WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Thursday to allow the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security can now end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.
The Supreme Court also voted 6-3 to clear the way for the Trump administration to potentially revive an immigration policy once used to turn back migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The court overturned a lower court order blocking the practice that limited the number of people who could apply for asylum each day.
Meanwhile, a liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project, a top official at the National Park Service said.
Heres’ the latest:
What Trump fed farmers at the White House
Farmers and ranchers invited to a Rose Garden dinner on Thursday were served New York strip steak joined by sides and desserts packed with seasonal ingredients.
The menu included a caprese salad with garden tomatoes, plus a side dish featuring White House-harvested peppercress. The meat was billed as a grilled prime New York strip steak. Dessert included roasted peaches and White House honey.
Dinner guests received organic garden seeds and tomato jam prepared by White House chefs.
In keeping with the theme, there was a white farm stand at the back of the garden, surrounded by baskets overflowing with carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, corn and other fruits and vegetables.
Vance says Watergate would fly over in today’s news, draws parallels between Nixon and Trump
Speaking at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said the legacy of the 37th president is “enjoying a bit of a renaissance.”
“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story, the idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” Vance said in a conversation promoting his new book.
He went on: “If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it’s not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.”
Vance noted his own parallels with Nixon. “Young senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media,” he said. “It kind of sounds like JD Vance.”
Nixon was in his second term when he resigned over the Watergate scandal in 1974.
Housing bill being sent to White House, starting clock on Trump’s signature
Speaker Mike Johnson returned from what he called a “very productive” hourslong meeting with the president in the Oval Office following a highly dysfunctional week in Congress.
“We’re on exactly the same page,” Johnson said back at the Capitol.
Trump earlier this week abruptly abandoned plans to sign the bipartisan Housing package, which had overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate but got tangled when the president insisted Congress must first pass an unrelated voting bill called the SAVE America Act. That bill has failed to draw broad support in the Senate.
A group of House GOP lawmakers joined Trump’s rally call and refused to vote on other measures, essentially shutting down business in the House.
Trump, after meeting with Johnson, told Republicans in a social media post: “no more grandstanding.”
Johnson said they had to get back to work, and he said they were transmitting the Housing bill, which starts a 10-day clock for Trump to either sign it or veto the bill.
Merchant vessel hit by Iranian drone today
The merchant vessel that was attacked earlier today was hit by an Iranian drone, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation, said that the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was attacked by a drone being flown by the Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the attack earlier on Thursday but only said that the ship was struck by a “projectile off Oman near UN-approved route for Strait of Hormuz.”
The center noted that there were no causalities nor any environmental impact.
U.S. says no Iranian funds have been released
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that no frozen funds have been released to Iran and will not be done until Iran meets the requirements of Trump’s interim Iran agreement.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s Squawk Box this week that Treasury would oversee how unfrozen funds would be spent.
“A very large percentage of it will go to buy U.S. foodstuffs and medicines,” he said.
U.N. agency pauses evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz
A U.N. maritime agency has paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the British military said a vessel was hit Thursday by a projectile off the coast of Oman.
The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships through the strait will be on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region.
It was unclear who launched the projectile or the type of vessel that was targeted. The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using a U.N.-approved route through the strait without Tehran’s permission.
Reflecting Pool liner was cut with a sharp knife or razor, National Park Service says
A liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project, a top official at the National Park Service says.
The agency reported the June 9 incident to U.S. Park Police, said Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service. Lands made the statement in a court document filed late Wednesday as part of a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization to halt the Trump administration’s work on the project.
The police report indicates damage to the pool, “including a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material,? Lands said. About 70 fence post tops also were thrown into the pool, he said.
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention center in Florida is officially closed, governor says
The immigration center built in the Florida swamps known as “Alligator Alcatraz” is closing after nearly a year of holding thousands of immigrant detainees, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.
DeSantis said the center was always supposed to be temporary and now federal officials have enough ability to handle detention and deportation in more permanent facilities.
Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June, saying hurricane season made it unsafe to keep the detainees in the Florida Everglades. All the of people kept at the isolated airstrip had been sent to other facilities.
Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane to hold people. Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers, and have described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.
Homeland Security touts TPS win at Supreme Court
The top legal official at Homeland Security praised the Supreme Court’s decision on temporary protected status.
“The Court vindicates DHS yet again,” said James Percival, the department’s general counsel in a statement on X.
“The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense,” Percival said.
DHS secretary says the department is reevaluating warehouses purchased for ICE detention
Markwayne Mullin says his department is reevaluating the eleven warehouses his predecessor purchased to use as immigration detention facilities.
Mullin says some just “probably won’t work” and suggested a lack of “due diligence” when it came to purchasing the warehouses. They were purchased under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement received huge pushback around the country after the purchases became known.
When Mullin came into office, he paused any new purchases and federal officials have been looking at ways to offload some of them.
TYLER — U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran introduced new legislation Thursday that would require AI developers to report dangerous capabilities, security breaches and safety incidents to the United States Secretary of Commerce. The new legislation would give the Department of Commerce jurisdiction to determine AI models that pose risks to national security and public safety. In addition, developers would be required to file reports no more than 7 days after discovering dangerous activity and in more serious cases, the department would be required to notify congress within 48 hours.
LONGVIEW – The East Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse received a $750,000 grant from the Opioid Abatement Fund Council (OAFC) on Thursday as a part of the ongoing fight against the opioid crisis. The OAFC funds were collected by the State of Texas from settlements that the state won against the companies that profited from the opioid epidemic, including various pharmaceutical companies, marketing firms, distributors and even grocery store companies.
CANTON – As a contractor works to repair a sewer main over the next two weeks, the City of Canton is advising drivers to be wary while traveling along Highway 19 and Dealers Row.
NEW YORK (AP) — David Clayton-Thomas, the lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose husky, high-strung tenor on “Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die” and other hits helped make the so-called brass rock band among the most popular acts of the late 1960s, has died at age 84.
OVERTON — A crash on Hwy 323 in Overton has left a 26-year-old woman dead, according to Overton police, and our news partner, KETK. The crash happened on Thursday morning near the overpass. Kameron Smiley, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene of the single-vehicle crash. Officers working the crash advised drivers to avoid the area and use an alternate route. 
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market meandered to a mixed finish Thursday after several artificial-intelligence stocks veered back up their roller-coaster ride, while Apple dropped after hiking prices on many of its products.
LONGVIEW – On Thursday afternoon, Longview police and federal agents are investigating in south Longview. LaDarian Brown, a spokesperson for the Longview Police Department, stated that the department is supporting an ongoing investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Officials are reportedly in the 200 block of Michael Street at an automotive business. It is unclear if any arrests have been made, and no further details have been made public.
SMITH COUNTY – On June 11, Deputies with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office responded to County Road 390, near the Old Kilgore Highway in Tyler, after receiving reports of a deceased dog found inside a metal crate on the property.