Supreme Court meets Friday to decide 6 remaining cases, including birthright citizenship
The issue before the justices is whether to limit the authority of judges to issue nationwide injunctions, which have plagued both Republican and Democratic administrations in the past 10 years.
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These nationwide court orders have emerged as an important check on Trump's efforts and a source of mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies.
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Decisions also are expected in several other important cases.
The court seemed likely during arguments in April to side with Maryland parents in a religious rights case over LGBTQ storybooks in public schools.
Parents in the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, want to be able to pull their children out of lessons that use the storybooks, which the county added to the curriculum to better reflect the district's diversity.
The school system at one point allowed parents to remove their children from those lessons, but then reversed course because it found the opt-out policy to be disruptive. Sex education is the only area of instruction with an opt-out provision in the county's schools.
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The justices also are weighing a three-year battle over congressional districts in Louisiana that is making its second trip to the Supreme Court.
Before the court now is a map that created a second Black majority congressional district among Louisiana's six seats in the House of Representatives. The district elected a Black Democrat in 2024.
Lower courts have struck down two Louisiana congressional maps since 2022 and the justices are considering whether to send state lawmakers back to the map-drawing board for a third time.
The case involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court that has been skeptical of considerations of race in public life.
At arguments in March, several of the court's conservative justices suggested they could vote to throw out the map and make it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act.
Free speech rights are at the center of a case over a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography.
Texas is among more than a dozen states with age verification laws. The states argue the laws are necessary as smartphones have made access to online porn, including hardcore obscene material, almost instantaneous.
The question for the court is whether the measure infringes on the constitutional rights of adults as well. The Free Speech Coalition, an adult-entertainment industry trade group, agrees that children shouldn't be seeing pornography. But it says the Texas law is written too broadly and wrongly affects adults by requiring them to submit personal identifying information online that is vulnerable to hacking or tracking.
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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Allies Wary of Buying American as They Plan Defense Buildup
(Bloomberg) — For European countries that just approved the biggest increase in military spending in decades, 'Buy American' is looking a lot less appealing than it once was. They may have no choice. As the allies rush to rebuild their fighting forces, leaders are confronting the reality that they'll have to rely on the US for many of the new weapons they're planning to buy, a sales pitch driven home by President Donald Trump on his visit to Europe this week. They fret that they may be put at greater risk if they deepen their dependence on a US whose president has embraced their main enemy - Russia - and rattled some with threats to annex their territory. Those deeper ties have become an increasingly hard sell at home, with electorates cautious about a closer embrace with the US. Allied leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron have pushed for relying on European companies to provide the weapons and the EU fast-tracked a €150 billion facility for just that purpose after Trump was elected. Canada is considering pulling out of the US-led F-35 fighter program and buying Swedish planes instead. 'We should no longer send three-quarters of our defense capital spending to America,' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this month. When a group of US legislators went to Copenhagen this spring to encourage Danish officials to buy more US weapons, the message they got was clear: we like your arms, but Trump's very public threats to take over Greenland, a Danish territory, were making buying them politically difficult, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Some Danish politicians have gone further. 'Buying American weapons is a security risk that we cannot run,' Rasmus Jarlov, a conservative lawmaker who heads the defense committee in parliament, said in a post on social media platform X in March. Trump's abrupt decision to briefly suspend intelligence sharing with Ukraine earlier this year alarmed allies, according to officials, fueling fears that the US might hobble American-made weapons in a crisis. The worries got so bad that the Pentagon had to issue a public reassurance that the F-35 fighter didn't have a 'kill switch.' But the planned buildup - worth as much as €14 trillion ($16 trillion) over the next decade if related infrastructure is included, according to Carlyle - is far beyond the current capabilities of a fragmented European defense sector that's been hollowed out by decades of cuts since the end of the Cold War. And the US lead in key areas, especially missiles and other high-tech weapons, means there's often no real alternative to buying American. 'Europe and the defense industry is not, at the moment, ready to take the load by itself,' said Tuure Lehtoranta, a senior executive at Finnish defense-tech firm Insta Group Oy. 'There's not enough production, there's not enough design in some areas.' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government is planning to nearly double spending on core defense items this year, said the European industry needs an overhaul to meet the demand. 'We have far too many systems in Europe, we have far too few units, and what we produce is often far too complicated, and therefore too expensive as a result,' he said this week. At the Paris Air Show last week, executives from Airbus SE and Dassault Aviation SA sparred openly over who should take charge of their next-generation fighter jet project. European allies will have no alternative but to buy American weapons to meet alliance targets, especially with stocks depleted by supplies given to Ukraine, a senior NATO official said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. Allies also lack key technologies. 'Who is the European Palantir? Who is the European Planet?' asked Pierre Vandier, a top NATO commander, referring to the US technology and satellite companies that the alliance recently signed contracts with. 'It's a huge stimulus for Europeans to do all they can. If they don't get started now they can't cry if there are violent power struggles later.' Europe has no rivals as advanced as Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter or RTX Corp's Patriot anti-missile, which has been critical to protecting Ukraine from Russian attacks. Allies have no competitors for key capabilities like ballistic-missile defense and air-to-air refueling. While simpler weapons like howitzers are easier for allies to produce, they still require US satellite systems for precision targeting. The UK said this week it would buy at least a dozen new F-35As, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes will help curry favor with Trump. European defense companies are hopeful. They've seen share-price increases of 50% or more this year, ahead even of the big gains of their US competitors, as investors anticipate the huge boost in business. 'More urgency is there now,' Micael Johansson, chief executive officer of Saab AB, which makes Gripen fighters, said in an interview. 'I wouldn't say we have seen a dramatic shift now to buy more European, but I think that's the trend.' US defense contractors are lining up cooperation deals with European counterparts to hedge against any shift away from American weapons. 'As these European defense budgets increase, that's where we're spending our time,' Stephen O'Bryan, president of Northrop Grumman Corp's international business, said in an interview, referring to partnerships in Norway, Germany and Denmark. Lehtoranta of Insta said his company already partners with big US manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, including by providing avionics maintenance and other support for F-35 jets. But they see American companies are even hungrier to join forces now. 'I can see in the US that it might be a little bit of a fear in the air. US companies think that they might lose opportunities if they don't find the right partners,' he said. 'There will be change, there will be probably more European investments in European factories and European acquisitions, but still we cannot survive without the US industries.' —With assistance from Wojciech Moskwa, Thomas Seal, Matthew Boesler, Michael Nienaber, Sanne Wass and Alex Wickham. 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CNN
20 minutes ago
- CNN
‘We're still here. We're still going to enjoy our game': What it's like being a trans sports fan in Trump's second term
The first six months of Donald Trump's second term as president of the United States have been defined by sweeping executive orders and the introduction of legislation that takes aim at some of America's most marginalized communities. In particular, transgender people living in the US have been a target of the Trump administration's ire. Several actions have been taken to prevent trans people from participating in public life, from banning transgender Americans from serving in the military to an executive order that bans transgender women from competing in women's sports. Trans athletes, especially, have been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration over the last few months. There have been threats to California's federal funding over the participation of a trans high school junior in state track and field championships and in March, the White House cut off $175 million in federal funds for the University of Pennsylvania related to the trans athlete issue. As the US gears up to be one of three countries hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup next June – the first on American soil since 1994 – the spotlight is turning towards its sporting scene. And as the attention of the world's sports media shifts to the US, a number of athletes and soccer fans, including many trans people themselves, are raising the alarm over the attacks on trans rights. Some want to use the upcoming World Cup – the largest international soccer tournament there is and arguably the most popular global event, sporting or otherwise – to show the world that the trans community in the US takes care of one another, refusing to disappear even as the Trump administration attempts to make life difficult for them. Many just want trans people to have the right to play and enjoy sports as freely as anyone else. Liam Taylor is a season ticket holder of MLS franchise the Colorado Rapids, an overseas fan of English club Tottenham Hotspur, and a former high school powerlifting champion. He is also a trans man who was immensely looking forward to a World Cup in his home nation – but not anymore. 'My wife and I are so into the World Cup, we usually keep a track of every game in the competition. We were so excited for it to be here, where we live. But honestly, now, it doesn't feel safe to travel to certain parts of the US, so we won't be spending our money on that anymore,' Taylor told CNN Sports. Taylor says he largely feels safe as a trans man living in the Centennial State with a supportive community around him, but he used to live in Dallas, Texas – a decidedly Republican state. 'Some of my friends in Dallas are bracing for a more hostile environment towards LGBTQ+ people. And not just in Texas but across the South, really,' Taylor said. One of the reasons Taylor left the Lone Star State is that it was starting to become more and more difficult for him to access the hormones he needed. He is no stranger to experiencing discrimination towards the trans community but sports and, in particular, soccer have often been his solace. He's happy that his beloved Colorado Rapids still hosted its designated Pride night, despite the ongoing exclusion towards transpeople in sports that the Trump administration is fostering, but he told CNN Sports that he is struggling to put an optimistic spin on the current political climate. 'It's scary to think that a percentage of your neighbors really hate you. I try not to be a pessimist, but it's difficult not to get down about it all right now,' he said. 'There's a huge hypocrisy amongst conservatives and the Trump administration, who say we should 'Keep politics out of sport' – but they're doing something political by pushing (queer and trans) people out of sport!' Referring to Trump's executive order to ban trans women from sports, Taylor made the point that the practice is not only harmful to trans athletes but to cisgender ones, too. 'The Trump administration says that they're doing this, banning trans players, to 'protect women and girls,' but who are we protecting when the privacy of athletes is being violated because of enforced (sex) checks?' said Taylor. 'How exactly authorities in schools, colleges and sporting institutions are going to 'check' someone is or isn't trans is incredibly unclear and could potentially be very invasive.' Taylor is deeply concerned that the Trump administration's anti-trans policies are going to encourage hostility towards trans people at sporting events and other public gatherings. He reflected on the transphobia that he himself experienced, particularly while he was transitioning, and told CNN Sports that he fears an uptick in the same kind of behavior in the new America being shaped by Trump. 'In 2016, back in Texas, I was followed into bathrooms, some guys tried to fight me at a truck stop, and it wasn't safe to be there anymore,' Taylor said. 'I'm seeing that kind of thing happen now, to other trans folks, more and more. I'm trying now to do what I can with my passing privilege – going to protests on behalf of people that want to go but don't feel safe to do so, donating specifically to LGBTQ+ charities.' Despite the fears around the discrimination against trans athletes and sports fans right now, Taylor does find comfort in the community he's found in soccer and in the Colorado Rapids fanbase. 'We won't be skipping any home games this season. Our friends are there, and we'll be there, all of us, to support each other while all this is going down under Trump,' he said. Almost 1,000 miles away in Los Angeles, Taylor Gray has also found a family in the soccer club LAFC and, in particular, its LGBTQ+ supporters' group – LAFC Pride Republic. 'Joining LAFC Pride Republic felt like coming home,' Gray, who is a trans man, told CNN Sports. Until he joined the supporters' group, Gray said he had never met another trans person. LAFC Pride Republic has become so important to Gray's life that he even proposed to his husband on the pitch at LAFC's BMO Stadium. As the Trump administration moves to roll back trans inclusion in sports, Gray has found that the feeling amongst his friends at Pride Republic is one of resilience. 'Every time I go to a game at the moment, people are constantly discussing how we can be louder, how to be more visible, how to show that we aren't going anywhere regardless of what this government is trying to do,' he said. 'We want to inspire other soccer teams and supporters' groups who don't know what to do right now. We want to show that it's important to say we're still here, we're still going to enjoy our game and we're still going to be visibly trans.' Amid a changing political landscape, LAFC and the American soccer community have been preparing for increased international attention as the FIFA Club World Cup continues across the US in advance of next year's World Cup. LAFC competed in the tournament group stage and Gray hopes that soccer fans traveling to the States will see that there are people who don't support the policies of the Trump administration and, instead, will fervently defend the rights of marginalized communities. 'For every jerk you might meet in the US, there are 10 people here that will love you regardless of your gender identity or sexuality,' Gray said. 'We can't let the good work that people are doing to provide support to their communities fall to the side. It's so important to uplift the folks that are looking out for those that are being excluded right now.' As many institutions, companies and corporations across the US rescind their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the wake of the Trump administration's push to end these initiatives, Gray is proud that LAFC and Pride Republic are standing firm in their values. 'Despite everything else around us, Pride Republic is not changing what its goals are – which is to make sure that soccer is a sport that welcomes everyone. Inclusivity is an incredibly important word for Pride Republic and that isn't going away.' Soccer, and particularly men's soccer, does not always feel like a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ people. In France's top division, Ligue 1, two high profile players were recently given bans for concealing the anti-homophobia badge on their club's shirts. Homophobic chanting continues to be an issue across European soccer. The beautiful game has all too often been marred by unsavory incidents of bigotry. But what Gray has found at LAFC Pride Republic and what Taylor has found amongst his friends in the Colorado Rapids' fanbase stand in opposition to what has been seen before in soccer and in the Trump administration's rhetoric. In the communities that the two have discovered, soccer is for everyone and anyone is welcome to share in the joy and the anguish of the game. Both men say they have found a home in the stands of their respective clubs. As the Trump administration shows no signs of slowing down its attempts to exclude trans people from competing in sports, communities across the United States are fighting back to show that they won't be silenced or made to feel invisible – and they aren't planning to give up.
Newsweek
28 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Zohran Mamdani Proposes Taxing 'Whiter Neighborhoods' in NYC
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. New York City's Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has said he wants to "shift the tax burden" to "richer and whiter neighborhoods" if he secures election in November. A housing policy document on Mamdani's official website includes a pledge to "shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods." Newsweek contacted the Mamdani campaign for comment via email on Friday outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters Mamdani's proposal has already sparked a backlash with one conservative commentator branding him racist and urging New Yorkers to support incumbent Mayor Eric Adams instead, who is running in November as an independent. The New York mayoral election campaign has already turned bitter with several Republicans suggesting Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Uganda, should be stripped of his American citizenship and deported. What To Know Mamdani's official campaign website features a policy memo under the title "Supporting homeowners and ending deed theft." The document says that if elected his administration will "Shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods." It adds: "The property tax system is unbalanced because assessment levels are artificially capped, so homeowners in expensive neighborhoods pay less than their fair share. The Mayor can fix this by pushing class assessment percentages down for everyone and adjusting rates up, effectively lowering tax payments for homeowners in neighborhoods like Jamaica and Brownsville while raising the amount paid in the most expensive Brooklyn brownstones." New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) speaks to supporters during an election night gathering on June 24, 2025 in New York City. New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) speaks to supporters during an election night gathering on June 24, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/GETTY The document asserts that currently New York City taxes "family homes in Black and Latino neighborhoods like Jamaica, Brownsville, and Tremont more than it does in wealthier neighborhoods of the city." On Tuesday Mamdani, who began the campaign as a rank outsider, defeated former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo to secure the 2025 Democratic nomination for the New York mayoralty. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is running on a platform that includes a number of radical reforms such as creating city-owned grocery stores, offering free childcare to all New Yorkers with children aged between six weeks and five years and imposing a 2 percent tax on all residents earning more than $1 million annually. On Thursday bookmaker Star Sports was offering odds of 1/4 (80 percent) on Mamdani winning this year's New York mayoral election, ahead of Adams in second place on 7/2 (22.2 percent). What People Are Saying On X Eric Daugherty, assistant news director for conservative leaning publication Florida's Voice, said: "WTF? Zohran Mamdani supports taxing 'whiter neighborhoods" in New York City higher than other boroughs. "This Ugandan is not only a radical Muslim socialist but a RACIST. NYC, please reject this psycho and choose Eric Adams instead." The conservative Right Angle News Network on X shared a screenshot from Mamdani's policy memo referring to "whiter neighborhoods" adding: "BREAKING - A proposal by NYC Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to shift tax burdens to "Whiter neighborhoods" has resurfaced." What Happens Next The New York Mayoral election will take place on November 4, with the winner expected to assume office in January.
