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Public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious objections to withdraw their children from classes in which storybooks with L.G.B.T.Q. themes are discussed, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s liberal members in dissent.

The case extended a winning streak for claims of religious freedom at the court, gains that have often come at the expense of other values, notably gay rights.

The case concerned a new curriculum adopted in 2022 for prekindergarten through the fifth grade by the Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest school system.

The storybooks included “Pride Puppy,” an alphabet primer about a family whose puppy gets lost at a Pride parade; “Love, Violet,” about a girl who develops a crush on her female classmate; “Born Ready,” about a transgender boy; and “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” about a same-sex union.

At first, the school system gave parents notice when the storybooks were to be discussed, along with the opportunity to have their children excused. But school administrators soon eliminated the advance notice and opt-out policy, saying it was hard to administer, led to absenteeism and risked “exposing students who believe the storybooks represent them and their families to social stigma and isolation.”

"Great optics if you want to ignite a revolution," remarked one observer.

Republican and Democratic senators have offered starkly contrasting interpretations of Donald Trump’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities after a delayed behind-closed-doors intelligence briefing that the White House had earlier postponed amid accusations of leaks.

Thursday’s session with senior national security officials came after the White House moved back its briefing, originally scheduled for Tuesday, fueling Democratic complaints that Trump was stonewalling Congress over military action the president authorized without congressional approval.

“Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening,” the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said following the initial postponement, which he termed “outrageous”.

Rights advocates and Democratic officials are outraged by the Trump administration and Florida Republicans' plan to build "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades to detain migrants.

A Trump appointee suggests NASA may not have a new administrator until next year.

Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver pleads not guilty to charges stemming from incident outside ICE facility. ACLU condemns Trump admin's "intimidation tactics."

The Democratic party is at a crossroads.

It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don’t change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents.

It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors and out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on dumb 30-second ads that fewer and fewer people respond to.

It can ignore the tragic reality that tens of millions of Americans are giving up on democracy because they don’t see their government understanding their struggles and the realities of their lives or doing anything about it.

Or it can learn the lesson that the Zohran Mamdani campaign taught us on Tuesday.And that is:

Have the courage to address the real economic and moral issues that face the majority of our people, take on the greed and power of the oligarchy and fight for an agenda that can improve life for working families.

The first quarter’s decline in GDP was attributed to a massive trade deficit as American businesses rushed to stock up on imports to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s stiff tariffs. The third estimate revised imports down, but they still greatly exceeded exports, which subtracted from GDP.

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Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are deeply concerned about whistleblower allegations against DOJ official Emil Bove, who allegedly pressured lawyers to ignore court orders.