A group of nonprofits challenging the layoffs of thousands of probationary employees urged the Supreme Court to leave in place an order by a federal judge in San Francisco that would require the federal government to reinstate more than 16,000 employees who were fired by six agen … | Continue reading
The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here. Over the past couple of conferences, the Supreme Court has continued to clear out the rolls of relisted cases. Rema … | Continue reading
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read: Supreme Court appears divided over whether states can cut off Planned Parenthood funding (Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press) Supreme Court h … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court on Wednesday was divided over whether Planned Parenthood has a legal right under federal civil rights laws to challenge the order by South Carolina’s governor barring abortion clinics, including Planned Parenthood, from participating in Medicaid. During more tha … | Continue reading
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act provides for federal criminal and civil penalties for harms from “racketeering.” Wednesday’s ruling in Medical Marijuana, Inc v. Horn, like so many of the court’s RICO decisions, involves the civil penalties. Douglas Horn was … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court on Wednesday largely upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s denials of two companies’ applications to sell flavored liquids for use in e-cigarettes. In a unanimous ruling, the justices threw out a ruling by the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th C … | Continue reading
We are expecting one or more opinions from the court this morning. Join us for the live blog starting at 9:45 a.m. EDT. Following the opinion announcements, the court will hear oral arguments in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. The case is a dispute over South Carolin … | Continue reading
On Wednesday, April 2, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements. | Continue reading
Lawyers for alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to leave in place an order by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that prohibits the federal government from removing them, or anyone else, from the United States under the Alien … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared inclined to allow a lawsuit by U.S. victims of terrorist attacks in Israel against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to go forward. A majority of the justices appeared skeptical of contentions by the PA and t … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday in a case that, at first glance, appears to involve only a technical interpretation of the federal Medicaid Act. But the dispute has drawn widespread attention because of the context in which it came to the justices: an atte … | Continue reading
The court this morning will hear arguments in a dispute over whether Americans injured in terror attacks abroad, or the family members of Americans killed in such attacks, can sue the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in U.S. courts. Listen live. Eac … | Continue reading
United States v. Miller presents the kind of simple facts that populate law-school hypotheticals. A business is in financial distress. The shareholders (who control the business) use some of its funds to pay off their own debts, including taxes owed to the federal government. Whe … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in the latest chapter of the justices’ efforts to lay out rules for personal jurisdiction – whether courts have the power to hear a case against certain defendants. Tuesday’s case is a particularly high-profile dispute, and on … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court on Monday appeared sympathetic to the argument by a Catholic Charities chapter that Wisconsin violated the Constitution when it refused to give the group the same exemption from the state’s unemployment tax that it provides to churches, religious schools, and so … | Continue reading
Under the federal law governing efforts by state prisoners to seek post-conviction relief in federal courts, prisoners who lose at the trial level can only appeal that decision if they can show that reasonable judges could disagree with the ruling or that the case should be allow … | Continue reading
The justice will hear oral arguments in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission and Rivers v. Guerrero this morning. Catholic Charities is one of three religious rights cases the justices will hear in the final weeks of the 2024-25 term's argumen … | Continue reading
I sometimes think this is the year of animals for me at Bedlam Farm, but that’s silly. Every year up here has been a year of the animals. The newcomers are Zip and the birds (new to me). As many bird lovers predicted, I would get hooked if I started taking photos of birds. They [ … | Continue reading
“Looking at a flower blossom triggers dopamine production in our brains, which makes us feel better. Flowers with attractive scents like lilacs and peonies also cause our brains to produce serotonin. Serotonin is a mood stabilizer that helps you feel satisfied. We have improved f … | Continue reading
Above, Sue’s students say hello and tell her she is missed. It will take more than surgery to slow or stop my indomitable friend and beloved teacher, Sue Silverstein, an Art Teacher at Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, New York. Sue asked me to let all of her many follow … | Continue reading
Sarah, it is a great privilege to work with someone so talented and dedicated. Working with her, learning from her, and helping her do real good in a confused and chaotic world is a pleasure. She has done an incredible job making the Cambridge Food Pantry a place of comfort and g … | Continue reading
Please help some teachers get snacks for hungry and tired kids in their classroom. | Continue reading
“Believing it was the goddess Iris who helped guide woman’s souls to heaven, the ancient Greeks planted iris flowers on the graves of their loved ones…” – Pinterest. Thousands of years later, the Iris is still planted on the graves of loved ones, especially women. Rescue Love – … | Continue reading
I don’t know if you can call it a Sabbath, but I’ll try. Maria and I are working hard not to work hard on Saturdays and Sundays; we have been wearing ourselves out. I start today with my daily bird watch (a wonderful meditation), and the Cambridge Pantry requests for food support … | Continue reading
Today, Saturday the 29th, the Cambridge Food Pantry asks for help getting some chili back on the shelves. The last one was picked off yesterday (see Volunteer Ellenor above). Sarah is also eager to get some tomato sauce from the soup the Army of Goods sent earlier. Chili is one o … | Continue reading
With most of the 2024-25 term behind them, the justices’ final stretch of oral arguments is stacked with all three religious rights cases of the year. All three cases look to the justices to take up an expansive view of the Constitution’s religious protections. The first of those … | Continue reading
Eight states, led by California, on Friday urged the Supreme Court to leave in place an order by a federal judge in Massachusetts that requires the Department of Education to restore more than $65 million in grants, intended to address teacher shortages, that it ended in February … | Continue reading
“That swimming, sloping, elusive something about the dark-bluish tint of the iris, which seemed still to retain the shadows it had absorbed of ancient, fabulous forests where there were more birds than tigers and more fruit than thorns and where, in some dapped depth, man’s mind … | Continue reading
The Christian was required and created for one purpose and no other: “to be one more worker for the kingdom, one more transmitter of the divine Charity, the great spendthrift of God. From the first, writes Evelyn Wunderhill in “The Soul’s Journey.” That, she wrote, was Jesus’s r … | Continue reading
The Trump administration came to the Supreme Court on Friday morning, asking the justices to allow it to enforce an executive order that directs government officials to quickly remove, without a hearing, noncitizens who are designated as members of a Venezuelan gang. The order re … | Continue reading
Today is Juice Day at the Cambridge Pantry, all Canned, for convenience and the recognition that many pantry customers don’t have kitchens or space. Researchers say that canned juices are as healthy as fresh fruit and make life easier for young mothers and older people. Sarah’s … | Continue reading
I met Eh K’ Pru Shee seven years ago. Her story is one of tragedy, suffering, courage, and love, one of the early high points of my work and the group that soon became the Army of Good. Kathy Sosa is a dedicated teacher at Albany’s Hackett Middle School. Eh ‘Pru was fresh out of … | Continue reading
I was amazed when Maria joined a belly dancing group in Bennington, Vt. Today, we talk about how it changed her life. | Continue reading
I first met Ian McRae when he showed up to share our sheep with his grandfather. He is still our shearer (his grandfather retired). Ian and I have evolved into a wonderful friendship. He is a poet now, writing some beautiful poems, and on the way to his weekly poetry group, he of … | Continue reading
Birdwatch at the feeder. Zip gets a head scratch. Dr. Fariello says Bud is in perfect health; happy to hear it. Manure time Landscape, donkeys, sheep. Bringing out the Hay Zip surveys his kingdom every morning. | Continue reading
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read: Trump administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in case over canceled DEI-related grants (Melissa Quinn, CBS News) Trump wants to ‘defund’ Plann … | Continue reading
In floriography, the language of flowers, the iris carries meanings of faith, courage, hope, and wisdom. These associations can be traced back to Greek mythology, where Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and a messenger for Zeus and Hera. “What in your life is calling you? When … | Continue reading
The Cambridge Food Pantry’s Soup Boxes need some sauce. Sarah is asking for help getting tomato sauce and Tide laundry detergent, two of the pantry’s most sought-after items. Her urgent item request is for Chilli, which is below. Thanks again for your unrelenting support. Co … | Continue reading
The Trump administration came to the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, asking the justices to pause an order by a federal judge in Massachusetts that requires the Department of Education to reinstate more than $65 million in training grants meant to address teacher shortages th … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed poised to uphold the federal program that provides schools, libraries, and underserved areas with access to affordable telephone and high-speed internet services. A conservative consumer advocacy group challenged the program, arguing it viola … | Continue reading
The landscape was beautiful this morning. The White Hen is holding her own. We think she is deaf and blind in one eye. The first trees to bud. Feeding time, sunrise. Fate’s eyes tell the story of her intensity. The morning light is precious here. Fate gets the sheep. Maria is … | Continue reading
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read: Supreme Court seems likely to OK $8 billion phone and internet subsidy for rural, low-income areas (Mark Sherman, The Associated Press) US Supreme … | Continue reading
A, Zip, and Zinnia are great pals; Zip loves to ambush Zinnia in the morning by hiding somewhere and reaching out to catch her by surprise. Zinnia is always startled but never mad. She has the sweetest disposition of any dog I’ve ever had. Zip is savvy; he used a fence for cove … | Continue reading
My two favorite flowers to photograph are the Callas, as they are apparent, and the Iris, which has climbed up the list recently and radically. I’ve learned much about how to take my photos, the Iris fits, and the Callas regarding design and shape, especially color and depth. Sue … | Continue reading
The Petitions of the Week column highlights some of the cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here. Nearly 25 years ago, the Supreme Court upheld a federal restriction on the amount of money political parties can s … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden-era rule regulating so-called “ghost guns” – untraceable weapons without serial numbers, assembled from components or kits that can be bought online. By a vote of 7-2, the justices held that the Gun Control Act of 1968 allows the Bure … | Continue reading
Following opinion announcements, the Supreme Court will hear arguments this morning in FCC v. Consumers’ Research, a challenge to a FCC program that subsidizes telephone and internet services to schools, libraries, and underserved areas. The case has the potential to significantl … | Continue reading
On Wednesday, March 26, we were live as the court released opinions in Bondi v. VanDerStok and United States v. Miller. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements. | Continue reading