Could the Wisconsin Supreme Court weigh in on the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline rerouting?
The legal action comes as Wisconsin concluded a hard-fought race for a seat on the Supreme Court, with Dane County Judge Susan Crawford defeating conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel and cementing a liberal majority on the court until at least 2028.
Last year, the DNR approved a permit for Enbridge Energy's reroute of the pipeline known as Line 5.
About 12 miles of the pipeline cuts through the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's reservation. The easements for the land the pipeline is on have expired, which is why the company is planning to reroute it.
After the DNR announced its decision to permit the plan, several environmental organizations contested the decision, and arguments will be heard by an administrative law judge for that case. While the hearings in the contested case have not started, any decision could likely be appealed to a circuit court, setting the stage for a process that could wind up at the Supreme Court.
Evan Feinauer, an attorney with the group Clean Wisconsin, said the case could take years to reach that point, but the court could halt the pipeline or allow the reroute to continue.
Enbridge Energy, a Canadian company, is also awaiting a decision from the Army Corps of Engineers and two others: Michigan's Public Service Commission and Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Enbridge Line 5 pipeline reroute could get to Wisconsin Supreme Court
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CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
Ghislaine Maxwell's attorneys argue against unsealing grand jury testimony
Attorneys for Jeffrey Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell are arguing against the Justice Department's attempt to unseal grand jury testimony against her, writing in a court filing Tuesday that their client "has no choice but to respectfully oppose" the potential release. "Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not," Maxwell's attorney David Markus wrote in a nine-page filing. "Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain." Maxwell — who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting, grooming and sexually abusing minors — is challenging her conviction, arguing she should've been covered by a non-prosecution deal that federal prosecutors in Florida offered to Epstein and any co-conspirators almost two decades ago. The Supreme Court indicated it will consider whether to hear Maxwell's case in September. Her attorneys also wrote that Maxwell has not been given the opportunity to review the grand jury material to assess the documents. "When Epstein died, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York pivoted and made Maxwell the face of his crimes. She became the scapegoat and the only person the government could put on trial. She was convicted in a media firestorm of false reporting and mischaracterization of evidence," Markus wrote. "Now, with her case pending before the Supreme Court, the government seeks to unseal untested, hearsay-laden grand jury transcripts, which contain statements presented in secret and never challenged by the adversarial process. Maxwell has never been allowed to review those transcripts even though the government did not oppose her recent request to do so." In a court filing last week, the Justice Department admitted that the grand jury transcripts that it is attempting to unseal from the investigations into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell contain testimony from only two law enforcement officers. The grand juries that indicted Epstein and Maxwell did not hear direct testimony from any alleged victims, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told a judge in the Southern District of New York in their attempts to unseal the testimony. In a filing earlier Tuesday, the Justice Department said that the grand jury transcripts it is hoping are unsealed were mostly already made public during Epstein and Maxwell's court proceedings. "The enclosed, annotated transcripts show that much of the information provided during the course of the grand jury testimony—with the exception of the identities of certain victims and witnesses—was made publicly available at trial or has otherwise been publicly reported through the public statements of victims and witnesses," the Justice Department wrote. The government also has asked for until Aug. 8 to decide whether or not they are going to ask for the grand jury exhibits to be unsealed as well, as those "substantive" exhibits that are not currently in the public record. Before a different judge in New York this week, two of Epstein's victims asked for restrictions to be put in place to protect the couple's victims, but were unopposed to the transcripts being unsealed. One victim asked for the judge to "show us all the files with only the necessary redactions!" and "be done with it and allow me/us to heal." They asked that their attorney be able to review the suggested redactions "as they are the ones who also know the victims, their names, their truths and their stories unlike the United States Government who did not and does not even care to know our truth. They would rather ask a convicted imprisoned sex trafficker/ abuser for information," referring to the Justice Department's two-day interview last month with Maxwell. Another victim asked for a third-party review of the files before their release, to "ensure that NO victims names or likenesses are revealed through this release. It is imperative with the scrutiny over this media frenzy that the victims are completely and entirely protected." Last month, a federal judge in Florida denied the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury material stemming from investigations in 2005 and 2007 into Epstein in the state. That ruling only applied to transcripts of proceedings by federal grand juries that were convened in Florida, and did not apply to the transcripts in New York.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Buzz wears off for Michigan's marijuana businesses
When Greenhouse of Walled Lake, Michigan, opened in 2019, it catered to Michigan's medical marijuana market, and business was booming. Recreational marijuana sales began later that year statewide, opening the door to new customers — and competitors. As the state's cannabis market took off, new operators flooded in and profit margins thinned. 'We're oversaturated,' said Jerry Millen, owner of Greenhouse. 'Too much product, too many stores to the point where people are just giving the product away.' Michigan's marijuana industry is showing signs of strain as companies deal with oversupply, falling prices and tightening margins. And it's forcing some operators to scale back or shut down entirely: the most notable recent retreat from the once-booming Michigan market is Canadian cannabis giant TerrAscend. In late June, the publicly traded corporation announced its 'strategic exit' from Michigan, declaring it intended to sell or divest all its assets in the state, which include four growing facilities, 20 dispensaries and real estate. The net proceeds from that pullback, the company said, would be used to pay down its debt. TerrAscend officials declined comment for this story. However, in the company's June statement, Executive Chairman Jason Wild said: 'Michigan is an extremely difficult market and we have to come to the realization that our resources can be better utilized in other markets. This move will unlock value for TerrAscend and its shareholders.' The industry's retreat has hit the college town of Ann Arbor, too. Dispensaries Arbors Wellness, Leaf and Bud, and Misty Mountain have all recently closed. TerrAscend's Cookies location in Ann Arbor is set to close on Aug. 31, a front desk worker said. Sales slump According to Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency, in June 2025, both medical and adult-use recreational marijuana sales declined from the previous month. Medical sales fell 12%, from $553,315 in May to $487,087 in June. Adult-use sales dropped 4.2%, from $272.1 million to $260.6 million for the same period. Combined cannabis sales totaled $261.1 million in June, down $11.5 million, or 4.2%, from May. For the first six months of 2025, total cannabis sales were $1.58 billion, down $10.4 million, or 0.7%, from the same period in 2024. Adult-use sales totaled $1.57 billion, compared to $1.58 billion the year before. Medical sales dropped sharply, falling 72% from $12.7 million in the first half of 2024 to $3.5 million in 2025. A slowdown in sales could be due to a number of factors, said Aidan Bergsman, data scientist and senior analyst for Anderson Economic Group. Cannabis sales in Michigan began to plateau around August 2024, coinciding with the launch of Ohio's recreational market. 'You had a lot of Ohio residents crossing over to Michigan, especially for adult-use products,' Bergsman said. 'When Ohio legalized and implemented their program, that cross-border activity decreased, and that definitely shows up in Michigan's numbers.' There's also a shift from traditional retail outlets toward home cultivation and getting cannabis from friends or family, he said. There also might be cases where consumers are choosing between marijuana and alcoholic beverages, due to limited budgets. 'Consumers only have so much that they're spending on these types of products,' he said. What's left are too many marijuana businesses for too few customers. As a result, some companies feel pressure to reduce prices or to sell inferior products, said Greenhouse's Millen. That's not sustainable. 'You get what you pay for,' he said. 'If people want cheap weed, I get it, I get it. But there's a lot of good products out there that are not super cheap, but they're a better product. And I think you get what you pay for.' Millen said revenue at his store has fallen about 50% so far, with profits down about 70% over a two-year period. He's been able to maintain his business due to a loyal customer base. 'I'm just glad that we're profitable,' he said. 'Because 90% of these people in Michigan right now, I guarantee you are not profitable. And how long can that sustain for? Everybody's waiting for the big break. What's the big break? The big break is going to be when half the businesses go out, unfortunately. And it's going to happen.' Vendors are begging him to carry their products, he said: 'I feel terrible that I can't buy it. Because if I can't sell it, I can't buy it.' Nick Hannawa, vice president and part-owner of Puff Cannabis, said prices have dropped significantly, allowing customers to buy much more for the same amount of money compared to a few years ago. The company has 11 dispensaries in Michigan, according to its website. 'One vape purchase back in 2019, let's say, it was $50,' he said. 'Today, that same vape cartridge, you can get six of them for $50. Let's say that $100 that you spent in a retail store in 2019, 2020 — that $100 would be max four items. Today that same $100 will get you 10 items, for example. Whether that's gummies, whether that's vapes, whether that's chocolate bars or joints, or whatever it may be.' Puff Cannabis started in Bay City in 2019, when the market was still limited and few licenses were issued. It was among the first recreational cannabis stores in the state, which helped attract customers from across Michigan and neighboring states, Hannawa said. 'We've been able to weather the storm,' he said. 'Puff has been able to weather the storm because we do high volume, and we built a culture and a brand that people come back to. Like our Puff rewards program is a big deal, so we're able to retain the customer.' 'Not a good look' TerrAscend said its exit from Michigan would likely be completed by the 'second half of 2025.' It comes with a 21% downsizing of the firm's 1,200-person workforce. The company operates 20 dispensaries and four cultivation sites across the state, including locations in Detroit, Ferndale, Warren and Harrison Township. Wild said the company would pivot to concentrating its 'efforts and resources in the Company's core northeastern U.S. markets,' of New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Several TerrAscend dispensaries are preparing to close across Metro Detroit. An employee at Cookies in Oxford said the store's last day was July 30. Staff at Lemonnade in Center Line and Gage Cannabis in Adrian said their locations will close on Aug. 31. A front-desk worker at Cookies Detroit said she wasn't sure when that location would shut down. Departures like TerrAscend's hurt Michigan's image, Hannawa said: 'For this big publicly traded company to come in and do this and then have to exit out of the market, it's not a good look for us. It doesn't put the Michigan market in a good light, because it's showing that it's weak, because these guys are leaving.' Pricing has a big impact. The decline in pricing not only impacts retailers, Hannawa said, but it also affects growers and processors because they're forced to sell their products for cheap. The drop in prices also slows repeat business because customers don't have to visit the store as often. 'We don't want to see growers shuttering their doors,' he said. 'We don't want to see processors losing money or farmers losing money. We kind of want everyone to be successful.' A 'very difficult market' Kevin Sabet is the director of the advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which aims to curb the commercialization of marijuana. The group likens the marijuana industry to 'Big Tobacco,' arguing it prioritizes profits over consumers' health as cannabis products become increasingly potent. The retreat from the Michigan market by cannabis giants is consistent with a national trend, Sabet said. General oversaturation of the country's marijuana market is causing similar pullbacks in other states previously seen as gold mines for legal cannabis sellers, like California. Part of the issue is inherent to the plant, he said. The marijuana market is 'very difficult' because the plant 'grows everywhere.' 'That's why it's called 'weed,'' Sabet said. Another challenge, he said, is that legal marijuana sellers must compete with black-market sellers, who don't face regulatory burdens like licensing and taxes. Those illegal sellers include criminal enterprises based in foreign countries like Mexico, Colombia and China that run illegal 'grow operations' in the United States and traffic the product here. 'So if you were going to be able to have illegal entities undercut the taxed, legal product, you were going to have a successful business on the illegal side,' Sabet said. Sabet, who served as a drug policy adviser to three U.S. presidents, said he and others could see the marijuana industry's woes coming from a 'mile away.' 'We've never regulated something dangerous very well in this country,' he said. Ideas for aiding the industry As challenges continue, Michigan's cannabis business owners have a few ideas for how to help the industry. Hannawa said he would like to see the state act to stabilize Michigan's cannabis market. He wants to see price increases so businesses can remain profitable and a halt to new licenses. 'Giving out more licenses in Michigan doesn't make any sense anymore,' he said. 'We have enough processors. We have enough growers.' Millen said he would like to see federal legalization, which would result in tax savings for marijuana businesses. He said there should be fewer licenses and stores, with support for knowledgeable local businesses rather than corporate operators. He's also calling for lawmakers to work with industry entrepreneurs to create fair, realistic regulations: 'The lawmakers need to sit down with people like myself and other good players for this industry, and talk to us about what needs to change.' Millen also has a message for consumers. 'Find out who and where you're buying your cannabis from and what they stand for,' he said. 'If you truly believe in what you're buying, you should know that you're buying from good people.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Trump's politically motivated sanctions against Brazil strain relations among old allies
Advertisement The message was clear earlier, when Trump described Bolsonaro's prosecution by Brazil's Supreme Court as a 'witch hunt' — using the same phrase he has employed for the numerous investigations he has faced since his first term. Bolsonaro faces charges of orchestrating a coup attempt to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A conviction could come in the next few months. The U.S. has a long history of meddling with the affairs of Latin American governments, but Trump's latest moves are unprecedented, said Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University. 'This is a personalistic government that is adopting policies according to Trump's whims,' Levitsky said. Bolsonaro's sons, he noted, have close connections to Trump's inner circle. The argument has been bolstered by parallels between Bolsonaro's prosecution and the attempted prosecution of Trump for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, which ended when he won his second term last November. Advertisement 'He's been convinced Bolsonaro is a kindred spirit suffering a similar witch hunt,' Levitsky said. Brazil's institutions hold firm against political pressure After Bolsonaro's defeat in 2022, Trump and his supporters echoed his baseless election fraud claims, treating him as a conservative icon and hosting him at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser, recently told Brazil's news website UOL that the U.S. would lift tariffs if Bolsonaro's prosecution were dropped. Meeting that demand, however, is impossible for several reasons. Brazilian officials have consistently emphasized that the judiciary is independent. The executive branch, which manages foreign relations, has no control over Supreme Court justices, who in turn have stated they won't yield to political pressure. On Monday, the court ordered that Bolsonaro be placed under house arrest for violating court orders by spreading messages on social media through his sons' accounts. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro, was sanctioned under the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which is supposed to target serious human rights offenders. De Moraes has argued that defendants were granted full due process and said he would ignore the sanctions and continue his work. 'The ask for Lula was undoable,' said Bruna Santos of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., about dropping the charges against Bolsonaro. 'In the long run, you are leaving a scar on the relationship between the two largest democracies in the hemisphere.' Magnitsky sanctions 'twist the law' Three key factors explain the souring of U.S.-Brazil ties in recent months, said Oliver Stuenkel, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: growing alignment between the far-right in both countries; Brazil's refusal to cave to tariff threats; and the country's lack of lobbying in Washington. Advertisement Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro's third son, has been a central figure linking Brazil's far-right with Trump's MAGA movement. He took a leave from Brazil's Congress and moved to the U.S. in March, but he has long cultivated ties in Trump's orbit. Eduardo openly called for Magnitsky sanctions against de Moraes and publicly thanked Trump after the 50% tariffs were announced in early July. Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, author of the Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to sanction individual foreign officials who violate human rights, called the administration's actions 'horrible.' 'They make things up to protect someone who says nice things about Donald Trump,' McGovern told The Associated Press. Bolsonaro's son helps connect far right in US and Brazil Eduardo Bolsonaro's international campaign began immediately after his father's 2022 loss. Just days after the elections, he met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. As investigations against Bolsonaro and his allies deepened, the Brazilian far right adopted a narrative of judicial persecution and censorship, an echo of Trump and his allies who have claimed the U.S. justice system was weaponized against him. Brazil's Supreme Court and Electoral Court are among the world's strictest regulators of online discourse: they can order social media takedowns and arrests for spreading misinformation or other content it rules 'anti-democratic.' But until recently, few believed Eduardo's efforts to punish Brazil's justices would succeed. That began to change last year when billionaire Elon Musk clashed with de Moraes over censorship on X and threatened to defy court orders by pulling its legal representative from Brazil. In response, de Moraes suspended the social media platform from operating in the country for a month and threatened operations of another Musk company, Starlink. In the end, Musk blinked. Advertisement Fábio de Sá e Silva, a professor of international and Brazilian studies at the University of Oklahoma, said Eduardo's influence became evident in May 2024, when he and other right-wing allies secured a hearing before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. 'It revealed clear coordination between Bolsonaro supporters and sectors of the U.S. Republican Party,' he said. 'It's a strategy to pressure Brazilian democracy from the outside.' A last-minute tariff push yields some wins Brazil has a diplomatic tradition of maintaining a low-key presence in Washington, Stuenkel said. That vacuum created an opportunity for Eduardo Bolsonaro to promote a distorted narrative about Brazil among Republicans and those closest to Trump. 'Now Brazil is paying the price,' he said. After Trump announced sweeping tariffs in April, Brazil began negotiations. President Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin — Brazil's lead trade negotiator — said they have held numerous meetings with U.S. trade officials since then. Lula and Trump have never spoken, and the Brazilian president has repeatedly said Washington ignored Brazil's efforts to negotiate ahead of the tariffs' implementation. Privately, diplomats say they felt the decisions were made inside the White House, within Trump's inner circle — a group they had no access to. A delegation of Brazilian senators traveled to Washington in the final week of July in a last-ditch effort to defuse tensions. The group, led by Senator Nelsinho Trad, met with business leaders with ties to Brazil and nine U.S. senators — only one of them Republican, Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Advertisement 'We found views on Brazil were ideologically charged,' Trad told The AP. 'But we made an effort to present economic arguments.' While the delegation was in Washington, Trump signed the order imposing the 50% tariff. But there was relief: not all Brazilian imports would be hit. Exemptions included civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers. Trad believes Brazil's outreach may have helped soften the final terms. 'I think the path has to remain one of dialogue and reason so we can make progress on other fronts,' he said. Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
