Lawyer who beat Hawaii gun law calls state’s reliance on Black Code ‘disgraceful’
The attorney who helped persuade the Supreme Court to strike down Hawaii’s private-property concealed-carry restriction on Thursday criticized the state’s reliance on a Reconstruction-era Black Code to defend the law. In a 6-3 decision in Wolford v. Lopez, the Court held that Hawaii cannot require licensed gun owners to obtain express permission before carrying firearms onto private property open to the public. Gun-rights challengers dubbed the policy the “vampire rule” because lawful gun owners had to be “invited in” before entering businesses while armed. “It is disgraceful that any state would rely on a law specifically aimed at taking away the Second Amendment rights or any constitutional right of Black Americans as it was at that time,” attorney Kevin O’Grady, who represented the plaintiffs, told Fox News Digital. “And it’s not surprising, however, that Hawaii would rely on it as they are diametrically opposed to the Second Amendment. We fully expected that the Supreme Court would identify that as the kind of law that one absolutely should not look to determine whether or not something is constitutional because this is the perfect example of something which is not constitutional.” SUPREME COURT HANDS SECOND AMENDMENT WIN TO CONCEALED CARRY HOLDERS IN BLUE STATE GUN CONTROL CASE A major flashpoint was Hawaii’s effort to justify the law under the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Since Bruen, courts evaluating firearm regulations have generally asked whether modern gun restrictions are consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Hawaii cited several historical laws, including an 1865 Louisiana statute enacted as part of the post-Civil War Black Codes. The law made it unlawful to carry firearms onto another person’s property without the owner’s consent. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, rejected that argument outright, calling the Louisiana statute a “tainted artifact” that was enacted to disarm newly freed Black Americans and leave them defenseless after the Civil War. He concluded the law “cannot be taken seriously” as evidence of the Second Amendment’s original public meaning. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, however, argued in her dissent the Court skipped an important constitutional question. Jackson did not defend the Black Codes, which she acknowledged were racist and used to oppress newly freed Black Americans. But she argued the Court should have first decided whether the Louisiana law itself violated the Second Amendment, or whether the real constitutional problem was that it was enforced in a racially discriminatory way. SUPREME COURT TAKES SECOND AMENDMENT CASE CHALLENGING HAWAII GUN LAW “It might well be that the Black Codes are invalid inputs for Bruen’s test,” Jackson wrote, “but only if they violated the Second Amendment — which may or may not be the case.” Instead, she argued that under the Supreme Court’s Bruen framework, the Court could not simply dismiss those laws without first explaining why they should not count as historical evidence. She outlined two possibilities: either the firearm restrictions in the Black Codes were constitutional but enforced in a racially discriminatory manner — making the constitutional defect an equal-protection problem — or the restrictions independently violated the Second Amendment. The Court, she argued, never resolved that question before excluding the Louisiana law from consideration. US APPEALS COURT STRIKES DOWN CALIFORNIA’S OPEN-CARRY BAN IN MAJOR SECOND AMENDMENT RULING “Either history does matter, and if so, all potentially relevant historical experiences must be thoroughly examined,” she wrote. “Or, it does not, and the Court should just admit that the test it has created is boundless.” Her reasoning immediately drew pushback from critics, who argued the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in response to laws like the Black Codes that denied newly freed Black Americans their constitutional rights, like the right to bear arms. “I would simply point her to what Justice Alito pointed out in the majority ruling — it was in response to these types of laws that the Fourteenth Amendment was enacted in the first place,” Hannah Hill, vice president of the National Association of Gun Rights, told Fox News Digital. US JUDGE TOSSES ILLINOIS’ BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS, GOVERNOR PLEDGES SWIFT APPEAL “That right there is your answer,” Hill continued. “Yes, there was a historical tradition — they enacted a constitutional amendment to fix that deprivation of rights, and that is also in the Constitution now, so I think she should probably go back to law school.” Tyler Yzaguirre, president of Second Amendment Institute, echoed O’Grady and Hill’s criticism. “Those laws were not legitimate expressions of our Nation’s constitutional tradition; they were examples of government using its power to deprive Americans of a fundamental right,” Yzaguirre told Fox News Digital. “The Court was right to reject the notion that such laws could define the historical limits of the Second Amendment.” Businesses may still ban guns by posting or enforcing a “no firearms” policy. But what Hawaii can’t do, the Court said, is treat every business as off-limits to licensed gun owners unless the owner specifically says guns are allowed.
Trump’s endorsement power faces new test in Louisiana Republican Senate showdown
President Donald Trump’s immense clout over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nomination races faces its latest test Saturday, as Louisiana holds primary runoff elections for the U.S. Senate. Six weeks after denying Trump-targeted GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy a third six-year term in the Senate, Republican voters in the solidly red Gulf Coast state will choose between Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming for the now open seat. A Letlow victory in the GOP runoff would be another victory for Trump as he works to fill the halls of Congress with loyal lawmakers for his final two years in the White House. But a win by Fleming would be the third high-profile endorsement setback for Trump in this spring’s Republican primaries. Five years after he voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, Cassidy was sent packing. WATCH: CASSIDY DETAILS NEW BEHIND CLOSED DOORS CLASH WITH TRUMP Letlow, who was backed by Trump even before she entered the race in January, grabbed 45% of the vote in the primary, with Fleming at roughly 28% and Cassidy at just under 25%. Since no candidate cracked 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming advanced to the runoff for the Republican nomination and Cassidy became the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012. Trump, celebrating Cassidy’s defeat, said on social media that “it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Cassidy, in a speech to supporters after conceding, took a jab at Trump, saying, “When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse.” Letlow, who is also backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died five days before being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds. She has highlighted her support from Trump throughout her Senate campaign. The president headlined a tele-rally for Letlow in the closing days ahead of the runoff, and in an election eve social media post called her a “TOTAL WINNER!” Fleming, who spent eight years in Congress before serving as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has argued that he’s the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary. During his tenure in Congress, he was a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Fleming, in a Fox News Digital interview last month, touted that voters saw him as “clearly MAGA.” And he highlighted that he “served as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for 10 months in the White House. I served in his entire first administration at various capacities. I was one of the first congressmen that endorsed him in 2016.” DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB The GOP nominee will be considered the clear frontrunner in the midterm election against either farmer Jamie Davis or Navy veteran Gary Crockett, who are facing off in the Democratic Senate runoff. The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past two months, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, as well as the Louisiana primary. But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped a few weeks ago when his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory. Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk. The president rebounded three weeks ago in South Carolina, as Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pam Evette finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary and longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham won a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff. Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president. Two weeks ago, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races in Georgia and Alabama, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign. Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member and longtime Trump supporter who was endorsed by the president, comfortably defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who was supported by some top names on the right, in solidly red Alabama’s GOP Senate runoff. In battleground Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff, an 11th-hour endorsement by Trump helped boost Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion, to victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was backed by popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp. TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT FAILS TO SAVE MAGA CANDIDATE AS BILLIONAIRE ADVANCES IN KEY GOVERNOR RACE Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election in a race that’s among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in the midterms. But in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial runoff, the candidate Trump backed, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was also endorsed by Kemp this past weekend, was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider. On Tuesday, Trump-backed first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, defeated Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who had the backing of the state
WATCH: Pelosi, Omar stay silent as Mamdani-backed socialist victories shake Democrat Party
Former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., dodged answering questions on the growing influence of the socialist movement after three candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dominated in primary elections. Mamdani’s political clout was on display Tuesday night after all three House candidates he endorsed — Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez — won their Democratic primaries in New York, beating out more moderate Democrats. Pelosi, a moderate Democrat herself, refused to answer Fox News Digital’s question on her reaction to these socialist candidates coming out as victorious. RISING SOCIALIST STARS ON TRACK TO CONGRESS: WHO ARE DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER, BRAD LANDER AND CLAIRE VALDEZ? The 20-term California congresswoman never formally endorsed Mamdani, but she did endorse a socialist candidate in 2024 — Dean Preston for California’s District 5 supervisor. She also said that she will “reject socialism as an economic system” and as a full picture of the Democratic Party in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes back in 2019. “If people have that view, that’s their view,” Pelosi said in the interview. “That is not the view of the Democratic Party.” Omar, a member of the progressive Squad, also ignored questions about the New York primary results, including whether the three socialist candidates could complicate House Democrats and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ agendas if they’re elected to Congress. HAKEEM JEFFRIES DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER MAMDANI IS FUTURE OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY While Omar has never formally identified as a socialist, she has supported many policies associated with socialism and has also been backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. While Pelosi and Omar walked away without responding, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., welcomed the incoming lawmakers. “I think Democrats in New York elected three new Democrats that will join our caucus, and I’m looking forward for them participating,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. Asked about criticism that the three candidates have leveled against Israel, Johnson argued they oppose the Israeli government rather than Israel itself. “They were not anti-Israel. They were anti-Israeli government,” Johnson said. “The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has done a grave disservice to the nation of Israel and to its people.” Lander is Jewish himself and said in his victory speech, “You can criticize Israel and not be antisemitic. You can be an anti-Zionist and not be antisemitic.” DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST GROUP BACKING MAMDANI CONDEMNS GAZA CEASEFIRE, CALLS FOR MORE ANTI-ISRAEL RESISTANCE The three primary winners have all been critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, making the issue a defining point of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. Johnson then called out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s relationship with President Donald Trump and condemned both of their involvement in starting the war with Iran. “The people there will have an opportunity to correct the mistake that they made,” Johnson said. “The same way that the people of America have the opportunity to correct this mistake that we made in electing Donald Trump, who unfortunately got manipulated into war by Benjamin Netanyahu.” He continued, “People don’t like this war, and they don’t like Israeli government policy that put us into this war.”
2028 hopeful fires back at Elon Musk after trillionaire threatened lawsuit: ‘Not going to be silenced’
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., brushed aside threats of legal action from Elon Musk, the trillionaire founder of SpaceX and Tesla, on Thursday. “This is what he does,” Khanna told Fox News Digital outside the U.S. Capitol. “It’s symptomatic of our times that billionaires — and now [a] trillionaire — can threaten to sue members of Congress for doing their job. He won’t intimidate me. I’m not going to be intimidated by the guy. I’m not going to be silenced by the guy,” Khanna said. Khanna’s comments come on the heels of an online back-and-forth between him and Musk over whether cuts to government aid programs overseas — cuts spearheaded by Musk in the early days of the second Trump administration — had led to fatalities. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER OPEN TO ‘BIPARTISAN COOPERATION’ IN ELON MUSK’S DOGE PLANS In particular, Khanna, a high-profile progressive and a rumored candidate for president in 2028, had been criticizing Musk’s work to cut the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “There needs to be accountability for Elon Musk. You know, they’re celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires, but they don’t talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID,” Khanna said, in a recent podcast appearance, citing a study from the Lancet Group, a medical journal. The assertion drew a fierce response from Musk, who personally oversaw efforts to trim waste, fraud and abuse from U.S. programs. ELON MUSK STRATEGIZES $1 TRILLION SPENDING CUTS WITH HOUSE DOGE PANEL IN CLOSED-DOOR MEETING “Time to sue this liar,” Musk said in a post to X. “Robber Khanna should be in prison,” Musk added in a separate reaction. Musk, like many conservatives suspicious of government spending, criticized USAID for greenlighting millions in spending that, in their view, had little justification. But while few Democrats defended programs for transgender comic books in Peru and Iraqi Sesame Street, critics of the cuts argued that Musk’s efforts had failed to differentiate between waste and life-saving initiatives around the globe. DEMOCRATS IN PANIC MODE AS ELON MUSK AND DOGE GO PUBLIC By March of last year, USAID had cut roughly 83% of its programs, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It’s not immediately clear what kind of damages Musk would try to pursue in a lawsuit against Khanna for his claims. When asked if he would go to court if Musk followed through on his posts, Khanna said he liked his odds. “Grok says he doesn’t have a case, so we will have to see,” Khanna said, referring to the AI chatbot on X, a social media platform owned by Musk.
Cape Verde qualify for World Cup Round of 32, set up date with Argentina
Cape Verde’s third draw gives them second-place finish in Group H and pits them against world champions in knockouts. Published On 27 Jun 202627 Jun 2026 World Cup debutants Cape Verde will face reigning champions Argentina in the knockout rounds after drawing 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to extend their fairytale journey. The stalemate in Houston and Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay, both on Friday, meant the team ranked 67th coming into the tournament finished runners-up behind Spain in Group H. Unbeaten in their three group matches, the archipelago nation of just over 500,000 will play Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami on July 3 in another chapter of their remarkable story. Spain, held 0-0 by Cape Verde in the first round of games, finished with seven points, with the debutants on three and Uruguay and Saudi Arabia both on their way home with two. Spain face the team that comes second in Group J, which will be either Algeria or Austria. With history beckoning, Cape Verde coach Bubista changed half his starting side, some of it enforced, but retained his heroic goalkeeper Vozinha. The 40-year-old stopper single-handedly kept Cape Verde in it as they held out for a famous point against European champions Spain in their first-ever World Cup match. Cape Verde, which is off the west coast of Africa, then claimed a brave 2-2 draw with two-time former champions Uruguay. That gave them a scarcely believable shot at the knockout rounds coming into the encounter against Saudi Arabia, who themselves were still alive. At the same time, in Guadalajara, Spain and Uruguay met as an unexpectedly tight group that went down to the wire. Cape Verde had slightly the better of the first half in Houston against a Saudi side who drew 1-1 with Uruguay before being thrashed 4-0 by Spain. Advertisement The Saudis suffered a blow in the 33rd minute when experienced defender Hassan al-Tambakti was stretchered off injured. Cape Verde players celebrate their knockout stage qualification [Troy Taormina/Reuters] Spain took the lead towards the end of the first half in Mexico, the news greeted by cheers from Cape Verde fans in Houston. Willy Semedo fired not too far wide of the Saudi post, but neither side seriously threatened in a tense first half. At that point, Cape Verde were going through at Uruguay’s expense. Three minutes after the break, Jamiro Monteiro had a major chance from close range, but his finish was weak. Then Kevin Pina had an effort from distance that whistled just off target. The tension went up a notch as they entered the final quarter, but Saudi Arabia were strangely lacking in invention even though they were chasing the game. In the 75th minute, goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais kept them in it with a vital stop from Laros Duarte. A point was enough for Cape Verde, but if anything, they were the more likely to score as the match ticked into the dying minutes. Adblock test (Why?)
Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 to clinch World Cup Group H top spot
Spain wins World Cup group, beating Uruguay 1-0 as Muslera’s error sends two-time champions home. Published On 27 Jun 202627 Jun 2026 Uruguay bowed out of the World Cup as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s howler gifted Spain a 1-0 win in Guadalajara to secure top spot in Group H. Alex Baena’s weak shot slipped through Muslera’s grasp for the only goal as Spain avoided a last 32 showdown against Argentina. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The European champions will instead face Austria or Algeria next in Los Angeles on Thursday. Uruguay’s defeat allowed debutants Cape Verde to secure second place and a meeting with Lionel Messi and the defending champions, thanks to a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia. Two-time winners Uruguay become the highest-ranked side to crash out in the group stages as the defeat rounded off a miserable tournament for Marcelo Bielsa and his squad. After draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, reports of a revolt in the Uruguay camp emerged, with leading players, including Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, clashing with Bielsa over his tactics. Spain’s King Felipe was among those in attendance, but the only clash between two former winners of the World Cup in the group stages was a huge disappointment. Lamine Yamal in the starting lineup had sparked the Spanish attack into life in a 4-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia after La Roja began in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Cape Verde. But another laboured attacking performance leaves Luis de la Fuente with plenty to ponder before the knockout stages begin on Sunday. A hero of Uruguay’s run to the semifinals in 2010, Muslera was at fault for both Cape Verde’s goals in a 2-2 draw. Advertisement And in Guadalajara, Spain had barely threatened the Uruguay goal before the 40-year-old allowed Baena’s shot to dribble over the line from Marcos Llorente’s cross on 42 minutes. To rub salt into Uruguayan wounds, Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte was injured in the buildup to the goal and stretchered off with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. Bielsa replaced Muslera at half-time with Sergio Rochet, and the Uruguay boss made an even bolder call when Valverde was taken off on the hour mark. De la Fuente also turned to his bench, and the introduction of Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz finally injected some life into the Spanish performance. Olmo should have done better when he spooned a shot over from a rare flash of Yamal’s brilliance to tee up his Barcelona teammate. Yamal was replaced 15 minutes from time as his minutes continue to be managed after a hamstring injury ended his club season prematurely. His replacement, Ferran Torres, should have doubled the lead five minutes from time but hit the bar with just the goalkeeper to beat. Uruguay’s miserable tournament was summed up when Agustin Canobbio was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Pau Cubarsi. Hyped as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain are now 34 competitive games unbeaten and are yet to concede a goal at the World Cup. But in stark contrast to some of the scintillating attacking play on show from the likes of France, Argentina and the Netherlands, La Roja are yet to convince in their quest for a second World Cup triumph. Adblock test (Why?)
Rescue efforts turn to recovery as aftershocks shake Venezuela
NewsFeed Rescue workers in one Caracas neighbourhood say no help has arrived, two days after twin quakes tore through the city. Al Jazeera’s Noris Soto says aftershocks are making the search for survivors harder and rescue efforts are turning to the recovery of bodies. Published On 27 Jun 202627 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
India’s first Hydrogen-powered train: Inside the high-speed train with 2 power cars, modern systems, soon to start
India’s first hydrogen-powered train has successfully completed its final high-speed trial on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana on Friday, June 26, 2026. The high-speed test was taken at 120 kmph on the Jind-Sonipat section.
Ketan Agarwal murder case: Siya, boyfriend Chetan deleted chats before and after killing victim, police say
Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government accepted the Agarwal family’s demand for a fast-track trial and agreed to appoint lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the case. Ketan Agarwal, a real estate businessman, was pushed to his death from the Lohagad Fort near Pune.
Madhya Pradesh Horror: 19-year-old student stabbed 14 times in 47 seconds after rejecting man in Ujjain; accused arrested
A 19-year-old Ujjain student was stabbed 14 times in 47 seconds by Sunil Jaroliya, 21, after she rejected him. She is critical in hospital. Police arrested him within 3 hours. He fractured his leg fleeing.