Good morning! On this date in 1945, the UN Charter was signed. And in 1963, at the height of the Cold War, JFK gave his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. Contrary to popular lore, Kennedy’s German was absolutely correct, and at no point during his speech did the late president claim to be a jelly doughnut.
Iraq –> Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki welcomed Syrian airstrikes on ISIS militants, but rejected calls for a more inclusive “national salvation” government, dismissing the idea as a “coup.” Via: FirstPost. MEANWHILE: Raheem Salman reports for Reuters that insurgents have “attacked one of Iraq’s largest air bases and seized control of several small oilfields on Wednesday.” AND: At Slate, Fred Kaplan argues that people who believe the US is in a position to “fix” Iraq are simply delusional.
So much for functional government –> The Supreme Court ruled today that Obama’s recess appointments to labor and financial watchdog agencies were unconstitutional. The decision takes away one of the president’s key strategies for circumventing congressional gridlock. Richard Wolf reports for USA Today. Read the decision at Mother Jones.
Jersey style –> Jon Swaine reports for The Guardian that corporations that gave big bucks to “the Chris Christie-led Republican Governors Association and other GOP campaigns have received public funding deals worth almost $1.25 billion from his New Jersey administration in less than two years.”
Do you have a warrant? –> At WaPo, Orin Kerr offers six fast takeaways from the Supreme Court’s ruling that police need a warrant to search the cellphones of people they arrest.
The science of climate science denialism –> MoJo’s Chris Mooney looks at a “provocative new study” examining why so many conservatives reject the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming.
“Liberal Democrats” –> Harry Enten crunches some numbers at FiveThirtyEight and concludes that black voters really did push Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran over the top in Tuesday’s GOP primary. AND: At TNR, Alec MacGillis argues that Cochran now owes his African-American constituents something in return.
The latest nontroversy –> Slate’s Dave Weigel explains that the latest “bombshell” in the IRS “scandal” is a lot less scandalous than some would have you believe.
Good idea –> Michelle Chen reports for The Nation that Connecticut is trying to address the retirement crisis with a new, universal public pension financed through a combination of employer and employee contributions.
Twofer –> Jessica Miller, Kirsten Stewart and Pamela Manson report for The Salt Lake Tribune that a federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling striking down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban. It was the first appeals court to rule on the issue, “setting a historic precedent that voter-approved bans on same-sex marriage violate the Fourteenth Amendment rights of same-sex couples to equal protection and due process.” Utah will appeal to the Supreme Court. ALSO: According to the Indiana Star, “A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Indiana’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, immediately allowing same-sex couples across the state to receive marriage licenses.”
Aereo –> At Esquire, Ben Collins argues that the Supreme Court ignored the law on behalf of giant cable companies when it killed Aereo.
Are you ready for some fútbol?!? –> As the US and Germany prepare to face off, Ben Smith reports for the BBC that “soccer is finally beginning to gain genuine ground on America’s three heartland sports of American football, basketball and baseball.”
