Gazette Daily News Briefing, July 1 and July 2

Welcome to the weekend!

This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Saturday, July 1st, and Sunday, July 2nd, 2023.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday has a high chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon. Otherwise, it’ll be mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Chance of showers and thunderstorms continue Saturday night with a low of 66.

Sunday continues a 50% chance of thunderstorms and showers and will otherwise be partly sunny, with a high near 87. Sunday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 64.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Biden’s student loan relief program and ruled in favor of a designer who doesn't want to make wedding websites for gay couples.

A sharply divided Supreme Court on Friday effectively killed President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans.

The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the Biden administration overstepped its authority with the plan, and it leaves borrowers on the hook for repayments that are expected to resume in the fall.

Biden was to announce a new set of actions to protect student loan borrowers and would address the court decision later Friday, said a White House official. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of Biden’s expected statement on the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The court held that the administration needed Congress' endorsement before undertaking so costly a program. The majority rejected arguments that a bipartisan 2003 law dealing with student loans, known as the HEROES Act, gave Biden the power he claimed.

the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples.

The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.

Smith's opponents warned that a win for her would allow a range of businesses to discriminate, refusing to serve Black, Jewish or Muslim customers, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants. But Smith and her supporters had said that a ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their beliefs.

Smith’s lawyer, Kristen Waggoner, said the Supreme Court was right to reaffirm that the government cannot compel people to say things they do not believe.

“Disagreement isn’t discrimination, and the government can’t mislabel speech as discrimination to censor it,” she said in a statement.

Kim Reynolds’ request for federal aid in building collapse denied

The federal government denied Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' request for assistance after a six-story apartment building partially collapsed roughly one month ago, leaving three dead, many injured and dozens displaced.

A federal agency “determined that the severity of the situation does not warrant an emergency declaration that provides supplemental federal emergency assistance,” according to a June 28 letter that Reynolds posted on social media.

Reynolds issued an emergency proclamation the day after the Davenport, Iowa, building's partial collapse to deploy state resources to the response. She sent a formal request for a federal emergency declaration the following week, estimating the response to be at least $5 million and asserting it was "beyond the capability of the State and the affected local governments.”

Reynolds said a second request is still pending.

Iowa officers cracking down this weekend on drinking while boating

Law enforcement agencies across the state will be participating in a campaign this weekend to crack down on boating under the influence, with increased patrols and check points on waterways, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The campaign is called Operation Dry Water and it runs Saturday through Monday.

“The effects of alcohol can be intensified when combined with wind and wave action and an extended time spent in the sun. Operators may not think they are under the influence, but their judgment, reaction time, balance and vision indicate that they are,” Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said in a statement.

Operation Dry Water is a year-round national campaign, with an annual designated three-day weekend for heightened enforcement and awareness.

Have a good weekend, everyone.