Well, I’ll be! Those apparently were big planes further away that looked like closer objects to me! That must have been the only approach they could make due to the storm, and I guess I’ve never seen that before at night.
On the Garland death penalty actions tonight: The steps being taken here are good, but woefully incomplete and not-unlike the Obama-era actions that ultimately led nowhere and allowed Trump and Barr (and then Rosen) to put 13 people to death.
Here’s the memo: justice.gov/opa/page/file/… / A. is fine, but mostly amounts to a delaying tactic (& is similar to that of the Obama era). B. is important, but the “consultation” there is going to needlessly delay rescinding a bad order. C. is very important and should move quickly.
Now, what’s really most distressing here to me is Garland’s quote. What is this? Is this a Janet Reno quote? Come on. Biden campaigned on opposing the death penalty, and Garland is his attorney general. What a sort of a weak quote is this? It’s 2021.
In 10 minutes, we’ll be getting the final #SCOTUS decisions for the term. Two sets of cases remain outstanding: one set is the Voting Rights Act cases out of Arizona and the other addresses donor disclosure requirements in California.
BREAKING: Brnovich is first. Alito, for a 6-3 court, upholds both Arizona voting restrictions. More to come. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Important from the majority: The Supreme Court "decline[s] in these cases to announce a test to govern all VRA §2 claims involving rules, like those at issue here, that specify the time, place, or manner for casting ballots."
When I left BuzzFeed in Spring 2019, a mentor told me to think about my next job as a place to spend 2 years, not a new “work home” like BuzzFeed was for so long. That freed me to try something new, and though it came to an end today, I’m so grateful for my TJC and Appeal time.
Tonight, I am celebrating all that I learned and the amazing people I met in that time. My world has been expanded, and I am so grateful for that.
This is now a part of who I am, and this work will be a part of what I do going forward, in one way or another. … Tomorrow morning, I’ll be on the #SCOTUS beat again, as we get the last opinions of the term and speculate wildly unless and until we hear something from Breyer.
BREAKING: On a very narrow 5-4 vote, #SCOTUS allows CDC eviction moratorium to remain in place through July 31.
Kavanaugh, in the majority keeping the moratorium in place, says he agrees the CDC went too far and that congressional authorization would be necessary for the moratorium to go beyond July 31. (In other words, he says he'd flip his vote if the CDC extends it again.)
One or more #SCOTUS opinions coming shortly, starting in 5 minutes. Voting rights, financial donor disclosure, immigration, eminent domain/sovereign immunity, and patent cases remain.
First decision is in Minerva Surgical v. Hologic. Kagan has the 5-4 decision, vacating and remanding to the Federal Circuit in the patent case. Barrett, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, dissent. Alito also dissents.