Supreme Court overturns New York handgun law, expands concealed carry rights – National & International News – THU 23Jun2022

SCOTUS overturns New York handgun law, expands concealed carry rights. Today’s Jan. 6 hearing: Trump’s pressure on DOJ. China: hundreds of thousands evacuated due to disastrous floods

NATIONAL NEWS

Supreme Court overturns New York handgun law, expands concealed carry rights

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has overturned a New York state law that only allowed citizens who could demonstrate a specific need for self-protection to carry concealed and loaded handguns in public. The ruling will affect some 83 million people living in New York and seven other states that had similar “proper cause” laws. The conservative majority found that the New York state law was in violation of the 2nd Amendment.

However, the ruling does not mean that just anyone can carry a concealed and loaded handgun in public nationwide. The decision still allows states to require permits for concealed carry. Currently, 25 states require a permit to carry concealed weapons in public. The difference now, according to Justice Kavanaugh, is that states that do require permits for concealed or open carry may not issue them on a “discretionary” basis. In other words, they cannot require a law-abiding citizen to prove they have a special need for protection in order to qualify for a permit. 

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Today’s Jan. 6 hearing: Trump’s attempt to pressure the Justice Department officials

The select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol will air its 5th televised hearing today at 3 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. CT. The focus of today’s hearing will be Trump’s attempts to pressure Justice Department officials to aid his campaign to overturn the 2020 election. Trump had asked former Attorney General Bill Barr to establish a special investigative group to investigate his claims of election fraud. DOJ officials had in fact looked into Trump’s claims and found them to be baseless. Barr and other DOJ officials repeatedly told Trump so, which eventually led to Barr’s resignation in Dec. 2020.

Among those testifying today will be former Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, who served under Barr’s successor Jeffrey Rosen. The committee had previously aired pre-recorded testimony from Donoghue, but today he will be appearing live before the committee.

The committee will not hear from Jeffrey Clark, a DOJ official who was sympathetic to Trump’s claims. Trump considered appointing Clark to replace Rosen, but other high-ranking DOJ officials warned they would resign if he did so. Clark did previously testify before the committee, but pled the 5th Amendment to avoid incriminating himself. Today, just hours before the hearing is to begin, federal law enforcement visited Clark’s home. The Justice Department would not comment on the purpose of their visit.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China: hundreds of thousands evacuated due to disastrous floods

Several southern and eastern Chinese provinces are experiencing their highest amounts of rainfall since 1961. Days of continuous rain has given rise to dangerous floods and landslides across the region. Swollen rivers overran their banks and inundated low-lying areas, sweeping cars down city and residential streets. Hundreds of thousands have evacuated, 450,000 in one province alone. 

China’s Xinhua news agency reported that the area had suffered 470 million yuan ($70.2 million) in economic damage and that the flooding had destroyed 43,300 hectares of crops. Back in Oct., 2021, central China experienced historic flooding that affected over 2 million people. 

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