US federal court

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for states to use the federal SAVE database to verify the citizenship status of people registering to vote. The decision lets states check voter rolls against immigration records, a move supporters frame as election integrity and critics warn could disenfranchise eligible voters, fueling debate over voting access.

A US judge has overturned a White House media ban imposed under Donald Trump, ruling against the administration's attempt to exclude certain news organisations from access. The decision is being widely reported by major outlets including BBC News and is drawing significant attention, with many seeing it as a key test of press freedom and the limits of presidential control over media access.

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for states to run voter citizenship checks using the federal SAVE database ahead of the midterm elections. The decision lets election officials verify the citizenship status of registered voters against federal records. Supporters say it protects election integrity, while voting-rights groups warn it could lead to eligible voters being wrongly flagged or purged from rolls close to the vote.

A federal court has ruled that the Pentagon can designate Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, as a supply chain risk. The decision allows the Defense Department to maintain restrictions or scrutiny over Anthropic's role in federal contracting, raising questions about how AI firms are treated under national security procurement rules.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a lower court's dismissal of patents covering internet advertising technology owned by a party challenging Google. The court found the claims ineligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act, which governs whether inventions are patentable subject matter. The decision is being closely watched by intellectual property practitioners, as it adds to the line of Federal Circuit rulings limiting software and business-method patents in the digital advertising space.

The Trump administration cancelled a $7 billion solar energy grant program, but a federal judge in Rhode Island has now ordered the program restored. The ruling is a setback for the administration's effort to roll back renewable energy funding and a win for states and organizations relying on those solar grants. Supporters of clean energy are highlighting the decision as a check on executive power over congressionally funded climate programs.

The US Supreme Court has issued a ruling concerning a Department of Homeland Security voter database, and officials say it will have no impact on California's 2026 general election. The decision clarifies how federal data access rules apply to states, but California's voting procedures for 2026 remain unchanged, according to local reporting in Lassen County.