ReportWire

Tag: us supreme court

  • After legal setbacks, Trump says he’s dropping National Guard push in Chicago, other cities, for now

    [ad_1]

    CHICAGO — President Donald Trump said he’s dropping – for now – his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, a move that comes after legal roadblocks hung up the effort.

    Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that he’s removing the Guard troops for now. “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again – Only a question of time!” he wrote.

    Troops had already left Los Angeles after the president deployed them earlier this year as part of a broader crackdown on crime and immigration. They had been sent to Chicago and Portland but were never on the streets as legal challenges played out.

    The video in the player above is from a previous report.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    The Supreme Court earlier this month refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area to support its immigration crackdown, a significant defeat for the president’s efforts to send troops to U.S. cities.

    The justices declined the Republican administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment of troops. An appeals court also had refused to step in. The Supreme Court took more than two months to act.

    Three justices – Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch – publicly dissented.

    The high court order is not a final ruling but it could affect other lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s attempts to deploy the military in other Democratic-led cities.

    “At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the high court majority wrote.

    Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he agreed with the decision to keep the Chicago deployment blocked, but would have left the president more latitude to deploy troops in possible future scenarios.

    “The Supreme Court essentially has said two things here. It said that the president can federalize deploy the National Guard, but only if the U.S. military has the authority to enforce the laws in question in the first place and otherwise is unable to enforce them. And the Supreme Court is saying these are not the kinds of laws that the U.S. military is generally authorized to enforce,” said ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gill Soffer.

    The outcome is a rare Supreme Court setback for Trump, who had won repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office again in January. The conservative-dominated court has allowed Trump to ban transgender people from the military, claw back billions of dollars of congressionally approved federal spending, move aggressively against immigrants and fire the Senate-confirmed leaders of independent federal agencies.

    Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker applauded the decision as a win for the state and country.

    “American cities, suburbs, and communities should not have to faced masked federal agents asking for their papers, judging them for how they look or sound, and living in fear that President can deploy the military to their streets,” he said.

    White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, on the other hand, said the president had activated the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property from “violent rioters.”

    “Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda. The Administration will continue working day in and day out to safeguard the American public,” she said.

    Alito and Thomas said in their dissent that the court had no basis to reject Trump’s contention that the administration needed the troops to enforce immigration laws. Gorsuch said he would have narrowly sided with the government based on the declarations of federal law enforcement officials.

    The administration had initially sought the order to allow the deployment of troops from Illinois and Texas, but the Texas contingent of about 200 National Guard troops was later sent home from Chicago.

    The Trump administration has argued that the troops are needed “to protect federal personnel and property from violent resistance against the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

    But Perry wrote that she found no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is brewing in Illinois and no reason to believe the protests there had gotten in the way of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

    Perry had initially blocked the deployment for two weeks. But in October, she extended the order indefinitely while the Supreme Court reviewed the case.

    The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the west Chicago suburb of Broadview has been the site of tense protests, where federal agents have previously used tear gas and other chemical agents on protesters and journalists.

    Last month, authorities arrested 21 protesters and said four officers were injured outside the Broadview facility. Local authorities made the arrests.

    The Illinois case is just one of several legal battles over National Guard deployments.

    “Every one of these cases, when they come down, can have an impact on other cases, even if they’re not technically binding in another jurisdiction on a different set of facts. And they’re usually not. Nevertheless, the principles behind them will apply. And since this is the Supreme Court ruling here, it’s very consequential. And other courts are going to have to follow its lead,” Soffer said.

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul says the court’s ruling could affect other lawsuits challenging the president’s attempt to deploy the military in other Democrat-led cities.

    “We went first before the Supreme Court on this. And so this is an important case not only for the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, but for the country at large,” Raoul said.

    District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing to halt the deployments of more than 2,000 guardsmen in the nation’s capital. Forty-five states have entered filings in federal court in that case, with 23 supporting the administration’s actions and 22 supporting the attorney general’s lawsuit.

    More than 2,200 troops from several Republican-led states remain in Washington, although the crime emergency Trump declared in August ended a month later.

    A federal judge in Oregon has permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there, and all 200 troops from California were being sent home from Oregon, an official said.

    A state court in Tennessee ruled in favor of Democratic officials who sued to stop the ongoing Guard deployment in Memphis, which Trump has called a replica of his crackdown on Washington, D.C.

    In California, a judge in September said deployment in the Los Angeles area was illegal. By that point, just 300 of the thousands of troops sent there remained, and the judge did not order them to leave.

    The Trump administration has appealed the California and Oregon rulings to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

    “There’s really no reason to think the government is going to throw up its hands. This is a preliminary ruling. It doesn’t dispose of the case. The government will continue to work this out, I’m sure. Or fight it out on appeal and work its way through the system,” Soffer said.

    The Defense department says outside of Illinois, the president has deployed Guard members to Tennessee, Oregon, California and the nation’s capital. But troops are only actively on the streets in Memphis, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker issued a statement on the ruling, saying, “Today is a big win for Illinois and American democracy. I am glad the Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump did not have the authority to deploy the federalized guard in Illinois. This is an important step in curbing the Trump Administration’s consistent abuse of power and slowing Trump’s march toward authoritarianism.

    American cities, suburbs, and communities should not have to faced masked federal agents asking for their papers, judging them for how they look or sound, and living in fear that President can deploy the military to their streets. The brave men and women of our National Guard should never be used for political theater and deserve to be with their families and communities, especially during the holidays, and ready to serve overseas or at home when called upon during times of immense need.

    While we welcome this ruling, we also are clear-eyed that the Trump Administration’s pursuit for unchecked power is continuing across the country. Illinois will remain vigilant, defend the rights of our people, and stand up to further abuses of authority by Donald Trump and his cronies.”

    White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson issued a statement, saying, “The President promised the American people he would work tirelessly to enforce our immigration laws and protect federal personnel from violent rioters. He activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers, and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property. Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda. The Administration will continue working day in and day out to safeguard the American public.”

    Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a statement, saying, “We welcome the Supreme Court’s ruling to block the deployment of National Guard personnel to the streets of Chicago, rebuking President Trump’s attempts to militarize and demonize our city.

    I’ve maintained that these threats are unconstitutional from the very beginning. I am encouraged that the Supreme Court shares this view.

    This decision doesn’t just protect Chicago-but protect cities around the country who have been threatened by Trump’s campaign against immigrants and Democratic-led cities.

    We moved swiftly to challenge any deployment in court the moment the president first made his threats. My administration will maintain our commitment to protecting Chicagoans from federal overreach and continue to ensure Donald Trump is held accountable before the law.”

    A Department of Justice spokesperson issued a statement, saying, “The National Guard has been instrumental in President Trump’s historic efforts to reduce crime and protect federal law enforcement as they execute their duties. This Department of Justice remains committed to enforcing our criminal laws and reversing the prior administration’s trend of crime and decline in America’s major cities.”

    Illinois state Rep. and Chairman of the Illinois Freedom Caucus Chris Miller told ABC7 in a statement, “The only people the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of today are illegal immigrants and criminals. JB Pritzker and the Democrats have allowed crime and illegal immigration to rob our citizens of their safety, and their tax dollars. The federal government should intervene by any means necessary. In light of the Christmas season, I would be glad to gift the ‘Republican’ justices in favor of this decision with a spine. I’m sure Santa can get it there by December 25th!”

    Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this story.

    ABC7’s Cate Cauguiran contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    [ad_2]

    AP

    Source link

  • The Voting Rights Act Is Under Threat. So Are Workers’ Rights.

    [ad_1]

    Fred Redmond, AFL-CIO Secretary – Treasurer

    In our workplaces, in our communities and in our government, the right to vote is how working people make our voices heard. The late Rep. John Lewis (Georgia) proclaimed, “Your vote is precious, almost sacred.” The Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing Texas to use a racially discriminatory congressional map threatens that precious right once again—and with it, the foundation of worker power itself.

    A challenge out of Louisiana may soon make matters worse, threatening to further limit the strength of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965—the nation’s most powerful tool for correcting historical racial discrimination in voting, including the violence and suppression once used to keep Black voters from the polls.

    The VRA was brought to life by courageous civil rights and labor leaders who risked everything to end racial discrimination at the ballot box. The law transformed American democracy by dramatically increasing Black political participation, expanding representation at every level of government and giving working people a real chance to shape the decisions that affect their lives.

    This fight is part of the labor movement’s history too. In 1963, labor leaders were key architects of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and labor unions mobilized 40,000 union members and provided resources. We offered critical lobbying support and testimony in support of the Civil Rights Act and the VRA—the passage of which in 1965 led to the filing of thousands of successful cases against workplace discrimination and eliminated many of the racist voting restrictions in the South. When Black voter turnout surged, so did worker power, especially in the South, where the VRA helped create a diverse coalition of working-class voters. 

    According to research from the University of California San Diego, the VRA narrowed the wage gap between Black and White workers by 5.5% between 1950 and 1980. Another study found that high-turnout communities saw more paved roads and streetlights; better access to city and county resources; and easier entry into public sector jobs such as police, firefighters and teachers.

    The lesson is clear: A strong democracy gives working people space to thrive. When democracy is weakened, workers pay the price.

    In 2013, the Supreme Court issued its Shelby County v. Holder decision and gutted the VRA, ruling that states with histories of racial discrimination no longer needed federal approval to change voting laws. Almost immediately, a race to the bottom began. States wasted no time closing polling places, shortening early voting hours and passing restrictive ID laws. The targets were clear: young people, shift workers and communities of color—the same groups driving today’s organizing momentum. In the years since Shelby, wages for Black teachers, city workers and health care aides have fallen, while corporate power has only grown stronger.

    The Texas congressional map offers a glimpse of a future without the VRA: diluted working-class voices in a system that answers only to the wealthy few. These attempts to roll back the clock on racial progress should sound an alarm. When politicians get a green light to manipulate voting maps and take intentional steps to block representation on the basis of race, they can use that power to dismantle protections for union power, fair wages and retirement security.

    Democracy depends on rules that keep it fair. Those in power understand this—and some are working overtime to erase the rules entirely. But America’s unions have never accepted a world where working people are silenced. We fought for the Voting Rights Act because this movement knows our fight for fair pay, safe jobs and dignity at work is the same fight as the struggle for the ballot box.

    Workers built this democracy, and we will defend it. We will continue to push Congress to do its job and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to fully restore and permanently protect voting rights and ensure access to free and fair elections. 

    Voting rights are a labor issue—because when democracy breaks down, worker power breaks down with it.

    Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history, is the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, representing 64 unions and nearly 15 million workers.

    [ad_2]

    Fred Redmond AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and NNPA Newswire

    Source link

  • Supreme Court lets Trump pause full SNAP payments for now

    [ad_1]

    (CNN) — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday temporarily paused a lower court order that required the Trump administration to cover full food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November, siding with the administration on a short-term basis in a legal fight that has quickly become a defining confrontation of the government shutdown.

    The upshot is that the US Department of Agriculture will not have to immediately honor a lower court order that required it to transfer $4 billion to the key food assistance program by the end of the day. The decision, while temporary, could put at risk the full benefits for millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to feed themselves and their families.

    The order does not resolve the underlying legal questions raised by the case – and the Trump administration has already committed to using the program’s contingency fund to partially pay benefits. Rather, Jackson’s “administrative stay” freezes any additional action by the administration to give an appeals court additional time to review the case.

    Jackson is the justice assigned to handle emergency appeals from the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals.

    The legal fight over food stamps has emerged as a central pressure point between all three branches during the historically long government shutdown because it is one of the easiest to understand and most tangible impacts of that impasse so far. At stake is food assistance that nearly 42 million Americans rely on.

    It’s unclear how the case will ultimately impact the billions of dollars spent in federal SNAP funding.

    Complying with the lower court

    The Trump administration’s emergency request to the justices came hours after the USDA told states that it was working to comply with the ruling to fully fund the program that was issued a day earlier by US District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island.

    This latest legal move has injected more uncertainty into whether food stamp recipients would see their full allotments anytime soon.

    The administration had made a similar emergency appeal to a Boston-based federal appeals court Friday morning, but the court had not yet weighed in by the time the USDA sent the guidance, which also said the process to make full funding for November available should be completed later on Friday. The appeals court, in a brief order Friday night, declined to put the payments on hold temporarily while it reviewed the case “as quickly as possible.”

    In its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, the administration said, “Such a funding lapse is a crisis. But it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure and one that can only be solved through congressional action.”

    “The district court’s ruling,” US Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court, “is untenable at every turn.”

    The administration moved to appeal McConnell’s order after he ruled on Thursday that the government had to provide full SNAP benefits for November, instead of issuing only partial benefits as he had mandated days earlier.

    Rushing to fund full benefits

    Before the latest legal twist, several states had rushed to start issuing full SNAP payments to their residents. But that has caused problems, according to the administration’s filing to the Supreme Court.

    Sauer told the court that Wisconsin immediately filed for 100% of its residents’ benefits to be placed on their electronic benefit transfer cards. But the USDA rejected the request because it had not yet had time to comply with McConnell’s order. That resulted in the state overdrawing its letter of credit by $20 million.

    Similarly, Kansas issued full benefits worth nearly $32 million to approximately 86,000 households in the state, Sauer said.

    These actions have hurt states that did not move quickly to issue benefits, he continued. They will be unable to receive funding to provide partial payments to their residents under McConnell’s prior order.

    Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly reacted to the Supreme Court’s action in a statement Friday night, saying, “Today, in accordance with a court’s order and after receiving guidance from the USDA, Kansas sent full November SNAP benefits to all eligible Kansans. These Kansans, most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, were struggling to put food on their plates.”

    Other states have also promised beneficiaries would start receiving their full allotments as soon as Friday or over the weekend.

    Pennsylvania residents who should have already received their SNAP benefits this month will start seeing their full payments hit their electronic benefit transfer cards on Friday, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced at a press conference earlier in the day.

    “We are hoping that by this evening, by midnight or so, that all of those individuals who were owed money over the first week or so of this month, who hadn’t gotten it from the federal administration, are going to get their money,” Shapiro said.

    Meanwhile, the governors of Maryland and New York said beneficiaries could expect to start seeing their benefits over the weekend.

    The food stamp program has been in legal limbo since last month, when officials said recipients would not receive their payments for November due to the lapse in appropriations for the government.

    The decision prompted two lawsuits, with two federal judges ruling last week that the agency must at least tap into contingency funds to provide partial benefits for this month or, at its discretion, use other revenue to fully fund November’s allotments.

    The agency opted to fund partial benefits, but warned it could take weeks or months for some states to recalculate the allotments and distribute the assistance. The plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case raced back to McConnell earlier this week to argue that he should require the USDA to fully fund the benefits to get the money out the door quickly.

    McConnell obliged. He ruled the administration had not worked fast enough to ensure at least partial benefits reached millions of the program’s recipients and that it had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it decided against providing the full benefits this month.

    “People have gone without for too long,” McConnell said during a hearing Thursday. “Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.”

    Under McConnell’s ruling, the government was required to transfer additional unused tariff revenue used to support child nutrition programs in order to pay full SNAP benefits for November.

    This story has been updated with more details.

    [ad_2]

    Devan Cole, John Fritze, Tami Luhby and CNN

    Source link

  • A discredited therapy for gay and trans youth is at the center of a Supreme Court case. Here’s what to know

    [ad_1]

    (CNN) — The US Supreme Court will hear a case Tuesday that will determine whether a Colorado law that prohibits licensed mental health professionals from providing conversion “therapy” to minors is constitutional.

    Conversion or reparative therapy promises to “convert” people from being gay, lesbian or bisexual to straight, or to change transgender and nonconforming individuals into people who identify with the sex they were labeled at birth. Research has found that the practice doesn’t work and can even be dangerous: It significantly increases a person’s risk of suicide and can cause other long-term health problems, such as depression, anxiety and high blood pressure. Children who undergo conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to run away.

    At least 23 states prohibit licensed providers from offering conversion “therapy” to minors, according to the independent think tank Movement Advancement Project, and leading professional medical and mental health associations disavow it.

    Despite state bans, a 2023 report found more than 1,300 conversion therapy practitioners working in 48 states and the District of Columbia. The report, from the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, found 600 practitioners hold active professional licenses and 700 operate in an official religious capacity. The number is likely an undercount since, the report said, because conversion therapy is “increasingly underground and conducted in secret with many practitioners not publicly advertising their services in a way that can be documented.”

    A 2023 national survey found that 1 in 20 LGBTQ+ young people had been subjected to conversion therapy in the US. Nearly 200,000 people who identify as transgender have gone through some form of conversion therapy, according to a 2019 study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

    Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules, the therapy may become even more common as the Trump administration pushes health care providers to offer a version of this therapy as the only kind of care for children who identify as transgender.

    “The government is paving the way for a lot of harm and a lot of damage,” said Dr. Meera Shah, a family medicine physician in New York and a national board member for the professional group Physicians for Reproductive Health.

    Drew, an ICU nurse in Central Valley, California, who identifies as a trans man, believes that his parents inadvertently brought him to a conversion therapist when he was 9. He asked that CNN not use his last name for his safety.

    When he was old enough to pick his haircut and clothes, Drew said, he knew what his gender identity was but didn’t have the words to explain.
    Choosing cowboy shirts and boots incorrectly signaled to his parents that he struggled with his gender identity.

    “So they put me in therapy to fix that,” Drew said. “I don’t know if my mom understood what she was signing me up for.”

    The experience still traumatizes Drew, he says, although the details of what happened in those sessions remain fuzzy. “Rather, I have traumatic flashbacks instead,” he said.

    What happens in conversion therapy?

    Professionals may have different methods to try to convince someone that they are not LGBTQ+. Some use traditional talk therapy, enforcing the idea that being transgender or being gay/bi is a pathology that can be “cured” and even arguing that peer pressure is to blame.

    Counselors may also use behavioral modification therapy as they frame non-heterosexual or non-stereotypical gendered behavior as an “addiction” or a “compulsion.” They might encourage patients to avoid “triggers” like going to an LGBTQ+-friendly club or wearing a certain outfit and praise them for engaging in stereotypical gendered activity like wearing certain clothing or hairstyles.

    They may also probe a patient’s past to determine whether an underlying issues like unprocessed trauma, abuse, mental illness or autism could have led to gender-nonconforming feelings.

    There’s also a long history of documented aversion practices, including electric shock, ice baths, burning with metal coils or giving nausea-inducing drugs. Using these techniques, some may try to shame the patient about their gender or orientation, pray with them or even use exorcism as a “cure.”

    When Dr. Morissa Ladinsky worked in Alabama, she said, trans patients told her that their parents put them in conversion therapy that tried to “turn the God that they loved against them.”

    The approach was traumatizing, said Ladinsky, a clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford Medicine. But there was one exception: a patient who said, “the God that I’ve grown to love would never make me this way only to turn around and marginalize me.”

    Risks from conversion therapy

    The process can create lasting damage and may lead to depression, anxiety, sexual problems, substance use, low self-esteem, self-blame and a lifetime of physical health problems, including high blood pressure and increased systemic inflammation, studies show.

    Conversion therapy can also lead to suicide. A 2019 study found that trans people who experienced gender identity change efforts were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide than peers who had other therapy. For children under 10, the relative risk of attempted suicide was four times as high. And trans people were 1.5 times more likely than peers who went through other therapies to experience “severe psychological distress,” the study found.

    A 2020 report from the Williams Institute, a public policy research center focused on sexual orientation and gender identity at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people who experienced conversion therapy were almost twice as likely to think about suicide and attempt suicide compared with peers who hadn’t had undergone such counseling.

    “Conversion therapy – which we know isn’t actually therapy – isolates and harms kids, it scapegoats parents, and it really does divide families through blame and rejection,” said Casey Pick, director of law and policy at the Trevor Project. “No amount of pressure or talk, including conversion practices, can make a transgender person not transgender.

    “This is a debunked, discredited fringe ideology.”

    Ahead of the Supreme Court argument, the Trevor Project, in conjunction with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, filed a friend of the court brief presenting peer-reviewed data on the serious mental health harms that conversion therapy causes LGBTQ+ youth.

    Drew, the California ICU nurse, doesn’t remember much about his therapy sessions. But he does remember sobbing every Monday and Friday when his grandfather picked him up for his appointment at 2 p.m. on the dot.

    Even years later, Drew said, he’d shake uncontrollably when he’d visit his parents and drive past the building where his appointments had been.

    “It took me a long time to recognize why that was,” Drew said, his voice catching and pausing for deep breathing exercises to calm his nerves.

    “The experience was damaging beyond my ability to explain to you,” he said. “It was damaging in ways that, 40 years later, I’m still uncovering and working through with the help of a good therapist who is practicing a kind of therapy that is actually helpful and affirmative for myself as a whole human.”

    Trump administration actions

    The Supreme Court case is unfolding as President Donald Trump’s administration has put a new focus on LGBTQ people.

    US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
    said in a letter to health systems in May that they should not rely on science-based professional guidelines for transgender children but should instead follow a highly controversial HHS review of the evidence on current care practices for pediatric gender dysphoria — a term that mental health professionals use to describe the clinically significant distress that happens when a person’s sense of gender does not match their sex assigned at birth.

    The Trump administration report essentially says the only kind of care that health systems should provide children who identify as transgender are psychotherapeutic approaches including gender exploratory therapy, which discourages gender affirmation in favor of exploring the pathological roots of the young person’s trans identity. The review describes such a practice as “trying to help children and adolescents come to terms with their bodies” and equates the distress they feel related to their gender with normal “discomfort with the sexed body or with societal based expectations is common during puberty and adolescence.”

    Then, at the start of Pride Month in June, the FBI encouraged whistleblowers to report health providers that offered other kinds of care.

    The federal pressure on health systems worked. Among other programs, the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced in July it was shutting down. Children’s National in Washington, D.C, said in August that due to “escalating legal and regulatory risks” it would be “discontinuing the prescription of gender-affirming medications,” but would continue to offer mental health and other support services.

    Research shows that exploratory therapy is far from neutral. The practice views a trans identity as maladaptive, pathological or simply wrong, experts said, and sees a cisgender identity — a gender identity that aligns with the sex assigned at birth — as normative, “healthier, preferable, and superior to a transgender or gender nonbinary identity,” according to the American Psychological Association, which is highly critical of the practice.

    Gender diversity is not pathological, agrees the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, another organization that’s critical of the practice.

    The 400+ page review that Kennedy cited, whose authors remain anonymous, says it “is not intended to serve as a clinical practice guideline and does not aim to issue treatment recommendations,” but it claims that current practices are not safe and lack a scientific basis.

    Evidence about providing therapy alone is “of very low certainty,” the review says, but it lauds countries that use “exploratory” therapy alone and claims this practice is at least a “noninvasive invention” that carries “little risk” and takes a “neutral” stand that may “effectively resolve the condition noninvasively.”

    “The concept of ‘noninvasive’ makes no sense here if we’re looking at mental health. What does that even really mean?” asked Florence Ashley, a Canadian law professor who wrote a book about laws banning transgender conversion practices. “If one of the things that we look at is suicidality, that’s pretty f**king invasive. You’re dead.”

    Dr. Carl Streed, a clinical researcher specializing in LGBTQ+ health and an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, said it’s hypocritical of the Trump administration to say there isn’t enough evidence to justify the individually tailored care typically provided to transgender youth — which is backed by dozens of medical organizations and may include therapy, social and legal help, and for older patients, hormones or surgery — while acknowledging that therapy alone is “of very low certainty.”

    “The report really provides no other alternative other than conversion therapy, and because it is from the HHS, it is essentially going to be a ‘legitimizing report.’ And it’s going to be used to eventually change policies around the provision of care,” Streed added.

    HHS says in the report that exploratory therapy is not conversion therapy. But because the aim of the practice is to “resolve” the issue of gender rather than resolve the distress the person feels about their gender, experts say it is conversion therapy by a different name.

    “Honestly, whenever anybody says ‘gender exploratory therapy,’ they really are talking about conversion therapy,” Streed said. “They’re not talking about anything that acknowledges people’s full spectrum of gender.”

    In California, Drew said that while he’s still working through the trauma he experienced in conversion therapy, it hasn’t held him back from having a successful career, a happy marriage and kids. And even though it’s difficult to talk about, he wants parents to know about his experience.

    “I don’t want anybody else to go through what I went through, and if another parent out there can hear that conversion therapy will be harmful to their child and consider a different way to move forward, that Is worth any discomfort or pain that I have now talking about it,” Drew said.

    Despite the trauma, he bears no ill will toward his childhood therapist.

    “My parents eventually saw me for who I am, and they accepted me and loved me and had been extremely supportive of me,” Drew said. “So I’d like to give that therapist the grace that perhaps they could have learned and grown as a therapist and understood the harm that they were causing and learn to do better by trans youth.”

    [ad_2]

    Jen Christensen and CNN

    Source link

  • Supreme Court allows Trump to continue ‘roving’ ICE patrols in California

    [ad_1]

    (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Monday backed President Donald Trump’s push to allow immigration enforcement officials to continue what critics describe as “roving patrols” in Southern California that lower courts said likely violated the Fourth Amendment.

    The court did not offer an explanation for its decision, which came over a sharp dissent from the three liberal justices.

    At issue were a series of incidents in which masked and heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled aside people who identify as Latino – including some US citizens – around Los Angeles to interrogate them about their immigration status. Lower courts found that ICE likely had not established the “reasonable suspicion” required to justify those stops.

    The decision deals with seven counties in Southern California, but it has landed during a broader crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration – and officials are likely to read it as a tacit approval of similar practices elsewhere.

    “This is a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. “DHS law enforcement will not be slowed down and will continue to arrest and remove the murderers, rapists, gang members, and other criminal illegal aliens.”

    A US District Court in July ordered the Department of Homeland Security to discontinue the practice if the stops were based largely on a person’s apparent ethnicity, language or their presence at a particular location, such as a farm or bus stop. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld that decision, which applied only to seven California counties.

    But the Supreme Court disagreed with that approach. Though the court did not provide any analysis explaining its decision, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the conservative wing who sided with Trump, wrote in a concurrence that the factors the agents were considering “taken together can constitute at least reasonable suspicion of illegal presence in the United States.”

    “To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this court’s case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors,” Kavanaugh wrote.

    “Importantly,” Kavanaugh added, “reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status.”

    ‘Freedoms are lost,’ Sotomayor warns

    The order drew a fiery dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.

    “We should not have to live in a country where the government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job,” Sotomayor wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent.”

    Sotomayor wrote in her dissent that the “on-the-ground reality” of immigration arrests cuts against the federal government’s fears that a court ruling could chill authorities’ ability to detain and deport undocumented migrants.

    “The evidence in this case, however, reveals that the government is likely to continue relying solely on those four factors because that is what agents are currently authorized and instructed to do,” Sotomayor wrote.

    Since a district court issued a ruling temporarily barring interrogations and arrests based only on a person’s apparent ethnicity, language or their presence at a particular location, members of the Trump administration have made clear they intend to proceed with their agenda as planned, the justice said.

    Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “has called the District Judge an ‘idiot’ and vowed that ‘none of [the government’s] operations are going to change,’” Sotomayor wrote. “The CBP Chief Patrol Agent in the Central District has stated that his division will ‘turn and burn’ and ‘go even harder now,’ and has posted videos on social media touting his agents’ continued efforts ‘[c]hasing, cuffing, [and] deporting’ people at car washes.”

    Referring to Kavanaugh’s concurrence, Sotomayor said that ICE agents aren’t just conducting brief or routine traffic stops. They are seizing both undocumented immigrants and US citizens “using firearms, physical violence, and warehouse detentions.”

    The case was the latest of nearly two dozen emergency appeals the administration has filed at the Supreme Court since Trump began his second term in January. Many of those have dealt with Trump’s immigration policies.

    US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, in her earlier ruling siding against Trump in the case, said the administration was attempting to convince the court “in the face of a mountain of evidence” that none of the plaintiffs’ claims were true.

    Frimpong, appointed by President Joe Biden, said in her ruling that the court needed to decide whether the plaintiffs could prove the Trump administration “is indeed conducting roving patrols without reasonable suspicion and denying access to lawyers.”

    The American Civil Liberties Union also condemned the ruling.

    “Today’s Supreme Court order puts people at grave risk, allowing federal agents in Southern California to target individuals because of their race, how they speak, the jobs they work, or just being at a bus stop or the car wash when ICE agents decide to raid a place,” said Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the ACLU, which was part of the legal team challenging the stops.

    “For anyone perceived as Latino by an ICE agent,” she added, “this means living in a fearful ‘papers please’ regime, with risks of violent ICE arrests and detention.”

    Kavanaugh wades into immigration

    Kavanaugh used his 10-page concurrence to launch into a broader discussion about the debate around illegal immigration.

    “To be sure, I recognize and fully appreciate that many (not all, but many) illegal immigrants come to the United States to escape poverty and the lack of freedom and opportunities in their home countries,” he wrote.

    “But the fact remains that, under the laws passed by Congress and the president, they are acting illegally by remaining in the United States – at least unless Congress and the president choose some other legislative approach to legalize some or all of those individuals now illegally present in the country,” he added.

    Sotomayor leaned into a growing criticism around how the Supreme Court has handled high-profile emergency cases dealing with Trump: That it has offered no explanation. The court itself offered only a single paragraph of boilerplate language in siding with Trump.

    The sometimes-terse orders have been a topic of discussion for several justices who have appeared at events over the summer. Kagan said earlier this year that she thought the court could often provide further explanation in its emergency decisions. But Kavanaugh and others have noted that the court is sometimes hesitant to signal which way it’s leaning in a case.

    “The court’s order is troubling for another reason: It is entirely unexplained,” Sotomayor wrote. “In the last eight months, this court’s appetite to circumvent the ordinary appellate process and weigh in on important issues has grown exponentially.”

    CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

    [ad_2]

    John Fritze, Hannah Rabinowitz and CNN

    Source link

  • Harris says Trump is ‘cruel’ as she spotlights abortion restrictions in Georgia during early voting

    Harris says Trump is ‘cruel’ as she spotlights abortion restrictions in Georgia during early voting

    [ad_1]

    ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday that Republican former President Donald Trump was “cruel” for how he talked about the grieving family of a Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill, as she put combating restrictions on reproductive care at the center of her pitch to voters.

    At a rally in Atlanta, Harris blamed Amber Thurman’s death on Georgia’s abortion restrictions that took effect after the Supreme Court in 2022, with three Trump-appointed justices, overturned Roe v. Wade. It comes as Harris is looking to the issue to propel support to Democrats, who have pledged to restore a national right to abortion if they win the White House and enough seats in Congress.

    “Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused,” Harris said.

    Thurman’ story features at the center of one of Harris’ closing campaign ads, and her family attended her Atlanta rally, with her mother holding a photo of her daughter from the audience. Harris showed a clip of Trump saying during a recent Fox News Channel town hall, when he was asked about the Thurman family joining a separate media call, “We’ll get better ratings, I promise.”

    “A grieving family, a grieving family, sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation. Where is the compassion?” she asked. “What we see continually from Donald Trump is exactly what that clip shows,” Harris added. “He belittles their sorrow, making it about himself and his television ratings. It is cruel.”

    Before Harris became the Democratic nominee, Ian Summer, 19, planned on voting against Trump – but he wasn’t enthusiastic about President Joe Biden. Since Harris stepped into the race “she’s brought great energy,” Summer said. Summer is worried about restrictions on abortion access under Trump. “The fact that I could have a wife in the future that may not be able to receive the care that she needs, that’s a very scary thing,” he said.

    Early voting is also underway in Georgia. More than 1.2 million ballots have been cast, either in person or by mail. Democrats hope an expansive organizing effort will boost Harris against Trump in the campaign’s final weeks. Harris referenced that former President Jimmy Carter recently voted by mail days after his 100th birthday.

    “If Jimmy Carter can vote early, you can too,” Harris said.

    Roderick Williams, 56, brought his three daughters to Harris’ Atlanta rally. His youngest daughter was born around the time former President Barack Obama entered office, and he hopes they can witness history again by seeing Harris become the first Black woman to be president.

    “It’s important for them to see that anything’s possible,” Williams said.

    Harris was joined at the rally by hometown music icon Usher, drawing again on star power as she looks to excite voters to the polls. Earlier Saturday she appeared with Lizzo on Saturday in the singer’s hometown of Detroit, marking the beginning of in-person voting and lavishing the city with praise after Trump recently disparaged it.

    “All the best things were made in Detroit. Coney Dogs, Faygo and Lizzo,” the singer joked to a rally crowd, pointing to herself after listing off the hot dogs and soda that the city is famous for.

    She said it was time to “put some respect on Detroit’s name” noting that the city had revolutionized the auto and music industries and adding that she’d already cast her ballot for Harris since voting early was “a power move.”

    Heaps of praise for the Motor City came after Trump, the former president, insulted it during a recent campaign stop. And Harris continued the theme, saying of her campaign, “Like the people of Detroit, we have grit, we have excellence, we have history.”

    Arms wide open as she took the stage, Harris let the crowd see she was wearing under her blazer a “Detroit vs. Everybody” T-shirt that the owner of the business that produces them gave her during a previous stop in the city earlier in the week. She also moved around the stage during her speech with a hand-held mic, not using a teleprompter.

    More than 1 million Michigan residents have already voted by mail in the Nov. 5 election, and Harris predicted that Detroit turnout for early voting would be strong.

    “Who is the capital of producing records?” Harris asked when imploring the crowd to set new highs for early voting tallies. “We are going to break some records here in Detroit today.”

    She slammed Trump as unstable: “Somebody just needs to watch his rallies, if you’re not really sure how to vote.”

    “We’re not going to get these 17 days back. On Election Day, we don’t want to have any regrets,” the vice president said.

    Lizzo also told the crowd, “Mrs. Commander-in-Chief has a nice ring to it.”

    “This is the swing state of all swing states, so every last vote here counts,” the singer said. Then, referencing her song of the same title, Lizzo added, “If you ask me if America is ready for its first woman president, I only have one thing to say: “It’s about damn time!”

    Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement that Harris needed Lizzo “to hide the fact that Michiganders were feeling good under President Trump – real wages were higher, prices were lower, and everyone was better off.”

    Talona Johnson, a product manager from Rochester, Michigan, attended Harris’ rally and said that Harris “and her team are doing the things that are required to make sure that people are informed.”

    “I believe she’s telling the truth. She’s trying to help the people,” said Johnson, who said she planned to vote for Harris and saw women’s rights as her top concern.

    “I don’t necessarily agree with everything that she’s put out, but she’s better than the alternative,”

    In comments to reporters before the rally, Harris said she was in Detroit “to thank all the folks for the work they are doing to help organize and register people to vote, and get them out to vote today. She also called Detroit “a great American city” with “a lot of hard-working folks that have grit and ambition and deserve to be respected.”

    The vice president was asked about whether the Biden administration’s full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza might hurt her support in Michigan. Dearborn, near Detroit, is the largest city with an Arab majority in the nation.

    “It has never been easy,” Harris said of Middle East policy. “But that doesn’t mean we give up.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Detroit, Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta and Will Weissert and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    [ad_2]

    AP

    Source link

  • Harris says Trump is ‘cruel’ as she spotlights abortion restrictions in Georgia during early voting

    Harris says Trump is ‘cruel’ as she spotlights abortion restrictions in Georgia during early voting

    [ad_1]

    ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday that Republican former President Donald Trump was “cruel” for how he talked about the grieving family of a Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill, as she put combating restrictions on reproductive care at the center of her pitch to voters.

    At a rally in Atlanta, Harris blamed Amber Thurman’s death on Georgia’s abortion restrictions that took effect after the Supreme Court in 2022, with three Trump-appointed justices, overturned Roe v. Wade. It comes as Harris is looking to the issue to propel support to Democrats, who have pledged to restore a national right to abortion if they win the White House and enough seats in Congress.

    “Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused,” Harris said.

    Thurman’ story features at the center of one of Harris’ closing campaign ads, and her family attended her Atlanta rally, with her mother holding a photo of her daughter from the audience. Harris showed a clip of Trump saying during a recent Fox News Channel town hall, when he was asked about the Thurman family joining a separate media call, “We’ll get better ratings, I promise.”

    “A grieving family, a grieving family, sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation. Where is the compassion?” she asked. “What we see continually from Donald Trump is exactly what that clip shows,” Harris added. “He belittles their sorrow, making it about himself and his television ratings. It is cruel.”

    Before Harris became the Democratic nominee, Ian Summer, 19, planned on voting against Trump – but he wasn’t enthusiastic about President Joe Biden. Since Harris stepped into the race “she’s brought great energy,” Summer said. Summer is worried about restrictions on abortion access under Trump. “The fact that I could have a wife in the future that may not be able to receive the care that she needs, that’s a very scary thing,” he said.

    Early voting is also underway in Georgia. More than 1.2 million ballots have been cast, either in person or by mail. Democrats hope an expansive organizing effort will boost Harris against Trump in the campaign’s final weeks. Harris referenced that former President Jimmy Carter recently voted by mail days after his 100th birthday.

    “If Jimmy Carter can vote early, you can too,” Harris said.

    Roderick Williams, 56, brought his three daughters to Harris’ Atlanta rally. His youngest daughter was born around the time former President Barack Obama entered office, and he hopes they can witness history again by seeing Harris become the first Black woman to be president.

    “It’s important for them to see that anything’s possible,” Williams said.

    Harris was joined at the rally by hometown music icon Usher, drawing again on star power as she looks to excite voters to the polls. Earlier Saturday she appeared with Lizzo on Saturday in the singer’s hometown of Detroit, marking the beginning of in-person voting and lavishing the city with praise after Trump recently disparaged it.

    “All the best things were made in Detroit. Coney Dogs, Faygo and Lizzo,” the singer joked to a rally crowd, pointing to herself after listing off the hot dogs and soda that the city is famous for.

    She said it was time to “put some respect on Detroit’s name” noting that the city had revolutionized the auto and music industries and adding that she’d already cast her ballot for Harris since voting early was “a power move.”

    Heaps of praise for the Motor City came after Trump, the former president, insulted it during a recent campaign stop. And Harris continued the theme, saying of her campaign, “Like the people of Detroit, we have grit, we have excellence, we have history.”

    Arms wide open as she took the stage, Harris let the crowd see she was wearing under her blazer a “Detroit vs. Everybody” T-shirt that the owner of the business that produces them gave her during a previous stop in the city earlier in the week. She also moved around the stage during her speech with a hand-held mic, not using a teleprompter.

    More than 1 million Michigan residents have already voted by mail in the Nov. 5 election, and Harris predicted that Detroit turnout for early voting would be strong.

    “Who is the capital of producing records?” Harris asked when imploring the crowd to set new highs for early voting tallies. “We are going to break some records here in Detroit today.”

    She slammed Trump as unstable: “Somebody just needs to watch his rallies, if you’re not really sure how to vote.”

    “We’re not going to get these 17 days back. On Election Day, we don’t want to have any regrets,” the vice president said.

    Lizzo also told the crowd, “Mrs. Commander-in-Chief has a nice ring to it.”

    “This is the swing state of all swing states, so every last vote here counts,” the singer said. Then, referencing her song of the same title, Lizzo added, “If you ask me if America is ready for its first woman president, I only have one thing to say: “It’s about damn time!”

    Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement that Harris needed Lizzo “to hide the fact that Michiganders were feeling good under President Trump – real wages were higher, prices were lower, and everyone was better off.”

    Talona Johnson, a product manager from Rochester, Michigan, attended Harris’ rally and said that Harris “and her team are doing the things that are required to make sure that people are informed.”

    “I believe she’s telling the truth. She’s trying to help the people,” said Johnson, who said she planned to vote for Harris and saw women’s rights as her top concern.

    “I don’t necessarily agree with everything that she’s put out, but she’s better than the alternative,”

    In comments to reporters before the rally, Harris said she was in Detroit “to thank all the folks for the work they are doing to help organize and register people to vote, and get them out to vote today. She also called Detroit “a great American city” with “a lot of hard-working folks that have grit and ambition and deserve to be respected.”

    The vice president was asked about whether the Biden administration’s full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza might hurt her support in Michigan. Dearborn, near Detroit, is the largest city with an Arab majority in the nation.

    “It has never been easy,” Harris said of Middle East policy. “But that doesn’t mean we give up.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Detroit, Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta and Will Weissert and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    [ad_2]

    AP

    Source link

  • US Supreme Court hears case of trucker fired for failed drug test from cannabis-based CBD – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    US Supreme Court hears case of trucker fired for failed drug test from cannabis-based CBD – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    [ad_1]





    US Supreme Court hears case of trucker fired for failed drug test from cannabis-based CBD – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news






























    [ad_2]

    AggregatedNews

    Source link

  • Affirmative Action Fast Facts | CNN

    Affirmative Action Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here is some background information about affirmative action as well as a few notable court cases.

    Affirmative action policies focus on improving opportunities for groups of people, like women and minorities, who have been historically excluded in United States’ society. The initial emphasis was on education and employment. President John F. Kennedy was the first president to use the term in an executive order.

    Supporters argue that affirmative action is necessary to ensure racial and gender diversity in education and employment. Critics state that it is unfair and causes reverse discrimination.

    Racial quotas are considered unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.

    The state of Texas replaced its affirmative action plan with a percentage plan that guarantees the top 10% of high-school graduates a spot in any state university in Texas. California and Florida have similar programs.

    1954 – The US Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education, rules that the “separate but equal” doctrine violates the Constitution.

    1961 – President Kennedy creates the Council on Equal Opportunity in an executive order. This ensures that federal contractors hire people regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.

    1964 – The Civil Rights Act renders discrimination illegal in the workplace.

    1978 – In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, a notable reverse discrimination case, the Supreme Court rules that colleges cannot use racial quotas because it violates the Equal Protection Clause. As one factor for admission, however, race can be used.

    1995 – The University of Michigan rejects the college application of Jennifer Gratz, a top high school student in suburban Detroit who is white.

    October 14, 1997 – Gratz v. Bollinger, et al., is filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan. The University of Michigan is sued by white students, including Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, who claim the undergraduate and law school affirmative action policies using race and/or gender as a factor in admissions is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    December 3, 1997 – A similar case, Grutter v. Bollinger, is filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan. Barbara Grutter, denied admission to the University of Michigan Law School, claims that other applicants, with lower test scores and grades, were given an unfair advantage due to race.

    December 2000 – The judge in the Gratz v. Bollinger case rules that the University of Michigan’s undergraduate admissions policy does not violate the standards set by the Supreme Court.

    March 2001 – The judge in the Grutter v. Bollinger case rules the University of Michigan Law School’s admissions policy is unconstitutional.

    December 2001 – The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals in both University of Michigan cases.

    May 14, 2002 – The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses the district court’s decision in Grutter v. Bollinger.

    January 17, 2003 – The administration of President George W. Bush files a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court, opposing the University of Michigan’s affirmative action program.

    April 1, 2003 – The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the two cases. US Solicitor General Theodore Olson offers arguments in support of the plaintiffs.

    June 23, 2003 – The Supreme Court rules on Grutter v. Bollinger that the University of Michigan Law School may give preferential treatment to minorities during the admissions process. The Court upholds the law school policy by a vote of five to four.

    June 23, 2003 – In Gratz v. Bollinger, the undergraduate policy in which a point system gave specific “weight” to minority applicants is overturned six to three.

    December 22, 2003 – The Supreme Court rules that race can be a factor in universities’ admission programs but it cannot be an overriding factor. This decision affects the Grutter and Gratz cases.

    November 7, 2006 – The Michigan electorate strikes down affirmative action by approving a proposition barring affirmative action in public education, employment, or contracting.

    January 31, 2007 – After the Supreme Court sends the case back to district court; the case is dismissed. Gratz and Hamacher settle for $10,000 in administrative costs, but do not receive damages.

    2008 – Abigail Noel Fisher, a white woman, sues the University of Texas. She argues that the university should not use race as a factor in admission policies that favor African-American and Hispanic applicants over whites and Asian-Americans.

    July 1, 2011 – An appeals court overturns Michigan’s 2006 ban on the use of race and/or gender as a factor in admissions or hiring practices.

    November 15, 2012 – The US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals throws out Michigan’s 2006 ban on affirmative action in college admissions and public hiring, declaring it unconstitutional.

    June 24, 2013 – The Supreme Court sends the University of Texas case back to the lower court for further review without ruling.

    October 15, 2013 – The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case concerning Michigan’s 2006 law on affirmative action.

    April 22, 2014 – In a six to two ruling, the Supreme Court upholds Michigan’s ban of using racial criteria in college admissions.

    July 15, 2014 – The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upholds the use of race by the University of Texas as a factor in undergraduate admissions to promote diversity on campus. The vote is two to one.

    November 17, 2014 – Students for Fair Admissions sues Harvard University, alleging Harvard intentionally discriminates against Asian-Americans. Students for Fair Admissions is run by Edward Blum, a conservative advocate, who sought Asian-Americans rejected by Harvard.

    December 9, 2015 – The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the University of Texas case regarding race as a factor in admissions policies.

    June 23, 2016 – The US Supreme Court upholds the Affirmative Action program by a vote of four to three with Justice Elena Kagan taking no part in the consideration. The ruling allows the limited use of affirmative action policies by schools.

    October 15, 2018 – The lawsuit against Harvard filed in 2014 by Students for Fair Admissions goes to trial.

    February 2019 – Texas Tech University enters an agreement with the Department of Education to stop considering race and/or national origin as a factor in its admissions process, concluding a 14-year-long investigation into the school’s use of affirmative action.

    October 1, 2019 – US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs upholds Harvard’s admissions process in the Students for Fair Admissions case, ruling that while Harvard’s admissions process is “not perfect,” she would not “dismantle a very fine admissions program that passes constitutional muster, solely because it could do better.”

    November 12, 2020 – A Boston-based US appeals court rejects an appeal brought by the Students for Fair Admissions group.

    January 24, 2022 – The US Supreme Court announces it will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The justices will hear challenges to policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that use students’ race among many criteria to decide who should gain a coveted place in an entering class. On June 29, 2023, the US Supreme Court says colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admission.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Roe v. Wade Fast Facts | CNN

    Roe v. Wade Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the US Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

    1971 – The case is filed by Norma McCorvey, known in court documents as Jane Roe, against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, who enforced a Texas law that prohibited abortion, except to save a woman’s life.

    January 22, 1973 – The US Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, affirms the legality of a woman’s right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. The court held that a woman’s right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy (recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut) protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision gave a woman the right to an abortion during the entirety of the pregnancy and defined different levels of state interest for regulating abortion in the second and third trimesters.

    The ruling affected laws in 46 states.

    Full-text opinions by the justices can be viewed here.

    1971 – The Supreme Court agrees to hear the case filed by Roe against Wade, who was enforcing the Texas abortion law that had been declared unconstitutional in an earlier federal district court case. Wade was ignoring the legal ruling and both sides appealed.

    December 13, 1971 – The case is argued before the US Supreme Court.

    October 11, 1972 – The case is reargued before the US Supreme Court.

    January 22, 1973 – The US Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, affirms the legality of a woman’s right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.

    June 17, 2003 – McCorvey (Roe) files a motion with the federal district court in Dallas to have the case overturned and asks the court to consider new evidence that abortion hurts women. Included are 1,000 affidavits from women who say they regret their abortions.

    September 14, 2004 – A three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans dismisses McCorvey’s motion to have the case overturned, according to the Court’s clerk.

    May 2, 2022 – In a stunning breach of Supreme Court confidentiality and secrecy, Politico has obtained what it calls a draft of a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade’s holding of a federal constitutional right to an abortion. The opinion in the case is not expected to be published until late June. The court confirms the authenticity of the document on May 3, but stresses it is not the final decision.

    June 24, 2022 – The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade with a 6-3 decision, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. 

    Norma McCorvey – Texas resident who sought to obtain an abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant mother’s life. McCorvey was pregnant when she became the lead plaintiff in the case. She gave up the baby for adoption.

    McCorvey has since come forward and spoken against abortion. In 1997, McCorvey started Roe No More, an anti-abortion outreach organization that was dissolved in 2008. McCorvey died on February 18, 2017. In the 2020 documentary “AKA Jane Roe,” prior to her death in 2017, McCorvey told the film’s director that she hadn’t changed her mind about abortion but became an anti-abortion activist because she was being paid.

    Henry Wade – district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. McCorvey sued him because he enforced a law that prohibited abortion, except to save a woman’s life. He died on March 1, 2001.

    Sarah Weddington – Lawyer for McCorvey.

    Linda Coffee – Lawyer for McCorvey.

    Jay Floyd – Argued the case for Texas the first time.

    Robert C. Flowers – Reargued the case for Texas.

    Majority: Harry A. Blackmun (for The Court), William J. Brennan, Lewis F. Powell Jr., Thurgood Marshall

    Concurring: Warren Burger, William Orville Douglas, Potter Stewart

    Dissenting: William H. Rehnquist, Byron White

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Samuel Alito Fast Facts | CNN

    Samuel Alito Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]

    Here’s a look at the life of US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

    Birth date: April 1, 1950

    Birth place: Trenton, New Jersey

    Birth name: Samuel Anthony Alito Jr.

    Father: Samuel Alito, a teacher

    Mother: Rose (Fradusco) Alito, a teacher

    Marriage: Martha-Ann (Bomgardner) Alito (1985-present)

    Children: Philip and Laura

    Education: Princeton University, A.B., 1972; Yale University, J.D., 1975

    Nicknamed “Scalito” as his views resemble those of the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

    Argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, the first in 1982.

    1976-1977 – Law clerk to Leonard I. Garth, judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

    1977-1981 – Assistant US attorney for the District of New Jersey.

    1981-1985 – Assistant to the US solicitor general.

    1985-1987 – Deputy assistant to the US attorney general.

    1987-1990 – Named by President Ronald Reagan as the US attorney for the District of New Jersey.

    February 20, 1990 – Nominated by President George H.W. Bush to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

    April 27, 1990 – Confirmed unanimously by the Senate on a voice vote.

    April 30, 1990-2006 – Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, New Jersey.

    1991 – Is the only dissenting voice in a Third Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion.

    1993 – Agrees with the majority that an Iranian woman seeking asylum could establish eligibility by showing that she has an abhorrence with her country’s “gender specific laws and repressive social norms,” or because of a belief in feminism or membership in a feminist group.

    1999 – Writes the opinion in a case that says a Christmas display on city property does not violate separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus as well as a Menorah and a banner hailing diversity.

    2001 – Agrees with the majority that strikes down a public school district’s anti-harassment policy, saying the policy – which included non-vulgar, non-school-sponsored speech – violated the First Amendment.

    October 31, 2005 – President George W. Bush nominates Alito to be Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s replacement on the Supreme Court.

    January 31, 2006 – Alito is confirmed as an associate justice to the Supreme Court. The US Senate votes 58-42. He is immediately sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts.

    February 1, 2006 – Sworn in as a Supreme Court justice a second time in a ceremony at the White House.

    May 29, 2007 – In a 5-4 ruling, the court dismisses a pay discrimination lawsuit, with Alito writing for the majority. The original suit was filed by a female worker, Lilly Ledbetter against her employer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. She claimed that she was underpaid due to gender discrimination. In the opinion, Alito writes that Ledbetter filed the claim after the federally-mandated 180-day time window, concluding that the “filing deadline protects employers from the burden of defending claims arising from employment decisions long past.”

    January 28, 2010 – During a State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, Alito is seen mouthing the words “not true” in response to the president’s criticism of the court’s 5-4 ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed long-established legal limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions.

    March 2, 2011 – Alito is the sole dissenter in the free speech case involving Westboro Baptist Church. In an 8-1 decision, the court rules that the First Amendment allows the church to carry out anti-gay protests, even at military funerals. Westboro had been sued by the family of a fallen Marine whose funeral was disrupted by church protesters. In his dissent, Alito writes, “Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case.”

    June 25, 2013 – Writes the majority opinion in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl where the question is, can an unwed non-custodial parent block an adoption using the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The court ruled, 5-4, in favor of the adoptive parents ruling that the ICWA did not apply when the parent had never had physical or legal custody of the child.

    June 30, 2014 – Writes the majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, with the court ruling 5-4 that family-owned corporations can be exempt from a federal mandate requiring the inclusion of contraception coverage in employee health plans based on religious objections.

    June 27, 2018 – The court issues a 5-4 ruling striking down an Illinois law requiring non-union public sector workers to pay fees for collective bargaining. The opinion, written by Alito, reads, “It is hard to estimate how many billions of dollars have been taken from nonmembers and transferred to public sector unions in violation of the First Amendment. Those unconstitutional exactions cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.”

    February 1, 2019 – Alito temporarily blocks a Louisiana abortion law from going into effect, filing an order that says the justices need more time to review the filings in the case against a measure restricting access to clinics.

    November 25, 2019 – Writes the sole dissent in the court’s denial of National Review’s defamation suit petition. Climate scientist Michael Mann sued the conservative magazine in 2012 after two columnists wrote about his work and the “Hockey Stick” curve graph illustrating the rise in average global temperatures, accusing him of “misconduct” and data “manipulation.” Alito writes that the case brings up First Amendment concerns “that go to the very heart of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and freedom of the press: the protection afforded to journalists and others who use harsh language in criticizing opposing advocacy on one of the most important public issues of the day. If the Court is serious about protecting freedom of expression, we should grant review.”

    June 24, 2022 – The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. In his majority opinion, Alito says “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”

    November 28, 2022 – In a letter, the Supreme Court legal counsel says there is no evidence that Alito violated ethics standards, in response to questions from congressional Democrats about allegations that Alito revealed the outcome of a 2014 decision before it was released.

    July 28, 2023 – Alito agrees to temporarily freeze a lower court order that bars the US government from regulating so-called ghost guns – untraceable homemade weapons – as firearms under federal law.

    October 6, 2023 – Alito freezes a lower court ruling that blocked the Biden administration from regulating so-called ghost guns.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Notable US Supreme Court Decisions Fast Facts | CNN

    Notable US Supreme Court Decisions Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at some of the most important cases decided by the US Supreme Court since 1789.

    1803 – Marbury v. Madison
    This decision established the system of checks and balances and the power of the Supreme Court within the federal government.

    Situation: Federalist William Marbury and many others were appointed to positions by outgoing President John Adams. The appointments were not finalized before the new Secretary of State James Madison took office, and Madison chose not to honor them. Marbury and the others invoked an Act of Congress and sued to get their appointed positions.

    The Court decided against Marbury 6-0.

    Historical significance: Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “An act of the legislature repugnant to the constitution is void.” It was the first time the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law that had been passed by Congress.

    1857 – Dred Scott v. Sandford
    This decision established that slaves were not citizens of the United States and were not protected under the US Constitution.

    Situation: Dred Scott and his wife Harriet sued for their freedom in Missouri, a slave state, after having lived with their owner, an Army surgeon, in the free Territory of Wisconsin.

    The Court decided against Scott 7-2.

    Historical significance: The decision overturned the Missouri Compromise, where Congress had prohibited slavery in the territories. The Dred Scott decision was overturned later with the adoption of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in 1865 and the 14th Amendment in 1868, granting citizenship to all born in the United States.

    1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson
    This decision established the rule of segregation, separate but equal.

    Situation: While attempting to test the constitutionality of the Separate Car Law in Louisiana, Homer Plessy, a man of 1/8 African descent, sat in the train car for whites instead of the blacks-only train car and was arrested.

    The Court decided against Plessy 7-1.

    Historical significance: Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote, “The argument also assumes that social prejudice may be overcome by legislation and that equal rights cannot be secured except by an enforced commingling of the two races… if the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.” The Court gave merit to the “Jim Crow” system. Plessy was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education decision. In January 2022 Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards granted a posthumous pardon to Homer Plessy. The pardon comes after the Louisiana Board of Pardons voted unanimously in November 2021 in favor of a pardon for Plessy, who died in his 60s in 1925.

    1954 – Brown v. Board of Education
    This decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and granted equal protection under the law.

    Situation: Segregation of the public school systems in the United States was addressed when cases in Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware and Virginia were all decided together under Brown v. Board of Education. Third-grader Linda Brown was denied admission to the white school a few blocks from her home and was forced to attend the blacks-only school a mile away.

    The Court decided in favor of Brown unanimously.

    Historical significance: Racial segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

    1963 – Gideon v. Wainwright
    This decision guarantees the right to counsel.

    Situation: Clarence Earl Gideon was forced to defend himself when he requested a lawyer from a Florida court and was refused. He was convicted and sentenced to five years for breaking and entering.

    The Court decided in favor of Gideon unanimously.

    Historical significance: Ensures the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee to counsel is applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment’s due process clause.

    1964 – New York Times v. Sullivan
    This decision upheld the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

    Situation: The New York Times and four African-American ministers were sued for libel by Montgomery, Alabama, police commissioner L.B. Sullivan. Sullivan claimed a full-page ad in the Times discussing the arrest of Martin Luther King Jr., and his efforts toward voter registration and integration in Montgomery were defamatory against him. Alabama’s libel law did not require Sullivan to prove harm since the ad did contain factual errors. He was awarded $500,000.

    The Court decided against Sullivan unanimously.

    Historical significance: The First Amendment protects free speech and publication of all statements about public officials made without actual malice.

    1966 – Miranda v. Arizona
    The decision established the rights of suspects against self-incrimination.

    Situation: Ernesto Miranda was convicted of rape and kidnapping after he confessed, while in police custody, without benefit of counsel or knowledge of his constitutional right to remain silent.

    The court decided in favor of Miranda 5-4.

    Historical significance: Upon arrest and/or questioning, all suspects are given some form of their constitutional rights – “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

    1973 – Roe v. Wade
    This decision expanded privacy rights to include a woman’s right to choose pregnancy or abortion.

    Situation: “Jane Roe” (Norma McCorvey), single and living in Texas, did not want to continue her third pregnancy. Under Texas law, she could not legally obtain an abortion.

    The Court decided in favor of Roe 7-2.

    Historical significance: Abortion is legal in all 50 states. Women have the right to choose between pregnancy and abortion.

    1974 – United States v. Nixon
    This decision established that executive privilege is neither absolute nor unqualified.

    Situation: President Richard Nixon’s taped conversations from 1971 onward were the object of subpoenas by both the special prosecutor and those under indictment in the Watergate scandal. The president claimed immunity from subpoena under executive privilege.

    The Court decided against Nixon 8-0.

    Historical significance: The president is not above the law. After the Court ruled on July 24, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned on August 8.

    1978 – Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke
    This decision ruled that race cannot be the only factor in college admissions.

    Situation: Allan Bakke had twice applied for and was denied admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. Bakke was white, male and 35 years old. He claimed under California’s affirmative action plan, minorities with lower grades and test scores were admitted to the medical school when he was not, therefore his denial of admission was based solely on race.

    The Court decided in Bakke’s favor, 5-4.

    Historical significance: Affirmative action is approved by the Court and schools may use race as an admissions factor. However, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment works both ways in the case of affirmative action; race cannot be the only factor in the admissions process.

    2012 – National Federation of Independent Business et al v. Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services et al

    Situation: The constitutionality of the sweeping health care reform law championed by President Barack Obama.

    The Court voted 5-4 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act.

    Historical significance: The ruling upholds the law’s central provision – a requirement that all people have health insurance or pay a penalty.

    2013 – United States v. Windsor
    This decision ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined the term “marriage” under federal law as a “legal union between one man and one woman” deprived same-sex couples who are legally married under state laws of their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection under federal law.

    Situation: Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer were married in Toronto in 2007. Their marriage was recognized by New York state, where they lived. Upon Spyer’s death in 2009, Windsor was forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes, because their marriage was not recognized by federal law.

    The court voted 5-4 in favor of Windsor.

    Historical significance: The court strikes down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that legally married same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits.

    2015 – King et al, v. Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al

    Situation: This case was about determining whether or not the portion of the Affordable Care Act which says subsidies would be available only to those who purchase insurance on exchanges “established by the state” referred to the individual states.

    The Court ruled 6-3 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

    Historical significance: The court rules that the Affordable Care Act federal tax credits for eligible Americans are available in all 50 states, regardless of whether the states have their own health care exchanges.

    2015 – Obergefell et al, v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health, et al.

    Situation: Multiple lower courts had struck down state same-sex marriage bans. There were 37 states allowing gay marriage before the issue went to the Supreme Court.

    The Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Obergefell et al.

    Historical significance: The court rules that states cannot ban same-sex marriage and must recognize lawful marriages performed out of state.

    2016 – Fisher v. University of Texas

    Situation: Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas after her admission application was rejected in 2008. She claimed it was because she is white and that she was being treated differently than some less-qualified minority students who were accepted. In 2013 the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts for further review.

    The Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the University of Texas. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case, presumably because she dealt with it in her previous job as solicitor general.

    Historical Significance: The court rules that taking race into consideration as one factor of admission is constitutional.

    2020 – Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia

    Situation: Gerald Bostock filed a lawsuit against Clayton County for discrimination based on his sexual orientation after he was terminated for “conduct unbecoming of its employees,” shortly after he began participating in a gay softball league. Two other consolidated cases were also argued on the same day.

    The 6-3 opinion in favor of the plaintiff, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, states that being fired “merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII” of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Historical Significance: Federal anti-bias law now protects people who face job loss and/or discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

    2022 – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

    Situation: Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, passed in 2018 and which greatly restricts abortion after 15 weeks, is blocked by two federal courts, holding that it is in direct violation of Supreme Court precedent legalizing abortion nationwide prior to viability, which can occur at around 23-24 weeks of pregnancy, and that in an “unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases have established (and affirmed and re-affirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability.” The court said states may “regulate abortion procedures prior to viability” so long as they do not ban abortion. “The law at issue is a ban,” the court held. 

    Mississippi appeals the decision to the Supreme Court.

    The 6-3 opinion in favor of the plaintiff, written by Justice Samuel Alito states that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start…Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

    In a joint dissenting opinion, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan heavily criticized the majority, closing: “With sorrow – for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection – we dissent.”

    Historical Significance: The ruling overturns Roe v. Wade and there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion, leaving abortion rights to be determined by states.

    1944 – Korematsu v. United States – The Court ruled Executive Order 9066, internment of Japanese citizens during World War II, is legal, 6-3 for the United States.

    1961 – Mapp v. Ohio – “Fruit of the poisonous tree,” evidence obtained through an illegal search, cannot be used at trial, 6-3 for Mapp.

    1967 – Loving v. Virginia – Prohibition against interracial marriage was ruled unconstitutional, 9-0 for Loving.

    1968 – Terry v. Ohio – Stop and frisk, under certain circumstances, does not violate the Constitution. The Court upholds Terry’s conviction and rules 8-1 that it is not unconstitutional for police to stop and frisk individuals without probable cause for an arrest if they have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has or is about to occur.

    2008 – District of Columbia v. Heller – The Second Amendment does protect the individual’s right to bear arms, 5-4 for Heller.

    2010 – Citizens United v. FEC – The Court rules corporations can contribute to PACs under the First Amendment’s right to free speech, 5-4 for Citizens United.

    2023 – Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard together with Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina – Colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in admissions. The majority opinion, written by Justice John Roberts, claims the court is not expressly overturning prior cases authorizing race-based affirmative action and suggests that how race has affected an applicant’s life can still be part of how their application is considered.

    2024 – Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson, et al – The Court rules former President Donald Trump should appear on the ballot in Colorado in a decision that follows months of debate over whether Trump violated the “insurrectionist clause” included in the 14th Amendment.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Biden electrifies Democrats, spars with Republicans in fiery State of the Union address

    Biden electrifies Democrats, spars with Republicans in fiery State of the Union address

    [ad_1]

    A spirited President Joe Biden delivered a fiery, partisan State of the Union address on Thursday, fit for an election year with enormously high stakes in a divided nation.

    “Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today,” Biden said early in the speech.

    “What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time,” he said.

    “Overseas, [President Vladimir] Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” the president said to cheers from Democrats and applause from a smattering of Republicans.

    “My message to President Putin is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down,” Biden said.

    The president also celebrated Sweden’s ascension into NATO earlier in the day, as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson sat to the left of First Lady Jill Biden in her guest box.

    U.S. first lady Jill Biden sits alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 7, 2024.

    Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

    On domestic policy, Biden was even more confrontational than he was on foreign affairs, repeatedly calling out Republicans and sparring live on TV with some of the loudest voices in the GOP caucus.

    As a coterie of conservative Supreme Court justices sat just feet away from him, Biden excoriated them for overturning the reproductive rights enshrined in Roe vs. Wade.

    “In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote that, ‘women are not without … electoral or political power,’” Biden said.

    Then he paused and said to them, “You’re about to realize just how much.” With that, Democrats in the chamber jumped to their feet and clapped and cheered.

    Biden also went toe to toe with Republicans over a border security bill.

    “In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators. The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country,” said Biden.

    U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., yells at U.S. President Joe Biden as he delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 7, 2024.

    Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

    As Republicans booed the bill that they agreed to in the Senate, but then sunk in the House, Biden turned to his left, where Republican members were seated.

    “Oh, you don’t think so? You don’t like that bill, huh? Darn, that’s amazing,” he said.

    “Because that bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases.”

    Again and again, Biden met Republican interruptions and boos in real time with quips and jabs that appeared to disarm them.

    Overall, the speech was a clear, and effective, effort to convey to the public and to his party that he is a candidate ready for a fight in November.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • U.S. Accuses Texas Of Blocking Border Agents From Trying To Save Drowning Migrants

    U.S. Accuses Texas Of Blocking Border Agents From Trying To Save Drowning Migrants

    [ad_1]

    BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Homeland Security Department said Saturday that Texas denied federal agents access to a stretch of border when they were trying to rescue three migrants who drowned.

    The federal government’s account came hours after U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said the Texas Military Department and Texas National Guard “did not grant access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants” Friday night. Mexican authorities recovered the bodies of a woman and two children Saturday across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas.

    “This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility,” said Cuellar, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee for homeland security, in a statement.

    The drownings come amid escalating tensions between Texas and the U.S. government over immigration enforcement. On Friday, the Justice Department told the U.S. Supreme Court that Texas had taken control of an area in Eagle Pass known as Shelby Park and were not letting Border Patrol agents enter.

    The Texas Military Department said in a statement Saturday night that one of its units had searched the river after Border Patrol alerted them of the situation but did not find any migrants. The statement did not address the U.S. government’s claims that Texas authorities had “physically barred” Border Patrol agents from entering the park at the time.

    Homeland Security echoed Cuellar’s account of the distress call. In a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday, Texas acknowledged seizing the city park on the border but said the federal government had mischaracterized its actions and it was trying to resolve any disputes over access.

    “In responding to a distress call from the Mexican government, Border Patrol agents were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the park,” Homeland Security said in a statement. “The Texas governor’s policies are cruel, dangerous, and inhumane, and Texas’s blatant disregard for federal authority over immigration poses grave risks.”

    Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. from Mexico behind concertina wire and a sign warning that it is dangerous and illegal to cross, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. U.S. officials have accused Texas of blocking border agents from being able to try and help save three drowning migrants.

    Eric Gay via Associated Press

    The park lies in a major corridor for migrants entering illegally from Mexico and is the center of Abbott’s aggressive attempts to stop them, known as Operation Lone Star. Migrants are periodically swept away to their deaths by the current of the Rio Grande.

    Abbott’s office referred questions about the drownings to the Texas Military Department, which said its security personnel saw Mexican authorities responding to an incident across the river about 45 minutes after Border Patrol made the state aware of the situation. The department said it maintains water rescue equipment and works with local paramedics to assist migrants needing medical care.

    “At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period,” the department said in the statement.

    Cuellar, who represents a Texas border district, said Mexican authorities alerted the Border Patrol to the distressed migrants struggling in the river late Friday. He said federal agents attempted to call and relay the information to Texas National Guard members at Shelby Park, without success. Agents then visited the entrance to the park but were turned away, according to the congressman, who said they were told a Guard member would be sent to investigate the situation.

    Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. U.S. officials have accused Texas of blocking border agents from being able to access Eagle Pass in order to try and save three migrants drowning in the Rio Grande.
    Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. U.S. officials have accused Texas of blocking border agents from being able to access Eagle Pass in order to try and save three migrants drowning in the Rio Grande.

    Eric Gay via Associated Press

    The 50-acre park is owned by the city, but it is used by the state Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department to patrol border crossings. Although daily crossings diminished from the thousands to about 500, state authorities put up fences and stationed military vehicles by the entry to deny access to the public and Border Patrol agents this week, according to a court filing.

    In its Supreme Court filing, Texas challenged claims that Border Patrol agents were denied access. They said the Border Patrol has scaled down its presence since summer, when the state moved its resources and manpower to the park.

    Federal agents were also granted access to the area to secure supplies, the state said.

    Cuellar said there was no immediate information available about the victims’ nationalities, relationship and ages. The Mexican government made no public statements.

    On Saturday members of the public held a ceremony at the park to mark the deaths of migrants in their region. Julio Vasquez, a pastor, said access was granted after making requests with the city and sharing pictures showing the entry still fenced up and guarded by members of the National Guard and military vehicles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Supreme Court sidesteps decision on Trump presidential immunity claim in federal election interference case

    Supreme Court sidesteps decision on Trump presidential immunity claim in federal election interference case

    [ad_1]

    U.S. President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, July 9, 2020.

    Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

    Steering clear of a political firestorm for now, the Supreme Court said Friday it would not immediately decide the key issue of whether former President Donald Trump has broad immunity for actions he took challenging the 2020 presidential election results.

    The court denied without comment special counsel Jack Smith’s request asking the justices to circumvent the normal appeals court process and quickly decide the legal question, which looms large in Trump’s criminal prosecution in Washington over allegations of election interference.

    If Trump were to win on this threshold issue, the charges would be dismissed. If he loses, the legal proceedings in the trial court would continue, with Trump having other issues he could mount appeals over.

    As a result of the court’s refusal to intervene, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will take first crack at the issue; it is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Jan. 9.

    Once that court rules, the Supreme Court could act quickly on whether to take up the case.

    In asking the court to step in on an expedited basis, Smith said the case “presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office.”

    Trump’s lawyers argued in court papers that Smith had given “no compelling reason” why the Supreme Court should immediately step in ahead of the appeals court.

    On Dec. 7, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss his indictment on presidential immunity and constitutional grounds. The case is on hold while Trump appeals the decision.

    Trump’s lawyers argue that his role in questioning the result of the election was within the “outer perimeter” of his official responsibilities as president, citing a 1982 Supreme Court ruling about presidential immunity. Therefore, under Supreme Court precedent, Trump is immune from prosecution, his lawyers say.

    They also say the Senate’s acquittal of Trump following impeachment proceedings over his role in events that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol means he cannot be separately prosecuted for the same actions.

    Smith argues that Trump’s role in seeking to overturn the election was not related to his official responsibilities as president and that the Constitution’s language on impeachment allows for separate criminal proceedings even if the president is acquitted.

    In August, a federal grand jury in Washington indicted Trump on four charges: conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted. Trump pleaded not guilty.

    The election interference case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces heading into the 2024 presidential election season, in which he is a front-runner for the Republican nomination.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 2023 In Review Fast Facts | CNN

    2023 In Review Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here is a look back at the events of 2023.

    January 3 – Republican Kevin McCarthy fails to secure enough votes to be elected Speaker of the House in three rounds of voting. On January 7, McCarthy is elected House speaker after multiple days of negotiations and 15 rounds of voting. That same day, the newly elected 118th Congress is officially sworn in.

    January 7 – Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, is pulled over for reckless driving. He is hospitalized following the arrest and dies three days later from injuries sustained during the traffic stop. Five officers from the Memphis Police Department are fired. On January 26, a grand jury indicts the five officers. They are each charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. On September 12, the five officers are indicted by a federal grand jury on several charges including deprivation of rights.

    January 9 – The White House counsel’s office confirms that several classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered last fall in an office at the Penn Biden Center. On January 12, the White House counsel’s office confirms a small number of additional classified documents were located in President Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home.

    January 13 – The Trump Organization is fined $1.6 million – the maximum possible penalty – by a New York judge for running a decade-long tax fraud scheme.

    January 21 – Eleven people are killed in a mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, as the city’s Asian American community was celebrating Lunar New Year. The 72-year-old gunman is found dead the following day from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    January 24 – CNN reports that a lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence’s Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI.

    January 25 – Facebook-parent company Meta announces it will restore former President Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks, just over two years after suspending him in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack.

    February 1 – Tom Brady announces his retirement after 23 seasons in the NFL.

    February 2 – Defense officials announce the United States is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States. On February 4, a US military fighter jet shoots down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean. On June 29, the Pentagon reveals the balloon did not collect intelligence while flying over the country.

    February 3 – A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derails in East Palestine, Ohio. An evacuation order is issued for the area within a mile radius of the train crash. The order is lifted on February 8. After returning to their homes, some residents report they have developed a rash and nausea.

    February 7 – Lebron James breaks the NBA’s all-time scoring record, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

    February 15 – Payton Gendron, 19, who killed 10 people in a racist mass shooting at a grocery store in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo last May, is sentenced to life in prison.

    February 18 – In a statement, the Carter Center says that former President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia.

    February 20 – President Biden makes a surprise trip to Kyiv for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.

    February 23 – Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal courtroom on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor. Kelly is already serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. Nineteen years of the 20-year prison sentence will be served at the same time as his other sentence. One year will be served after that sentence is complete.

    February 23 – Harvey Weinstein, who is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York, is sentenced in Los Angeles to an additional 16 years in prison for charges of rape and sexual assault.

    March 2 – SpaceX and NASA launch a fresh crew of astronauts on a mission to the International Space Station, kicking off a roughly six-month stay in space. The mission — which is carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates — took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    March 2 – The jury in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh finds him guilty of murdering his wife and son. Murdaugh, the 54-year-old scion of a prominent and powerful family of local lawyers and solicitors, is also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the killings of Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021.

    March 3 – Four US citizens from South Carolina are kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico, in a case of mistaken identity. On March 7, two of the four Americans, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, are found dead and the other two, Latavia McGee and Eric Williams, are found alive. The cartel believed responsible for the armed kidnapping issues an apology letter and hands over five men to local authorities.

    March 10 – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announces that Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by California regulators. This is the second largest bank failure in US history, only to Washington Mutual’s collapse in 2008. SVB Financial Group, the former parent company of SVB, files for bankruptcy on March 17.

    March 27 – A 28-year-old Nashville resident shoots and kills three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville. The shooter is fatally shot by responding officers.

    March 29 – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is detained by Russian authorities and accused of spying. On April 7, he is formally charged with espionage.

    March 30 – A grand jury in New York votes to indict Trump, the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges. On April 4, Trump surrenders and is placed under arrest before pleading not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records. Prosecutors allege that Trump sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election through a hush money scheme with payments made to women who claimed they had extramarital affairs with Trump. He has denied the affairs.

    April 6 – Two Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson, are expelled while a third member, Rep. Gloria Johnson, is spared in an ousting by Republican lawmakers that was decried by the trio as oppressive, vindictive and racially motivated. This comes after Jones, Pearson and Johnson staged a demonstration on the House floor calling for gun reform following the shooting at the Covenant School. On April 10, Rep. Jones is sworn back in following a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council to reappoint him as an interim representative. On April 12, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners vote to confirm the reappointment of Rep. Pearson.

    April 6-13 – ProPublica reports that Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, have gone on several luxury trips involving travel subsidized by and stays at properties owned by Harlan Crow, a GOP megadonor. The hospitality was not disclosed on Thomas’ public financial filings with the Supreme Court. The following week ProPublica reports Thomas failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal he made with Crow. On financial disclosure forms released on August 31, Thomas discloses the luxury trips and “inadvertently omitted” information including the real estate deal.

    April 7 – A federal judge in Texas issues a ruling on medication abortion drug mifepristone, saying he will suspend the US Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of it but paused his ruling for seven days so the federal government can appeal. But in a dramatic turn of events, a federal judge in Washington state says in a new ruling shortly after that the FDA must keep medication abortion drugs available in more than a dozen Democratic-led states.

    April 13 – 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is arrested by the FBI in connection with the leaking of classified documents that have been posted online.

    April 18 – Fox News reaches a last-second settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, paying more than $787 million to end a two-year legal battle that publicly shredded the network’s credibility. Fox News’ $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems is the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history involving a media company.

    April 25 – President Biden formally announces his bid for reelection.

    May 2 – More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) go on strike for the first time since 2007. On September 26, the WGA announces its leaders have unanimously voted to authorize its members to return to work following the tentative agreement reached on September 24 between union negotiators and Hollywood’s studios and streaming services, effectively ending the months-long strike.

    May 9 – A Manhattan federal jury finds Trump sexually abused former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996 and awards her $5 million for battery and defamation.

    June 8 – Trump is indicted on a total of 37 counts in the special counsel’s classified documents probe. In a superseding indictment filed on July 27, Trump is charged with one additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts, bringing the total to 40 counts.

    June 16 – Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, is convicted by a federal jury on all 63 charges against him. He is sentenced to death on August 2.

    June 18 – A civilian submersible disappears with five people aboard while voyaging to the wreckage of the Titanic. On June 22, following a massive search for the submersible, US authorities announce the vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” killing all five people aboard.

    June 20 – ProPublica reports that Justice Samuel Alito did not disclose a luxury 2008 trip he took in which a hedge fund billionaire flew him on a private jet, even though the businessman would later repeatedly ask the Supreme Court to intervene on his behalf. In a highly unusual move, Alito preemptively disputed the nature of the report before it was published, authoring an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in which he acknowledged knowing billionaire Paul Singer but downplaying their relationship.

    June 29 – The Supreme Court says colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admission, a landmark decision overturning long-standing precedent.

    July 13 – The FDA approves Opill to be available over-the-counter, the first nonprescription birth control pill in the United States.

    July 14 – SAG-AFTRA, a union representing about 160,000 Hollywood actors, goes on strike after talks with major studios and streaming services fail. It is the first time its members have stopped work on movie and television productions since 1980. On November 8, SAG-AFTRA and the studios reach a tentative agreement, officially ending the strike.

    July 14 – Rex Heuermann, a New York architect, is charged with six counts of murder in connection with the deaths of three of the four women known as the “Gilgo Four.”

    August 1 – Trump is indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, in the 2020 election probe. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

    August 8 – Over 100 people are killed and hundreds of others unaccounted for after wildfires engulf parts of Maui. Nearly 3,000 homes and businesses are destroyed or damaged.

    August 14 – Trump and 18 others are indicted by an Atlanta-based grand jury on state charges stemming from their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat. Trump now faces a total of 91 charges in four criminal cases, in four different jurisdictions — two federal and two state cases. On August 24, Trump surrenders at the Fulton County jail where he is processed and released on bond.

    August 23 – Eight Republican presidential candidates face off in the first primary debate of the 2024 campaign in Milwaukee.

    September 12 – House Speaker McCarthy announces he is calling on his committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden, even as they have yet to prove allegations he directly profited off his son’s foreign business deals.

    September 14 – Hunter Biden is indicted by special counsel David Weiss in connection with a gun he purchased in 2018, the first time in US history the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president. The three charges include making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.

    September 22 – New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez is charged with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment.

    September 28 – Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving female US senator in history, dies at the age of 90. On October 1, California Governor Gavin Newsom announces he will appoint Emily’s List president Laphonza Butler to replace her. Butler will become the first out Black lesbian to join Congress. She will also be the sole Black female senator serving in Congress and only the third in US history.

    September 29 – Las Vegas police confirm Duane Keith Davis, aka “Keffe D,” was arrested for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

    October 3 – McCarthy is removed as House speaker following a 216-210 vote, with eight Republicans voting to remove McCarthy from the post.

    October 25 – After three weeks without a speaker, the House votes to elect Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

    October 25 – Robert Card, a US Army reservist, kills 18 people and injures 13 others in a shooting rampage in Lewiston, Maine. On October 27, after a two-day manhunt, he is found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.

    November 13 – The Supreme Court announces a code of conduct in an attempt to bolster the public’s confidence in the court after months of news stories alleging that some of the justices have been skirting ethics regulations.

    November 19 – Former first lady Rosalynn Carter passes away at the age of 96.

    January 8 – Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro storm the country’s congressional building, Supreme Court and presidential palace. The breaches come about a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election on October 30.

    January 15 – At least 68 people are killed when an aircraft goes down near the city of Pokhara in central Nepal. This is the country’s deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years.

    January 19 – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announces she will not seek reelection in October.

    January 24 – President Volodymyr Zelensky fires a slew of senior Ukrainian officials amid a growing corruption scandal linked to the procurement of war-time supplies.

    February 6 – More than 15,000 people are killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Turkey and Syria.

    February 28 – At least 57 people are killed after two trains collide in Greece.

    March 1 – Bola Ahmed Tinubu is declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election.

    March 10 – Xi Jinping is reappointed as president for another five years by China’s legislature in a ceremonial vote in Beijing, a highly choreographed exercise in political theater meant to demonstrate legitimacy and unity of the ruling elite.

    March 16 – The French government forces through controversial plans to raise the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64.

    April 4 – Finland becomes the 31st member of NATO.

    April 15 – Following months of tensions in Sudan between a paramilitary group and the country’s army, violence erupts.

    May 3 – A 13-year-old boy opens fire on his classmates at a school in Belgrade, Serbia, killing at least eight children along with a security guard. On May 4, a second mass shooting takes place when an attacker opens fire in the village of Dubona, about 37 miles southeast of Belgrade, killing eight people.

    May 5 – The World Health Organization announces Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency.

    May 6 – King Charles’ coronation takes place at Westminster Abbey in London.

    August 4 – Alexey Navalny is sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges, Russian media reports. Navalny is already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum-security facility on fraud and other charges that he says were trumped up.

    September 8 – Over 2,000 people are dead and thousands are injured after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Morocco.

    October 8 – Israel formally declares war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it carried out an unprecedented attack by air, sea and land on October 7.

    November 8 – The Vatican publishes new guidelines opening the door to Catholic baptism for transgender people and babies of same-sex couples.

    November 24 – The first group of hostages is released after Israel and Hamas agree to a temporary truce. Dozens more hostages are released in the following days. On December 1, the seven-day truce ends after negotiations reach an impasse and Israel accuses Hamas of violating the agreement by firing at Israel.

    Awards and Winners

    January 9 – The College Football Playoff National Championship game takes place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Georgia Bulldogs defeat Texas Christian University’s Horned Frogs 65-7 for their second national title in a row.

    January 10 – The 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards are presented live on NBC.

    January 16-29 – The 111th Australian Open takes place. Novak Djokovic defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win a 10th Australian Open title and a record-equaling 22nd grand slam. Belarusian-born Aryna Sabalenka defeats Elena Rybakina in three sets, becoming the first player competing under a neutral flag to secure a grand slam.

    February 5 – The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena.

    February 12 – Super Bowl LVII takes place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. This is the first Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks.

    February 19 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins the 65th Annual Daytona 500 in double overtime. It is the longest Daytona 500 ever with a record of 212 laps raced.

    March 12 – The 95th Annual Academy Awards takes place, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting for the third time.

    March 14 – Ryan Redington wins his first Iditarod.

    April 2 – The Louisiana State University Tigers defeat the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in Dallas, to win the program’s first NCAA women’s basketball national championship.

    April 3 – The University of Connecticut Huskies win its fifth men’s basketball national title with a 76-59 victory over the San Diego State University Aztecs in Houston.

    April 6-9 – The 87th Masters tournament takes place. Jon Rahm wins, claiming his first green jacket and second career major at Augusta National.

    April 17 – The 127th Boston Marathon takes place. The winners are Evans Chebet of Kenya in the men’s division and Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the women’s division.

    May 6 – Mage, a 3-year-old chestnut colt, wins the 149th Kentucky Derby.

    May 8-9 – The 147th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, wins Best in Show.

    May 20 – National Treasure wins the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes.

    May 21 – Brooks Koepka wins the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill County Club in Rochester, New York. This is his third PGA Championship and fifth major title of his career.

    May 22-June 11 – The French Open takes place at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Novak Djokovic wins a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, defeating Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-5 in the men’s final. Iga Świątek wins her third French Open in four years with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory against the unseeded Karolína Muchová in the women’s final.

    May 28 – Josef Newgarden wins the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.

    June 10 – Arcangelo wins the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes.

    June 11 – The 76th Tony Awards takes place.

    June 12 – The Denver Nuggets defeat the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5, to win the series 4-1 and claim their first NBA title in franchise history.

    June 13 – The Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Florida Panthers in Game 5 to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

    June 18 – American golfer Wyndham Clark wins the 123rd US Open at The Los Angeles Country Club.

    July 1-23 – The 110th Tour de France takes place. Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard wins his second consecutive Tour de France title.

    July 3-16 – Wimbledon takes place in London. Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the men’s final, to win his first Wimbledon title. Markéta Vondroušová defeats Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 in the women’s final, to win her first Wimbledon title and become the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to win the tournament.

    July 16-23 – Brian Harman wins the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, Wirral, England, for his first major title.

    July 20-August 20 – The Women’s World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand. Spain defeats England 1-0 to win its first Women’s World Cup.

    August 28-September 10 – The US Open Tennis Tournament takes place. Coco Gauff defeats Aryna Sabalenka, and Novak Djokovic defeats Daniil Medvedev.

    October 2-9 – The Nobel Prizes are announced. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all,” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

    November 1 – The Texas Rangers win the World Series for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5.

    November 5 – The New York City Marathon takes place. Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola sets a course record and wins the men’s race. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri wins the women’s race.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Sandra Day O'Connor Fast Facts | CNN

    Sandra Day O'Connor Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]

    Here is a look at the life of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court.

    Birth date: March 26, 1930

    Death date: December 1, 2023

    Birth place: El Paso, Texas

    Birth name: Sandra Day

    Father: Harry A. Day, rancher

    Mother: Ada Mae (Wilkey) Day, rancher

    Marriage: John Jay O’Connor III (1952-2009, his death)

    Children: Scott, Brian and Jay

    Education: Stanford University, B.A. in Economics, 1950, graduated magna cum laude; Stanford Law School, LL.B, 1952

    In law school, she was on the Stanford Law Review and third in her class.

    Completed law school in two years.

    A proponent of judicial restraint. At her confirmation hearings, she said, “Judges are not only not authorized to engage in executive or legislative functions, they are also ill-equipped to do so.”

    In retirement, O’Connor has campaigned around the United States to abolish elections for judges, believing that a merit system leads to a more qualified and untainted judiciary.

    1952-1953 – County deputy attorney in San Mateo, California.

    1955-1957- Works as a civilian lawyer for the Quartermaster Corps in Germany, while her husband serves with the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps.

    1959 – Opens a law firm in Maryvale, Arizona.

    1965-1969 – Assistant attorney general of Arizona.

    1969 – Appointed to fill a vacant seat in the Arizona Senate.

    1970 – Elected to the Arizona Senate.

    1972 – Reelected to the Arizona Senate and elected majority leader. She is the first woman to hold this office in any state.

    1975-1979 – Superior Court judge of Maricopa County.

    1979-1981 – Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals.

    August 19, 1981 – Formally nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan, to fill the seat of retiring Justice Potter Stewart.

    September 21, 1981 – Confirmed by the US Senate.

    September 25, 1981 – Sworn in as the first female Supreme Court justice of the United States.

    1982 – Writes an opinion invalidating a women-only enrollment policy at a Mississippi State nursing school because it “tends to perpetuate the stereotyped view of nursing as an exclusively women’s job.” Mississippi University for Women, et al., v. Hogan

    October 21, 1988 – Has surgery for breast cancer after being diagnosed earlier in the year.

    1996 – Writes the majority opinion in a 5-4 decision to restrict affirmative action policies and voting districts that are created to boost the political power of minorities. Shaw v. Reno

    1999 – Writes the majority ruling opinion in a 5-4 decision that public school districts that receive federal funds can be held liable when they are “deliberately indifferent” to the sexual harassment of one student by another. Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education

    2000 – Votes with the majority in a 5-4 decision that strikes down state laws banning the medical procedure that critics call “partial-birth” abortion. Stenberg v. Carhart

    December 2000 – Votes in the majority to end the recount in Florida which leads to George W. Bush becoming president of the United States. O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy are the only justices who do not attach their names to either a concurring or dissenting opinion in the case. Bush v. Gore

    January 31, 2006 – Retires from the Supreme Court.

    2008 – Develops the website, OurCourts which later becomes iCivics, a free program for students to learn about civics.

    July 30, 2009 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

    February 25, 2014 – Her book “Out Of Order,” which is based on the history of the Supreme Court, is published.

    October 23, 2018 – Writes a letter revealing that she has been diagnosed with the “beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease.”

    March 19, 2019 – The biography, “First: Sandra Day O’Connor,” is published.

    July 19, 2019 – O’Connor’s former home is listed by the National Park Service in the National Register of Historic Places. The adobe house built by O’Connor and her husband in 1958 in Paradise Valley, Arizona, was relocated to Tempe, Arizona, in 2009. It is the home of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute.

    April 13, 2022 – President Joe Biden signs a bipartisan bill into law to erect statues of O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the grounds of the US Capitol. The legislation stipulates that the statues should be placed within two years of its enactment.

    December 1, 2023 – Dies at age 93 from complications related to dementia.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Wilbur Ross Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    Wilbur Ross Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of former Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr.

    Birth date: November 28, 1937

    Birth place: Weehawken, New Jersey

    Birth name: Wilbur Louis Ross Jr.

    Father: Wilbur Louis Ross Sr., a lawyer

    Mother: Agnes (O’Neill) Ross, a teacher

    Marriages: Hilary (Geary) Ross (October 9, 2004); Betsy (McCaughey) Ross (December 7, 1995-August 2000, divorced); Judith (Nodine) Ross (May 26, 1961-October 1995, divorced)

    Children: with Judith Nodine: Jessica and Amanda

    Education: Yale University, A.B., 1959, Harvard University, M.B.A., 1961

    He was called the “King of Bankruptcy,” as he built new companies from the assets of defaulted ones.

    Ross was known for investing in distressed companies in a wide range of industries including auto parts, steel, textiles and financial services.

    1976-2000 – Works for the investment bank Rothschild Inc. During his tenure, he becomes a top bankruptcy adviser.

    January 1998 – Pledges $2.25 million towards then-wife and Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey Ross’ campaign for governor of New York. He withdraws the funding in September and files for divorce in November.

    2000 – Purchases a small fund he started at Rothschild and opens his own private equity firm, WL Ross & Co. LLC.

    2002 – Establishes the International Steel Group (ISG), with himself as chairman of the board, through a series of mergers and acquisitions starting with Bethlehem Steel Corp.

    December 2003 – ISG goes public.

    2004 – Forms the International Coal Group (ICG) after purchasing the assets of Horizon Natural Resources in a bankruptcy auction.

    October 2004 – Merges ISG with Mittal Steel for $4.5 billion.

    January 2, 2006 – Twelve miners are killed after an explosion at a West Virginia mine operated by an ICG subsidiary. Families of the dead and Randal McCloy, the lone survivor, sue ICG and WL Ross claiming negligence. All of the lawsuits are settled by November 2011.

    April 2010 – Purchases a 21% stake in Richard Branson’s Virgin Money. In November 2011, Ross helps Branson fund a successful bid for the British bank Northern Rock.

    August 2, 2010 – During an interview with Charlie Rose, Ross states that he’s fine with higher taxes on the wealthy as long as the government puts the money to good use.

    June 2011 – Arch Coal, Inc. acquires ICG for $3.4 billion.

    September 2011 – WL Ross is one of five US and Canadian companies that purchase a 34.9% stake in the Bank of Ireland. Ross’ share is reportedly 9.3%.

    March 21, 2016 – Nexeo Solutions, a chemical distribution company, announces their merger agreement with WL Ross Holding Corporation. The merger is valued at nearly $1.6 billion.

    August 24, 2016 – The Securities and Exchange Commission announces that WL Ross will pay a $2.3 million fine for failing to properly disclose fees it charged.

    November 30, 2016 – Ross announces in a CNBC interview that President-elect Donald Trump has asked him to serve as his commerce secretary.

    February 27, 2017 – The Senate confirms Ross as commerce secretary by a 72-27 vote. He is sworn in the next day.

    November 5, 2017 – The New York Times reports that Ross has financial ties to a shipping company whose clients include a Russian energy company co-owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law. Another customer of the shipping company is Venezuela’s state-run oil company, which has been sanctioned by the US government. The information comes from the Paradise Papers, a release of 13.4 million leaked documents.

    November 7, 2017 – Two days after the Paradise Papers are released, Forbes reports that Ross inflated his net worth to be included in the magazine’s annual list of the world’s wealthiest individuals. His name is removed from the magazine’s website. An investigation by the magazine reveals that Ross has likely been providing inaccurate financial information since 2004. Ross claims that the magazine overlooked trusts for his family while tallying his fortune.

    March 2, 2018 – During an appearance on CNBC, Ross says the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs won’t hurt consumers. He holds up a can of Campbell’s soup as he explains that the price of soup will go up less than a penny due to the tariffs.

    March 26, 2018 – Ross announces that a citizenship question will be added to the 2020 census.

    July 12, 2018 – Ross admits to “errors” in failing to divest assets required by his government ethics agreement and says he will sell all his stock holdings. The admission comes after the Office of Government Ethics took Ross to task for what it said were inconsistencies in his financial disclosure forms.

    September 21, 2018 – A federal judge rules that Ross must sit for a deposition in a lawsuit regarding his department’s decision to include a question about citizenship in the 2020 census. The US Supreme Court later blocks the deposition.

    December 19, 2018 – The Center for Public Integrity reports that Ross failed to sell a bank stock holding within the required time frame after his 2017 confirmation and subsequently signed ethics documents indicating the holding had been sold.

    February 15, 2019 – Ross’ financial disclosure form is rejected by the Office of Government Ethics. Ross later releases a statement saying, “While I am disappointed that my report was not certified, I remain committed to complying with my ethics agreement and adhering to the guidance of Commerce ethics officials.”

    June 27, 2019 – The Supreme Court issues a 5-4 ruling that blocks the citizenship question from being added to the census.

    July 17, 2019 – The House votes to hold Ross in criminal contempt over a dispute related to the citizenship question on the census. Attorney General William Barr is also held in contempt. Ross releases a statement in which he dismisses the vote as a political stunt. “House Democrats never sought to have a productive relationship with the Trump Administration, and today’s PR stunt further demonstrates their unending quest to generate headlines instead of operating in good faith with our Department.”

    July 18, 2020 – A department spokesman says that Ross has been hospitalized for “minor, non-coronavirus related issues.” On July 27, the Commerce Department says Ross has been released from the hospital.

    September 28, 2020 – Ross announces that he intends to conclude the 2020 census on October 5. This is more than three weeks earlier than expected and against the October 31 court reinstated end date. Ross asks Census Bureau officials if the earlier date would effectively allow them to produce a final set of numbers during Trump’s current term in office, according to an internal email released the following day as part of a lawsuit.

    October 13, 2020 – The Supreme Court grants a request from the Trump administration to halt the census count while an appeal plays out over a lower court’s order that it continue. The Census Bureau announces that the count is ending on October 15.

    July 19, 2021 – According to a letter made public from Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson to Democratic lawmakers, the Justice Department decides to decline prosecution of Ross for misrepresentations he made to Congress about the origins of the Trump administration’s failed push to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Merrick Garland Fast Facts | CNN

    Merrick Garland Fast Facts | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of Attorney General Merrick Garland, former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

    Birth date: November 13, 1952

    Birth place: Chicago, Illinois

    Birth name: Merrick Brian Garland

    Father: Cyril Garland, founder of an advertising agency

    Mother: Shirley (Horwitz) Garland, community volunteer

    Marriage: Lynn (Rosenman) Garland (1987-present)

    Children: Jessica and Rebecca

    Education: Harvard University, A.B., 1974, graduated summa cum laude; Harvard Law School, J.D., 1977, graduated magna cum laude

    Religion: Jewish

    Garland supervised the investigation of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and oversaw the prosecution of Timothy McVeigh. He also led the investigations of the 1996 Olympics bombing in Atlanta and the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.

    He paid for law school by working in a shoe store, selling his comic books and tutoring undergraduates.

    He was a candidate for the Supreme Court twice before President Barack Obama nominated him, considered for seats ultimately filled by Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

    Tutors elementary school children in reading and math.

    1977-1978 – Clerks for Second Circuit Judge Henry Friendly.

    1978-1979 – Clerks for US Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan.

    1979-1981 – Special assistant to the attorney general.

    1981-1989 – Joins the law firm Arnold & Porter as an associate and is promoted to partner in 1985.

    1989-1992 – Assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia.

    1992-1993 – Returns to Arnold & Porter as partner.

    1993-1994 – Deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.

    1994-1997 – Principal associate deputy attorney general.

    1997-March 2021 – Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Garland serves on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. It took more than a year for Garland to be confirmed in the Senate, as lawmakers questioned whether the vacant seat on the court should be filled at all.

    2013 – Becomes chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

    March 16, 2016 – Obama nominates Garland to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. For months, Senate Republicans refuse to hold confirmation hearings.

    January 3, 2017 – Garland’s nomination expires. He returns to his position as chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

    February 13, 2020 – Garland steps down as chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Sri Srinivasan takes over.

    January 7, 2021 – President-elect Joe Biden announces Garland as his pick for US attorney general.

    March 10, 2021 – The Senate confirms Garland as US attorney general with a 70-30 vote.

    March 11, 2021 – Garland is officially sworn in as the 86th attorney general by Vice President Kamala Harris.

    July 1, 2021 – Garland orders a temporary halt to federal executions as Justice Department senior officials review the policies and procedures for the controversial punishment.

    June 30, 2022 – The Justice Department announces that Garland is scheduled to undergo a medical procedure for benign enlargement of the prostate on July 7. The deputy attorney general will assume the duties of the attorney general during the surgery.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Convicted murderer Mert Ney who stabbed a sex worker to death before he went on terrifying rampage in Sydney CBD has three years shaved from release d… – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Convicted murderer Mert Ney who stabbed a sex worker to death before he went on terrifying rampage in Sydney CBD has three years shaved from release d… – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    [ad_1]

    Convicted murderer Mert Ney who stabbed a sex worker to death before he went on terrifying rampage in Sydney CBD has three years shaved from release date

    • Mert Ney discovers outcome of appeal
    • Three years shaved from earliest possible release date
    • Killed sex worker Michaela Dunn in August 2019

    By NCA NewsWire

    Published: | Updated:

    WARNING: Disturbing content.

    A notorious murderer who was jailed for viciously stabbing a sex worker to death before going on a terrifying rampage through the Sydney CBD has had three years shaved off his earliest possible release on appeal.

    However, Mert Ney, who shocked the city when he went on a bloody rampage through Sydney’s streets in August 2019, still won’t be eligible for release until the middle of the century.

    Ney murdered Michaela Dunn before running through the streets brandishing a knife and stabbing another woman. He was then subdued by brave good Samaritans.

    In Sydney’s Supreme Court in May 2021, Justice Peter Johnson described Ney’s actions as a ‘cruel, brutal and terrifying attack made for no reason’.

    He sentenced the unemployed man to 44 years in jail and set his first possible release on parole at August 2052 after serving 33 years.

    However, Ney earlier this year appealed the length of his sentence.

    Supreme Court

    On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal quashed…

    [ad_2]

    MMP News Author

    Source link