US Chief Justice William H Rehnquist has died from cancer, ending a 33-year Supreme Court career during which he oversaw the court’s conservative shift, presided over an impeachment trial and helped decide a presidential election.

The US media is struggling to reconcile two cherished values. One is the idea that journalists must not be forced to reveal their sources. The other is much less noble, but no less cherished: get Bush.

JUSTICE Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said yesterday she is retiring.

THE US Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay sex yesterday, ruling that the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy.