Supreme Court Season Finale

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Good morning!

If you’re headed to a concert this summer, you probably got stuck paying for tons of unexpected “fees” when you bought your tickets.

For example, you thought you were spending $300 to see Taylor Swift (we can dream, right?!?). But then, when you went to pay, the actual total was much higher because of a slew of fees (like a “facility” fee or a “service and processing” fee).

Now the White House is cracking down on what’s called “junk fees” and pressuring Ticketmaster and other vendors to provide the full price, upfront.

Buyer beware: Most changes won’t start until the fall. But it’s still some good news that we’ll take on a Friday.

Have a good weekend,

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

PS: Happy Father’s Day to to all the dads out there!

🗞 SUPREME COURT SEASON FINALE

Tis the season for the biggest Supreme Court decisions, and yesterday we got a major one. The Supreme Court upheld a 1978 law aimed at keeping Native American adoptees with their tribes and traditions.

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?
On Thursday the court ruled 7-2, and rejected constitutional challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 law that gives preference for the adoption of Native children to tribes.

This case was brought by white foster couple Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, from Texas, against five tribes and the interior department.

The Brackeens adopted a Native American boy after a placement with a Navajo family fell through. They are also trying to adopt the child’s half-sister, who currently lives with them. She’s known in court papers as Y.R.J.

DIFFERING REACTION

• The Brackeen’s attorney says that “Our main concern is what today's decision means for the little girl, Y.R.J. — now five years old — who has been part of the Brackeen family for nearly her whole life.” It’s not clear at this point what will happen to Y.R.J.

• On the other side, President Biden said in a statement that the decision "keeps in place a vital protection for tribal sovereignty and Native children."

WHAT’S BEHIND THE LAW?
Justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the majority and wrote that the law "safeguards the ability of tribal members to raise their children free from interference by state authorities and other outside parties."

He noted that the law "did not emerge from a vacuum," recalling how there was a "mass removal" of Native American children from their families in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Between 25-35% of Native children were being taken from their families and placed with adoptive families (majority white), in foster care or in institutions before the 1978 law.

GORSUCH: “COMMITTED DEFENDER OF TRIBAL RIGHTS”
Court observers have noted that Neil Gorsuch, who is from Colorado, has emerged as one of the court’s most consistent defenders of Native American rights.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE COURT?

• AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Students for Fair Admissions sued Harvard and the University of North Carolina, arguing that affirmative action—using race as a factor in admissions— violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and disadvantaged White and Asian-American applicants.

  • At least nine states have already enacted state bans on affirmative action. Previous federal rulings have placed some limits on race-based admissions. In a 2003 decision, then-Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote that the policy’s days are numbered. She predicted that it would take about 25 years for it to no longer be necessary. It looks like the court may act five years earlier than she anticipated. The alternatives: using factors like applicant zip codes to ensure socio-economic diversity.

• STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS: The court is deciding whether or not President Biden overstepped his authority last August with his plan to wipe out the student-loan debt of 20 million Americans, while lowering the balances for another 20 million who qualify for relief.

  • Six Republican-led states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — filed a lawsuit against the president's plan, saying Biden can’t cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in consumer debt without authorization from Congress.

• LGBTQ RIGHTS: This case stems from a Colorado web designer who is opposed to same sex marriage. She says she only wants to design for weddings that are consistent with her interpretation of Christianity. Colorado, like 29 other states, requires businesses that are open to the public to offer equal access to everyone, regardless of race, religion, and sexual orientation, and gender.

  • She preemptively sued Colorado (she hasn’t had any requests to design a same-sex website) because she believes that the state public accommodations mandate violates her right of free speech.

⏳ SPEED READ

📌 Two Americans found dead in luxury hotel room in Mexico’s Baja California Sur. (LA TIMES)

📌 California authorities seize enough fentanyl in San Francisco to kill city's entire population nearly 3 times over. More than 4.2 kilograms of fentanyl has been seized in the past six weeks. (ABC)

📌 At least 3 dead, 100+ injured in Texas tornadoes (ABC)

📌 Judge Cannon jumpstarts oversight of Trump classified documents case with order on security clearances. (CNN)

📌 11 Years After DACA: Hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth remain in limbo (TIME)

📌 Mercedes and Microsoft testing ChatGPT in cars (CNBC)

📌 Justice Department investigating PGA Tour deal with Saudi-funded LIV Golf (CNBC)

📌 UFC star Conor McGregor accused of sexual assault at Miami Heat game (TMZ)

📌 21-year-old breaks world record, solves Rubik’s Cube in 3.13 seconds (MO NEWS)

📌 Andy Cohen reveals he and John Mayer are ‘in love’ (NY POST)

📌 Why whale poop is key to fighting climate change, taking CO2 out of atmosphere (MO NEWS)

🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN’ WEEKEND!

• What We’re Watching: US Open Golf, Manifest on Netflix; Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact on Netflix
  

• What We’re Reading: The Postcard by Anne Berest, The Instant Pot Failed Because It Was a Good Product, A one-hit wonder is never enough.~ The Atlantic
  

• What We’re Eating: Father’s Day BBQ, with NY Shuk Middle Eastern BBQ Sauces.