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37+ min ago (623+ words) Brown, Milliken, and Judge Brown. Josh Blackman | 12.4.2025 8:29 PM Today the Supreme Court decided the Texas redistricting case by a 6-3 vote. I'll get to my analysis later, but I have to cover some other ground first. I recently read R. Shep Melnick's review of Michelle Adams's new book on'Milliken v. Bradley. I was familiar with the Supreme Court's landmark decision that put an end to forced bussing. But I did not know much about the lower court litigation, which Adams covers in some detail. Judge Stephen John Roth presided over the case. It seems that Judge Roth was initially skeptical of the claim that he could order children throughout Detroit to be bussed to faraway school. Bs Melnick relates, Judge Roth went through a "conversion" after a 41-day trial: Judge Roth later told a reporter, "We all got an education during the course…...

1+ hour, 10+ min ago (144+ words) Return of the Jedi" examines several aspects of the virtue fortitude. How a Star Wars" Film Can Help You Become a Better Person Profound ideas are often hidden in what"s dismissed as mere popular entertainment. Such an idea is found in the last half of the "Star Wars" film, "Return of the Jedi." Through the art of cinema'the combination of action, special effects, and music'the viewer can meditate on the virtue of fortitude and the willingness to risk one"s life for a good cause. The movie offers three perspectives on fortitude and how to embrace it. These perspectives are valid even for those who can"t summon their lightsabers by mere concentration. The Root of All Horror Stories: Broken Families Romeo and Juliet" and How Grudges Destroy Good Things Vice Destroys Itself: Villains in The Count of Monte…...

1+ hour, 26+ min ago (359+ words) In a major defeat for Democrats, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily paused a lower court injunction that attempted to prevent Texas from enacting its new congressional map. The ruling guarantees that the map will be used for the 2026 midterm elections. The panel's ruling drew a sharp dissent from Judge Jerry Smith, who characterized the majority's decision as the "most blatant exercise of judicial activism" that he had "ever witnessed" after nearly four decades of serving as a federal judge. The Reagan appointee further admonished plaintiffs' arguments against the map as "both perverse and bizarre." The Supreme Court's newest order comes more than a week after Associate Justice Samuel Alito entered an administrative stay on the lower court injunction to allow the full court to consider Texas' application for relief. Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson would…...

2+ hour, 14+ min ago (438+ words) The FBI made an arrest early Thursday morning in the five-year-old Washington, D.C., pipe bomb case. Authorities arrested Brian J. Cole Jr. and accused him of planting two live bombs on Jan. 5, 2021 " one near in the vicinity of the headquarters of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the other near the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). According to the criminal complaint, video surveillance captured an individual, now alleged to be Cole, wearing a hoodie and distinctive shoes while placing bombs at the RNC and DNC headquarters. The bombs were discovered Jan. 6, 2021, before they exploded. The Department of Justice is charging Cole, 30, with transportation of an explosive device with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate an individual, or to damage property and malicious destruction by means of fire and explosive materials. Cole, a resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, lives in a house…...

2+ hour, 16+ min ago (98+ words) The American Civil Liberties Union brought the lawsuit against five county sheriffs for holding detainees on behalf of ICE. Wisconsin Supreme Court Takes Up Case Over County Sheriffs Honoring ICE Detainers Wisconsin's highest court is set to decide whether it is legal for local jails to hold detainees at the request of federal immigration authorities. Justice Department Sues 6 More States for Withholding Voter Rolls Federal Immigration Agents Launch Operation in New Orleans Trump Says National Guard Will Deploy to New Orleans at Governor's Request Russia Says It Seized Key Eastern Stronghold Pokrovsk; Ukraine Denies Claim...

2+ hour, 16+ min ago (98+ words) The American Civil Liberties Union brought the lawsuit against five county sheriffs for holding detainees on behalf of ICE. Wisconsin Supreme Court Takes Up Case Over County Sheriffs Honoring ICE Detainers Wisconsin's highest court is set to decide whether it is legal for local jails to hold detainees at the request of federal immigration authorities. Justice Department Sues 6 More States for Withholding Voter Rolls Federal Immigration Agents Launch Operation in New Orleans Trump Says National Guard Will Deploy to New Orleans at Governor's Request Russia Says It Seized Key Eastern Stronghold Pokrovsk; Ukraine Denies Claim...

2+ hour, 16+ min ago (40+ words) President Donald Trump hosted the leaders of Congo and Rwanda at the White House on Thursday. A deal-signing aims to bring an end to the conflict in easter... Trump Hosts Signing Ceremony for Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda...

2+ hour, 35+ min ago (538+ words) Home " Science & Technology News Research led by Emilee Rader (University of Wisconsin-Madison) If you use a mobile phone with location services turned on, it is likely that data about where you live and work, where you shop for groceries, where you go to church and see your doctor, and where you traveled to over the holidays is up for sale. And U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement'is one of the customers. The U.S. government doesn't need to collect data about people's locations itself, because your mobile phone is already doing it. While location data is sometimes collected as part of a mobile phone app's intended use, like for navigation or to get a weather forecast, more often locations are collected invisibly in the background. Mobile phones collect location data for two reasons: as a by-product of their normal operation, and because they are…...

2+ hour, 40+ min ago (417+ words) The court's brief order indicated that "Texas is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the District Court committed at least two serious errors." Moreover, it added, the lower court "improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections." Texas currently has 38 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, 22 of which are controlled by the Republican Party. Republicans as a whole hold a much narrower majority in the House " 219 to 214, with two vacant seats. Two days after receiving the letter, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state's legislators to draw a new congressional map that would address the concerns mentioned in the DOJ letter. Under the new map, adopted in August, Republicans hope to win as many as 30 of the 38 seats " an increase of five over the previous…...

3+ hour ago (369+ words) The magistrate judge is not amused. Eugene Volokh | 12.4.2025 6:06 PM From today's decision by Magistrate Judge Phillip Lammens in Loomer v. Maher (M.D. Fla.) (the underlying case is a defamation lawsuit over Maher's saying President Trump "might be" "fucking" Loomer): The matter is before the Court initially on Plaintiff Laura Loomer's motion for sanctions against Defendants Bill Maher and Home Box Office, Inc., and their counsel at Davis Wright Tremaine for their conduct during the discovery process. [But] it is readily apparent that Mr. Klayman's conduct warrants attention that the Court cannot ignore'or use to simply offset the conduct of defense counsel. These same issues plagued Ms. Loomer's deposition, which was taken by Ms. Bolger on June 4, 2025. Counsel argued, made sardonic comments, hurled accusations, and spoke over each other in raised voices. At times, Mr. Klayman resorted to name-calling. He called Ms. Bolger…...