Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
Justices look likely to allow laws barring transgender athletesDuring three hours of arguments today, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority indicated that it was likely to uphold two state laws that bar transgender athletes from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams. The justices heard challenges brought by a transgender girl in West Virginia and a transgender woman in Idaho, who argued that the laws violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. The West Virginia girl, 15-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, argued that she does not have an advantage over other girls. My colleague Ann Marimow profiled Pepper-Jackson, an accomplished shot-putter and discus thrower who transitioned in third grade. The conservative justices appeared ready to side with the states. They emphasized that federal law has long allowed separate sports teams for boys and girls to ensure fair competition, and raised concerns that striking down the laws would undermine the goals of Title IX. The court’s decision could affect laws in 27 states. The three liberal justices suggested that even if the laws were constitutional in most cases, perhaps the two transgender athletes at the heart of today’s arguments could show that they themselves do not possess unfair competitive advantages and could still be allowed to play on girls’ and women's teams.
Prosecutors resign over Justice Dept.’s response to ICE shootingSix federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned today over the Trump administration’s push to investigate the widow of the woman an ICE agent killed last week in Minneapolis. They also objected to the Justice Department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter. On the streets of Minneapolis: Aggressive tactics by federal agents, including encounters captured on video, have intensified the frustration and fear among residents. In related news, the Trump administration is ending deportation protections for more than 2,000 migrants from Somalia.
Accounts of a brutal crackdown emerge from IranIran’s theocratic government has imposed a near-total communications blackout as antigovernment protests have spread across the country. Still, my colleagues have been able to gather verified videos and witness accounts that suggest that the Iranian authorities are waging one of their deadliest crackdowns in more than a decade. A senior Iranian health ministry official told The Times that about 3,000 people have been killed. Eyewitnesses say government forces have opened fire, at times seemingly indiscriminately so, on unarmed protesters. One doctor called it a “mass-casualty situation.” Timeline: Here’s how the protests have grown. In related news: President Trump called on Iranians to keep protesting and “take over.”
Trump threatens to use brute force to lower pricesWith many Americans frustrated over the high cost of living, the president has embraced a strategy of brute force. He has pressured the Federal Reserve in an effort to make mortgages more attractive, demanded credit card companies lower their fees and lashed out at businesses over high costs, among other threats. Trump defended his economic approach during a speech today in Detroit. He said that inflation is “way, way, down,” although it’s roughly where it was at the end of the Biden administration. Consumer prices were 2.7 percent higher than a year ago, according to the latest data, and food prices climbed sharply last month. In other Trump administration news:
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A guide to KnausgaardThe Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard is out today with “The School of Night,” the fourth novel in his Morning Star series. It’s a Faustian tale that gives readers access to the dark thoughts of an ambitious young photographer in 1985 London. Knausgaard’s award-winning work is heavily discursive, and not for everyone. But this guide will help those willing to give it a try. For more: Knausgaard sat with a forensic artist to bring his protagonist to life.
Emilia Clarke is done with dragonsEmilia Clarke was 24 when, in her third professional role, she became one of the most famous actors in the world. Now 39 — more than six years since she last starred as Daenerys Targaryen in “Game of Thrones” — Clarke says she is done with fantasy. Her new show, “Ponies,” premieres Thursday on Peacock. She plays the wife of an intelligence agent who abruptly becomes a spy herself. We talked to her about what it’s like to be back in the spotlight. Her former castmate: Kit Harington, who crashed after playing Jon Snow on “Game of Thrones,” is coming back for a new season of “Industry.”
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