The Slatest for Jan. 22: There’s Something Fishy About This Supreme Court Case

Something stinks in the Supreme Court—and it’s not just because the pair of cases it’s considering are ostensibly about fish! It’s more that the court has once again cooked up a fake case that would allow it to tear down major precedent. This time, it would deliver Republican megadonors and activists a giant gift by hobbling federal agencies that interpret and enforce the law. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern break down what exactly is going on here, and why it’s so fishy (even if it isn’t really about fish).

Plus, in case you missed it last month: Lithwick and Stern discussed the court’s propensity for hearing cases built on shameless lies.

And there’s finally an ethics inquiry into Clarence Thomas. Dennis Aftergut and Austin Sarat consider whether it will actually go anywhere.

Abortion is the most important issue for Democrats in the 2024 election—so why isn’t Biden campaigning harder on it? Jill Filipovic argues that the president needs to be putting more of a point on how abortion rights are inextricably tied to the threat Trump poses to democracy.

The U.S., Egypt, and Qatar have come up with a real plan for ending the war in Gaza—and it could actually work, if Israel and Hamas agree to it. Fred Kaplan examines why Netanyahu is resistant, and the role Biden might still be able to play in getting him to accept the proposal.

The prosecutor in Trump’s Georgia conspiracy trial, Fani Willis, has been hit with allegations that she hired her romantic partner as one of her prosecutors—and those allegations will have their day in court, at a hearing scheduled for next month. Shirin Ali breaks down what we know about the whole thing so far, and catches us up on all the other latest news in Trump’s numerous trials.

Plus: Norman L. Eisen, Richard W. Painter, and Joyce White Vance argue that this shouldn’t disqualify Willis from prosecuting Trump.

There’s a factional war going on with Michigan’s state Republican party—between two separate groups of conspiracy theorists. Ben Mathis-Lilley breaks down all the ins and outs of the conflict, including a fistfight (or maybe more like a face-smooshing fight?), a surreal dispute with a bank, and cameos from Jim Caviezel and … an internet personality named Mr. Sausage? It’s a wild ride, folks.

Welcome to Advice Week! We’re going back in time and revisiting questions from the archives and digging into how much has changed since Slate began giving advice in 1997—and how much hasn’t. Slate’s advice editor, Paola de Varona, kicks things off with an essay looking back on the history of advice columns at Slate.

The dilemmas in today’s time capsule include:

• Help! My Partner’s Politics Are Reprehensible.

• I’ve Noticed a Very Strange Change in Young People Nowadays

• Help! I Figured Out a Workaround for the Housing Crisis. My Boomer In-Laws Do Not Approve.

You can read all the stories here.

Like so many Americans, Joel Anderson is caught between renting in a city he loves or buying a home somewhere much different. He takes a close look at the factors that make that choice so difficult.

Paul Giamatti is a Yale man and an Everyman, a star for playing schlubs and the best actor who’s never been nominated for Best Actor. Dan Kois takes a thoughtful look at the career of the widely beloved—and widely misunderstood—actor.

… much like those Stanley cups everyone is obsessed with. Meg Duff considers whether you actually need one.

Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you back here tomorrow.