The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to pause his investigation into alleged fraud in last year’s special election.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

“To permit further consideration of this petition for review, real parties, their agents, employees, and anyone acting on their behalf are hereby ordered to pause the investigation into the November 2025 special election and preserve all seized items,” the court wrote, while agreeing to review the case itself.

Bianco, a Republican who is running for governor in California, seized more than 650,000 ballots from election officials last month, saying he was investigating potential fraud in the special election.

The sheriff said at the time that a group of citizens said they believed they’d found irregularities after they conducted their own “audit” of the results in Riverside County.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, celebrated the court’s ruling.

“The Riverside County Sheriff willfully defied my direct orders, seized 650,000 ballots, misused criminal investigatory tools, and created a constitutional emergency in the process,” Bonta said in a statement.

“Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue Sheriff, prohibiting him from continuing this investigation while our litigation continues,” he said.

Riverside County considered one ballot question in the November special election: whether to approve a new Democratic-drawn congressional map. Voters statewide and in the county ultimately passed the measure, putting Democrats in position to gain up to five House seats in this year’s midterm elections.

A coalition of media outlets, including NBCUniversal, have filed in the court to unseal the warrant that lead to the seizure of the ballots. The court asked the parties to offer any opposition to the motion this week.

Bianco’s investigation comes as President Donald Trump continues to make false claims that he won the 2020 election and as federal prosecutors continue to investigate alleged irregularities in that race. Earlier this year, the FBI seized hundreds of boxes of Fulton County, Georgia, ballots from the 2020 election. That warrant was based on activists’ research, which experts said was broadly rooted in misunderstandings and inaccurate conclusions.

Bianco’s gubernatorial campaign was dealt a setback this week when Trump endorsed former Fox News host Steve Hilton, the other leading Republican in the crowded race. All candidates regardless of party appear on the same ballot in California, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election.

The U.S. and Iran reached a ceasefire deal on Tuesday, less than two hours before the deadline President Trump imposed for Iran to meet his demands or else face wide-scale destruction.

As part of the agreement, set to take effect immediately, Trump said the U.S. and Israel would suspend bombing Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran following through on its commitment to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for safe passage during the ceasefire period, a strategic waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil supplies passes.

Oil prices plunged and stocks surged at the announcement of a pause in fighting, with Brent crude oil dropping to $94.74, or by over 13 %.

In the early hours of the ceasefire, Israel disputed that the deal included a pause of its attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The negotiations — facilitated by Pakistan — mark a breathtaking comedown from Trump’s pledge made early Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if a deal could not be reached by 8 p.m. ET to open the strait.

In announcing the deal, Trump wrote on his social media platform: “This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”

Trump added that Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan that includes what he described as “points of past contention,” which “have been agreed to between the United States and Iran.” The extra time, he said, will allow the agreement to be finalized.

Protesters in opposition to the war with Iran gather outside of Lafayette Park across from the White House on April 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Andrew Leyden/Getty Images North America

Advertisement

hide caption

toggle caption

Andrew Leyden/Getty Images North America

Advertisement

Iran’s plan, as published by the Iranian Mehr news agency, consists of a set of conditions that Iran claims the U.S. administration has accepted. They include Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of its nuclear enrichment, the withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of all sanctions and U.N. resolutions against Iran, compensation of damages to Iran as well as cessation of war in all fronts, including in Lebanon.

NPR is working to independently verify if the plan provided to the U.S. administration is the same as the one published by Iranian state-controlled media.

The Iranian proposal was delivered to the United States via Pakistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said the ceasefire will take effect immediately, and includes “Lebanon and elsewhere.” The prime minister will remain at the forefront of negotiations in the coming week. He has invited delegations from the U.S. and Iran to “settle all disputes” in continued diplomatic talks in Islamabad on Friday.

A vendor displays morning newspapers at his roadside stall in Islamabad on April 8, 2026. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on April 8 that the United States, Iran and their allies had agreed to a ceasefire “everywhere”, including Lebanon, following mediation by his government to stop weeks of fighting.

Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images

Advertisement

hide caption

toggle caption

Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images

Advertisement

Here are more updates from the region today:

Iran reaction | Dispute over Hezbollah | Shelly Kittleson freed

Iranian leaders hail ceasefire as victory

Iranian leaders are also touting the ceasefire as a victory, noting that the “criminal U.S.” has agreed to “the general framework” of Iran’s 10-point proposal.

“Good news to the dear nation of Iran! Nearly all the objectives of the war have been achieved,” the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.

Iran officials warned that any deviation from the agreement could lead to future violence.

“Our hands are on the trigger, and the moment the enemy makes the slightest mistake, it will be met with full force,” the Supreme National Security Council said.

Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif for his role in the negotiations.

“If attacks against Iran are halted our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” Araghchi said in a statement. He added: “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”

Israel disputes ceasefire over Hezbollah in Lebanon

Just hours after the pause in violence was announced there appeared to be disagreement over who would be granted a reprieve from the strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Wednesday morning that it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that the ceasefire doesn’t include Lebanon, despite Pakistan’s prime minister saying otherwise.

It’s unclear where negotiations stand regarding Iran’s position that it can continue its enrichment of uranium. In his statement, Netanyahu said Israel “supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat.

“Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability,” Sharif wrote in a post on X, and expressed optimism that the Islamabad talks would result in sustainable peace.

A man flashes the V-sign while driving a vehicle loaded with belongings through the al-Qassimyah area en route to southern Lebanon early on April 8, 2026, after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Israel renewed its strikes on southern Lebanon on April 8, state media reported, as the Israeli prime minister insisted the Iran war truce does not include Lebanon.

Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images

Prior to the ceasefire agreement, Trump had threatened to destroy bridges, power plants and water treatment facilities; moves that would have imperiled the entire population of Iran.

His comments drew a rebuke from Pope Leo XIV, who called Trump’s threat to destroy Iran “truly unacceptable.”

He called on people to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to press for dialogue.

“We have a worldwide economic crisis, an energy crisis, situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world,” he said.

“Come back to the table – let’s talk, let’s look for solutions in a peaceful way,” he added.

Wide-scale destruction of infrastructure, without any distinction between civilian and military targets, would be considered a war crime under international and U.S. law, legal experts tell NPR.

American journalist Kittleson is freed

Freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released a week after she was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Iraqi militant group.

“We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement on X on Tuesday evening.

Kittleson, 49, has spent over a decade covering the Middle East, according to Columbia Journalism Review. She was captured by the militia group on March 31, in broad daylight on a Baghdad street corner. Her release was a multi-agency effort, according to Rubio.

U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 30.

AP

hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

AP

“The U.S. Department of State extends its appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of War, U.S. personnel across multiple agencies, and the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and our Iraqi partners, for their assistance in securing her release,” Rubio said.

He added: “Under President Trump, the wrongful detention or kidnapping of U.S. nationals will not be tolerated. We will continue to use every tool to bring Americans home and to hold accountable those responsible.”

Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s most powerful Shia paramilitaries, announced earlier on Tuesday that it was releasing Kittleson in appreciation of “the patriotic positions” of Iraq’s prime minister, who helped negotiate her release. It said she had to leave the country immediately.

The group in Iraq is not related to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It’s part of a coalition of Iran-backed militias that have been attacking U.S. military and government targets in Iraq. The U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes in response.

When Kittleson was kidnapped last week, the U.S. State Department said it had warned her of threats against her beforehand, and that it was working with the FBI to secure her release. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has said all American citizens should leave Iraq because of attacks.

Washington, DC — 

During his first news conference Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche showcased his loyalty to President Donald Trump while declining to answer specific questions about the war with Iran, why Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired or other investigations into the president’s enemies.

“I love working for President Trump. It’s the greatest honor of a lifetime,” Blanche said when asked whether he wanted to be nominated as the full-time attorney general. “If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say: ‘Thank you very much, I love you, sir.’”

When asked why Bondi was fired and how the DOJ will change, Blanche was dismissive.

“I’m going to lead the way that I’ve been leading as the deputy attorney general,” said Blanche, a former Trump defense attorney.

“Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general and I’m the acting attorney general except for President Trump,” Blanche added.

Beyond her failure to successfully bring cases against Trump’s personal and political enemies, Bondi’s standing was harmed her drastic and self-inflicted stumbles in handling the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

When asked about Bondi’s outstanding House Oversight Committee subpoena over the botched handling of the Epstein investigation, Blanche said he would said he would leave the matter “to Chairman (James) Comer and others to figure out.”

Blanche said he didn’t know whether the Justice Department would assert privilege in the matter in an effort to stop the subpoena.

“I’m not committing to anything,” he said. “I’m just saying I don’t know.”

Backs the White House and Pentagon on Iran

Blanche, in a news conference meant to focus on efforts to investigate and prosecute fraud in the US, decline to answer a question on the Justice Department’s position on preemptivearguments that Trump might be committing war crimes if he follows through with, as he said Tuesday, killing “a whole civilization” Tuesday night in Iran, barring a deal.

The interim DOJ head said the Justice Department supports the White House and Department of Defense and provides “counsel to them, and we have been doing that, as you would expect.”

CNN also pressed Blanche on what, if any, investigative steps have been taken after Trump threatened to jail an unspecified reporter as part of a hunt for the “leaker” behind initial reports Friday of the missing Air Force officers in Iran.

Two officers went missing after their US fighter jet was downed in Iran. Both have since been rescued.

While first saying he wouldn’t comment on ongoing investigations, Blanche noted that “we will always investigate” leaks involving classified information, especially those that put US soldiers at risk.

“And we will investigate if it means sending a subpoena to the reporter,” Blanche said. “That’s exactly what we should do, and that’s exactly what we will be doing.”

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.