Supreme Court: Biden can end Trump-era asylum policy
The Supreme Court says the Biden administration can scrap a Trump-era immigration policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration courts. It’s a victory for a White House that still must address the growing number of people seeking refuge at America’s southern border. The ruling will have little immediate impact because the policy has been seldom applied under President Joe Biden. He reinstated it under a court order in December. His predecessor, Donald Trump, launched the “Remain in Mexico” policy and fully embraced it. Two conservative justices joined their three liberal colleagues in siding with the White House.
Trump group pays for Jan. 6 lawyers
Former President Donald Trump’s political organization and his allies have paid for or promised to finance the legal fees of more than a dozen witnesses called in the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, raising legal and ethical questions about whether the former president may be influencing testimony with a direct bearing on him. The arrangement drew new scrutiny this week after Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide in his White House, made an explosive appearance before the House panel, providing damning new details about Trump’s actions and statements on the day of the deadly riot.
Supreme Court to hear case on state legislatures’ power
The Supreme Court announced Thursday it would hear a case that could radically reshape how federal elections are conducted by giving state legislatures independent power, not subject to review by state courts, to set election rules in conflict with state constitutions. The case has the potential to affect aspects of the 2024 election, including by giving the justices power to influence the presidential race if disputes arise over how state courts interpret state election laws. In taking up the case, the court could upend nearly every facet of the American electoral process, allowing state legislatures to set new rules with few checks against overreach.
Biden vows to back Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’ despite economic toll
President Joe Biden vowed Thursday that the United States and NATO would support Ukraine for as long as necessary to repel Russia’s invasion, despite waves of economic pain rolling through world markets and voters’ homes, saying it was the Kremlin that had miscalculated in its aggression, and not the West in opposing it. Speaking at a news conference at the close of a NATO summit in Madrid, Biden said that Americans and the rest of the world would have to pay more for gasoline and energy as a price of containing Russian aggression. How long? “As long as it takes, so Russia cannot in fact defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine,” he said.
Israel’s Parliament dissolves, paving way for 5th election in 4 years
Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve Parliament on Thursday, collapsing the government, installing a caretaker prime minister and sending an exhausted electorate to a fifth election in less than four years. The vote will give Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing former prime minister and current opposition leader, a chance to regain power. But while polls suggest that Netanyahu’s party, Likud, will remain the largest party in Parliament, they also show that his wider right-wing alliance could still struggle to form a majority coalition — prolonging Israel’s political stalemate and raising the likelihood of another election in 2023. Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, and his fitness for office is likely to frame the Nov. 1 election.
Marcos becomes president in the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the former dictator, was sworn in Thursday as the 17th president of the Philippines, praising his father’s legacy and pledging to confront an array of challenges. In a ceremony that capped a remarkable comeback for a family once forced into exile, Marcos, 64, presented himself as a leader who would help the Philippines improve its economy and secure a more prosperous future. “You will not be disappointed, so do not be afraid,” he said. Marcos also said that he would reject all foreign interference in domestic politics. “We can trust no one else when it comes to what is best for us,” he said.
To save its honey industry, Australia is killing bees by the millions
The first step is pouring gasoline into the beehive. Then it is time to wait. The job is finished when the hive is burned the next day. Since last week, this cycle has been on repeat near a port in eastern Australia, part of a government effort to protect the country’s multimillion-dollar honey industry. Millions of bees have been destroyed to help contain the spread of the deadly varroa mite, which reappeared in the country last week near the Port of Newcastle. If the varroa mite became established in Australia, it could cost the nation’s honey industry more than $70 million a year.
By wire sources
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