Supreme Court will tackle transgender rights, 'ghost guns' in term beginning Monday

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court opens a new term Monday, facing major decisions on whether states can ban "gender-affirming care" for transgender teens and if the U.S. government can restrict the sale of untraceable "ghost guns." Both cases could have a broad impact in the years ahead.

The first could outlaw discrimination nationwide against transgender youth, or instead uphold the power of red states to decide the divisive issue on their own.

The other — to be argued Tuesday — could score another victory for gun rights groups, making it easier for criminals and many others to get firearms they cannot obtain legally.

They are among the many contentious issues due to be decided in the coming term, including whether the government can restrict the marketing of new e-cigarettes that appeal to minors and whether states can set age limits for pornographic websites.

—Los Angeles Times

Ex-GOP Rep. Liz Cheney joins Kamala Harris on campaign trail in Wisconsin

Ex-Rep. Liz Cheney was poised Thursday to join Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail in Wisconsin to rally support from anti-Trump Republicans.

The joint campaign event spotlights the extraordinary alliance between the liberal Democratic presidential standard bearer and the scion of one of the nation’s best-known conservative political families, all aimed at defeating former President Donald Trump.

Harris plans to note that Republicans like Cheney can count on her to uphold the Constitution and serve the country’s best interests, even if they may not agree with her on every issue, campaign officials said.

The Democratic standard-bearer will declare that a leader like Trump who has publicly vowed to terminate the Constitution should never be allowed to win back the White House.

—New York Daily News

Judge temporarily blocks new California election deepfake law, citing First Amendment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s new law that allows people to sue over election deepfakes was temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

The judge, in granting a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, wrote that the law likely violates the First Amendment given its broad scope, even if digitally altered media such as by artificial intelligence poses “significant” risks.

“Supreme Court precedent illuminates that while a well-founded fear of a digitally manipulated media landscape may be justified, this fear does not give legislators unbridled license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment,” U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez wrote.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office countered that the law targeted deepfakes, not satire, that could negatively impact elections.

—The Sacramento Bee

Europe’s global green ambitions push too hard once again

Europe forged its plan to curb global deforestation three years ago when more than 100 world leaders pledged at the COP26 climate conference to reverse the destruction of millions of hectares of woodland every year.

There was an aggressive timetable, but as with many of the European Union’s green plans, it proved too much for some, and the bloc on Wednesday caved to calls from countries including Brazil and the U.S. to slow down.

The decision to delay deforestation targets symbolizes the bloc’s overreach when it comes to persuading the world to follow in its green footsteps. It’s the result of ambitious environmental aims clashing with hard reality. Businesses said they needed time and money to get ready for the huge change the E.U. envisages, as did emerging economies.

Over $110 billion of trade was set to be affected by the EUDR, which aimed to end the chopping down of forests as a result of the E.U.’s insatiable thirst for commodities such as coffee, cocoa, soy and beef.

—Bloomberg News