Will Religion’s Remarkable Winning Streak at the Supreme Court Continue?

Will Religion’s Remarkable Winning Streak at the Supreme Court Continue?

It has been almost three years since the Supreme Court last heard arguments in a case that turned on one of the religion clauses of the First Amendment, a curious lull in what had been a signature project for the court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.: to bolster the place of faith … Read more

Utah Bans Most Flags, Including Pride, at Schools and Government Buildings

Utah Bans Most Flags, Including Pride, at Schools and Government Buildings

The Utah State Legislature approved a measure that bans the display of all but approved flags in schools and government buildings, a divisive move that civil rights groups have said will undermine free expression for L.G.B.T.Q. people and their supporters. The measure, which became law on Thursday, allows only flags explicitly exempt from the ban … Read more

Trump Deportation Fight Reaches Supreme Court

Trump Deportation Fight Reaches Supreme Court

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow it to use a rarely invoked wartime law to continue to deport Venezuelans with little to no due process. The emergency application arrived at the court after a federal appeals court kept in place a temporary block on the deportations. In its application to … Read more

Top Senate Republican Protests Trump Bid to Withhold Spending

Top Senate Republican Protests Trump Bid to Withhold Spending

A top Senate Republican on Thursday accused President Trump of illegally refusing to spend $2.9 billion approved by Congress, teaming with Democrats in an early salvo in the simmering struggle between Congress and the White House over which has the ultimate power over federal spending. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and the chairwoman of … Read more

E.P.A. Offers a Way to Avoid Clean-Air Rules: Send an Email

E.P.A. Offers a Way to Avoid Clean-Air Rules: Send an Email

Last year, the Biden administration required coal- and oil-burning power plants to greatly reduce emissions of toxic chemicals including mercury, which can harm babies’ brains and cause heart disease in adults. Now, the Trump administration is offering companies an extraordinary out: Send an email, and they might be given permission by President Trump to bypass … Read more

Trump Is Trying to Gain More Power Over Elections. Is His Effort Legal?

Trump Is Trying to Gain More Power Over Elections. Is His Effort Legal?

President Trump pushed on Tuesday to hand the executive branch unprecedented influence over how federal elections are run, signing a far-reaching and legally dubious order to change U.S. voting rules. The executive order, which seeks to require proof of citizenship to register to vote as well as the return of all mail ballots by Election … Read more

Appeals Court Maintains Block on Trump’s Deportation Flights Under Wartime Power

Appeals Court Maintains Block on Trump’s Deportation Flights Under Wartime Power

A federal appeals court in Washington on Wednesday kept in place, for now, a block on the Trump administration’s use of a rarely invoked wartime statute to summarily deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being members of a violent street gang. By a 2-to-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District … Read more

Why Elon Musk and Tesla Have a Legal Bone to Pick With Wisconsin

Why Elon Musk and Tesla Have a Legal Bone to Pick With Wisconsin

Elon Musk is far and away the biggest spender in this year’s race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, throwing his fortune behind a conservative candidate aiming to topple the court’s 4-to-3 liberal majority. The deluge of cash — $20 million and counting from Mr. Musk and groups tied to him — comes as his electric … Read more

J. Bennett Johnston, Who Shaped U.S. Energy Policy, Dies at 92

J. Bennett Johnston, Who Shaped U.S. Energy Policy, Dies at 92

J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a Louisiana Democrat and four-term United States senator who helped shape America’s energy and science policies in an era of rising concerns over the perils of nuclear power and the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, died in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his son … Read more

How a South Texas Court System Is Failing Poor Defendants

How a South Texas Court System Is Failing Poor Defendants

Fernando Padron was stuck in a South Texas jail cell. Accused of stealing credit cards that he used to buy diapers, a bike and other goods for his family, he had not been brought into court or spoken to a lawyer. He did not hear anything about his case for nine months. Finally, in March … Read more