What Sandra Day O’Connor’s papers reveal about a landmark Supreme Court decision – and why it could be overturned soon
CNN
The newly opened papers of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor reveal the internal deliberations of a groundbreaking Supreme Court case that gave US regulators significant latitude to protect the environment and public health – and show how the ruling almost never happened.
The newly opened papers of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor reveal the internal deliberations of a groundbreaking Supreme Court case that gave US regulators significant latitude to protect the environment and public health – and show how the ruling almost never happened. The 40-year-old milestone, Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council, has become a target of the current Supreme Court and appears likely to be rolled back in a pair of pending cases this term. “Chevron deference,” as it is commonly called, generally requires judges to accept federal agencies’ interpretations of open-ended or vaguely worded statutes regarding their mandates. Conservative critics, including Justice Neil Gorsuch, believe it has led to excessive regulation of American business by executive branch agencies. Defenders of regulatory power, including the court’s three liberals, counter that agencies – with their focused expertise – are needed to safeguard public health and welfare. More broadly, O’Connor’s contemporaneous notes now open at the Library of Congress offer a view into how nine justices communicate in private, revealing personal predilections and some exasperation as they negotiate against looming deadlines. In the Chevron case, testing the protections of the Clean Air Act, the papers reveal an overall tentativeness among justices as they struggled with statutory intricacies and worked toward compromise while teetering on the loss of a quorum (only six of the nine justices were on the final tally). Yet Chevron v. NRDC became a seminal opinion, cited in lower court opinions and law review articles more than just about any other case.
The Justice Department on Wednesday said it has uncovered over a million more documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and may need “a few more weeks” to process and release them to the public.
Eighteen Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new Trump administration policy seeking to bar transgender care for minors at federally-funded hospitals.
Wassail — from a greeting meaning “be in good health” — evokes some kind of ancient holiday tradition. But its particulars, like the spiced beverage, can be cloudy.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement.
When the Justice Department released a first batch of Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday that included photographs of former President Bill Clinton, White House officials raced to amplify the importance of the new documents.
One year ago this week, Joe Biden was president. I was in Doha, Qatar, negotiating with Israel and Hamas to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The incoming Trump team worked closely with us, a rare display of nonpartisanship to free hostages and end a war. It feels like a decade ago. A lot can happen in a year, as 2025 has shown.
Two people are dead and others are missing after a fire and explosion tore into a nursing home on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, spurring local responders, bystanders and staff to rush the elderly population to safety, Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
Botched Epstein redactions trace back to Virgin Islands’ 2020 civil racketeering case against estate
A botched redaction in the Epstein files revealed that government attorneys once accused his lawyers of paying over $400,000 to “young female models and actresses” to cover up his criminal activities
Some Medicare enrollees may soon be able to access super-popular drugs for obesity under a voluntary model program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries will only have to pay $50 a month.
The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.
A Delaware state trooper was killed along with the suspected gunman Tuesday during a shooting at a motor vehicle agency near Wilmington, authorities said.
Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election.