Supreme court agrees to decide legality of Trump’s order to restrict birthright citizenship
The US supreme court has agreed to decide if Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship with an executive order is constitutional.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office in January that declared that children born to undocumented immigrants and to some temporary foreign residents would no longer be granted US citizenship automatically – seeking to upend a guarantee of US citizenship to anyone born on American soil that has been understood since 1898.
Legal challenges were prompt, with judges in Washington State, Maryland and Massachusetts freezing the policy for the whole country. The supreme court later sided with the Trump administration on technical grounds dealing with how the challenges to the policy were handled by lower courts through universal injunctions.
That ruling blunted the power of federal judges but did not resolve the legality of Trump’s directive. The ruling left open the possibility for courts to grant broad relief to states or to individual plaintiffs through class action lawsuits.
The supreme court didn’t announce a date to hear oral arguments but it will likely be in the next few months, with a decision handed down by the end of June.
Key events
The day so far
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A key CDC advisory panel voted to abandon the decades-old recommendation that all babies get vaccinated against hepatitis B within the first 24 hours of life, in a major win for health secretary and vaccine-sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr. The 8-3 decision followed heated debate and three failed attempts at a vote. The advisers said that women who test negative for the virus should consult with their health care provider and decide “when or if” their child will be vaccinated at birth. They didn’t change the recommendation that newborns of mothers known to be infected or whose status is unknown be innoculated. The shift will only got into effect if approved by the CDC and is not expected to affect insurance coverage of the shots. Public health experts fear the change would lead to an increase in preventable infections in children. “Today is a defining moment for our country,” Michael Osterholm told the NYT. “We can no longer trust federal health authorities when it comes to vaccines.”
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The New Democrat Coalition, the largest House Democrat ideological caucus, called for Pete Hegseth to “resign immediately before his actions cost American lives”. It comes after the Pentagon’s inspector general’s report found he had endangered the lives of US service members by compromising sensitive military intelligence in a Signal group chat earlier this year. The coalition’s chair Brad Schneider and it’s national security working group chair Gil Cisneros issued a statement blasting Hegseth as “incompetent, reckless, and a threat to the lives of the men and women who serve in the armed forces”.
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Two men who survived a US airstrike on a suspected drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean clung to the wreckage for an hour before they were killed in a second attack, according a video of the episode shown to senators in Washington. The men were shirtless, unarmed and carried no visible radio or other communications equipment. They also appeared to have no idea what had just hit them, or that the US military was weighing whether to finish them off, two sources familiar with the recording told Reuters. The pair desperately tried to turn a severed section of the hull upright before they died. “The video follows them for about an hour as they tried to flip the boat back over. They couldn’t do it,” one source said.
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The man charged with planting two pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican party headquarters the night before the January 6 attack on the US Capitol told the FBI he believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, NBC News and CNN reported. He’s appeared in court this afternoon. The judge was expected to read Cole the charges he’s facing and inform him of his rights, and could also decide whether Cole should be detained for now or set conditions of his release while he awaits his next court date.
‘Cultivate resistance’: policy paper lays bare Trump support for Europe’s far right
Jon Henley
Donald Trump’s administration has said Europe faces “civilisational erasure” within the next two decades as a result of migration and EU integration, arguing in a policy document that the US must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”.
Billed as “a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on earth”, the US National Security Strategy makes explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s nationalist far-right parties.
The document, with a signed introduction by Trump, says Europe is in economic decline but its “real problems are even deeper”, including “activities of the EU that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition … and loss of national identities”.
The 33-page exposition of Trump’s “America First” worldview appears to espouse the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, saying several countries risk becoming “majority non-European” and Europe faces “the real and stark prospect of civilisational erasure”. It adds:
Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less.
US policies must therefore include “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations” as well as enabling Europe to “take primary responsibility for its own defence” and “opening European markets to US goods and services”.
Trump administration moves to deny visas to factcheckers and content moderators
Richard Luscombe
The Trump administration has moved to formalize a crackdown on the issuance of visas for people who it deems to have engaged in censoring the free speech of US citizens.
The action, detailed in a state department memo sent to overseas missions this week, first reported by Reuters and then NPR, directs consular officials to deny visas to any applicant “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the US”.
The order, which state department officials have not denied, requires enhanced vetting of applicants “to see if they have worked in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others”, Reuters reported.
It will initially focus on applicants for H-1B visas, usually given to highly skilled foreign workers in the technology industry among other sectors, but is applicable to all visa applications, the news agency added.
The directive is the latest in a number of recent moves by Donald Trump to restrict legal immigration to the US through consular avenues, and hardens a promise made by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in May to bar entry to the US to anybody perceived to be suppressing the free speech “essential to the American way of life”.
Barry Glendenning
Trump reveals that this is one of the biggest honours of his life and then proceeds to reiterate how great he is, for the benefit of anyone who might have been in the rest room while Infantino was talking.
He tells the audience about the “millions and millions of lives” he and Infantino have saved, before mentioning the huge number of tickets Fifa have sold for the World Cup, while steering a wide berth of mentioning Fifa’s dynamic pricing strategy. He also nods to his Mexican and Canadian counterparts. It’s a mercifully short speech.
A few moments ago Donald Trump was formally presented with the first Fifa Peace Prize. He was presented with a medal and a certificate by Fifa president Gianni Infantino. “I’m going to wear it right now,” said Trump, placing the medal around his neck.
In further comments made before the Fifa World Cup draw in Washington DC, Donald Trump failed to answer a question from a CNN reporter about whether receiving the Fifa Peace Prize would conflict with his vow to strike “on land” soon in Venezuela.
“I haven’t been officially noticed — I’ve been hearing about a peace prize, and I’m here to represent our country in a different sense, but I can tell you I did settle eight wars, and we have a ninth coming, but which nobody’s ever done before,” Trump said.
“But I want to really save lives. I don’t need prizes. I need to save lives. And we’re saving a lot of lives.”
Donald Trump has said he will meet with leaders of Mexico and Canada to discuss trade after the Fifa World Cup draw.
Trump on Friday said that he was “getting along very well” with both leaders and that the US is “working with” Canada and Mexico. He gave no other details.
A reminder that my colleagues are covering the draw in Washington DC here:
Senator Warren slams Netflix-Warner deal: ‘an anti-monopoly nightmare’
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized Netflix’s $72bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s studios, calling it an antitrust “nightmare.”
In a statement on Friday, Warren said:
“This deal looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare. A Netflix-Warner Bros would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market — threatening to force Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch, while putting American workers at risk.”
She went on to add:
“Under Donald Trump, the antitrust review process has also become a cesspool of political favoritism and corruption. The justice department must enforce our nation’s anti-monopoly laws fairly and transparently — not use the Warner Bros. deal review to invite influence-peddling and bribery.”
Netflix was up against takeover bids from Paramount’s Skydance and from Comcast, which owns Universal Studios, NBC, and Sky.
Hailing the deal, Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos said:
“The combination of Netflix and Warner Bros creates a better Netflix for the long run… In a world where people have so many choices, more choices than ever on how to spend their time, we can’t stand still.”
He also vowed in an investor call on Friday that the deal will be “pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-creator,” Deadline reports.
Sam Levine
The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, instructed law enforcement officials on Thursday to investigate antifa and other supposed domestic terror groups, and specifically directed them to search for “tax crimes” the groups may have committed, according to a memo obtained by the Guardian.
The document signals how the Trump administration and Bondi are ramping up efforts to crack down on leftwing groups. Antifa, short for antifascist, is not a clearly defined organization, but rather a loose network of activists. Trump signed an executive order in September declaring it a domestic terrorism organization – something legal experts say he does not have the authority to do.
“These domestic terrorists use violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas, including opposition to law and immigration enforcement; extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality; and an elevation of violence to achieve policy outcomes, such as political assassinations,” Bondi wrote in the document.
For the full story, click here:
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he believed conspiracy theories that 2020 election was stolen – reports
The man charged with planting two pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican party headquarters the night before the January 6 attack on the US Capitol told the FBI he believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, NBC News and CNN are reporting.
Brian Cole Jr is expected to appear in court later today, he has not yet entered a plea. He was charged yesterday with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. The FBI has not publicly cited a motive.
Vaccine panel votes to restrict hepatitis B vaccines shot for newborns in major shift
Melody Schreiber
The CDC’s vaccine advisers have voted 8-3 to remove the broad recommendation that all newborns in the US receive a hepatitis B vaccine, in a major move signaling the Trump administration’s regressive approach to vaccines that have been given safely and effectively for decades.
The committee voted to recommend that parents of infants whose mothers test negative for hepatitis should decide when – or if – their child should receive the vaccine series, after consulting a healthcare professional.
The move will add confusion to routine vaccinations and create access issues, especially for lower-income families, experts said. While the advisers make non-binding recommendations, they frequently form the basis of official policy, and they directly affect the way private and federal insurance providers cover the vaccines.
“This is going to lead to an increase in preventable infections among children,” said Michaela Jackson, program director of prevention policy at the Hepatitis B Foundation. The vote is “removing choice by causing barriers to access” and “parents are not going to know who to trust any longer,” she said.
Hepatitis B vaccines are still recommended to children whose mothers test positive for the virus, the advisers said. The shots for most infants at birth will now be “shared clinical decision-making”, the advisers deciding, voting 8-3, although this is a term that is poorly defined and usually reserved for non-routine vaccines.
If a parent is not able to get their child the vaccine at birth, the advisers now suggest waiting at least two months.
‘A disgrace to the office he holds’: New Democrats call for Hegseth’s resignation
The New Democrat Coalition, the largest House Democrat ideological caucus, has called for Pete Hegseth to “resign immediately before his actions cost American lives”. It comes after the Pentagon’s inspector general’s report found he had endangered the lives of US service members by compromising sensitive military intelligence in a Signal group chat earlier this year.
The coalition’s chair Brad Schneider and it’s national security working group chair Gil Cisneros issued a statement blasting Hegseth as “incompetent, reckless, and a threat to the lives of the men and women who serve in the armed forces”.
The Inspector General’s report confirms what we’ve known all along: Secretary Hegseth is incompetent, reckless, and a threat to the lives of the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces.
A true leader is responsible and accountable – Hegseth is no such leader. He failed to take responsibility for this shameful incident and refused to cooperate with the independent investigation. Now he is denying any accountability for the likely illegal double-tap strike in the Caribbean.
Time and time again, the Secretary has lied, dodged, deflected, and shockingly scapegoated his subordinates. He is a disgrace to the office he holds and should resign immediately before his actions cost American lives.
