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SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent

SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent

The Supreme Court on Monday weighed the legality of President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause, in a blockbuster legal fight that justices noted could fundamentally reshape the balance of powers across the federal government, and impact at least two dozen federal agencies.  Justices on the high court appeared split over how to proceed in the case, which involves Supreme Court precedent set in Humphrey’s Executor, a 1935 decision that allowed Congress to protect certain federal regulators from being removed by a sitting president without cause.   U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court justices at the outset of oral arguments Monday to overturn Humphey’s precedent, which he assailed as an “indefensible outlier” and “decaying husk” that has “not withstood the test of time.” The court’s conservative justices seemed to entertain the possibility of further narrowing protections for federal agencies established under the 1935 decision, if not overturning it altogether. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett in particular focused some of their questions to the Trump administration on what “limiting” principles might apply, if any.  LAWYERS FOR COOK, DOJ TRADE BLOWS AT HIGH-STAKES CLASH OVER FED FIRING Liberal justices on the court appeared skeptical of Sauer’s claim that Trump has the power to fire the heads of independent federal agencies, citing concerns that allowing him to do so here could be a slippery slope of sorts that could also free the executive to fire other agency heads or lower-level civil servants.  “You’re asking us to overturn a case that has been around for nearly 100 years,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Sauer.  “I don’t see how your logic can be limited,” if the case is overturned, she added, telling Sauer the government is asking them to “take away from Congress” its ability to decide the structure of some independent agencies.  “Once you’re down this road, it’s a little bit hard to see how you stop,” Justice Elena Kagan said, echoing the same concerns.  The case, Trump v. Slaughter, centers on Trump’s firing of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat, without cause earlier this year. Slaughter sued immediately to challenge her removal, arguing that it violated protections the Supreme Court enshrined in Humphrey’s Executor. The 1935 precedent, and questions of separation of powers, drove the bulk of arguments Monday.  The case also comes as the high court gears up to hear a case next month centered on Trump’s attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The arguments in Monday’s case will be closely watched and are expected to inform how the court might consider that case in January. .APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP FROM FIRING FEDERAL BOARD MEMBERS, TEES UP SUPREME COURT FIGHT Slaughter had sued in March over her removal, arguing that it violates Humphey’s Executor, and a 1914 law passed by Congress, which shields FTC members from being removed by a president except in circumstances of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” A federal judge had sided with Slaughter’s lawyers in July, agreeing that her firing unlawfully exceeded Trump’s executive authorites and ordered her reinstated. The Supreme Court in September stayed that decision temporarily, allowing Trump’s firing to remain in effect pending their review. The Supreme Court’s willingness to review the case is a sign that justices might be ready to do away completely with Humphrey’s protections, which have already been weakened significantly over the last 20 years.  Allowing Humphey’s to be watered down further, or overturned completely, could allow sitting presidents to wield more authority in ordering the at-will firing of members of other federal regulatory agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among others, and replacing them with persons of their choosing. The six conservative justices on the high court signaled as much when they agreed to review the case earlier this year. (Justices split along ideological lines in agreeing to take up the case, with Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.) They asked both parties to come prepared to address two key questions in oral arguments: First, whether the removal protections for FTC members “violates the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor, should be overruled,” and whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office, “either through relief at equity or at law.” U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in a filing that the FTC authorities of today vastly exceed the authorities granted to the commission in 1935.  “The notion that some agencies that exercise executive power can be sequestered from presidential control seriously offends the Constitution’s structure and the liberties that the separation of powers protects,” he said. A decision is expected to be handed down by the end of June. TRUMP WARNS SUPREME COURT TARIFF SHOWDOWN IS ‘LIFE OR DEATH’ FOR AMERICA The case, Trump v. Slaughter, is one of four cases the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has agreed to review this term that centers on key separation of powers issues, and questions involving the so-called unitary executive theory.  Critics have cited concerns that the court’s decision to take up the cases could eliminate lasting bulwarks in place to protect against the whims of a sitting president, regardless of political party. It also comes as justices for the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority have grappled with a flurry of similar lawsuits filed this year by other Trump-fired Democratic board members, including Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Since taking office, Trump has signed hundreds of executive orders and ordered sweeping personnel actions that have restructured federal agencies and led to mass layoffs across federal agencies, including leaders that were believed to be insulated from the whims of a sitting president.

US deports more Iranians, Islamic republic says

US deports more Iranians, Islamic republic says

President Donald Trump’s administration has deported more Iranians, according to reports. A report published Monday by the Mizan news agency, the official mouthpiece of Iran’s judiciary, quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mojtaba Shasti Karimi acknowledging the deportation of 55 Iranians. “These individuals announced their willingness for return following continuation of anti-immigration and discriminative policy against foreign nationals particularly Iranians by the United States,” the foreign official reportedly claimed, according to The Associated Press. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Monday. IRAN FIRES BALLISTIC AND CRUISE MISSILES AT SIMULATED TARGETS NEAR PERSIAN GULF “In the coming days, about 55 nationals will return to Iran….This is the second group being returned to Iran in the latest months,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei noted, according to Reuters. IRAN BOYCOTTING 2026 WORLD CUP DRAW CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON DUE TO DENIED VISAS BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION The New York Times reported that a U.S. official indicated that the aircraft departed on Sunday and that it was a routine deportation flight that also had people from other nations on board as well. An Iranian official said Arab and Russian nationals would disembark the aircraft when it touched down in Cairo, while the Iranians would head to Kuwait and move to a chartered Kuwait Airways aircraft for the flight to Tehran, according to the outlet.  IRAN BACKS MADURO TO KEEP LATIN AMERICA FOOTHOLD AS TRUMP INCREASES PRESSURE ON VENEZUELA The deportation of Iranians comes amid the Trump administration’s broader illegal immigration crackdown. The Associated Press contributed to this report

Ex-House Democrat drops out of Texas Senate race as Jasmine Crockett candidacy rumors swirl

Ex-House Democrat drops out of Texas Senate race as Jasmine Crockett candidacy rumors swirl

Former House Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, is dropping out of the Lone Star State’s Senate race, he announced on Monday. Allred’s announcement comes as rumors swirl about progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, potentially entering the fray as soon as late Monday afternoon. “l’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers [Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, or Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas],” Allred said in a statement. “That’s why l’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate.” DOJ BACKS TEXAS IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT OVER REPUBLICAN-DRAWN MAP Allred said he would instead run in the newly-redrawn 33rd Congressional District in Texas, which is currently represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, under previously-created boundaries. It’s not clear yet where Veasey will run for re-election in 2026, but Allred is already expected to face a primary against current Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas. Johnson is switching districts to run in the newly-redrawn 33rd, which now includes more of Dallas County while cutting out areas of nearby Tarrant County. “The 33rd district was racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy but it’s also the community where I grew up attending public schools and watching my mom struggle to pay for our groceries,” Allred said. The Supreme Court last week upheld a new congressional map passed by the GOP-dominated Texas legislature and signed into law by longtime Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that creates five more right-leaning House districts in the Lone Star State. Allred, a college football star at Baylor University who went on to play linebacker with the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL) and later worked as a civil rights lawyer, was first elected to the House in 2018, flipping a red seat. He won re-elections in his Dallas area district in 2020 and 2022. ABBOTT SIGNS TEXAS REDISTRICTING MAP INTO LAW, SECURING MAJOR GOP VICTORY AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS As the Democrats’ 2024 Senate nominee in Texas, Allred aimed to dethrone GOP firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. But Allred ended up losing to Cruz by eight points in last year’s election, in a Senate race that was one of the most expensive in the country. Allred launched a second straight bid for the Senate in July. But Allred didn’t have the Democratic field to himself for long. James Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker from Texas with a surging national profile, jumped into the Lone Star State’s high-profile Senate race in September. Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News first reported on Sunday night that Crockett would launch a bid for Senate after facing her own tough House race decisions following the GOP’s redraw of Texas’ congressional map. She is expected to make an announcement about her political future at 5:30 p.m. ET on Monday. Candidates in Texas have until Monday evening to file for their campaigns. Crockett is currently in her second term as a U.S. House member and has already made a name for herself as a progressive firebrand both on social media and during hearings in the House Oversight Committee. Crockett has notably compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler and aspects of the Republican Party to fascism.  But her bombastic style has also made Crockett a superstar within the Democratic Party, with her being chosen to speak at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last year as a then-first-term member of Congress. She ran for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee earlier this year following the death of its previous top Democrat, late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., but dropped out of the race after failing to win the recommendation of leadership within her party. On the GOP side of the Texas Senate race is a high-profile three-way primary between incumbent Cornyn as well as challengers Paxton and Hunt.

Nigeria secures release of 100 kidnapped children, reports say

Nigeria secures release of 100 kidnapped children, reports say

At least 153 students and 12 teachers taken from a Catholic school last month remain in captivity. Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 children who were among hundreds kidnapped from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria last month, officials and local media have reported. The 100 children arrived in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and are set to be handed over to local government officials in Niger State on Monday, an unnamed United Nations source told the AFP news agency. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “They are going to be handed over to Niger State government tomorrow,” the source told the AFP news agency. Nigeria’s The Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday that the rescued children were receiving medical evaluations and would be reunited with their families after a debriefing. Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare also confirmed reports to the AFP that 100 children were being freed. Armed gunmen kidnapped 303 students and 12 teachers from St Mary’s School in the Papiri community of Niger State’s Agwara district on November 21. They included both male and female students aged between 10 to 18 years, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Fifty of the students escaped captivity in the days after they were kidnapped, returning home to their families. Following the release of 100 students on Sunday, 153 students and 12 teachers are believed to remain in captivity. Days earlier, gunmen abducted 25 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in the neighbouring Kebbi State’s Maga town,170km (106 miles) away. “We have been praying and waiting for their return. If it is true, then it is a cheering news,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese, which runs the school. Advertisement “However, we are not officially aware and have not been duly notified by the federal government.” The latest abductions are the worst seen in Nigeria since more than 270 girls from Chibok town were snatched from their school in 2014. In total, more than 1,400 Nigerian students have been kidnapped since 2014, in almost a dozen separate incidents. The most recent kidnappings came soon after United States President Donald Trump said that Nigeria’s Christians are facing genocide, a claim that has been questioned by local officials and Christian groups, who say that people from different faiths have been caught up in ongoing violence in parts of the country. Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Al Jazeera last month that people of all faiths have been affected by the ongoing violence. “We’ve continuously made our point clear that we acknowledge the fact that there are killings that have taken place in Nigeria, but those killings were not restricted to Christians alone. Muslims are being killed. Traditional worshippers are being killed,” Ebienfa said. “The majority is not the Christian population.” Trump has threatened military intervention in Nigeria, alleging that the country is failing to protect Christians from persecution. He has also threatened to cut aid to Nigeria. Nigeria, a country of more than 200 million people, is divided between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south. According to Pew Research Center estimates, Muslims make up 56 percent of Nigeria’s population, while Christians make up just more than 43 percent. Armed groups have been engaged in a conflict that has been largely confined to the northeast of the country, which is majority Muslim, and has dragged on for more than 15 years. Adblock test (Why?)

‘Stop killing us’: Huge crowds rally in Brazil, decrying rise in femicide

‘Stop killing us’: Huge crowds rally in Brazil, decrying rise in femicide

Demonstrators march in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities, calling for an end to femicide, rape and misogyny. Tens of thousands of women have marched in cities across Brazil, denouncing femicide and gender-based violence, after a series of high-profile cases that shocked the country. Women of all ages and some men took to the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities on Sunday, calling for an end to femicide, rape and misogyny. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list In Rio, the protesters put out dozens of black crosses, while others bore stickers with messages such as “machismo kills”. And in Sao Paulo, the demonstrators chanted, “Stop killing us”, and held placards that read, “Enough of femicide”. The protesters in Rio’s Copacabana included Alline de Souza Pedrotti, whose sister was killed on November 28 by a male colleague. Pedrotti said the person who killed her sister, an administrative employee at a school, did not accept having female bosses. “I’m devastated,” she told The Associated Press news agency. “But I’m fighting through the pain, and I won’t stop. I want changes in the legislation and new protocols to prevent this kind of crime from happening again.” The protesters also denounced other shocking cases that took place last month in Sao Paulo and in the southern city of Florianopolis. In Sao Paulo on November 28, Taynara Souza Santos was run over by her ex-boyfriend and trapped by the car, which dragged her over concrete for one kilometre (0.6 mile). The 31-year-old’s injuries were so severe, her legs were amputated. Video footage of the incident went viral. And in Florianopolis on November 21, English teacher Catarina Kasten was raped and strangled to death on a trail next to a beach on her way to a swimming lesson. Advertisement These recent cases were “the final straw”, said Isabela Pontes, who was on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue. “I have suffered many forms of abuses, and today, I am here to show our voice.” A decade ago, Brazil passed a law recognising the crime of femicide, defined as the death of a woman in the domestic sphere or as resulting from contempt for women. Last year, 1,492 women were victims of femicide, the highest number since the law was introduced in 2015, according to the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety. “We’re seeing an increase in numbers, but also in the intensity and cruelty of violence,” said Juliana Martins, an expert in gender-based violence and institutional relations manager at the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety. More women are speaking out against violence targeting them, and have gained visibility in the public sphere, Martins said. “Social transformations seeking equality of rights and representation generate violent responses aimed at reaffirming women’s subordination,” she said. In Rio, Lizete de Paula, 79, said men who hate women had felt empowered during the term of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who dismantled public policies aimed at strengthening women’s rights. “Women are increasingly entering new spaces and macho men can’t stand this,” the former architect said. Joao Pedro Cordao, a 45-year-old father of three daughters, said men have a duty to stand with women by calling out misogyny, not only at protests but in day-to-day life. “Only then will we be able to put an end to – or at least reduce – the current violence against women,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)