SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " supreme " 1,586 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Supreme Court justices explain increased use of shadow docket
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday
Supreme Court justices making rare appearance on Capitol Hill
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan are testifying before the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Latest: Supreme Court justices set to testify in rare appearance before Congress
The U.S. and Iran are once again on the verge of all-out war
Justices Kagan, Barrett to testify on need for additional security funding
As of July 1, there were 370 threats made against federal judges in Fiscal Year 2026, which ends on September 30
Justices Kagan, Barrett to testify on need for additional security funding
As of July 1, there were 370 threats made against federal judges in Fiscal Year 2026, which ends on September 30
Tariff refunds accelerated sharply in June as the US paid out almost $50 billion to businesses
The US sent out $49.1 billion in tariff refunds in June as the checks to businesses accelerated in the second full month of payouts after the US Supreme Court invalidated President Trump's blanket tariffs.
Pesticide makers stack wins against US environmental, public health groups
The U.S. Supreme Court handed a major legal victory to German agrichemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer last month when it reined in thousands of lawsuits accusing the German company of failing to warn users that glyphosate, the active ingredient in its Roundup weedkiller, causes cancer.
Party Machines Weren’t So Bad After All
By empowering political parties, the Supreme Court has delivered a win for American democracy.
Viewpoint: SCOTUS strikes a blow against junk science in Bayer glyphosate case. Will it deter mass tort litigators?
Mass tort litigation grows like weeds. Last week, the Supreme Court created the ultimate lawsuit-killer by rejecting state court claims that conflict with
KS Supreme Court amendment would reintroduce politics to the bench
Justices haven't been elected since the 1950's
Other voices: The Fed’s independence is unfinished business
“The evidence is overwhelming that central bank independence in the conduct of monetary policy is indispensable — so overwhelming, in fact, that few politicians any longer challenge the idea.”
In the South, Black Democrats Fight for Political Survival
In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling, Alabama and other states have new freedom to draw congressional maps without having to carve out majority-minority seats.
Trump threatens Iran after open calls for the U.S. leader's assassination
President Donald Trump made the threat on Truth Social, responding to Iranian threats against him.
What's next in the battle to 'save women's sports' after SCOTUS ruling — and the hidden damage driving it
Women's sports activists warn of sexual abuse risks in the states that let males compete in girls' sports after SCOTUS ruling.
Transgender girls who challenged Trump sports order drop lawsuit after Supreme Court ruling
Two transgender girls who were the first to challenge President Donald Trump's executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,” have withdrawn their lawsuit in New Hampshire based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in related cases and their own personal hardships.
What Supreme Court ruling means for transgender athletes in Wisconsin
The Supreme Court ruled that state governments have the authority to ban transgender athletes from female sports.
Teens Drop Lawsuit Against Trump's Trans Sports Order After Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court last month upheld state bans on transgender girls in school sports.
Oklahoma political parties must alter future reporting of expenditures to candidates
Political parties should begin adjusting how they report expenditures to Oklahoma candidates in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision removing caps on certain expenses, the head of the state ethics commission said.
Maine Supreme Court affirms Bellow’s decision to invalidate trans sports ballot question
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court Friday affirmed the Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to remove a question about transgender sports from the ballot this November because its campaign committee did not collect enough valid signatures. The group, called “Protect Girls Sports,” initially submitted enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, proposing an […]
MAGA's attack on science is even worse than it looks
In my post on America’s 250-year anniversary, I argued that respect for the individual was the “secret sauce” in the U.S.’ long-lasting preeminence among nations. But it was certainly not the only factor. There were plenty of institutional innovations that helped the U.S. stay on top — economically, militarily, and in terms of the attractiveness of its society. One of these was American science. Today we take things like the modern research university, government grants for science, public-to-private research spinoffs, etc. for granted, but a lot of that infrastructure wasn’t there before World War 2. It was either invented or scaled up massively by the U.S. government in the postwar period, led by far-sighted scientist-bureaucrats like Vannevar Bush (pictured above). If you want to read about this history, a good place to start would be Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson’s excellent book Jump-Starting America. Those scientific institutions didn’t exist in a vacuum, however. They were backed by the U.S. government’s abiding faith in the power of science — and, even more fundamentally, by deep popular trust in the scientific enterprise. Science gave us radar and the atom bomb in wartime, and in peacetime it gave us plastics, vaccines, cheap food, and a thousand other things that made our lives easier. Science was also the driver behind American industry — chemicals, aerospace, telecommunications, computers, electronics, and so on. We owed science our jobs, our livelihoods, our comfortable living standards, and our greatness and power as a nation. It’s little wonder that both political parties, even as they fought viciously over other issues, were steadfast in their support of science. For a long time, the only people who distrusted science were a hippie fringe on the left who disliked modernity (or thought they did, anyway), who also disliked American industry and American power, and who subscribed to an early version of degrowth environmentalism. America’s scientific enterprise is still strong, especially compared to the systems in Europe, Japan, Korea, and other developed countries. It has lost a lot of ground to China in a relative sense, but a lot of that is because of China’s incredible growth; as China has poured untold amounts of money and talent into its research labs, spending and output have overtaken the U.S. by some measures. There are a few ways in which China’s rise creates problems for American science — for example, top scientists can choose to work in China instead of in the U.S. — and of course there’s the concern that China’s technological strength will help its military to reign supreme. But overall, China’s rise in science should be good for American science, since American scientists can use Chinese discoveries for free and build on them. The much bigger problem is that the scientific enterprise America built during and after World War 2 is now being threatened with absolute decline. The biggest problem, of course, is that much of the country — the Republican half — has basically lost faith in the scientific enterprise. To what degree this loss of faith is justified is an open question, and deserves to be discussed openly. But the larger point — that the system that powered American dominance is under threat — is true either way. Most Americans still trust science, but MAGA Republicans don’t There’s a myth, popular in right-wing circles, that scientists have lost the trust of regular Americans — either due to the increasingly left-wing composition of academic departments, or to misbehavior during Covid, or to DEI-related research taking over science, etc. This also fits with a wider narrative that Americans are losing trust in all of our institutions. But it just isn’t true. Poll after poll shows that on the whole, Americans still trust scientists and want to spend more on science. For example, here’s a Pew poll from late 2025 showing that although about a fifth of Republicans did lose confidence in science in 2020, two thirds still have at least “a fair amount” of confidence: That same poll found that scientists are among America’s most trusted groups — even better trusted than the military! In fact, Americans trust scientists more than people in most other countries do. Other polls show that although Republican trust in science has dropped somewhat, Republican support for spending more on science remains very strong: A Pew poll in 2023 found the exact same thing: So when MAGA types tell you about scientists losing their credibility, or a drop in trust in science, they’re only talking about themselves. Whatever left-wing politicization of science happened during the Biden administration — and there was definitely some of that — it was not enough to make most Republicans lose faith in the scientific enterprise, or favor research cuts in order to purge unwanted ideology from the system. That doesn’t mean I think progressives should continue down the path of politicizing scientific research. They should not, and Biden made real missteps in this area. Objectivity clearly matters for public trust of science in the long term. But as of right now, there’s no crisis of trust in science, except among the smallish minority of people who are running around screaming that there’s a crisis of trust in science. But despite science’s overwhelming popularity and public trust, Trump and his administration are launching an unprecedented and devastating attack on American science — cutting funding, and forcing science projects to undergo ideological review by government commissars. Trump’s comprehensive attack on science
Transgender girls drop lawsuit against Trump's sports order after Supreme Court ruling
Two transgender girls who were the first to challenge President Donald Trump's executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,” have withdrawn their lawsuit in New Hampshire based on a recent U.S.
Trump ousts election commission members
It comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards
What's next for immigrants with TPS status after Supreme Court ruling?
The legal status of nearly 1.3 million immigrants facing war or environmental disasters in their home countries is up in the air following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled last month that the Homeland Security secretary’s decision to grant, extend or terminate a country’s TPS designation, which lets people from eligible countries legally live and work in the U.S. for periods
NJ's top court says defendant can seek sex assault victim's mental health records
The state Supreme Court said a judge can privately look at mental health records, reversing a lower court that previously denied it.
Trans athletes drop lawsuit to gain access to girls' sports in New Hampshire after SCOTUS ruling
Trans athletes Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle dismissed their lawsuit challenging the state law after the Supreme Court's landmark Title IX ruling.
Trump to ask Supreme Court to rehear birthright citizenship case after 'insane decision'
Trump says he will immediately ask the Supreme Court for a rehearing on its 6-3 birthright citizenship ruling, calling the decision "absolutely insane."
Trump to seek Supreme Court rehearing on birthright citizenship
President Donald Trump said he would ask the Supreme Court to rehear a case over birthright citizenship, a longshot bid to undo a ruling that went against his administration.
Transgender student athletes end legal fight over N.H.’s girls’ sports law after recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling
Student athletes withdraw lawsuit against New Hampshire law barring transgender girls from participating in girls' school sports after Supreme Court ruling.
Supreme Court ruling likely means more political ads in Ohio
Thanks to the new U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down limits on campaign finance restrictions, even more political ads will likely be flooding the airwaves ahead of the November election.
The Politics of Ayatollah Khamenei’s Funeral
Under the shadow of a fragile ceasefire, Iran transforms the funeral of its slain Supreme Leader into a display of defiance, resilience, and continuity.
Reflecting on the World Cup's complex colonial politics
The Haitian team's heroic efforts were followed by news that the U.S. Supreme Court has greenlighted the end of Temporary Protected Status.
The Supreme Court just handed the political parties their best day in a generation
The Supreme Court’s decision in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC has strengthened the political parties, allowing them to spend without limit in direct coordination with their …
'We need to get money out of our politics' says U.S. Rep Eric Sorensen
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen criticized a Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their candidates.
'We need to get money out of our politics' says U.S. Rep Eric Sorensen
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen criticized a Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their candidates.
After Supreme Court Ruling, CT Republicans Renew Push For Ban On Transgender Athletes In School Sports
Legislative Republicans are preparing for another attempt to ban transgender athletes from girls sports in Connecticut, this time with the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last week that states could regulate gender identity in sports and could ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports.
Supreme Court justices Kagan and Barrett to testify on Capitol Hill
Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan are scheduled to testify before Congress next week as lawmakers consider the judiciary’s funding request. Barrett and Kagan are slated to appear before the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on Tuesday, July 14, according to the House committee schedule. They will also testify […]
Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to release voter records sought by conservative activist
The case has been wending its way through the courts for years and stems from attempts by conservatives to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Wisconsin over President Donald Trump in 2020.
Companies Brace for Fresh Political Uncertainty at U.S. Agencies
A Supreme Court ruling that presidents can fire independent regulators without cause has added volatility for industries that prefer stable enforcement.
Companies Brace for Fresh Political Uncertainty at U.S. Agencies
A Supreme Court ruling that presidents can fire independent regulators without cause has added volatility for industries that prefer stable enforcement.
Who is in charge of Iran?
Various factions look to exploit the political vacuum left by new supreme leader’s enforced absence
It's possible to end corporate influence in politics
More than 15 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court removed limits on corporate political spending in its notorious Citizens United decision, ushering in an era of unprecedented influence by moneyed interests. As a result, a small group of ultrawealthy donors have skewed the political system to their advantage — and today, social scientists link the […]
How Political Is This Supreme Court?
Legal commentator Elie Honig thinks that the Trump-appointed Justices are getting unfair criticism.
SCOTUS won't block Texas from enforcing age verification law for app downloads
Plaintiffs' lawyers argued that the law impermissibly seeks to limit access to content protected by the First Amendment.
Money in politics, part 94
The US Supreme Court handed down a potentially transformative judgment on campaign finance last week
Supreme Court ruling may wipe out Democrats' cash advantage in Senate battlegrounds
The GOP and Democratic national committees, others can now spend unlimited funds from their big donors in coordination with political campaigns.
NCAA president expects no changes to trans athlete rules after US supreme court ruling
Collegiate sports organization led by Charlie Baker banned trans athletes from women’s sports after 2025 Trump order
The Supreme Court gave political parties their power back
A little-noticed Supreme Court decision could reshape how elections are funded ‒ and it's a win for democracy, not just donors.
Politics Unplugged (Full Episode) July 5, 2026
State Senator Analise Ortiz discusses No Safe Seats, an effort to raise money for progressive Democrats who are challenging establishment Democrats in the state. Plus, former Democratic lawmaker Reginald Bolding and Republican businesswoman Christine Jones discuss the Supreme Court ruling upholding birthright citizenship. Then, Reginald and Christine talk about the Department of Justice investigation into Senator Roben Gallego.
Watch: Emotion and politics merge in Tehran at funeral of former supreme leader
The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is in Tehran, where funeral events are taking place in honour of Iran's former leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Politics Now: July 4, 2026
This week on Politics Now with host John Langeler: Colorado’s chief negotiator on the Colorado River Compact, Rebecca Mitchell Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) on the housing bill & Supreme Co…
Politics chat: Trump's July 4 speech, financial disclosures; Supreme Court rulings
We take a look at President Trump's July 4th speech, as well as his reluctance to sign the bipartisan housing bill intended to help make homes affordable for Americans.
How the Supreme Court has changed on transgender rights since 2020
In 2020, when the Supreme Court declared that transgender workers were covered by federal anti-discrimination law, the opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch marked a legal breakthrough.
Supreme Court’s dramatic moves will reshape elections — and give the GOP a midterm boost
Legal experts said the justices’ intervention amid an election cycle and the pace at which the court moved to implement changes that largely benefit one party is all but unprecedented in recent years.
Funeral of Iran's former supreme leader 'intensely political moment'
Authorities expect up to 20 million people to attend ceremonies across Iran and Iraq over the coming days.
Newsom faces criticism for state's stance on trans athletes in girls' sports after SCOTUS ruling
Gavin Newsom's office says California will keep allowing trans athletes in girls sports despite the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling upholding bans.
Politics panel says court rulings have little effect in Indiana
Two members of Indiana’s best political team said they don’t expect the Supreme Court’s transgender athlete ruling to factor heavily into elections this fall.
Fireworks stand owner says tariffs have impacted business
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A local fireworks stand saw fewer customers heading into the holiday weekend as tariffs continue to impact business. The owner of Boomerz Fireworks on Marketplace Drive said tariffs have affected their business. The Supreme Court struck down global tariffs in February, but fireworks stands are feeling the impact this year because many […]
Long Reads for the Long Weekend
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July weekend! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the last year, like I did in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. Let’s dive right in! Subscribe “Different Prices for the Same Ride: How Uber and Lyft Use AI to Get More Money Out of You“ by Derek Kravitz in Consumer Reports I don’t think surveillance pricing, like the kind described in this brilliant Consumer Reports article, is long for the world—it’s toxically unpopular—but we’ll see if either party takes on this issue. If I ran a political party focused on affordability, I would focus on a few pro-consumer and pro-market policies: Banning non-compete agreements. Ending surveillance pricing Eliminating junk fees (read more here...) Ensuring “right to repair” for consumer (and military!) products Capping excessive app store fees Stopping digital/algorithmic price-fixing tools. Preventing automatic subscription price increases. And more. If you want to fight inflation, there are a lot of great ways to do it quickly. Speaking of higher prices... “Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy“ by Matt Stoller in BIG Again, I think a political party should focus on lowering prices for consumers. And deals like this—Walmart making a deal/forcing Pepsi to offer the lowest prices at its stores and nowhere else—hypothetically lower prices at Walmart...but raise them everywhere else. “15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road“ by Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler in CalMatters CalMatters does terrific reporting in California, something the Golden State desperately needs more of, and this article is a great example of that. “PugLips: The next insanely popular thing you’ve never heard of…” by Simon Carless in Game Discover Co I thought that this parody article (and yes, it’s a parody, but I was definitely unsure at first) was hilarious and totally nailed how much tech/business journalism feels these days. Actually, three of my favorite articles this year were on hype in the video game industry, including Georg Zoller’s “The Video Game Industries Very Dark Night”—which I linked to recently and wrote a follow-up here—and Owen Mahoney’s “Derek Zoolander, Videogame Exec”. In particular, I like Mahoney’s focus on user experience as a guide to what trends will actually grab hold of customers. “The Matrix Lies“ by Evan Shapiro in Media War & Peace Evan Shapiro’s first person account of his experience with AI was hilarious. I think LLMs capabilities have significantly grown from last summer, and yet...my editor/researcher just had an abysmal experience using an LLM to do a quite basic task (which our LLM normally does each week) and the LLM made a mistake on every single data entry...along with seven different mistakes affecting twelve of the twenty or so entries, including mistakes that are explicitly spelled out in the prompt. That’s a brutal failure rate. Again, if you use AI/LLM for data collection, you need to take a lot of extra steps to verify and check the data. “Ghosts in the Balcony: A Cross-Country Trip to 58 Theaters Fighting to Survive“ by Matthew Frank in The Ankler I thought Matthew Frank’s pitch to head across America to visit theaters sounded insane aggressive at the time—at least it felt that way to someone a decade older than him; man, to be in your twenties again, am I right?—but I knew the result would be great. And it was, a terrific feature by a great young writer. Also, I loved Matthew’s recent article on who’s getting the precious few entry level jobs in Hollywood. (Hint: nepotism.) “Disney erased FiveThirtyEight“ and “Did Las Vegas get too greedy?” by Nate Silver in Silver Bulletin I love media history and analysis, and there’s no one better to get the history of FiveThirtyEight than from Nate Silver, who wrote about his personal experience in one of my favorite pieces from this year. I also loved Nate’s breakdown of what’s causing Vegas’ woes, but I’ll offer one criticism, summarized as “Might I suggest antitrust?” Many centrists/center-right/libertarian thinkers (Nate is self-described as the latter) often don’t consider consolidation or antitrust as factors in policy issues like housing, America’s military readiness, or, in this case, Las Vegas. Even if libertarians want to debunk antitrust/consolidation concerns, I’d love to read that debunking. In this case, Vegas is incredibly consolidated (though it also has been for a long time) and I’d have loved to read Nate at least contending with this factor, since he addresses almost every other potential factor for Vegas’ decline. “Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal“ by Robinson Meyer in Heatmap News I’m a big supporter of carbon removal efforts, but this nascent industry faces a lot of headwinds, including this big move most recently. I think it’s clear that solar panels and batteries should be able to get the world to its carbon footprint goals, but effective carbon renewal remains necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. “AI is killing the cheap smartphone“ by David Oks LLMs and AI will impact the world in ways we’re not ready for, and already, third world countries are seeing the prices of cheap cellphones skyrocket due to the cost of chips skyrocketing. This article by David Oks is a terrific breakdown. “100 Days of Madness: Netflix, Paramount, Warner and the Future of Hollywood“ by Wade Major at Hollywood Heretic Wade Major dove deep into Hollywood/streaming’s financials in this must read piece. Not that I agree with everything in this article (read my take on Warner Bros./Paramount here) but the analysis is top notch. I think many people discount how quality thinking, regardless of the argument/conclusion, will make you a better thinker. “Erased by the UFC: Frank Shamrock, The MMA GOAT of the 20th Century“ by Nate Wilcox in The MMA Draw Newsletter Growing up playing the UFC fighting game on the Dreamcast, Frank Shamrock was my favorite MMA fighter, and this history/tribute to him was great. Other Fun Reads “The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt“ by Craig Fehrman at Defector “Unmasking the Sea Star Killer“ by Craig Welch at bioGraphic “What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn“ by Richard Rushfield in The Ankler Alex Rollins Berg in Underexposed on movie bumpers, pillow shots, Disney trash cinema, cult films, and Casablanca. David H. Montgomery in YouGov’s The Surveyor on punctuation marks, condiments, dinosaurs, and comic strips and kids media. “How Medium finally pivoted its way to profitability“ and “Why the best journalists on YouTube are all former Vox employees“ by Simon Owens in Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter “It’s Not Just You, Netflix Shows Have Gotten Slightly Shorter: Here’s What the Data Says“ by Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix “Numlock Awards: How Diane Warren became the biggest loser in Oscar history“ by Nathaniel Rakich and “Numlock Awards: The Oscar Bait era is over. The Oscar Chum era is here.” by Walt Hickey & Michael Domanico at Numlock Awards
House Dems dodge questions on SCOTUS trans athlete ruling, shift blame to 'culture wars'
House Democrats mostly sidestepped questions on the Supreme Court transgender athletes ruling, pivoting to the economy and Washington dysfunction.
The states that still allow trans athletes in women's sports face questions after Supreme Court ruling
After the Supreme Court ruling on transgender athletes in sports, 23 states still lack laws protecting girls' sports. Here's where each governor stands.
The Supreme Court can no longer explain itself
The justices don’t speak a common language, even with each other.
Supreme Court declines to halt daily $800 fine for ex-Fox News reporter refusing to divulge sources
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene after a judge ordered an $800-a-day fine for Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter, if she refuses to reveal her confidential source for stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.
Riley Gaines and women's sports activists share honest reactions, emotions to SCOTUS Title IX ruling
Riley Gaines says the Supreme Court women's sports ruling is worth celebrating but admits the years-long fight has left her deeply exhausted.
What Schools Need to Know About the Supreme Court’s Transgender Sports Ruling
The justices upheld two state laws that bar transgender girls from participating in female sports.
Trump's 'hero' justice offers roadmap after Supreme Court rejects birthright order
Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence outlines how Congress could legislatively restrict birthright citizenship, sparking immediate Republican action.
How Roberts led a fractured Supreme Court to wins for the right and defeats for Trump
In President Trump's second year back in the White House, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court punctured his claim to have power with no limits.
Immigration activists react to Supreme Court decisions
The court upheld the principle of birthright citizenship for all, but enabled restricting asylum seeking and revoking temporary protected status.
The Supreme Court tackled race, history and the law in fraught and reflective major rulings
The Supreme Court has wrapped up a term with significant rulings on race and discrimination
The Supreme Court tackled race, history and the law in fraught and reflective major rulings
The Supreme Court has wrapped up a term with significant rulings on race and discrimination.
Why a case pivotal to the anti-vax movement could end up at the Supreme Court
The legal argument that vaccine mandates without a religious exemption violate the First Amendment could deliver the anti-vaccine movement its biggest win.
Bonus 236: A Term of Self-Inflicted Wounds
Within minutes of the Supreme Court handing down the birthright citizenship ruling on Tuesday and rising for its summer recess, its defenders were pointing to that decision (alongside the late-arriving mail-in ballots ruling on Monday and the tariffs ruling from February) as decisive proof that the Court really is “above politics,” and that criticisms of the justices for behaving more like politicians in robes than like judges are thus unfair. For a particularly thoughtful version of this claim, see Professor Will Baude’s opening response to the latest New York Times written roundtable about the Court with Baude, Professor Kate Shaw, and me. In that roundtable, I already offered one of the two major arguments against this thesis—that it’s an assessment of the numerator without regard to the denominator, and that a full account of the Court’s behavior throughout OT2025 suggests that the Court behaved even more politically during the current term than during even the previous (highly politicized) one. Just to take one of many data points, last term (OT2024), there were six rulings in argued cases in which all six Republican-appointed justices were in the majority and all three of the Democratic appointees were in dissent (along with a slew of such rulings on the emergency docket). This term, there were … 13. (Along with two 6-3 summary reversals and 10 rulings on the emergency docket from which the three Democratic appointees all dissented.) Today’s bonus issue addresses the flip side of that coin. In particular, below the fold, I identify four different moments in which the justices could have acted in ways to specifically defuse charges of political behavior—and opted instead to lean all the way in. As much as end-of-term narratives focus on what the Court did, and on the takeaways from individual rulings, consider today’s post an attempt to identify opportunities that the Court missed, as well. At least in the examples discussed below, by opting for the outcome that made the Court look more transparently political, the Court inflicted a series of (unnecessary) credibility wounds on itself. For those who aren’t paid subscribers, we’ll be back Monday with our regular coverage of the Court. For those who are, please read on.
Takeaways from a divisive Supreme Court term that expanded Trump’s power
After berating the Supreme Court for much of the year — while simultaneously inviting some of the justices over to the White House for dinner — President Donald Trump’s final assessment of the court’s momentous term this week felt something like a ceasefire.
The US healthcare system is in crisis. A Supreme Court ruling could make things worse
The effects of the high court ruling that could lead to mass deportations will be felt across hospitals and emergency rooms, which already operate under persistent staffing shortfalls. But it's the long-term health care sector that will suffer the greatest disruptions, according to experts.
Following High-Court Victory, Bayer Separates Roundup Business
The Supreme Court handed Bayer a massive win last week in its attempts to beat back lawsuits alleging its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Now, the German company is separating Roundup into its ow
Supreme Court ruling lifts limits on political party campaign spending
The decision could play a role in the battle for control of Congress this November.
The Supreme Court’s Campaign-Finance Decision Is Actually Good
Or at least, it’s not bad.
Great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark praises Supreme Court ruling affirming birthright citizenship
The great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, the Chinese American at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court case that established the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, called Tuesday’s ruling a victory for all Americans, saying it reaffirmed that precedent.
Supreme Court makes health policy
The Supreme Court handed down its last decisions of its 2025-26 term this week, including in an immigration case that could result in the loss of hundreds
Texas Supreme Court Requests Briefing on Kemah Entertainment District Street Closure Case
Plaintiffs say the city violated state law in closing the street.
After Supreme Court ruling, Republicans propose banning pregnant foreigners
The proposals follow Tuesday's Supreme Court decision to uphold birthright citizenship
E. Jean Carroll calls for Trump to pay her $5.8M after Supreme Court rejects his appeal
Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll asked a judge Tuesday to require President Donald Trump to pay her $5 million from a jury verdict that concluded Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s and defamed her after she publicly described the attack in 2019.
Court backs state monitor in Orange County IDA lawsuit
A state Supreme Court dismissed a county IDA suit seeking to vacate a state monitor's "veto" of an $80 million tax break for a proposed Amazon center.
The Supreme Court just made money matter even more
The Supreme Court ruled in NRSC v. FEC that political parties can spend unlimited amounts of money in direct coordination with their own candidates, further increasing the influence of money in pol…
Divided Supreme Court affirms birthright citizenship
The court rejected Trump’s attempt to end the guarantee that all children born on US soil are citizens
How the Supreme Court became a pivotal force in Trump's immigration agenda
President Donald Trump's administration looked to the Supreme Court to greenlight its sweeping hard-line immigration agenda and, by and large, it got the backing it was looking for with one key exception.
The Supreme Court’s trans sports ban ruling is about exclusion, not safety, advocates say
The Supreme Court can't stop using biological arguments to advance bigotry. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices sided in favor of state laws that ban transgender athletes from women's sports teams, citing unfair competition and physical danger.
Supreme Court decision loosening campaign finance rules could be boon for Paxton in Senate race
Now permitted to spend freely in coordination with GOP candidates, national Republican committees can use their flush war chests to help candidates like Paxton close fundraising deficits.
VOTE: Are Supreme Court decisions based more on the Constitution or base politics?
Do you think the Supreme Court makes decisions based on the U.S. Constitution or base politics?
What to know about the US supreme court’s ruling on trans athletes
Decision upholding bans on trans girls in women’s sports in two states is narrow, but could be broadly weaponized for anti-LGBTQ+ efforts
Some Supreme Court Justices Are More Political Than Others
The recently ended term provides an interesting laboratory for examining how the various justices vote.
Trump’s audacious bid to end birthright citizenship was not an entire loss at the Supreme Court
When President Donald Trump used his black Sharpie on his first day back in office to sign an executive order in January 2025 limiting birthright citizenship, he said, “This is a big one.”
Inside the Supreme Court battle to 'Save Women's Sports'
Riley Gaines and Save Women's Sports activists celebrate after the Supreme Court upheld state laws banning trans athletes from girls' sports.
Local business owner and legal expert weigh in on Supreme Court ruling that could impact NY's gun laws
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling could affect gun laws in New York State. We spoke with legal experts about what could be coming.
How the Supreme Court just rewrote the rules of politics
After years of political party power players like Senator Mitch McConnell trying to take control of national party purse strings to which candidates to help and how to shape the party, all it took was one ruling by the Supreme Court to change the way campaign politics is funded. Jen Psaki talks with Jim Messina, former campaign manager for President Barack Obama about how the Supreme Court's ruling changes the game in terms of how political donations are spent.
Advocates, legal experts react to key SCOTUS decisions
The court upheld both birthright citizenship amid an executive order by President Donald Trump to dial it back,
Advocates, legal experts react to key SCOTUS decisions
The court upheld both birthright citizenship amid an executive order by President Donald Trump to dial it back,
Riley Gaines and MyKayla Skinner send message to Simone Biles on women's sports debate after SCOTUS ruling
Riley Gaines and MyKayla Skinner celebrate the Supreme Court transgender athletes ruling and call on Simone Biles to join their movement.