Supreme Court takes the bench with ghost guns, a capital case and transgender rights on the docket

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court took the bench again on Monday, ready to hear cases on ghost guns, a death sentence and transgender rights.

Seated in front of the courtroom's sweeping marble columns, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the formal end of the court's previous term, when a series of blockbuster cases included an opinion granting broad immunity to former President Donald Trump.

He then gaveled in the start of the court's new term. The docket isn't as packed, but the conservative-majority court could yet be asked to intervene in election disputes after the ballots are cast in November.

The justices then heard their first case dealing with pandemic-era unemployment claims filed in Alabama.