At least 27 states have shared sensitive personal data of food stamp recipients with the USDA amid legal challenges and concerns over privacy and misuse, with courts blocking the Trump administration from punishing states that refuse to comply. The controversy centers on the administration's unprecedented demand for detailed SNAP data to combat fraud, which critics argue violates federal law and risks misuse for immigration enforcement and surveillance.
Republican attorneys general from 19 states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block climate change lawsuits filed by Democratic-led states against the oil and gas industry, arguing that only the federal government can regulate interstate gas emissions. Democratic AGs have criticized the request as partisan and meritless. The Supreme Court's decision on this unusual request could impact ongoing climate-related lawsuits and energy costs nationwide.
The US Supreme Court has declined a request by Exxon, Chevron and Suncor Energy to transfer a series of state lawsuits to federal court. The lawsuits, brought by the state of Rhode Island and municipalities in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Maryland, seek to hold the companies accountable for the impact of climate change, accusing them of knowingly contributing to it. The state and local plaintiffs were backed by the Biden administration in seeking to keep the lawsuits in state courts, a reversal from the Trump administration, which sided with the oil companies in seeking to transfer them to federal courts.
