2 different viewpoints on why Biden s Supreme Court commission may be a dud
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) led the charge in criticizing President Biden s newly-minted 36-person bipartisan commission that s been tasked with studying Supreme Court expansion and term limits for justices, among other judiciary reforms. This faux-academic study of a nonexistent problem fits squarely within liberals years-long campaign to politicize the Court, intimidate its members, and subvert its independence, he said in a statement Friday, a few hours after Biden ordered the formation of the commission, which has not been charged with delivering a specific recommendation at the conclusion of its report.
Supreme Court nixes another California pandemic restriction
The Supreme Court has once again ruled against California in a case concerning religious worship during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a 5-4 decision, mostly along ideological lines, the court ruled late Friday night that California cannot enforce its three-household limit on at-home religious meetings, such as prayer groups and Bible studies. Conservatives were in the majority, with only Chief Justice John Roberts splitting off and siding with the three liberal justices.
A panel of the 9th Circuit of Appeals had previously upheld the state s restrictions on at-home gatherings since it was a blanket ban that applied to secular and non-secular gatherings, alike. The Supreme Court s minority argued along similar lines; in a dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that California is not required to treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons.
Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw recovering from emergency eye surgery that will leave him blind for a month
1:01 p.m.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) revealed Saturday that he underwent emergency surgery on his left eye a day earlier after a doctor discovered his retina was detaching. The surgery went well he said, but it will require a long and likely arduous recovery. I will be effectively blind for about a month, he explained, adding that a few more prayers that my vision will get back to normal . wouldn t hurt. While he recovers, he ll be mostly off the grid, he said.
Prince Harry will travel back to U.K. for Prince Philip s funeral next week
Prince Philip, the late husband of the United Kingdom s Queen Elizabeth II, will be laid to rest next Saturday, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The ceremony, which will take place at St. George s Chapel in Windsor, will reportedly contain many traditional customs associated with the death of a royal family member; however, attendance will be scaled down because of COVID-19 restrictions. The Duke of Edinburgh, who died Friday morning at 99, will not lie in state anywhere accessible to the public so as not to draw oversized crowds, but the funeral will be televised, and eight days of national mourning will precede the event. A Land Rover will carry the duke s coffin from Windsor Castle to St. George s, a nod to his preference for driving himself without a chauffeur, CNN notes.