Unanimous Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion medication
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is praising the Supreme Court’s decision to preserve access to a medication used in nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. last year. The justices ruled Thursday abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone. The case had threatened to restrict access to mifepristone across the country, including in states where abortion remains legal. Mifepristone’s New York-based manufacturer says it’s among the safest drugs the FDA has approved. A lawyer for anti-abortion doctors says she expects Idaho, Kansas and Missouri to continue the lawsuit originally filed in Texas. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach confirms he’ll press ahead with the case.
Supreme Court rules California man can’t trademark ‘Trump too small’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled against a man who wants to trademark the suggestive phrase “Trump too small.” The justices on Thursday upheld the government’s decision to deny a trademark to Steve Elster, a California man seeking exclusive use of the phrase on T-shirts and potentially other merchandise. It’s one of several cases at the court relating to former President Donald Trump. The Justice Department supported President Joe Biden’s predecessor and presumptive opponent in the 2024 election. Government officials said the phrase “Trump too small” could still be used, just not trademarked because Trump had not consented to its use. “Trump too small” T-shirts already can be purchased online. A lower court had ruled that the decision violated Elster’s free speech rights.
Trump returns to Capitol Hill and whips up Republican lawmakers, a first meeting since Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has made a triumphant return to Capitol Hill to meet with House and Senate Republicans for the first time since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. GOP lawmakers find themselves newly energized and reinvigorated by Trump’s bid to retake the White House. This is despite the federal charges against Trump for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and his recent guilty verdict in an unrelated hush money trial. He held an hour-long closed-door morning meeting with House Republicans and then was meeting with Senate Republicans at campaign headquarters near the Capitol to discuss party priorities. It’s his first visit as the party’s presumptive nominee.
US reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia on espionage charges, to stand trial, officials say
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials say U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia for over a year on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office said Thursday an indictment of the Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalized and his case was filed to a regional court. It says Gershkovich is accused of “gathering secret information” for the CIA about a facility in the Sverdlovsk region that produces and repairs military equipment, revealing for the first time the details of the accusations against the jailed reporter. Gershkovich has been charged with espionage. The officials didn’t provide any evidence to back up the accusations.
G7 summit opens with deal to use Russian assets for Ukraine as EU’s traditional powers recalibrate
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy (AP) — A summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations has opened in Italy. Premier Giorgia Meloni has welcomed the G7 leaders and formally begun their closed-door talks on Thursday. Meloni in her opening remarks likened the bloc to the Puglia region’s famed olive trees, with strong roots and branches pointing toward the future. Negotiators reached agreement hours before the official opening of the summit on a U.S. proposal to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral.
Phoenix police have pattern of violating civil rights and using excessive force, Justice Dept. says
PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department says Phoenix police violate people’s rights, discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Native American people when enforcing the law and use excessive force, including unjustified deadly force. A report released Thursday says the police department unlawfully detains homeless people and disposes of their belongings and discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when dispatching calls for help and responding to people who are in crisis. And the Justice Department said Phoenix police had violated the rights of people engaged in protected speech. Phoenix police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the government is committed to working with the city and police on reform.
Stalled cars in flooded streets leave South Florida looking like a scene from a zombie movie
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A tropical disturbance that brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida delayed flights at two of the state’s largest airports and left vehicles waterlogged and stalled in some of the region’s lowest-lying streets. Travelers across the area were trying to adjust their plans on Thursday morning after more than 20 inches of rain has fallen in some areas of South Florida since Tuesday, with more on the way. The disorganized storm system was pushing across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at roughly the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity.
Washington state’s Makah tribe clears major hurdle toward resuming traditional whale hunts
SEATTLE (AP) — The United States has granted the Makah Indian Tribe in Washington state a long-sought waiver that helps clear the way for its first sanctioned whale hunts since 1999. The Makah is a tribe of 1,500 people on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and is the only American Indian tribe with a treaty that specifically mentions a right to hunt whales. But it has faced more than two decades of court challenges, bureaucratic hearings and scientific review as it seeks to resume hunting for gray whales. Thursday’s decision would allow the tribe to hunt up to 25 Eastern North Pacific gray whales over 10 years.
Shareholders are charting Tesla’s future as voting on CEO Elon Musk’s pay package comes to a head
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla shareholders are charting the future of the electric vehicle company Thursday as they wrap up voting whether or not to restore CEO Elon Musk’s massive pay package that was thrown out by a Delaware judge. Shares of the company spiked in premarket trading early Thursday after the company said in a regulatory filing that stockholders are approving Musk’s $44.9 billion pay package by a wide margin. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla published posts on X by Musk from Wednesday night of charts showing that his compensation package was passing, as was a measure to move Tesla’s legal home from Delaware to Texas.
Atlanta Falcons forfeit fifth-round pick, fined for tampering with Kirk Cousins
The Atlanta Falcons were stripped of a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft on Thursday for violating the NFL’s anti-tampering rules prior to signing quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Falcons and Cousins agreed on a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed shortly after the league’s 52-hour legal tampering window opened. It’s normal for teams and players to reach agreements quickly and there were other players who agreed to deals even before Cousins. But Cousins’ comments at his introductory news conference raised questions that led to the NFL’s investigation.
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