WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear arguments in a watchdog’s lawsuit seeking public records about trillionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The high court is intervening for a second time in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s case, which seeks access to DOGE records from its operations in the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term. The Trump administration asked the court to hear the case.
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FILE - Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - The Supreme Court is pictured Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - The Supreme Court is pictured Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
Last year, the high court reined in a district court’s order for the government to produce DOGE-related records to CREW. The high court’s conservative majority concluded in June 2025 that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled too broadly in ordering documents to be turned over to the group.
CREW claims DOGE is a federal agency and therefore is subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
The Trump administration argues that DOGE is exempt from FOIA’s requirements as a presidential advisory body.
Cooper ruled in CREW’s favor and ordered expedited processing of the group’s records request. An appeals court panel also sided with CREW.
The Trump administration claims the panel ignored the Supreme Court’s direction to consider separation-of-powers concerns and intruded on the “autonomy and confidentiality” of presidential advisers.
“Subjecting advisory bodies to intrusive discovery triggers the very concerns that Congress sought to avoid by excluding presidential advisory bodies from FOIA’s reach,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.
The administration also says the appeals court impermissibly authorized the plaintiffs to take a sworn deposition of DOGE acting administrator Amy Gleason.
CREW says the appeals court fully complied with the Supreme Court’s previous order. The group also asserts that the public has a right to know how DOGE helped the administration carry out a sweeping overhaul of government operations in 2025.
“Undisputed facts in the public record — including the President’s statements — confirmed that (DOGE) was wielding enormous independent authority across the federal government,” its attorneys wrote.
In a statement Tuesday, CREW attorney Nikhel Sus said the lower courts have uniformly ruled that it is entitled to records that could help the court determine whether DOGE wields the type of authority that would make it subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
“We will continue to pursue transparency for the American people, who deserve to know the details of the Trump Administration’s efforts to unilaterally remake the federal government,” Sus said in the statement.
FILE - Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - The Supreme Court is pictured Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - The Supreme Court is pictured Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
AUSTELL, Ga. (AP) — An Atlanta man killed on a roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia was thrown from the ride and struck other patrons before landing below, police said Tuesday.
The man who died Monday was 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, according to Cobb County police.
Visitors at the theme park near Atlanta described watching the man being tossed from the coaster train and falling to his death, causing the theme park operator to temporarily close nine similar roller coasters nationwide.
Several other people were hurt but officials have not released any information about their injuries or conditions.
Authorities and Six Flags did not identify the ride associated with the man's death, but local TV stations showed video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath roller coaster.
The park already was scheduled to be closed Tuesday. One of Goliath's trains remained on its track Tuesday, seemingly where it stopped as it was climbing the ride's first hill.
Logan Conner said he was on Goliath with his fiancée when he saw the man come out of his seat.
“The man started levitating in the air sideways,” he told NBC. “We made direct eye contact with him.”
Britny Landry had been on the ride earlier Monday and was waiting in line to go again.
“We just look, and I just see somebody fly out,” she told KTVU-TV. She said she wasn't sure at first what she saw. “Maybe somebody had a bag or something.”
Cobb County Police Department detectives are among those investigating.
Lisa Cupid, Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, said the man's next of kin have been notified.
“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cupid said. “We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories.”
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. temporarily closed nine roller coasters across six amusement parks “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a company spokesperson, who said staff members and local authorities responded immediately and that the park is cooperating with the investigation.
“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company is providing support to guests and staff who were impacted.
Police and Six Flags did not immediately respond to messages seeking additional information Tuesday. A message seeking comment also was sent to Georgia's Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, which oversees ride inspections.
Goliath, which opened in 2006, reaches a top speed of 70 mph (113 kph) with a height of 200 feet (61 meters), according to the park’s website. The park in suburban Atlanta opened in 1967.
Riders “navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills,” during the more than 3-minute ride, the website says.
The death is at least the seventh at the Georgia park since 1989, including two people who were in restricted areas and struck by roller coasters and two who died in auto accidents, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tallies amusement park accidents and represents victims.
In 2006, a man died after likely having a heart attack on the Goliath coaster, the law firm said.
The latest death comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the retirement of its X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging riders suffered serious brain injuries. The park settled one wrongful-death lawsuit with the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was ruled accidental.
Associated Press writers Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Attractions are seen near Interstate-20 at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A roller coaster is shown at Six Flags over Georgia on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026 in Austell, Ga. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
A roller coaster is shown at Six Flags over Georgia on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026 in Austell, Ga. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
