Month: June 2024

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump took the stage in the first 2024 presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday night. The debate lasted 90 minutes, airing live on CNN and streaming on CNN.com. Anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash served as moderators. It was the first time either man had debated since 2020, and they made history by marking the first time a sitting president and a former president have ever debated.

The tension between Trump and Biden throughout the debate began from the start, in which the two men did not begin with a handshake, as most typically do. The candidates immediately began taking questions, which included topics such as the state of the economy, abortion and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the Israel-Hamas/Russia-Ukraine wars.

Both of the candidates’ performances faced criticism; with Trump rattling off false and unsubstantiated statements various topics throughout the evening, and Biden sounding hoarse and appearing to lose his train of thought on several occasions. Echoing what most major networks reported after the debate, the headline on the homepage of CNN read: ‘Biden disappoints; Trump lies and deflects’.  The news outlet went on to say that “Biden, hoarse and displaying little vocal range, was often unable to express his differences with Trump with clarity. At one point, after Biden had trailed off as he defended his record on border security, Trump said: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said, either.” Trump, meanwhile, at times repeated his frequent election denialism. He said he’d accept the results of the 2024 election if it’s “fair and legal,” but then repeated his lies about fraud in the 2020 election.”

To see a replay of the debate in full, head HERE.

Editorial credit: QubixStudio / Shutterstock.com

On Thursday, the Supreme Court officially dismissed an appeal connected to Idaho’s abortion ban, preventing it from being enforced until it the case is heard in the lower courts. The decision was briefly posted on the Supreme Court’s website before it was removed on Wednesday, with a spokesperson confirming it was “inadvertently” released.

The 5-4 decision reinstates a lower court ruling that temporarily allowed hospitals in the state to perform emergency abortions to protect the life of the mother, and the health of the mother. Per NPR, three of the court’s conservatives — Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — sided with the three liberals — Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson — in dismissing the appeal from Idaho without considering the core issues in the case. Dissenting were Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas.

President Joe Biden praised the dismissal, saying in a White House statement: “Today’s Supreme Court order ensures that women in Idaho can access the emergency medical care they need while the case returns to the lower courts. No woman should be denied care, made to wait until she’s near death, or forced to flee her home state just to receive the healthcare she needs.”

The opinion did not permanently resolve whether Idaho acted within its rights, or whether the state law is pre-empted by EMTALA. Rather, by a 6-3 vote, the court retreated from a previous ruling that had temporarily allowed Idaho’s law to take effect, meaning that emergency abortions were illegal in the state if they were to save a mother’s health, but not her life. Idaho’s Attorney General Raul Labrador said in a statement that the court did allow most of the law to take effect and that he believes once heard, the full law will be implemented: “after listening to the [Justice Department’s] best argument to defend the Biden administration’s legally untenable position, that Idaho’s Defense of Life Act is not preempted by [federal law] and will be vindicated in full.”

Editorial credit: Fedor Selivanov / Shutterstock.com