Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
June 16, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Supreme Court delivers surprise victor for gay, trans rights . . . The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a federal civil rights law written in the 1960s also covers gay and transgender workers, delivering a significant and surprising victory for LGBT rights. Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of President Donald Trump's appointees, delivered the opinion in a six-to-three decision by the Court. Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court's four left-leaning
justices were also in the majority. Job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is legal in 25 states. At stake in Monday's cases was whether Title VII, the federal civil rights statute prohibiting employment discrimination, covers gay, lesbian, and transgender workers. The consequences may reach beyond the workplace. The Trump administration and conservative legal groups warned the disputes have implications for dress codes and separate-sex bathrooms. Maintaining
sex-specific policies will be legally tricky if the courts extend Title VII to LGBT workers, those groups told the justices. Washington Free Beacon
Conservative Christians horrified by the ruling . . . For conservative Christian groups, Monday’s Supreme Court ruling protecting the rights of gay and transgender workers was not only the latest sign that they are losing the American culture wars over sexuality. It also caused widespread concern that it could affect how they operate their own institutions. Many faith-based organizations, like schools or nonprofits, do not allow L.G.B.T.
people to work there, citing religious beliefs that sex should only be between a man and a woman who are married. “No question it is going to make it harder to defend our religious freedom, as far as an organization being able to hire people of like mind,” said Franklin Graham, who leads Samaritan’s Purse, a large evangelical relief group. “I find this to be a very sad day,” he said. “I don’t know how this is going to protect us.” New York Times
Justice Thomas slams court for dodging gun cases . . . The Supreme Court on Monday denied a slew of gun-rights challenges focused on everything from state "assault weapons" bans to safety requirements and permit issues, sparking a blistering dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas who accused his fellow justices of "looking the other way" on Second Amendment cases. Second Amendment advocates were hoping the High Court would take up at least some of
the legal challenges to gun-control laws that have passed in New Jersey, California, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Thomas slammed his colleagues for refusing to take up Rogers v. Grewal, a challenge to New Jersey's gun-carry law that allows government officials to subjectively deny permits. Thomas—joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh—said the state government's requirement that residents provide a reason for
exercising a constitutional right warranted judicial oversight. Washington Free Beacon
FDA ends emergency use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 . . . The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), citing the latest science and data, rescinded its emergency use authorization (EUA) for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drugs touted by President Donald Trump and some doctors to combat the Chinese coronavirus. In a statement issued Monday, the FDA, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced the anti-malaria drugs “are unlikely to be effective in treating COVID-19 for the authorized uses in the EUA,” adding: Additionally,
in light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other potential serious side effects, the known and potential benefits of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine no longer outweigh the known and potential risks for the authorized use. Breitbart
People with underlying conditions 12 times more likely to die of COVID -19 . . . People with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes were hospitalized six times as often as otherwise healthy individuals infected with the novel coronavirus during the first four months of the pandemic, and they died 12 times as often, according to a federal health report Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on more than 1.7 million coronavirus cases and 103,700
deaths. Among nearly 600,000 people who were sickened and for whom the CDC has race and ethnicity information, 33 percent of patients were Hispanic, although they make up 18 percent of the U.S. population; and 22 percent were black, while they constitute 13 percent of the population. Washington Post
Mutation makes virus more transmissible . . . A specific mutation in the new coronavirus can significantly increase its ability to infect cells, according to a study by U.S. researchers. The research may explain why early outbreaks in some parts of the world did not end up
overwhelming health systems as much as other outbreaks in New York and Italy, according to experts at Scripps Research. The mutation, named D614G, increased the number of “spikes” on the coronavirus - which is the part that gives it its distinctive shape. Those spikes are what allow the virus to bind to and infect cells. “The number—or density—of functional spikes on the virus is 4 or 5 times greater due to this mutation,” said Hyeryun Choe, one of the senior authors of the
study. The researchers say that it is still unknown whether this small mutation affects the severity of symptoms of infected people, or increases mortality. Reuters
|
|
Trump calls Atlanta police shooting at Wendy's "disturbing" . . . Donald Trump on Monday called the police shooting of black man Rayshard Brooks 'disturbing' and a 'terrible situation'. The president was speaking at a roundtable event at the White House when he made the comment, indicating he had seen the video of the black man being shot in the back by a white police officer outside an Atlanta Wendy's on
Friday. Officer Garrett Rolfe, who pulled the trigger, was fired but has not been charged. The other officer at the scene, Devin Brosnan, was put on desk duty. Police Chief Erika Shields resigned a day after the shooting. Daily Mail
It looks like he didn't quite say the officer did anything wrong. I hope he doesn't prejudge this situation. The officer was being fired on by his own taser. I get that the mob wants his head already.
"We're watching": Trump ready to intervene in Seattle . . . President Trump Monday attacked Washington state’s Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkin for failing to disperse the “autonomous zone” set up in the city, saying he remains prepared to act if they don’t. Maybe, since it’s basically a foreign country, he should send Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to negotiate. Or maybe we could just start trading
with them. I wonder what they make there? Mostly a mess, it looks like. White House Dossier
Trump to campaign against Jeff Sessions . . . President Donald Trump has scheduled a stop on his resumed campaing rally tour that will give him the chance to exact political vengeance on his former attorney general Jeff Sessions Alabama. Trump's campaign is expected to take him to Mobile next month, where the president will campaign for Tommy Tuberville against Sessions in a runoff election, CNN reported. Mobile is
Sessions' hometown. Trump has gone after Sessions repeatedly, both during his tenure as attorney general and after, blasting him for his decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe. Daily Mail
Jeff Sessions is a good man and a pioneer of the conservative populist movement. And he was the first high-profile politician to embrace Trump. I think he did what he thought he had to do with respect to the Russia investigation. And I think Trump ought to leave him alone.
Ilhan Omar's father dies of coronavirus . . . Ilhan Omar's father died Monday from COVID-19 complications, the congresswoman has announced. Nur Omar Mohamed, 67, had been in a coma in Hennepin Medical Center for the past eight days. Ilhan’s elder sister Sahra had flown in from Kenya to be at his side. He was said to have banned the congresswoman from his bedside amid a furious argument father and daughter have been having over her affair
and marriage to her campaign fundraiser. Daily Mail
Trump says Bolton book will break the law if published . . . President Donald Trump said on Monday his former national security adviser John Bolton will have broken the law and face criminal liability if a book he has written about his time in the White House is published. Trump told reporters that Bolton knows he has classified information in his book, and that he had not completed a clearing process required for any book written by
former government officials who had access to sensitive information. “I will consider every conversation with me as president highly classified. So that would mean that if he wrote a book and if the book gets out, he’s broken the law,” Trump said. Reuters
|
|
North Korea testing Trump with threat to invade demilitarized zone . . . They’d better watch it. Trump would never allow it. They may think now is the time to get away with stuff, but we can do a pandemic, riots, and chew gum at the same time. “Our army is keeping a close watch on the current situation in which the north-south relations are turning worse and worse, and getting itself fully ready for providing a sure military
guarantee to any external measures to be taken by the Party and government,” the statement, which was published in North Korea state-run media read. White House Dossier
|
|
Three Indian soldiers killed by Chinese . . . At least three Indian soldiers were killed during a "violent faceoff" with Chinese troops in the Himalayas on Monday night, according to a statement by the Indian army. The confrontation was the first between the two nuclear powers that resulted in fatalities since 1975. India said China also suffered casualties. “The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers,” the Indian army's statement said. “Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the
situation.” The confrontation with Chinese troops occurred along their disputed frontier high in the Himalayas. Fox News
Trump is smart to build an alliance with India instead of kissing China's ass, which has been previous U.S. policy.
|
|
Record rise in retail sales . . . Renewed shopping drove a record 17.7% increase in retail sales in May, though total spending remained below levels before coronavirus. Shoppers opened their pocketbooks in May as states eased coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and consumers. The May retail sales report from the Commerce Department offers another sign that the worst of the economic shock from the pandemic likely
occurred in late March and April when widespread shutdowns to contain the virus were in place across the country. Employers, for instance, added 2.5 million jobs last month, and the jobless rate fell to 13.3% from April’s 14.7%. Wall Street Journal
|
|
Man shot in New Mexico at protest over statue of Conquistador . . . A man was shot Monday after gunfire erupted at a demonstration in New Mexico, where protesters attempted to topple a bronze conquistador's statue outside an
Albuquerque museum, authorities said. The man was taken to a local hospital where he was listed in critical but stable condition, police said. The shooting occurred during a clash between protesters and the New Mexico Civil Guard, a heavily armed civilian group that attempted to protect the controversial sculpture — a monument that features Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate. Fox News
Iowa high school baseball team kneels during the National Anthem . . . Count the Des Moines Roosevelt High School baseball team among those who want to continue the ongoing national discussion of racial injustice spurred by George Floyd’s death. All the Roosevelt baseball players kneeled during the national anthem on Monday afternoon ahead of the season-opening game against Ankeny Centennial at Principal Park in Des Moines. “We
wanted to represent (all Des Moines Public Schools),” senior Jayden Singleton said. “We have a lot of diversity, and a lot of people of color. We wanted to show our appreciation for social justice.” USA Today
You know what they're learning in school. What do you expect?
Young Americans less patriotic than ever . . . A Gallup poll published Monday found that only 20 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are "extremely proud to be an American." This is the lowest percentage of any demographic, falling 23 percent
since 2017. According to the poll, this is the sixth consecutive year of decline in American pride across all demographics, and the first time "extreme pride" among whites fell below 50 percent. American pride among nonwhites is 24 percent. The partisan gap in American pride also fell to 43 percent from 54 percent a year ago. This year, 67 percent of Republicans—a 9 point drop from last year—and 24 percent of Democrats said they are extremely proud to be an American. Washington Free Beacon
Goodell encourages teams to sign Kaepernick . . . NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday he would “support” and “encourage” a team to sign former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Goodell said he's pushing for an NFL team to sign
Kaepernick, who hasn't played in the NFL since the 2016 season when he started kneeling on the sideline at games during the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality. "Well, listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it's gonna take a team to make that decision," Goodell said. "But I welcome that, support a club making that decision, and encourage them to do that." Fox News
Another idea for Goodell: Encourage Kaepernick to throw passes receivers can catch.
Christopher Columbus statues falling around the nation . . . They hacked off his head in Boston, threw him in a lake in Richmond, Va., drenched him in red paint in Miami, and dragged him down from his pedestal in St. Paul, Minn. Protesters in cities around the United States have been tearing down, defacing and otherwise vandalizing statues of Christopher Columbus as an offshoot of the protests over George Floyd's death. In
St. Paul, news crews stood just a few feet away recording video as protesters tied a rope around a statue and pulled it down from its base at the steps of the State Capitol Wednesday. In Boston, police opened an investigation Wednesday after the namesake statue in the city’s Christopher Columbus Park was beheaded overnight. Fox News
Dozens of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy . . . A new study published Monday aims to answer these age-old questions. The research calculates there could be over 30 intelligent civilizations throughout our Milky Way galaxy. “There should be at least a few dozen active civilizations in our galaxy under the assumption that it takes 5 billion years for intelligent life to form on other planets, as on Earth,” University
of Nottingham astrophysicist Christopher Conselice, who co-authored the research, said in a statement. This estimate assumes that intelligent life forms on other planets in a similar way as it does on Earth. USA Today
That's good, because it's not clear there is an intelligent civilization on earth anymore.
|
|
Poland accidentally invades Czech Republic, occupies territory . . . You'd be forgiven for not knowing that the Polish military recently invaded and briefly occupied territory in the Czech Republic. Seems like headline news, sure — but it appears that even the Polish troops didn't know what they were doing. A spokesperson for the Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed to NPR on Saturday that "Polish soldiers mistakenly deterred
our citizens from entering a church on the Czech territory in close vicinity of the Czech-Polish borders." Czech officials say the incident happened in late May near a small village known as Pelhřimovy, just across the border from Poland. They added that their diplomats immediately notified their Polish counterparts, and that Polish soldiers are "no longer" present at the site, which Czech nationals can again visit as they wish. NPR
I'm not going to make the old joke about Polish submarines having screen doors. I'm not.
|
|
Do you love Cut to the News? Let your family and friends know about it! They'll thank you for it. Spread the word . . .
Thank you for doing it.
Have a great day.
Keith
Keith Koffler
If you enjoy Cut to the News, a free newsletter published without ads, please help support it. You can make a single contribution or set up regular payments, like a voluntary subscription. Donate here today. Thank you for your generosity.
Got this from a friend? Subscribe here and get Cut to the News sent to your Inbox every morning.
|
|
|
