashed with Pope Leo XIV …

Jeanine Pirro's Prosecutors Make Surprise Visit to Fed Headquarters  —  A pair of Pirro's deputies were turned away after showing up at the construction site for central-bank renovation project  —  WASHINGTON—Prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office showed up unannounced Tuesday …

Virginia Governor Ends Tax Breaks for Confederate Groups  —  The new law signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger is the culmination of a long, Democrat-led push to distance Virginia from its Confederate past.  —  Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia has signed into law a bill to end tax exemptions …

Dems file long-shot 25th Amendment bill targeting Trump  —  House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would create a commission to assess whether the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove President Trump from office. … - More than 85 House and Senate Democrats called …

Todd Blanche says Americans should be ‘happy’ Trump is deeply involved in DOJ  —  The acting attorney general said in an interview with NBC News that he's not concerned when Trump “encourages or directs or expects the Department of Justice to do its job.”  —  Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche …

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announces it has found a buyer to keep the newspaper open  —  Barely two weeks before it was due to shut down, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Tuesday it had found a last-minute buyer — a successful nonprofit journalism operation that has agreed to keep the struggling newspaper open.

Johnson says he told Trump to take down image of president-as-Jesus  —  Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday he asked that President Donald Trump take down an AI-generated image he'd posted on social media depicting himself as Jesus.  “I did ask him to delete it,” Johnson said.

French woman, 86, held by ICE after moving to US to marry 1950s sweetheart  —  The family of Marie-Thérèse, from Brittany, fear for her health after she was cuffed and placed in a detention centre  —  An 86-year-old French woman who moved to the US to marry her 1950s sweetheart …

Florida's planned special session on redistricting just got a bit murkier … The GOP-controlled state House and Senate have not spent any time working on their own proposals, instead waiting for the DeSantis administration to step forward with a map — a move that could help inoculate the Legislature from any potential lawsuits.

Thune says Senate GOP ‘prepared’ to fill potential Supreme Court vacancy  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that Republicans would quickly fill a Supreme Court vacancy if one opens up before the midterms.  “That's a contingency I think around here you always have to be prepared for.

Hungary's New Leader Reveals Viktor Orbán Was Paying CPAC … Turns out the Hungarian government has been bankrolling the Conservative Political Action Conference for years.  —  Péter Magyar, who unseated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Sunday in a landslide …

Grassley Wants Lee or Cruz for Supreme Court if Vacancy Arises  —  Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the panel would be “fully prepared” to vet a Supreme Court nominee should there be a retirement at the end of the term, and would recommend that either Ted Cruz (R-Texas) or Mike Lee (R-Utah) get the nomination.

'They're not getting what they voted for': Jesus meme lays bare GOP frustrations with Trump … To some, the Jesus meme — which Trump later said was never meant to liken him to Jesus but was instead supposed to depict the president as a Red Cross worker — exhausted whatever goodwill remained.

Excruciating moment Joe Biden summons black man by calling him ‘BARACK’... but there's a twist  —  Former President Joe Biden gave a shout-out to a tall, slender African-American man while delivering a speech on Tuesday, announcing to the audience that he looked like ‘Barack.’

U.S. blockade has turned back six merchant ships leaving Strait of Hormuz  —  More than a dozen American warships positioned in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea are acting as a “net,” officials said.  None of the encounters with the merchant vessels has required escalation.  —  Summary

Conservative Judges' Early Hiring Fuels Two-Track Clerkship System at Harvard Law  —  Federal judges — particularly those aligned with the conservative legal movement — are increasingly recruiting Harvard Law School students during their first year, accelerating a clerkship hiring process …

Ilhan Omar Pushes Democrats To Embrace Marjorie Taylor Greene, Other MAGA Stars Ditching Trump  —  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) argued Democrats should “credit” and embrace once-staunch Republican supporters of President Donald Trump who have now grown more critical of him.

Appeals court orders judge to end contempt investigation of Trump administration deportation flights  —  A federal judge must end his “intrusive” contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year …

Erika Kirk withdraws from event with JD Vance over threats, VP says  —  Erika Kirk, widow of slain activist Charlie Kirk, withdrew on Tuesday from a Turning Point USA event featuring U.S. Vice President JD Vance due to threats on her life, the vice president said.

51 Percent of Americans Think the War in Iran Has Not Been Worthwhile.  —  As the war in Iran stretches into its seventh week, a survey from Ipsos and Reuters, released on Tuesday, has found that few Americans — 24 percent — think the war has been worth the costs and benefits.

His case inspired the #MeToo movement.  Now Harvey Weinstein's going on trial for rape — again  —  NEW YORK — The legal saga of Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul whose sexual misconduct sparked the global #MeToo movement, is entering yet another chapter.

Trump summons FISA holdouts to the White House … He is expected to convey that the reauthorization is a short 18 months, that FISA needs to get “off the plate so that we can focus on getting immigration enforcement money and ICE done” and that the program is different from the 2018 authorization …

Thomson Reuters Fired Worker For Speaking Out About ICE, Former Employee Says  —  “When I saw evidence that our products were being used to harm people and undermine the law, I did what anyone should do—I raised the alarm.  Thomson Reuters' response was to fire me.”

Tuesday Afternoon News Updates: The “Blockade” That Never Was — 4/14/26  —  Chinese tankers, Iranian memes, soaring inflation, and more.  Here's your afternoon recap.  —  Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network  —  Hi all, and Happy Tuesday.  It's time for your afternoon news report.

Vance Heckled in Antiwar Protest at Turning Point USA Event  —  Vice President JD Vance appeared to express sympathy with critics of the war with Iran: “I recognize that young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East, OK.  I understand.”  —  Vice President JD Vance was heckled …

White House favors Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, to lead CDC  —  Schwartz would be Trump's third nominee to lead the CDC.  She left government in 2021, after the Biden administration passed her over for acting U.S. surgeon general.  —  Summary