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Supreme court strikes down abortion restriction in major victory for campaigners – live Supreme court strikes down abortion restriction in major victory for campaigners – live
(32 minutes later)
Court ruled that a Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital is unconstitutionalCourt ruled that a Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital is unconstitutional
Jacksonville, Florida, the city that is slated to host the Republican National Convention in August, announced that it will adopt a mandatory mask requirement for all indoor locations where social distancing is not possible.
That makes things a bit awkward since the Republican National Committee actually moved its convention to Jacksonville after the state it was supposed to be held in, North Carolina, said it would likely impose some restrictions to shrink the size of the convention. North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said he could not agree to guarantees Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee were seeking that would allow the convention to be the big, people-packed convention it was planned to be.
While it’s unclear how Trump and the Republican National Committee will respond to this, Trump and some fellow conservatives have made it clear that they do not like mandatory mask requirements.
Florida has seen a skyrocketing of new Covid-19 cases, surpassing 9,000 new cases in one day over the weekend. State and local leaders have had to roll back reopening measures because of the influx of new cases.
At a press conference today, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said that New York City might have to delay going into its third phase of reopening, the start of reopening indoor dining at restaurant, because of reports that people are not following social distancing guidelines and visitors from states that have high infection rates may be coming into New York.At a press conference today, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said that New York City might have to delay going into its third phase of reopening, the start of reopening indoor dining at restaurant, because of reports that people are not following social distancing guidelines and visitors from states that have high infection rates may be coming into New York.
Cuomo said that most people – probably 95%, he said – have been wearing masks, but the state has to worry about the other 5% and how local law enforcement can step in if necessary.Cuomo said that most people – probably 95%, he said – have been wearing masks, but the state has to worry about the other 5% and how local law enforcement can step in if necessary.
Oh, and Cuomo also built a “mountain” to physically show how the number of cases in New York peaked and then went down... because why not?Oh, and Cuomo also built a “mountain” to physically show how the number of cases in New York peaked and then went down... because why not?
As Seattle officials expect to start dismantling the occupied protest zone in Seattle, more violence has been reported from the area last night. Here’s more from Hallie Golden, who’s reporting from Seattle:As Seattle officials expect to start dismantling the occupied protest zone in Seattle, more violence has been reported from the area last night. Here’s more from Hallie Golden, who’s reporting from Seattle:
Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another in critical condition early Monday morning in the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (Chop) in Seattle.Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another in critical condition early Monday morning in the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (Chop) in Seattle.
A spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center said that one victim arrived at the hospital by private vehicle at about 3:15 a.m., while the second was transported by medics and arrived at about 3:30 a.m.A spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center said that one victim arrived at the hospital by private vehicle at about 3:15 a.m., while the second was transported by medics and arrived at about 3:30 a.m.
Four other people have been shot in the area of the self-proclaimed police-free zone, which was founded about three weeks ago after a series of dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement culminated in police abandoning their precinct building in the area. Several people have been injured and a 19-year-old man was killed during these shootings.Four other people have been shot in the area of the self-proclaimed police-free zone, which was founded about three weeks ago after a series of dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement culminated in police abandoning their precinct building in the area. Several people have been injured and a 19-year-old man was killed during these shootings.
On Friday, Mayor Jenny Durkan held an impromptu meeting with protesters in which she told them the city would remove the concrete barriers surrounding the protest zone, according to Converge Media, the only news organization allowed in. The barriers were expected to be removed Sunday, but now may be taken away Monday.On Friday, Mayor Jenny Durkan held an impromptu meeting with protesters in which she told them the city would remove the concrete barriers surrounding the protest zone, according to Converge Media, the only news organization allowed in. The barriers were expected to be removed Sunday, but now may be taken away Monday.
Many cities around the US are still seeing major protests against racism and police brutality. Seattle has seen one of the longest, most intense protests as protestors have barricaded themselves into a portion of the city, virtually creating an occupied zone. Today, Seattle officials said they will work on disassemble the protest area.Many cities around the US are still seeing major protests against racism and police brutality. Seattle has seen one of the longest, most intense protests as protestors have barricaded themselves into a portion of the city, virtually creating an occupied zone. Today, Seattle officials said they will work on disassemble the protest area.
Here’s more from Hallie Golden, who’s reporting from Seattle:Here’s more from Hallie Golden, who’s reporting from Seattle:
Seattle officials are expected to clear concrete barriers surrounding the occupied area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (Chop) on Monday, in what would be the city’s first major step to begin to dismantle the protest zone.Seattle officials are expected to clear concrete barriers surrounding the occupied area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (Chop) on Monday, in what would be the city’s first major step to begin to dismantle the protest zone.
A large group of Seattle Department of Transportation crews tried to remove the barriers early Friday morning, but were stopped by several people sitting or lying on the ground in front of the equipment.A large group of Seattle Department of Transportation crews tried to remove the barriers early Friday morning, but were stopped by several people sitting or lying on the ground in front of the equipment.
During an impromptu meeting with protesters later in the day on Friday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said that the city would clear the barricades Sunday, but would leave those directly outside the police’s east precinct, according to Converge Media, the only news organization allowed in the meeting. No crews arrived Sunday to remove the barricades.During an impromptu meeting with protesters later in the day on Friday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said that the city would clear the barricades Sunday, but would leave those directly outside the police’s east precinct, according to Converge Media, the only news organization allowed in the meeting. No crews arrived Sunday to remove the barricades.
The protest zone was founded about three weeks ago after police abandoned the precinct, following dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement. CHOP was initially home to hundreds of protesters, but in recent days those numbers have dwindled dramatically, likely in response to several shootings in the area.The protest zone was founded about three weeks ago after police abandoned the precinct, following dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement. CHOP was initially home to hundreds of protesters, but in recent days those numbers have dwindled dramatically, likely in response to several shootings in the area.
Early on Monday morning, officials reported another shooting, which left one man dead and another in critical condition.Early on Monday morning, officials reported another shooting, which left one man dead and another in critical condition.
Although some people have moved their tents in recent days from Cal Anderson Park to the area surrounding the precinct, many others remain at the park. Questions remain about how protesters will respond to the city attempting to remove barricades, and what will happen to those still in the park.Although some people have moved their tents in recent days from Cal Anderson Park to the area surrounding the precinct, many others remain at the park. Questions remain about how protesters will respond to the city attempting to remove barricades, and what will happen to those still in the park.
The Supreme Court today also announced that it decided not to take on a case regarding federal executions.The Supreme Court today also announced that it decided not to take on a case regarding federal executions.
The case puts an end to a lengthy battle that began when US attorney general William Barr directed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule federal executions for four inmates convicted of killing children, resuming federal executions for the first time since 2003.The case puts an end to a lengthy battle that began when US attorney general William Barr directed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule federal executions for four inmates convicted of killing children, resuming federal executions for the first time since 2003.
Some of the inmates challenged the new procedures the Department of Justice was taking to get federal executions off the ground again, arguing that the government was circumventing proper methods in order to ensure inmates would be executed quickly.Some of the inmates challenged the new procedures the Department of Justice was taking to get federal executions off the ground again, arguing that the government was circumventing proper methods in order to ensure inmates would be executed quickly.
For many years before his presidency, Donald Trump has been an advocate for the death penalty, infamously taking out a full-page ad in a New York newspaper saying that the Central Park Five, all who have been exonerated, should get the death penalty.For many years before his presidency, Donald Trump has been an advocate for the death penalty, infamously taking out a full-page ad in a New York newspaper saying that the Central Park Five, all who have been exonerated, should get the death penalty.
The supreme court’s third and last decision released today dealt a win to conservatives fighting against the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer-finance watchdog agency within the government created to protect consumers from abuse from banks and other financial institutions in the wake of the 2008 recession.The supreme court’s third and last decision released today dealt a win to conservatives fighting against the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer-finance watchdog agency within the government created to protect consumers from abuse from banks and other financial institutions in the wake of the 2008 recession.
In its decision, the supreme court gave power to the president to fire whoever heads the bureau. The law that created the CFPB said that the Senate would confirm a director who would serve a five-year appointment and could only be fired for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office”.In its decision, the supreme court gave power to the president to fire whoever heads the bureau. The law that created the CFPB said that the Senate would confirm a director who would serve a five-year appointment and could only be fired for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office”.
Trump, along with a firm that was being investigated by the CFPB for misleading financial practices, sued the government saying that the law too severely restricted the president’s power. The court today agreed with them, ruling 5-4 that the president has the right to remove the CFBP’s director “at will”.Trump, along with a firm that was being investigated by the CFPB for misleading financial practices, sued the government saying that the law too severely restricted the president’s power. The court today agreed with them, ruling 5-4 that the president has the right to remove the CFBP’s director “at will”.
People are noting that supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh voted to uphold the restrictive abortions law, despite what Maine senator Susan Collins said about the judge when speaking about her decision to vote for his confirmation.People are noting that supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh voted to uphold the restrictive abortions law, despite what Maine senator Susan Collins said about the judge when speaking about her decision to vote for his confirmation.
Collins said in 2018 that Kavanaugh has said before and told her personally many times that he respects Roe v Wade, the supreme court case that made abortion in the US a legal right, as precedent. “I have always been concerned about preserving Roe v Wade,” she said at the time.Collins said in 2018 that Kavanaugh has said before and told her personally many times that he respects Roe v Wade, the supreme court case that made abortion in the US a legal right, as precedent. “I have always been concerned about preserving Roe v Wade,” she said at the time.
And then there is, of course, this wonderful fun fact about today’s ruling.And then there is, of course, this wonderful fun fact about today’s ruling.
While chief justice John Roberts ruled with the liberal judges this morning and struck down a restrictive abortion law, Roberts made it clear in his opinion for the court that his decision is based on his respecting a previous supreme court decision.While chief justice John Roberts ruled with the liberal judges this morning and struck down a restrictive abortion law, Roberts made it clear in his opinion for the court that his decision is based on his respecting a previous supreme court decision.
In 2016, the supreme court struck down a Texas law that was nearly identical to the Louisiana law the supreme court decided on today. When deciding that case, Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt, Roberts actually voted against the majority, saying that the law was constitutional.In 2016, the supreme court struck down a Texas law that was nearly identical to the Louisiana law the supreme court decided on today. When deciding that case, Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt, Roberts actually voted against the majority, saying that the law was constitutional.
Reproductive rights advocacy groups are celebrating the supreme court’s decision that a Louisiana law that restricted abortion access is unconstitutional.Reproductive rights advocacy groups are celebrating the supreme court’s decision that a Louisiana law that restricted abortion access is unconstitutional.
The US Supreme Court just struck down a major abortion case. The court ruled that a Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, severely limiting access to abortion, is unconstitutional.The US Supreme Court just struck down a major abortion case. The court ruled that a Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, severely limiting access to abortion, is unconstitutional.
The court ruled the decision 5-4, with chief justice John Roberts siding with the court’s liberal justices to strike the law down.The court ruled the decision 5-4, with chief justice John Roberts siding with the court’s liberal justices to strike the law down.
Read more about the case and the court decision’s here:Read more about the case and the court decision’s here:
Decisions from the US Supreme Court are being released this morning. The court’s first decision this morning involves foreign groups that receive US monetary aid.
The ruling says it is not a violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment’s right to free speech to require foreign groups to denounce prostitution and sex trafficking in order to receive US aid. The court said that because the groups of foreign-based, they are not protected by the First Amendment.
See the full ruling here.
A former Florida Department of Health data scientist detailed on NPR this morning her claims that she was asked by the state government to manipulate data related to the number of Covid-19 cases.
Rebekah Jones said that as she was working on a database of positive Covid-19 cases in each county throughout the state, department leadership asked her to manually change numbers so that it would appear the virus’ spread was not bad enough to delay reopening. She said that as the department was debating which numbers to change or hide, the reopening plan “was being printed and stapled right in front of me”, she told NPR.
“It was very clear at that point that the science behind the science-driven plan didn’t matter because the plan was already made,” she said.
Florida is seeing a skyrocketing of cases after it started its reopening phases in May, seeing as many as 9,000 new cases a day.
Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis denied Jones’ claims, calling it the “conspiracy bandwagon” and said that Jones was fired for insubordination.
The list of companies who are boycotting Facebook, saying that they will no longer advertise with the company in protest of how it handles misinformation, is continuing to grow.
The campaign, called the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign, was launched two weeks ago by the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League. The two anti-discrimination groups encouraged companies to pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, “in order to force Mark Zuckerberg to address the catastrophic effect that Facebook has had on our society”.
When the campaign first launched, companies like Patagonia and North Face were the first to join in. But last week, larger companies announced they joined the campaign and will pause advertising, including Coca Cola and Unilever. Starbucks announced yesterday that the company will be pausing advertisement on social media platforms, though they did not specifically say they were joining the campaign.
In a statement to CNN, Facebook responded to the campaign saying, “We deeply respect any brand’s decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information.”
A moving story from the Mississippi Center For Investigative Reporting, after lawmakers voted on Sunday to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist in Mississippi who was shot dead in the driveway of his home in Jackson in June 1963.
As Martha Bergmark of the Mississippi Center for Justice wrote for the Guardian in 2013, “for many of us, white as well as black, the assassination of Medgar Evers was a turning-point. We were forced to ask ourselves with regard to the growing civil rights movement, Where do I stand, and what am I willing to risk?’”
Speaking on Sunday, Myrlie Evers had praise for lawmakers of both parties who voted to change the flag and said: “I never thought this would happen. For the people who hold the palm of Mississippi in their hands, for their wisdom and their strength, for them to vote the way they did is all but unbelievable to me, but I am ever so thankful for that vote.”
Here’s Donald Trump again, following up his retweet of video of a white couple pointing weapons at protesters with: “Can anyone believe that Princeton just dropped the name of Woodrow Wilson from their highly respected policy center. Now the Do Nothing Democrats want to take off the name John Wayne from an airport. Incredible stupidity!”
Here’s more on the Princeton story, where the 28th president’s name is to be removed from the School of Public and International Affairs, due to views on race which are now distinctly outmoded to say the very least.
It was always likely, meanwhile, that Trump wouldn’t like news out of Orange county, California, that the airport there named for John Wayne could soon be given a different title.
According to an Associated Press report, the Orange County Democratic party wants to rename the airport, having passed a resolution “condemning ‘racist and bigoted statements” the actor, who died in 1979, made in a 1971 interview with Playboy.
Democrats are therefore calling on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to drop Wayne’s name, statue and other likenesses from the international airport and “to restore its original name: Orange County Airport”.
Trump likes Wayne (who campaigned for rightwing causes in Hollywood) and Wayne would’ve liked Trump – at least according to the cowboy star’s daughter, Aissa, who held an event for Trump on the campaign trail in 2016.
“The reason that I’m here to support Mr Trump is because America needs help,” Aissa Wayne said at an event at the star’s Iowa birthplace. “And we need a strong leader. And we need someone like Mr Trump with leadership qualities, somebody with courage, someone that’s strong like John Wayne.
“If John Wayne were around, he’d be standing right here instead of me.”
In response, Trump said: “We love John Wayne. We love John Wayne and we love his family equally, right? Equally.”
Not all Wayne’s family returned the love. Ethan Wayne, the actor’s son and president of John Wayne Enterprises, responded with a statement in which he said no one “can speak on behalf of John Wayne and neither the family nor the Foundation endorses candidates in his name”.
Speaking of the supreme court, opinions are due today and they could include cases involving abortion restrictions, the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act and … Trump’s taxes.
Eyes down around 10am for all that.
The court has recently delivered rulings against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace and in support of DACA, the programme which protects Dreamers, or undocumented people brought to the US as children, from deportation. But as Nathan Robinson advises here, that doesn’t mean the 5-4 conservative court, with its two Trump appointees, has suddenly become all progressive…
New York Times media columnist Ben Smith’s latest column is about the Washington Post under editor Marty Baron and its struggles with a changing news landscape, and as usual it may seem pretty Inside Baseball if you’re not in the media. But it does lead off with a remarkable story concerning Brett Kavanaugh.
During the supreme court justice’s tempestuous confirmation hearing, in late 2018, Smith reports, the Post was all set to run a story in which Watergate veteran Bob Woodward outed Kavanaugh as a source, specifically for a story about special counsel Ken Starr and his investigation of Bill Clinton which Kavanaugh had publicly denied at the time.
Smith writes:
One can only wonder what kind of detonations that would have set off had it run. Kavanaugh was confirmed, but only just, amid huge controversy over allegations – which he strenuously denied – of sexual assault while a student.
In another move bound to prove controversial and inflammatory – and perhaps to deflect attention from reports about Russia placing bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan – Donald Trump has just retweeted news footage of a couple in St Louis, Missouri, pointing guns at protesters marching for police reform:
The unidentified man in the footage holds an assault-style rifle, the woman a handgun. Here’s an extract from the AP report on the incident:
Reporting over the weekend said part of Trump’s planned campaign reset would focus on how he can keep people safer, amid such protests, than Joe Biden.
Striking video from Aurora, Colorado, of police in riot gear breaking up a vigil for Elijah McClain, an African American man who was 23 when, one day last year, police put him in a neck hold, killing him.
The confrontation happened on Saturday, as the Denver Post reports:
…and welcome to another day of coverage of politics in the US, the coronavirus outbreak in the US, protests over police brutality and structural racism in the US, and everything in between.
On Sunday night, the Washington Post followed the New York Times’ scoop and said “Russian bounties offered to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan are believed to have resulted in the deaths of several US service members”.
In response, under fire for alleged treason or gross negligence or both, Donald Trump tweeted: “Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or [vice-president Mike Pence] Possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News @nytimesbooks, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!!”
Today, according to reports, the administration will brief some members of Congress on intelligence about the Russian plot.
It wasn’t clear what the Times books desk had to do with anything but this was just another day in America. One which Trump started by retweeting a video in which a supporter yelled: “White power! White power!” That was deleted, after a few hours, with a spokesman saying Trump hadn’t heard the words in question.
Out in the evening: reporting that the Trump campaign is trying to change its attacks on Joe Biden, from Sleepy Joe to Corrupt Joe or otherwise. It’s driven by polling of course: Biden leads in most battleground states and nationally. Here’s fivethirtyeight.com, for further reading.
In coronavirus news, the US has now recorded more than 2.5m cases and more than 125,000 deaths and is racking up record daily totals of new cases. By the same measure, from Johns Hopkins University, more than 500,000 people have died worldwide.
Mike Pence, vice-president and head of the White House coronavirus task force, made news over the weekend by cancelling campaign events because of spikes in states which reopened early, advising the wearing of masks at others, and appearing (with mask) at another with a massed choir who … weren’t wearing masks. Here’s Lauren Aratani with a look at a key question:
And so to the protests stemming from the killing of George Floyd, an African American man, in an arrest by four Minneapolis police officers on 25 May. Confrontations between police and protesters continued overnight, in cities across the US. In Jackson, Mississippi, meanwhile, there was victory for those seeking change: the last state to carry the Confederate battle emblem on its state flag voted to remove it.