The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a challenge by the Biden administration to a Tennessee law that restricts transgender procedures for minors. The decision to hear the case United States v. Skrmetti marks the first time the high court will rule on matters arising from the major culture war battle over transgender medical treatments for children. The Tennessee law in question restricts puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for minors. Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signed the...

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide the legality of a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, as the justices waded into another contentious issue implicating LGBT rights. They took up an appeal by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration of a lower court's decision upholding Tennessee's ban on medical treatments including hormones and surgeries for minors experiencing gender dysphoria. The court will hear the case in...

Barack Obama’s half-sister was tear-gassed in the middle of a live interview with CNN amid protests in the Kenyan capital Tuesday. Auma Obama, a Kenyan-British activist, showed up to support demonstrators taking part in nationwide protests against proposed tax hikes. Police opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas outside the parliament, with the chaos unfolding even as Obama tried to speak with CNN.

The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will consider state laws blocking gender-affirming care in young people. The High Cout announced that it will address challenges to the Tennessee law that bans puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors, NBC revealed in breaking news. Earlier this year, the court allowed a similar law in Idaho to be enforced in part, NBC News reported at the time. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the Idaho opinion that a lower court's...

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, a decision that threatened to split Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government amid the war in Gaza. In a unanimous decision, a panel of nine judges held that there was no legal basis for the longstanding military exemption given to ultra-Orthodox religious students. Without a law distinguishing between seminarians and other men of draft age, the court ruled, the country’s...

Prosecutors are reportedly recommending criminal charges against Boeing to the Department of Justice over allegations that the plane manufacturer violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft. Senior DOJ officials are reviewing the recommendations and have until July 7 to make a final decision about whether to prosecute the company, Reuters and CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. A Boeing spokesperson did not immediately respond to a...

The judge who oversaw Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial in Manhattan agreed to partially lift a gag order on the former president Tuesday, granting Trump the ability to speak freely about witnesses in the case and the jury that found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. "Circumstances have now changed," Judge Juan Merchan wrote Tuesday. "The trial portion of these proceedings ended when the verdict was rendered, and the jury discharged." Trump last month...

The Supreme Court is poised to issue its decision on presidential immunity as soon as this week, with the potential to reshape the powers of the nation’s highest office and hurl the 2024 presidential election into uncharted territory. At the heart of former President Trump’s challenge — stemming from federal charges he faces for efforts to subvert the 2020 election — is whether an ex-commander in chief has criminal immunity for official acts carried out while in the White House.  As...

Republican Party policy on birth control and abortion access has made headlines throughout the 2024 campaign, with GOP senators this month voting to block a bill that would have guaranteed access to contraceptives nationwide. The Right to Contraception Act was stopped in its tracks after failing to achieve the 60 votes required for a full Senate vote, with all opposition to the legislation coming from Republicans. During a speech this week, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the issue...

Volkswagen plans to invest up to $5 billion in electric vehicle startup Rivian, starting with an initial investment of $1 billion. The additional $4 billion is expected by 2026. It includes plans for $1 billion each in 2025 and 2026, followed by $2 billion in 2026 related to an expected joint venture to create electrical architecture and software technology, according to a release by the automakers Tuesday. Shares of Rivian soared roughly 40% during after-hours trading Tuesday, two days...