10 things you need to know today: June 28, 2016

Abortion activists outside the Supreme Court

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

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1. Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion restrictions
2. David Cameron meeting with EU leaders to discuss Brexit next steps
3. Lawmakers unveil conflicting conclusions on Benghazi
4. Stonewall officially marked as first national monument to gay rights movement
5. Turkey apologizes for shooting down Russian warplane
6. Warren bashes Trump in her first joint rally with Clinton
7. Supreme Court vacates corruption conviction of Virginia ex-governor
8. Judge: Mississippi clerks can't deny marriage licenses over religious beliefs
9. VW agrees to pay $14.7 billion to settle claims in diesel scandal
10. Record-setting college basketball coach Pat Summitt dies at 64

published 28 June 2016

1. Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down two Texas abortion regulations in the court's most significant abortion ruling in years. The regulations required doctors to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and clinics to comply with standards for ambulatory surgical centers. The justices ruled 5-3 that the requirements were medically unnecessary, and were forcing clinics to close, creating unconstitutional obstacles for women seeking access to abortion. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it was "beyond rational belief" that the regulations protected women's health, as proponents argued.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is meeting with EU leaders in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the U.K.'s options for exiting the trading bloc, and possible future relations with the EU. Cameron, who led the 'Remain' campaign, announced Monday that he would leave it to his successor to formally start the process of leaving the EU, as called for in last week's Brexit referendum. European Commission Chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the U.K. needs to clarify its plans "as quickly as possible" to avoid drawn out uncertainty.

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House Democrats on Monday released a report that said Hillary Clinton never personally denied requests from diplomats for increased security in Benghazi, Libya. By unveiling their conclusions, the five Democrats on a select House panel pre-empted the Republican majority's report, expected Tuesday. The Democrats said in their dissenting report that the two-year investigation was a "partisan sham." The Republican report is expected to say that Clinton should have known the risks posed to the Benghazi mission by extremist groups before the 2012 attacks, which killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

New York City's Stonewall Inn and the surrounding area officially became the nation's first monument to the gay rights movement on Monday. Federal, state, and local officials gathered to unveil the sign for the Stonewall National Monument at the Greenwich Village bar where riots broke out over police raids in 1969. President Obama announced the monument's creation on Friday, extending federal protection to the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding 7.7 acres, including Christopher Park.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday apologized for his country's downing of a Russian warplane last year, which killed a Russian pilot. The incident left relations between Turkey and Russia badly damaged. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident, in which two Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 over Turkey's Syrian border, a "stab in the back administered by the accomplices of terrorists." Erdogan said his country "had no wish or intention" to down a Russian plane. "I share their pain with my whole heart," Erdogan said, according to the Kremlin.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed Republican Donald Trump as an "insecure money grubber" on Monday in her first joint appearance with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "When Donald says he'll make America great, he means greater for rich guys just like Donald Trump," Warren said. The progressive leader reportedly is being vetted as a possible Clinton running mate. Her support has been seen as crucial in the effort to win over progressive fans of Clinton's primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders. Trump's camp responded by calling Warren a "racist" and a "total fraud."

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously vacated the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on federal corruption charges. McDonnell, once a rising Republican star, was found guilty in 2014 of accepting gifts, money, and loans from a businessman in exchange for "official acts," such as setting up meetings for the businessman with government officials. Chief Justice John Roberts said McDonnell's actions may have been "distasteful," but that arranging meetings does not qualify as an "official act" under corruption law.

A federal judge ruled Monday that Mississippi clerks cannot cite their religious beliefs to recuse themselves from giving same-sex couples marriage licenses. The decision came as the state was scheduled to enact a religious objections law, House Bill 1523, on Friday. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves said the state law violated the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriage. Reeves said all 82 circuit clerks in Mississippi will receive formal notice that they are required to treat all couples equally.

Volkswagen has agreed to pay $14.7 billion to settle U.S. claims over its diesel emissions cheating scandal. The proposed agreement, which will be filed Tuesday in San Francisco, would include up to $10 billion to buy back cars at pre-scandal values or fix them to meet emissions standards, and give owners up to $10,000 extra per car. The auto maker also will pay $2.7 billion in fines to the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, and spend $2 billion on clean-emissions technology.

Legendary former University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt died Tuesday. She was 64. In 38 years at Tennessee, she led the Lady Vols to eight national championships and built an unprecedented 1,098-208 record, the winningest ever in Division I college basketball. Her teams never had a losing record, and played in 18 Final Fours. Summitt retired in 2012 after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.