President Joe Biden has said it would be a mistake to expand the Supreme Court, despite its recent rulings against affirmative action in higher education, LGBT+ rights, and student loan debt forgiveness. The high court overturned decades of policies when it ruled this week that race-based admissions were not constitutional, preventing universities from considering race as a factor in student applications. Mr Biden hit out at the ruling on Thursday, commenting: “We cannot let this decision be the last word. “Discrimination still exists in America,” he added. “This is not a normal court.” Despite his strong reaction to the decision, the president ruled out the idea of “packing” the Supreme Court with additional justices in order to change the balance of opinion on the bench. “I think if we start the process of trying to expand the court, we’re going to politicise it maybe forever in a way that is not healthy,” Mr Biden told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace. It was a question Mr Biden was asked regularly during his last presidential campaign when a worried Democratic electorate expressed concern that there were few liberal justices left on the bench which would allow for the decisions handed down over the past year. Although it would not be unprecedented to change the number of justices in the Supreme Court — as the Constitution does not specify how many justices there should be — the number has remained at nine since not been changed since 1868. The court currently consists of nine justices — three of whom were chosen during Donald Trump’s only term as president, tipping the balance over to more conservative judges. Indeed, just three of the current nine justices were appointed by Democratic presidents — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was appointed by Mr Biden, and Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor were appointed by President Barack Obama. Clarence Thomas was appointed by President George HW Bush, and President George W Bush appointed Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. Since Mr Trump’s appointment of justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, the court has weighed in with a conservative hand on landmark rulings — including the overturning of the historic abortion 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade, giving the decision on abortion provision over to individual states. In addition to the ruling on affirmative action, on Friday 30 June, the court also struck down President Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts for millions of Americans, reversing his campaign-trail promise as borrowers prepare to resume payments this summer. The court also ruled that a wedding website designer may refuse to create work for people in the LGBT+ community if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. The case was unique in that it asked justices to rule on a question that was solely based on a hypothetical scenario. Read More Supreme Court allows Colorado designer to deny LGBT+ customers in ruling on last day of Pride Month Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts The Supreme Court will decide if some judges have gone too far in striking down gun restrictions How the Supreme Court student loan decision affects you

A new legal filing sees Microsoft reveal several unflattering details of its business.

Max Johnson threw for 249 yards and a touchdown and Texas A&M snapped a two-game skid with a 30-17 win over South Carolina Saturday

Wildfires continue to cause chaos in Europe as firefighters in Greece and Tenerife tackle blazes in soaring heat. Devastating blazes in central Greece left two dead and two firefighters injured on Monday, while fires consumed the city of Alexandroupolis, damaging a school, a cemetery and several homes. And on Tuesday, the bodies of 18 people were found in a forest after a fire struck an area in the north east of the country. In a separate incident, around 65 of the more than 100 patients in the Alexandroupolis hospital in north-eastern Greece were transported to a ferry docked in the city’s port, as hot, dry and windy conditions have kept fires stoked for four days. It comes as dozens more houses were damaged by another wildfire in the Kavala region, local authorities said, while a separate fire in the Evros border region was burning through woodland in a protected national park. A new fire broke out in the Aspropyrgos area on the western fringes of the Greek capital on Tuesday morning, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for two villages in the area. Romania sent 56 firefighters and Cyprus send two water-dropping aircraft to help fight the wildfire in Alexandroupolis, while French firefighters helped tackle a separate fire on the island of Evia. Here is a map which shows where the wildfires are in Greece: The highest fire risk level (extreme) was given by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection for the following areas today: Region of Attica Region of Central Greece (PE Boeotia, PE Evia, PE Fthiotida) Peloponnese Region (Argolida PE, Corinthia PE) There is a very high fire risk for the following areas: Region of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace (Evros PE including the island of Samothraki, Rodopi PE, Xanthi PE, Kavala PE, Thassos PE) Region of Central Macedonia (PE Thessaloniki, PE Halkidiki, Mount Athos) North Aegean Region (Lemnos PE, Lesvos PE) Region of Thessaly (Magnesia PE, Sporades PE) Region of Central Greece (PE of Fokidas, PE of Fthiotida, Skyros island) Region of Peloponnese Region of Attica (Kythira Island) Region of Western Greece Region of Epirus (Preveza Region, Arta Region, Thesprotia Region) Region of Ionian Islands (PE Kefallonia, PE Zakynthos, PE Lefkada) In Tenerife, more than 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes as a devastating blaze- which was started deliberately- burnt through about 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland. Locals were seen fleeing in horror from plumes of flames and smoke as the fire spread after it was first sparked last Tuesday. Fernando Clavijo, regional president of Canary Islands, said police suspected arson and have opened three lines of investigation. It has not been revealed if any arrests were made. The fire began in the Arafo mountains around the Mount Teide volcano - Spain’s highest peak- expanding to a raging perimeter of 84 kilometers as it ravaged the north of the island over the last six days. Authorities on Sunday allowed some of the 12,000 people evacuated from the villages of Arafo and Candelaria to return to their homes and the remaining evacuees could receive more good news on Monday, Clavijo said. However, emergency services recommended residents in the area around the fire, which includes the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to close windows and to stay indoors. It recommended wearing face masks if they need to go outside, as the air quality was “very unfavourable” due to smoke. Read More Apocalyptic scenes in Tenerife as wildfire continues to rage on island Mapped: Where are the wildfires in Tenerife as blaze forces thousands to flee Tenerife fire that has raged for six days was started deliberately Greek firefighters find bodies of 18 people in forest Newborns evacuated from hospital to ferry to escape raging Greek wildfire Biden promises to assist Maui fire survivors for ‘as long as it takes’ during visit Maui guest interrupts Steve Bannon show over politicisation of fires

Despite the messy Golden State Warriors breakup, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are still close friends all these years later.Kevin Durant spent three years with the Golden State Warriors from 2016 to 2019. He won two championships and two Finals MVP awards. Had it not been for a ruptured Achill...

The absurdity of the decision to stage the draw for the pool stage of the Rugby World Cup three years out from the tournament will really hit home this week

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday they expect

TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 26, 2023--

Swiss watch exports jumped again in May as shipments to the US rebounded and demand for luxury timepieces

Intel Corp. is set to receive almost $11 billion in subsidies from the German government for a chip

Those who have pre-ordered God of War Ragnarok have the option to pre-load the game.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 11, 2023--