The Full Belmonte, 7/3/2023
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group portrait (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/FILE)
COURTS
After Friday’s SCOTUS decisions, here’s where things stand
“In 370 days, Supreme Court conservatives dashed decades of legal precedents, including abortion, affirmative action, religious accommodations, and gay rights. The justices have begun their summer break and will return the first Monday in October. Read more.
Recent developments:
The man named in the Supreme Court’s gay rights ruling said he did not request a wedding website as referenced by web designer Lorrie Smith’s attorneys. The ‘Stewart’ in the case told The Associated Press that he didn’t know his name was invoked in the lawsuit until last week.
After last week's affirmative action decision, legacy college admissions are coming under renewed scrutiny. Critics call the practice affirmative action for white people.
After the Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away $400 billion in student loan debt, on Friday he vowed to push ahead with a new plan providing relief for millions of borrowers.
In a win for transgender rights, the Supreme Court on Friday declined to review a first-of-its-kind ruling from a federal appeals court that found people with gender dysphoria are entitled to protections from the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The Ohio Supreme Court will take another look at the legality of the state’s congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday set aside a ruling striking down the districts.” [AP News]
POLITICS
Moms for Liberty’s focus on schools is stirring up political clashes
“Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, is looking to expand. They have argued against instruction on systemic racism and gender identity. During its annual summit over the weekend in Philadelphia, the group’s co-founder confirmed they are developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country. Read more.
Why this matters:
The group has amassed widespread conservative support, making it likely that school board elections will be some of the most contentious political fights next year.
The group has been labeled an ‘extremist’ organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center for allegedly harassing community members, advancing anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and fighting to scrub diverse and inclusive material from lesson plans.” [AP News]
15 minors among those shot in Baltimore
Tables are left toppled yesterday in the area of a mass shooting in Baltimore. Photo: Julio Cortez/AP
“Two people were killed and 28 others were shot — including 15 minors, two of whom are just 13 — when gunfire erupted at an annual block party in Baltimore at 12:35 a.m. yesterday.
The shooting was the largest in recent memory in a city struggling with violent crime, The Washington Post reports.
No arrests have been made. Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley, who just took the helm in June, said it isn't clear if the victims were targeted.
Killed were 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzales, a female, and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi, a male.
Those who survived were identified as two 13-year-olds, one 14-year-old, three 15-year-olds, five 16-year-olds, four 17-year-olds, five 18-year-olds, three 19-year-olds, and one each who were 20, 22, 23, 31 and 32.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott speaks yesterday near the scene of the mass shooting, with Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley next to him. Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Mayor Brandon Scott, age 39, asked anyone with information to come forward to help locate the "cowards" responsible for the shootings in the city's Brooklyn neighborhood.
‘I could stand here today and tell you that homicides in Baltimore are down 28%,’ Scott said at an afternoon briefing. ‘But who cares today?’
Scott called for a new focus on ‘access to illegal guns’ — and wants the same attention on this tragedy as if it had happened in rural America.” [Axios]
Hundreds of new laws took effect July 1. What are they?
“The start of the month meant hundreds of new laws went into effect in states across the country. While the vast majority of this legislation will not change the day-to-day lives of most people, there are some new state laws that will have a much more significant impact on both residents and visitors. More than 200 laws took effect in Florida on Saturday, including changes to a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and a law dubbed by critics as the "don't say period" bill because it could prohibit the teaching of the menstrual cycle before the sixth grade.” Read more at USA Today
More lawmakers are embracing reparations for Black people
“Ahead of the July Fourth holiday, more than 45% of Americans said racism is a big problem or the biggest problem facing the United States, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll. Polling shows reparations for slavery are just as divisive as other issues along lines of race, but in recent years the subject has been injected with new vigor from activists exhausted with being ping-ponged between protest and vote strategies.” Read more at USA Today
Morning-after vending machines
A vending machine is stocked with emergency contraceptives at Odegaard Undergraduate Library on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. Photo: Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP
“Need Plan B? Tap your credit card and enter B6.
Since last November, a library at the University of Washington in Seattle has featured a vending machine stocked with ibuprofen, pregnancy tests and the morning-after pill, AP reports.
Why it matters: Such machines have appeared on campuses around the country in the year since the Supreme Court struck down Roe.
What's happening: The UW machine offers boxes of generic Plan B for $12.60 — about a quarter of the cost of name-brand versions in stores.
More than 640 have been sold.
The big picture: Some states are passing abortion bans. So the machines are part of a push by colleges to ensure emergency contraceptives are cheap and widely available.
By the numbers: 39 universities in 17 states have emergency-contraceptive vending machines, and at least 20 more are considering them, according to the American Society for Emergency Contraception.
Some machines charge as little as $7 per box — just above wholesale, compared with pharmacy prices that go up to $50.
Some machines, including one at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, are in states where abortion is largely banned.
Over-the-counter Plan B is legal in all 50 states.” [Axios]
WORLD NEWS
USAID says it’s horrified by conditions in Ethiopia after massive theft of food aid
“The United States humanitarian agency told The Associated Press it is horrified by conditions in Ethiopia, where local officials have reported hundreds of hunger deaths in recent weeks after the U.S. and the United Nations paused food aid for one-sixth of the country’s population over massive theft of the aid. Read more.
Why this matters:
In an unusually strong statement sent to the AP, the U.S. Agency for International Development called the aid suspension ‘wrenching’ and a measure of last resort because of the ‘extreme scale and coordination of food aid diversion identified across the country.’ U.S. officials have also said in private that this could be the biggest-ever theft of aid in any country.
The U.S. and U.N. have not said who was involved in the theft, which was first discovered in March in the northern Tigray region when tons of food meant for needy people were instead found for sale in sacks branded with the U.S. flag. Aid workers said Ethiopian government officials are deeply involved, something the government has dismissed as harmful propaganda.
With 20 million people across Ethiopia dependent on such aid, alongside 800,000 refugees from Somalia and elsewhere, independent humanitarian groups warn that even a quick resolution to the dispute could see mass starvations.” [Axios]
“Seoul’s Pride parade went ahead on Saturday after months of wrangling with officials who had rejected an application to hold the event at its usual spot in front of City Hall. Locals and tourists cheered as the event got under way, with revelers draped in rainbow flags, walking under colorful umbrellas or fanning themselves after a heat warning was issued earlier in the day. Hundreds of police and organizers lined the parade route, while some anti-gay protesters heckled the crowds.” [Bloomberg]
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival on Saturday. Photographer: Ahn Young-joon/AP
Climate changes travel
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“Many global destinations that were once ideal for summer travel are now on the decline because of extreme heat.
Why it matters: Some of the world's natural wonders have been so severely altered by our warming planet that it's getting too late to save them, Axios' Erica Pandey and Andrew Freedman write.
What's happening: Popular spots in Italy, Greece, France and Spain, which typically see peak tourist traffic around July, are notching record temperatures and even dealing with wildfires, the N.Y. Times reports(subscription).
As a result, people are choosing cooler places — including Amsterdam and Copenhagen — for summer and saving warmer countries for September or October, travel agents told The Times.
Coastal towns in New Jersey and Florida that are typically popular in the summer are being hit with "sunny-day floods" — flooding that's due to rising seas, rather than storms.
The stakes: Some of the world's most stunning destinations have already suffered drastic change.
The world lost about 15% of its coral reefs in the last decade, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network estimates.
In Montana, some of Glacier National Park's glaciers have lost more than 80% of their size in the past 50 years, CNN reports.
What to watch: Climate change is introducing wholly new destinations that were previously too cold to visit but have warmed enough for tourists.
Greenland is building three new airports to accommodate more international flights as it sees a rise in visitors.” [Axios]
Tesla cuts pay off
Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images
“Tesla announced yesterday that it delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter — topping market estimates, as price cuts and U.S. federal credits helped make its electric vehicles more affordable.
Why it matters: Tesla CEO Elon Musk in April doubled down on price cuts, saying the electric-vehicle maker would prioritize sales growth ahead of profit amid rising competition, Reuters reports.
By the numbers: The world's most valuable automaker delivered 466,140 vehicles from April to June — up 10% from Q1, and up 83% from a year earlier.”
Fake 5-star reviews could soon become illegal.
What to know: The FTC proposed new rules Friday to target businesses that buy, sell and manipulate reviews. They could be fined $50,000 for each fake.
Why this matters: Up to 40% of online reviews may not be genuine. There are businesses dedicated to generating fake reviews for scammers, and AI could make the problem worse.
Read this story at Washington Post
Musk-Zuck bout gets real
“A "cage match" between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg looked like a social-media stunt — but now is heading toward for-real physical combat, the N.Y. Times' Ryan Mac and Mike Isaac report.
For the past 12 days, the two tech billionaires and their advisers have been negotiating behind the scenes with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White.
White told The Times he has talked to the two separately every night about organizing a showdown. On Tuesday, White said, he was ‘on the phone with those two until 12:45 in the morning ... They both want to do it.’
The two have agreed there'll be a charity component.
Their preferred location is Vegas.
Musk tweeted late last week: ‘Some chance fight happens in [Rome's] Colosseum.’” [Axios]
1 food thing: Pricier cookouts
Data: National Retail Federation. Chart: Axios Visuals
“Americans plan to spend an average of $93.34 per person on food for Fourth of July picnics, Axios' Hope King writes from an annual survey by the National Retail Federation.
That's up from last year's record $84.12. The roughly 10% increase is almost double food price inflation (5.8% as of May).
The top food categories consumers plan to buy are hamburgers (83%),hot dogs/pork or beef brats (76%), chicken (52%) ... and vegetables (45%).” [Axios]
SPORTS NEWS
“A long-awaited change: Wimbledon is adjusting its all-white dress code to ease the stress of women’s periods, The Athletic reports. Players say it’s about time.
Foes to friends: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova had a 15-year tennis rivalry. Sally Jenkins at The Washington Post writes about how they bonded while having cancer at the same time.
Closing the loop: The golfer Rickie Fowler won his first PGA Tour title in four years, The Athletic reports.
Unlikely partnership: Chicago gave its streets to NASCAR for racing, but the weekend was rainy and the reviews were mixed, The Times writes.” [New York Times]