Newsletter: Today: The End of Asylum as We Know It?
The Trump administration looks to nearly wipe out the previous asylum law starting today, but legal challenges are expected.
TOP STORIES
The End of Asylum as We Know It?
The Trump administration has moved to effectively end asylum for the vast majority of migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. Set to take effect today, the new rule would bar asylum claims from anyone who has passed through another country en route to the U.S., which essentially would cover anyone other than Mexican residents, who make up a small fraction of asylum applicants. The huge shift in U.S. immigration policy could block hundreds of thousands of people and is certain to draw legal challenges. On Monday, it was already causing confusion among migrants in Tijuana. U.S. officials received guidance just hours before the rule took effect.
Going There, Again
Tweet inflammatory comments. Double down. Repeat. It’s a familiar pattern for President Trump. But this time, he’s made some of the most incendiary comments of his presidency after tweeting that “ ‘progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen” should “go back” to where they came from. On Monday, the president went in front of reporters to vilify the four first-year House Democrats known as “the squad “ — all women of color — as “people who hate our country.” They, in turn, denounced Trump’s language as “xenophobic” and “bigoted,” and even several Republicans pushed back against it. The House is planning to condemn Trump’s comments as “racist” in a resolution to be voted upon as soon as today.
More Politics
-- Who is running the Pentagon? At least 19 top jobs are unfilled or held by acting appointees, including Defense secretary. Soon, it will have its third acting chief in two months.
-- Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Trump’s first appointee to the Supreme Court, is proving to be a different kind of conservative and a bit of a wild card.
-- Joe Biden unveiled a robust plan to expand Obamacare by adding a public program that all Americans could choose.
Testing for Cheaters
The college admissions scandal has affected USC more than any other school. In response, one of the major actions the university has taken is trying to determine whether 33 students had lied on their applications. USC officials questioned the students and told them that decisions in their cases would come within weeks, according to lawyers representing several of the students. But the investigation has turned into a protracted push by USC to clear its ranks of any students who were complicit.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
On this date in 1976, 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver were rescued at a rock quarry near Livermore, Calif., after three gunmen had kidnapped them from Chowchilla, 95 miles away, then buried the victims inside a truck trailer and demanded ransom. The bus driver, farmer Ed Ray, and the children, ranging in age from 5 to 14, escaped 16 hours after they were buried.
CALIFORNIA
-- Aftershocks of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake near Ridgecrest have been creeping into areas close to two major earthquake faults. Both faults are capable of producing new earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater. The U.S. Geological Survey says the chance of an earthquake of magnitude 7 or greater from the July 5 earthquake is 1 in 300 — “possible, but with a low probability.”
-- A Southern California Gas Co. worker was killed and 15 people were injured in a large explosion that rocked a Murrieta neighborhood.
-- William Dannemeyer, a former Orange County congressman who spent much of his career fighting gay rights and helped cement the area’s reputation as a bastion of right-wing conservatism, has died at 89.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Director Andrea Arnold reportedly lost of control of the show “Big Little Lies.” It isn’t just about gender, writes TV reporter Meredith Blake.
-- Scarlett Johansson has found herself back in the spotlight over casting controversies after comments she made to a magazine. This time she’s defending herself.
-- “The Simpsons” will scare up a “Stranger Things” parody for Episode 666 on Halloween.
NATION-WORLD
-- Seventy current and former Customs and Border Protection personnel are under investigation as part of an administrative probe into a secret Facebook group in which members used dehumanizing and derogatory language toward Latina members of Congress and deceased migrants.
-- Two accusers of Jeffrey Epstein urged a judge to keep the wealthy financier behind bars until he goes on trial on federal charges that he sexually abused underage girls.
-- In Uganda, pop star and opposition figure Bobi Wine says he will challenge longtime President Yoweri Museveni in the 2021 election.
-- New research suggests a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, even for those with a higher genetic risk.
BUSINESS
-- An Orange County jury ordered Toyota to pay $15.8 million to one of its largest dealers in Southern California, who alleged that the company’s recalls to fix the electric power system of its Prius models did not remedy safety defects.
-- Consumer columnist David Lazarus writes that Alexa may be the key to Amazon’s looming domination of the healthcare market.
SPORTS
-- The Angels’ heartbreak over Tyler Skaggs’ death hasn’t healed, but they’re embracing the rhythms of the game and the game is warmly returning that embrace, Helene Elliott writes.
-- The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, “where the turf meets the surf,” has a new slogan for its summer meeting: “We are not Santa Anita.”
OPINION
-- Rebuking Trump for his naked bigotry is the least Washington can do.
-- Following the Billy Graham rule doesn’t make you noble. It makes you a sexist dinosaur.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- This Texas town bet on bitcoin and lost. (Wired)
-- Do trigger warnings help or hurt? A look at the latest evidence. (Slate)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
Yosemite’s famed Ahwahnee Hotel was established in the 1920s and has played host to such celebrities as Queen Elizabeth II, John F. Kennedy and Charlie Chaplin. But back in 2016, it was forced to change its name to the Majestic Yosemite when the former facilities operator and the National Park Service got into a legal dispute. Now that the parties have settled, its historic name is no longer under wraps.
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