Today’s edition of quick hits.
* This ruling was a reprieve, but the fight over mifepristone isn’t over yet: “In a blow for anti-abortion advocates, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone, meaning the commonly used drug can remain widely available. The court found unanimously that the group of anti-abortion doctors who questioned the Food and Drug Administration’s decisions making it easier to access the pill did not have legal standing to sue.”
* Good news on inflation, for the second time in as many days: “A measure of wholesale prices unexpectedly decreased in May, adding another piece of evidence that inflation is pulling back. The producer price index, a gauge of prices that producers get for their goods and services in the open market, declined 0.2% for the month, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. That reversed a 0.5% increase in April and compared with the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.1% rise.”
* At the G7 in Italy: “President Joe Biden and his counterparts from the wealthiest democratic nations reached a deal Thursday to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan this year backed by frozen Russian assets, signaling a sustained commitment to beat back Russia’s invasion, U.S. officials said. ... Before a joint news conference, Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr signed a bilateral security agreement.”
* An indefensible prosecution: “American journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial in Russia on charges of spying for the CIA, prosecutors announced Thursday. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was arrested in March 2023 on what many in the West consider trumped-up charges by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s repressive government.”
* In Arizona: “The Phoenix Police Department uses excessive force, violates constitutional rights, particularly those of homeless people, and discriminates against Black, Hispanic and Native American people, according to the results of an investigation by the Justice Department released Thursday.”
* A case worth watching: “The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging President Biden’s decision to shut down the southern border to nearly all migrants seeking asylum in the United States. The action is the first legal challenge to an order that the Biden administration hopes will decrease the number of illegal border crossings and neutralize one of the president’s most serious political vulnerabilities.”
* Dramatic flooding: “Torrential rains pounded South Florida on Wednesday as officials warned residents to steer clear of ‘life threatening flooding’ in some of the state’s most populous regions. The National Weather Service in Miami urged residents to stay indoors, off the roads and away from dangerous moving waters. ... So rare was Tuesday’s rain between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Sarasota that it should be expected only every 500 to 1,000 years.”
* A fascinating report: “More than 14,000 Texas patients crossed the border into New Mexico for an abortion last year. An additional 16,000 left Southern states bound for Illinois. And nearly 12,000 more traveled north from South Carolina and Georgia to North Carolina. These were among the more than 171,000 patients who traveled for an abortion in 2023, new estimates show, demonstrating both the upheaval in access since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the limits of state bans to stop the procedure.”
I’d ordinarily conclude, “See you tomorrow” at this point, but I’m off tomorrow, and I’ll see you Monday.