News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
U.S. Supreme Court declines to revive landmark climate suit brought by young Oregonians
by Alex Baumhardt, Arkansas Advocate
March 24, 2025
The nation’s highest court declined to hear a petition that would have revived a landmark climate change lawsuit against the federal government, led by young Oregonians and their peers from across the country.
The court’s denial ends 21 youths’ decade-long fight for a trial where they could hold the U.S. government accountable for accelerating global climate change through lawmakers’ policies and fossil fuel subsidies. Despite the setback, it has spurred dozens more cases like it in individual states and around the world.
The nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court denied Monday a petition to throw out a lower court’s decision to dismiss the case Juliana v. United States. The Supreme Court justices dismissed the petition without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs could attempt to bring it back one day.
Juliana v. United States was first filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene in 2015. Eleven Oregon youths and 10 of their peers from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, who were between 8 and 18 years old at the time the suit was filed, are listed as plaintiffs.
Among them is Miko Vergun of Beaverton, who said in a news release that she was proud of the impact the case has had on more than 60 similar lawsuits filed against other states and nations.
“For almost ten years, we’ve stood up for the rights of present and future generations, demanding a world where we can not only survive, but thrive,” Vergun said. “We’ve faced extreme resistance by the federal government, yet we’ve never wavered in our resolve.”
Vergun, now 22, has been involved in climate activism since she was in seventh grade, according to Our Children’s Trust. She was born in the Marshall Islands, a Pacific island nation, and attributed her activism to making sure that land stays above sea level.
In the U.S., the Juliana case most recently inspired Held v. State of Montana and Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation, both of which led to 2024 decisions affirming the youth plaintiffs’ state constitutional rights to a clean, healthful and life-sustaining environment.
Since 2015, fossil fuel companies, the U.S. Department of Justice, former President Joe Biden, current President Donald Trump and Republican states attorneys general have filed court documents to dismiss the case and to keep it from going to trial.
Most recently, in May, three Trump-appointed judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco sided with the U.S. Department of Justice in ordering the case be dismissed. In June Julia Olson, attorney for the youth behind the case, filed a request for a rehearing with the Ninth Circuit.
Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, filed a “friend of the court brief” urging the court to grant it. It was signed by 39 other congressional Democrats, including Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, state Rep. Val Hoyle, representing Oregon’s 4th Congressional District and former state Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today is not the end of the road and the impact of Juliana cannot be measured by the finality of this case alone,” Olson said in a news release.
Olson said the trust would continue supporting other cases worldwide, and that she would see the U.S. government back in court one day soon. The Supreme Court did not address the merits of the case, and Our Children’s Trust noted in its news release that the court hears less than 2% of the cases it’s brought each year.
“This fight is far from over,” Olson said. “This is a call to all young people who want to stand up to those in the executive office of the president who would silence you and threaten your health and safety — join us in protecting your constitutional rights.”
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post U.S. Supreme Court declines to revive landmark climate suit brought by young Oregonians appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Hackett student arrested after shooting threat
SUMMARY: A Hackett student was arrested after an anonymous shooting threat targeting the high school was posted in a student group chat. The threat, reported Monday morning, prompted Sebastian County deputies to station officers at Hackett schools for safety as classes resumed. Deputies, aided by Homeland Security, traced the post back to the teenager within ten hours. Investigators say there is no credible evidence the student intended to carry out the threat. The situation escalated through social media, complicating tracing efforts. The investigation remains active, with possible additional arrests, and deputies will continue a visible presence at the schools.
Deputies increased security at Hackett schools in response.
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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen.
by Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate
September 2, 2025
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.
Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.
But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued several reports faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits have been filed, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.
The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.
President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.
“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a letter last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.
“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.
“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.
“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”
Another failure
Congress is supposed to complete work on the dozen annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.
The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.
The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.
The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.
Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.
The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.
Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.
Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon that he expects lawmakers will “have a big fight at the end of September.”
Last shutdown stretched 35 days
It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.
A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.
The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.
Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.
Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.
Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.
Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.
On to the stopgap
Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.
That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.
So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.
Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election, lawmakers approved a stopgap bill in September that funded the government through mid-December.
Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and used a second stopgap bill to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.
Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on a third stopgap spending bill, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.
Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.
The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen. appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content presents a balanced overview of the government shutdown situation, highlighting perspectives and actions from both Republican and Democratic leaders without overtly favoring either side. It includes factual reporting on legislative processes, quotes from key political figures across the aisle, and references to nonpartisan sources, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. The article focuses on the procedural and political challenges without editorializing, reflecting a centrist approach to the topic.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Arkansas Fall forecast: Warmer temperatures and drier conditions expected as drought persists
SUMMARY: Arkansas is expected to experience a cooler and more fall-like September, starting meteorological fall on September 1st. The last week of August was among the coolest on record, and early September will continue with below-average temperatures. A cold front later next week will bring further cooling, making the second weekend of football season comfortable. Mid-September temperatures will remain fairly mild, with highs dropping from mid-80s to mid-70s in Northwest Arkansas and from low 90s to low 80s in the River Valley by month’s end. Fall colors should appear earlier than last year, likely peaking from late October to early November.
The Climate Prediction Center released its outlook for Fall, which shows above-average temperatures continuing through November.
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