By Mark Sherman
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it is postponing arguments for late March and early April because of the coronavirus, including fights over subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s financial records.
Other business will go on as planned, including the justices' private conference on Friday and the release of orders in a week's time. Some justices may participate by telephone, the court said in a statement.
Six of the nine justices are 65 and older, at higher risk of getting very sick from the illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, and Stephen Breyer, 81, are the oldest members of the court.
There is no new date set for the postponed arguments. the building has been closed to the public since last week.
The only other time the 85-year-old court building was closed for arguments was in October 2001, when anthrax was detected in the court mailroom. That led the justices to hold arguments in the federal courthouse about a half mile from the Supreme Court,
Within a week and after a thorough cleaning, the court reopened.
In 1918, when the court still met inside the Capitol, arguments were postponed for a month because of the flu pandemic. In the nation's early years, in August 1793 and August 1798, adjustments were made because of yellow fever outbreaks, the court said.
The U.S. military said a Russian warplane struck the propeller of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea, causing America forces to bring the unmanned aircraft down in international waters.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the nation's first-ever drinking water standard around polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or "forever chemicals."
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that will ramp up the number of background checks conducted before gun sales.
A pioneer for women’s and family rights in Congress, former Colorado Rep. Pat Schroeder, has died at the age of 82.
Illinois will become one of three states to require employers to offer paid time off for any reason.
Roku was among those businesses impacted by the fall of Silicon Valley Bank, having around 26 percent of its cash and cash equivalents deposited at the bank.
Depositors withdrew savings, and investors broadly sold off bank shares as the federal government raced to reassure Americans that the banking system is secure following two bank failures.
The Biden administration is approving the major Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope.
Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to testify Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments he arranged and made on the former president’s behalf.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as the nation's president Friday, putting him on track to stay in power for life.
