A federal judge in Florida has temporarily blocked portions of a new law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, allowing three transgender children to continue receiving treatment. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed the lawsuit on behalf of the minors, and the court will continue to hear arguments in the coming weeks.
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The House Oversight Committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over a document subpoenaed by Chair James Comer. The document, an FD-1023 form, was brought back from Ukraine by Rudy Giuliani and is related to an alleged bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden. Attorney General William Barr set up an “intake process” for the material in April.
Chris Christie is launching his second bid for the presidency on Tuesday, becoming the first to challenge former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary field. Despite being a close ally of Trump in the past, Christie has soured on the former president and plans to run a no-holds-barred campaign against him. The next day, former Vice President Mike Pence will announce his bid, and Christie may be the only candidate willing to openly criticize Trump.
Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway, will not be extradited to the United States as planned on Thursday due to a court action filed by his lawyer, Máximo Altez. Altez has called the extradition an “abuse of authority” that violates his client’s rights, and van der Sloot has reversed course following a meeting with Dutch diplomats. The court action has yet to be heard, and it is unclear when a decision will be made.
The Atlanta City Council approved a $90 million, 85-acre police and firefighter training center, dubbed "Cop City" by opponents, despite 14 hours of public testimony against the project. Mayor Andre Dickens praised the decision, citing the potential for job creation and public safety benefits, while activists have vowed to continue their fight against the project.
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission has ruled that Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer should be publicly reprimanded for her conduct during the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz. The commission found that Judge Scherer showed bias toward the prosecution, failed to maintain order in the courtroom, and allowed her emotions to overcome her judgement. The report will now be sent to the Florida Supreme Court, which will decide whether to accept the commission's recommendation.
Michael Tisius, 42, is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Missouri for the murder of two jailers 23 years ago. Organizations such as the American Bar Association, the NAACP, the European Union, and the Vatican have urged Gov. Mike Parson to grant clemency, but he has refused. Some of the jurors who sentenced Tisius to death now say they would back or wouldn't object to a commutation to life in prison. This will be the first execution in Missouri since 2017 and the first in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Cornel West has announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, running as a third-party candidate for the People's Party. His campaign will focus on issues such as access to jobs with living wages, decent housing, women's rights, health care for all, and de-escalating the destruction of the planet. West is the latest Black candidate to enter the 2024 presidential race, and is aiming to pursue truth and justice through his candidacy.