Weekly Review

A heat wave killed at least 17 people in India, where temperatures in the northwest hit 122 degrees and where roads were hosed down to prevent them from melting.¹ The Trump Administration blocked the State Department from submitting to the House of Representatives a report that described the consequences of climate change as “potentially catastrophic,” and the White House received a letter written by 17 car manufacturers arguing that the government’s plan to deregulate tailpipe emissions might undercut their industry.^{2 3} Secretary of State Mike Pompeo downplayed the threat of climate change, saying, “Societies reorganize, we move to different places.”⁴ At the U.S.–Mexico border, migrant children between the ages of 5 and 12 were driven to an adults-only detention center and kept in vans for up to 39 hours before being reunified with their families.⁵ English classes, recreational programs, and legal aid for unaccompanied minors staying in federal migrant shelters were canceled.⁶ “If these people follow our verbal commands, we hold them until Border Patrol comes,” said a spokesman for the United Constitutional Patriots, a civilian militia that was shown on video to have detained migrants at gunpoint.⁷ “En route to The Hague!” tweeted Ivanka Trump, an adviser to and daughter of the president, following a state visit to the United Kingdom; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that only 75,000 jobs had been added in May.^{8 9} Donald Trump joined French President Emmanuel Macron in Normandy to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and it was reported that the oak tree the two men had planted in 2018 on the lawn of the White House, to symbolize “ties that bind,” has died.^{10 11} A swarm of ladybugs in California was so large that it appeared on the National Weather Service’s radar.¹²

On Tuesday, YouTube declined to “demonetize” the right-wing commentator and comedian Steven Crowder, who was fired from Fox News because, according to a source at the company, “he was never that funny, and, in addition, he crossed the line more than a few times,” after he was accused of habitually harassing a reporter at Vox Media; the following day, YouTube announced it had reversed course and began removing thousands of videos “promoting extremist ideologies.”^{13 14 15} Super Happy Fun America, a group that “advocates on behalf of the straight community,” announced that it would host a Straight Pride parade in Boston in August, with Milo Yiannopoulos, a gay man who has been banned from Twitter and Facebook for, respectively, leading a harassment campaign and “alt-right” hate-speech, as the event’s grand marshal.^{16 17 18} The group, which initially used Brad Pitt’s name and image, was asked by Pitt’s lawyers to remove him from the branding; the actor “was not super happy,” said the group’s president, “but, you know, you’re allowed to do satire.” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand served drinks at The Blazing Saddle, a gay bar in Des Moines, Iowa, as part of activities to kick off Pride month.²⁰ A gay couple in London were attacked on a bus after refusing to kiss.²¹ The police commissioner of New York apologized 50 years after riots at the Stonewall Inn for the actions of the N.Y.P.D.’s officers and the “discriminatory and oppressive” laws of the time, and the city seized 46 ice cream trucks in a sting called “Operation Meltdown.”^{22 23}

Joe Biden changed his mind on the Hyde Amendment; Saskatchewan announced that it would begin providing universal coverage for an abortion pill; and a Missouri judge blocked the revocation of a Planned Parenthood clinic’s abortion license by the state’s Health Department, thereby insuring that abortion is still accessible in all 50 states.^{24 25 26} The United States and Russia blamed each other after two warships came within 165 feet of colliding.²⁷ The company that owns Princess and Carnival Cruise lines was ordered to pay $20 million after violating the probation terms of a 2016 case in which it was fined $40 million for dumping oil-contaminated waste into the sea.²⁸ The Better Business Bureau reported that 10 time-share exit companies located in Springfield, Missouri, have defrauded customers of more than $2.2 million since January 1, 2017.²⁹ At a museum in Alberta, Canada, a tourist correctly guessed the combination a safe that had been sealed since the late 1970s on his first try.³⁰ Apple announced that iTunes would be broken up into three separate apps for music, podcasts, and television.³¹ A school in Indiana apologized after a special education teacher awarded an “annoying male” trophy to a boy with autism, and a company in that state sparked outrage by producing an unscented candle it called “Ohio.”^{32 33} —Cameron French