Brief News
New Supreme Court Justice sworn in
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice member, making history as the first female African American justice and beginning what could be a decadeslong tenure. However as she starts her job, the Supreme Court is in turmoil.
The country is reeling from the aftereffects of the court’s majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as the recent expansion of gun rights for the first time in more than a decade. The Supreme Court issued final opinions and orders, as two big cases await resolution concerning the environment and immigration. New challenges related to women’s reproductive health, the Second Amendment and even same-sex marriage are also likely to swirl in state and federal courts across the US in the near future.
School Shootings
After the deadliest school massacre in almost a decade, the governors of Texas and Iowa this week announced commitments of at least $100 million each to try to help prevent similar tragedies.
The funding in Texas will be allocated toward school safety and mental health initiatives, including money for bullet-resistant shields and for school districts to buy silent panic alert technology, Gov. Greg Abbott said. In Iowa, funding will be used to increase staffing of special agents, criminal intelligence analysts and communication specialists dedicated to school safety.
This comes after school shootings in the US reached a 20-year high in 2021, federal data shows.
“January 6” Insurrection
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney delivered a searing rebuke of former President Donald Trump and GOP leaders at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, recounting some of the details that the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection has uncovered thus far and praising the bravery of witnesses, particularly the young female aides, who have come forward to aid its investigation. “We are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before, and that is a former President who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional Republic,” Cheney said.
Her remarks come after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson delivered shocking testimony before the House select committee this week, increasing the potential criminal exposure Trump faces in the Justice Department’s ongoing probe.
Israeli Parliament dissolved
The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has voted to dissolve itself, triggering what will be the fifth round of voting for Israelis in less than four years.
The 92-0 vote brought an end to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s run as the country’s leader, one of the shortest terms in Israeli history, and gives former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a path to return to power.
The coalition government had been facing weeks of mounting political uncertainty in Israel, but the announcement last week of the move to dissolve parliament still came as a surprise.
New elections will be held on November 1.
