Sarah Lynch

The U.S. Justice Department's launch of a civil rights probe into whether Los Angeles is taking too long to issue permits to carry a concealed handgun drew criticism on Friday from advocates who called it a sharp departure from the department's longstanding approach.

The U.S. Justice Department is considering merging the lead agencies enforcing drug and gun laws in a major shakeup as it follows President Donald Trump's instructions to sharply streamline the government, according to a memo first reported by Reuters.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is appointing his former lawyer Alina Habba, who was previously sanctioned for filing a frivolous lawsuit, to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The U.S. Justice Department is ordering some of its lawyers who handle sensitive national-security matters to urgently review records from the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy that are due to be released on Tuesday, according to an email seen by Reuters.

President Donald Trump's top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., on Monday announced a new push to investigate election fraud cases, according to an internal email seen by Reuters, though it was not clear how much power his office will have to do so.

The Department of Justice dropped a civil rights lawsuit filed last year against the national nonprofit Southwest Key Programs alleging its employees had sexually abused unaccompanied minors who were housed in its shelters after entering the country illegally, according to a court filing on Wednesday.

The U.S. Marshals Service is providing security to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an email seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed, in what sources described as an unusual arrangement.

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed President Donald Trump's former criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche to serve as Deputy Attorney General, the No. 2 role at the Justice Department.

The head of the FBI's New York office has retired, an email from the outgoing official showed on Monday, weeks after he pushed back on a request by President Donald Trump's administration to provide a list of agents who worked on the investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

FBI Director Kash Patel is considering bringing in trainers from the Ultimate Fighting Championship to beef up agents' martial arts and self-defense skills, according to four people familiar with the plan laid out on a call this week with FBI field offices.