World Central Kitchen workers killed in Gaza and bird flu case in Texas: Morning Rundown

Donald Trump is handed an expanded gag order in one criminal case and posts bond in another. World Central Kitchen pauses efforts in Gaza after saying seven of its workers were killed in a strike. And a bird flu case is confirmed in Texas.

Here’s what to know today.

Judge expands Trump’s gag order and issues a warning

With less than two weeks until Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial is set to begin, the judge presiding over the case expanded a partial gag order — and issued a warning about what could happen if the former president violates it.

The expanded gag order comes after Trump’s online attacks on Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter. Since last week, Trump has taken shots at her job as the president of a digital fundraising and advertising firm that Vice President Kamala Harris used during her presidential campaign.

Trump's team argued that his repeated attacks were protected political speech. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argued that Trump's behavior "fundamentally threatens the integrity of the proceedings" by intimidating witnesses and trial participants.

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In issuing the expanded gag order yesterday, Merchan wrote that Trump’s attacks could have a chilling effect on the case. Merchan also issued a warning, which said that if Trump continues to defy the gag order, he may lose “any statutory right” to access juror names.

Trump could also be found in criminal contempt and willful disobedience of a court order, which could include a penalty of up to 30 days imprisonment, if he continues to ignore orders, the DA’s office has previously said.

The partial gag order issued last week in the case relating to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels barred Trump from talking about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and their relatives. It didn’t take long for Trump to take advantage of a loophole in the order. Under the newly expanded gag order, Trump must “refrain” from talking about Merchan and Bragg’s family members. The trial is set to begin April 15.

Read the full story here.

More Trump coverage:

• Former Trump aide Hope Hicks is expected to be a witness for the prosecution in the hush money case.

• Trump posted a $175 million bond in the New York civil fraud case to prevent seizure of his assets while the case is under appeal.

• An auditor raised doubts about the ability of Trump Media and Technology Group to stay in business, according to a new filing.

World Central Kitchen says 7 members killed in Israeli airstrike

World Central Kitchen said that it was pausing aid efforts in the Gaza Strip after seven of its workers were killed in what it said was an Israeli airstrike. The U.S.-based nonprofit group said its team was traveling in two armored cars bearing its logo and had coordinated its movements with the Israeli military.

The IDF said it was conducting a thorough review of the circumstances around the strike, which killed a number of foreign nationals including a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. World Central Kitchen is one of the few groups delivering much-needed food to the Palestinian enclave, where aid agencies have warned that half of the population is on the brink of famine.

Follow our live blog here.

Wisconsin progressives hope ‘uninstructed’ vote sends a message to Biden

Young progressives in the key battleground state of Wisconsin are leading the movement to vote “uninstructed” instead of for President Joe Biden to signal their opposition to the administration’s response to the war in Gaza. In Wisconsin, “uninstructed” is the term on the ballot to vote for no candidate or “uncommitted.”

They follow the lead of voters in Michigan, Hawaii, Minnesota and Washington state, among other places, that have also lodged primary protest votes. Biden is likely to overwhelmingly win the Democratic presidential primary in Wisconsin, as he did in the other states. Still, young voters said the grassroots movement was the best way to signal their desire for a cease-fire. Read the full story here.

Also on the ballot in today’s election are two low-profile, yet controversial, constitutional amendments that would change how elections are run in the state. One measure would ban the use of private funds in election administration, while the other seeks to clarify the role of election workers. Opponents of the measures fear they would hamper the efforts by officials to run elections smoothly.

More 2024 election coverage:

• RFK Jr. sees Biden as a greater threat to democracy than Trump, he said in an interview on CNN.

• Against all odds, Biden’s campaign said Florida is a “winnable” state in 2024.

Caitlin Clark leads Iowa to the Final Four

Women’s basketball all-star Caitlin Clark extended her college basketball career, at least for one more game, with Iowa’s win over reigning champ Louisiana State University. The 94-87 victory earns the Hawkeyes a trip to the Final Four, where they’ll face the UConn Huskies.

Last night's matchup saw Clark and LSU's Angel Reese face off, each ending the first half as their teams' leading scorers. With 1:45 remaining in the game, Reese fouled out, and the Tigers fell to the Hawkeyes by 7 points. Read more game highlights.

Bird flu case confirmed in Texas

The public shouldn’t be worried after a Texas worker was diagnosed with bird flu, the CDC said in a statement yesterday in response to state officials’ confirmation of the case. The human case comes after a highly virulent strain of bird flu was detected in a handful of dairy cattle in several states last week. The infected worker had contact with dairy cows. However, the case isn’t cause for concern, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said.

Also, the CDC doesn’t expect the bird flu cases to affect food safety or supplies in the U.S., nor do officials expect the price of milk or milk products to increase. Here’s what else to know.

Spring storm — and flood threats — head east

At least 8 million people are under flood watches today across the Ohio River Valley into the Appalachians in a spring storm system that first sprang up over the weekend. Rainfall today could total up to 3 inches from Kansas City, Missouri, to New England. Meanwhile, the Northeast is bracing for heavy snow, rain and high winds forecast for tomorrow. Up to 2 feet of snow could fall in parts of New York.

The same system brought torrential downpours to California over the weekend, causing a portion of the state’s scenic Highway 1 near Big Sur to collapse into the ocean. Yesterday, heavy rain, large hail and possible tornadoes were forecast in parts of the South and up to Indiana. Here’s what else to know about the storm risk.

Tennessee lawmakers vote to ban geoengineering, with allusions to ‘chemtrails’ conspiracy theory

The Tennessee state House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday designed to prevent geoengineering, the practice of intentionally modifying the atmosphere to counteract global warming.

The bill, which had already passed in the state Senate, covers a variety of technological interventions. They include theoretical ideas about cooling the climate by an approach known as solar radiation modification, as well as more limited practices that affect the weather, like cloud seeding, a technique used to increase rain and snowfall. On its face, Tennessee’s bill represents an attempt to prevent experimentation with or deployment of such technologies.

However, lawmakers’ discussions of the proposal toed a line between fact and fiction, with several suggesting that solar geoengineering projects are already underway and others referring to fears and misunderstandings that appeared to stem from the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory.

Politics in Brief

Abortion rights: The Florida Supreme Court ruled to uphold a 15-week abortion ban in the state. The court also will allow a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion protections in the state Constitution to appear on the November ballot.

LGBTQ rights: On this day 50 years ago, Kathy Kozachenko became the first openly gay person elected into public office in the U.S. Here’s what she’s up to now and what she thinks about the current state of LGBTQ policies and rhetoric.

Drug use: Oregon Gov. Tina Koetk restored criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of hard drugs, reversed a first-in-the-nation law that came amid a deepening addiction and overdose crisis.

Senate investigation: The Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is investigating whether emergency room care has been harmed by the growing role of private-equity firms amid “significant concerns” about patient safety and care.

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Staff Pick: Women’s sports is finding unprecedented support

Trying to find a bar that plays women’s sports can be a sport in itself. But that challenge has a growing team of small-business owners trying to change the game. What if a bar only played women’s sports? Would people come? I visited a Minneapolis business to answer those questions. Capitalizing on a boom in viewership and talent, exemplified by the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, bars showcasing women’s sports are having a marquee moment – one that’s building into trend. — Emilie Ikeda, correspondent

Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Start off the month with savings on tech and entertainment, home and kitchen products and more. Here are the 52 best sales to shop this week.

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