Politics
Military voters were at the heart of the Supreme Court’s mail‑in ballot decision
Mail-in voting was created during the Civil War so soldiers could vote. That legacy helped shape how the Supreme Court ruled more than 160 years later.
As the US turns 250, a forgotten founding influence helps explain its current unease
Montesquieu shaped how Americans understood liberty, and his warning about a ‘tyranny of opinion’ speaks to today’s polarization.
Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other
Data center proposals are often local controversies with significant underlying principles at stake.
Banning transgender girls from school sports affects all children – why allowing strangers to scrutinize children’s bodies may put all girls at risk of harassment
The US Supreme Court ruled that states could exclude transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports teams.
How public celebrations quietly remake what it means to be American
From a synagogue’s 5K to Appalachia’s Hillbilly Days, shared celebrations pull strangers together.
Political parties can now spend unlimited money supporting candidates, after Supreme Court overturns decades of precedent
A huge amount of money flows into campaigns in the United States. For 20 years, the Supreme Court has been loosening rules for who can contribute and how much. It just loosened the rules again.
In rebuke to Trump, Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, emphasizing the promise of equality in the Declaration of Independence
Pointing to the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, the high court ruled that all babies born in the United States ‘are citizens by birth.’
How a tiny Caribbean island made American independence possible
The American Revolution was won not just by ideals and armies, but by the strategic trade networks of a small Caribbean port.
Supreme Court rules your cellphone location data is protected by the Fourth Amendment
Geofencing warrants, which round up the location data of everyone in a specific place at a specific time, are now legally subject to Fourth Amendment protections.
Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter turbocharges presidential power
The high court’s ruling effectively endorses the unitary executive theory, greatly expanding the power of the president.