The Supreme Court rejected a request to hear a Republican-backed case out of Montana concerning election law.
The dispute concerns the scope that state legislatures have to set the rules of federal elections. Montana's Republican legislature passed a pair of election integrity laws that were blocked by the state's left-leaning Supreme Court.
In their request to the U.S. Supreme Court, Montana Republicans said the case is an ideal vehicle for resolving unanswered questions about the court's 2023 precedent Moore v. Harper.
In that case, the Supreme Court largely rejected the so-called independent legislature theory, which holds that state legislatures have exclusive power to make the rules of elections. While the Supreme Court found that judicial review is permissible by state courts, they noted that courts do not have "free rein."
Montana's Republicans argue the state's Supreme Court is exercising free rein and stepping on the legislature's power to set election law.
"In short, the Montana Supreme Court has assumed a de facto new role as the final and exclusive arbiter of all federal election legislation in Montana. This Court’s review is urgently needed,” Montana wrote.
Montana's Supreme Court has interpreted the state's constitution in a liberal fashion, recently ruling there is a right to be protected from greenhouse gases. Montana's Republican Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a pair of election laws that the Montana Supreme Court struck down 5-2.
The state's top court found that the laws - which banned same-day voter registration and paid, third-party ballot harvesting - violated the right to vote under the state constitution. Montana's Democrats are fighting to block those laws, which they say would disenfranchise some voters.
“The court’s analysis was based on the ample trial record in this case and firmly grounded in existing Montana law. There was nothing extraordinary or inappropriate about it,” the Democrats wrote in court filings.
Moore v. Harper arose from a dispute over North Carolina's congressional districts after the 2020 census. The state's Supreme Court ruled the map was an unlawful partisan gerrymander favoring Republicans.
The case garnered significant attention, with President Barack Obama praising the United States Supreme Court's 6-3 decision as “a resounding rejection of the far-right theory that has been peddled by election deniers and extremists seeking to undermine our democracy.”
Montana's petition was backed by National Republican Senatorial Committee, 15 other Republican state attorneys general and the America First Legal Foundation. The Supreme Court rejected the case without explanation.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are facing down rumors of a divorce as they navigate their post-royal lives in California.
The couple stepped back from their public duties in 2020 but have struggled to find their professional footing since then. An 8,000-word article in Vanity Fair only added to their woes, with sources saying the pair found the claims in the story "distressing."
The story, titled "American Hustle," paints an unflattering picture of the Sussexes since they moved to Los Angeles.
"I still think they're the most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet," one Montecito neighbor said of the couple.
"They moved away from England to get away from the scrutiny of the press, and all they do is try and get in the press in the United States."
While Harry and Megham might desire publicity, the reports in Vanity Fair's article have reportedly troubled the couple.
Perhaps the most shocking claim is that Markle's team gauged interest in a "post-divorce" book to a publisher a few years ago. Markle was previously married, but the hypothetical book would have been about a split from Harry.
"This book—this notion of a book, really—might center on a post-Harry divorce. Not that there was actually one in the works! Just...if this a priori divorce ever came to be, would this publisher theoretically be interested in a book that took place in its aftermath?"
The divorce claim was just one part of the bruising story, which paints Markle as a demanding boss and second mother to her husband, who lost his mother Princess Diana in a car crash.
Harry and Meghan find the claims in the story "distressing," the Times reported, although they have not publicly said anything. A source close to Markle dismissed the divorce rumors as unfounded, saying, "If that's true to any degree, she would have been approached and not vice versa."
Harry and Meghan have pursued increasingly separate professional lives, driving speculation of a divorce that has dogged them for some time.
Prince Harry had a sarcastic response to the speculation in a New York Times interview last month.
"Apparently we've bought or moved house maybe 10 or 12 times and we've apparently divorced maybe 10 or 12 times as well," he said, dismissing the tabloid reports.
"So, it's just like 'what?' So, it's hard to keep up with but that's why you just sort of ignore it."
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has rejected a lawsuit demanding information about people deemed incompetent to vote.
The Wisconsin Voter Alliance wants access to data on those voters to ensure the state's registration list is accurate. The group is suing Walworth County and a dozen other counties throughout the state.
The Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the case, which was rejected on procedural grounds, raising the chance it could return.
Wisconsin's top court rejected WVA's case on technical grounds, finding a lower appeals court wrongly leapfrogged the case. One appeals court based in the state's liberal capital, Madison, rejected the lawsuit, while another, in Waukesha, overturned the Madison court and ruled in favor.
When an appeals court disagrees with a previous appeals court ruling, it has "two options," neither of which were taken here, the Supreme Court said.
"It may certify the appeal to this court and explain why it believes the prior opinion is wrong. Or it may decide the appeal, adhering to the prior
opinion, and explain why it believes the prior opinion is wrong," liberal justice Janet Protasiewicz wrote.
The Supreme Court must reject the Waukesha court's ruling, otherwise "litigants would feel encouraged to litigate issues ‘multiple times in the four districts.’”
“Why not?” Protasiewicz wrote. “Like the Alliance, if they lose in one district they might win in another.”
The court's opinion was joined by conservative Brian Hagedorn. The court's other two conservatives, Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler, dissented. They said the court should intervene and "resolve weighty matters of privacy, open access to public information and election integrity.”
"Although both parties urged the court to resolve the substantive issue, the majority dodges it and chooses to scold the court of appeals instead," they said.
The Wisconsin Voter Alliance is fighting for guardianship records in order to cross reference the information with the database maintained by state election officials.
"In the 2022 election our data revealed approximately 16,000 adjudicated incompetent people who had lost voting privileges actually voted," the organization's website says.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to the left in 2023 after an expensive and contentious election. The court has continued to draw headlines over heated internal disputes between the new liberal majority and the conservatives.
The court overturned a ban on ballot drop boxes ahead of the 2024 election. President Trump won Wisconsin, a swing state, in November by about 29,000 votes.
The Supreme Court in Iran experienced high drama last week after an assassination resulted in the death of two of the country's Supreme Court judges.
According to the BBC, Supreme Court judges Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh were both murdered after a gunman entered the courtroom, which is located in the country's capital city of Tehran.
The deadly attack happened on Saturday morning, according to local media reports.
The assassin reportedly killed himself as he fled the scene after murdering the judges. A bodyguard was reported to have been injured in the attack.
A motive for the attack was still unclear as authorities continue to investigate what caused the gunman to act, but it was reported that the two judges who were murdered have been instrumental in cracking down on opponents of the Islamic government for decades.
The judiciary's media office released a statement describing the brazen assassination as a "premeditated assassination."
Iranian judges Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh were assassinated in Tehran’s supreme court today.
The gunman, who reportedly killed himself after the attack, also injured a bodyguard. Authorities described the attack as a "premeditated assassination".#Iran #Tehran pic.twitter.com/JpziT4iz3D
— British Pakistani Index (@PakistaniIndex) January 18, 2025
BBC noted:
It also said that, according to initial findings, the attacker had not been involved in any case considered by the supreme court. Officials are investigating whether anyone else is involved in the attack.
It was also reported by local media that both Supreme Court judges had been in power for decades, with one of their main duties being the confirmation of death sentences.
Razini had already survived an assassination attempt in 1998, and was the Iranian Supreme Court's most senior judges, local reports added.
Many on social media added context to how the murdered judges operated in the courtroom. They were reportedly extreme hardliners regarding any opposition to the Iranian government.
"One of the assassinated judges once told an Iranian political prisoner: 'You people have no right to breathe. Your hands should be crushed; you should be blown up with gunpowder poured into your mouth; your pens should be broken'. Today he is finally no longer among us," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Karma works just often enough to make us hopeful."
An investigation into their death is ongoing.
President Joe Biden not only lost the confidence of a large swath of the Democratic Party after his poor debate performance against Donald Trump and his subsequent ouster from the 2024 election, but he also reportedly lost some old friends along the way.
According to the Washington Examiner, Biden has parted ways either by his own doing or by the other person's wishes after the debate performance, including several who have been in his inner circle for years, if not decades.
Many insiders that enjoyed the perks of being close to the president are no longer experiencing those benefits.
Some of those who were closest to him, reports suggested, were pushed out by the elderly president in the wake of the debate performance that ultimately tanked his legacy and career.
Two immediately notable people who were once quite close to Biden and no longer are include his personal attorney, Bob Bauer, and his wife, Anita Dunn.
Biden reportedly pushed them both out of his inner circle, citing complaints that they not only failed him in their roles, but also turned against him and helped push him out of the 2024 presidential contest. NBC News cited several sources familiar with that situation.
Dunn left the White House over the summer of 2024 shortly after the poor debate performance, according to those same sources. The two haven't spoken since.
As far as Bauer is concerned, he will reportedly no longer represent Biden as his personal attorney once he leaves the White House, reports indicated.
Another big Biden inner circle person who doesn't enjoy that title any longer is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Pelosi was credited, probably not to her liking, for leading the charge in pushing Biden out of the presidential race and ultimately, out of the White House as a result.
Former President Barack Obama is easily the highest-profile person who is no longer as close to Biden as he once was. The two always had a peculiar relationship, anyway.
The Examiner noted:
After pulling Biden out of the Senate to put him in the White House, Obama passed over anointing him as the successor to their eight years in power, opting instead to back former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The snub has reportedly been a point of contention between the two men.
Hard feelings brewing beneath the surface came back when it appeared Obama had an invisible hand moving pieces around to coordinate Biden’s removal from the ticket last summer.
Obama was curiously left out of the naming of two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, which were named after George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Many Democratic operatives have noted the obvious fallout between Obama and Biden, and it's probably not going to get any better anytime soon.
Israel's cease-fire and hostage release agreement will take effect on Sunday, handing President-elect Trump an early foreign policy win just hours before his inauguration.
The deal was thrown into doubt Thursday after 11th-hour demands from Hamas and infighting within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, but those issues have reportedly been worked out.
“I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” Joe Biden's Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said.
Israel's cabinet will approve the cease-fire on Friday, followed by a vote in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
“A few minutes ago I received a final announcement that all obstacles have been overcome and the deal is underway,” Aryeh Deri, chairman of the Shas party in the Knesset, said.
The cease-fire ends 15 months of war in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed and dozens of Israelis held in captivity since Hamas' brutal October 7 assault.
The Israeli government has already contacted the families of 33 hostages who will be released over 42 days as part of "phase one."
In exchange, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and begin withdrawing its forces from Gaza. The parties still must negotiate the release of 65 remaining hostages, some of whom are presumed dead.
After more than a year of failed cease-fire negotiations by the Biden administration, a breakthrough was announced Wednesday.
"This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Within hours of the deal being announced, Netanyahu cast doubt on whether it would be finalized as he accused Hamas of making surprise demands.
Netanyahu has also faced pressure from members of his right-wing coalition, who want assurances that the war will continue in the future until Hamas is eliminated. Some of Netanyahu's allies have threatened to quit the government if those demands are not met.
While Joe Biden has taken credit for the 11th-hour peace agreement, it was Trump who sealed the deal by putting pressure on Israel's government, dispatching his tough-talking negotiator, Steve Witkoff, to wrangle Israel.
Trump had also threatened Hamas, warning "all hell" would break out if hostages weren't freed before his inauguration on January 20th.
Michelle Obama's recent public absences are fueling rumors of a rift in her marriage to President Barack Obama, with some questioning if the couple are headed for divorce.
While the Obamas normally put on a united front, Michelle is refusing to attend President Trump's inauguration on Monday.
"Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration," the Obamas said.
It's the second major D.C. ceremony Michelle will miss, after skipping Jimmy Carter's state funeral earlier this month.
Unlike her husband, Michelle has no interest in standing on ceremony by attending the inauguration - given her well-publicized distaste for the president-elect.
"There's no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She's not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol's sake," one source told People. "Michelle doesn't do anything because it's expected or it's protocol or it's tradition."
Never one to follow tradition, Michelle has sometimes overshadowed her husband throughout their years in the spotlight.
While some see signs of martial trouble in her recent public absences, others see a political message - one that is clearly at odds with her husband's wishes to respect tradition.
"An Obama divorce would not be on my 2025 predictions but it might happen," one person wrote on X.
"I don't know anything about their marriage, but it's very clear to me that Michelle Obama is making a very specific *political* statement with these absences. She would never choose Jimmy Carter's funeral to announce her divorce. Let's be sensible here," another wrote on X.
Whether there is anything to rumors of divorce, Michelle has made no secret of her ambivalent feelings about marriage and the high value she places on personal autonomy.
"Too many young people are rushing to check the box of marriage before they even know who they are, and then they're surprised when they pick the wrong person, or they don't know how to struggle through hard times," she once confessed.
Born Michelle Robinson, Obama met her husband at a law firm in Chicago. Their marriage has had its rough patches, with Michelle struggling early on to place her own ambitions on the back burner.
She admitted on her podcast to wanting to "push Barack out of the window" at times, but she insists her marriage is "strong" despite its challenges.
"You've got to know that there are going to be times, long periods of time, when you can't stand each other," she said.
"The feelings will be intense. But that doesn't mean you quit and these periods can last a long time - they can last years."
"'[Me and Barack] have a very strong marriage. If I had given up on it, if I had walked away from it, in those tough times, then I would've missed all the beauty that was there as well.'
South Korean police have arrested conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol, plunging the country deeper into a political crisis weeks after Yoon attempted to declare martial law.
Hundreds of police officers converged on Yoon's compound, where he has holed up for weeks as protesters on both sides of South Korea's deep political divide gathered outside.
Yoon's arrest, the first of a South Korean president, has opened up a new and unpredictable chapter in the country's political history.
The country's anti-corruption agency accuses Yoon of attempting a coup against South Korea's democracy with his short-lived martial law declaration in December. Yoon say the arrest is illegitimate, not enforceable and an attack on the rule of law.
Yoon was brought to the Soul Detention Center after 10 hours of questioning at the office of the anti-corruption agency, where hundreds of his supporters gathered in solidarity.
In a defiant video released shortly before his arrest, Yoon said he does not recognize the legitimacy of the process, but he would comply to keep the peace.
“I am truly appalled to see illegalities upon illegalities upon illegalities being carried out and procedures being forcefully conducted under an invalid warrant,” Yoon said in the video.
“I do not acknowledge the investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials. As the president, who is responsible for upholding the constitution and legal system of the Republic of Korea, my decision to comply with such illegal and invalid procedures is not an acknowledgment of them, but rather a willingness to prevent unfortunate and bloody incidents."
Yoon's conservative People Power Party condemned the arrest as a sham, while the liberal opposition Democratic Party called it a "first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy, and realizing the rule of law.”
Yoon's December 3 martial law proclamation was quickly and unanimously overturned by South Korea's parliament, which later voted to impeach Yoon for an attempted insurrection. Yoon has said his declaration was justified by the threat of "anti-state" actors with North Korean sympathies in the opposition party, who have a majority.
A previous attempt by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to detain Yoon on January 3 failed after an hours-long standoff at his compound.
The second attempt was successful Wednesday as some 1,000 agents made a dramatic show of force - using wire cutters and ladders to break through barricades.
Investigators have 48 hours to hold Yoon before they need to request another warrant, but he could be detained indefinitely if prosecutors indict him for treason.
The December 14 impeachment suspended his presidential authority, but he won't be removed from office unless the Constitutional Court says so. South Korea is currently being led by Acting President Choi Sang-mok.
Joe Biden shared "devastating" news with the families of three American hostages being held in Afghanistan during a phone call on Sunday.
Anna Corbett, the wife of captive Ryan Corbett, told Fox News that she was crushed to hear from Biden that her husband is not coming home.
It's yet another black mark on Biden's dismal foreign policy record, which was marred early in his term by the disastrous and bloody withdrawal from Afghanistan in which 13 American troops were slaughtered in a terror attack.
Ryan Corbett was kidnapped on a business trip a year after the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan. His wife Anna has been fighting desperately for his return, but to no avail.
"He was very kind and empathetic, but what I heard him say is that he is not bringing Ryan home, and that was absolutely devastating because, as you just said, I have been advocating fiercely on Ryan's behalf, on my family's behalf. Ryan just keeps missing milestones," she said.
The Biden administration was in talks with the Taliban about releasing a Guantanamo Bay detainee with ties to Al-Qaeda in exchange for Corbett and two other American captives, but the negotiations broke down over the status of one of the hostages.
The Taliban disputes that dual U.S.-Afghan citizen Mahmood Habibi is wrongfully detained, but the Biden administration is reportedly refusing to agree to any deal unless Habibi is let go.
Habibi's brother has thanked Biden for his commitment to bringing him home, but the families of Ryan Corbett and George Glezmann are frustrated with Biden's position.
“President Biden and his national security adviser are choosing to leave George Glezmann in Afghanistan. A deal is available to bring him home. The White House’s inaction in this case is inhumane," the Glezmann family said in a statement.
Anna Corbett similarly called the administration's inaction "crushing."
"To hear after all this effort, there is a deal on the table, there is a way to bring Ryan home, and it's not being taken, is incredibly crushing to our family," she continued.
The slow progress from the current administration led Corbett to meet with a member of President-elect Trump's team, incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz, at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend.
Corbett said she is "extremely encouraged" by the Trump team's swift response, while noting she could not get a hold of the current administration for 16 months.
"It was just mind-blowing because it took 16 months to actually get a meeting where I traveled to DC to meet with the current national security adviser, Jake Sullivan," she said. "This shows that President Trump is very concerned, is wanting to prioritize our family. I know he's tough. He wants to make deals."
"I am extremely encouraged, and the contrast of my experience is just mind-blowing right now," she continued.
After a quiet few weeks, a media frenzy over Pete Hegseth's nomination is beginning to pick up again ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
In a Sunday morning interview, Democratic senator Mark Kelly previewed some of the talking points his party has prepared - claiming Hegseth "does not seem to have the qualifications" for the role.
A copy of Hegseth's military performance reviews obtained by Fox News Digital described him as an "incredibly talented, battle-proven leader."
Donald Trump stunned the political world by nominating Hegseth, an Army veteran and former Fox News host, to lead the nation's biggest employer.
The backlash was swift, with Hegseth facing anonymous accusations of lewd and drunken behavior in his past. Critics have also called him inexperienced, while Hegseth's defenders have said he will bring necessary change to a politicized Pentagon that has strayed from its mission.
In an interview with Face The Nation, Kelly cited an anonymous report in the New Yorker about Hegseth's alleged drinking at non-profit organizations for veterans.
A resurfaced letter from the board of one of those groups, Concerned Veterans for America said Hegseth left voluntarily and not because of any issues with his conduct.
"Margaret, let me just start by saying, there is not a job that’s more serious and more critical to our national security than Secretary of Defense, and we need a qualified individual in that job, and he just does not seem to have the qualifications. And then on top of that, you look at his personal conduct, especially when he was managing Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans of America," Kelly said.
"You know, these two organizations were financially- financially mismanaged. There was reports of being into- intoxicated on the job, and creating an environment, you know, where there was, you know, some issues with, you know, sexual harassment. So I think it’s in the nominee, Mr. Hegseth’s, best interest if he wants to be confirmed for this job, for us to have all the information. You know, the information from these organizations, but also the FBI background check."
While Republican support for Hegseth wavered initially, he has gained momentum, with Senate GOP leaders coming to his defense.
John Barrasso, the Senate Majority Whip, joined Face the Nation for a separate interview Sunday, and said Hegseth is making progress.
"The meetings have gone very well. Things are heading in the right direction. The hearings start Tuesday, and they're going to be consequential," Barrasso told CBS earlier. "People will listen and make their own decision."
Hegseth can afford to lose just a few votes, with Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.) plans to bring drama, as Democrats - newly locked out of power in D.C. - hope to climb out of their post-election slump by targeting Trump's Cabinet.