Good morning.
Joe Biden has warned that a leaked draft supreme court ruling overturning Roe v Wade, the 1973 case that guaranteed the right to abortion, would represent a huge change in US law and could imperil a wide range of other civil rights.
In a historic moment that shook the US to the core and highlighted jagged social and political divisions, the court confirmed the draft was authentic but said it did not “represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case”.
The US president called the provisional court opinion “radical” and said the ruling, if handed down, would represent a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” and could imperil rights including same-sex marriage and access to contraception.
Politico published the draft by justice Samuel Alito on Monday night. The website said the draft was supported by four other rightwingers on a panel conservatives control 6-3.
What’s the reaction been like? As news broke, demonstrators gathered in major cities across the US. There were tears and tension as protesters swarmed outside the US supreme court to voice their outrage.
How soon could US states outlaw abortions if Roe v Wade is overturned? While the draft could still change, if it is not substantially altered it would result in 26 states immediately or as soon as practicable banning abortion, a sea change in the American legal and political landscape.
How significant is a leak of a draft supreme court ruling? The Guardian’s Washington correspondent, David Smith, called the leak “stunning and unprecedented” and said it would be the worst security breach in the court’s history.
Ursula von der Leyen says Putin must pay ‘high price’ as she proposes oil ban
Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a total ban on Russian oil imports to the EU, saying Vladimir Putin had to pay a “high price for his brutal aggression” in Ukraine.
Member states in Brussels are scrutinising a proposed sixth package of sanctions, but in a speech on Wednesday the European Commission president said Russian oil flows had to stop.
Von der Leyen said Russian supply of crude oil would be prohibited within six months and refined products would be banned by the end of the year, while she acknowledged the demands from countries such as Slovakia and Hungary for additional flexibility.
“Let us be clear: it will not be easy,” Von der Leyen said in a speech to the European parliament. “Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it. We now propose a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.
What else is happening? More than 100 evacuees who managed to leave the besieged city of Mariupol – many trapped under the Azovstal steel plant – reached the relative safety of Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed in his latest national address 156 people, mainly women and children, were successfully evacuated.
What else do we know? Here’s a roundup of everything we know on day 70 of the invasion.
Trump-backed candidate JD Vance wins Ohio Senate Republican primary
The author JD Vance won the Senate Republican primary in Ohio yesterday, securing a victory after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement in the hotly contested race.
Vance was leading the crowded pack of primary candidates with 32% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race, about two hours after polls closed. The former state treasurer Josh Mandel looked likely to finish second, with the state senator Matt Dolan, who had a last-minute surge in support, rounding out the top three.
Addressing supporters in Cincinnati, Vance thanked Trump for his endorsement and attacked the media for highlighting his past criticism of the former president. “They wanted to write a story that this campaign would be the death of Donald Trump’s America First agenda,” Vance said. “It ain’t the death of the America First agenda.”
Vance, the bestselling author of the memoir Hillbilly Elegy, will face the Democratic congressman Tim Ryan in November to determine who will fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman.
Why is this race so important? The Ohio race could prove crucial in determining control of the Senate, as Republicans look to retake the upper chamber this November. The Senate is evenly split 50-50, but Democrats have the majority thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Kamala Harris.
In other news …
Democratic lawmakers in more than a dozen states are following California’s lead in seeking to offer legal refuge to displaced transgender youth and their families. The coordinated effort, which was announced yesterday, comes in response to recent actions taken in conservative states.
A death row inmate in Arizona has two weeks to choose his preferred method of death – either lethal injection or hydrogen cyanide, a poisonous gas made notorious by the Nazis as a mass killing technique during the Holocaust. Atwood’s lawyers are scrambling to try to persuade him not to opt for cyanide.
The first major study since Brexit of UK citizens living in the EU has revealed its profound impact on their lives, with many expressing serious concerns over free movement and voting rights – and a very different perception of Britain. Some said they felt “deep shame” and were now “embarrassed to be British”.
North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward its eastern waters today, South Korean and Japanese officials said, a few days after the North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal “at the fastest possible pace”.
Stat of the day: Unsafe abortions kill more than 47,000 people every year
As a leaked document signals that the US supreme court is poised to strike down the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v Wade, millions of American women face losing their access to legal abortions, joining millions more living in those countries rejecting a woman’s right to choose. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe abortions kill more than 47,000 people every year, with 5 million hospitalised for complications such as bleeding or infection.
Don’t miss this: Journalist Jim DeRogatis on his decades-long battle to expose R Kelly
Jim DeRogatis began reporting on the R Kelly’s abuse of Black women and girls back in 2000. The Chicago Sun-Times music critic has received an anonymous fax telling him that “Robert’s problem – and it’s a thing that goes back many years – is young girls.” DeRogatis and his colleague Abdon Pallasch began digging, and thus began one of the longest-running investigations in journalism, and the most influential. So why were the revelations ignored for so long?
Climate check: New Mexico governor urges Biden to declare wildfires a disaster to free funds
New Mexico’s governor asked Joe Biden to declare a disaster as firefighters scrambled to clear brush, build fire lines and spray water to keep the largest blaze burning in the US from destroying more homes in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said it was important that the declaration be made on the front end rather than waiting until the fire is out. The blaze has already charred 228 sq miles (590 sq km) of mountainsides, destroying around 170 homes in its path.
Last Thing: Fake priest ‘spends night at army barracks near Windsor Castle’
An investigation into an “extraordinary breach of security” is under way after an intruder pretending to be a priest reportedly spent the night eating and drinking with soldiers at a barracks close to Windsor Castle in England, which is the Queen’s main residence. Police were alerted to reports of an intruder at Victoria Barracks on Sheet Street, Windsor, on Wednesday, while the Queen was at Sandringham, another residence, for Easter.
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