• A federal appeals court has overturned a lower‑court injunction that had ordered the Trump administration to restore the flow of federal grants to several local governments, reopening billions of dollars in funding that had been withheld.
• The decision follows a dispute over how the administration interprets the conditions attached to federal grants, with cities arguing that the withholding amounted to political retaliation.
• The ruling could influence how future administrations may or may not condition aid on policy compliance, and it has implications for federalism and local autonomy.
At the heart of the case was the question of how much lawmakers are allowed to consider race when they redraw districtsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US supreme court has ruled that Louisiana will have to redraw its congressional map, in a landmark voting rights case.At the heart of the case, Louisiana v Callais, was a thorny question of how much lawmakers are allowed to consider race when they redraw districts to ensure that Black voters are adequately represented. The supreme court initially heard oral arguments in the case last March, but took the unusual step of asking lawyers to re-argue the case last fall. In setting the case for a re-argument, the justices raised the stakes of the case, asking lawyers to focus on whether section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was constitutional. Continue reading...
Report examines how the effects of slavery and Jim Crow at the county level continue to harm Black Georgia residentsA Georgia taskforce has released a landmark report that details the lasting impact of slavery and its afterlives in Fulton county.The report, spanning more than 600 pages, is based on original research by the Fulton county reparations taskforce and a review of primary source documents. It is the first-of-its-kind in the nation, according to county leaders and researchers. Rather than examining the impact of slavery and racism at the federal or state level, the harm report investigated the role of the county government. Continue reading...
About 500 farmers challenge Green Gen Cymru in high court over alleged disregard for landowners and biosecurityA group of 500 Welsh farmers have brought a landmark legal claim to the high court over the alleged conduct of a green energy developer planning to build electricity pylon routes across their land.The court will hear allegations that Green Gen Cymru “unlawfully sought entry to private land, intimidated landowners, and showed disregard for biosecurity and basic rights”, as well as examine laws that force landowners to sell property to utility companies, in a hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence company cites high energy costs and regulation as reasons for putting Stargate project on holdOpenAI has put plans for a landmark project to strengthen the UK’s AI capabilities on hold, citing high energy costs and regulation.Stargate UK was a part of the landmark UK-US AI deal announced last September, in which US companies appeared to commit £31bn to the UK’s tech sector, part of a larger series of investments intended to “mainline AI” into the British economy. Continue reading...
St Michael’s Mount and the people who live near it are still healing from the scars left by storm’s 100mph windsThree months after Storm Goretti battered St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, the signs of the storm’s power are still evident in the scars left by uprooted trees, piles of logs and the shaking of heads from islanders who have lived there for decades and never seen the like.“It really was something,” said Jack Beesley, a senior gardener. “We were shocked the morning after when we saw what had happened. We had been caring for these trees for years and to see so many of them down was very sad. We’ve worked hard to get the place ready for the Easter visitors but it will still be a month or more until we’re back straight.” Continue reading...
Court case will weigh the constitutionality of his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship President Donald Trump will watch the US supreme court hear a landmark case today weighing the constitutionality of his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship – an extraordinary and possibly unprecedented move for the nation’s highest office.Trump signed an executive order on his return to the White House decreeing that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become US citizens.Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail-in voting across the US with a series of new requirements, including the establishment of a national voter list.The move was unprecedented and likely unconstitutional, according to experts. The Brennan Center said in response, “He has no lawful authority to write the rules that govern our elections. He tried a year ago; we sued him; we won. A year later, he has tried again. He can expect the same result.”Several states and Democratic officials criticized the order, describing it as an illegal attack that amounted to voter suppression ahead of the midterms, and said they will take legal action to stop the president, including California.Trump continued to fume over today’s ruling from a US judge that halted the construction of his $400m White House ballroom, and sharply criticized the decision during a press briefing and on social media.Pete Hegseth lifted the suspension of the crew of the military helicopters that hovered near the home of singer Kid Rock, and said there would be no investigation. Continue reading...
Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has comeJohn Mahama knows a thing or two about beating the establishment. On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote against transatlantic chattel slavery, despite major opposition from the same western entities that drove it for centuries.The resolution to declare the practice as “the gravest crime against humanity” passed with a decisive majority at the UN general assembly and has been largely welcomed across Africa. Yet the details of the tally reveal a world still deeply divided on the gravity of the sin of enslaving more than 15 million people as chattel over the course of 400 years. Continue reading...
Australian manufacturers can call their wares parmesan and kransky, but terms like feta, romano and gruyere will be eventually phased outFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEuropean food, wine, cars and fashion goods will become cheaper for Australian buyers under a long-awaited trade deal, but farmers are furious about meagre quotas for meat exports.After almost a decade of negotiations, Australia and the European Union have struck an agreement that will lead to both sides slashing tariffs and expanding trade across a range of areas. Continue reading...
• U.S. Senate passed its 2026 spending bill including the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act to advance pediatric cancer combination therapies.
• Bill features Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act streamlining out-of-state Medicaid/CHIP provider approvals for children and five-year reauthorization of FDA Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program.
• Allocates $7.35 billion to National Cancer Institute, up $128 million from 2025, with $30 million for Childhood Cancer STAR Act and $50 million for Childhood Cancer Data Initiative.
• The U.S. Senate passed its 2026 spending bill containing multiple landmark pediatric cancer provisions, including the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act to advance combination therapy research and the Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act to streamline Medicaid provider approvals.
• The bill allocates $7.35 billion for the National Cancer Institute (a $128 million increase from 2025), with $30 million designated for the Childhood Cancer STAR Act and $50 million for the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative, plus $12.6 million for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program.
• These provisions represent a significant recovery for the pediatric cancer community after 2025's devastating federal funding cuts, including removal of key provisions from the previous year's spending bill and a 15% cap on NIH grant indirect cost reimbursements.
