Democrats intensified their calls on Thursday for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to step aside in two cases - one on Donald Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution and the other on a charge involving the Capitol attack - after a media report that another provocative flag flew outside one of his homes. A flag bearing the phrase "Appeal to Heaven" flew outside Alito's vacation home on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in July and September of 2023, the New York Times reported on...

On Thursday, The New York Times reported that 11 days after the Jan. 6 insurrection and three days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, an upside-down flag was seen flying outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home. This act is usually a symbol of distress, but after the 2020 election it became a form of political protest for many Trump supporters to signal their belief that the vote had been stolen from the soon-to-be former president.  Alito’s explanation for the upside-down flag...

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a strong rebuke of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling on Thursday, suggesting the court overreached its authority in the landmark decision that banned separating schoolchildren by race. Why it matters: Thomas attacked the Brown decision in a concurrence opinion that allowed South Carolina to keep using a congressional map that critics say discriminated against Black voters. Driving the news: The court "took a boundless view of equitable...

In 2021, David Sacks, a prominent venture capital investor and podcast host, said former President Donald J. Trump’s behavior around the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol had disqualified him from being a future political candidate. At a tech conference last week, Mr. Sacks said his view had changed. “I have bigger disagreements with Biden than with Trump,” the investor said. Mr. Sacks said he and his podcast co-hosts were working on hosting a fund-raiser for Mr. Trump, which could include...

The Supreme Court ‘s conservative majority on Thursday preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district, rejecting a lower-court ruling that said the district discriminated against Black voters. In dissent, liberal justices warned that the court was insulating states from claims of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. In a 6-3 decision, the court held that South Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature did nothing wrong during redistricting when it strengthened Rep...

The Senate voted down the bipartisan border bill Thursday, marking the second time it has been blocked in a matter of months as Democrats look to shore up their political troubles and give President Biden and incumbent senators a boost in the process. In a widely expected outcome, senators voted 43-50 to take down the proposal, which was negotiated over the fall and winter by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). The bill also lost support...

U.S. planemaker Boeing faces a "long road" to address safety issues, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday as it prepares to receive the company's plan to address concerns. In late February, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker gave Boeing 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues" and barred it from expanding 737 MAX production. Boeing has faced mounting questions after a door panel detached during a Jan. 5 flight on a new...

An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is expected for 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday, with the forecast for named storms the highest the agency has predicted in a seasonal outlook. “This season is looking to be an extraordinary one in a number of ways,” NOAA Administration Rick Spinrad said at a news conference Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington. El Niño and La Niña, two climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect...

President Biden and former President Donald Trump are locked in a statistical tie as they gear up for the first of two scheduled debates next month, but nearly one-fifth of voters say they could still change their mind about who they pull the lever for on Election Day. In a one-on-one matchup, Biden garnered 48% support to Trump’s 47%, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters released Wednesday. Last month, the survey found Trump and Biden in a flat-footed...

The GOP-led House passed a bill with bipartisan support on Thursday to prevent noncitizens from voting in Washington, D.C., local elections as part of a push for election integrity. Fifty-two Democrats joined with 210 Republicans voting in favor of the legislation, while 143 Democrats and no GOP lawmakers opposed it. Twenty-five members, including seven Republicans and 18 Democrats, did not vote. The bill, H.R. 192, specifically bars noncitizens from voting in “an election for public...