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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law restricting gender transition care for minors, delivering a major blow to transgender rights.The 6-3 ruling is likely to have a broad impact as 24 other states have already enacted laws similar to the one in Tennessee, which bars gender transition surgery, puberty blockers and hormone therapy for youth. The court was divided on ideological lines, with the six conservatives in the majority and the three liberals in dissent.Those laws now look set to survive similar legal challenges. The ruling does not affect states that do not have such bans,…

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s unprecedented shake-up of a key federal vaccine advisory panel ushered in appointees who have expressed skepticism about the value and safety of vaccines — raising concerns about the group’s objectivity. The eight new members Kennedy appointed to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about who should get certain vaccines, include three people who have testified as expert witnesses against vaccine makers, NBC News found in a review of the members’ professional backgrounds. One of the new members has published…

If the economy seems to be increasingly veering off course, the worse may be yet to come. The Federal Reserve is set to leave interest rates unchanged as it continues to assess the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, especially the threat of higher prices.But new challenges confront the central bank amid ongoing signs that the job market is slowing down.One of the most alarming signals of that sluggishness can be found in the measure of continuing jobless claims, or filings for unemployment insurance by people who have been job-hunting for multiple weeks. Last week, the number climbed to…

The pace of political violence has so quickly accelerated in the United States that the country is poised to field a widening group of 2028 contenders who have experienced it in some form. To date, at least a half-dozen public officials who may run for president in 2028 have either personally faced political violence, lost friends in such plots or had to manage political unrest in their states.Foisted onto the national stage by these incidents, these politicians have given the public a glimpse of how they conduct themselves in a crisis, including their ability to combat false messaging that often…

WASHINGTON — Two educational toy companies on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to quickly take up their challenge to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.The companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind, filed a joint appeal arguing that Trump had no power to impose the tariffs on goods from China under a law called the International Economic Powers Act.They asked the court to leapfrog over a federal appeals court, which has yet to rule on the case, and agree to take the dispute up this month so it can schedule oral arguments this fall, possibly as early as September.A federal judge in…

The incident is the latest in a series of dramatic confrontations between immigration officials and Democrats opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.Last week, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristin Noem. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was then a gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey, was also arrested on trespassing charges last month at an ICE detention facility in the state. The charges against him were dropped, but Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was subsequently charged with assaulting law enforcement during the incident. Trump and his “border czar” Tom Homan also suggested that…

WASHINGTON — Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee released their portion of the massive bill for President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda on Monday, with some significant changes compared with the House-passed package.The 549-page bill extends the expiring Trump tax cuts and includes provisions to slash taxes on tips and overtime pay.It contains a slew of Medicaid spending cuts and new rules, including work requirements that would kick in at the end of 2026, like the House bill. It also contains policies to force more frequent checks on eligibility and tougher screenings to prove lawful immigration status, in order for people…

WASHINGTON — The targeted shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers has renewed an urgent debate on Capitol Hill as members of Congress raise alarm bells about their safety amid escalating political rhetoric and violent threats.Law enforcement officials have begun holding a series of security briefings with groups of congressional lawmakers that will continue into Tuesday. Lawmakers have been told that they can spend money from their office budgets on home security systems and campaign cash on private security. Only a handful of congressional leaders get 24-hour protection from Capitol Police security details, though members can request extra protection, which is…

President Donald Trump is cutting short his attendance at the Group of Seven summit in Canada, the White House said Monday night, citing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that “because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State.” “I have to be back as soon as I can,” Trump told reporters in response to a question Monday night about his plans to leave the summit early.”We’re gonna have dinner with these wonderful leaders and then I get on…

Christopher Hanson, who had been serving as a commissioner at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in a post on LinkedIn today that he was fired by Trump last week.“Late on Friday, President Trump terminated my position with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees,” Hanson wrote. Appointed by then-President Joe Biden, Hanson said in his post that over the last five years he was focused on preparing “the agency for anticipated change in the energy sector, while preserving the independence, integrity, and bipartisan nature of the…