Monday, June 29, 2026

SCOTUS' big decisions

Plus: How war shaped our southern border, and why complications and conflict continue to this day. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
Read in browser

eNewspaper   |    Crosswords   |   Horoscopes

 

The Short List

Mon Jun 29 2026

 

Phaedra Trethan National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hello, and welcome to a new work week! I'm Phaedra Trethan, skeptical of the "lottery curse" and willing to personally put the theory to the test. 🤑

Get USA TODAY at the top of your search results: Add us as preferred source on Google

In Monday's news:

The Supreme Court announced decisions Monday that will profoundly impact presidential powers over federal agencies and states' oversight of the upcoming midterm elections. ⚖️
Three firefighters died while battling blazes along the Utah-Colorado border and extreme heat will descend over much of the U.S. this week. 🔥
War shaped our southern border. The complications and conflicts endure to this day.

But first: I'm one of the millions of Americans who work remotely . And while I love the flexibility, I admit I miss the camaraderie of a busy newsroom. 👩🏻‍💻

SCOTUS' big decisions ⚖️

The U.S. Supreme Court's current term is about to end, and the justices are heading into summer by making headlines. Decisions announced Monday will impact presidential power over federal agencies and states' control over the midterm elections.

The court blocked President Donald Trump from immediately firing Lisa Cook, a board governor with the Federal Reserve. But it allowed him to fire a Democratic appointee to the Federal Trade Commission. In a third decision announced Monday, the court upheld a state law allowing mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day to be received and counted up to five days later ‒ a blow to Trump's efforts to curb mail-in voting.

Watch: Trump reacts to the Supreme Court's decisions.
The court will announce more decisions, and make more news, tomorrow. Stay tuned. 👀
Sometimes the news is cases the court won't take. Here's one of them. ✋🏻
How the court's rulings will impact federal agencies.
One ruling upholds a landmark case dealing with press freedom. 🗞️

Usa Court Warrants

People walk outside the U.S. Supreme Court where justices are expected to issue orders in pending appeals, in Washington, DC, on June 29, 2026.

Cheney Orr, REUTERS

Wild fires, wild weather across US 🔥

Wildfires continue to rage across the West, and the Knowles and Gore fires along the Colorado-Utah border have turned deadly , with three firefighters killed and two others hospitalized over the weekend. Meanwhile, a sustained and dangerous heat wave will intensify across the central and eastern U.S. this week, setting records and putting as many as 230 million people at risk of extreme heat.

Europeans are dealing with their own extreme weather. Here's why.
Stay safe: Here's how to recognize (and protect yourself from) heat-related illness. ⛑️
Flooding rains have inundated parts of Kentucky.

usat-graphics-Heat-dome_Topper.png

A dangerous heat dome is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to the Midwest and Eastern U.S. this week.

Windy.com/Photo illustration USA TODAY

Real quick

Police are investigating the death of a baby found in a portable toilet at a Michigan music festival.
More than 100 dead dogs' remains were discovered at a California rescue in what authorities call "a horrific scene."
The parents of a 7-year-old are facing abuse and murder charges after the child, who weighed 255 pounds, died.
Medicare will pay for some weight loss drugs under a pilot program. What to know.

How the southern border shaped US history

"With every shift in the border has come a shift in consciousness," said Nicholas Natividad, whose family tree branches over a region that now encompasses southern New Mexico, West Texas and Mexico. "The way we relate to food, to the mountains, to the river, to each other."

The border there has shifted and changed hands at least four times in the 19th century and a fifth time in the 20th, moving south due to war and treaty, peace talks and purchases. And as America celebrates its 250th anniversary , the border's journey to its current location is the story of the birth of a nation that swallowed up Native American tribes, Spanish descendants and Mexican citizens in its insatiable hunger to grow. It's also the story of a people whose resilience ‒ and quiet resistance ‒ kept their languages, ceremonies and traditions alive.

NIcolas Natividad Border0705.JPG

Nicholas Natividad looks across the U.S.-Mexico border between Ciudad Juárez and Sunland Park, N.M., in the Paso del Norte region. A descendant of families who lived through multiple shifts of the border, Natividad studies how generations of Mexican Americans and Indigenous communities have preserved their culture and identity amid changing national lines.

Omar Ornelas/USA TODAY Network

No more 'nonchalant' dating 💞

Forget ghosting, situationships, wildflowering, goblintimacy and other toxic dating behaviors: People are embracing "chalance," dating with intention and openness, making the first move, being open about their feelings and putting in the effort to show they care ‒ or being honest about when it's time to part ways.

Dating experts say the trend offers a much-needed course correction from the ambiguity, frustration and heartbreak of modern dating.

What if you threw a party and no one came ‒ even though they said they would?

A break from the news

The World Cup continues. Here are our experts' picks for the knockout rounds. ⚽️
New York City's Pride parade was a celebration of love and joy. 🏳️‍🌈 😍 🏳️‍⚧️
Like Noah Kahan, we urge concertgoers to refrain from taking part in this gross trend. 🚽

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and what you'd do if you won the lottery (I'd open a bookstore, travel and buy a house at the Jersey shore.) Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.

Inmates overpowered guards and took control of a regional North Carolina jail the morning of Monday, June 29 ,2026, officials said. The incident took place at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor, about 115 miles east of Raleigh.

Authorities have secured the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail after inmates allegedly overpowered guards.

Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison after conviction in double murder trial during his sentencing at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on Friday, March 3, 2023 after he was found guilty on all four counts.
 

Judge sets date for Alex Murdaugh retrial in double-murder case

Richard "Alex" Murdaugh appeared in court for the first time since his murder convictions were overturned, and a judge set a date for his retrial.

An alligator lurks along Alligator Alley trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland Fl. Wednesday February 17, 2021.Hurricane Irma caused major erosion on the shoreline of Lake Hancock, resulting in a restoration effort that took months. More than three years later, the shoreline again seems to be eroding, with dropoffs to the lake appearing along the Alligator Alley trail.
 

Woman swimming with friends in Florida dies in alligator attack

Two alligator-related incidents occurred in Florida on June 28, with one leading to the death of a woman swimming with friends in a river.

The New York Stock Exchange welcomes U.S. President-Elect Donald J. Trump, today, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, to honor President-Elect Donald J. Trump being named TIMEÕs Person of the Year. To honor the occasion, U.S. President-Elect Donald J. Trump rings The Opening Bell®, joined by ICE CEO Jeff Sprecher, TIME CEO Jessica Sibley, and NYSE President Lynn Martin.
 

New York Stock Exchange to ring opening bell from the Oval Office

Trump will host NYSE and Nasdaq, as they participate in the first-ever joint opening bell ceremony from the Oval Office next week.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett photographed in the United States Supreme Court Lawyers' Lounge in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 3, 2025.
 

Supreme Court justices make millions on their book deals

Five of the nine sitting Supreme Court justices have now made more than $1 million each from writing books.

Visitors walk to exhibits on the first day of the "Great American State Fair" on the National Mall on June 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.
 

Fetterman gets PA at Great American State Fair for America's 250th

U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and David McCormick announced a coalition of organizations representing Pennsylvania at the Great American State Fair.

A picture of the robbery of Call Federal Credit Union in Midlothian, Virginia, on May 20, 2019, from the U.S. District Court file in the case against Okello Chatrie. Chatrie pleaded guilty to robbing the bank, but is appealing the conviction because of how police tracked him down based on the location of his smartphone.
 

Supreme Court hangs up on whether smartphone search was 'reasonable'

The Supreme Court ruled that police conducted a 'search' of a bank robber's smartphone, but called for a review of whether it was 'reasonable.'

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a rally opposing House Republicans Tax Proposal prior to the final House Vote on Capitol Hill on May 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
 

Still 'making the fight,' Pelosi launches democracy institute

The first female speaker of the House will be co-teaching a course on Congress at UC Berkeley's new institute, among other things.

A new demand letter sent to TMZ claims to have video evidence of missing Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, and one of her kidnappers
 

Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie investigation questions new ransom note

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is addressing the latest alleged ransom note claiming to have video relating to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.

Clive Davis speaks during the Grammy Awards Pre-Grammy Gala & Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Jody Gerson on Feb. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles.
 

Clive Davis funeral brings out Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys

Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and more A-list stars turned out to deliver emotional remarks at Clive Davis' funeral service in New York.

Play Your Way to a Relaxing Break

Unwind with crosswords and challenges that recharge you. 

Crosswords, Puzzles, Comics & Horoscopes

Newsletters   |    eNewspaper   |   Crosswords

Follow Us

Problem viewing email? View in browser

LiveIntent Logo AdChoices Logo

No comments:

Post a Comment