10 things you need to know today: June 30, 2018

Dozens of women, men and their children, many fleeing poverty and violence in Honduras, Guatamala and El Salvador, arrive at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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1. DOJ says migrant families can be detained as long as prosecution requires
2. 50,000 expected at Washington immigration protest
3. Trump says he'll announce his Supreme Court nominee on July 9
4. Calls mount to abolish ICE after border fiasco
5. Trump tweets 'zero chance' of abolishing ICE
6. Newsroom shooting suspect charged with 5 counts of first-degree murder
7. Trump: Journalists 'should be free from the fear of being violently attacked'
8. Trump says he'll talk 'about everything' with Putin
9. Thai cave rescue efforts continue after 7 days
10. LeBron James reportedly to enter free agency

last updated 30 June 2018

1. DOJ says migrant families can be detained as long as prosecution requires

The Justice Department said in a district court filing Friday the Trump administration can detain migrant families intact at the border for as long as it takes to prosecute them. The claim came in response to a Tuesday court ruling prohibiting family separations and requiring immigrant children currently separated from their parents to be reunited with them within 30 days. Because of the ban, the DOJ argued, the administration can now disregard the 1997 Flores agreement that prohibited the federal detention of children for longer than 20 days.

The National Park Service expects some 50,000 people to protest outside the White House and the Department of Justice on Saturday, rallying against the Trump administration's immigration policy. Planned in less than two weeks, the protest will feature speakers including Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor America Ferrera, and survivors of the Holocaust. About 600 additional protests are planned nationwide. "I'm not a radical, and I'm not an activist," said Portland demonstrator Kate Sharaf. "I just reached a point where I felt I had to do more."

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President Trump said Friday he'll announce his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on July 9. "I've got it narrowed to about five," the president said, adding that his short list includes two women. The GOP controls only 51 Senate seats, and the White House announced late Thursday Trump met with three red state Democratic senators who voted to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch — Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Joe Manchin (W.Va.). Democrats worry that Trump's nominee will overturn Roe v. Wade, while Republicans are hoping to fast-track the confirmation ahead of the November midterms.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) joined the chorus of calls to abolish the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agency on Friday, one day after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) told CNN she believes ICE has become "a deportation force." The mounting criticism follows the Trump administration's discontinued policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border. "As far as these senators and congressmen vilifying ICE and the border patrol," ICE Director Thomas Homan said on Fox & Friends Friday, "sir, go strap a gun to your hip. Stand on those lines."

President Trump on Twitter Saturday slammed proposals to shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "The Democrats are making a strong push to abolish ICE, one of the smartest, toughest and most spirited law enforcement groups of men and women that I have ever seen," Trump wrote. Directly addressing ICE agents, he added, "The radical left Dems want you out. Next it will be all police. Zero chance, It will never happen!" The New York Times reported Thursday 19 ICE agents sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asking her to dissolve their agency.

The man suspected of opening fire in the newsroom of Annapolis, Maryland's Capital Gazette newspaper on Thursday, killing five, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. The suspect, 38-year-old Jarrod Warren Ramos, reportedly had a personal vendetta against the paper and its staff. He had repeatedly targeted the Gazette online and filed a defamation suit against the paper. The Capital Gazette published a Friday edition despite the attack. Annapolis residents held a candlelight march Friday evening to honor the victims of the shooting.

President Trump responded to the deadly shooting at Annapolis, Maryland's Capital Gazette Friday, declaring that "journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job." The newsroom attack "shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief," Trump said, extending his "warmest, best wishes and regrets." On Thursday, the president, a frequent critic of the media, was seen ducking emotional questions shouted by the press about the journalists who were killed.

President Trump said Friday he will raise the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki next month. "I'll talk to him about everything," the president told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to his golf club in New Jersey. "We're going to talk about Ukraine; we're going to be talking about Syria. We'll be talking about elections ... we don't want anybody tampering with elections," Trump continued. "Perhaps the world can de-escalate. We might be talking about some things President Obama lost."

Efforts continue to rescue a youth soccer team and its coach seven days after they were trapped in a cave in Thailand. The team of 12 boys aged 11 to 16, plus an adult coach, a week ago ventured too deep into a cave that is a popular tourism spot. They have not been seen or heard from since. Heavy rains have complicated rescue efforts, which are being conducted by the Thai Navy, U.S. Marines, and underwater cave experts from the U.K. "I feel I have just lost my heart when I found his bag, mobile phone, and his shoes," said one boy's father. "But all I can do is wait."

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James declined his $35.6 million player option, Cleveland.com reported Friday, allowing him to enter free agency. By declining the one-year option on his contract, James will become an unrestricted free agent as of Sunday, when he is expected to be heavily courted by several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and the Philadelphia 76ers. But this does not mean James is definitely leaving Cleveland: By opting out, he restricted the number of teams other than the Cavaliers that could acquire him, given NBA salary cap restrictions.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.