Sens. Coons, Blunt Rochester deemed Murray unqualified

Murray also acknowledged that she could not have obtained the post by the process outlined in the U.S. Constitution, in which a president makes a formal nomination and U.S. Senate confirmation is required.

That’s because part of that process is a longstanding tradition that requires the nominee to receive so-called “blue slip” endorsements by their state’s two U.S. senators.

Delaware’s two U.S. senators, Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester, are Democrats who interviewed Murray for the post. Coons said the duo decided Murray, who has done criminal defense work, didn’t have the prosecutorial experience to qualify as the state’s chief federal law enforcement official.

Although Murray accused the senators of playing politics with her unconventional appointment, Coons and Blunt Rochester disagreed.

“Any suggestion of political partiality throughout this process is misleading and blatantly false, said Taj Magruder, a spokesman for Blunt Rochester.

Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that considers nominees before they are considered by the full Senate, told WHYY News last month that Murray’s acting status was “probably illegal.”

After Colm Connolly, Delaware’s chief federal judge, issued the order naming Wallace, Coons said he’s pleased the judges exercised their lawful “power to appoint a U.S. attorney in the absence of a presidential nomination.”

Coons said he’s also relieved that the transition occurred without the rancor seen in New Jersey and the Eastern District of Virginia.

In Virginia, former Trump insurance lawyer Lindsay Halligan was ruled ineligible by a federal judge in her district because Bondi named her interim boss after the 120-day period to do so under federal law had expired.

Perhaps more importantly, the indictments Halligan obtained days after taking office against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Latisha James were dismissed. Bondi has pledged to appeal but has not yet done so.

Though Habba resigned after the adverse ruling in New Jersey, Halligan remains in her post in Virginia.

Other end-around maneuvers by Trump and Bondi have been deemed unlawful in Nevada, New Mexico and California, but those three remain under appeal.

“I’m just glad that we’ve avoided that level of drama here and that in Ben Wallace, we’ve got a court-appointed U.S. attorney who can keep the office moving forward in a constructive way,” Coons said.

Besides handling major crimes, “the district of Delaware handles some of our country’s most important patent litigation, corporate litigation, bankruptcy litigation,” Coons said.

“So it’s important for Delawareans and our constituents that we have a well-managed, disciplined, appropriate respect for the rule of law in how the federal courts here are handled and how the U.S. attorney’s office is led. And I’m relieved that we seem to have a path forward here that is appropriate.”

Law prof says Judge Connolly ‘navigated it as best he could’

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who tracks appointments of U.S. attorneys and federal judges, praised Connolly, a Republican and former U.S. attorney for Delaware, for his deft handling of the potentially volatile situation.

“He navigated it as best he could. He didn’t provoke a confrontation,” Tobias said of Connolly, who Trump appointed as a judge during his first presidential term, with the Senate’s approval. “And he deserves a lot of credit for keeping the courts moving.”

Prior to Friday’s order, Connolly had publicly sought applications for the post, writing that “the court would only appoint a person the court deems qualified for the position.”

That clearly wasn’t Murray. In his previous order in November, Connolly wrote that judges had decided not to name anyone to the post after Murray’s interim status expired Nov. 12.

That prompted Bondi to name her “acting” U.S. attorney and led U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, himself a former Trump personal attorney, to publicly rebuke Connolly on social media.

The Delaware Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

20-24-46-59-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 3 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

Day: 7-1-2

Night: 0-1-8

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Winning Play 4 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

Day: 5-5-8-3

Night: 4-2-6-8

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Winning Multi-Win Lotto numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

10-21-22-24-26-33

Check Multi-Win Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

03-04-19-24-39, Lucky Ball: 11

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 5 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

Day: 6-6-3-8-7

Night: 8-7-0-5-4

Check Play 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

• Sign the Ticket: Establish legal ownership by signing the back of your ticket with an ink pen.
• Prizes up to $599: Claim at any Delaware Lottery Retailer, in person at the Delaware Lottery Office, or mail your signed ticket and claim form; print your name/address on the ticket’s back and keep a copy/photo for records. By mail, send original tickets and documentation to: Delaware Lottery, 1575 McKee Road, Suite 102, Dover, DE 19904.
• Prizes up to $2,500: Claim in person at Delaware Lottery Retailer Claim Centers throughout Kent, Sussex and New Castle Counties.
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Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Delaware Lottery.

Can I claim a jackpot prize anonymously in Delaware?

Fortunately for First State residents, the Delaware Lottery allows winners remain anonymous. Unlike many other states that require a prize be over a certain jackpot, Delawareans can remain anonymous no matter how much, or how little, they win.

How long do I have to claim my prize in Delaware?

Tickets are valid for up to one year past the drawing date for drawing game prizes or within one year of the announced end of sales for Instant Games, according to delottery.com.

When are the Delaware Lottery drawings held?

• Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
• Play 3, 4: Daily at 1:58 p.m. and 7:57 p.m., except Sunday afternoon.
• Multi-Win Lotto: 7:57 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
• Lucky for Life: Daily at 10:38 p.m.
• Lotto America: 11:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Delaware Online digital operations manager. You can send feedback using this form.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is traveling to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for a dignified transfer for the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert that is testing the rapprochement between Washington and Damascus.

The two guardsmen killed in the attack on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the U.S. Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. A U.S. civilian working as an interpreter was also killed.

The ritual at Dover Air Force Base honors U.S. service members killed in action and is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief.

During the process, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that carried them to Dover to an awaiting vehicle to transport them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.

Trump, a Republican, said during his first term that witnessing the dignified transfer of service members’ remains is “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

Remembered as ‘the best of Iowa’

The Iowa National Guard is remembering the two men as heroes. Howard’s stepfather, Jeffrey Bunn, said Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” noting that he had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy.

In a post on the Meskwaki Nation Police Department’s Facebook page, Bunn – who is chief of the Tama, Iowa, department – called Howard a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith” and said Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa.

Torres-Tovar was remembered as a “very positive” person who was family oriented and someone who always put others first, according to fellow guardsmen who were deployed with Torres-Tovar and issued a statement to the local TV broadcast station WOI.

“They were dedicated professionals and cherished members of our Guard family who represented the best of Iowa,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.

Trump stands by Syrian leader al-Sharaa

On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation.

Trump said Monday that he remained confident in the leadership of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad, whose family had an iron grip on Syrian rule for decades.

The U.S. president welcomed al-Sharaa to Washington last month for a historic visit to the White House and formally welcomed Syria as a member of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group. Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.

“This had nothing to do with him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “This had to do with ISIS.”

Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. As of Monday, two were in stable condition and the other in good condition. The Pentagon has not identified them.

Trump traveled to Dover several times during his first term to honor the fallen, including for a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.