AP-Newswatch

Here’s why it would be tough for Democrats to replace Joe Biden on the presidential ticket

WASHINGTON (AP) — It would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace President Joe Biden as their 2024 presidential nominee unless he chooses to step aside following his halting debate performance against ex-President Donald Trump. Democratic rules mandate the delegates Biden won in state primaries remain obligated to support him at the party’s upcoming national convention unless he tells them he’s leaving the race. Biden’s performance Thursday has led some in his own party to begin questioning whether he should be replaced on the ballot before November. Vice President Kamala Harris is Biden’s running mate, but that doesn’t mean she can swap in for him at the top of the ticket by default.

The Supreme Court weakens federal regulators, overturning decades-old Chevron decision

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upended a 40-year-old decision that made it easier for the federal government to regulate the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections. The court Friday delivered a far-reaching and potentially lucrative victory to business interests, ruling in cases brought by fishermen in New Jersey and Rhode Island. The court’s six conservative justices overturned the decision colloquially known as Chevron, with the liberal justices in dissent. Billions of dollars are potentially at stake in challenges that could be spawned by the ruling. The heart of the Chevron decision said federal agencies should be allowed to fill in the details when laws are ambiguous. Opponents argued it gave power that should be wielded by judges to government experts.

Divided Supreme Court rules in major homelessness case that outdoor sleeping bans are OK

WASHINGTON (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsome says a Supreme Court ruling that cities can enforce bans on people sleeping outdoors in West Coast areas will give local officials more freedom to address the crisis. But an attorney for homeless people says it could allow people to be punished simply because they have nowhere to go. The Oregon case decided Friday is the most significant to come before the high court in decades on homelessness, an issue affecting a rising number of people in the U.S. The high court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines to strike down a ruling that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

Indictment accuses former Uvalde schools police chief of delays while shooter was ‘hunting’ children

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An indictment alleges the police chief for schools in Uvalde, Texas, failed to identify an active shooting, did not follow his training and made critical decisions that slowed the law enforcement response to stop a gunman who was “hunting” victims. The shooter ultimately killed 21 people at Robb Elementary. Pete Arredondo was arrested and briefly booked into jail before he was released Thursday night on 10 state jail felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child in the May 24, 2022, attack that killed 19 children and two teachers. It was one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. The indictment was unsealed Friday.

Prosecutors in Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial are done presenting their case. The defense is next

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors at the bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez are done presenting their case, enabling the Democrat and two New Jersey businessmen to begin calling their own witnesses to support defense arguments. Before resting on Friday, prosecutors elicited details about the senator’s financial records by questioning an FBI forensic accountant. They say gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash found in a 2022 raid of Menendez’s home were bribes. Defense lawyers claim the gold belonged to his wife. And they say the senator had a habit of storing cash at home after his family lost almost everything in Cuba before they moved to New York, where Menendez was born.

Texas Supreme Court upholds ban on youth gender transitions. It’s the largest state with such a law

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court has upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths and rejected pleas from parents that it violates their right to decide on and seek care for their children. The 8-1 ruling Friday from the all-Republican court leaves in place a law that went into effect in September 2023. A group of families and doctors sued to overturn the law and say it discriminates against transgender children with devastating effects on families who are denied treatment. Texas is the largest of least 25 states that have passed laws banning some gender-affirming care for minors.

Iowa’s Supreme Court tells lower court to let strict abortion law go into effect

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that put a temporary block on the state’s strict abortion law, and is telling the lower court to let the law take effect. In Friday’s ruling, the high court told the lower court to dissolve the temporary injunction and continue with further proceedings. The new law bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. Iowa joins more than a dozen other states with restrictive abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The instructions to the lower court will be formally sent in 21 days and, for now, abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

AP picks 2024’s best movies so far, from ‘Furiosa’ to ‘Thelma,’ ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ to ‘Challengers’

The movie year, jumbled a bit by 2023’s strikes, might feel like it’s only just getting going. The box office is, finally, booming thanks to “Inside Out 2.” But at the year’s midway point, a lot of terrific movies have already come out – more, maybe, than you might realize. Associated Press Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr say that some of their favorites at 2024’s midway point include the 1990 coming of age story “I Saw the TV Glow,” the second installment of the “Dune” franchise, the animated film “Robot Dreams” and the sweet revenge tale “Thelma,” starring June Squibb.