RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/June 2022

June 2022
 RIP Planet Earth: SCOTUS just ruled that the EPA has no authority to enforce regulation (without congressional approval).  A recent FOIA request has revealed that ICE has been able to trace cryptocurrency transactions across 12 popular blockchains since August 2021.  New Zealand designates US groups Proud Boys and as terrorist organisations   Alabama cites Roe decision in urging court to let state ban trans health care  Lawyer argues that naturopaths "aren't bound by science, and thus can't be sanctioned for offering non-scientific treatments    Under diplomatic pressure during the NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey has removed its veto on Swedish and Finnish entry into the alliance.   First minister Nicola Sturgeon has proposed that the next referendum for Scottish independence to be held on the 19th October 2023 in new bill presented to Holyrood.   The policing ombudsman the HMICFRS, has recommended that London's Metropolitan Police be put under special measures due to a number of ‘systemic’ failures of duty.  Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.  Russia defaults on foreign debt for the first time since 1918  A study finds that using far less chemical fertilizer still produces high crop yields  Suspected Islamic terrorist with mental health issues causes shooting in Norway, appears to be an anti-LGBTQ attack as well. Cross-border skirmishes and bombings erupt between Pakistan and Taliban-held Afghanistan as the two nations escalate their decades-old dispute over their colonial-era border.  After the shock of the recent Dobbs vs. Jackson decision on abortion in the SCOTUS, French lawmakers are looking to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right. Vive la République!  Britain’s hidden online ‘microworkers’ paid less than £4 an hour  Le shit has hit le fan: The SCOTUS has just gutted Miranda v. Arizona. <vote poll=world202093350278> The Supreme Court has struck down Maine’s ban on using public funds at religious schools. Maine has special educational subsidies for rural children, the SCOTUS has said the state cannot legally block the funds from being used on religious schools. <vote poll=world202093350277> It begins: Justice Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion on the Roe overturn also urges the Court to "reconsider" past decisions that codified rights to contraception access, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage. To quote the dissent from Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor, "No one should be confident that this majority is done with its work." <vote poll=world202093350275>  An American tourist who miscarried in Malta and needs the foetus to be removed from her cervix, which is in effect an abortion and therefore illegal under Maltese law, is to be flown to Majorca, Spain to have the procedure. <vote poll=world202093350276> On the other hand, Germany is to decriminalize abortion in the country, by abolishing the law (§219a) that bans gynaecologists from describing and advertising abortion. <vote poll=world202093350274> US Supreme Court overturns landmark Roe decision, paving the way for widespread abortion bans and further attacks against human rights. Also: here's the states that will immediately ban or restrict abortions with the new decision in place. <vote poll=world202093350273> The World Health Network, an independent organization, declares Monkeypox to be a pandemic. This comes ahead of the WHO meeting on Thursday to decide how to designate this outbreak <vote poll=world202093350272> Food banks have become so prolific in the UK, that a well known blue-chip company has hosted a "community pantry" inside its offices for its staff in Tyneside. <vote poll=world202093350271>  Ukraine and Moldova have joined the ranks of Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania in becoming official EU candidate countries after the European Council unliterary voted to accept each country's candidacy. <vote poll=world202093350270> US supreme court overturns New York handgun law in bitter blow to gun-control push <vote poll=world202093350269> The FDA is going ahead with its plan to ban the sale of menthol flavored cigarettes, and nicotine limits in e-cigarettes which would effectively ban the e-cigarette, JUUL. <vote poll=world202093350268>National incident declared over polio virus findings in London sewage <vote poll=world202093350267>Julian Assange in big trouble as UK home secretary Priti Patel approves his extradition to the US to face charges of espionage and other crimes. <vote poll=world202093350266>Texas GOP goes even more batshit in this year's platform, rejecting the certified 2020 election results, calling for a repeal of the Voting Rights Act, and urging a referendum on secession by 2023. <vote poll=world202093350265>[https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106282784/israel-coalition-collapse-bennett-netanyahu Israeli PM Naftali Bennett to step down down after his coalition loses the support of right-wing parties, setting stage for fifth election in three years. Netanyahu will likely attempt to return to power]. <vote poll=world202093350264> FINA, the organization that regulates the sport of swimming, bars trans athletes who've gone through male puberty from competing in the Women's category, though they intend to establish an open category where trans athletes can compete. <vote poll=world202093350263>To the surprise of virtually no one Number 10 overnight obtains a super injunction in the UK to suppress reporting of the latest revelations of the corruption and blatant ethical breaches carried out by Boris Johnson. All references to the story have been scrubbed from UK reporting, they are still available on archive sites and non UK sites however. Guardian's piece about the disappearance of the article can be read here <vote poll=world202093350260> The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD foiled an attempt by the Russian GRU to infiltrate the International Criminal Court in the Hague, by using a fake Brazilian intern. <vote poll=world202093350261>  The European Commission has recommended that Ukraine and Moldova be given official EU candidate status. <vote poll=world202093350262> [https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105544325/drag-shows-children Several states including Florida and Texas are planning to ban children’s drag reading events such as Drag Queen Story Hour, by banning under 18s from watching cross-dressing performers. ] <vote poll=world202093350259> After 600 years, the ground zero for the Black Death has been found <vote poll=world202093350258>  Disney refuses to cut a scene of two women in love kissing from the animated film Lightyear, even though that scene has already led to the film getting banned in 14 countries and is likely to get it banned in more. <vote poll=world202093350257> Hollywood stars sign open letter over gun depictions on screen (Bill Maher is going to be even more smug as he gloats over this, Christ.) <vote poll=world202093350256> A bunch of fascists have been arrested in Idaho on charges of conspiracy to riot. The idiots (Patriot Front) were planning to disrupt a pride event. <vote poll=world202093350255>Binance and other Bitcoin exchanges have halted withdrawals, proving that Bitcoin does not prevent runs on a bank. Questions remain as to whether the exchanges even have the coins they claim to. <vote poll=world202093350254> Arron Banks [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/13/arron-banks-loses-libel-action-against-reporter-carole-cadwalladr-guardian-defamation-brexit-russia has lost his libel action against the journalist Carole Cadwalldr over claims that he had a covert relationship with Russia. The case has been seen as a victory for freedom of speech against the rich, who uses the libel laws to silence journalism. ] <vote poll=world202093350253> Canada is considering putting the anti-smoking message “Poison in every puff” on each individual cigarette to encourage Canadians to quit. <vote poll=world202093350252> AvtoVaz has said it is restarting production of its Lada Granta car at its Tolyatti factory, however because of international sanctions the car won’t have any of the modern safety features including ABS, ESP, air-bags, sat-nav or 21st century emission restrictions (Euro-2). Rumours abound that the car would be sold at a basic price of 600 000₽ (€6970, US$10 300). <vote poll=world202093350251> Police patrol Hong Kong park to enforce Tiananmen vigil ban. Also, memories of the massacre are being erased. <vote poll=world202093350250> In some good news, they have found a treatment for some cancers that has VERY good early results. It's effective against cancer caused by mismatch repair deficiency. Second source here! <vote poll=world202093350248> Celebrity Taobao livestreamer “Lipstick King” has had his livestream cut imminently short and unable to to continue to livestream, after presenting a tank-shaped ice cream cake on his stream. <vote poll=world202093350249> The European Parliament has approved an agreement to make USB-C the common standard charging point for all mobile phones, headphones, tablets and portable games consoles by 2024. <vote poll=world202093350247>[https://www.npr.org/2022/06/06/1103369944/federal-judge-oklahoma-lethal-injection-method-constitutional Federal judge rules that Oklahoma's three-drug lethal injection method is constitutional, allowing the state to plan executions for the more than 24 death row inmates who were plaintiffs in the case. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the state's method risks paralyzing inmates and then subjecting them to excruciating pain as the lethal drug takes effect]. <vote poll=world202093350246> UH-OH, We've officially hit a 50% increase in carbon dioxide compared to pre-industrial levels. <vote poll=world202093350245> Boris Johnson to face a confidence vote from Conservative MPs following the Partygate scandal. Update: He wins, but only by 211 to 148, even worse than Theresa May. <vote poll=world202093350244> Officials from one of the biggest country music festivals, the CMA Fest in Nashville, has put Confederate flags imagery of any kind on its list of prohibited items. <vote poll=world202093350242>5 dead including shooter at Tulsa medical building in 233rd mass shooting of 2022. <vote poll=world202093350243>California undergoing worst drought on record, with many of the state's water reserves already depleted. <vote poll=world202093350241> The newly elected Labor government has, on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, appointed a cabinet-level Assistant Minister of the Republic, opening up a possible republican referendum in the near future. <vote poll=world202093350240> In what is said to be the first ever case of its kind, The US Department of Justice charges a former employee of an NFT marketplace with wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme to commit insider trading