News Wrap: DOJ charges Chinese companies with trafficking fentanyl chemicals

Geoff Bennett:

Good evening. I'm Geoff Bennett.

Amna Nawaz:

And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: A year after the High Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Americans on both sides of the abortion debate reflect on the new legal landscape and how it's affecting their lives.

Geoff Bennett:

And surpassing expectations. A section of highway in Philadelphia is reopened less than two weeks after it collapsed.

Alec Stapp, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Institute for Progress: I think it's a great example of, when there's prioritization and a relaxation of procedure and process, you can actually get things done really quickly in the U.S.

Amna Nawaz:

And it's Friday. David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the latest candidate to join the Republican presidential race, plus the rest of the weeks political news.

(BREAK)

Amna Nawaz:

Welcome to the "NewsHour."

The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated President Biden's targeted policy of deporting migrants. It focuses on those posing egregious threats, instead of the Trump era policy of rounding up anyone in the U.S. illegally.

Geoff Bennett:

Eight justices ruled that Republican-led states had no legal standing to challenge the new guidelines. Beyond that, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that the government — quote — "lacks the resources to arrest and prosecute every violator of every law."

The court also upheld part of a federal law against encouraging illegal immigration.

Amna Nawaz:

In the day's other headlines: For the first time, the Justice Department charged four Chinese companies and eight individuals with trafficking precursor chemicals for fentanyl.

The highly addictive opioid has fueled an epidemic of overdoses. U.S. officials said the chemicals go to the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, which sells the finished fentanyl in the U.S.

Attorney General Merrick Garland today defended the investigation of Hunter Biden, the president's son. IRS whistle-blowers had charged that Garland interfered with a probe by the U.S. attorney for Delaware. Instead, the attorney general said the prosecutor had full authority, and he insisted politics played no role.

Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General:

Some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department and its components and its employees by claiming that we do not treat like cases alike. This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy and essential to the safety of the American people. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Amna Nawaz:

A number of Republicans have said the department went easy on Hunter Biden in a plea deal on gun and tax charges.

Canada and the U.S. have begun investigations into the Titan submersible tragedy. The vessel imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreckage, killing all five people on board. U.S. safety officials announced today the Coast Guard will investigate. And Canada opened a probe because the support ship was Canadian-flagged.

Pakistan now says some 350 Pakistani nationals were on a packed fishing trawler that sank off the coast of Greece last week. Aerial footage showed the crowded boat before it capsized with up to 750 people on board. A search found 104 survivors and recovered 78 bodies. The rest remain missing.

Israeli officials today announced the arrests of three settlers suspected of attacking Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank. Hundreds of Israelis have set fire to dozens of homes and cars this week. The rampages began after a Palestinian shooting attack killed four Israelis. Rights groups called the arrests a drop in the ocean, given how many settlers were involved.

Monsoon rains in India have forced 14,000 people to take shelter in relief camps. This week's downpours battered low-lying villages in Assam state, where the Brahmaputra River overflows annually. The deluge has swamped road crossings, as villagers brave the floodwaters, desperately trying to salvage whatever is left of their homes.

Jyotish Rajbongshi, Flood Victim:

(through translator): I have no one to help me. My wife and I are now alone. I am sick. And if I go to my house, I will fall down. The floodwater has damaged my home and most of my belongings.

Amna Nawaz:

So far, only one death has been confirmed, but the region is bracing for more torrential rain this weekend.

As of tonight, two tropical storms are active in the Atlantic Ocean in just the first month of hurricane season. That has not happened since record keeping began in 1851. The storm named Bret was in the Eastern Caribbean today, but it's expected to dissipate. And Cindy formed in the central Atlantic. It's on a path that poses no immediate threat to land.

China broke a different kind of record today for heat. Temperatures in Beijing topped 104 degrees for a second day for the first time in more than 70 years. Children cooled down by eating ice cream, and many people used umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. But the city went on red alert, highlighting the heat danger.

Man (through translator):

I'm definitely worried, but I'm still young and can handle it. I hope that older people will go out as little as possible and stay home. The temperature outside is just too hot. It's easy to get heat stroke.

Amna Nawaz:

Forecasters predict the extreme heat could continue for 10 days.

And on Wall Street today, stocks gave more ground, amid simmering concerns about interest rates and economic growth in Europe. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 219 points to close at 33727. The Nasdaq fell 138 points, or 1 percent. The S&P 500 slipped 33 points.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": a wave of anti-trans laws face legal roadblocks; David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart analyze the week in politics; the books that should be on your summer reading list; plus much more.