Demonstrators hold up signs at a rally this month in Washington, DC, calling on the Senate to pass the For the People Act.
“The sweeping voting rights bill championed by Democrats failed to advance in the Senate yesterday after a dead-even 50-50 vote, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move it forward. This wasn’t too much of a surprise, since Senate Republicans signaled they wouldn’t support it. Still, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Republicans’ united block of the bill ‘indefensible’ and ‘ridiculous.’ The bill aimed to counter efforts by GOP-led state legislatures to pass restrictive voting laws after the 2020 presidential election. Now, Democrats will take on the issue from other angles. The Senate Rules Committee plans to hold a series of hearings, including in Georgia, calling for passage of new legislation. Dems also may look to push the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a different bill that shores up provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” Read more at CNN
“TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by the pandemic, are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public. They are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians who hope to save face by holding the games and the International Olympic Committee with billions of dollars on the line on the other.
Japan is famous for running on consensus. But the decision to proceed with the Olympics — and this week to permit some fans, if only locals — has shredded it.
‘We have been cornered into a situation where we cannot even stop now. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not,’ Kaori Yamaguchi, a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee and a bronze medalist in judo in 1988, wrote in a recent editorial published by the Kyodo news agency. ‘The IOC also seems to think that public opinion in Japan is not important.’
Support for going ahead seems to be increasing, but there’s persistent opposition with small street protests planned on Wednesday, one month before the July 23 opening. Much of that concern stems from qualms about the health risks. While the number of new cases has been receding in Tokyo, only about 7% of Japanese are fully vaccinated — and even though the government is now supercharging its vaccine drive after a slow start, the vast majority of the population still won’t be immunized when the games start.” Read more at AP News
“Births in the U.S. have generally fallen since the Great Depression as Americans started getting married later and putting off having kids. That only grew more pronounced during the pandemic: Nine months after the declaration of a national emergency, U.S. births fell by 8% in a month. States such as California and New York led the decline as people feared going to hospitals and lacked nearby family support because of lockdown restrictions.” Read more at Bloomberg
“WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is signaling that she is poised to create a new committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, pushing closer to a partisan investigation of the attack after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an independent probe….
The new committee would come after the Senate voted earlier this month to block legislation to form a bipartisan, independent commission investigating the attack by former President Donald Trump’s supporters. Pelosi said afterward that the House would step up investigations of the riot, in which a violent mob overran police, broke into the building and hunted for lawmakers to try to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
A new select committee would put majority Democrats in charge of the investigation. More than three dozen Republicans in the House and seven Senate Republicans said they wanted to avoid a partisan probe, and they supported the legislation to form a commission, which would have been modeled after a similar panel that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks.” Read more at AP News
“Four Saudis who helped kill the dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 had paramilitary training in the U.S. the previous year.” Read more at New York Times
“Texas Republicans will make another effort to restrict voting after Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the state Legislature.” Read more at New York Times
“NEW YORK (AP) — Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams appeared to take a fragile lead Tuesday in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, but it could be weeks before it becomes clear who is actually on top in the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting.
As ballot counting began Tuesday, a plurality of Democrats ranked Adams as their first choice in the race.
It was tough to tell, though, whether that lead would hold. As many as 207,500 absentee ballots remained to be counted. Voters’ full rankings of the candidates have yet to be taken into account. It could be July before a winner emerges in the Democratic contest.
Adams, a former police captain who co-founded a leadership group for Black officers, was leading former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia and former de Blasio administration lawyer Maya Wiley.” Read more at AP News
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the most anticipated hearing in the case in years, Britney Spears is expected to address a judge overseeing the conservatorship that has controlled the pop star’s money and affairs since 2008.
If Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny does not make a last-minute decision Wednesday to seal the proceedings, Spears’ words will be heard in open court for the first time in the 13-year conservatorship.
The hearing has been eagerly awaited by the fans in the so-called #FreeBritney movement, who feel she is being controlled unfairly against her will and are likely to gather outside the courthouse in large numbers.
Spears, who is scheduled to take part remotely, asked for the hearing so she could address the court directly.” Read more at AP News
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Without speaking a word or scratching a pen across paper, President Joe Biden drove up the pressure on Big Tech companies already smarting under federal and congressional investigations, epic antitrust lawsuits and near-constant condemnation from politicians of both parties.
Biden last week elevated a fierce critic of Big Tech, antitrust legal scholar Lina Khan, to head the powerful Federal Trade Commission. The surprise move was a clear signal of a tough stance toward tech giants Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and came as sweeping bipartisan legislation advanced in the House that could curb their market power and force them to sever their dominant platforms from their other lines of business.
The House Judiciary Committee is digging into the legislation in a public drafting session Wednesday, an initial step in what promises to be a strenuous slog through Congress. Many Republican lawmakers denounce the market dominance of Big Tech but don’t support a wholesale revamp of the antitrust laws. Republicans have relentlessly hurled accusations of anti-conservative bias against the social media platforms and may demand targeted legislative sanctions in return for their support.” Read more at AP News
“The U.S. housing market is still as hot as ever.
The tight supply of homes and low mortgage rates continue to drive bidding wars and price increases. Median existing home prices have risen to more than $350,000 for the first time, a price almost a quarter higher than this time last year. Lower-income buyers are getting squeezed out of the market as prices stretch higher, and buyers increasingly put a minimum of 20% down to buy their homes. Inventory did increase by 7% last month compared with the month prior, helped in part by more building activity, but home builders are limited by land supply and material costs.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“$8 billion — The amount in government grants that U.S. airports are set to receive as part of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 aid package signed into law in March. Airports can use the money to cover operating costs, to service debt or for new expenses related to preventing the spread of Covid-19, including the installation of air filters. Airports must commit to keeping 90% of employees as a condition of accepting the funds.
3 — The number of mass coral-bleaching events the Great Barrier Reef has experienced in the past five years. Bleaching, which occurs when water temperatures rise, can kill corals. One study last year estimated the reef had lost more than half its corals since the 1990s. Unesco, the U.N. body that oversees World Heritage sites, says Australia’s center-right government hasn't done enough to protect the reef from the effects of climate change. Australian Environment Minister Sussan Ley said Unesco didn't use the latest data in its recommendation and that more recent data show some recovery from the bleaching events.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Several states averaged seven or fewer new COVID cases per 100,000 people over the past week, while Missouri had 76 new cases per 100,000 people, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes.
For context: At peak COVID, South Dakota saw more than 160 new cases per 100,000 people each day. It logged 4 over the last week.
Between the lines: The wide variation in states' vaccination rates means that stark disparities in case rates will be America's norm.” Read at Axios
“France’s Macron tightens control over mosques. The country is seeking to rein in Islamic organizations, citing a need to root out members who incite violence or hatred. President Emmanuel Macron is redrawing the line that separates religion and state, demanding that mosques formally accept the nation’s secular values and avoid politics.: Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The FDA approved an Alzheimer's drug despite concerns. Agency statisticians said clinical trial data for the Biogen drug fell short of the proof typically required to put a new product on the market. But, ultimately, officials decided the evidence was strong enough to allow doctors and patients to decide for themselves whether to use it, according to newly released internal memos.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“President Joe Biden will deliver remarks Wednesday on his administration's efforts to curb gun violence . The speech comes as Republicans intend to seize on a surge of crime to attack Democrats in their bid to take back control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. Specifically, public safety experts fear gun violence will worsen this summer, when it historically spikes with the arrival of warm weather. Biden's renewed effort builds off an initial set of actions he took in April strengthening regulations on ghost guns, stabilizing braces that make firearms more lethal, and investing money in community violence intervention programs. The president has also supported additional funding for community policing.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Mark Peel was one of a handful of California cooks who emerged in the 1970s and ’80s to create a looser, farm-focused style of cuisine. He died at 66.” Read more at New York Times
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks in Atlanta in 1960. Photo: AP
“The estate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has reached an agreement with HarperCollins Publishers for rights to King's literary archive, AP reports.
The big picture: With the new agreement, HarperCollins Publishers — which released King's first book more than 60 years ago — plans to release works based on King's life and writing, ranging from children’s stories to graphic novels, per AP.” Read more at Axios
“Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones will not join the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘without the protection and security of tenure,’ her legal team said in a letter to school officials.
The letter, first reported by NC Policy Watch, comes amid mounting pressure on the university’s board of trustees to resolve an ongoing dispute with Hannah-Jones, who was recruited by the university and set to become the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media in July.
According to the letter, Hannah-Jones understood the position would come with the job-protecting designation of tenure, just as it did for previous professionals who have taken on the Knight Chair professorship. Hannah-Jones’s bid for tenure won support from journalism faculty and others on campus.
But the university’s board has not yet voted on a proposal to grant tenure to the award-winning New York Times journalist, known for her groundbreaking work on the 1619 Project, which explored the legacy of slavery in the United States. A trustee raised questions about the proposal earlier this year, and the board chair said the matter never came up for a vote.
Instead, Hannah-Jones was offered a five-year contract with a possibility of a tenure review within that time, Susan King, dean of the journalism school, said last month. That plan did not require trustees’ approval.
Black female professors voice solidarity with journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones in UNC tenure showdown
The university has not explained why its board has not voted on the proposal that would grant Hannah-Jones tenure upon starting her position, according to the letter from her legal team.” Read more at Washington Post
“More than 150 health-care workers who did not comply with a Houston-based hospital system’s vaccine mandate have been fired or resigned, more than a week after a federal judge upheld the policy.
Houston Methodist — one of the first health systems to require the coronavirus shots— terminated or accepted the resignations of 153 workers Tuesday, spokeswoman Gale Smith said. Smith declined to specify how many were in each category.
The hospital system announced April 1 that staffers would need to be vaccinated to keep their jobs. While 24,947 workers did get vaccinated by earlier deadlines, Houston Methodist suspended 178 workers who had failed to do so on June 7, giving them an additional two weeks to prove they had been immunized. Twenty-five of those employees did get vaccinated, Smith said.” Read more at Washington Post
“Apple’s fight for control over apps moves to Congress and EU. The tech giant is stepping up its fight to maintain tight controls over which apps can be installed onto customers’ iPhones, arguing that those that don't come via its App Store would jeopardize privacy and security protections. But political pressure to upend those restrictions is growing.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Millions of people with felonies can now vote after widespread reform.And most don’t know it.” Read more at USA Today
“'Love is love:' Sesame Street is making history with the first married same-sex couple to be recurring characters on the longtime favorite children's series.” Read more at USA Today
“Vanessa Bryant has reached a confidential settlement to end her lawsuit against those she blamed for the death of her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna.” Read more at USA Today
“The march to an NBA championship continues for two more teams Wednesday, as the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks face off in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Both the Bucks and the Hawks are coming off of taxing Game 7 road upsets in the last round, with Atlanta beating the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee upending the Brooklyn Nets. The No. 3 seeded Bucks will return home to host the No. 4 seeded Hawks at 8:30 p.m. ET. In the regular season, Milwaukee took home wins in two of its three matchups with Atlanta.” Read more at USA Today
“India Walton is poised to become the first woman and first socialist to lead Buffalo, New York's second-largest city.” Read more at USA Today
“One in four couples sleep in separate bedrooms. But ‘there's still shame attached to it for some people,’ says one expert.” Read more at USA Today
“Connecticut became the 19th state to legalize marijuana.” Read more at Axios
“Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper, owned by jailed media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, will close on June 26 after authorities moved to block access to its bank accounts.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Multiple countries who eagerly inoculated their people with China's COVID vaccines face devastating new case surges.
Why it matters: This revelation undermines China’s vaccine diplomacy, which Beijing has prioritized in the developing world to win influence and commercial deals.
China loved the contrast with the U.S., which has been slow in allocating surplus vaccines abroad.
Now, developing countries are likely to look increasingly to the West, and not to Beijing, for vaccines.
‘In the Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain and Mongolia, 50 to 68 percent of the populations have been fully inoculated, outpacing the United States,’ the N.Y. Times reports.
‘All four ranked among the top 10 countries with the worst Covid outbreaks as recently as last week.’
‘And all four are mostly using shots made by two Chinese vaccine makers, Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech.’
By comparison, Israel used Pfizer and has 4.95 cases per million people, versus the Seychelles at 716 per million.
The bottom line: China has been offering countries tens of millions of vaccine doses.
But if people in these countries don’t want the shots, the U.S. could be back in the driver’s seat on vaccine diplomacy.” Read more at Axios
“MADRID — Spain’s government on Tuesday approved pardons to a group of separatists serving long prison sentences for their involvement in a failed attempt to form a breakaway state in the northeastern region of Catalonia, a major olive branch in a conflict that has long divided the country.
The pardons, approved by the Spanish Cabinet and announced at a news conference, made good on recent promises by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to reconcile with a separatist movement that in 2017 rocked Spain with an independence referendum. Spain’s courts declared the vote illegal and the government ordered a crackdown, confiscating ballots and even sending in riot squads to beat many who tried to vote.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Blocked sites | The U.S. shut down three dozen Iranian websites including state-run media in retaliation for an alleged attempt to influence American elections, a move likely to increase friction as diplomats seek to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. It comes before a deadline expires tomorrow for a monitoring pact between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which if not renewed could hurt efforts to ease tensions in the Persian Gulf.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Iran said the U.S. had agreed to lift sanctions on its oil industry and banks, but the main issues stalling efforts to restart the nuclear pact are linked to penalties that go back to 2015.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Truce possible | British and European Union officials are increasingly optimistic they’ll avert a post-Brexit trade war and strike a truce in the dispute over checks on goods moving into Northern Ireland. With the two sides locked in an argument that media dubbed the ‘sausage wars,’ London has asked for the EU to extend the grace period on a ban against the sale of chilled meats and fresh sausages to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K.” Read more at Bloomberg