The American Civil Liberties Union and Native American Rights Fund filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that two new voting laws in Montana are unconstitutional infringements on Native Americans' rights.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) reportedly earned $3.12 million last year from his book on running the state during the pandemic and could earn roughly another $2 million over the next two years, the New York Times reported Monday.
Why it matters: These figures come from financial disclosures released by Cuomo's office Monday afternoon, revealing that earnings from the book far eclipsed his governor's salary of about $225,000, per the Times.
The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously declined to give police broad power to search homes without warrants.
Why it matters: In the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged the Court has maintained that a community caretaking exception allows police to search cars without a warrant in certain dangerous situations. But he wrote Monday that the exception does not extend broadly to the home.
President Biden will send an additional 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to other countries by the end of June, including shots authorized by the FDA for use in the U.S., White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
Why it matters: It will be the first time the U.S. has sent Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses abroad. The administration previously announced plans to export 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not been authorized domestically.
Joel Greenberg, a former associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), pleaded guilty on Monday to six criminal charges, including sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl and wire fraud, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The Justice Department is investigating Gaetz "over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old," per the New York Times. Greenberg, a former Florida county tax collector, could be a key witness as federal prosecutors decide whether to charge Gaetz.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to a Mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
Why it matters: It will be the first abortion case to be argued before the Supreme Court since Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed, handing conservatives a 6-3 majority. The case could potentially provide a pathway to challenging Roe v. Wade and allowing outright bans on abortion.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill Monday to require death row inmates to choose between firing squad or the electric chair, as a lack of drugs for lethal injections has stalled executions, AP reports.
The big picture: State executions have been steadily dropping for two decades, as the U.S. generally shifted away from the punishment. South Carolina is moving in the opposite direction.
This weekend marked three years since the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which had prevented states from creating their own sports betting regulations.
Where it stands: 36 months later, 21 states plus Washington, D.C. have legal sports betting operations, led by New Jersey, which has brought in more revenue than even Nevada since the SCOTUS ruling.
The expanded monthly child tax credit introduced in President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package will begin arriving in parents' bank accounts on July 15, the White House said Monday.
Why it matters: The credit, part of the administration's plan to transform the country's social safety net in the wake of the pandemic, would provide families with $300 monthly cash payments per child up to age 5 and $250 for children ages 6–17.
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and 28 Senate Democrats on Sunday called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as fighting continued into the night.
Driving the news: Young, a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, joined panel Chair Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) in a bipartisan statement saying: "Israel has the right to defend itself from Hamas' rocket attacks, in a manner proportionate with the threat its citizens are facing.
Representatives for Bill Gates pushed back on claims Sunday that he left Microsoft's board because of an earlier sexual relationship and against two other reports detailing more extensive ties with Jeffrey Epstein than had previously been reported.
Driving the news: Microsoft said in an emailed statement to Axios that it "received a concern" in 2019 that its co-founder "sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000," but denied a Wall Street Journal report that its board members thought Gates should resign over the matter.
AP's top editor on Sunday called for an independent investigation into an airstrike by Israeli forces that destroyed the 12-story building housing its local media office in Gaza.
Driving the news: Israel's government has said the building housed Hamas. But AP executive editor Sally Buzbee said the government has "yet to provide clear evidence" of this. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Sunday it asked the International Criminal Court to investigate whether the bombing "constitutes a war crime."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is leading calls to take reports of UFOs more seriously ahead of the expected release next month of a government report on such sightings.
Why it matters: Rubio, who as acting Senate Intelligence Committee chair asked for an unclassified copy of the report to be released to Congress, told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast Sunday: "Anything that enters an airspace that's not supposed to be there is a threat."
