Top Stories Today – July 27, 2019
Top Stories Today – July 27, 2019
US Supreme Court allows Trump wall funding
The US Supreme Court has said that President Donald Trump can use $2.5bn of Pentagon funds for a section of wall on the southern border. The court ruled by five votes to four to block a ruling by a federal judge in California that barred the president from spending the money on the wall. The wall, dividing the US and Mexico, was Mr Trump’s major campaign promise during the 2016 election.
The decision by the Supreme Court means that the money will be used for wall projects in California, Arizona and New Mexico. The court in California had argued that Congress had not specifically authorized the funds to be used for constructing the wall. BBC
Police arrest hundreds at Moscow vote protest
Russian police are wrestling with demonstrators and have arrested hundreds in central Moscow during a protest demanding that opposition candidates be allowed to run for the Moscow city council. The dispute comes as the Kremlin is struggling with how to deal with strongly opposing views in its sprawling capital of 12.6 million people.
OVD-Info, an organization that monitors political arrests, said 317 people had been detained an hour after the protest started. The Moscow city police department said 295, according to state news agency Tass. The demonstration continued into the afternoon as lines of helmeted riot police tried to push back protesters, some of whom resisted. Demonstrators shouted slogans including “Russia will be free.” The crowd appeared to number several thousand. The Associated Press
Police fire tear gas in clash with Hong Kong protesters
Police fired tear gas during clashes in a rural Hong Kong town on Saturday as several thousand activists gathered to protest an attack by suspected triad gang members on protesters and commuters at a train station last weekend. Police, widely criticized for failing to better protect the public from the attack by club-wielding men in Yuen Long, had refused to allow the march in the town on safety grounds.
But protesters pushed ahead and what began as a peaceful action by several thousand in sweltering afternoon heat soon grew increasingly tense with stand-offs between police and protesters in several locations. Rocks and bottles were thrown at police by protesters, who were also building barricades out of street furniture and umbrellas. Police responded with tear gas. Reuters
US, Guatemala sign agreement to restrict asylum cases
The Trump administration signed an agreement with Guatemala that will restrict asylum applications to the US from Central America. The “safe third country” agreement would require migrants, including Salvadorans and Hondurans, who cross into Guatemala on their way to the US to apply for protections in Guatemala instead of at the US border.
It could potentially ease the crush of migrants overwhelming the US immigration system, although many questions remain about how the agreement will be executed. President Donald Trump on Friday heralded the concession as a win as he struggles to live up to his campaign promises on immigration. The Associated Press
Sudan Says 87 Killed in June 3 Protest Broken up
The head of a Sudanese investigative committee said on Saturday that 87 people were killed and 168 wounded on June 3 when a sit-in protest was violently broken up by security forces. Fath al-Rahman Saeed, the head of the committee, said 17 of those killed were in the square occupied by protesters and 48 of the wounded were hit by bullets.
Saeed said some security forces fired at protesters and that three officers violated orders by moving forces into the sit-in. He also said an order was issued to whip protesters. The Voice of America
Disney nabs 3rd $1 billion movie of 2019
Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin has now officially grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming the third Disney release of 2019 to do so after Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. Three out of the four films that have made more than $1 billion this year were released by Disney, with the fourth, Spider-Man: Far From Home, being distributed by Sony but taking place in the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Disney is now on pace to potentially end the year with as many as seven movies joining the billion-dollar club, with movies like The Lion King, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Frozen II expected to be box office hits. Disney only released three billion-dollar films in 2018: Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Incredibles 2. Deadline via The Week