The US supreme court ruled against the president. Let’s hope the court removes its pro-Trump glasses on other issues and stands up for the rule of law
There’s no denying that the US supreme court’s long-awaited ruling that overturned Donald Trump’s global tariffs is important, and if the ruling turns out to be a harbinger that the court is ready to abandon its startling sycophancy toward the US president, it could prove hugely important. The ruling this Friday is the first time during Trump’s second term that the justices have struck down one of his policies. Not only that, the policy they struck down is Trump’s signature economic policy – he has used tariffs to bash, lord over and terrorize dozens of other countries and make himself the King of the Economic Jungle.
In the court’s main opinion, joined by three conservative justices and three liberals, chief justice John Roberts used some sharp language to slap down Trump’s tariffs, writing that the constitution specifically gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes and tariffs. (Roberts noted that tariffs are indeed taxes.)
Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labour and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues
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© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Victory in 50km mass start breaks record from 1980
Teammates Nyenget and Iversen lock out podium
Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo completed an historic gold medal sweep of the men’s cross-country skiing events on Saturday by winning his sixth race and set the record for the most golds by one athlete in a single Winter Olympics.
The Norwegian’s victory in the 50km mass start race shattered the nearly 50-year record set by the American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. All of Heiden’s wins were in individual races and two of Klaebo’s have come in team events, so Heiden’s record for individual wins still stands.
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© Photograph: Matthias Schräder/AP
© Photograph: Matthias Schräder/AP
© Photograph: Matthias Schräder/AP
© Vincent Alban/The New York Times
Wax technicians apologise after mass-start failure
Sweden’s trio finish 18th, 21st and 26th in event
Sweden’s biathletes have struggled to deliver medals at the Winter Olympics and on Friday they finally ran out of patience with their waxing team, blaming a bad job on their skis for an embarrassingly poor performance in the men’s mass start.
Often among the favourites in biathlon events, the Swedes had a dismal day in the final men’s race of the Games, with Sebastian Samuelsson finishing 18th, Martin Ponsiluoma 21st and Jesper Nelin 26th in the 30-man field.
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© Photograph: Mathias Bergeld/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Mathias Bergeld/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Mathias Bergeld/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock
© Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty
© Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Omar Yaghi’s invention uses ambient thermal energy and can generate up to 1,000 litres of clean water every day
A Nobel laureate’s environmentally friendly invention that provides clean water if central supplies are knocked out by a hurricane or drought, could be a life saver for vulnerable islands, its founder says.
The invention, by the chemist Prof Omar Yaghi, uses a type of science called reticular chemistry to create molecularly engineered materials, which can extract moisture from the air and harvest water even in arid and desert conditions.
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© Photograph: Atoco
© Photograph: Atoco
© Photograph: Atoco
As Botswana’s president here is my plan to renew this country’s beleaguered health system – and my vision for a stronger Africa
Shortages of medicine in Botswana forced me to declare a public health emergency last year. Patients went without treatment – not because health workers failed them, but because the system did. For a nation committed to universal healthcare, free at the point of use, it was a moment of hard truth.
Even outwardly strong public health systems can be fragile. As donor assistance bites across the continent, governments cannot afford to delay building resilience.
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© Photograph: Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Images
Recent incidents involving Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert suggest things are not well at the network after the acquisition financed by Trump supporter Larry Ellison
Anderson Cooper decides to walk away from broadcast TV’s most prestigious news show, 60 Minutes. Stephen Colbert takes his interview with a rising Democratic politician to YouTube instead of his own late-night show. The CBS Evening News anchor presents a misleading version of the network’s own exclusive reporting on Ice arrests. And a news producer writes a farewell note to her CBS News colleagues blaming the loss of editorial independence.
If you connect the dots, the picture of what’s happening at CBS becomes all too clear. That picture comes into even sharper focus once you recall an underlying factor: the network’s parent company is trying to get a big commercial deal done and needs the help of the Trump administration to bring it over the finish line.
Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
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© Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
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