Trump Mobile, gender care and the champion Panthers: The week in review
Floods ravage Texas, Appalachians
Torrential rain and flash flooding in Texas and parts of West Virginia trapped drivers, swept vehicles away and pulled homes off their foundations, leaving as many as 20 people dead and communities struggling to recover. Thunderstorms over San Antonio dropped nearly 10 inches of rain in a matter of hours, more that double the amount of rain the area typically gets in all of June. Up to 4 inches drenched the Appalachian region, overwhelming creeks and waterways. “It happened so quickly,” said Lou Vargo, Ohio County’s emergency management director. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years. … I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Court upholds gender care ban
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the transgender rights movement and a victory to the Trump administration when it upheld a Tennessee law barring gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling fell along ideological lines as the court's six conservative justices ruled in favor of the ban and the three liberals dissented. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the decision was a victory “in defense of America’s children”; Kimberly Inez McGuire, head of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, said the court chose “cruelty over care.”
Trump Mobile answers the call
Yet another enterprise is getting the Trump name. Trump Mobile, a new cellular service, will offer the 5G “47 Plan” for $47.45 a month (Donald Trump is the nation’s 47th and 45th president) and its own phone, the T1 Phone, the Trump Organization announced. “Trump Mobile is going to change the game,” said Donald Trump Jr., who runs the president's conglomerate with his brother Eric. The gold-colored phone will retail for $499. Of course that's not the only venture in the Trump orbit: There’s Truth Social and the crypto company World Liberty Financial, plus Trump Bibles, watches, sneakers and guitars.
Steve Carell's advice to grads: ‘Just dance’
When Steve Carell is your commencement speaker, you should be ready for anything. The actor, who was presented with an honorary degree from Northwestern University before he spoke to its graduates, briefly turned the ceremony into a dance party as he bolted off the stage and into the crowd of delighted grads to “That's Not My Name” by The Ting Tings. “That was as invigorating as it was disturbing,” he told them afterward. His speech was not without some sage advice: “Remember to laugh when you have the opportunity and to cry when necessary,” he said. And, “just dance sometimes.”
Twice is nice for the Florida Panthers
Who said the Sunshine State is no place for hockey? The Florida Panthers netted their second straight Stanley Cup − and denied the Edmonton Oilers a second straight time − with a 5-1 romp in front of the home crowd in Game 6 behind a record-tying four goals from winger Sam Reinhart. The Cats join their brethren the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021. As for Edmonton, falling short again was especially stinging: The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. − Compiled and written by Robert Abitbol, Paste BN copy chief