Biden rebukes Supreme Court immunity ruling and Hurricane Beryl strengthens to Category 5: Morning Rundown

The Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling is attacked by President Joe Biden. Hurricane Beryl churns toward Jamaica as a Category 5 storm. And transgender runner Nikki Hiltz sets a trial record on their way to the Olympics.

Here’s what to know today.

A novel and consequential decision from the Supreme Court yesterday ruled that former President Donald Trump has immunity for some of his conduct as president in his federal election interference case. The decision virtually guarantees the case related to Trump’s efforts to stop the transfer of power after the 2020 election won’t start before Election Day.

Hours later, President Joe Biden delivered remarks from the White House, calling the decision a “terrible disservice” to Americans and framed the lack of a pre-election trial as a shift from the courts to the voting booth.

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The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision along ideological lines found that Trump is entitled to core presidential functions and “at least a presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution” for acts “within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility.” The court’s three liberal justices said the conservative majority’s decision “will have disastrous consequences” for the U.S. 

Biden also echoed liberal justices in his remarks, warning that the decision means there are now “virtually no limits on what the president can do.” 

“I dissent,” Biden said. Read more about Biden’s reaction here.

The ruling sets the stage for hearings before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on what allegations in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment should be considered official acts. Chutkan will have to decide whether the indictment against Trump could be supported after removing allegations for which Trump can’t be charged. Here’s exactly what that entails.

More on the Supreme Court’s decision: 

• Though justices ruled on a case relating to Trump, it has major repercussions for future presidents.
• Trump’s attorneys want the judge in his hush money trial to postpone sentencing and set aside the trial verdict after the Supreme Court ruling.
• The decision is expected to add new twists to the Georgia racketeering case against Trump and his allies.

Hurricane Beryl is now a Category 5 storm, and it is expected to maintain “major hurricane” status as it passes Jamaica tomorrow, the National Hurricane Center said. Beryl first made landfall yesterday morning as a Category 4 storm on part of the Grenada and Windward Islands — and broke a startling record before it did. The storm is likely to maintain hurricane strength until it gets to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula late Thursday or early Friday.

Meanwhile, one person was reported to have died in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and officials in Grenada said there is believed to be widespread damage. Here’s what else we know. 

Prosecutors said they intend to retry a murder case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend, after a judge declared a mistrial. Read was accused of backing her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, and leaving him for dead in 2022. Read’s lawyers described O’Keefe’s killing as a cover-up carried out by law enforcement officers. 

The jury foreman said in a note to Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone that despite rigorous efforts, the panel of six men and six women remained deadlocked. Some believed the evidence surpassed the standard of proof needed to convict Read, while others found that prosecutors had not established their case. Read more about the arguments made during the trial. 

A heat wave in inland California is expected to start today, broaden into the Pacific Northwest and deeper into Southern California later in the week and persist into the weekend, the National Weather Service said. The Sacramento Valley could see temperatures as high as 115 degrees and the hot weather could stay above 80 degrees even at night in some places. Dangerous fire conditions will accompany the sharp rise in temperatures, with Pacific Gas & Electric warning that power shut-offs are likely in 10 California counties to reduce the risk of wildfires. The dual weather threats coincide with Fourth of July weekend, when millions of people will be outside celebrating.

See which California counties are forecast to experience “major” and “extreme” heat risks this week.

The death of a 13-year-old refugee who was fatally shot by police last week after he pointed a replica gun at them has drawn outrage and sadness among community members in upstate New York. Police say Nyah Mway was one of two youths stopped in connection with an armed robbery investigation on Friday. Nyah ran away from officers and then pointed a replica gun at them, police have said. Video shows Nyah was shot after he was tackled to the ground. 

Nyah’s death hit the members of the Karen ethnic minority in Utica, New York, particularly hard. Karens are among the groups warring with the military rules of Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. “It brings back a lot of traumas that we ourselves don’t even want to talk about, but unfortunately we have to live through again,” said LuPway Doh, a Karen leader in Utica. Doh said the community now wants to know why the teens were stopped, “all the way to why the trigger needed to be pulled.”  

Transgender and nonbinary middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz punched their ticket to Paris in the 1500-meter race last weekend. Not only is Hiltz Olympics-bound; they also ran the second-fastest time ever of any American and set a trials record of 3:55:33. In a post-race interview, Hiltz said the race was “bigger than just me.” More on Hiltz’s reaction here.

• 🤸🏼‍♀️ 16-year-old gymnast Hezly Rivera said on NBC’s “TODAY” show that going from star of the future to Paris-bound women’s teammate “feels so surreal.” 

Debate fallout: Days after his disastrous debate performance, President Biden still has not personally called top Democratic leaders to shore up support, five sources said. And former President Trump’s timeline to announce his vice presidential running mate has paused. 

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Michael Barlow has big dreams of selling off his belongings and starting a new wandering life with his wife and son aboard a sailboat. But those dreams might be on hold for a while. One reason is that he was forced to abandon his vessel in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Another reason: The boat washed up on a Florida Panhandle beach a few weeks ago, and now, Barlow has nothing but bad choices ahead of him. This story is interesting on many levels, but what stuck with me was Barlow’s resolve to get back to the open seas. — Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor

Summer has no shortage of sales: Ulta Beauty’s Big Summer sale has already kicked off if you need to stock up on sunscreen or skin care. And there are plenty of July Fourth sales — but before you dive in, find out best deals and what items you should wait to buy later.

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