Central to the court’s discussions is whether federal judges should retain their powers to issue nationwide injunctions – key US politics stories from Thursday 15 May 2025 at a glance
US supreme court justices on Thursday took issue with Donald Trump’s attempt to sidestep the constitution to limit birthright citizenship, in a trio of immigration cases that could reshape presidential power and the role of federal courts.
The cases before the court stem from the president’s January executive order that would deny US citizenship to babies born on American soil if their parents aren’t citizens or permanent residents. The plan is likely to be ultimately struck down, as it directly contradicts the 14th amendment, which grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”.
But the court is mulling whether there is some weight to the justice department’s argument that “nationwide injunctions” often issued by federal judges unfairly tie the president’s hands. “These injunctions have reached epidemic proportions since the start of the Trump administration,” the department wrote in a March filing. The administration is asking for the scope of the injunctions to be narrowed, so they only apply to the people, organizations or states that sued.
The supreme court’s conservative majority, which includes three Trump appointees, has previously signaled skepticism about nationwide injunctions. Justice Neil Gorsuch called the issue a “question of great significance” requiring the court’s attention. But critics warn that limiting judges’ powers to block policies nationwide would force people to file thousands of individual lawsuits to protect their rights.
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A photo of seashells posted on Instagram by the former FBI director James Comey is being investigated by the Secret Service after the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said it constituted a “threat” against Trump.
Comey posted a photo of seashells forming the message “8647”, with a caption that read: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” Trump’s supporters have interpreted the message as a coded endorsement of violence against Trump.
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Trump announced deals totaling more than $200bn between the United States and the United Arab Emirates – including a $14.5bn commitment among Boeing, GE Aerospace and Etihad Airways – as he pledged to strengthen ties with the Gulf state during a multi-day trip to the Middle East.
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One of the white Afrikaners brought into the US as refugees by the Trump administration this week has a history of antisemitic social media posts, despite the White House using alleged antisemitism as a rationale for deporting pro-Palestinian protesters.
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Trump has admonished Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, over the tech firm’s reported plans to source production of US-bound iPhones from India.
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A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that she helped a man who is in the country illegally evade US immigration authorities looking to arrest him in her courtroom.
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The United Arab Emirates and the United States have signed an agreement for the Gulf country to build the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the United States, one of several deals around AI made during Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East.
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As House Republicans propose taking a sledgehammer to the green tax credits in Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, new data shows the loss of those incentives could lower some Americans’ household income by more than $1,000 a year due to increased utility bills and job losses.
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A federal judge in New Mexico dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of immigrants caught in a new military zone on the US-Mexico border, in a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on border crossings.
The Democratic mayor of Newark said federal prosecutors sought to “humiliate and degrade” him by taking his fingerprints and mugshot for a second time.
The first Melania Trump statue in her native Slovenia was destroyed by fire and now its bronze replacement has gone missing, prompting a police investigation.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 14 May 2025.