Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
The Supreme Court again expands presidential powerThe Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled today that President Trump could fire most independent government regulators for any reason, or no reason at all, despite federal laws meant to protect their jobs. The decision shifts more power to the executive branch, allowing presidents to dictate the leadership of more than two dozen agencies, including some created by Congress to serve as government watchdogs. In dissent, the court’s three liberal justices said the ruling “promises to unleash only chaos” by upending the separation of powers. But the six conservatives declared that Congress cannot limit the president’s authority to fire members of agencies. Read the decision here. In a separate 5-to-4 ruling today, however, the court carved out an exception for the Federal Reserve. All three liberals — plus Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both conservatives — said that Trump could not fire Lisa Cook, a Fed governor, without allowing her a chance to refute unproven allegations of mortgage fraud. Their decision suggested that the central bank has a “unique role” that should be free from political interference. After the ruling, Trump said he would not relent in his attempt to oust Cook from the central bank, which has frustrated the president by declining to quickly lower interest rates.
The justices also allowed states to count late-arriving ballotsThe Supreme Court, in another 5-to-4 ruling, said that Mississippi can continue to count ballots postmarked by Election Day and received up to five business days later, at least through the midterm elections. The decision, in which Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined with the court’s three liberals, leaves in place similar laws in at least 18 other states and territories. The ruling was a significant blow to efforts by Trump and other Republicans to roll back mail-in balloting. If they had prevailed, many thousands of mail-in ballots could have been at risk of being disqualified. In 2024, for example, at least 725,000 ballots were counted that arrived after Election Day. In other Supreme Court news:
After days of fighting, Trump signals de-escalation with IranJared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, two of Trump’s closest advisers, are expected to fly to Qatar after the president announced today that the U.S. officials would hold a new round of negotiations with Iran tomorrow. Iran did not immediately confirm that it was sending representatives to the talks. The two-week-old cease-fire between the two sides appeared especially fragile over the weekend, as the U.S. and Iran traded attacks. The flare-up of violence caused traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to significantly slow down, and raised doubt that the waterway would soon return to its prewar normal. In other Trump administration news:
NASA plans to catch a falling space telescope and nudge it upSince 2004, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory telescope has measured gamma-ray bursts, telling us about the universe’s most violent explosions. But it’s about to fall out of the sky. So, NASA spent $30 million on a rescue mission set to launch tomorrow morning. If all goes to plan, a refrigerator-size spacecraft will catch the Swift telescope some 210 miles above the Earth’s surface and push it back to a higher orbit — extending its life span by many years. More top news
The best movies of the year (so far)The second half of 2026 officially begins this week. So our movie critics took the opportunity to take stock of the year’s best releases, including some that you probably missed. Manohla Dargis recommended “Exit 8,” about a zoned-out commuter who finds himself trapped in the labyrinthine halls of a Tokyo train station. See the full list, and pick out a great film to watch this summer.
Rosalía isn’t confined by genreThe Spanish pop star Rosalía sought to expand her repertoire in her latest album, “Lux,” which incorporates elements of opera and lyrics from 13 different languages. Now that she’s touring the album around the world, Rosalía is experimenting with different dance forms, as well. A recent show in New York began with the singer dressed as a ballerina, wearing pointe shoes. When other artists dip their toe into ballet, dancers cringe — but Rosalía made clear with her performance that she really had been studying.
Dinner table topics
Cook: Cubes of halloumi, peach and cucumber combine for a great summer salad. Read “Heather,” a crime novel that our columnist devoured in one sitting. |
