CBS News
The Supreme Court’s new term starts next week. Here’s what to know and the cases to watch.
Washington — The Supreme Court will kick off its new term Monday, taking the bench for the first time since the justices handed down blockbuster decisions over the summer on guns, a widely used abortion pill, the regulatory power of federal agencies and presidential immunity.
The upcoming term, which will stretch into June 2025, is shaping up so far to be quieter than the Supreme Court’s last. But the justices are still poised to hear cases on hot-button issues like LGBTQ rights, an age-verification law for pornographic websites and the Biden administration’s efforts to combat gun violence.
And looming over the start of the new term is the November election, which could bring legal battles over the presidential contest before the high court. The justices have already been asked to intervene in disputes over Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship voting requirements and efforts by Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to be restored to the ballots in Nevada and New York, respectively.
The court returns to the bench facing steady criticism for some of its most significant rulings, beginning with its June 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and continuing with the July ruling granting former President Donald Trump some level of immunity from federal prosecution. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have also been under scrutiny from Congress over their adherence to ethics laws and practices.
Calls to reform the Supreme Court have followed criticism of the justices and their rulings. President Biden came out in favor of 18-year term limits and an enforceable code of ethics for the justices, as well as a constitutional amendment clarifying that former presidents are not immune from federal prosecution. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, backs the reforms and has urged Congress to act.
While the differences among the justices are typically revealed to the public through their written opinions and dissents, recent leaks to the media have provided a window into the court’s internal deliberations, and some of the justices have not shied away from voicing their frustrations.
In addition to the shocking and unprecedented leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion reversing Roe, the New York Times reported in September on internal memos and discussions surrounding three cases that involved Trump, including the immunity ruling that has sparked significant pushback against the high court.
Lisa Blatt, a lawyer who has argued 50 cases before the Supreme Court, said during a Federalist Society event that “something does feel broken,” and observed that some of the justices “feel visibly frustrated” during oral arguments.
Here are four cases to watch in the Supreme Court’s new term:
New rules for ghost guns
Haven Daley / AP
On the second day of the term, Oct. 8, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok, a challenge to a regulation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that imposed requirements on the makers and sellers of untraceable firearms known as ghost guns. The case doesn’t involve the Second Amendment, but instead revolves around whether the ATF went too far when it issued its measure regulating the weapons.
Ghost guns are unserialized firearms that can be assembled from kits sold online, and there has been a surge in the number of these firearms recovered by law enforcement each year, according to the Biden administration.
Implemented by the ATF in April 2022, the rule amended the definition of “firearm” under the 1968 Gun Control Act to include certain weapon parts kits. It also clarified that partially complete frames and receivers that can be converted into functional firearms qualify as regulated weapons.
The measure subjects covered manufacturers and sellers to the same rules that apply to commercial gun sales and requires them to obtain licenses, mark their products with serial numbers, run background checks and keep purchase records. It applies to all untraceable firearms, including those made with 3D printers or sold as assembly kits.
Shortly after the rule took effect, a group of gun owners, advocacy groups and ghost gun distributors sued the ATF, arguing it overstepped its authority. The challengers prevailed before a district judge and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which invalidated the portion of the rule defining “frame or receiver” and found the 1968 Gun Control Act’s definition of “firearm” doesn’t include weapon parts kits.
The Biden administration appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and is urging the justices to reverse the 5th Circuit.
The justices have already intervened in the case on an emergency basis. In a divided 5-4 decision, the high court paused the district court’s decision invalidating the rule, allowing it to take effect while litigation played out. Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined with the three liberal justices in allowing the Justice Department to enforce the measure.
That order will remain in place until the Supreme Court issues a decision in the case, expected by the end of June 2025.
An Oklahoma death row inmate’s bid for a new trial
Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP
Death row inmate Richard Glossip’s bid for a new trial will be before the justices on Oct. 9. The case is known as Glossip v. Oklahoma, and it’s unique in the fact that the state’s Republican attorney general has argued that Glossip’s murder conviction and death sentence shouldn’t stand because of issues with his trial.
Nine execution dates have been set for Glossip and he has had his “last meal” three times, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. His most recent execution date was in May 2023, but the Supreme Court blocked it after the attorney general, Gentner Drummond, said he didn’t receive a fair trial.
Glossip was convicted in the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, the owner of the motel where he worked. He was found guilty in two different trials, though his first conviction was reversed due to ineffective assistance of counsel. In both instances, the prosecution relied on the testimony of Glossip’s co-defendant, Justin Sneed, who admitted to robbing and killing Van Treese but said Glossip hired him to carry out the murder.
Sneed was sentenced to life in prison.
An independent counsel investigated Glossip’s case and raised issues with Sneed’s credibility as a witness. Evidence previously withheld by the state and made available to the defense in January showed that Sneed was evaluated by a jail psychiatrist and diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder in 1997, after the murder and while he was in jail. Sneed was prescribed lithium by the psychiatrist. Interview notes from 2003, which Drummond said were not turned over by the state, indicated the prosecutor knew about Sneed’s treatment.
The attorney general said Sneed testified during Glossip’s second trial in 2004 that he had never seen a psychiatrist. That information, as well as that he received lithium for a psychiatric condition, may have impacted how the jury viewed Sneed as a witness, according to the attorney general.
Drummond told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board in April that he supported clemency for Glossip, citing the independent reviews of the case that suggested he receive a new trial. But the parole board voted not to recommend clemency. The attorney general also asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to wipe away Glossip’s conviction, though it, too, rejected the request.
This is not the first time Glossip has been before the Supreme Court. In 2015, he unsuccessfully challenged Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol. Justice Neil Gorsuch is sitting out of the court’s consideration of the case, likely because of his prior stint as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which covers Oklahoma.
Tennessee’s ban on sex-transition treatments
The most closely watched case of the term, U.S. v. Skrmetti, involves a Tennessee law that bans certain sex-transition treatments for minors experiencing gender dysphoria. A decision could have wide-ranging impacts — more than 20 states have enacted laws in recent years limiting access to treatments like puberty-blocking drugs, hormone therapy or surgeries.
Tennessee’s law, SB1, was enacted in March and bars health care providers from prescribing, administering or dispensing any puberty blocker or hormone if the treatment is meant to “enable a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex” or treat “purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity.”
Puberty-blockers or hormones can also be used to treat conditions like precocious puberty, disease, a congenital defect or physical injuries.
The law took effect in July 2023, but it allowed covered treatments that began before then to continue until March 31.
Two transgender boys and one transgender girl, all of whom were diagnosed with gender dysphoria and received gender-affirming care, challenged the ban, arguing it violates the 14th Amendment’s promise of equal protection of the laws. The Justice Department also intervened.
A federal district court blocked the law, finding it was likely unconstitutional, but a divided panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed the decision.
The Justice Department and transgender teenagers then appealed to the Supreme Court, and the justices agreed to hear the Biden administration’s challenge. But if Trump defeats Harris in November, the Justice Department will likely change its position in the case once he takes office. Arguments have not yet been scheduled.
The dispute thrusts the justices into the culture wars, as Republican-led states have in recent months taken steps that critics argue are restricting transgender rights. In addition to the laws barring treatments for minors experiencing gender dysphoria, states have prohibited transgender girls from playing on female sports teams. Some red states have also challenged the Biden administration’s new rules protecting transgender students from discrimination under Title IX.
Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, told reporters during a preview of the Supreme Court’s term that the challenge to Tennessee’s law has a “huge impact” on the future of litigation on behalf of LGBTQ individuals.
“The resolution of this case is critical for access to this health care across the country,” he said, calling the legal battle an “inflection moment” of whether the court will clarify that transgender people are covered by the Constitution and civil rights laws.
Age-verification for pornographic websites
Although no date has been set for arguments, the case known as Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton involves a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify the ages of their visitors.
The dispute began with the enactment of Texas House Bill 1181 in June 2023, which seeks to prevent minors from accessing sexual content online. The law requires any website where one-third of their content is harmful to minors to verify that every user attempting to access that content is at least 18 years old.
Websites covered by the law must also display health warnings about the alleged psychological risks of pornograpy. Social media platforms and search engines are not covered by the age-verification law. Violators may face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day, and if a minor accesses sexual material, the state can seek an additional $250,000 per violation.
Texas is not the only state with such a law in effect — Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia all require covered websites to verify the ages of their visitors.
The Free Speech Coalition, a trade group for the adult entertainment industry, as well as a group of companies that operate pornography websites, challenged the Texas law, arguing it violates the First Amendment.
The challengers prevailed before a federal district court, which blocked enforcement one day before the measure was set to take effect. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit then upheld the law, finding that the age-verification requirement doesn’t violate the First Amendment.
“The central issue in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is whether adults’ access to speech that is fully protected but disfavored by the government can be burdened in the name of protecting kids,” said Vera Eidelman, a staff attorney with the ACLU, which is representing the Free Speech Coalition. “Another way to think about it is whether adults in America will continue to have the right to freely access sexual content online.”
One issue in the dispute is the level of scrutiny the district court applied when evaluating the constitutionality of the law. The court of appeals said the proper standard was rational-basis review, the minimum level of scrutiny, and found the age-verification requirement is “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in preventing minors’ access to pornography.”
But the Free Speech Coalition argues it should be subject to strict scrutiny, the highest standard of review that courts use.
The Supreme Court has already declined a request for emergency relief, which would’ve blocked Texas from enforcing the law during legal proceedings.
CBS News
Missing Utah soldier’s wife tells informant she shot husband in his sleep and buried his body, police say
A Utah woman has been arrested for investigation of murder after she told a confidential informant that she shot her estranged husband in his sleep and buried him in a shallow grave but did not disclose the location, police said.
Jennifer Gledhill, 41 of Cottonwood Heights, was arrested Wednesday and is jailed in Salt Lake County without bond, according to court records.
The body of Matthew Johnson, 51, had not been found as of Thursday, police said. The Utah National Guard member was reportedly shot late Sept. 20 or early Sept. 21, the informant told police Sept. 28 – six days after Gledhill “openly admitted” to killing Johnson, police records said.
Gledhill said she shot Johnson on the bed, buried his body and removed items from the house and destroyed them to cover up the crime, the informant said.
A search of the house found a bloodstain on the carpet under the bed and blood on the bed frame.
According to CBS affiliate KUTV, the reporting officer added: “Evidence also supports that significant clean up had taken place after this crime had occurred, including bleaching walls, and using carpet cleaning supplies.”
Johnson has had no contact with anyone since Sept. 20, and he did not report to work Sept. 23, officials said. Investigators believe he is dead.
Other court records indicate the couple was going through a contentious divorce and a custody dispute involving their three children. Gledhill had obtained a temporary protective order against Johnson in late August, but a permanent order was denied Sept. 16 – just days before the shooting – after the court commissioner watched videos that Gledhill had taken of arguments and reviewed text message exchanges between the two.
One such video apparently showed Johnson “rather calmly” cleaning up glass from a broken family photo, KUTV reported.
“(Gledhill) presents as eager to record the incident, demonstrating no fear of (Johnson) whatsoever,” Commissioner Russell Minas wrote.
Minas determined that no abuse had occurred. Glehill was equally confrontational, Minas said, and seeking a restraining order appeared to be “a litigation tactic” in their pending divorce, which had been filed in July.
“The conduct of the parties over the past several months is representative of a highly dysfunctional marriage bringing out the worst in the parties – clearly suggestive that an action for divorce should have been filed long before reaching the current state of affairs,” Minas wrote.
Gledhill’s attorneys in the restraining order and divorce cases declined to comment Thursday. No attorney is listed for her in court records.
Johnson and Gledhill had been scheduled to appear in court for divorce proceedings at the end of this month, KUTV reported.
CBS News
Woman who accused Corey Lewandowski of assault speaks out: “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else”
The political class barely shrugged in August when Corey Lewandowski announced he was back at former President Donald Trump’s side. But when Trashelle Odom learned that Lewandowski had joined Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign as a senior adviser, it was a gut punch. That’s because a little over three years ago, in 2021, Odom, then the wife of a wealthy Republican donor, had reported Lewandowski to the police for allegedly assaulting and stalking her at a Las Vegas charity event. Later, she said his lawyers offered her payment to keep quiet.
Lewandowski, who was Trump’s first campaign manager, was charged with misdemeanor battery and reached an agreement with prosecutors to dismiss the charges in exchange for community service, a $1,000 fine, enrollment in an impulse control class and an apology in court to Odom for “any discomfort he may have caused her.” Lewandowski was ousted from Trump’s orbit, where he’d been running a super PAC supporting the former president. A Trump spokesman vowed at the time that Lewandowski “would no longer be associated with Trump world.”
In response to a request for comment, lawyers for Lewandowski, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, stated, “Lewandowski was not charged with assault or stalking in Clark County, Nevada. In fact, the case against Mr. Lewandowski was dismissed.”
Odom said his dismissal put her on a path to healing. She divorced, moved to another state, left the world of politics and started a small business while raising her young children.
So when a friend called her last month to tell her Lewandowski was back in the Trump fold, she told CBS News she was stunned.
“I just broke down,” she said in her first television interview since Lewandowski’s return. “I was very, very upset.” Odom said she wanted others to hear her story. “He has his power back,” she said.
Lewandowski’s aggressive style and penchant for personal peccadilloes made for a turbulent tenure in Trump’s orbit. But Trump has stayed loyal to Lewandowksi, bringing him back into his inner circle after he was fired twice, once by the campaign and once by the super PAC Make America Great Again Action.
The longtime political strategist, who once served as a New Hampshire state trooper, rose to prominence for his role in catapulting Trump — a longshot candidate — all the way to the White House. Since the 2016 election, he’s been described as a kind of comfort pillow for Trump. He is someone who encourages the former president’s more extreme instincts, even when other aides are looking to rein him in.
“Let Trump be Trump” is Lewandowski’s mantra — and the name of a book he co-wrote in 2017 with Dave Bossie, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager.
“I just like him,” Trump recently told New York magazine. “Corey’s a character.” Lewandowski faced scrutiny for his treatment of women almost from the start. During the 2016 campaign, CCTV footage showed him grabbing a journalist’s arm following a press conference. Images from the video showed she had bruises on her arm. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, but prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges.
Lewandowski’s lawyers said in response to the allegation that the matter “was concluded long ago with Florida authorities electing not to pursue charges after completing their investigation.”
In 2017, a woman told police that Lewandowski slapped her behind during a holiday party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. She objected, according to the police report, but Lewandowski ignored her disapproval and did it again.
“It was completely demeaning and shocking,” she told Politico, but in the end, she declined to press charges.
Odom said she’d hoped to never have to publicly revisit the memories. But after learning that Lewandowski had returned to Trump’s side, she told CBS News she felt compelled to come forward and tell her story. She said she wanted to “give a voice” to women who may have had similar experiences but can’t speak up.
“I want them to feel safe, and I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.
She described what happened to her that evening as terrifying and at times during the interview fought back tears. Lewandowski, Odom said, made her feel uncomfortable from the moment she sat down next to him.
“He was targeting just me. His eyes were just on me,” she said. He quickly turned the conversation to his workout routines and bragged about his sexual prowess. “He said that I should go work out with him in his bedroom …and he was saying how large his privates were and saying how long he lasts in bed because of how much he works out.”
Soon, according to Odom, Lewandwowski began touching her. “He was … putting his hands, like on my lap,” and he attempted to “just caress my leg and like going up my side and like, trying to touch my butt.” She said when she left the dinner, Lewandowski followed her through the hotel.
“I felt like I was his prey,” she said. “He was very persistent, aggressive.” At one point, she said Lewandowski threw his drink at her. When she confronted him about it, “he started laughing,” Odom recalled.
Odom, now 35, was exposed to the political world through her now ex-husband, John Odom, a Boise, Idaho, construction executive who gave generously to Trump’s reelection effort. But she said she doesn’t want her story to be caught up in the political maelstrom.
“I don’t want it to be about Trump. I don’t want it to be about politics,” she said.
And yet, she is speaking out just a month before the presidential election, at a time when Trump is facing a historic gender gap with his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. According to CBS News’ most recent polling, Harris leads Trump among women, 55% to 44%. Well aware of the deficit, Trump has been courting women voters. He recently took to social media to make the case that women would be far better off if he were to win the presidency, rather than Harris.
“I will protect women at a level never seen before,” he boasted on Truth Social. “They will finally be healthy, hopeful, safe, and secure.”
But Trump, of course, has his own baggage when it comes to the treatment of women. Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by no fewer than 20 women over the years, allegations that he has denied. And last year he was held liable for sexual abuse in a civil case brought by magazine journalist E. Jean Carroll (Trump is appealing the verdict).
Meanwhile, evidence has emerged that the Trump campaign has paid money to women to bury their accusations. A July filing in a gender discrimination case against the 2016 Trump campaign included text messages from former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis alleging that the campaign settled multiple sexual harassment cases. For her part, Odom revealed in her CBS News interview that Lewandowski’s lawyers had offered her more than $30,000 to keep the episode confidential. She rejected the offer.
A few days after Odom accused Lewandowski of sexually harassing her, she got a call from Trump, who himself has been found guilty in a “hush money” case.
During their conversation, Trump alleged that Lewandowski had been drunk. Odom said she appreciated the call. Donald Trump Jr. called, as well, expressing his regret over what had happened to her.
“He was very kind and said things to make me feel like Corey would not be there anymore,” Odom said.
The Trump campaign has not responded to a request for comment.
Since Lewandowki has been back, he’s been given a public-facing role, defending Trump and driving the campaign’s message in multiple TV interviews. He has not been asked about Odom’s accusation. Odom, for her part, never wanted to go on television to talk about what happened to her that night in Las Vegas, but she said she felt she had no choice. She believes Lewandowski has not changed.
“If I can give just a little bit to one person, me speaking up is worth it,” she said through tears.
The internet’s current obsession with cortisol has prompted a new trending concoction dubbed the “cortisol cocktail” that users claim can reduce stress and even help with weight loss.
Also referred to as an “adrenal cocktail,” the drink has some variations across social media but mainly consists of orange or lemon juice, coconut water and a bit of sea salt.
Experts say there’s no evidence this drink can significantly reduce stress or weight by lowering cortisol levels, but the ingredients do offer some nutritional benefits that may give drinkers a boost.
“As soon as I saw the ingredients, I was like, this looks remarkably similar to a sports drink you would mix up,” Lindsay Malone, an integrative and functional medicine dietitian and nutrition instructor at Case Western Reserve University, told CBS News. “Juice, sodium, some potassium, so a little bit of sugar, some electrolytes in a fluid… I just wonder, if some of the benefits are just that, generally, people are dehydrated, and so maybe they get a little blood sugar boost, and then also some electrolytes to rehydrate them. Maybe that’s part of the pull for this.”
What is cortisol?
“Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress and plays a key role in regulating metabolism, inflammation, blood sugar levels and even sleep-wake cycles,” said Avery Zenker, a registered dietitian .
Cortisol often gets a bad reputation, she said, but it’s essential for survival.
“The key is balancing it effectively rather than attempting to eliminate it. Cortisol levels should naturally change and cycle through the day, ideally with a spike in the morning to help us feel awake and ready to go, and lower in the evening when it’s time for sleep,” Zender said.
Since hormone levels are constantly changing, the idea of a “hormone imbalance” is kind of misleading, said Christine Byrne, dietitian and owner of Ruby Oak Nutrition.
“If you think there’s something wrong with your hormone levels, it’s so, so important to seek the help of an endocrinologist instead of trying to do your own research to diagnose and treat yourself,” Byrne said. “Lots of influencers and wellness companies prey off people with difficult-to-diagnose symptoms by blaming these symptoms on vague problems like hormone imbalance or adrenal fatigue, then selling a supposed solution. But most of this stuff isn’t evidence-based or thoroughly tested.”
Does the adrenal cocktail recipe lower cortisol levels?
“The cortisol cocktail is one of these wellness trends that might sound appealing to people who are looking for a solution to a difficult health problem like stress, but there’s just no backing behind it,” Byrne said.
So while people shouldn’t look at the mixture as a miracle cure for stress or weight loss, Malone said the drink is harmless to try and contains ingredients that do have some nutritional benefits.
For example, orange juice contains vitamin C which help support the immune system, coconut water is hydrating and contains potassium (as does cream of tartar, another often featured ingredient of the mix) and sea salt can replenish sodium levels when electrolytes are low.
But, you can get these benefits from other avenues like whole foods, which can have additional benefts. Fruit juice and coconut water, for example, are high in sugar and lack fiber compared with whole fruit, Zenker said.
Most people get enough sodium, Malone said, but potassium can be found in fruits and vegetables and magnesium, another electrolyte, is found in whole grains and legumes.
How to lower stress, lose weight
While stress can influence weight and body composition, it’s important to remember there are multiple factors at play when it comes to lowering stress or losing weight — not something achieved solely through a daily dose of a “cortisol cocktail” or other trendy cure-all.
“For most people, the bottom line is not moving enough and eating too many calories,” Malone said of weight loss.
And the best way to support healthy cortisol levels? A balanced approach, Zenker said, including a nutritious diet, regular exercise, staying hydrated, quality sleep and managing stress.
“For most people, focusing on these things is more significant than making a specific beverage,” she said.
Klobuchar to play key role on Jan. 6 amid questions over whether Trump, Vance will accept results
Missing Utah soldier’s wife tells informant she shot husband in his sleep and buried his body, police say
Woman who accused Corey Lewandowski of assault speaks out: “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else”
Klobuchar to play key role on Jan. 6 amid questions over whether Trump, Vance will accept results
Missing Utah soldier’s wife tells informant she shot husband in his sleep and buried his body, police say