A federal judge restricted Biden administration officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies on content moderation in a preliminary injunction Tuesday.
Why it matters: The decision in an ongoing lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who allege the Biden administration's efforts to encourage social media companies to crack down on COVID disinformation and other matters is "sprawling federal 'Censorship Enterprise,'" could have major First Amendment implications.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) asked President Biden Monday to declare a major disaster in response to February's toxic train derailment in East Palestine that led to the release of hazardous chemicals from several rail cars.
The big picture: Officials are still responding to the fallout from the disaster that saw nearby residents raise health concerns from the controlled release amid reports that some had been diagnosed with conditions including chemical bronchitis.
Justice Samuel Alito narrowly overtook Justice Clarence Thomas as the Supreme Court's most conservative member this term, according to preliminary data that measures judicial ideology.
How to read the chart: An analysis by political scientists Andrew Martin and Kevin Quinn, known as the Martin-Quinn Score, places judges on an ideological spectrum. A lower score indicates a more liberal justice, whereas a higher score indicates a more conservative justice.
