Juneteenth observance closes some government offices, Separation Chat’s open discussion, the cautionary story of Franck Brinsolaro, the armed bodyguard who could not stop mass shooters at Charlie Hebdo.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Benefit of Biden’s Order Protecting Undocumented Immigrant Spouses of Citizens
Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status but are married to U.S. citizens, will now have protection from deportation, President Joe Biden announced on June 18, 2024. In order to qualify, they must have arrived 10 or more years ago and be married to a U.S. citizen. Those who meet these criteria will be able to get work permits and can get on the pathway to citizenship while working and living in the U.S. legally.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Clay Jones takes on Trump’s electric boat orchestra, the Palm Coast City Council meets, the Flagler school board meets twice, Food Truck Tuesday, Rushdie’s knife.
A Step Closer to Normalization With Cuba
The U.S. State Department removed Cuba from its list of countries “not fully cooperating” with anti-terrorism efforts in mid-May 2024, but you would be forgiven for not noticing. Taking Cuba off the list is a big deal. This latest move is a potential step toward a rapprochement between Washington and Havana.
Social Media and Gun Laws Await Supreme Court Rulings, with Big Implications for Florida
The social-media ruling likely will decide whether Florida can carry out a 2021 state law that placed restrictions on platforms such as Facebook and X. The gun ruling in a Texas case could help determine the fate of a 2018 Florida law that barred people under age 21 from buying rifles and shotguns.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 17, 2024
Beach Renourishment Project groundbreaking in Flagler Beach, Elizabeth Tremoglie sentencing, the Flagler County Commission holds a pair of meetings, Ilan Pape’s detention by Homeland Security goons in Detroit.
Palestinian Writers’ Familiarity With Amputation
Though the current scale of pediatric amputations is unprecedented, the loss of limbs and the dividing of territories have been all-too-common features of the Palestinian experience since the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” of 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were forced off their land or fled from it. For this reason, amputation has long played an important role in Palestinian literature: Lost limbs represent both physical and metaphorical loss.
Banning Asylum Is No Way to an Immigration Fix
Under both U.S. and international law, anyone fleeing persecution in another country has a right to request asylum and have their claim assessed. But both the Trump and Biden administrations have dramatically undermined these protections. Most recently, Biden’s executive order and accompanying federal rule on “Securing the Border” — which effectively closed the U.S.-Mexico border this June — all but suspended the right to asylum altogether.
Biden Is Right: Over 100 Million Americans Would Lose Protection for Preexisting Conditions if ACA Is Repealed
A previous fact-check ruled Biden’s claim that 100 million Americans have preexisting conditions as in the ballpark, and nothing suggests that’s changed. Depending on the definition, the number could be smaller, but it also could be even greater and is likely to have increased since 2014.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 16, 2024
Father’s Day Barbecue Bash at First United Methodist Church in Palm Coast, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, how the press reflected the Israeli rescue of hostages in Gaza and the massacre of over 200 Palestinians.