The birthright fight: On the final day of the term, the Supreme Court sided with Trump by curbing nationwide injunctions granted against the president's birthright citizenship order. But the conservative justices who ruled in Trump's favor shouldn't have even entertained his administration's arguments about birthright citizenship, writes former federal prosecutor Shan Wu. By doing so, the high court bolstered the president's attack on birthright citizenship, all while using its favorite new love: the emergency shadow docket. Read more.
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No mo' Cuomo: The New York City mayoral primary had reverberations far beyond the Big Apple. But one of the biggest was the repudiation of a political dynasty that dated back to the 1970s, writes The City senior editor Harry Siegel. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was attempting a political comeback after resigning in disgrace in 2021. But his Trump-y, fear-based campaign didn't work, and Cuomo was forced to concede to upstart democratic socialist and state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. The stunning result will have Democrats around the country rethinking their strategies for next year's midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Read more.
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War powers: After Trump's attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, some Democrats in Congress argued he had violated the War Powers Resolution, which limits the president's power to commit to armed conflict without congressional approval. But they'd be on more solid ground if previous presidents, Democratic and Republican, hadn't consistently ignored the resolution since it was passed in the 1970s, writes Michael A. Cohen. In fact, few presidents more blatantly disregarded congressional use of force prerogatives than former President Barack Obama. Read more.
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High school low: Today's high schoolers may be in for a nasty surprise if the Republican megabill passes in its current form, writes Ryan Teague Beckwith. The bill would make student loans more expensive, reduce Pell grants, end subsidized loans and even eliminate deferments for borrowers who lose their jobs. And unlike Trump's executive orders attacking colleges, it won't be easy to undo. The collective result would be the end of a promise made to generations of Americans since World War II: that going to college is your ticket to the middle class. Read more.
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Troubling documentary: Before Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was a top Republican in Congress, he was a revered assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University. But in a new HBO documentary, "Surviving Ohio State," multiple wrestlers say Jordan was one of many adults at Ohio State who knew a school doctor was sexually assaulting students and did nothing to intervene, writes veteran Ohio journalist Marilou Johanek. Jordan has long denied any knowledge of the allegations. But the documentary paints an excruciating portrait of the conditions that enable long-term abuse to hide in plain sight. Read more.
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Many Iranians hope for the end of the theocracy that has run their country for nearly a half-century, but that doesn't mean they want the U.S. to overthrow their government, writes journalist Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani in an insightful piece about a much-misunderstood country. While Trump mused on social media about "regime change," she heard dread from inside and outside the country. Even the Iranians who love American culture and roll their eyes at hard-liners' "death to America" chants consider the U.S. government an unreliable partner. Read the column here.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith, newsletter editor |
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