5 things to know for June 20: Debate countdown, Severe weather, Religious freedom, Ecuador blackout, Stonehenge
CNN
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Today is the 2024 summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s also the first official day of summer — although swaths of the US have been baking in unseasonably high temperatures for weeks. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set for a historic showdown in exactly one week, with the stage now set for CNN’s June 27 presidential debate. The event will make history as the first debate between a sitting president and a former president — and could be a pivotal moment in the 2024 race as millions of potential voters tune in. The debate qualification window closed at midnight, with Biden and Trump meeting the constitutional, ballot qualification and polling thresholds set by the network. Both candidates have spent the past weeks working to fine-tune their message on a wide array of issues, from the economy to foreign affairs to their rival’s fitness for office. The season’s first tropical storm has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and a dangerous heat wave and wildfires are impacting parts of the US. Alberto, the first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, is bringing gusty winds and storm surge to southern Texas. A level 3 of 4 risk of flooding is in place for parts of the state, including Corpus Christi. Meanwhile, a dangerous heat wave is scorching parts of the Midwest and Northeast, where record-breaking high temperatures are forecast across dozens of cities. And in New Mexico, around 1,400 structures have been lost and about 8,000 people have evacuated due to the South Fork Fire burning near the village of Ruidoso. Louisiana public schools are now required to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the requirement into law on Wednesday. House Bill 71, approved by state lawmakers last month, mandates that a poster-size display of the Ten Commandments with a “large, easily readable font” be in every classroom at schools that receive state funding, from kindergarten through the university level. Opponents of the bill have argued that a state requiring a religious text in all classrooms would violate the establishment clause of the US Constitution, which says that Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Civil liberties groups swiftly vowed to challenge the law in court. Around 17 million people were left in the dark on Wednesday after Ecuador was hit with an hourslong nationwide blackout. The outage affected hospitals, homes and a major subway system. Authorities said it was caused by maintenance and transmission issues in the country’s electrical system. As of Wednesday night, energy had been restored in 95% of the country, the government said. Ecuador has been struggling with an energy crisis for years. In April, the country’s president declared an energy emergency and ordered widespread power cuts amid a drought that is straining its electric grid.
President Donald Trump spent his Friday morning perusing samples of stone in Florida for the new White House ballroom, as he pushes ahead on a controversial effort to replace the East Wing.
Brian Cole Jr. allegedly placed explosives outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee buildings on January 5, 2021.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his executive powers to revoke a handful of orders put into place by his predecessor after the former mayor was federally indicted, including a directive that expanded the definition of antisemitism and another that barred city employees and agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.
A respected dentist and his wife were gunned down in their upscale Ohio home while two young children were inside, authorities said, as the killer remains on the loose.
Key figures in the long-running controversy over alleged fraudulent safety net programs in Minnesota
The Trump administration, for the second time in recent weeks, is using allegations of fraud to justify increased federal law enforcement actions in Minnesota, the state with the country’s largest Somali population.
Americans feel more politically connected by generation than they do by race or gender, CNN polling data finds.
A woman was found dead Thursday on a hiking trail in northern Colorado, in what authorities believe to be a rare fatal mountain lion attack.
The Trump administration is abruptly cutting dozens of staff who are at the forefront of disaster response and recovery at the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week, according to internal emails obtained by CNN and sources familiar with the plan.
If there was any hope New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would inch towards the middle or appeal to moderate Democrats as he launched his administration, it vanished in the bitter January air that ushered in the start of his term.
Venezuelan security forces have detained at least five Americans in recent months as the US has built a pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a US official familiar with the matter told CNN.
Quality Learning Center, a focus of a video looking at Somali businesses in Minneapolis, has a history of code violations, but none that suggested fraud.
President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday that he takes a higher dose of aspirin than his doctors have recommended, blaming that for the visible hand bruises that have generated renewed questions about his health.
The cavalry didn’t come to save the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies, which ended when 2025 did. And while the House is expected to vote in January on a Democratic proposal to extend them for three years, the effort faces significant hurdles in the Senate.