Mexico Elects Judges Among Scores of Little-Known Candidates
Mexican voters head to the polls on Sunday to begin picking judges in an unprecedented election that could give President Claudia Sheinbaum broad influence over a revamped judiciary, the only branch of government her party doesn't control.
Polls open at 8 a.m. in Mexico City as voters pick a total of 881 federal judges, including all members of the Supreme Court. More than 3,000 little-known candidates are competing. Polls close at 6 p.m.
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San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
California gun ban still alive. For now
A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed states to continue to ban semiautomatic AR-15-style rifles, which can be fired repeatedly without reloading and are owned by millions of Americans. But the issue is far from settled. Only two of the nine justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented from the court's decision to deny review of a federal appeals court ruling in September that upheld Maryland's AR-15 ban, similar to laws in California and seven other states. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another member of the court's conservative majority, said in a separate opinion that the appeals court ruling was 'questionable' and the Supreme Court 'should and presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon.' Thomas, in a dissent joined by Alito, said tens of millions of Americans own AR-15s, and an 'overwhelming majority … do so for lawful purposes.' And in a separate case, the court denied a challenge to a Rhode Island law, similar to California's, that bans possession of gun magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Justices Thomas, Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented. The actions reflect the uncertain status of gun-control laws since the court's 6-3 ruling in 2022 that said Americans have a constitutional right to carry concealed firearms in public. Thomas, in the majority opinion, said any restrictions on owning or carrying guns could be upheld only if they were 'consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation,' dating back to the nation's founding. Based on that ruling, many state gun laws have been overturned, and California has narrowed, though not repealed, its restrictions on carrying guns in public. But the Supreme Court appeared to move in a different direction last June when it ruled 8-1, with only Thomas dissenting, that the government could ban gun ownership by domestic abusers who have attacked or threatened someone in their household. It was the court's first direct ruling on guns since 2022. Kavanaugh's opinion suggested that reviewing bans on semiautomatics or other widely used weapons may be next for the court, despite Monday's denial. 'We are disappointed that some members of the Supreme Court did not have the judicial courage to do their most important job and enforce the Constitution,' said the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun-advocacy nonprofit based in Sacramento. 'We are more resolved than ever to fight forward and eliminate these immoral bans throughout the nation, whatever and however long it takes.' The group urged the Trump administration to join a future legal challenge. The administration did not file arguments in the Maryland case, but President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to review all firearms policies of President Joe Biden's administration and 'protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.' David Pucino, legal director of the San Francisco-based Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, was relieved by Monday's Supreme Court action. 'Courts have repeatedly upheld laws limiting access to highly dangerous weapons,' Pucino said in a statement. 'They are proven measures that protect families and reduce gun violence.' The court left intact a 9-5 ruling in September by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia upholding Maryland's AR-15 ban. The appeals court had rejected a challenge to the law in 2017, then was ordered by the Supreme Court to reconsider it under the standards of the 2022 ruling. The semiautomatic rifles are 'military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense,' Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote in the appeals court's majority opinion. A California appeals court gave similar reasons in 2023 for upholding the state's ban on many AR-15-style rifles, which has also been allowed to stand by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Under California's ban, semiautomatic rifles with fixed ammunition magazines — bullet chambers that require disassembly of the firearm to swap them out — can't hold more than 10 rounds. Those with detachable magazines, which enable swift reloading, can't have any of a number of additional features, such as pistol grips. In other states, the weapons are sometimes sold with forced-reset triggers, which pull the trigger back after each shot, allowing rapid refiring. Trump's Justice Department agreed last month to allow their sale under federal law, withdrawing the government's previous classification of the weapons as illegal machine guns. But California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday he has notified law enforcement agencies that the triggers are still prohibited by state law. In dissent from the 4th Circuit ruling, Judge Julius Richardson, a Trump appointee, said 20% of all firearms sold in the United States are AR-15s. 'Maryland's ban cannot pass constitutional muster as it prohibits the possession of arms commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,' Richardson said. Maryland's law contains similar restrictions to those in the California ban. It also limits some features and bans semiautomatic rifles that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The Maryland case is Snope v. Brown, 24-203. The Rhode Island case is Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island, 24-131.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Justice Kavanaugh signals the Supreme Court could take up AR-15 bans
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaled Monday the high court could soon take up a big case: the constitutionality of AR-15 rifle bans. The court declined to take up a case involving Maryland's AR-15 ban this term, but Kavanaugh wrote the court 'should and presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon, in the next term or two.' NewsNation legal contributor Jesse Weber told me he believes Kavanaugh is right. 'Not only will they hear it, they have to hear it,' Weber said. 'There is so much confusion across courts about when is a gun regulation unconstitutional,' he added. Get ready for this case in the high court at some point in the coming years.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
SC police, ICE arrest 80 people in raid of unlicensed Charleston County nightclub
Local, state and federal law enforcement gather Monday, June 2, 2025, to announce arrests during a raid of a Summerville-area nightclub a day earlier. (Left to right, front row): State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, Gov. Henry McMaster, Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie and Attorney General Alan Wilson. (Screenshot of Charleston County Sheriff's Office livestream) Two alleged cartel members and one person wanted by Interpol for murder in Honduras were among at least 80 people arrested during a weekend sting operation at an unlicensed nightclub in Charleston County. Federal, state and local law enforcement raided the Alamo nightclub, located in an industrial area outside the town of Summerville, around 3 a.m. Sunday. The club had no license to operate or to sell alcohol. About 200 people were there at the time of the raid. The investigation, dubbed 'Operation Last Stand,' continues, Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie said during a news conference Monday. They included 10 juveniles as young as 13 — including one reported as missing — as well as potential human trafficking victims. They were turned over to social service agencies. Officers also seized guns, cocaine and cash, Ritchie said, without giving details on the amounts. Those arrested included two people believed to be 'high-level cartel members' associated with the Mexico-based Los Zetas cartel and the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang, said U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent Cardell Morant. He referred to the club scene as a 'cartel afterparty.' More than 80% of those arrested are living in the United States illegally, he said. The law enforcement agencies went in with 116 warrants for 80 people. Five people were arrested for criminal offenses, Morant said. Law enforcement officials did not provide names of those arrested or a list of charges. 'Some of these individuals have been charged with serious offenses,' which include the person wanted internationally for murder, Morant said. Other charges made in the raid include 'assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and a felon in possession of a firearm,' he said. The investigation began in November with officers looking into noise complaints and reports of assaults occurring in the parking lot, Ritchie said. 'Bad guys like to celebrate too. So, this was their way to let off some steam, and they were, unfortunately, doing it right here in the community,' Morant said. 'This operation was not only about immigration enforcement. It was also about restoring order, removing threats from our streets and ensuring the safety and well-being of Charleston-area residents,' he added. About a dozen local, state and federal agencies participated in the raid. 'We will continue to work to bring justice to those that have been victimized and also bring those to justice that have violated our laws,' said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel.
