Sahara Dust Cloud Looms Over Cuba, Caribbean and Florida
A massive cloud of Saharan dust darkened much of Cuba on Wednesday and began to affect air quality in Florida, sparking warnings to people with respiratory illnesses to stay home.
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Charleston Legislators Vote To Remove Statue
Legislators in the South Carolina state city of Charleston voted Tuesday unanimously to remove a statue of former vice president and slavery advocate John C. Calhoun from a downtown square, amid widening anti-racism protests.
Georgia House approves law for letting voters decide on dismantling local police departments
Against a backdrop of nationwide protests and rioting over police brutality, the lower house of the General Assembly in Georgia approved legislation Friday that would allow voters to decide if county police departments should be dismantled, the Washington Examiner reports. The legislation must still be approved by the state Senate and then signed by the Governor.
Poll finds almost all Democrat undergraduates support defunding police; most Republican college students do not
A new survey of undergraduate college students found that 94% of Democrat responders support defunding of police (i.e. cutting police budgets to fund other community resources) while only 13% of Republican students do, The College Fix reported. The poll also found that a majority of Democrat responders believe rioting and looting are legitimate forms of protest against racial injustice and police brutality while almost all Republican responders believe they are not.
Trump Will Try Again to Repeal DACA
President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration will try again to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program instituted by the Obama administration, Politico reported. The renewed effort follows last week’s Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration had not provided adequate reasons for ending the program in 2017.
Trump to cut immigration by 525,000 in effort to open jobs for unemployed Americans
President Trump is suspending five classes of visas through the end of the year in an effort to open more than a half-million jobs to Americans, according to three senior administration officials.
Saharan dust blankets Caribbean as ‘significant’ cloud triggers air quality alerts, ‘severe dust haze’ warnings
The sunny, blue skies of the Caribbean were shrouded in dust on Monday as a dense plume of Saharan dust that experts say hasn’t been seen in half a century moved into the region as it makes its way towards the U.S.
President Trump Blames Media, Protesters For ‘Low’ Rally turnout
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed mainstream media and “radical protesters” for scaring away attendees during his first election rally in more than three months.
Shootings, Violence Jump In Cities Where Mayors Have Restrained Police
Activist campaigns against police to have accelerated in the wake of a violent altercation between police and George Floyd that prefaced his death. In response, mayors of several cities have reduced police presence. This has led in several cases to dramatic increases in violent crime.
Judge Who Ruled in Favor of Coronavirus Church Drive-In Services Appointed to Powerful Court of Appeals
The first judge to rule in favor of churches during COVID-19 lockdowns has been confirmed to the influential Court of Appeals, the Washington Examiner reports. President Trump nominated 38-year-old Kentucky Judge Justin Walker to the seat being vacated by retiring Judge Thomas B. Griffith.
Supreme Court blocks Trump from ending Obama-era DACA program
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which shields from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrant children who were brought to the United States illegally.
CA Federal Judge Rules Against Churches: ‘Less Deserving of Equal Treatment’
The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) announced on Wednesday that a San Francisco area federal court ruled that churches have no place in the dynamic downtown area of one northern California city.
Republican U.S. Senator Scott unveils police reforms, Democrats push for broader changes
U.S. Senate Republicans unveiled a law enforcement reform bill on Wednesday as a rival to more sweeping Democratic legislation, as Congress sought to curb racial discrimination and police abuses three weeks after the death of George Floyd.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to review Keystone Pipeline ruling
The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s decision and grant a permit to allow the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to continue.
Supreme Court decision ignites religious liberty battle
Justice Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, a Supreme Court decision extending employment protections to gay and transgender people, kicks off a new religious liberty battle.
Record Gain in U.S. Retail Sales Offers Hope of Faster Recovery
American consumers are getting their groove back as a record surge in May retail sales offered some hope of a quicker recovery from the pandemic-induced recession.
Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Police Use of Chokeholds
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday banning the use of chokeholds by police except when an officer’s life is at risk.
Trump is reportedly considering a new $1 trillion infrastructure stimulus plan to boost the US economy
US President Donald Trump is considering an infrastructure plan worth $1 trillion to help revive the economy from the fallout of coronavirus and push ahead with his longstanding goal of spending big on US infrastructure, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Poll Shows Many US Voters Think a Second Civil War is Likely
A new poll has found that 34% of US voters believe a second American civil war is likely, CNS News reported Monday.
SCOTUS, 6-3: Illegal to Fire Someone ‘Merely for Being Gay or Transgender’
In a 6-3 ruling issued on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court said an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.