When the Republicans appealed the three-day extension for counting ballots, the Supreme Court upheld the state decision on a 4-4 tie vote. It was a week before Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s third appointee, won confirmation. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. voted with the three liberals while four conservatives voted to grant the GOP appeal.

The question of where and how San Francisco should measure its stormwater discharge was debated in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The justices heard arguments on Wednesday in a long-simmering dispute between San Francisco and the E.P.A. over regulation of water pollution.

The Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday on a challenge from the city of San Francisco to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over federal wastewater rules. In its lawsuit against the federal agency,