“Maybe this world is another planet’s hell.” -- Aldous Huxley
Deaths
US: 1,043,281 (+603)
World: 6,359,949 (+2085)
Cases
US: 89,507,083 (+147,003)
World: 553,566,290 (+980,115)
Takeaways from the blockbuster victories conservatives secured at the Supreme Court. Here's a look at what the court accomplished this term, and what its decisions mean for the future:
Ending a constitutional right to an abortion
Raising the legal bar for states and localities defending gun safety laws
A climate change case that weakens executive branch agency power
Weakening the walls between church and state
Complicating the path for blocking immigration policies in court
Making it more difficult to hold government officials accountable for unconstitutional conduct
The Christian Right is winning in court while losing in public opinion. There's an influential minority of Americans who envision the United States as a Christian nation. Lately, this group has been making significant progress in its mission. Recent rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade and protecting prayer in schools are chief among these victories. These legal wins for the Christian Right, though, are happening at a time when a growing majority of Americans are strongly opposed to their views…More and more white evangelical Christians are now talking about the U.S. as a Christian nation in ways that verge on or outright embrace Christian nationalism — the idea that the U.S. is a Christian nation and its laws should be rooted in the Bible.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is a threat to the world. And there is no appetite among Republicans to tackle climate change. The court’s right-wing majority is therefore playing an important role in asserting a conservative political agenda to thwart any change a Democratic Congress and President could enact. That’s hard for foreigners to understand when it comes to an issue as urgent as climate change. But it ensures that any efforts to commit the United States to the global climate fight will inevitably lead to years of political battles in Washington. And it is yet another example of how the country’s polarization is threatening its global leadership role.
A quarter of Americans open to taking up arms against government, poll says. The survey indicates that distrust in government varies among party lines. While 56% of participants said they “generally trust elections to be conducted fairly and counted accurately”, Republicans, Democrats and independents were dramatically split on this point. Nearly 80% of Democrats voiced overall trust in elections, but that number dipped to 51% among independents and a mere 33% of Republicans. Per the poll, 49% of Americans concurred that they “more and more feel like a stranger in my own country”. Again, this number reflected sharp political divisions: the sentiment was held by 69% of self-described “strong Republicans”, 65% of self-described “very conservative” persons, and 38% of “strong Democrats”…Meanwhile, those polled voiced negative sentiments about persons from opposing political parties. Seventy-three per cent of self-described Republican voters agreed that “Democrats are generally bullies who want to impose their political beliefs on those who disagree,” and “an almost identical percentage of Democrats (74%) express that view of Republicans”. — We are two countries occupying the same geographical area. Eventually, something will break.
As Ohio restricts abortions, 10-year-old girl travels to Indiana for procedure. On Monday three days after the Supreme Court issued its groundbreaking decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, took a call from a colleague, a child abuse doctor in Ohio. Hours after the Supreme Court action, the Buckeye state had outlawed any abortion after six weeks. Now this doctor had a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant. — This roll back of healthcare for girls and women will have devastating consequences.
Maternal poverty levels are higher in trigger law states. Data shows that women in most trigger law states are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to be below the poverty line. On average, nearly 1 of every 4 women who gave birth between 2015 and 2020 in 13 states with pending state-level abortion laws post-Roe v. Wade are below the poverty line, compared to 1 in 5 women in states where abortion is legal, according to an NBC News analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
Google says it will delete location history for visits to abortion clinics, medical sites. The tech giant didn’t say how it would respond to potential requests from law enforcement but said it would “oppose demands that are overly broad or otherwise legally objectionable.”
Arizona state senators subpoenaed by DOJ in Capitol riot probe. State Senate President Karen Fann and state Sen. Kelly Townsend each received what appeared to be matching subpoenas from the FBI last week.
Trump social media firm subpoenaed by feds, stock regulators. Donald Trump’s social media company and some of its employees received subpoenas from both a federal grand jury and securities regulators, according to a public disclosure Friday, possibly delaying or even killing a deal promising a cash infusion needed to take on Twitter.
The Supreme Court gave states more power over tribal land. Tribes say that undermines their autonomy. The decision affects how crimes are prosecuted on reservations. It upends nearly 200 years of precedents recognizing the right of tribal nations to self-govern.
Covid infecting one in 30 in the UK, says ONS. People can be infected even if they've had Covid before, but jabs are helping to protect against serious illness.
McConnell issues major warning to Democrats: GOP will walk away from China competition bill if they push party-line economic plan. “Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill,” McConnell tweeted, referring to the China competes bill acronym that stands for the United States Innovation and Competition Act. McConnell’s threat comes as Democrats are pursuing a bill that would include capping the price of prescription drugs – as well as potentially energy and climate provisions – through the budget process known as reconciliation, which allows them to pass legislation along straight party lines. -- McConnell had damaged America more than any other person in the last 10 years.
Virginia lawsuits indicate pattern of schools ignoring reported sexual assaults. A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginia’s largest school system with allegations that it ignored students’ accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges.
Texas education officials proposed changing "slavery" to "involuntary relocation" when teaching second graders. "While the proposed standards clearly described enslaved peoples in colonial times, the draft description 'involuntary relocation' for African peoples who were sold into slavery did not paint a clear or full picture," Hardy said. "As a result, the SBOE voted unanimously to send the language back to be reworked. This board is committed to the truth, which includes accurate descriptions of historical events."
Wis. school board members dismissed book about Japanese American incarceration as being ‘unbalanced,’ parents say. Parents are pushing back after a committee whose members sit on a Wisconsin school board did not move forward with approving a book about Japanese American incarceration during World War II for a sophomore English literature class. Muskego-Norway School Board members said including the book would require “balance” with perspective from the U.S. government, according to two parents in the district…“What she said to me was that we actually need an ‘American’ perspective,’” said Zielke, who said she pointed out that those who were incarcerated were, in fact, Americans, before the conversation grew increasingly heated. “She clarified and said that she felt that we needed the perspective of the American government and why Japanese internment happened. And so then again, we had raised voices at this point. I told her specifically, I said, ‘The other side is racism.’”
As Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law takes effect, schools roll out LGBTQ restrictions. Some school officials have been accused of warning teachers not to wear rainbow articles of clothing and to remove pictures of their same-sex spouses from their desks. -- Republicans are such shitty human beings.
Monkeypox cases triple in Europe, WHO says, Africa concerned. The World Health Organization’s Europe chief warned Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the last two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease does not become entrenched on the continent. And African health authorities said they are treating the expanding monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, calling on rich countries to share limited supplies of vaccines to avoid equity problems seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO Europe chief Dr. Hans Kluge said in a statement that increased efforts were needed despite the U.N. health agency’s decision last week that the escalating outbreak did not yet warrant being declared a global health emergency.
Torture is a widespread practice in Mexico, say activists, victims. Human rights attorneys and groups in Mexico and abroad are denouncing what they see as widespread use of torture at the hands of law enforcement, noting that official figures don't come close to the actual number of cases…"It is difficult, it is a reality that is still very painful for our country to know that the agents of the law, or those who are in charge of complying with it, commit crimes. That is, they pick up people or disappear people to torture them and produce evidence."
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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