Administration

High-Stakes Climate Lawsuit Led by Youth Turns Its Attention to Trump

It’s somewhat fitting that President Trump, who has named climate deniers and a former fossil-fuel executive to top cabinet posts, including at the EPA, would end up a defendant in what’s likely the highest-stakes climate lawsuit on the planet. The suit, brought by Our Children’s Trust on behalf of nearly two dozen youth and climate scientist James Hansen, seeks a real and comprehensive climate …


Now Ohio Schools Must Decide Transgender Bathroom Issue After Lawsuit Dropped

It’s now up to individual Ohio school districts to decide which restroom and shower facility their transgender students should use. A federal lawsuit has been dismissed upon a request by Ohio and the nine other states that went to court over a May directive from the administration of former President Barack Obama saying schools should allow transgender students to use the facilities of the …


Trump Tries to Tromp Youth by Undermining Landmark Climate Lawsuit

The Trump administration filed a motion on March 7 to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on a federal judge’s order in Juliana v. United States. Juliana v. United States is an historic case brought by 21 young plaintiffs who argue that their constitutional and public trust rights are being violated by the government’s creation of climate danger. The Trump administration also filed a …


11 States Drop Lawsuit After Trump Rescinds Transgender Student Directive

The 11 states suing to stop the Obama administration’s directive expanding transgender student rights agreed to drop their lawsuit against the move following the Trump administration’s move to rescind the order. The states, led by Texas, sued in May, arguing that the Obama administration had overstepped its authority when it directed the nation’s public schools to allow transgender students to …


Jackie Evancho’s Transgender Sister Wins Lawsuit Against School Board

A federal judge has ruled in favor of permitting three transgender students, including Jackie Evancho’s sister Juliet, to use the school restroom that aligns with their gender identity. Trump administration has clearly signaled it doesn’t care about trans students’ safety – but it can’t rescind a federal statute Jackie Evancho sang the National Anthem at Donald Trump’s inauguration; Juliet …


Judge Denies Request to Delay Texas Voter ID Lawsuit

A long-running lawsuit over Texas’ contentious voter ID law will move forward in federal court, even as the Republican-controlled Legislature considers how best to modify it. A federal judge on Friday denied a request from the U.S. Justice Department and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to delay the case. The Trump administration joined with …


ACLU: Trump Action Won’t Stop Transgender Teen’s Lawsuit

Lawyers for a transgender teenager say they will keep pushing his legal dispute with a Virginia school board to the Supreme Court. The American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) announcement comes one day after the Trump administration rolled back protections for transgender students, potentially impacting 17-year-old Gavin Grimm’s upcoming case. “If anything, the confusion caused by this recent …



Philly: Soda Tax Lawsuit Will Slow Funding to Parks, Libraries, Pre-K

The city is delaying borrowing $300 million to support a massive rebuild of the city’s parks, libraries and community centers as a lawsuit over the new sugar-sweetened beverage tax snakes through the courts system. Mike Dunn, a spokesman for Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, told Billy Penn Tuesday that in addition to delaying the borrowing of that $300 million, the city …


Feds Not Rushing Travel-Ban Appeal to Supreme Court

The Justice Department said in a brief filed Monday that it would continue to defend President Donald Trump’s targeted travel ban in the federal appeals court in San Francisco, which on Thursday refused to reinstate it. The department did not say whether it would try to appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court. But its silence on the matter suggested that the Trump administration …