In Arkansas next month, two supreme court justices are seeking re-election, sort of—neither is running for the seat they currently hold, but rather for each other’s seat on the bench.

Nick Bronni and Cody Hiland were both appointed to the state supreme court in late 2024 by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Technically, both were barred from running to keep their place on the court this year since the Arkansas constitution forbids officials who were appointed to fill a vacancy to then run for that position when it next appears on the ballot. But luckily for them, the timing of their appointments offered Bronni and Hiland a solution: Since they each faced this same predicament at the same time this year, they could just trade spots.

This game of musical chairs, while legal, has the effect of circumventing the constitution’s ban, which typically prevents gubernatorial appointees from reaping the benefits of incumbency before they’ve earned it from voters.

That provision was part of a constitutional amendment ratified by Arkansas voters in 1938. Known as Amendment 29, the measure followed several governors’ controversial appointments—including then-Governor Junius Marion Futrell’s 1933 appointment of a close political ally who rankled the legal establishment and then ran to keep his seat as chief justice.

Republicans in Texas, and nationwide, are looking to boost Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in the closing days of the state’s Democratic Senate primary.

GOP spending on the race, which includes television ads and text messaging mobilization, underscores Republicans’ hope that Crockett, a congresswoman from Dallas, defeats Texas state Rep. James Talarico in the primary Tuesday. Some Republican operatives and leaders believe Crockett would be easier to defeat in November.

“I think Talarico is dangerous,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is locked in a high-stakes Senate primary of his own against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, said last month. “He’ll probably beat Jasmine Crockett, and he’s capable of raising a lot of money. And if you look at the head-to-head with Paxton, it’s tied.”

A group with ties to longtime Republican operatives has been sending text messages to voters in recent days that tout Crockett’s opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an issue that polling shows motivates the Democratic base. One Texan who regularly votes in Democratic primaries received the text messages, according to operatives working on the Texas races.

Netflix said Thursday it would not raise its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, effectively ceding the media giant to a rival bid from Paramount Skydance after deciding the deal was no longer financially attractive.

The streaming giant's co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said they were "declining to match" Paramount Skydance's latest offer after Warner Bros. Discovery's board declared it a "Superior Proposal" under the terms of its existing merger agreement with Netflix.

The development will likely see the storied Hollywood studio and a group of TV properties that includes CNN fall into the hands of Paramount, reshaping US media.

Without a Netflix counteroffer, the Warner Bros. Discovery board is now free to terminate its agreement with the streaming giant and proceed with Paramount.

The sweetened offer, made Monday, was the latest installment of a bidding war that has drawn White House attention, with President Donald Trump insisting he had a say in the outcome.

When anti-ICE protesters disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota last month, the Trump administration was unequivocal: interfering with “the right to pray in peace” would be met with severe consequences.

But across the country, advocates say the very government pledging to protect the right to worship — and prevent fear and intimidation — is in fact violating it at an epic scale.

The Trump administration has eliminated 30-year-old restrictions on ICE operations at or near churches, they note, and barred members of the clergy from providing “pastoral care” care to people held in temporary detention facilities. Religious organizations representing thousands of congregations of multiple faiths have sued over the policy changes, and some federal judges have ruled in their favor.

“The president said that religious freedom is important to him,” said Ingrid Rasmussen, the lead pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, referring to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union remarks. “But I can’t help wondering whether this administration believes that only some people should be afforded the ability to practice their faith and to receive visits from their trusted religious leaders.”

Some judges have found that the administration’s zeal for mass deportation has hampered religious rights not just of immigrants, but of congregations that welcome them. The legal fights center on the First Amendment’s right to worship freely as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which requires the government to use the “least restrictive” means possible whenever it encroaches on religious exercise.

A federal judge has found that the Internal Revenue Service violated federal law “approximately 42,695 times” when it shared confidential taxpayer addresses with immigration enforcement officials last summer.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the ruling Thursday as part of ongoing litigation over a data-sharing arrangement between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security.

Federal law requires that before the IRS hands over a taxpayer’s address, a requesting agency must first provide the IRS with the name and address of the person it’s looking for. The requirement exists to ensure that the government can access confidential tax records only for individuals it has already specifically identified.

The ruling finds that DHS did not follow this law. The judge wrote that the vast majority of the nearly 47,300 taxpayer addresses the IRS shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August were disclosed without the IRS confirming that ICE provided a valid address for the person whose records it was seeking.

“The IRS violated the [Internal Revenue Code] approximately 42,695 times by disclosing last known taxpayer addresses to ICE ... without confirming that ICE’s request set forth the ‘address of the taxpayer with respect to whom the requested return information relate[d],’” the judge’s opinion stated.

TALLAHASSEE — The “Charlie Kirk bill” is continuing to move through the Florida Legislature, with the Senate version still advancing from committee to committee.

Meanwhile, the full Florida House voted on its proposal Wednesday.

In an 82-31 vote, the House passed House Bill 125, which would designate Oct. 14 as “Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance.”

During a heated floor debate, lawmakers were sharply divided over whether Kirk is deserving of the tribute in Florida.

Kirk was shot and killed last September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The alleged shooter surrendered the day after the assassination.

That was one of two measures related to Kirk approved by the House on Wednesday.

TALLAHASSEE — The “Charlie Kirk bill” is continuing to move through the Florida Legislature, with the Senate version still advancing from committee to committee.

Meanwhile, the full Florida House voted on its proposal Wednesday.

In an 82-31 vote, the House passed House Bill 125, which would designate Oct. 14 as “Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance.”

During a heated floor debate, lawmakers were sharply divided over whether Kirk is deserving of the tribute in Florida.

Kirk was shot and killed last September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The alleged shooter surrendered the day after the assassination.

That was one of two measures related to Kirk approved by the House on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump wants to put Katie Lane, a Virginia attorney, on the United States District Court for the District of Montana.

Let’s skip the polite fiction. She is not qualified.

This isn’t about ideology. I practiced before conservative judges for decades. I respected them because they were prepared, disciplined, and deeply experienced. They understood judging because they first mastered trying cases.

That is the point. The U.S. District Court is not a debating club or a policy shop. It is the primary federal trial court — where witnesses testify, juries are instructed, and evidence is ruled on in real time. It is the front line of federal justice.

Trying cases in federal court is a unique skill set.

You do not learn it in law school. You do not learn it drafting appellate briefs. You do not learn it polishing talking points for a political committee. You learn it as second or third chair behind a seasoned trial lawyer. You learn it by making mistakes under pressure. You learn it by trying cases yourself. You learn it by standing up when the judge says, “Call your next witness.” You learn it by making objections, laying foundations, reading juries, and living with verdicts.

Josh Gerstein
‪@joshgerstein.bsky.social‬

FLASH: Judge denies bid to block Trump construction of ballroom atop former site of White House's East Wing. But preservationists might have more traction if they amend their suit, says Judge Richard Leon (GWBush) https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2025cv4316-47 Earlier: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/16/white-house-ballroom-construction-ruling-00694019