News

Pausing the Carroll Judgment: What an Appeal Freezes and What It Does Not

In civics class, I used to tell my students that the law has two speeds: what the jury decides, and what the system can actually enforce. Those two speeds collide when a losing party asks for a “stay,” meaning a court-ordered pause, while an appeal continues. That is the moment we are in with...

New Jersey ruling draws a line on off-duty cannabis use for police

For many Americans, cannabis policy is no longer an abstract debate. It shows up in workplace handbooks, union negotiations, disciplinary hearings, and a simple but important question: what can an employer control once an employee clocks out ? A recent decision from the Superior Court of New...

DOJ vs. Colorado Magazine Ban

Colorado has limited ammunition magazines to 15 rounds since 2013. Now the U.S. Department of Justice is in court arguing that Colorado’s “large-capacity magazine” law is not just bad policy, but unconstitutional. That lawsuit tees up a question that sounds simple until you touch the...

Roberts, the Court, and the Politics We Pretend Not to See

Chief Justice John Roberts told a room of lawyers at a legal conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, that many Americans have the Supreme Court wrong. People, he said, see the justices as “political actors.” “I don’t think that is an accurate understanding of what we do,” Roberts added,...

11 Supreme Court Cases to Watch This Term

The Supreme Court’s term does not end with oral argument. It ends with consequences. The Court is now in the final stretch of its 2025–2026 term. Oral arguments are over and the merits docket is fully submitted. What remains is the work that actually settles the law: drafting, finalizing, and...

Gorsuch, “Hard Cases,” and Trust in the Supreme Court

When Americans say they have “lost trust” in the Supreme Court, they rarely mean they no longer trust the Court to decide . Of course it decides. Nine justices vote, opinions get published, and the country moves on, sometimes grudgingly. What people mean is something more constitutional and...

Trump Dangles GOP Support if Fetterman Switches Parties

Party labels are supposed to be shorthand, not shackles. But in a polarized moment, even small acts of independence can trigger a loyalty test. That is the backdrop to a remarkable offer now floating around Washington: President Donald Trump wants Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to switch...

Explosives-Filled Car Crashes Into Portland Club

A car “packed with explosives” was driven into the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, Oregon, and the driver was killed in the resulting explosion, officials said. Investigators believe the driver was a former employee who deliberately rammed the vehicle through the club. Those are the basic...

When Government Nudges Become Censorship

Most Americans know the First Amendment’s basic idea: the government generally cannot punish you for political speech. That statement comes with important, narrow exceptions, including limits on true threats, incitement, and certain time, place, and manner rules. It also depends on context....

Can Minnesota Democrats Pass a Gun Ban Through an Omnibus Bill?

Minnesota Democrats are advancing a broad firearms package in the form of a single omnibus bill, a structure that turns multiple contested policies into one up-or-down vote. The bill at the center of the debate is SF 4067 , formally titled the Omnibus Firearms Bill . The Minnesota Senate is...

Who Can Shut Down Telehealth Abortion Pills by Court Order?

It is hard to overstate what almost happened in the last few days: a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit accepted Louisiana’s request for an injunction that would have halted telehealth dispensing of mifepristone nationwide, even in states where abortion remains...

Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and onetime adviser to President Donald Trump, has been hospitalized and is in “critical but stable condition,” according to his spokesman. The statement came Sunday from spokesman Ted Goodman, who did not disclose what led to Giuliani’s...

House Passes Senate DHS Funding Bill After Johnson Reverses Course

After a 75-day funding lapse that left much of the Department of Homeland Security in a prolonged partial shutdown, the House voted Thursday to approve a Senate-passed spending measure that funds most DHS operations through September. The bill is expected to be signed swiftly by President Donald...

Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Map, Tightens Rules on Race in Redistricting

The Supreme Court handed down a major redistricting decision on April 29, 2026, striking down Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map and sending a clear message to states nationwide: using race as the leading factor in drawing district lines triggers the Constitution’s toughest test, and states...

Court Says the Second Amendment Covers Firearm Parts

Building a firearm at home used to sound like something only a dedicated hobbyist would attempt. Today, for many gun owners, it is closer to a practical form of customization, especially with modular platforms like the AR-15. That reality matters legally, because a federal appeals court has now...

Supreme Court Takes Up Bid to End TPS for Haitians and Syrians

The Supreme Court is stepping into a high-stakes dispute over Temporary Protected Status , a humanitarian immigration program that lets people live and work in the United States when returning to their home country is unsafe. At issue are Trump-era decisions aimed at ending TPS protections for...

Supreme Court Weighs Geofence Warrants

When the Fourth Amendment was ratified in 1791, the idea that a private company could quietly keep a minute-by-minute record of where millions of people go would have sounded like fantasy. Today, that kind of location history is routine. And the Supreme Court is now being asked a very practical...

Are Connected Cars Becoming Rolling Surveillance Devices?

For decades, your car mostly revealed what could be seen from the outside: where it was parked, whether it was speeding, maybe what was in plain view through a window. Today, many vehicles are something else entirely: networked computers with sensors, software, and cellular connections that can...

Your Car’s Data and the Fourth Amendment

For much of American history, the government often had to rely on physical surveillance, human sources, or scattered records to learn where you went. Today, your own vehicle may be quietly building a record instead. In Washington, lawmakers including Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Ed Markey have pressed...

The FCC’s News Distortion Trap

There is a specific kind of power in American government that does not look like censorship at first glance. It does not confiscate printing presses. It does not ban a book. It does not even need to win a defamation case in court. It simply reminds a speaker: your permission to operate can be...