[What A Day]([link removed])

Thursday, June 13, 2024
BY CROOKED MEDIA

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[-Donald Trump,]([link removed]) trashing the great American town before it hosts next month's Republican National Convention.

The Supreme Court preserved access to abortion pills — for now. But the battle is far from over. 

 

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The Supreme Court unanimously rejected an attempt to limit access to mifepristone, a drug used in more than 60 percent of abortions nationwide, on Thursday. A group of antiabortion doctors has no legal standing to take on the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations of the drug, the court found, in its first major abortion decision since overturning Roe v. Wade two years ago. 

 

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Yet the decision was made on a technicality, and leaves the door wide open for future challenges. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote that the FDA’s regulations don’t harm the doctors who brought the case — meaning they failed to meet a key requirement to bring their lawsuit in the first place. [We should expect]([link removed]) another case, with stronger plaintiffs, soon, noted Melissa Murray, co-host of [Crooked’s legal affairs podcast, Strict Scrutiny]([link removed]).  

 

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Progressives and Democrats warned the ruling only underscores that reproductive rights remain under threat. President Biden said the ruling “does not mean that mifepristone, or medication abortion, remains available and approved.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said: “No one should be celebrating this decision.”

 

[What A Day]([link removed])

Meanwhile, across the street from the Supreme Court, Senate Democrats picked a fight with the GOP over in vitro fertilization. 

 

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) [forced a vote]([link removed]) on a bill to protect IVF and other fertility treatments Thursday, as part of a continuing effort to put Republicans on the defensive over reproductive care before the election. Republicans blocked the measure, while releasing a letter saying they support IVF — as if that would distract everyone from the fact that they literally just voted against protecting it. 

 

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The rumble in the Senate came one day after The Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest denomination of Protestant Christians, [voted to oppose]([link removed]) IVF at an annual gathering Wednesday in Indianapolis. The resolution doesn’t ban member families from using IVF, but criticizes the destruction of unused embryos. 

 

Abortion remains a top issue for voters — one that could tip the balance for either party in November’s election.

Struggling to convey the stakes of 2024 to someone in your circle? Tune in to the newest season of The Wilderness! With the help of some of the smartest strategists, pollsters, and organizers in politics today, Jon explores the thought processes of voters who are slipping away and dives into what we can do between now and November to secure our democracy. New episodes of The Wilderness drop every other Sunday in the Pod Save America feed. Listen to the first three episodes on [Amazon Music]([link removed]) or wherever you get your podcasts!

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The Supreme Court has gotten up to all kinds of sketchy antics lately, from flying insurrectionist flags, to secret, lavish vacations with conservative billionaires. On Thursday, a top Senate Democrat revealed that right-wing Justice Clarence Thomas took even more trips on GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow’s private plane than he had previously acknowledged. 

 

Thomas flew on Crow’s jet within the U.S. in 2017, 2019 and 2021, [according to documents]([link removed]) received by the Senate Judiciary Committee in response to subpoenas sent to Crow. Thomas recently admitted to other trips — including one to Indonesia where he relaxed on Crow’s yacht — but conveniently forgot to mention these. Slip of the ole’ memory about those flights on a billionaire's private plane. Classic mistake!

 

Democrats say the lavish gifts and authoritarian flag-waving (by conservative Justice Samuel Alito) show it’s time for a stricter standard of ethics. This week, Republicans issued a clear response to that idea: Hell no!

[Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic]([link removed]) initiative dubbed the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act on Wednesday. The bill would have required justices to adopt a binding code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate allegations of violations of the code and other laws, and require them to explain decisions to recuse themselves from cases. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) slammed the idea as an “unconstitutional overreach.”

 

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) warned of the constitutional risks that a conservative majority court poses, even if Democrats can prevail in November, on [Thursday’s episode of the What A Day podcast]([link removed]). “A right-wing Supreme Court operating in cahoots with the Republican party is a major peril to the ability of Congress to pass the legislation that America needs,” Raskin said. 

 

[Trump toured Capitol Hill]([link removed]) where he insulted Milwaukee, listened to fawning GOP lawmakers sing him “Happy Birthday,” and [reportedly floated]([link removed]) a radical new idea to eliminate income tax in favor of tariffs. In practice, such a scheme would shift the tax burden away from rich folks and make everyone else pay for it with much more expensive shopping. For the record: the ultra-wealthy have been trying to pitch an elimination of the income tax in favor of an increase in sales tax for a LONG time, and still seem to think we can’t see through their scheme.

 

[Trump’s D.C. visit came as the newly minted felon tries to convince House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)]([link removed]) to find a way to help Trump overturn his felony conviction. Trump’s phone call to Johnson in the days after the May 31 verdict reportedly included “frequent F-bombs,” according to Politico. [Trump ranted about law enforcement officials]([link removed]) to his fellow Republicans on Thursday, as House Republicans vowed to fight harder to protect him from prosecutors. Again, this is the group that’s constantly complaining about “weaponization of the federal government” promising to weaponize the federal government on Trump’s behalf.

 

[North Dakota voters passed a first-of-its-kind measure]([link removed]) this week that would impose age restrictions on congressional candidates. The state constitutional amendment bans people from running for House or Senate seats in North Dakota “if that person could attain 81 years of age by December 31st of the year immediately preceding the end of the term.” Ninety percent of the Senate is SHAKING right now. 

 

[The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Starbucks]([link removed]) on Thursday in a case centered around the firing of seven baristas amid a union organizing campaign in Memphis. The decision could make it harder for labor prosecutors to win court injunctions against employers accused of breaking the law. The ultra-conservative Supreme Court ruled with a mega-corporation and against workers? Well now we’ve seen it all. 

 

[Rep. Lauren Boebert's (R-CO) ex-husband pleaded guilty]([link removed]) to reckless endangerment Wednesday after he was charged in separate altercations involving the congresswoman at a public restaurant in January, and his son at a residence a few days later. 

 

[U.S. and European officials]([link removed]) agreed to lock up sanctioned Russian assets until Moscow pays reparations for invading Ukraine, clearing the way for a $50 billion loan package for Kyiv at the G7 summit. 

[American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich]([link removed]) will soon stand trial in Russia on espionage charges, Russian authorities announced Thursday. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, and accused of spying for the CIA – accusations that U.S. officials and the WSJ have repeatedly rejected as baseless. 

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This newsletter is sponsored by BetterHelp.

 

Summer is here! But amidst the barbecues and beach days, are you feeling some June gloom? Having a hard time with the news? Feeling the kind of dread that only the Supreme Court being in session can trigger? 

 

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Visit [BetterHelp.com/WAD]([link removed]) today to get 10% off your first month. [BetterHelp.com/WAD]([link removed]).

[Australia is developing the world’s largest coastal drone-surveillance operation]([link removed]) to prevent shark attacks, leading the way in nonlethal traps and opting for pilot drone technology that has enabled authorities to monitor sharks like never before. Drones used for good! We love to see it. 

[USC’s School of Dramatic Arts announced Wednesday]([link removed]) that its Master’s in Fine Arts program will now be tuition free! Huge win for the theater kids (which we’re not sure is a good or a bad thing, but we'll call it a win nonetheless). 

[What A Day]([link removed])

[You Survived Today. See You Thursday.]([link removed])

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