Latest News
Trump Seeks “Loyalty” from Supreme Court While Awaiting Birthright Citizenship Decision
President Donald Trump is saying in posts on social media that the Supreme Court should demonstrate more “loyalty” to his policies as it prepares to announce a critical ruling on birthright citizenship.
Trump wants to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.
Lower courts cited the 14th Amendment in blocking his executive order abolishing birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment’s “citizenship clause” guarantees that "[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
Trump’s Feb. 19, 2025 executive order said birthright citizenship does not apply to children of non-citizens who lack legal status in the United States. A stated goal of the order was to discourage "irregular migration" and challenge the "birth tourism" industry.
U.S. Trade Court Strikes Down Trump’s 10 Percent Global Tariffs as "Unlawful"
The Justice Department is appealing a U.S. Court of International Trade ruling last week that the 10 percent global tariffs President Donald Trump announced in February are illegal.
Trump imposed the tariffs on most imports under authority of the Trade Act of 1974.
Section 122 of the Trade Act allows the president to temporarily charge surcharges of up to 15 percent on imports to address "large and serious balance-of-payments deficits." The trade court said the conditions were not met.
"Nowhere [does the president’s tariff proclamation] identify balance-of-payments deficits within the meaning of Section 122 as it was enacted in 1974," the court’s 2-to-1 decision says.
Allowing the president to redefine ordinary trade deficits as "crises" to trigger Section 122 authority would effectively seize the power of taxation the Constitution reserves for Congress, the court said.
Historic Preservationists Sue to Stop Renovation of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
The Trump administration is accused in a new lawsuit of violating federal law on historic sites by painting the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial blue.
The lawsuit filed last week by the Cultural Landscape Foundation says the project violates the National Historic Preservation Act.
The federal law requires the Interior Department to await mandatory federal reviews and to seek public comments before altering historic landmarks.
President Donald Trump ordered the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to be painted what he called “American flag blue” in time for the 250th anniversary celebration of the United States in July.
He said the original gray cement of the pool’s basin was “filthy dirty and it leaked like a sieve.”
Legal Briefs
Shipping Company in Baltimore Bridge Collapse Indicted on Criminal Charges
Prosecutors in Baltimore are pursuing criminal charges against the owners and operators of a ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024.
The crash of the container ship Dali into a pylon collapsed the bridge, temporarily shut down a major shipping lane and killed six workers.
The indictment announced last week names Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Group, along with Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, a technical superintendent for the Dali.
Prosecutors allege the defendants knowingly ignored hazardous conditions aboard the vessel and later obstructed the federal investigation into the disaster. They say the company cut corners on safety to avoid higher maintenance costs.
"When companies prioritize schedule and profit over basic maritime safety, the consequences are measured in human lives," a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office says.
The companies say prosecutors are mischaracterizing an accident as a crime.
The Dali lost power twice while departing the Port of Baltimore on March 26, 2024, before crashing into a support column of the bridge. The six construction workers who were killed in the collapse were repairing potholes on the span overnight.
The disaster temporarily shut down one of the nation’s busiest shipping channels. When transportation delays and related shipping problems are added to the cost, federal authorities estimate the economic damage from the collapse exceeded $5 billion.
According to the Justice Department, investigators found that company officials failed to report known electrical and mechanical problems aboard the vessel.
D.C. in Brief
U.S. Attorney Threatens to Prosecute Parents Whose Children Violate D.C.’s Youth Curfew
Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has ignited a fierce legal debate by announcing that parents of minors who violate Washington’s youth curfew could face criminal prosecution.
She said the prosecutions could be necessary to address a wave of disorder caused by groups of teenagers in nightlife districts across the city.
Pirro said last week that her office intends to use existing District law to pursue cases against parents or guardians who “knowingly permit, or by insufficient control allow” children to remain in public during curfew hours.
The citywide curfew for anyone under 18 years old generally runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during June through September and midnight to 6 a.m. during the rest of the year.
The law allows for penalties including fines, court-ordered parenting classes and, in some circumstances, jail time. Pirro argued that curfew enforcement will be ineffective unless adults are held accountable as well.
The announcement is part of a “summer surge” of law enforcement to reduce juvenile crime. Hundreds of National Guard troops are being added to patrol crime-ridden locations.
The “teen takeovers” in the Navy Yard, NoMa and the U Street corridor neighborhoods occasionally have led to fights, robberies and property damage.
Critics condemned the proposal, saying it unfairly criminalizes struggling families and could worsen instability in households already facing economic and social pressures.
The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia said criminalizing parents raises serious constitutional due process and fairness concerns.
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