AP The Morning Wire - by Sarah Nafta - March 31, 2025 - Trump administration faces more than 130 lawsuits over his executive orders, the president increasingly asks the Supreme Court to overrule judges blocking his agenda;

 

ADVERTISEMENT View in Browser Policy changes, but facts endure. AP delivers accurate, fact-based journalism to keep the world informed in every administration. Support independent reporting today. Donate. By Sarah Naffa March 31, 2025 In the news today: As the Trump administration faces more than 130 lawsuits over his executive orders, the president increasingly asks the Supreme Court to overrule judges blocking his agenda; Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters; and recovery efforts continue in Myanmar after Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake. Also, Abraham Lincoln’s tiny Illinois town is due for a makeover. President Donald Trump greets justices of the Supreme Court at the Capitol in Washington, March 4. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) POLITICS Trump increasingly asks the Supreme Court to overrule judges blocking key parts of his agenda As losses mount in lower federal courts, President Donald Trump has returned to a tactic that he employed at the Supreme Court with remarkable success in his first term. Three times in the past week, and six since Trump took office a little more than two months ago, the Justice Department has asked the conservative-majority high court to step into cases much earlier than usual. Read more. Why this matters: The administration’s use of the emergency appeals, or shadow docket, comes as it faces more than 130 lawsuits over the Republican president’s flurry of executive orders. Many of the lawsuits have been filed in liberal-leaning parts of the country as the court system becomes ground zero for pushback to his policies. Federal judges have ruled against the administration more than 40 times, issuing temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, the Justice Department said Friday in a Supreme Court filing. The issues include birthright citizenship changes, federal spending, transgender rights and deportations under a rarely used 18th-century law. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump says he’s considering ways to serve a third term as president   Appeals court clears way for DOGE to keep operating at USAID Appeals court rules Trump can fire board members of independent labor agencies Federal judge blocks Trump from dismantling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau   Voice of America wins in court, for now, as judge blocks Trump administration from firing staff Most US Institute of Peace workers get late-night word of their mass firing   US Naval Academy ends affirmative action in admissions Trump’s FCC commissioner opens investigation into Walt Disney Co. and ABC for diversity policies Trump administration investigates Maine for claims of withholding gender transitions from parents Trump administration cancels clean energy grants as it prioritizes fossil fuels   Trump commutes the sentence of Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson in financial conspiracy case Trump finds fault with both Putin and Zelenskyy as he tries to push for deal to end war in Ukraine   Immigrant students and scholars are being detained at remote facilities in Louisiana over objections   Columbia University’s interim president steps down and returns to former post Trump roars down multiple paths of retribution as he vowed. Some targets yield while others fight Hegseth’s younger brother is serving in a key role as liaison and senior adviser inside the Pentagon   North Carolina judge challenging outcome of race wore Confederate uniform in college photo POLITICS Elon Musk hands out $1 million payments after Wisconsin Supreme Court declines request to stop him Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group, ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that the tech billionaire cast as critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.” Read more. Why this matters: A unanimous state Supreme Court on Sunday refused to hear a last-minute attempt by the state’s Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters. Musk’s attorneys argued in filings with the court that Musk was exercising his free speech rights with the giveaways. Two lower courts had already rejected the legal challenge by Democrat Josh Kaul, who argues that Musk’s offer violates a state law. “Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to induce anyone to vote,” Kaul argued in his filing. “Yet, Elon Musk did just that.” Musk and groups he supports have spent more than $20 million to help conservative favorite Brad Schimel in Tuesday’s race, which will determine the ideological makeup of a court likely to decide key issues in a perennial battleground state. Musk has increasingly become the center of the contest, with liberal favorite Susan Crawford and her allies protesting Musk and what they say is the influence he wants to have on the court. The contest has shattered national records for a judicial election, with more than $81 million in spending. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump’s election order creates much confusion before the next federal election in 2026 Elon Musk sells X to his own xAI for $33 billion in all-stock deal New Jersey’s GOP primary for governor could pivot on Trump, a part-time resident WORLD NEWS Deaths from devastating earthquake in Myanmar climb past 1,700 The death toll from the earthquake that hit Myanmar has risen to more than 1,700 as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble, the country’s military-led government said Monday. Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-run MRTV that another 3,400 have been injured and more than 300 were missing. Read more. What to know: The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit at midday Friday, causing widespread damage, including in the capital Naypitaw and the second largest city, Mandalay. The true number of people killed and injured across the regions hit is thought to be possibly many times the official figures. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Photo Collection: South East Asia Earthquake WATCH: Dashcam footage shows building collapsing as Bangkok hit by powerful earthquake ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Six-day search: US armored vehicle missing in Lithuania pulled from swamp but fate of 4 soldiers is still unknown Far-right leader: Marine Le Pen is barred from seeking public office for embezzlement Sweeping evacuation orders: Israeli military orders evacuation of most of Gaza’s city of Rafah Crimes against humanity case: Guinea’s former dictator pardoned over the 2009 stadium massacre Charged over drone use: American woman held in Afghanistan by the Taliban has been released, AP source says Highly contagious virus: Texas reaches 400 measles cases as US deals with outbreaks in 5 states Today in History: In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree, an edict expelling Jews from Spanish soil WATCH First disappointment, then a celebration: Video captures high school band’s big surprise Meet the beetles: Scientists bank on weevil beetle to save Southern Africa's freshwater from alien plant invasion A CHANGE OF PACE Illinois state Rep. Wayne Rosenthal discusses the collapse of a portion of a barn that is part of the reconstructed village of New Salem. (AP Photo/John O'Connor) Young Abraham Lincoln’s tiny Illinois town is due for a makeover Before his famous debates, before the Civil War rent the nation, before he helped end slavery and before his tragic assassination, Abraham Lincoln had New Salem. The tiny central Illinois village, where Lincoln accidentally spent half-a-dozen years in the 1830s, perhaps did as much to prepare him to be the Union-saving 16th president as any other aspect of his humble yet remarkable life. The site was re-created by a federal public works program in the 1930s during the Great Depression, but long-neglected maintenance has taken a toll on the setting. It took a dedicated volunteer and state lawmakers’ advocacy to secure state money to begin rehabbing the site.

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