NTD News Today

The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 on July 1 that presidents enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for official, but not unofficial, acts. The decision is expected to delay former President Donald Trump’s trial in the federal election case in Washington. The decision remands the case to the district court for further consideration.

Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, made landfall on the Grenadines’ Carriacou Island in the Caribbean Sea as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane—with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. It is the strongest known hurricane to pass through the region.

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles early on Monday in violation of multiple UN sanctions. South Korea saione of which the South says may have failed, The launches came just two days after the United States, South Korea, and Japan wrapped up their first ever joint exercises in the region.

The Supreme Court ruled on June 28 in favor of Jan. 6 defendant Joseph Fischer, a former police officer charged under an accounting reform law after he entered the U.S. Capitol for four minutes on Jan. 6, 2021. The case was being closely watched because the Supreme Court’s decision could affect hundreds of Jan. 6 prosecutions, including the Jan. 6-related case against former President Donald Trump.

The high court also overturned a 1984 decision colloquially known as Chevron that has instructed lower courts to defer to federal agencies when laws passed by Congress are not crystal clear. The 40-year-old decision has been the basis for upholding thousands of regulations by dozens of federal agencies, but has long been a target of conservatives and business groups who argue that it grants too much power to the executive branch, or what some critics call the administrative state.

In one more decision, the justices decided that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors, even in West Coast areas where shelter space is lacking. The decision reversed a ruling by a San Francisco-based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

A CNN poll taken after the first presidential debate showed former President Donald Trump outperforming President Joe Biden 67% to 33%. Immigration, abortion, and economics were among the top policies that the candidates highlighted in the high-stakes debate.

The Supreme Court decided on June 27 to dismiss Idaho’s appeal against a lower court ruling that granted an exception to its strict abortion law for abortions deemed to be medical emergencies. The decision allows emergency abortions to proceed in Idaho while a challenge to the state’s abortion law moves through the lower courts.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off tonight in the first debate of the 2024 general election. The 81-year-old Democrat incumbent and his 78-year-old opponent will be making their first appearance together in four years in what could prove a game-changing event in the presidential race. CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the event, which will be held at the network’s Atlanta studios.

A Bolivian general has been arrested and accused of mounting a coup against the country's government after attempting to storm the presidential palace on June 26. Military units led by Gen. Juan Jose Zúñiga—dismissed as commander of the Bolivian army just a day earlier—occupied the main square in the capital, La Paz, as armored vehicles rammed the palace doors and soldiers tried to break into government offices.

The Supreme Court threw out a challenge on June 26 to the federal government’s actions when it communicated with social media platforms about public health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The justices voted 6–3 in finding that those challenging the government lacked the legal standing to do so. Standing refers to the right of someone to sue in court, meaning the parties must bear a strong enough connection to the law or action complained of to justify their participation in the lawsuit.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) has lost his Democrat primary battle to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, becoming the first member of the progressive "squad" to be unseated by a centrist Democrat. The two-term congressman is also the first Democrat incumbent to lose a primary this year, capping off a contest that laid bare divisions within the Democrat Party that have deepened over the Israel–Hamas war.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned to his homeland of Australia hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concludes a drawn-out legal saga. The plea deal required Mr. Assange to admit guilt to a single felony count, but also permitted him to return to Australia without serving time in a U.S. prison.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is on his way to Saipan to enter a plea deal with the U.S. government that will free him and resolve the legal case over his outlet's publication of a trove of classified documents. He’s expected to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information, according to the U.S. Justice Department in a letter filed in court.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has suspended Hunter Biden’s license to practice law. The decision comes after Hunter Biden was convicted in his federal gun trial. According to a court filing, the Board on Professional Responsibility will issue a formal proceeding to determine subsequent steps. DC Bar rules state that law licenses should be suspended for any felony regardless of any pending appeal.

With just days left in the current Supreme Court term, several blockbuster cases are still undecided. One of them is the presidential immunity case brought by former President Donald Trump. The question before the justices is whether former President Trump can be tried on criminal charges. Special Counsel Jack Smith has charged him with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Former President Trump has argued that he has immunity because he was still the president at the time of the alleged violations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report on June 24. The state department says this report represents the world’s most comprehensive resource of anti-trafficking efforts around the globe. It covers 188 countries and territories, including the United States.

The Supreme Court agreed on June 24 to hear a challenge by the federal government to a Tennessee law that prohibits the use of puberty blockers and medical treatments for minors who identify as transgender. The decision comes as several states have enacted legislation regarding transgender individuals’ treatments, participation in school sports, use of gender-specific bathrooms, and drag shows.

Gunmen opened fire on places of worship in two cities of Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province on Sunday, killing at least 15 police officers and four civilians, including an Orthodox priest, in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.

The Supreme Court on June 21 upheld by 8–1 a federal law that bars people under domestic violence-related restraining orders from possessing firearms. The justices found that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not violated when an individual is disarmed after a court has found them to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another. The ruling overturned a lower court decision that had struck down a federal law.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign outraised President Joe Biden's by more than $60 million last month, according to federal filings that detailed the Republican fundraising explosion sparked by the former president's felony convictions. President Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee together raised a robust $85 million in May, and reported $212 million in the bank at the end of the month. The strong showing does not include roughly $40 million raised by President Biden and his top surrogates in recent days—or a separate $20-million donation from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pro-Biden groups.

Dangerously hot temperatures are scorching the United States, the result of a record-breaking heat wave that is shifting toward New York and the I-95 corridor. More than 100 million Americans are under heat advisories, watches, and warnings across the Northeast and Southwest this weekend. Widespread temperatures in the upper 90s and even into triple digits will be possible around Washington.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has failed to qualify for next week’s debate in Atlanta, according to host network CNN, as he fell shy of benchmarks for both state ballot qualification and the required polling figures. The missed markers mean that the June 27 showdown will be solely between Democratic President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee and former President, Donald Trump.

Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, has made landfall in Mexico. A dangerous heat wave is scorching parts of the Midwest and Northeast, where record-breaking high temperatures are forecast for dozens of cities. Meanwhile, authorities have reported that at least two people died as a result of wildfires in New Mexico. One fire has destroyed over 1,000 structures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed at least a dozen deals with his Vietnamese counterpart on June 20 in the course of his state visit, and offered to supply fossil fuels including natural gas to Vietnam over the longer term. His visit comes as Moscow is seeking to bolster ties in Asia to offset growing international isolation over its military actions in Ukraine.

On his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow and Pyongyang have ramped up ties to a “new level,” pledging to help each other if either nation is attacked. In a “breakthrough” new partnership, the two countries signed the new strategic partnership to replace previous deals signed in 1961, 2000, and 2001, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

At least one person has been reported dead as a result of the fast-growing wildfires still burning in New Mexico, state emergency officials told CNN. The fire, which prompted evacuations and a state-of-emergency declaration from Gov. Michelle Grisham, has burned through 20,000 acres and impacted at least 500 buildings.

Tropical storm Alberto formed Wednesday in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, the first named storm of what is forecast to be a busy hurricane season. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from the Texas coast at San Luis Pass southward to the mouth of the Rio Grande, and on to Tecolutla, Mexico.

President Joe Biden announced on June 18 that his administration will not deport illegal immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens or whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen. Approximately 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens, as well as about 50,000 children, will thereby be shielded from deportation and given the ability to gain legal status without leaving the United States, the White House said.

A U.S. Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint as President Biden was visiting Los Angeles for a fundraising event at the weekend, officials have said. The agent was returning from work Saturday night when he was attacked in a residential community in Tustin, about an hour’s drive southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Secret Service.

The National Weather Service has warned that tens of millions of Americans are currently under heat advisories as high temperatures continue to impact the Midwest and East Coast this week. A tracker run by the NWS shows that some 76 million people are in areas where the agency has declared either an Excessive Heat Warning, a Heat Advisory, or an Excessive Heat Watch.