Also, a federal judge has said she'll order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.

Here's the latest:

US shoppers increased their buying last month

It's fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items from gadgets to cars before Trump's expansive new tariffs started kicking in.

Retail sales rose 1.4% in March, after rising 0.2% in February, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales fell 1.2% in January, hurt in part by cold weather that kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car dealers and most other stores.

Excluding sales at auto dealers, sales only rose 0.5%.

Sales at auto dealers rose 5.3%, while electronics retailers had a 0.8% increase. Sporting goods retailers enjoyed a 2.4% gain.

But analysts expect sales will start falling off as the slew of tariffs increase costs for companies and many retailers are forced to raise prices, hurting shopper demand.

? Read more about U.S. retail sales

Trump administration sues Maine over participation of transgender athletes in girls sports

The administration announced the lawsuit Wednesday against Maine's education department for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex.

The lawsuit follows weeks of feuding between the Republican administration and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills that's led to threats to cut off crucial federal funding and a clash at the White House when she told the president: "We'll see you in court."

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the legal action at a news conference in Washington alongside former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has emerged as a public face of the opposition to transgender athletes.

? Read more about the lawsuit over transgender athletes

Rubio and Witkoff will travel to Paris for talks on the war in Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Paris this week for talks with European allies on U.S. efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The State Department said Wednesday that Rubio and Witkoff would be in the French capital Thursday for the meetings, details of which weren't immediately available.

The pair will have "talks with European counterparts to advance President Trump's goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed."

Rubio will also "discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces lawsuit over Trump tariffs

Newsom is challenging Trump's authority to impose a 10% tariff on all imports.

The state, which will file the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, will ask the court to immediately block the tariffs.

Newsom said the tariffs "are wreaking chaos" on Californians and threatening jobs in the state, which has the largest economy in the nation.

"We're standing up for American families who can't afford to let the chaos continue," he said.

The Democratic governor previously asked countries to exempt California exports from retaliatory tariffs.

Trump says Japanese officials coming to White House to negotiate over tariffs and other issues

Trump said in a morning post on his social media platform that he'll attend the Wednesday meeting alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!" the president wrote.

Trump's announcement last week of a 90-day pause on the latest series of duties put Japan's 24% across-the-board rate on hold, but a 10% baseline tariff and a 25% tariff on cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. remain in place.

Japan's chief trade negotiator, Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, was traveling to Washington for the talks.

Harvard's challenge to Trump administration could test limits of government power

On Monday, Harvard became the first university to openly defy the Trump administration as it demands sweeping changes to limit activism on campus. The university frames the government's demands as a threat not only to the Ivy League school but to the autonomy that the Supreme Court has long granted American universities.

Both sides are digging in for a clash that could test the limits of the government's power and the independence that has made U.S. universities a destination for scholars around the world.

But no university is better positioned to put up a fight than Harvard, whose $53 billion endowment is the largest in the nation. But like other major universities, Harvard also depends on the federal funding that fuels its scientific and medical research. It's unclear how long Harvard could continue without the frozen money.

For the Trump administration, Harvard presents the first major hurdle in its attempt to force change at universities that Republicans say have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.

? Read more about the clash between Harvard and the Trump administration

Trump says he wants to give money and airplane tickets to immigrants who 'self-deport'

Trump said he wants to give money and an airplane ticket to any immigrant who is in the country illegally who chooses to "self-deport," and work to get those who are "good" back in the U.S., a break from his usual hardline immigration rhetoric.

Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to carry out mass deportations, said in a taped interview with Fox Noticias that aired Tuesday that his administration is focused right now on getting "murderers" out of the country. But for others in the U.S. illegally, he said, he's going to implement "a self-deportation program."

Trump offered few details about the plan, including timing, but said the U.S. would provide immigrants airfare and a stipend.

"We're going to give them a stipend. We're going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we're going to work with them -- if they're good -- if we want them back in, we're going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can," Trump said.

? Read more about Trump's comments on "self-deportation"

US judge presses Trump administration on its refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia. She said they defied a "clear" Supreme Court order.

She also downplayed Monday's comments by White House officials and El Salvador's president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia, describing their statements as "two very misguided ships passing in the night."

"The Supreme Court has spoken," Xinis said, adding that what was said in the Oval Office on Monday "is not before the court."

In her written order published Tuesday evening, Xinis called for the testimony of four Trump administration officials who work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department.

? Read more about Judge Xinis's comments