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By Ariana Figueroa
National

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court sided Thursday with the Trump administration’s request to turn away asylum-seekers who present themselves at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The question the justices considered was whether migrants have to fully cross into the United States in order to have the right to apply for asylum and be processed, or if they can apply for asylum when they appear at a port of entry while on Mexico’s side of the border.

In a 6-3 decision, the conservative justices agreed with the Trump administration that a noncitizen who is standing in Mexico doesn’t arrive in the U.S. “by attempting, and failing, to set foot in this country.”

The justices held that a noncitizen only arrives in the U.S. “when he crosses the border,” and that the Immigration Nationality Act does not entitle that noncitizen who is standing on Mexico’s side of the border who wants to apply for asylum to be inspected by an immigration officer.

Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote for the majority, said the case before the justices presented a “straightforward question.”

“The phrase ‘arrives in the United States’ … carries its ordinary meaning: A person arrives in a geographic location only when he enters it,” he wrote. “A person arrives in a destination when he enters within its area—not before—and that conclusion does not change because someone or something blocks entry. Everyday examples of how people ordinarily use the phrase ‘arrives in’ confirm this understanding.”

The policy requiring a full crossing, known as metering, is defunct, but Vivek Suri, assistant to the U.S. solicitor general, argued before the high court that it was a policy the federal government should be allowed to have in its toolbox for future uses at the southern border.

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a scathing dissent saying the ruling will allow the Trump administration to turn away asylum seekers, a policy she said violates Congress’ refugee law.

“Because the Court today blesses the Executive Branch’s decision to slam the door shut on all who are fleeing persecution, despite the detailed inspection and asylum system that Congress enacted and commands, I respectfully dissent,” she wrote.

During oral arguments in March, the justices seemed ideologically split, with the six conservative justices agreeing with the Trump administration. The three liberals of the Supreme Court — Sotomayor and Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — questioned whether the policy violated federal law protecting refugees.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

By Jacob Fischler
National

State courts cannot find liability for labeling shortcomings in pesticides and related products because such products are covered by federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday in a decision backing agricultural giant Monsanto.

The justices, in a 7-2 decision, threw out a $1.25 million verdict a Missouri court awarded to a man who said long-term use of the weedkiller Roundup caused him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

The herbicide, produced by Monsanto, does not include any warning of carcinogenic material and Monsanto and parent company Bayer deny there is any link.

The decision created an unusual split for the conservative-dominated court, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing the majority opinion and his fellow conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch joining a dissent written by liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The majority ruled that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, which governs herbicide use, preempts state claims like the one awarded to John Durnell of St. Louis.

Roundup’s label complied with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, to which states cannot add requirements, Kavanaugh wrote.

“In sum, federal law requires Monsanto to sell Roundup with the label that EPA approved at the initial registration and that EPA has subsequently re-approved on multiple occasions—that is, the label without a cancer warning,” he wrote.

“Durnell’s state tort claim, by contrast, would require Monsanto to add a cancer warning to its labels. That Missouri-law requirement is ‘in addition to’ and ‘different from’ Monsanto’s federal-law labeling obligations.”

In her dissent, Jackson wrote that the majority’s decision improperly prioritized national uniformity over consumer protection.

“In accepting Monsanto’s argument and holding that Durnell’s failure-to-warn claim is preempted, the Court misunderstands FIFRA’s requirements, misinterprets the scope of FIFRA’s preemption, and ultimately leaves Durnell without a remedy for the significant harms he has suffered,” she wrote.

Durnell sued Monsanto and parent company Bayer in 2019, claiming that exposure to Roundup over two decades led to his cancer diagnosis. A Missouri trial court awarded him $1.25 million, and a state appeals courts affirmed the ruling.

The Supreme Court was the first federal court to hear the case.

Federal law typically trumps state law, which Monsanto and the Justice Department emphasized during April oral arguments. Industry groups across the economy tend to support federal supremacy because it saves companies from complying with 50 separate regulatory schemes across states.

The EPA, which regulates labeling requirements for herbicides, does not require the kind of warning the Missouri jury said was appropriate.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

By Ashley Murray, Sam Gauntt
National

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump kicked off his administration’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary Wednesday night with a rally speech nearly mirroring his days on the 2024 presidential campaign trail to a crowd of loyal supporters waving American flag placards.

The president delivered remarks for roughly 25 minutes on the National Mall against the backdrop of the Washington Monument and exalted the Founding Fathers and valuable contributions to the world by American inventors.

But Trump also spent significant time on his familiar refrains, declaring “America is back,” and that he rescued it from “total disaster,” he said, by closing the “most wide open, insecure” border along the U.S. southwest, “sending education back to the states where it belongs,” issuing an executive order requiring only two genders on federal documents, signing a bill that made tips non-taxable income for four years, among other policies.

“We’re not a joke anymore, we’re the most powerful country in the world,” Trump said. “But just like those patriots of 1776, over the past 17 months, we have taken power back from the far-off political class. They’re trying to gain it back, but it’s not going to happen.”

Trump also praised what he described as a military boom. The event featured music by the U.S. Marine Corps Band and five separate military flyovers of fighter jets and a B-2 stealth bomber.

Military recruitment, he said, is “setting records,” well above the numbers under former President Joe Biden.

“Then the thing happened on Nov. 5, it’s called a great election victory, and from that moment on, now you can’t even get into the military, we have waiting lists to get into the military,” he said.

Trump also credited the war he launched in Iran for bringing peace to the Middle East “for the first time in 3,000 years,” and said the administration’s peace negotiations sent the stock market “skyrocketing upward.”

The S&P 500 has actually dropped slightly since close on June 18, the day before the administration announced a peace deal with Iran.

“How good is our military? How good? In one week, Iran was essentially finished in one hour, Venezuela was finished, and I guess we have other things in store, but we don’t want to get carried away,” he said.

Washington revamp

He also touted his efforts to beautify Washington, D.C., highlighting projects including the restored Christopher Columbus statue outside Union Station, his planned ballroom that will replace the White House’s East Wing and the renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

After the pool was drained to paint the basin “American flag blue,” it has faced consistent problems with algae blooms and peeling paint, which Trump has said is the fault of vandals.

Trump concluded his remarks by invoking imagery of early American settlers and revolutionary heroes. He described the American spirit as taking up the call to freedom, exploring the “most dangerous frontiers,” and fighting and winning the “most vicious battles.”

Now, Trump said, America is expanding that “glory of American freedom into a horizon that’s never been seen before.”

“We’ve never reached so high as we’re reaching right now,” he said. “This is our heritage, this is our history, and this is the destiny of America to be the greatest, most incredible country ever to grace the earth.”

After Trump finished his speech, the band played the Village People’s YMCA, a staple at his rallies and events, and he danced off the stage.

Supporters arrive early

Attendees — wearing plenty of splashy outfits and historical costumes among a sea of red, white and blue and MAGA red — began to trickle through U.S. Secret Service security hours before Trump was set to give remarks initially scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern.

Excited guests shaded themselves from the sun with American flag placards until the U.S. Marine Corps band began to play a patriotic melody. Chairs in the front row at the stage’s edge were reserved for “Front Row Joes,” a nickname Trump gave to regulars at his 2024 presidential campaign rallies.

The grounds weren’t quite ready for primetime. Construction continued on the National Mall where Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair was scheduled to begin Thursday.

And food vendors hurried to hang menu signs as guests looked to see if food was ready for sale. Among the menu items were a $23 turkey leg, pretzel bites and plenty of Phorm, the energy drink owned by Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and close ally of Trump.

Bill Anderson, 64, of Plankinton, South Dakota, said he traveled to “just to take it in.”

“I don’t know what Trump’s speech is going to be, but it’s always going to be uplifting, and maybe tell us some things (that) are going to happen in the future,” Anderson said, adding the semiquincentennial makes him feel hopeful for what’s ahead in the United States, which he predicted will be a stronger focus on Christianity.

Anderson attended the Christian heritage “Rededicate 250” event on the National Mall in May, which featured appearances by several Cabinet members and Republican lawmakers, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.

‘Beautiful turning point’

Patti Gordon, 71, of Atlanta, wore matching red, white and blue sequined jackets with her friend from Texas. Each featured an eagle and stars and stripes on the back with the message, “America 250th Anniversary.”

Gordon, a vice chair of the Fulton County, Georgia, Republican Party, sat in the third row and said the semiquincentennial is a “beautiful turning point for this country.”

“I’m really hoping people become a little bit more patriotic and realize this country is worth saving,” she said. “I think a lot of people are trying to destroy this country and erase our history and say that we have a horrible history. We do not. We know we are the most generous country in the world, and we have helped people to freedom.”

Fulton County is a focus of Trump’s unfounded claims that he won the 2020 presidential election. In January, the Trump administration deployed federal agents to the county to seize ballots from the 2020 election.

Laura Strohmeyer, 37, a new resident of Washington, said she came out to the kickoff to see a B-2 stealth bomber fly by.

“I think it’s pretty awesome,” the former Virginia resident said of the kickoff. “I think it’s cool to celebrate our country, our history — something to be very proud of.”

Strohmeyer added that she hoped celebrating the country’s 250th would bring people together, rather than further separate them.

Honest Abe

Many attendees came in customized outfits featuring sequins, American flag print or political slogans.

One, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, called himself Honest Abe and said his real first name was Alex, but declined to provide States Newsroom his last name. He is a frequent presence at Trump’s rallies, and said he has twice been recognized by the president for his historical garb. The back of his jacket featured an image of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the words “Martyr for Truth and Freedom.”

As people milled about the kickoff celebration, many stopped to take their picture with the Lincoln impersonator who wore a “special guest” credential issued by Freedom 250. He gave several interviews.

“We’ll be happy to see him again, and to celebrate America 250 years, to be here with the patriots,” he said of Trump.

The impersonator said that, after George Washington and, of course, Lincoln, Trump ranks as the third-best president “in the Holy Story of America.”

Summer of celebration

Freedom 250, the Trump administration’s iteration of semiquincentennial celebrations, will stretch through the summer, with the Great American State Fair on the National Mall until July 10 followed by a high school athletic competition and an INDYCAR race around the National Mall in August.

The White House worked with the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship to promote a series of primetime mixed martial arts fights on Flag Day, and Trump’s 80th birthday, as a kickoff to the semiquincentennial.

The administration’s Freedom 250 events are not part of the America250 commission created by Congress a decade ago that is hosting events and initiatives around the country on Independence Day and throughout 2026.