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What Happened Today – March 24, 2026

Evidence only matters to this administration when it can be aimed at someone.

The Fed Chair withstood Trump’s public insults and threats to fire him, so the DOJ opened a criminal investigation into a building renovation he oversees. A newly unsealed transcript shows the government had no evidence Chairman Powell committed a crime. Eight days later, the judge quashed the subpoenas, writing the government produced “essentially zero evidence” and was “targeting a disfavored official.”

The Justice Department called its Epstein investigation “exhaustive.” Deposition videos released Tuesday show Epstein’s longtime lawyer and accountant each told the House Oversight Committee that federal investigators never interviewed them. Minnesota officials, meanwhile, are suing the federal government for refusing to share evidence from three shootings by federal agents that killed two people and wounded a third.

Don’t let Renée Good and Alex Pretti’s killers disappear into another “exhaustive” investigation. Call your representatives. Demand that DOJ share the evidence with Minnesota authorities.

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🔴 GovBrief Intensity Score 132
High Intensity. They're flooding the zone.
Volume: High (21)
Severity: Moderate (1.57)
Defining Moments: 0
Previous 5 Days
🔴133|🟢73|🟡103|🚨176|🔴140
100 = normal day. Volume is headline count. Stories weighted by significance. Defining Moments are the ones history remembers.
Today's Quote
And it’s because we have a president of the United States that when he sends his war fighters out to fight, he unties their hands to actually go out and close with and destroy the enemy as viciously as possible from moment one. And that’s why we see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs! You have a choice as we loiter over the top of Tehran, as the president talked about, about your future. The president has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaking on March 24, 2026, at DHS Secretary Mullins' swearing-in ceremony.
Yesterday's Most Read

Plainclothes ICE agents pin a Guatemalan mother to the ground at San Francisco's airport as her young daughter watches, refusing bystanders' demands to show badges.

Today’s GovBrief News


War 1 of 21

Trump offers Iran a 15-point ceasefire plan through Pakistani intermediaries while deploying 1,000 troops from the Army's emergency response force to the Middle East.

Israeli officials blindsided by proposal

Source: The Associated Press

March 24, 2026

Health 2 of 21

FDA warns ImmunityBio over misleading TV and podcast promotions claiming its bladder cancer drug Anktiva "can treat all cancers" and prevent radiation-caused cancer.

CEO promoted drug on Sean Spicer podcast

Source: Fierce Pharma

March 24, 2026

Health 3 of 21

Robert Malone, the anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. appointed as vice chair of the CDC's vaccine advisory panel, quits after a spat with an HHS spokesperson.

Judge called new appointees "distinctly unqualified"

Source: Ars Technica

March 24, 2026

Epstein Sex Crime Network 4 of 21

Newly released deposition videos show Epstein's longtime lawyer and accountant told Congress they were never interviewed by federal investigators despite managing his finances and legal affairs for decades.

Bequeathed total of $75 million from Epstein's estate

Source: ABC News

March 24, 2026

Environment 5 of 21

California sues Trump for using the Defense Production Act to force restart of an offshore oil pipeline shut down after the 2015 Refugio Beach spill.

DOJ opinion claims preemption of state law

Source: The Times of San Diego

March 24, 2026

DEI 6 of 21

USDA cancels a $300 million Biden-era program that helped underserved farmers buy and retain land, calling it discriminatory DEI spending.

Part of $3 billion in canceled USDA grants

Source: The Independent

March 24, 2026

Voting Rights 7 of 21

Wisconsin jury convicts Harry Wait on felony identity theft and two misdemeanor election fraud counts for requesting absentee ballots in the names of the Assembly Speaker and Racine's mayor.

Testified he wanted to "save the Republic"

Source: The Racine County Eye

March 24, 2026

Courts 8 of 21

Army judge orders prosecutors to search for any U.S. government evidence linking Iran to the 2000 USS Cole bombing after Trump claimed Tehran was "probably involved."

Defense lawyers say no evidence in 25 years

Source: The New York Times [gift link]

March 24, 2026

Courts 9 of 21

Federal judge says the Pentagon's supply chain risk label on Anthropic looks like "an attempt to cripple" the company for refusing to allow unrestricted military use of its AI.

Designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries

Source: Wired

March 24, 2026

Courts 10 of 21

New Mexico jury orders Meta to pay $375 million for harming children's mental health and misleading parents about safety on Instagram and Facebook.

First state to hold Meta accountable

Source: KOB Albquerque

March 24, 2026

Courts 11 of 21

Newly unsealed transcript reveals DOJ prosecutor told a judge his office had no evidence of crimes by Fed Chair Powell, calling a $1.2 billion cost overrun enough reason to investigate.

Judge later quashed subpoenas as pretextual

Source: CNN

March 24, 2026

Immigration 12 of 21

Federal judge orders Trump administration to return a deported DACA recipient to the U.S. within seven days, calling her removal a flagrant violation of her protections.

Arrested during residency interview, deported in 24 hours

Source: NOTUS

March 24, 2026

Immigration 13 of 21

Trump swears in Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security secretary on day 39 of the DHS shutdown, with ICE agents deployed to airports and after over 400 TSA officers quit.

Mullin pledges "failure is not an option"

Source: NewsNation

March 24, 2026

Immigration 14 of 21

TSA flagged a mother and her 9-year-old daughter on a passenger list and alerted ICE before plainclothes agents detained them at San Francisco International Airport.

Deported to Guatemala within 48 hours

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

March 24, 2026

Oversight 15 of 21

Democrat Emily Gregory defeats Trump-endorsed Republican in special election for the Florida House district that includes Mar-a-Lago.

Nearly 11-point swing left

Source: WPBF West Palm Beach

March 24, 2026

Oversight 16 of 21

FCC bans all new consumer routers manufactured outside the United States, citing supply chain risks tied to Chinese hacking campaigns against U.S. infrastructure.

Existing routers unaffected by the ban

Source: Bleeping Computer

March 24, 2026

Oversight 17 of 21

Oklahoma Gov. Stitt appoints energy executive Alan Armstrong to fill Mullin's Senate seat through the end of the year, with Trump-endorsed Rep. Kevin Hern already running for the full term.

Oklahoma law bars appointee from running

Source: CNBC

March 24, 2026

Oversight 18 of 21

Trump appoints Australian-born internet provocateur Nick Adams as special presidential envoy for tourism, exceptionalism and American values.

Senate returned his Malaysia ambassador nomination

Source: The Guardian

March 24, 2026

Transportation 19 of 21

Delta suspends VIP escorts, upgrades and rebooking services for members of Congress as the DHS shutdown enters its sixth week.

CEO calls unpaid TSA workers "political chips"

Source: USA Today

March 24, 2026

Transportation 20 of 21

NTSB says LaGuardia's runway safety system did not alert before Sunday's collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck because emergency vehicles lacked tracking systems.

Two controllers staffed midnight shift

Source: WABC New York

March 24, 2026

Fighting Back 21 of 21

Minnesota sues the federal government for evidence in three ICE shootings during Operation Metro Surge, calling the categorical withholding of evidence unprecedented in American history.

Federal agents blocked state investigators

Source: Minnesota Public Radio

March 24, 2026

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