![Roberts pushes for judiciary's continued independence in year-end report](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/211201144402-01-john-roberts-2020-super-tease.jpg)
Roberts pushes for judiciary's continued independence in year-end report
CNN
Chief Justice John Roberts stressed the importance of the judiciary's institutional independence Friday in an annual report that comes as the Supreme Court is considering some of the most important issues of the day, and critics are seeking to dilute the court's conservative majority.
Roberts did not directly address the term's explosive docket that includes cases on the future of Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration's vaccine mandates and the expansion of gun rights, but he emphasized the need to insulate the courts from what he called "inappropriate political influence."
"Decisional independence is essential to due process, promoting impartial decision-making, free from political or other extraneous influence," he wrote.
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A Justice Department watchdog has found that former Attorney General Bill Barr was personally involved in the decision to publicize an incident from the 2020 election – nine mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being discarded in a dumpster in Pennsylvania – that flamed the false narrative of widespread voter fraud.
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President Joe Biden is expected to be as forceful as he has ever been in urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire agreement when the two leaders meet privately at the White House Thursday afternoon, sources tell CNN, as US officials believe that a deal may be on the cusp.
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California’s Park Fire grows 7 times larger in hours as Oregon battles country’s biggest active fire
The largest active wildfire in the United States has scorched nearly 270,000 acres in eastern Oregon, as nearly 80 large active wildfires are burning in the US, including a California blaze that exploded in size overnight. Here’s the latest: