“Supreme Court on sports betting”

Washington D.C. - The United States Supreme Court will hear a challenge on Monday to a federal law that bans most states (Nevada, Montana, Delaware and Oregon were exempted from the law) from sports betting. The law is called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and it makes it unlawful for a state to "sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize" sports wagering. New Jersey wants the justices to strike down the law to clear the way for other states to tap into what some say is a $150 billion per year illegal industry. He's backed by 18 other states. New Jersey wants to allow only certain types of sports betting, at casinos and racetracks, by bettors who are at least 21. Some see it as an important test of states' rights, while others are simply eager to reap the tax revenue that would come from legal sports wagering. The justices will decide the case by late June.

In Other News A major decision on the way the U.S. government collects information about race and ethnicity through the census and other surveys was expected to be announced this week by the Trump administration. Under consideration by the White House are proposals introduced during the Obama administration that would fundamentally change how the government counts the Latino population. Another proposal would create a new checkbox on census forms and other federal surveys for people with roots in the Middle East or North Africa. If approved, the policy changes could have significant implications on the upcoming 2020 census, as well as legislative redistricting, civil rights laws and health statistics.