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Appeals court poised to allow contempt probe of DHS deportation flights to El Salvador

Detainees board a plane chartered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Most judges on a federal appeals court seemed inclined during oral arguments Tuesday to allow a federal judge to continue investigating Trump officials for possible criminal contempt-of-court charges for defying a judicial order by sending more than 100 Venezuelan men to a brutal Salvadoran prison last year. The administration is challenging if U.S. District Judge James Boasberg can continue a contempt investigation after the Justice Department said former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was the sole official responsible for violating Boasberg’s oral and written orders. Ending an inquiry would be “unfair” to Noem, “who might be a sacrificial lamb because you have picked who you want to go forward,” Judge J. Michelle Childs said. The case stems from a proclamation that President Donald Trump signed in March 2025 that ...

GOP senator bungles accusation against former special counsel Jack Smith in heated hearing

Former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 29, 2026. (Screenshot from committee webcast) WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday defended before a U.S. Senate panel his past investigations of President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents and alleged role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Judiciary Committee Republicans repeatedly dissected Smith’s work and accused him of weaponizing the Department of Justice. In a heated exchange, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., labeled Smith a “total dirtbag” and alleged he had perjured himself when Schmitt asked if Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, during a separate sensitive election investigation development in Fulton County, Georgia. Smith said he was not there. But it became clear Schmitt had bungled the accusations against Smith by mixing up the names of the Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes basketball teams, and the bac...

News orgs banned from White House accuse Trump of First Amendment violation

The White House South Lawn. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) WASHINGTON — The three news organizations that President Donald Trump barred from entering the White House grounds earlier this month have asked a federal judge to ensure their reporters continue to have access after a temporary restraining order expires in early October. Attorneys for CNN, MS Now and Politico filed paperwork late Monday requesting a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that without it the administration is likely to again revoke press passes for journalists at those news organizations and possibly others. “The President has stated that there will be ‘Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,’ … leaving other news organizations covering the White House to face the prospect that their access may likewise depend on the President’s view of their coverage,” the brief states. “And each day the ban remains in effect, the public loses access...

Anti-abortion groups worry Hyde Amendment’s 50-year run could end with new congressional majority

Volunteer clinic escorts stand in a line before a kneeling anti-abortion demonstrator at a clinic in Louisville, Ky., in 2021. Advocates from each side of the abortion issue have pushed for Congress to either codify the Hyde Amendment into law or codify its repeal, but neither side has been successful. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images) In the early months of 2022, Democrats in Congress came close to passing an appropriations bill that did not include a provision barring federal funding for abortions — maybe the closest it had ever come in more than 40 years. But those who wanted the Hyde Amendment included won the battle in the end. Three months later, the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health to allow states to regulate abortion access. That year, the 50-year precedent of a constitutional right to abortion ended, and the 50-year precedent of no federal tax funding to pay for abortions endures. The Hyde Amendment was first passed Sept. 30, 1976, th...

Trump used impossible foreign labor standards as tariff workaround, small businesses say

Watches are on display in a Swatch store on April 3, 2025, in Miami Beach, Florida. The Swiss company, and other in 60 countries that make up more than 99% of U.S. imports, is subject to Trump administration tariffs tied to labor standards. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Small businesses will once again challenge President Donald Trump’s tariffs in federal court this week as they continue to feel the squeeze of the administration’s roller coaster policy on import taxes. Spice importer Burlap & Barrel and rare watch importer Collective Horology will argue Wednesday in the Court of International Trade in New York City that the Trump administration did not properly establish forced labor cases against dozens of U.S. trading partners before levying duties on goods that numerous American importers buy. The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced in late July that products from 60 top U.S. trading partners will be tariffed at 10% or 12.5%, depe...

‘Dumbfounds us all’: Congress struggles with policies rippling from AI development

Icons for popular AI virtual assistant apps are seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo illustration by Getty Images) The challenges and dire threats surrounding the unchecked growth of artificial intelligence appear unlikely to move Congress or President Donald Trump to act as the U.S. Senate enters its last week before the midterms. The rapid emergence of the technology has sparked a host of policy debates, with some warning of an existential threat to humanity, requiring urgent attention. But the only action Congress could plausibly take before November’s elections is a relatively toothless measure aiming to control the massive consumer electricity costs of AI. “A lot of people are afraid of the dark and change is difficult,” said Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va. “The amazement of AI just dumbfounds us all.” The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a plan to urge states to protect consumers from paying higher electricity costs from data centers. A lot of Democrats are balking at the...