President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul and a key figure in his administration, will be stepping back from his current role in the coming weeks. The announcement, made during a brief Oval Office address, marks a significant shift in the dynamic between Trump and Musk, whose partnership has been a cornerstone of the administration’s early months. The move has also sparked speculation about Musk’s future influence and the trajectory of Trump’s ambitious government overhaul. “Elon’s done a fantastic job—tremendous, really—but he’s going to step back in the coming weeks,” Trump said, flanked by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho dismissed the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams on April 1, 2025, siding with the Trump administration’s Justice Department in a decision that has roiled the city’s political landscape. The ruling ends a months-long legal saga that saw Adams indicted on bribery and fraud charges, only for the case to unravel amid allegations of political interference and prosecutorial upheaval. The dismissal came after the Justice Department, under Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, moved in February to drop the five-count indictment, which accused Adams of accepting over $125,000 in illicit campaign funds and luxury perks from Turkish nationals aiming to sway his influence.

Mayor Eric Adams took sharp aim at former Governor Andrew Cuomo during his weekly Q&A with reporters on Tuesday, targeting one of Cuomo’s key mayoral campaign boasts—his management expertise. “You mean the management he did with the nursing homes?” Adams said, alluding to Cuomo’s controversial pandemic directive that prevented nursing homes from refusing patients with COVID-19. He didn’t stop there, adding, “Or probably the management he did with the bail reform, is that what you’re talking about? That caused the ruckus we’re facing? Is that good management?” Driving the point home, Adams contrasted the roles of mayor and governor, stating, “You can’t just hide out in a mansion.” Cuomo’s campaign spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, fired back, defending the former governor’s record.

The Honenu legal aid organization expressed outrage at the Supreme Court’s decision this week to reduce the sentences of two Palestinians convicted of participating in a violent lynching of a Jewish family that mistakenly entered an Arab village in northern Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021. One of the terrorists was originally sentenced to seven years in prison, and the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to three years and four months. The sentence of another terrorist, which was initially four years in prison, was shortened to two years and nine months. According to the indictment, the Jewish family got lost and mistakenly entered the village, where they were brutally attacked by a mob of dozens of Arabs who threw stones at their vehicle.

The United States is increasing its military presence in the Middle East against the backdrop of growing tensions with Iran and continued US strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the deployment of additional forces to the region, including increasing the number of aircraft carriers in the Middle East to two, along with additional aircraft. The USS Carl Vinson is expected to arrive in the region after completing exercises in the Indo-Pacific and the duration of the Harry S. Truman’s stay in the Middle East has been extended, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on Tuesday. “Secretary of Defense Hegseth continues to make clear that, should Iran or its proxies threaten U.S.

It was cleared for publication on Wednesday morning that Gil Birger, an Israeli businessman who works in the Gulf, was questioned by the police under caution on Monday for suspected involvement in the Qatargate affair. About ten days ago, Kan News published recordings in which Birger is heard saying that he transferred funds from Jay Footlik, an American lobbyist working for the Qatari government, to Eli Feldstein, a former spokesperson in the Prime Minister’s Office. Birger said that Footlik asked him to make the transfer “because of tax issues,” adding that he has known Footlik for 25 years.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced on Wednesday morning that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to appoint the current Shin Bet Deputy Chief to the position of acting head while he continues his search for a new Shin Bet chief to replace Ronen Bar. The Shin Bet Deputy Chief is known only by S., his first initial. The PMO’s Office said, “Netanyahu continues to interview candidates for the position of Shin Bet Chief, including candidates he has already interviewed.

Following a barrage of overnight airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF has reinforced its presence by deploying an additional division to the region. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the military is intensifying its campaign targeting Hamas. In a statement, Katz outlined the escalation of IDF efforts, declaring that Israel is broadening its operations in Gaza. “Troops will move to clear areas of terrorists and infrastructure, and capture extensive territory that will be added to the State of Israel’s security areas,” he said.

Voters in Florida and Wisconsin went to the polls on Tuesday in a series of high-stakes special elections that offered the first significant electoral gauge of President Donald Trump’s second term, just over two months after his inauguration. The outcomes—a pair of Republican victories in Florida’s deep-red congressional districts and a Democratic win in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race—provided a mixed bag of results, reflecting both the enduring strength of GOP strongholds and the challenges facing Republicans in battleground states. In Florida, two special elections to replace former Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz concluded with GOP wins, bolstering the party’s razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.