Nov 21, 2018

1. John Roberts pushes back on Trump's judiciary criticism

President Trump shakes hands with Chief Justice John Roberts. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo, Pool/Getty Images

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement to AP on Wednesday that the U.S. doesn't have "Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges," pushing back on President Trump's comments blaming an "Obama judge" for temporarily halting his asylum ban.

Why it matters: Though oblique, it's still a rare public critique from Roberts directed toward the president, who has repeatedly bashed federal court decisions that have worked against some of his most controversial policies, like the travel ban. In his statement, Roberts added that an "independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for."

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Orion Rummler

Updated 12 mins ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. enters 6th day of nationwide protests over George Floyd's killing

A protest in Philadelphia on May 31. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Local news footage captured a tanker truck appearing to drive toward protesters at a peaceful demonstration in Minneapolis, as demonstrators quickly got out of the way of the incoming vehicle on Sunday evening.

The big picture: Protests have continued across the country for six days, as demonstrators call for justice in response to the deaths of George Floyd and other other black Americans who have died in police custody or who have been killed in racist attacks.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 20 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Tanker truck appears to plow into Minneapolis protesters

A tanker truck appears to have driven toward thousands of protesters during a demonstration in Minneapolis, video from the scene shows.

Details: Minnesota Department of Public Safety tweeted, "Very disturbing actions by a truck driver on I-35W, inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. The truck driver was injured & taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck."

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Jonathan Swan

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Inside Trump's antifa tweet

President Trump at Cape Canaveral on May 30. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

As recently as Saturday night, senior administration officials told me that the designation of a violent cohort of far-left activists, antifa, as a terrorist organization was not being seriously discussed at the White House. But that was Saturday.

Behind the scenes: The situation changed dramatically a few hours later, after prominent conservative allies of the president, such as his friend media commentator Dan Bongino, publicly urged a tough response against people associated with antifa (short for "anti-fascist").

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