June 30, 2022 1:42 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the court’s 116th justice and took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement took effect at noon. Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts. Jackson says she’s “truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation” and extends thanks to her new colleagues for their “gracious welcome.” (ABC News)
June 30, 2022 10:39 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has ruled that the Biden administration properly ended a Trump-era policy forcing some U.S. asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico. The justices’ 5-4 decision for the administration came in a case about the “Remain in Mexico” policy under President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office in January 2021. But lower courts ordered it reinstated in response to a lawsuit from Republican-led Texas and Missouri. The current administration has sent far fewer people back to Mexico than did the Trump administration.
June 30, 2022 10:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court has limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote Thursday, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. Instead, the EPA is limited to plant-by-plant regulation, the high court said. The court’s ruling could complicate the administration’s plans to combat climate change.
June 30, 2022 7:39 am
ROSTRAVER, Pa. — (WPXI) – Sweeney’s Steakhouse in Rostraver Township announced on social media that it will be closing its doors after nearly 26 years. Restaurant owner Debra Hardy posted to the Sweeney’s Steakhouse Facebook page saying in part, “After nearly 26 years of business, we have decided to permanently close our doors, effective immediately. We would like to thank our loyal customers who have supported us throughout the years and will cherish the many wonderful and fun memories that were had.” This news comes just days after two people were shot outside the restaurant on Sunday. The two victims were taken to a hospital in critical condition, and two people have been charged with the shooting. Hardy said in the post that the restaurant has been up for sale for over a year. She ended the post by writing, “I am looking forward to retirement and the future ahead.”
June 30, 2022 4:15 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand’s government has declared that American far-right groups the Proud Boys and The Base are terrorist organizations. The two groups join 18 others including Islamic State that have been given the official terrorist designation, making it illegal in New Zealand to fund, recruit or participate in the groups, and obligating authorities to take action against them. The U.S. groups are not known to be active in New Zealand, although the South Pacific nation has become more attuned to threats from the far right after a white supremacist shot and killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019.
June 30, 2022 4:14 am
YAHIDNE, Ukraine (AP) – As the war grinds on in Ukraine, communities that were badly damaged early in the invasion are starting to rebuild. Villages such as Yahidne in the northern Chernihiv region are gradually returning to life a few months after Russian troops retreated. Now people are repairing homes, and the sound of construction tools fills the air. Volunteers from all over Ukraine, and from other countries, are coming to help because there is so much to do before another winter approaches. One volunteer rebuilding group is called Dobrobat – a name that combines “dobro,” or kindness, with “bat” for battalion.
June 30, 2022 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Last week Clarence Thomas achieved two long-sought goals: expanding gun rights and overturning Roe v. Wade’s nationwide protection for abortion. And he called on his colleagues to do more, to revisit the Supreme Court’s cases acknowledging rights to same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception. After 30 years on the court, Thomas’ influence has never been greater, and yet he remains a lightning rod for controversy. That includes recent questions about his wife’s role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his decision not to recuse himself from cases that involved it. Thomas has given no indication the criticism bothers him, or that he’s going anywhere.
June 30, 2022 4:12 am
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s parliament has voted to dissolve itself, sending the country to the polls for the fifth time in less than four years. The Knesset voted on Thursday in favor of disbanding, just over a year after the government was formed. Yair Lapid, Israel’s foreign minister and architect of the outgoing coalition government, will become the country’s caretaker prime minister at midnight. He will take over from Naftali Bennett, whose ideologically diverse government ousted longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in power. The coalition of ideologically diverse parties was the first to include an Arab faction.
June 30, 2022 4:11 am
LAS VEGAS, Honduras (AP) – As families of the 67 people packed into a tractor-trailer and abandoned in Texas began to confirm their worst fears and talk of their relatives, a common narrative of pursuing a better life took shape from Honduras to Mexico. Children set out hoping to earn enough to support their siblings and parents. Young adults who sacrificed to attend college thinking it would lead to success left their country disillusioned. A man already working in the U.S. who returned to visit his wife and children decided to take a cousin on his return to the U.S. More than 50 of those migrants left in the sweltering heat on the outskirts of San Antonio on Monday have died, while others remain hospitalized.
June 30, 2022 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A new poll shows that about half of Americans say former President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in what happened on Jan. 6. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 48% of U.S. adults believe Trump should be held accountable for what happened during the deadly Capitol attack. The poll was conducted after the first five public hearings from the House committee investigating Jan. 6 and before Tuesday’s surprise hearing with former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. The explosive testimony proved to be the committee’s most damning evidence yet to link the former president to a federal crime.
