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Supreme Court lawyers often build their arguments around points to which they think the justices will be most receptive. If a lawyer thinks that the justices will be friendly to their caseif they represent, say, a religious person with a Free Exercise Clause claim or a state trying to carry out an executionthen they may be more inclined to swing for the fences. If, on the other hand, they think that the Supreme Court might be divided on the issue based on past rulings or on intuitive understandings of each justice, they might make a narrower argument that could appeal to more skeptical members of the court.

Trumps lawyers, for reasons known only to them, made claims that most of the justices could not stomach. One of them, Jay Sekulow, argued in Vance that any criminal process that touched the president was unconstitutional, a point that even the Justice Department arguing on behalf of the Trump administration did not make. That argument was resoundingly rejected by all nine justices, including the two justices who dissented from the courts decision in Vances favor on narrower grounds. Trump did score a partial victory in the Mazars case, where the justices laid out a balancing test for congressional subpoenas of a presidents personal information, but he only succeeded in running out the clock until his term ended.

On policy issues, the Supreme Court also rejected some of the Trump administrations major initiatives when the process that led to them was sloppy or deceptive. Some of these defeats were narrower than others. The court rejected the Trump administrations bid to place a citizenship question on the 2020 census only when Chief Justice John Roberts broke ranks with his fellow conservatives, citing evidence that the Justice Departments stated rationale for adding the question was a lie. Roberts also joined with the courts four liberals at the time to defeat Trumps bid to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program because the administration had not properly followed the Administrative Procedures Act.

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Donald Trump Keeps Getting Rejected by the Supreme Court - The New Republic

Michelle Obama has recalled how her mother, Marian Robinson, used to make her birthday cakes every year, including when the former first lady and her family were living in the White House.

The 58-year-old attorney discussed her relationship with the 85-year-old during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday to promote her childrens cooking program, Waffles + Mochi.

During their conversation, TV host Drew Barrymore asked Ms Obama a series of rapid fire questions, including one about her favourite food memory. In response, the former FLOTUS cited Robinsons home cooking on her birthdays.

My mom used to bake homemade cakes for us for our birthdays and that was part of our birthday, she explained. And my mom even did this when she lived with us in the White House.

This is not Ms Obamas first time opening up about her relationship with her mother. In honour of Mothers Day this year in May, she shared a throwback photo of her, Robinson, and her two daughters, Malia, 24, and Sasha, 21, who she shares with husband Barack Obama, on Instagram.

In the caption, she shared a sweet tribute to her mother, writing: Im so thankful for the love, guidance, and care that my mom has instilled in me. Ive shared so much of her wisdom with my own daughters over the years.

Elsewhere in her interview with Barrymore, the former first lady opened up about her childrens eating habits when they first entered the White House at the ages of seven and 10, respectively, after her husband began his first term as president.

According to the book author, because she was juggling multiple responsibilities at the time, she couldnt give her children the most nutritious food options.

I was getting to the point where I couldnt figure out how to feed my kids healthy foods, because I was trying to do what most parents would do, give them something fast and quick, she said. I saw my kids health being affected by the fact that we did too much fast food, we did too many sugary drinks.

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She went on to note the importance of giving her children a well-balanced diet and confessed that she used to be unaware of what healthy food to give them.

Its not that we cant have fun but when fun is what you do, she explained. So I struggled with that as a parent, and I figured: Here I am college-educated, law degree, and I dont know what to feed my kids, whats healthy.

She acknowledged that it encouraged her to explore the topic of healthy eating further, explaining: I set out to embrace this issue and educate us as a nation, but to also help parents learn what works for their kids.

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Michelle Obama says her mother used to make her birthday cake every year, including while in the White House - Yahoo News

No president has done more for Israel than I have, Donald Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the US. Trump also claimed that he was so popular he could be elected prime minister of Israel and said, US Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel Before it is too late!

Once pictures of Trumps post were shared on more popular social media platforms such as Twitter it went viral. His words were condemned by prominent American Jewish groups, including those that regularly assert that anti-Zionism (which Trump appeared to be at least gesturing at) and anti-Semitism are one and the same. Many of these establishment, mainstream Jewish organisations were criticised during Trumps presidency by those who felt that they supported his administration in an attempt to bolster their own ties with Israel and appear bipartisan rather than calling out anti-Semitism and defending human rights.

We dont need the former president, who curries favour with extremists and anti-Semites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This Jewsplaining is insulting and disgusting, tweeted Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish NGO dedicated to stopping defamation of the Jewish people and one of the groups that was criticised during Trumps presidency.

Support for the Jewish state never gives one license to lecture American Jews, nor does it ever give the right to draw baseless judgements about the ties between US Jews and Israel. And to be clear, those ties are strong and enduring, read a tweet from the American Jewish Committee, a prominent advocacy group that was similarly criticised.

Though Trumps post drew a lot of anger, it is hardly the first time hes said something like this. In an interview with the news website Axios last year he said roughly the same thing. People in this country that are Jewish no longer love Israel, he said. Ill tell you, the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country The Jewish people in the United States either dont like Israel or dont care about Israel When you look at the New York Times, the New York Times hates Israel, hates them, and theyre Jewish people that run the New York Times I mean the Sulzberger family.

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He also made similar comments in 2019 while still in office. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, he said: In my opinion, if you vote for a Democrat, youre being very disloyal to Jewish people and youre being very disloyal to Israel. And only weak people would say anything other than that. The day before he had said: I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.

[Podcast: What does it mean to be a Bad Jew? With Emily Tamkin]

Most American Jews do indeed vote for Democrats and most are not voting based on a candidates given position on Israel. In fact a 2020 poll by the Ruderman Foundation found that only 4 per cent of American Jews believe that Israel is the most important issue. Most American Jews do indeed profess an attachment to Israel: six in ten say they are very or somewhat emotionally attached, though less than half have actually been there, according to a 2020 study by the Pew Research Centre. But according to the same study, younger American Jews both feel less attached to and are more critical of the country. These are facts of American life. It is not up to the former president or anyone else to say that that makes American Jews disloyal, or to demand our political support.

Another fact of American political life is that many Republican candidates traffic in anti-Semitic tropes and then defend themselves against charges of bigotry by touting their support for Israel. And another fact of American life is that Republicans often do this with cover from like-minded Jewish people: Trump is set to receive an honour from the right-wing Zionist Organization of America next month for such achievements as moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and cutting funding to Palestinians.

All of this is to say that one of our two major political parties regularly treats Israel and American Jews as though they should be interchangeable, and Trump regularly chastises us for the fact that we dont see things the same way. All of this is happening at a time when most American Jews feel that anti-Semitism on the rise. This is the state of American Jewish politics and Trump is but one of the loudest voices sharing the Republican Party line.

[See also: Everything you should know about the 2022 US midterm elections]

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Donald Trump is hardly the only Republican chastising American Jews - The New Statesman

Ana Navarro says Barack Obama is living in the past. The View co-host pushed back against advice from Obama after the former president recommended democrats focus less on the latest craziness from Donald Trump and instead commit to current issues affecting American voters.

Obamas comments came from his appearance on the Oct. 15 episode of Pod Save America, where he told host Jon Favreau, We spend enormous amounts of time and energy and resources pointing out the latest crazy thing he said, or how rude or mean some of these republican candidates behaved.

He continued, Thats probably not something that, in the minds of most voters, overrides their basic interests. Can I pay the rent? What are gas prices? How am I dealing with childcare?

While discussing his advice with The View panel during a Hot Topics segment on todays episode, Navarro questioned how effective Obamas idea really is, suggesting he doesnt have the relevant experience of squaring off against Trump since he was running against the much saner John McCain.

I think Obama is kind of campaigning like its 2008. He ran against John McCain. He didnt run against a twice-impeached insurrectionist, and I dont know how you ignore Donald Trump when hes constantly doing things like attacking Elaine Chao with anti-Asian hate, when hes attacking Jews, like he did last night, Navarro said.

She then read a post from Trump on his Truth Social platform in which the former president wrote, U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel before its too late.

Navarro added, This is coming at a time when theres been such a dramatic increase in anti-Asian crimes, antisemitic crimes, before admitting she understands Obamas words, but doesnt think the advice will stick in todays hot political climate.

So look, I get what Obama is saying. There is a dearth we are missing the hope and change feeling that there was in 2008, Navarro said. But its very hard to not be angry and outraged, and channel that into the ballot box when theyve just gotten rid of abortion rights after 50 years.

The Viewairs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.

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Ana Navarro Gives Obama a Reality Check on 'The View' After He Recommends Ignoring Trump's Antics: "Campaigning Like It's 2008" - Decider

Highlights: Wisconsin Senate debate between Ron Johnson, Mandela Barnes

The second debate between Mandela Barnes and Ron Johnson was at Marquette University's Varsity Theater Thursday. Video courtesy of WTMJ TV.

Lou Saldivar, Wochit

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's campaign has retained the Cross Plains-based lawfirm thatrepresented former President Donald Trump in the failed effort to throw out hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots in Wisconsin and reverse the results of the 2020 election.

The firm is headed byattorneyJames Troupis, who wasallegedly at the center of the plot to recognize so-called fake electors in what was the last-ditch pushby the former president and his allies to stymie President Joe Biden's election on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

The Johnson campaign made about $20,000 in payments to the Troupis firm since July.

NBC News was the first to report the payments.

A spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes criticized the payments on Monday. Barnes, a Democrat, is challenging Johnson, a second-term Republican, next month.

"Ron Johnson is hell-bent on holding onto power through any means possible so that he can continue delivering tax breaks to his wealthiest donors, follow through on his plan to put Social Security on the chopping block, and rip away womens reproductive rights," spokeswoman Maddy McDaniel said.

But Ben Voelkel, a top aide to Johnson, said there was nothing unusual about the payments.

"As anyone who works on campaigns in this state knows, close elections in Wisconsin are the rule, not the exception," Voelkel said. "It would be reckless to be unprepared for any possible circumstance and this campaign has been preparing for months for just that.

Troupis did not respond immediately to an email or call.

More: Wisconsin U.S. Senate election updates: Diane Hendricks gives $9.4 million to pro-Johnson Super PAC

More: The debates are done. Here's what to expect in the final weeks of the Mandela Barnes-Ron Johnson Wisconsin U.S. Senate race

According to filings, the first $13,287 to Troupis' firm was for "legal consulting" on July 15. Johnson's campaign then paid Troupis' office $7,000 on Aug. 18 for "recount: legal consulting."

Troupis once gave $1,000 to Johnson's campaign more than a decade ago.

Troupis, a former Dane County Circuit Judge, unsuccessfully sought to throw out hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots in 2020 when he was hired by Trump to oversee recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties following Trumps defeat in Wisconsin.

Since then, investigations by a U.S. House committee convened to probe the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol have revealed Troupis was at the center of a plot to put in place Republican electors in states Trump was trying to overturn election results and was the first in the state to receive a memo pushing the idea from Boston-area attorney Kenneth Chesebro.

Johnson also acknowledged this summer that on Jan. 6, 2021, hours before the attack, he coordinated with Troupis to get to then-Vice President Mike Pence a document Troupis described as regarding Wisconsin electors.

Earlier this month, Johnson downplayed his role in the incident.

"The entire episode lasted about an hour," Johnson said on Oct. 4 in Milwaukee. "I got a text from the president's lawyer (Troupis) who asked me if we could deliver something through the vice president and if I could I have a staff member handle it."

Johnson said he did not know what information was being handed over.

"I had no idea that there were even an alternate slate of electors," he said. "I had no knowledge of it, no involvement in it. And you can't even call it participation. I wrote a couple of texts. I was involved for a few seconds. There's nothing to this story."

As Trumps attorney during the 2020 recounts, Troupis and his brother ChrisTroupis, sought to throw out all in-person absentee ballots, all mailed-in absentee ballots if applications for them could not be tracked down, all absentee ballots submitted by those who claimed to be indefinitely confined, and all ballots where clerks filled in missing address information for witnesses to absentee ballots.

Federal Election Commission records show Troupis' firm was paid $471,994from Trump's campaign and the Make America Great Again PAC in late 2020 and early 2021 for the firm'swork on the recount.

The effort laid the groundwork for unsuccessful lawsuits Trump and his allies filed ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to overturn the results of Wisconsins election, and for successful litigation since. Clerks are no longer allowed to fill in missing witness address information on absentee ballot envelopes.

Over the years, Troupis has been a regular donor to Republican and conservativecandidates and causes in Wisconsin, having given nearly $30,000 to them over the past 30 years.

Johnson officials noted that all major campaigns hire law firms. They noted that Barnes' campaign has paid out$88,964to the Elias Law Group since December. Marc Elias, the head of the firm, has been involved in a number of recounts for Democratic campaigns over the years.

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Ron Johnson campaign hires Troupis law firm that represented Donald Trump in attempt to throw out 2020 ballots in Wisconsin - Milwaukee Journal...