CANNES, France (AP) —
Much of the cinema world has descended on the Cannes Film Festival as the French Riviera extravaganza holds its 78th edition.
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Bill Murray, from left, Mia Threapleton, director Wes Anderson, Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Wright and Benedict Cumberbatch pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Sophie Hunter, left, and Benedict Cumberbatch pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Bill Murray, from left, Mia Threapleton, director Wes Anderson, Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Wright and Benedict Cumberbatch pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jeffrey Wright, from left, Michael Cera, Benicio del Toro and director Wes Anderson pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Stella Maxwell poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Edward Norton poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Daisy Edgar-Jones poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Alexander Skarsgard poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Riz Ahmed, left, and Fatima Farheen Mirza pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Director Wes Anderson, from left, Mia Threapleton and Rupert Friend pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Rupert Friend adjusts Mia Threapleton's dress upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Mia Threapleton poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Patrick Schwarzenegger poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Shia LaBeouf poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Chloe Lecareux poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Damian Lewis poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Orwell: 2+2 = 5' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Director Raphael Quenard, left, a person in a bird costume and director Hugo David, right, pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Love Peru' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Sope Dirisu poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'My Father's Shadow' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Chloe Lecareux poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Mary Leest poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jeremy Strong poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Mary Leest poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jury member Halle Berry poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Charlotte Le Bon, centre, poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Shia LaBeouf, from left, director Leo Lewis O'Neil, producer Matt Zien and producer Kevin Knight pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Slauson Rec' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Shia LaBeouf poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Slauson Rec' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Shia LaBeouf, left, and director Leo Lewis O'Neil pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Slauson Rec' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Zoey Deutch poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Aubry Dullin poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Guillaume Marbeck, from left, director Richard Linklater, Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Guillaume Marbeck poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Zoey Deutch poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Cleo Diara poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Only Rest in the Storm' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jonathan Guilherme poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Only Rest in the Storm' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Cleo Diara poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Only Rest in the Storm' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Mariska Hargitay poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'My Mom Jayne' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Harry Melling poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Harry Melling, from left, director Harry Lighton and Alexander Skarsgard pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Director Harry Lighton poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Alexander Skarsgard poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Director Lynne Ramsay poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Sissy Spacek, from left, director Lynne Ramsay and Robert Pattinson pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
LaKeith Stanfield poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jennifer Lawrence, from left, director Lynne Ramsay and Robert Pattinson pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Sissy Spacek poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson, left, and Jennifer Lawrence pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jennifer Lawrence poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
This gallery features daily highlights from the Cannes Film Festival curated by Associated Press photo editors.
For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.
Sophie Hunter, left, and Benedict Cumberbatch pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Bill Murray, from left, Mia Threapleton, director Wes Anderson, Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Wright and Benedict Cumberbatch pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jeffrey Wright, from left, Michael Cera, Benicio del Toro and director Wes Anderson pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Stella Maxwell poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Edward Norton poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Daisy Edgar-Jones poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Alexander Skarsgard poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Riz Ahmed, left, and Fatima Farheen Mirza pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Director Wes Anderson, from left, Mia Threapleton and Rupert Friend pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Rupert Friend adjusts Mia Threapleton's dress upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Mia Threapleton poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Patrick Schwarzenegger poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Shia LaBeouf poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Chloe Lecareux poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Damian Lewis poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Orwell: 2+2 = 5' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Director Raphael Quenard, left, a person in a bird costume and director Hugo David, right, pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Love Peru' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Sope Dirisu poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'My Father's Shadow' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Chloe Lecareux poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Mary Leest poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jeremy Strong poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Mary Leest poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jury member Halle Berry poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Charlotte Le Bon, centre, poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Shia LaBeouf, from left, director Leo Lewis O'Neil, producer Matt Zien and producer Kevin Knight pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Slauson Rec' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Shia LaBeouf poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Slauson Rec' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Shia LaBeouf, left, and director Leo Lewis O'Neil pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Slauson Rec' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Zoey Deutch poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Aubry Dullin poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Guillaume Marbeck, from left, director Richard Linklater, Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Guillaume Marbeck poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Zoey Deutch poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Nouvelle Vague' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)
Cleo Diara poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Only Rest in the Storm' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jonathan Guilherme poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Only Rest in the Storm' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Cleo Diara poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'I Only Rest in the Storm' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Mariska Hargitay poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'My Mom Jayne' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Harry Melling poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Harry Melling, from left, director Harry Lighton and Alexander Skarsgard pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Director Harry Lighton poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Alexander Skarsgard poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pillion' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Director Lynne Ramsay poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Sissy Spacek, from left, director Lynne Ramsay and Robert Pattinson pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
LaKeith Stanfield poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jennifer Lawrence, from left, director Lynne Ramsay and Robert Pattinson pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Sissy Spacek poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson, left, and Jennifer Lawrence pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jennifer Lawrence poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last.
West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from competing in girls and women's sports, and is among the more than two dozen states with similar laws. Though the West Virginia law has been blocked by lower courts, the outcome could be different at the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, which has allowed multiple restrictions on transgender people to be enforced in the past year.
The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in two cases over whether the sports bans violate the Constitution or the landmark federal law known as Title IX that prohibits sex discrimination in education. The second case comes from Idaho, where college student Lindsay Hecox challenged that state's law.
Decisions are expected by early summer.
President Donald Trump's Republican administration has targeted transgender Americans from the first day of his second term, including ousting transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth.
Pepper-Jackson has become the face of the nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls in athletics that has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls.
“I think it’s something that needs to be done,” Pepper-Jackson said in an interview with The Associated Press that was conducted over Zoom. “It’s something I’m here to do because ... this is important to me. I know it’s important to other people. So, like, I’m here for it.”
She sat alongside her mother, Heather Jackson, on a sofa in their home just outside Bridgeport, a rural West Virginia community about 40 miles southwest of Morgantown, to talk about a legal fight that began when she was a middle schooler who finished near the back of the pack in cross-country races.
Pepper-Jackson has grown into a competitive discus and shot put thrower. In addition to the bronze medal in the discus, she finished eighth among shot putters.
She attributes her success to hard work, practicing at school and in her backyard, and lifting weights. Pepper-Jackson has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade, though the Supreme Court's decision in June upholding state bans on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors has forced her to go out of state for care.
Her very improvement as an athlete has been cited as a reason she should not be allowed to compete against girls.
“There are immutable physical and biological characteristic differences between men and women that make men bigger, stronger, and faster than women. And if we allow biological males to play sports against biological females, those differences will erode the ability and the places for women in these sports which we have fought so hard for over the last 50 years,” West Virginia's attorney general, JB McCuskey, said in an AP interview. McCuskey said he is not aware of any other transgender athlete in the state who has competed or is trying to compete in girls or women’s sports.
Despite the small numbers of transgender athletes, the issue has taken on outsize importance. The NCAA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees banned transgender women from women's sports after Trump signed an executive order aimed at barring their participation.
The public generally is supportive of the limits. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October 2025 found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults “strongly” or “somewhat” favored requiring transgender children and teenagers to only compete on sports teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with, while about 2 in 10 were “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed and about one-quarter did not have an opinion.
About 2.1 million adults, or 0.8%, and 724,000 people age 13 to 17, or 3.3%, identify as transgender in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
Those allied with the administration on the issue paint it in broader terms than just sports, pointing to state laws, Trump administration policies and court rulings against transgender people.
"I think there are cultural, political, legal headwinds all supporting this notion that it’s just a lie that a man can be a woman," said John Bursch, a lawyer with the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom that has led the legal campaign against transgender people. “And if we want a society that respects women and girls, then we need to come to terms with that truth. And the sooner that we do that, the better it will be for women everywhere, whether that be in high school sports teams, high school locker rooms and showers, abused women’s shelters, women’s prisons.”
But Heather Jackson offered different terms to describe the effort to keep her daughter off West Virginia's playing fields.
“Hatred. It’s nothing but hatred,” she said. "This community is the community du jour. We have a long history of isolating marginalized parts of the community.”
Pepper-Jackson has seen some of the uglier side of the debate on display, including when a competitor wore a T-shirt at the championship meet that said, “Men Don't Belong in Women's Sports.”
“I wish these people would educate themselves. Just so they would know that I’m just there to have a good time. That’s it. But it just, it hurts sometimes, like, it gets to me sometimes, but I try to brush it off,” she said.
One schoolmate, identified as A.C. in court papers, said Pepper-Jackson has herself used graphic language in sexually bullying her teammates.
Asked whether she said any of what is alleged, Pepper-Jackson said, “I did not. And the school ruled that there was no evidence to prove that it was true.”
The legal fight will turn on whether the Constitution's equal protection clause or the Title IX anti-discrimination law protects transgender people.
The court ruled in 2020 that workplace discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination, but refused to extend the logic of that decision to the case over health care for transgender minors.
The court has been deluged by dueling legal briefs from Republican- and Democratic-led states, members of Congress, athletes, doctors, scientists and scholars.
The outcome also could influence separate legal efforts seeking to bar transgender athletes in states that have continued to allow them to compete.
If Pepper-Jackson is forced to stop competing, she said she will still be able to lift weights and continue playing trumpet in the school concert and jazz bands.
“It will hurt a lot, and I know it will, but that’s what I’ll have to do,” she said.
Heather Jackson, left, and Becky Pepper-Jackson pose for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Heather Jackson, left, and Becky Pepper-Jackson pose for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Becky Pepper-Jackson poses for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The Supreme Court stands is Washington, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - Protestors hold signs during a rally at the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on March 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, file)