Supreme Court Rejects Trio of Gun Rights Cases

In a blow to the NRA, the Supreme Court has opted not to hear a trio of cases challenging federal and state gun laws. Two involved NRA-backed challenges to laws limiting gun rights for people under 21, Reuters reports. One of those was a Texas law banning 18- to 20-year-olds from publicly carrying guns; the other addressed decades-old laws against gun sales to those under 21. A third case involved consumers' ability to challenge gun-sale laws. The high court didn't offer comment on its rejection of the cases, the AP notes. In other court news:

• Justices rejected an alleged drug lord's appeal against a Virginia retrial for capital murder. Justin Wolfe's initial conviction was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct.
• Nor will justices hear an appeal by a man who was convicted under federal gambling laws. Lawrence DiCristina of New York says the laws cover only games of chance, whereas the game his underground group plays—poker—is about skill.
• So what is the court hearing? Arguments are taking place today over an Obama administration rule on pollution. The EPA requires companies developing pollution-boosting industrial sites to assess their carbon output. The Chamber of Commerce, which is challenging the measure along with some GOP-run states, says it "may be the costliest, most intrusive regulatory program the nation has yet seen." Several other states, as well as environmental groups, are backing the White House.

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