Justice Dept ends criminal probe into US Fed chair Powell

US actress Laura Dern has joined the cast of "The White Lotus," HBO announced Tuesday, days after Helena Bonham Carter left the show.

The British star's departure, which came shortly after the new season started filming on the French Riviera, sparked a frenzy of internet speculation over a glitzy series that has become as well known for its behind-the-scenes dramas as for its award-winning on-camera action.

Bosses at HBO said writer Mike White was having a rethink, with the role being rewritten and recast.

"It had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set," a statement said.

There were no immediate details on what kind of character Dern, 59, will play in the show, which typically involves murders, class tensions and sumptuous holiday spots.

The Emmy-winning series is currently filming primarily in Cannes and St. Tropez, as well as Monaco. It will also include some scenes in Paris.

The fourth season takes place against the backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival.

Dern joins an all-star cast that includes British comedian Steve Coogan, as well as France's Vincent Cassel ("Black Swan," "Ocean's Twelve") and Heather Graham ("Boogie Nights" and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.") 

Singer AJ Michalka, and comedian Kumail Nanjiani also feature.

Dern and White have previously worked together on HBO's "Enlightened" and the comedy-drama "Year of the Dog." 

Previous seasons of "The White Lotus" were filmed in Hawaii, Italy and Thailand, and featured stars such as Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, and Walton Goggins.

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Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted again, US media reported Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of President Donald Trump was thrown out.

The New York Times said the indictment stems from a social media post by the 65-year-old Comey but did not specify the exact charge.

Comey made a now-deleted post on Instagram last year that showed the numbers "86 47" spelled out in sea shells.

Trump alleged in an interview with Fox News at the time that "86" was slang for kill and the "47" was a reference to his being the 47th president.

"He knew exactly what that meant," Trump said. "That meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear."

Comey said on Instagram that he posted "a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message."

"I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down," he said.

Comey was charged in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in what was widely seen as retribution by the Republican president against a political opponent.

A federal judge threw out the case in November on the grounds that the US attorney handpicked by Trump who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.

The judge threw out a separate case at the same time that was brought against another Trump foe, New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The Comey and James indictments came after the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge them.

Another Trump critic, his former national security advisor John Bolton, has been indicted for allegedly transmitting and retaining classified information.

- 'His right' -

Comey was appointed to head the FBI by president Barack Obama in 2013 and was fired by Trump in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 election.

The September charges against Comey came just days after Trump publicly urged then attorney general Pam Bondi to take action against the former FBI director and others -- a stunning departure from the principle that the Justice Department must be free from White House pressure.

Bondi was fired this month, reportedly in part because of her failure to secure indictments of Trump's political opponents.

Since taking office, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.

Todd Blanche, who was named acting attorney general after Bondi's firing, has defended the investigations into Trump opponents.

"It is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president, in the past, has had issues with and believes should be investigated," Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, said. "That is his right, and indeed, it is his duty to do that."

Comey's indictment came on the same day as a judge ruled that his daughter, Maurene Comey, can proceed with a lawsuit alleging that her firing as a federal prosecutor last year was politically motivated.

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Donald Trump's picture will soon appear in some US passports, it was confirmed Tuesday, shattering another norm as the president aggressively puts himself personally on government institutions.

The State Department confirmed that it would offer a limited-edition passport to mark this year's 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

A Fox News article, reposted by a State Department spokesman, showed an image of Trump on the passport imposed over the Declaration of Independence, with his signature underneath.

It separately showed a picture of US Founding Fathers.

"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US passports to commemorate this historic occasion," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

Another State Department official said there would be no extra charge for the passport.

There are few modern precedents anywhere in the world, let alone in a democracy, of sitting leaders' pictures appearing in passports, with most countries preferring to depict historical imagery or nature. 

Current US passports depict multiple scenes from the country's history such as the Moon landing along with historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty.

Trump since returning to office last year has slapped himself on government institutions in an unprecedented way, with several government buildings in Washington putting up banners of him and Trump imposing his name on the Kennedy Center performing arts center and the dismantled US Institute of Peace.

Last month the Treasury Department said Trump's signature would start appearing on the dollar, in another first.

Britain and other Commonwealth countries feature on their currency the likeness of King Charles III, who is a head of state without direct involvement in politics. The king was meeting Trump on Tuesday during a state visit to Washington.

The Fox News article said that the Trump-themed passports would only be issued in Washington and that they would run out when there is no further availability. 

It was not immediately clear if an American could refuse the Trump-themed passport.

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Donald Trump has never made a secret of his love for royalty. But the US president revealed Tuesday it runs in the family -- his mother had a crush on King Charles III.

The surprising revelation was part of a torrent of flattery, pomp and circumstance unleashed by Trump as Charles and Queen Camilla visited the White House.

For the British side it will come as a relief that Trump's gushing praise for the royals effectively papered over major diplomatic tensions over the war in Iran.

But for 79-year-old Trump -- accused by critics of wanting to be a king himself -- it seemed very personal.

In a speech on the White House lawn, the Republican recalled how his Scottish-born mother Mary loved the late queen Elizabeth II and was "glued to the television" whenever she appeared.

"I also remember her saying, very clearly, 'Charles, look, young Charles. He's so cute,'" Trump said with a chuckle.

The 77-year-old king grimaced in mock embarrassment as Trump turned to look at him, then waved as if to say carry on -- which Trump did.

"My mother, my mother, had a crush on Charles. Can you believe it? Amazing. How I wonder what she's thinking right now."

Trump then went on to hail Elizabeth, who died in 2022, as a "very, very special woman who is very greatly missed on both sides of that mighty Atlantic."

- 'Live in Buckingham Palace' -

Moments before the royals arrived, Trump had joked about being in line to the British throne.

"Wow, that's nice. I've always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!!" Trump posted on his Truth Social network about a story in the Daily Mail saying he and Charles were very distant cousins.

"I'll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!" 

The White House was even less subtle. "TWO KINGS," it posted on X, with a crown emoji and a picture of Charles and Trump.

For Trump's critics, it was a all little close to the bone.

Trump's assault on the limits on presidential power, and his renaming of buildings after himself and grand plans for a triumphal arch, have sparked a series of "No Kings" protests during his second term.

Trump meanwhile admitted that it was "ironic" to be giving such a pomp-filled welcome to a British monarch in the 250th anniversary of US independence from the British crown.

But British officials will have been relieved to hear Trump say that the United States had "no closer friends" than the British.

It came as a stark contrast to his recent tirades against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for failing to back the Iran war.

Trump went further, hailing the the two countries' long history of military cooperation, despite recently mocking Britain's navy. 

"The soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs who together saved the free world," he said.

- 'Anglo-Saxon courage' -

The US president appeared in a jovial mood, even joking about the length of his own marriage to Melania Trump -- a day after calling for the sacking of comedian Jimmy Kimmel for likening the First Lady to an "expectant widow."

Kimmel made the joke days before an alleged attempt to assassinate the president.

Yet Trump's speech also struck an unexpected note.

Despite American pride at ousting the British to create their own nation 250 years ago, the Republican leader repeatedly emphasized the common heritage between Britain and the United States.

He even hailed Britain's role in colonizing North America -- a controversial subject given the atrocities against native people by waves of European conquerors who crossed the Atlantic.

"Here on a wild and untamed continent, they set loose the ancient English love of liberty," Trump said.

Trump's remarks played into his nationalist administration's wider rejection of "woke" history, in favor of celebrating white, European culture and downplaying colonial excess and slavery.

And Britain, Trump said, was a part of his version of the American story.

"The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776, were the heirs to this majestic inheritance," Trump said.

"Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage."

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The US Supreme Court heard a bid by Cisco on Tuesday to toss out a lawsuit that alleges the US tech giant should be held liable for persecution in China of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

The case stems from a 2011 suit filed by a dozen Chinese nationals and a US citizen who claim Cisco designed an internet surveillance and censorship network called "Golden Shield" that was used by the Chinese government to track down Falun Gong devotees.

The California-based computer networking giant rejects the accusations that it "aided and abetted" human rights abuses against members of the Falun Gong, which has been banned in China since 1999.

"Cisco vigorously disputes those allegations," Kannon Shanmugam, a lawyer for the company told the justices during the Supreme Court session.

A federal district court judge dismissed the suit in 2014 but it was revived by an appeals court in 2023, prompting Cisco to take it to the top US court.

The case rests on a law passed by Congress in 1789, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which allows foreign nationals to seek redress in American courts for violations of international law.

The conservative-dominated Supreme Court has limited the scope of ATS claims in several recent cases involving US corporations and it appeared likely following Tuesday's oral arguments to also side with Cisco.

Paul Hoffman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the justices that Cisco provided "a customized surveillance system designed to identify Falun Gong believers to Chinese authorities for detention and forced conversion through torture and other barbaric treatment."

"This court should not give the green light to US corporations acting from the United States to help foreign governments commit torture or extrajudicial killing," Hoffman said.

"Under Cisco's theory, even the corporate actors who provided the poison gas for Nazi crematoria would not be liable," he added.

The Trump administration has weighed in on Cisco's side, and Deputy Solicitor General Curtis Gannon told the justices that allowing the case to go ahead would have implications for US foreign policy.

"The entire case is parasitic on having to prove that foreign government officials engaged in serious human rights violations in their own countries," Gannon said. "That is necessarily going to raise foreign policy concerns in many cases."

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case in June or early July.

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France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Tuesday told AFP she hoped to run for president for a fourth time next year and face off against a "centrist" candidate in the second round.

"I would like a runoff against the centrist bloc," said the 57-year-old politician, who in the last two presidential elections made it to the second round.

The far-right National Rally (RN) party is banking on its best chance yet at winning power in 2027, when centrist President Emmanuel Macron steps down after two consecutive terms in office.

Le Pen is hoping to be her anti-immigration, Eurosceptic party's candidate if an appeals court in July does not ban her from office over an alleged fake jobs scam in European Parliament.

"If the judges don't stop me, I will run," she said.

If she cannot, her lieutenant -- 30-year-old party leader Jordan Bardella -- will vie for the top job instead.

"The presidential election will almost certainly be decided between the National Rally and the centrist bloc, if they manage to agree on a single candidate," Le Pen said.

She implied she wanted this to ensure legitimacy in the case her party won.

"It will be necessary to have the strength of a vote in favour of a chosen candidate -- not one cast merely to reject the other candidate," she said.

The centrist camp's main contender so far seems to be former premier Edouard Philippe, the leader of the Horizons party who was re-elected as mayor of the northern port city of Le Havre last month.

Some believe Jean-Luc Melenchon, the firebrand leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, could manage to reach the second round for the first time if the centrist vote were split between several candidates.

"There is a real risk that Melenchon has a more solid base than the central bloc," she said.

The far right has especially sought to demonise the hard left after the fatal beating in February of a far-right activist in the city of Lyon that has been blamed on the hard left.

Le Pen has sought to distance the RN from the antisemitic legacy of her father, and has accused LFI of antisemitic comments in the context of the Gaza war.

Melenchon came in fourth in the 2012 and 2017 elections, and third in the last polls in 2022.

Le Pen came third in 2012, then twice made the runoffs.

gbh/ah/cw

Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted again, US media reported Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of President Donald Trump was thrown out.

The New York Times said the indictment stems from a social media post by Comey but did not specify the exact charge.

Comey made a now-deleted post on Instagram last year that showed the numbers "86 47" spelled out in sea shells.

Trump alleged in an interview with Fox News at the time that "86" was slang for kill and the "47" was a reference to his being the 47th president.

"He knew exactly what that meant," Trump said. "That meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear."

Comey said on Instagram that he posted "a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message."

"I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down," he said.

Comey, 65, was charged in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in what was widely seen as retribution by the Republican president against a political opponent.

A federal judge threw out the case in November on the grounds that the US attorney handpicked by Trump who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.

The Comey indictment came after the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

Comey was appointed to head the FBI by president Barack Obama in 2013 and was fired by Trump in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 election.

The September charges against Comey came just days after Trump urged then attorney general Pam Bondi to take action against the former FBI director and others he sees as enemies -- a stunning departure from the principle that the Justice Department must be free from White House pressure.

Since taking office, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.

cl/msp

Panama's flagship carrier Copa Airlines signed a $13.5 billion deal Tuesday to purchase 60 Boeing 737 MAX planes, adding to 40 others already on order.

Chief executive Pedro Heilbron said during a signing ceremony in Panama City that the acquisitions will allow the airline to grow its fleet to 200 planes by 2034.

"This represents an important step to keep strengthening the operation and connectivity we provide" from Panama to the rest of the Americas, Heilbron said as he finalized the agreement with Boeing and GE Aerospace representatives.

The airline currently operates more than 80 routes in over 30 countries. 

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said during the event that the "historic purchase" reflects Copa's "solidity, vision of growth, and leadership."

Mulino noted that Panama was working to expand Tocumen International Airport in the capital to accommodate the arrival of new planes.

The first stage of the expansion aimed to build space for the 40 Boeing 737s Copa already bought that "are being delivered."

"Now these 60 new planes mean we'll plan for a new era of adaptation so that our airport can accompany" Copa's growth, the Central American nation's president said, adding they will renovate both airstrips for greater efficiency and security.

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(The Center Square) - Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to stop the buildout of an immigration detention facility in the city of Surprise.

Mayes accused the Trump administration of running “roughshod over federal law in its rush to expand detention capacity across the country.”

“We will do everything in our power to demand accountability from the federal government and to protect the health and safety of this community," she said.

Mayes alleged the federal government had neither conducted nor made public environmental reviews before deciding to convert the Phoenix area warehouse into a detention center, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Furthermore, she alleged the detention facility violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, which mandates the federal government to find a suitable spot for immigration detention.

“The Surprise Warehouse is not (and will never be) suitable for use as a mass detention facility,” the lawsuit said.

Mayes said the warehouse was built as an industrial distribution facility. The Democratic attorney general added that since the federal government has not conducted any environmental reviews, Arizona does not know how it plans to modify the warehouse for the new detention facility.

“As constructed, the Surprise Warehouse almost certainly does not have the appropriate water and wastewater infrastructure to safely (and humanely) house hundreds of people,” the lawsuit said.

Mayes noted the proposed facility, which can hold between 500 and 1,500 people, is across the street from Rinchem, a facility that stores hazardous chemicals, and is approximately one mile from a high school and a middle school.

 “The location of the Surprise Warehouse will increase traffic and negatively impact the municipality and State’s ability to protect public health and provide emergency services, particularly in the event of an accident involving the chemical storage warehouse located across the street,” the lawsuit said.

Regarding Rinchem’s chemical storage, Mayes said the warehouse’s risk management plan was filed on Jan. 1, 2026, which was three weeks before the announcement of the ICE facility.

According to the lawsuit, Rinchem’s risk management plan “does not consider the potential hazards incurred by the presence of a mass detention facility next door, nor does it contemplate risk mitigation measures responding to the same.”

A DHS spokesperson told The Center Square Monday that the lawsuit is “not about the environment, but rather “trying to stop President Trump from making America safe.”

“The flood of illegal aliens at the border under [President Joe] Biden was devastating for ranches and riverbeds, but the left did not lift a finger. They’re feigning concern now because they want to obstruct the President from removing dangerous criminals,” the spokesperson said, answering The Center Square's questions by email.

“Prior to purchasing this site, ICE carefully evaluated the use of existing facilities to help minimize environmental impacts, including potential impacts to protected species, sensitive natural resources, and valued cultural resources,” the spokesperson added.

Brent Peak, the co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible, an organization opposing the detention facility, told The Center Square Monday that seeing the lawsuit filed against the DHS was “extremely validating [and] gratifying.”

“There are a whole host of reasons why [Surprise] is a bad place for a mass detention facility. It will never be an appropriate place,” he said.

Due to chemicals being stored near the location of the detention facility, Peak said the “requirements to build out that facility are practically inviable, if not impossible, to make it a safe place, not just for the detainees, but for employees [and] local people who will be working there.”

“ I fully expect that DHS is gonna walk away from this project within the next few months,” he said.

According to Peak, Northwest Valley Indivisible held two meetings with staffers from the attorney general’s office.

“They did not confirm or deny that they were working on it. They simply said, ‘Thank you for bringing this to our attention,’” he noted.

At the next Surprise City Council meeting on May 5, Peak said members of Northwest Valley Indivisible will hold up signs saying “You're Welcome.” He noted they will not be holding a demonstration or protest.

Northwest Valley Indivisible will “continue keeping the issue front and center until it’s confirmed that this ICE warehouse has been abandoned,” Peak said. 

(The Center Square) – For the first time in nearly 20 years, the sitting British monarch, King Charles III, and his wife, Queen Camilla, are visiting Washington, D.C., in honor of America’s 250th year of independence from the British crown.

President Donald Trump noted the irony in a speech Tuesday paying tribute to the royal couple and the shared heritage of the two nations. The South entrance to the White House flew British and American flags Tuesday as a military band played the British and American national anthems. There was even a performance from a group that appeared to be dressed like redcoats. 

“Here in the shadows of monuments to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, honoring the British king might seem an ironic beginning to our celebration of 250 years of American independence. But in fact, no tribute could be more appropriate,” Trump said. “For nearly two centuries before the revolution, this land was settled and forged by men, women who bore in their souls the blood and noble spirit of the British. Here on a wild and untamed continent, they set loose the ancient English love of liberty and Great Britain's distinctive sense of glory, destiny and pride.”

The last visit from a sitting British monarch was when Queen Elizabeth II visited former President George W. Bush in 2007. Charles and Camilla arrived Monday afternoon and will leave on Thursday.

Despite a sometimes tense relationship with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the president and first lady have enjoyed a seemingly warm relationship with British royalty. During Starmer’s first visit in D.C. with Trump, he conveyed a letter from Charles inviting the president and first lady for a state visit. The invitation was historic, as the Trumps had completed their first state visit in 2019, when Elizabeth invited them to the U.K. for a three-day stay. In September, the Trumps visited the U.K. again on their second state visit, the first time an American president was hosted for two state visits. 

“The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs to this majestic inheritance,” Trump continued Tuesday. “Fate drew a long arc from the meadow at Runnymede to the streets of Philadelphia that ran through the lives of people born and bred on the British code that no man should be denied either justice or right.”

Charles is set to deliver a speech to Congress at 3 p.m., the first time a British monarch has addressed the American legislature since 1991.