The US Supreme Court on Thursday issued its ruling in Department of Commerce v. New York, the case challenging the planned inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 census. The Court held that the Secretary of Commerce did not give an adequate explanation for including the citizenship question on the 2020 census: We are [...]
The US Senate approved a bipartisan border funding bill by a vote of 84-8 Wednesday after rejecting a similar bill passed by the House. The bill provides $4.5 billion in border funding, which includes nearly $3 billion in humanitarian aid and funding for the Department of Defense and more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that partisan gerrymandering cases cannot be decided by federal courts. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the court in Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek, a consolidated partisan gerrymandering case. Voters from Maryland and North Carolina brought the claims alleging that the gerrymandering violated the [...]
Two major Pittsburgh health systems, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Highmark Health (Highmark) struck a deal on Monday allowing Highmark patients to utilize UPMC’s facilities. The agreement prevents expiration of a previous agreement between the two systems set to occur on June 30, 2019. Originally, a consent agreement governed the relationship between [...]
The US House Committee on Oversight and Reform voted 25-16 Wednesday to subpoena Kellyanne Conway in an attempt to compel her to testify about her alleged Hatch Act violations. Earlier this month, the Office of Special Counsel wrote to the White House claiming that Conway had committed multiple Hatch Act violations by using her government [...]
Red River Women’s Clinic, the only remaining abortion clinic in North Dakota, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging two state laws that they claim compel health care professionals to provide “false, misleading, non-medical” information about reproductive health. The suit was filed alongside the American Medical Association (AMA) with help from the Center for Reproductive [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a Tennessee law that required applicants wishing to sell alcohol to maintain Tennessee residency. Tennessee currently imposes demanding residential requirements for anyone looking to participate in the distribution of alcohol in the state. Tennessee requires individuals seeking a liquor license to be in-state residence for at least two [...]
The US Supreme Court unanimously refused Wednesday to overturn precedent that gives power to agencies are when interpreting their own regulations. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Elena Kagan, detailed ways to constrain this heavy agency deference, commonly known as the Auer doctrine. The case, Kisor v. Wilkie, revolved around the Department of Veteran Affairs [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a mandatory minimum sentence issued at revocation of supervised release based on a new crime without a jury trial is unconstitutional. United States v. Haymond addresses the case of Andre Haymond, who was originally convicted on charges of possessing child pornography. Haymond served 38 months in prison and [...]
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of an ordinance banning the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes in the city. The ordinance will now be presented to the mayor, who will have 10 days to sign the legislation. Many cities and states have already raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco [...]
