The Justice Department moved to fire the new U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York on Feb. 11, the same day that federal judges unveiled his appointment to replace a prosecutor allied with President Donald Trump's administration. Trump has drawn criticism from rights and political experts for what they call his administration's targeting of political opponents in efforts that have faced legal challenges and protests. In a ceremony on Feb. 11, the Northern District of New York Board of Judges appointed Donald Kinsella to replace John Sarcone, who had been serving on an acting basis and was disqualified by a court. "You are fired, Donald Kinsella," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X. "Judges don't pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does." Kinsella, who could not immediately be reached for comment, has decades of experience in criminal and civil litigation and was previously an assistant U.S. attorney and the criminal chief of the Justice Department. Last month a federal judge ruled that Sarcone was unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in the state's capital of Albany, and blocked his involvement in an investigation of state Attorney General Letitia James. On Feb. 11, the department's website showed him listed as the "first assistant U.S. attorney". The DOJ used a series of procedural maneuvers to retain Sarcone as acting U.S. attorney for the northern district after a federal court declined to extend his 120-day interim appointment. Those moves were found to be unlawful in court, similar to other court rulings that rejected appointments in California, Nevada and New Jersey. The Trump administration has particularly targeted James, an elected Democrat and one of the Republican president's top political antagonists, who has said investigations against her are payback for suing Trump's family business.

A grand jury has rejected an attempt by the Justice Department of President Donald Trump's administration to indict some Democratic U.S. lawmakers after they urged members of the military not to comply with unlawful orders, a source familiar with the matter said late on Feb. 10. Late last year, Trump, a Republican, assailed the Democratic lawmakers who told members of the U.S. military in a video that they must refuse any illegal orders. Trump called them traitors who could face execution. The six Democratic lawmakers in the video included Senator Elise Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy veteran, as well as U.S. Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan. Prosecutors sought to charge the lawmakers with violating a federal law barring interference with the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the U.S. armed forces, the source said, asking not to be identified. The indictment was pursued by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro. The grand jury decision was reported earlier by NBC News and the New York Times. The Democrats criticized the attempt to indict them. "Today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro attempted to persuade a Grand Jury to indict me. This was in response to me organizing a 90-second video that simply quoted the law," Slotkin said on social media website X. "Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed," she said. The U.S. Justice Department had no immediate comment. "This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies. It wasn't enough for (Pentagon chief) Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn't like," Kelly said in his own statement on X. Deluzio also said on X he "will not be intimidated for a single second by the Trump Administration or Justice Department lawyers who tried and failed to indict me today." Representative Crow expressed similar sentiments. The video from the Democratic lawmakers came during criticism of Trump's decisions to deploy the National Guard in U.S. cities and authorize lethal strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs from Latin America. Trump has faced criticism from rights experts over what they categorize as his administration's targeting of political opponents and deployment of federal agents and National Guard troops in cities governed by Democrats. Trump's attempts have faced legal challenges and street protests.

Novo Nordisk sued Hims and Hers Health on Feb. 9 over patent infringement after the U.S. telehealth firm launched, then cancelled, a $49 copy of Novo's weight-loss pill Wegovy following a swift backlash from U.S. authorities. Novo's shares rose 5 percent, while Hims sank 20 percent. Shares of Novo and rival Eli Lilly had tumbled last week after Hims introduced the cut-price pill, which had looked set to erode Novo's takings and jeopardize its shift towards a cash-pay consumer market. The lawsuit, which covers Novo's weight-loss drug in pill and injectable forms, highlights the friction between obesity drugmakers and companies selling copies based on the same active ingredients, harming the earnings of the original drug manufacturers. "There is now a growing chorus of parties that have said, 'Enough is enough on the compounding situation in the United States,'" Novo Nordisk's general counsel, John Kuckelman, told Reuters, adding that Hims' pill launch was a "tipping point." The lawsuit, Hims said, was a "blatant attack" by Novo on "millions of Americans who rely on compounded medications for access to personalized care." "Once again, Big Pharma is weaponizing the U.S. judicial system to limit consumer choice," it said. 'WAR ON GLP-1 COMPOUNDERS IN GENERAL' Analysts said the lawsuit and the unusually rapid U.S. Food and Drug Administration response could mark a broader crackdown on compounded GLP-1s, potentially easing competition on the big manufacturers' patented weight-loss treatments. "They are not only declaring war on Hims & Hers' Wegovy pill, but GLP-1 (compounders) in general," said Sydbank analyst Soren Lontoft Hansen. Novo said it was "asking the court to permanently ban Hims from selling unapproved, compounded drugs that infringe our patents, and is seeking to recover damages." U.S. regulations allowed rival versions to enter the market when Novo's and Lilly's drugs were in shortage. They then remained on the market after the shortages ended as the compounding industry leaned on U.S. law allowing them to mix and sell ingredients in medicines that are personalized such as in different doses than the branded version. The lawsuit marks a shift in the Danish pharmaceutical giant's legal strategy against compounding pharmacies. Novo has sued several compounders for allegedly selling unsafe, falsely advertised Wegovy "knockoffs" that violate its trademark rights, but the Hims lawsuit is its first U.S. patent case against a compounder. “At minimum, Novo probably hopes this patent filing creates a deterrent effect against Hims and other compounders thinking about offering semaglutide products, while also giving Novo a shot at money damages for past and ongoing sales of those products,” said Gaston Kroub, a partner at intellectual property law firm K2K IP Law. NOVO, LILLY STRUCK PRICING DEALS WITH TRUMP The FDA said on Feb. 6 it would restrict GLP-1 ingredients used in compounded drugs. Hims, whose pill was based on semaglutide - the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Ozempic - said on Feb. 7 it would stop offering the treatment. The injectable version remains on its website and the company did not respond when asked if it would stop making them. Novo and Lilly struck high-profile pricing deals with U.S. President Donald Trump last year and their weight-loss drugs are prominent on the new TrumpRx discounted-drugs website. "I think the FDA made it quite clear that they would not tolerate a compounded Wegovy pill. This was an attack on the authority of the FDA," said Markus Manns at Novo and Lilly shareholder Union Investment. Lilly's shares were off less than 1 percent. RARE VICTORY FOR NOVO AS IT FIGHTS COMPOUNDED DRUGS Novo Nordisk's market value is down nearly 50 percent over the past year. Its stock sank 17 percent in a day last week after it flagged "unprecedented price pressure." Despite pioneering the obesity drug market, the recent setbacks show how quickly Novo's dominance has eroded. And with Eli Lilly's oral GLP-1 pill orforglipron expected to receive FDA approval in April, competition is set to intensify. In the key U.S. market, the obesity drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Lilly are driving a shift to a consumer-focused market in which drugmakers are looking toward cash-pay channels and telehealth to reach tens of millions of Americans.