Thursday, June 30 top stories
It is Thursday, June 30. Here are today’s top stories.
Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as Supreme Court justice
Today Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court when she took the judicial oath. She is replacing Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring now that the Supreme Court has concluded its current term.
The swearing-in ceremony took place in the Supreme Court building. Jackson took the oath with her husband, Patrick Jackson holding the Bible.
The court will remain with its conservative-liberal numbers at 6-3. Jackson will begin her duties in earnest this fall at the beginning of the Court’s new term. But she could hear cases prior to that if there are emergency requests.
Jackson is the first Supreme Court nomination made by President Biden.
She was confirmed by the Senate in April and said in a White House celebration that, “It has taken 232 years for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, but we’ve made it. We’ve made it.”
R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in prison
Musician R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday in a New York court. He was found guilty of nine counts in a sex trafficking trial several months ago.
The judge in the case told Kelly that he took advantage of teenagers’ hopes and dreams and trapped them in his house and sexually abused them.
NBC News said several of Kelly’s victims appeared in court to tell him of how he damaged their young lives by abusing them and that they still carry the scars today.
Kelly is facing another trial on August 15 in Chicago on charges of producing child pornography and luring minors into sex acts.
Kelly was one of the most successful musicians in the 1990’s and 2000’s. He was accused of sexual misconduct throughout his career but was able to evade punishment.
The New York Times attributed the #MeToo movement and a 2019 Lifetime television docuseries called “Surviving R. Kelly’ as the catalysts that led to authorities building cases against him that eventually brought charges and convictions.
Biden says he supports removing Senate filibuster to codify abortion rights
President Biden said he supports changing Senate filibuster rules so the Democratic majority can pass legislation on abortion rights without needing at least 60 Senators’ support.
Removing the filibuster means only 50 votes are needed because Vice President Kamala Harris is able to be the tiebreaker if there is a 50-50 vote along party lines. But it is a controversial concept that could backfire for Democrats because if Republicans gain a majority in the Senate, they could do the same thing.
Biden said he supports an exception to filibuster rules for abortion rights and the right to privacy — which has to do with contraceptives (birth control). He said he would have more announcements after a meeting with state governors on Friday.
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
—---------------
Supreme Court on climate change; “Remain in Mexico,” tribal laws
Here are three of the latest decisions from the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled today to limit how much authority the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has to limit carbon emissions from power plants. This means the Biden Administration will have a harder time to meet its targets on climate change.
The Supreme Court ruled today to allow President Biden end the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that forced some migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico instead of being released in the U.S. as they awaited their asylum hearings. This ruling means the migrants can be released in the U.S. instead of having to stay in Mexico.
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the state of Oklahoma could prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes that they commit on tribal land when the victim is Native American. This means the state now has more power over tribes.
California’s Bruce’s Beach returned to descendants of its Black owners
The Los Angeles County and the state of California gave their approval to return a beachfront property worth millions of dollars to the descendants of its Black owners, who had the land seized by the city in 1924.
The property is called Bruce’s Beach and it is currently a park with facilities used for lifeguard training. It is worth an estimated $20 million today.
CNN explained that in 1912, a Black couple, Charles and Willa Bruce, owned the property and turned it into a resort for the Black community because they were barred from going to other local beaches due to racial segregation.
But there was no peace on the beach because the Ku Klux Klan and hostile white neighbors harassed Black visitors by slashing the tires of their cars or attempting to set the property on fire.
In 1924, the city of Manhattan Beach seized the property using eminent domain and paid the Bruces $14,125 for it. The couple’s dreams were wrecked and they died five years later.
In recent years there was an organization called “Justice for Bruce’s Beach” that sought to return the property to descendants of the Bruce family. The effort was successful with the land now returned to the Bruces. The arrangement right now is for the city to lease the property for $413,000 per year.
Updated Covid-19 boosters coming in fall
The FDA announced today that vaccine makers will, this fall, provide updated Covid-19 booster shots that will provide more protection against the most recent variants such as Omicron BA. 4 and BA. 5.
The Biden Administration has ordered 105 million doses of vaccines that is worth $3.2. billion.
In America, we’re currently seeing about 110,000 new daily cases and about 350 daily deaths.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/30/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/30/us/politics/ketanji-brown-jackson-sworn-in-supreme-court.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/r-kelly-sentenced-30-years-sex-trafficking-case-rcna35832
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/nyregion/r-kelly-racketeering-sex-abuse.html
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/30/west-virginia-epa-supreme-court-climate-change
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/30/supreme-court-decision-mpp-remain-in-mexico-immigration-biden
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/01/us/bruces-beach-los-angeles-property-return/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/10/1043821492/black-americans-land-history
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/30/fda-covid-boosters-updated-fall-2022