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Middle East conflict live updates: Israel weighs response to Iranian attack as U.S. and allies urge restraint

One poll question summarizes eight years of Donald Trump

States where abortion is on the ballot in the 2024 election

Measles is more contagious than the coronavirus. And it’s back. 

One way to get China to clean up faster: build a ‘climate club’

Chronic truancy crisis requires a tough, not punitive, response

Fire chief adopts puppy from fire scene: ‘I was so sad he’d been burned’

They got their son a pet octopus. Weeks later, there were 50 more.

A baby had no home after a stay in the NICU. Her nurses adopted her. 

SpaceX could finally face competition. It may be too late.

Biden hosts foreign leaders; Trump on trial in New York

U.S. gives Samsung $6.4 billion to build chip factories in Texas

Delta eclipse flight from Dallas veered off path of totality

An illustrated encyclopedia of packing styles

A fashion writer’s secret to travel style? It’s black and blue.

Carolyn Hax: How to know when kids are ready to handle their parents’ divorce?

Ask Amy: Man in my wife’s running group texts her too much

Miss Manners: Tipping is so confusing these days

Six-run sixth inning dooms the Nationals to a series loss in Oakland

Where to celebrate the release of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Mitchell Parker ‘trying not to overthink anything’ as MLB debut nears

Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries deepen tensions with U.S.

Israel weighs strike on Iran to ‘send a message’ while preserving alliance

To decipher South Africa’s strange foreign policy, look to its past

Weapons visible over Zion Square, Jerusalem

Iranian weapons likely intercepted over al-Aqsa Mosque

Crowds in Tehran celebrate Iranian attack on Israel

Trump Manhattan criminal court

Evan Vucci

Today, President Biden acknowledged that there are not enough votes in the Senate to make an exception in Senate filibuster rules so that Democrats could write abortion protections into law with a simple majority in the chamber. His comments came at the outset of a virtual meeting with Democratic governors in which Biden said the focus now should be on electing more supporters of abortion rights this year.

“This is going to go one way or the other after November,” he said, warning that Republicans could seek a nationwide ban on abortion if they take over control of Congress.

On Thursday, at a news conference in Madrid, Biden chastised the Supreme Court for “outrageous behavior” and said he would <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/biden-abortion-filibuster-nato/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5">support an exception to the Senate’s filibuster rules</a>. Under current rules, most legislation requires 60 votes to advance — a threshold Democrats cannot achieve in the evenly divided chamber.

1 p.m. Eastern time: Biden convened a virtual meeting with Democratic governors to discuss efforts to protect access to reproductive health care. Watch live <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/">here</a>.

1 p.m. Eastern: First lady Jill Biden visited a clinic in Richmond to urge parents to vaccinate their children under age 5 now that coronavirus vaccines <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/21/coronavirus-vaccine-under-5/" target=_blank>are available</a> for young children.

2:30 p.m. Eastern: Biden left the White House en route to Camp David for the holiday weekend.

Got a question about politics? Submit it <a href="https://hosted-washpost.submissionplatform.com/sub/hosted/61defe7553336a5f2057a6d1">here</a>. At 3 p.m. Eastern weekdays, return to this space and we’ll address what’s on the mind of readers.

Karen Fann

As the Justice Department’s investigation into the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/23/jeffrey-clark-house-search/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>burst into public view</a>, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports that the department last week subpoenaed two Republican Arizona state senators “for information tied to possible correspondence with former president Donald Trump’s attorneys as attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election were underway.”

Arizona state Senate President Karen Fann and Sen. Kelly Townsend received subpoenas last week, according to Kim Quintero, a spokeswoman for Senate Republicans in Arizona. These subpoenas came as the Justice Department deepened its investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to include key Republican players in battleground states across the nation. Fann and Townsend are the first state lawmakers known to have received subpoenas as part of that push.

As Yvonne notes, the subpoenas came just days after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/21/rusty-bowers-jan-6/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9&itid=lk_inline_manual_12">Arizona House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers</a> (R) testified before the U.S. House select committee investigating the Capitol attack about efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss in Arizona.

Fann and Townsend are complying with the request, Quintero said, and staff members have already identified tens of thousands of records from constituents and others that could fit what is being broadly requested.

“They’re requesting text messages and emails from a list of people, which I can’t disclose who those people are, because they told us not to speak with the media about this,” she said.

Read more about the subpoenas <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/01/karen-fann-subpoena/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15" target=_blank>here</a>.

Top aide Cassidy Hutchinson reveals more of Trump's Jan. 6 actions at hearing

The House select committee investigating the insurrection this week heard from Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. And her explosive testimony left us with plenty to chew on while the committee breaks for the Fourth of July.

Hearings are likely to resume after the break, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/aaron-blake/?itid=lk_inline_manual_19" target=_blank>Aaron Blake</a> examined the four witnesses who could shed more light on what Hutchinson testified happened at the White House in the lead-up to the attack.

The Secret Service agent who was detailed to the White House as deputy chief of staff for operations took center stage in Hutchinson’s testimony. She said Ornato informed Meadows the morning of Jan. 6 that then-President Donald Trump’s rallygoers had weapons, and that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/28/cassidy-hutchinsons-explosive-damning-jan-6-testimony/?itid=sf_politics_politics%20-%20the-fix_article_list&amp;itid=lk_inline_manual_12&itid=lk_inline_manual_21">Ornato told her that he’d also informed Trump</a>. Both alleged conversations came before Trump directed the crowd to the Capitol anyway. And as Aaron notes:

There have been no reports, notably, that Ornato disputes this portion of Hutchinson’s testimony. The content of the warning to Trump will be vital to learn more about, particularly given that Hutchinson described hearing about it secondhand from Ornato.

Ornato’s fellow Secret Service agent could shed light on the alleged altercation that Hutchinson said took place between Trump and his security detail in the presidential vehicle on Jan. 6. Engel has testified to the committee before, but that was before Hutchinson’s public testimony.

The former White House counsel received a subpoena this week from the committee and was the subject of a very public pressure campaign by committee members to elicit his testimony. Quite simply, he is in the unique position to confirm key aspects of the panel’s case — that Trump and his allies knew what they were attempting was illegal.

Hutchinson’s testimony about Trump’s director of national intelligence saying things could “spiral out of control” on Jan. 6 didn’t generate as many headlines as other nuggets of information — but it’s not something that should be overlooked in the investigation.

Compared to the Cipillone example, this includes less detail about what, specifically, Ratcliffe feared; it’s not totally clear that he feared actual violence. But notably, Hutchinson places this conversation before her conversation with Cipollone. She also places it before Meadows having told her, in early January, that “things might get real, real bad on January 6.”

Read more of Aaron’s analysis <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/ornato-cipollone-hutchinson-witnesses/?itid=lk_inline_manual_30" target=_blank>here</a>.

A group called the Republican Accountability Project says it has installed about a dozen billboards in targeted locations highlighting the refusal of several high-profile Republicans to testify before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

“What else are they hiding? Testify about January 6th,” read the billboards, which feature photos of former president Donald Trump, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon.

The billboards, the group says, have been placed in New York City’s Times Square, near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, in McCarthy’s congressional district and near Meadows’s residence in Lake Keowee, S.C. They are expected to remain in place for two weeks.

President Biden warned Friday that Republicans will go even further to limit abortion access if they become the majority party after the midterm elections.

The president shared his thoughts during a meeting with governors on the future of abortion rights after last week’s Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s right to an abortion.

“I predict if we don’t take this — keep the Senate, increase in the House, we’re going to be in a situation where the Republicans are going to pass a nationwide prohibition consistent with what the Supreme Court ruled,” he said.

Biden called Thursday for altering Senate filibuster rules to codify abortion rights and privacy protections into law — the most aggressive position he has voiced on reproductive rights thus far. His position is expected to play a role in the ongoing abortion debate heading into the midterm elections, where many Democrats are hoping the recent court decision moves liberal voters to turn out in higher numbers than previously expected.

However, he acknowledged Friday that there aren’t the votes in the Senate to scrap the filibuster.

“I think people are going to be shocked when the first state tries to arrest a woman for crossing the state line to get health services,” Biden said. “I don’t think people believe that’s going to happen, but it’s going to happen. And it’s going to telegraph to the whole country that this is a gigantic deal.”

Eugene Scott

President Biden acknowledged Friday that there are not enough votes in the Senate to make an exception in Senate filibuster rules so that Democrats could write abortion protections into law with a simple majority in the chamber.

His comments came at the outset of a virtual meeting with Democratic governors in which Biden said the focus now should be on electing more supporters of abortion rights this year.

“This is going to go one way or the other after November,” he said.

On Thursday, at a news conference in Madrid, Biden chastised the Supreme Court for “outrageous behavior” and said he would <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/biden-abortion-filibuster-nato/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5&itid=lk_inline_manual_48">support an exception to the Senate’s filibuster rules</a>. Under current rules, most legislation requires 60 votes to advance — a threshold Democrats cannot achieve in the evenly divided chamber.

During Friday’s event, Biden said the court had made a “terrible, extreme decision” in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Biden also reiterated that the federal government would ensure that states do not try to keep women from traveling to states where abortions are available if they live in one where the procedure is banned.

Key Speakers At The SelectUSA Investment Summit

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo downplayed a threat by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that he would derail a compromise bill to boost microchip research and manufacturing in the United States, calling his remarks “frustrating” but merely a “bump in the road.”

“There [are] always bumps in the road and people say things for leverage in the negotiations,” Raimondo said in an interview with The Washington Post on Friday morning.

Raimondo, who has been a key player in the negotiations, said that despite McConnell’s comments, negotiations continue and Republicans have told her they are committed to reaching an agreement. Any bill will need the support of at least 10 Republicans to move ahead in the Senate.

“The only entity in the world that benefits from this bill not passing is China,” she said.

The House and Senate are working to reconcile different versions of the bill that would invest $52 billion to expand microchip manufacturing and its supply chain to the United States. The country hosts 12 percent of manufacturing, down from 37 percent in 1990, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association — with China, Taiwan, Japan and the European Union making up much of the difference. Demand for semiconductors has increased with expanded use of mobile phones, computers and electric vehicles but the pandemic disrupted the supply chain.

McConnell’s <a href="https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3740bf2/62becc8acfe8a21601ccf5b9/626816476f02666fddcb4fbf/28/55/62becc8acfe8a21601ccf5b9?itid=lk_inline_manual_58">threat</a> came after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/06/29/schumer-manchin-drug-pricing/?itid=lk_inline_manual_58">The Washington Post reported</a> Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) were nearing agreement on a measure to reduce prescription drug prices.

Raimondo said it would be “horrible” if Congress doesn’t pass the bill before August, when Congress leaves town for more than a month.

At least three companies have said in recent weeks that plans for new microchip manufacturing plants in the United States is dependent on Congress passing the legislation. Intel has a $20 billion plant planned in Ohio, Micron Technologies is set to expand in Idaho and GlobalWafers has unveiled a plan in Texas — all states with a majority Republican congressional delegation and Republican governors.

“If it goes down, China wins,” Raimondo said. “If you’re on Team China, don’t vote for it.”

Leigh Ann Caldwell

President Biden is set to travel this month to Saudi Arabia to participate in a summit with leaders from across the Middle East. Biden’s plans have drawn scrutiny in part because he pledged during his 2020 campaign to make the kingdom a “pariah” over its record of human rights abuses. On Thursday, Biden stressed that the trip would focus on regional and not bilateral issues. The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jm-rieger/?itid=lk_inline_manual_67">JM Rieger</a> has pulled together video of what Biden has had say in response to questions about the planned trip in recent weeks.

House Jan. 6 select committee hearing

If there <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/17/january-6-committee-trump-crimes/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_70">any criminal referrals</a> come out of the House Jan. 6 committee’s investigation, witness tampering could be a big one. At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, the committee shared messages it said two of its witnesses received, urging them not to testify to the committee.

The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/amber-phillips/?itid=lk_inline_manual_71">Amber Phillips</a> explores what witness tampering is, citing an expert who says three things must be present. Per Amber, here they are:

1. That there is a proceeding going on, like a grand jury (or, in this case, a congressional hearing).

2. That there is an intent to influence witness testimony in that proceeding.

3. That the intent is wrongful, meaning the person wanted to prevent the truth getting out to avoid being accused of wrongdoing. (The statue says: “whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person”)

You can read more from Amber <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/witness-tampering-trump-jan-6/?itid=lk_inline_manual_73">here</a>.

A new poll finds that the percentage of Americans citing abortion or women’s rights as one of their top five priorities has grown since December, but that for a large majority of Americans, neither issue ranks among their top concerns.

In an <a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/in-the-wake-of-the-dobbs-ruling-more-americans-are-citing-abortion-or-womens-rights-as-priority-issues/">AP-NORC poll</a> released Friday, 22 percent of Americans cited abortion or women’s rights as among their top five priorities. That is nearly triple the amount who cited those issues in a December poll.

Still, more than 7 in 10 Americans did not mention either abortion or women’s rights as among their leading priorities.

The poll was conducted between June 23 and June 27. The court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was issued June 24.

According to the polling organizations, abortion or women’s rights was mentioned as a top issue among 13 percent of those taking the survey before the decision was issued. That climbed to 30 percent among those taking the survey after the announcement.

A draft opinion that signaled that the court was poised to overturn Roe was leaked in early May.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/01/what-is-florida-dont-say-gay-bill/?itid=lk_inline_manual_83">a new Florida law</a> aimed at limiting LGBTQ discussion in schools took effect Friday, the White House called it “shameful” and pledged that the federal government would monitor its impact.

In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took aim at the Parental Rights in Education law that critics dubbed Florida’s “don’t say gay” legislation, saying it would result in “discrimination, plain and simple.”

“Today, some of Florida’s most vulnerable students and families are more fearful and less free,” Jean-Pierre said. “As the state’s shameful ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law takes effect, state officials who claim to champion liberty are limiting the freedom of their fellow Americans simply to be themselves.”

“Teachers are being instructed not to wear rainbow clothing. LGBTQI+ teachers are being told to take down family photos of their husbands and wives — cherished family photos like the ones on my own desk,” said Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay person to be chief spokesperson for the president of the United States.

Simone Biles

President Biden on Friday unveiled a list of 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for a wide variety of endeavors, including sports, entertainment, politics and political activism. The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7. The list:

Simone Biles, the decorated gymnast and mental health advocate;

Sister Simone Campbell, a Catholic social justice advocate who helped push the Affordable Care Act;

Julieta García, the former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville and the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president;

Gabrielle Giffords, a former congresswoman and gun-control advocate;

Fred Gray, one of the first Black members of the Alabama state legislature since Reconstruction;

Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple;

Father Alexander Karloutsos, the former vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America;

Khizr Khan, a Gold Star father advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom;

Sandra Lindsay, a New York critical-care nurse who served on the front lines of the pandemic response;

John McCain, the late Republican senator from Arizona;

Diane Nash, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee;

Megan Rapinoe, a decorated soccer player and prominent advocate for gender pay equality;

Alan Simpson, the former senator from Wyoming;

Richard Trumka, the late president of the AFL-CIO;

Wilma Vaught, one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military;

Denzel Washington, an actor, director and producer; and

Raúl Yzaguirre, a civil rights advocate who served as chief executive and president of National Council of La Raza for 30 years.

You can read more on Biden’s picks <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/biden-medal-of-freedom-honor/?itid=lk_inline_manual_91">here </a>from The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/eugene-scott/?itid=lk_inline_manual_91">Eugene Scott</a>.

The congressional testimony this week of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, offered a timely reminder of the extent to which Washington is run by aides.

The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/dan-zak/?itid=lk_inline_manual_95">Dan Zak</a> take a look at that reality, writing:

The aide sees and hears and knows, because they are, simply, around.

“Principal aide” was how Cassidy Hutchinson, 25, was described by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) Tuesday during the sixth hearing last month of the Jan. 6 select committee. Cheney used her opening remarks to situate Hutchinson at the nexus of power, calling her “a familiar face on Capitol Hill” whose desk was “several steps down the hall from the Oval Office.”

“Ms. Hutchinson,” Cheney said, “was in a position to know a great deal about the happenings in the Trump White House.”

On Jan. 6, 2021, while working for Meadows, Hutchinson was surrounded by unfolding drama as the West Wing reacted to the insurrection. She was just around the corner from — or in earshot of, or behind the scenes with — the major players.

You can read more from Dan <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/07/01/cassidy-hutchinson-washington-aides-power/?itid=lk_inline_manual_97">here</a>.

The number of Democratic governors slated to join President Biden’s virtual meeting on abortion at 1 p.m. Eastern has grown to 10, according to an updated list released by the White House.

Collectively, the governors represent more than 50 million women, nearly a third of women in the country, according to a White House tally.

The governors the White House says are planning to participate include Kathy Hochul of New York, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Jared Polis of Colorado, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Jay Inslee of Washington, Kate Brown of Oregon, Gavin Newsom of California and Dan McKee of Rhode Island.

Politico, however, <a href="https://twitter.com/ccadelago/status/1542874622575755264?s=21&t=ThjxyUB2MNwvvAJehJiCVw">has reported</a> that Newsom won’t participate because of a previously scheduled family commitment.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Friday that testimony given to the House Jan. 6 committee has shown that former president Donald Trump was a “risk to the nation” and that he wouldn’t support Trump for president in 2024 if he runs.

Hutchinson, who is term-limited and not seeking reelection, has previously said Trump is “politically” and “morally” responsible for the insurrection. But Hutchinson’s comments to CBS on Friday went even further, as he criticized Trump’s challenges to the legality of the 2020 election.

“Yes, that was a threat to our democracy. That was a threat to our institutions of government,” Hutchinson said. “That’s not the behavior we want to see in a responsible president.”

Pressed on whether he thinks Trump is a danger to the nation, Hutchinson said: “I would not be supporting him for 2024. He acted irresponsibly, during that time he was a risk to the nation, absolutely. So that’s my statement on it.”

During the CBS interview, Hutchinson also said he found the public testimony this week from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to be “very compelling.” (They are not related.)

“She came across with a great deal of credibility,” Hutchinson said, although he noted that the format of the hearing at which she appeared did not allow for cross-examination and included hearsay testimony.

Hutchinson said he does not believe the committee has shown Trump was criminally responsible for Jan. 6. “We’ll see how that develops,” he said.

Sarah Sanders, a former White House press secretary under Trump, is the Republican nominee to succeed Hutchinson.

Capitol Hill

President Biden struck his most aggressive tone on abortion on Thursday, calling for the U.S. Senate to suspend its long-standing filibuster rules to be able enshrine abortion rights in federal law, a move that could restore protections in place for the past half-century with a simple majority vote.

But, as The Washington Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/rachel-roubein/?itid=lk_inline_manual_116">Rachel Roubein</a> points out in The Health 202, Democrats do not have enough members within their own caucus to support such an effort. Per Rachel:

That’s where the Democratic messaging comes in. The party will use Biden’s new plea to blow up the filibuster for abortion rights to galvanize its base in the midterm elections.

“It helps us to, again, make the case of why if we got two more pro-choice Democrats into the Senate, that we could break this logjam,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told The Health 202. “And we would have the president’s backing and support to do so.”

Biden’s remarks were striking since he’s previously been wary of changing the chamber’s decades-old rules to push Democratic priorities through a narrowly divided Senate. But the president has come under fire in recent days from some Democrats and advocates who want him to push boundaries to protect abortion access.

You can read more from Rachel <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/democrats-dont-have-votes-scrap-filibuster-roe/?itid=lk_inline_manual_118">here</a>.

Rep. Liz Cheney, who faces a tough Republican primary challenge for her Wyoming congressional seat from a candidate backed by former president Donald Trump, didn’t shy away at all from her work on the House Jan. 6 committee during a debate on Thursday night.

“If we embrace the lies of Donald Trump, if we tell the people of Wyoming something that is not true, we will soon find ourselves without the structure and the basis and the framework of our constitutional republic,” Cheney said during the debate broadcast by Wyoming PBS ahead of the Aug. 16 primary.

Harriet Hageman, a former Republican national committeewoman backed by Trump, and the other three Cheney challengers have sought to turn Cheney’s work as vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 committee into a liability.

During the debate, Hageman said she had “serious concerns” about the 2020 election but stopped short of repeating Trump’s false claims about it being stolen from him. Hageman, however, was critical of Cheney’s focus on the insurrection.

“They’re focusing on something that happened 18 months ago; they’re not focusing on the issues that are important to the people in Wyoming,” said Hageman, who appeared at a rally in Casper, Wyo., with Trump in late May.

You can watch the full debate <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?521447-1/wyoming-us-house-republican-debate">here</a>.

Planned Parenthood Votes attacks Mehmet Oz's abortion stance

In the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Republicans are being targeted in ads not only by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07FZe6fvSHE">their Democratic opponents</a>, but also by an array of advocacy groups. In Pennsylvania, Planned Parenthood Votes has rolled out what it says is a $3 million ad buy highlighting the “extreme” stances of Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz, who faces Democrat John Fetterman in the fall. Oz is “taking away control over personal health decisions,” says the narrator in the ad, which was clipped by Punchbowl News.

“I respect those with a different view, but as a heart surgeon I’ve held the smallest of human hearts in the palm of my hand and will defend the sanctity of life,” Oz said in a statement last Friday after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. “I am relieved that protecting the lives of America’s unborn children will once again be decided by the people through their elected representatives.”

In a decision handed down on the final day of its highly significant term, the Supreme Court on Thursday <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/supreme-court-epa-climate-change/?itid=lk_inline_manual_133">curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability</a> to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, removing a key tool in the federal government’s toolbox for tackling climate change. The vote was 6 to 3, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. writing for the majority that the EPA lacks the authority to make sweeping changes to the nation’s power sector without explicit approval from Congress.

Writing in The Climate 202, our colleague <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/maxine-joselow/?itid=lk_inline_manual_134">Maxine Joselow</a> writes that the decision actually wasn’t the worst nightmare for climate activists. Per Maxine:

We're not trying to sugarcoat the ruling, which will set back America's efforts to cut carbon pollution from the power sector, a leading contributor to climate change. But the decision did not go as far as many climate advocates had feared.

In particular, the majority did not take away the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants, vehicle tailpipes or other major sources of planet-warming pollution.

Instead, the justices said the agency cannot resurrect President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, a now-defunct rule that would have forced utilities to engage in “generation shifting,” or switching from coal-fired power generation to natural gas or renewable energy.

You can read more from Maxine <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/3-takeaways-supreme-court-big-climate-ruling/?itid=lk_inline_manual_136">here</a>.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning Roe v. Wade, Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading antiabortion group, says her organization’s priority now is “helping states be as ambitious as they can be” in restricting abortions.

Dannenfelser spoke with our colleagues <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/theodoric-meyer/?itid=lk_inline_manual_140">Theodoric Meyer</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/leigh-ann-caldwell/?itid=lk_inline_manual_140">Leigh Ann Caldwell</a> for The Early 202.

“My biggest concern is states that have a plug in the system, like a bad governor, or a handful of legislators that are the problem,” Dannenfelser said.

Among those she cited: North Carolina, where Democrat Roy Cooper is the governor.

“There’s a whole group of battleground states — states like Virginia and North Carolina,” Dannenfelser said. “In North Carolina, there’s a governor who would never sign a 15-week limit. We need a new governor. In Virginia, we need a couple of votes in the legislature in order to pass <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/06/29/youngkin-abortion-life-conception/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11&itid=lk_inline_manual_143">the governor’s 15-week, pain-capable proposal</a>.”

You can read the rest of the interview with Dannenfelser <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/marjorie-dannenfelser-what-next-abortion-battles/?itid=lk_inline_manual_144">here</a>.

Back from a six-day trip to Europe, President Biden plans to meet virtually from the White House on Friday with a group of Democratic governors who are moving to protect abortion access in their states following last week’s decision by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

According to the White House, attendees will include Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The meeting provides an opportunity for Biden to continue to highlight his opposition to the court ruling and talk about what avenues are available to protect reproductive rights in its aftermath.

Speaking at a news conference in Madrid on Thursday, following a NATO conference, Biden called for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/biden-abortion-filibuster-nato/?itid=lk_inline_manual_150">altering Senate filibuster rules</a> to codify into law abortion rights and privacy protections, the most aggressive position he has staked out on reproductive rights and one that could reshape a roiling national debate ahead of the midterm elections.

Biden is also facing calls from Democratic lawmakers and advocates <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/democrats-call-biden-declare-abortion-national-health-emergency/?itid=lk_inline_manual_152">to declare a national health emergency</a> to increase financial resources and flexibility in states that continue to allow abortion access.

At Tuesday’s hearing of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the panel’s vice chairwoman, said that committee members have asked each witness connected to Donald Trump’s administration or campaign whether they have been contacted by former colleagues or others who have “attempted to influence or impact their testimony.” Cheney described two responses that she said raised “significant concern.”

The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/rosalind-s-helderman/?itid=lk_inline_manual_156">Rosalind S. Helderman</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/josh-dawsey/?itid=lk_inline_manual_156">Josh Dawsey</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jacqueline-alemany/?itid=lk_inline_manual_156">Jacqueline Alemany</a> report this is hardly the first time something like this has happened:

Evidence across multiple state, federal and congressional investigations points to a similar pattern: Trump and his close allies privately shower potential witnesses with flattery and attention, extending vague assurances that staying loyal to Trump would be better than crossing him.

Meanwhile, Trump publicly blasts those who offer testimony against him in bluntly personal terms, offering a clear example to others of the consequences of stepping out of line.

Our colleagues quote former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who said he was cajoled in 2018 ahead of offering damaging information to federal prosecutors.

“Donald Trump never changes his playbook,” Cohen said in an interview. “He behaves like a mob boss, and these messages are fashioned in that style. Giving an order without giving the order. No fingerprints attached.”

You can read the full story <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/30/how-trump-world-pressures-witnesses-deny-his-possible-wrongdoing/?itid=lk_inline_manual_160">here</a>.

"Stop The Steal" Trump Supporters Converge on the U.S. Capitol

Toward the end of 2020, President Donald Trump began raising a new idea with aides: that he would personally lead a march to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/isaac-arnsdorf/?itid=lk_inline_manual_164">Isaac Arnsdorf</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/josh-dawsey/?itid=lk_inline_manual_164">Josh Dawsey</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/carol-d-leonnig/?itid=lk_inline_manual_164">Carol D. Leonnig</a> report that Trump brought it up repeatedly with key advisers in the Oval Office, according to a person who talked with him about it. They write:

The president told others he wanted a dramatic, made-for-TV moment that could pressure Republican lawmakers to support his demand to throw out the electoral college results showing that Joe Biden had defeated him, the person said.

The excursion that almost happened came into clearer focus this week, as the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, presented explosive testimony and records detailing Trump’s fervent demands to lead his supporters mobbing the seat of government. Though Trump’s trip was ultimately thwarted by his own security officers, the new evidence cuts closer to the critical question of what he knew about the violence in store for that day.

You can read our colleagues full story <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/01/trump-capitol-riot-march/?itid=lk_inline_manual_166">here</a>.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade, Texas appears poised to cement its place at the center of the battle over personal freedoms that have been guaranteed by law for decades.

The Post’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/annie-gowen/?itid=lk_inline_manual_170">Annie Gowen</a> reports that leaders in the Republican-dominated state have enacted one of the most restrictive abortion policies in the nation and been in the forefront of devising measures that would criminalize parents’ efforts to seek medical treatment for their transgender children. More from Annie:

Now, the state’s conservative attorney general, Ken Paxton, has signaled that he is willing to revisit the state’s anti-sodomy law, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2003 to protect intimacy between same-sex partners.

“People are still reeling from Roe, and we’re in an incredibly toxic political environment right now,” said Oni Blair, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. “But we need to recognize that nothing is off the table at this moment. All of our rights and liberties — from LGBTQ equality, voting and even contraception — could be at risk.”

You can read the full story <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/texas-abortion-sodomy/?itid=lk_inline_manual_172">here</a>.

Stanford University, BA in Political Science

John Wagner is The Post's national political breaking news editor. He previously was a reporter on the breaking news team. Prior to that, John covered the Trump White House. During the 2016 presidential election, he focused on the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. John also chronicled Maryland government for more than a decade.

Post Politics Now Biden acknowledges there aren’t enough votes to change the filibuster on abortion

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