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RIGHTS: ICYMI, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should reconsider some other cases. Think: Obergefell v. Hodges, which established same-sex marriage as a right. So fast forward to this month, and the House passed a bill that would protect same-sex marriages at the federal level. 47 Republicans joined Dems in supporting the bill. Unclear if it stands a chance in the Senate. In other news, multiple Democratic lawmakers - including AOC and Ilhan Omar - were just arrested at an abortion rights protest in front of the Supreme Court. Also making headlines when it comes to abortion: an Indiana doctor who provided abortion care to a 10 year old girl who was raped is getting ready to sue the state’s attorney general for defamation. Yes, really.
POLITICS: All eyes are on Sri Lanka. Recently, after months of protests over the country’s economic crisis, Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe sort of also agreed to step down…but soon took over as interim leader. Now, it looks like Sri Lanka’s ruling party has nominated him to permanently fill the presidential role. He’ll face off against Dullas Alahapperuma, a dissident ruling party lawmaker who has the support of protesters. Meanwhile, Russian Prez Vladimir Putin just met up with Turkish and Iranian leaders in Iran. It’s only his second foreign trip since he invaded Ukraine earlier this year. Speaking of which, Ukrainian Prez Volodymyr Zelensky just fired more security officials. Because, treason.
HEALTH: Yesterday, temperatures continued to rise in Europe, with the UK experiencing temps of more than 40 degrees Celsius (aka 104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time ever. The previous record was about 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Elsewhere, Portugal recorded even more heat-related deaths - while Belgium, Spain, and France faced rapidly spreading wildfires, forcing more and more people from their homes. In other news, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just rec’d Novavax’s newly authorization covid vaccine for adults. The CDC’s panel of vaccine experts unanimously endorsed the two-shot vaccine. This comes as between 26 million and 37 million US adults have not been vaxxed.
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