US Political Power Plays: Trump's Promises, Supreme Court Rulings, and Biden's Battles

This summary covers major US political news including Trump's assurances to Japan and South Korea on international relations, significant Supreme Court rulings affecting federal agency power and abortion laws, as well as key events in the Biden-Trump presidential race, including debate performances and court decisions impacting both candidates.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump will encourage Japan, South Korea ties, allies tell foreign officials

Donald Trump's allies are assuring officials in Japan and South Korea that the Republican presidential candidate will support a Biden-era effort to deepen three-way ties aimed at countering China and North Korea, five people familiar with the conversations said. In conversations over the past weeks, policy advisers with Trump's ear have delivered this message to officials in Seoul and Tokyo: if Trump takes office again, the ex-U.S. president will support the two capitals' work to warm once-frigid ties and advance military, economic and diplomatic cooperation to ease global tensions, the people said.

US Supreme Court curbs federal agency powers, overturning 1984 precedent

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to federal regulatory power on Friday by overturning a 1984 precedent that had given deference to government agencies in interpreting laws they administer, handing a defeat to President Joe Biden's administration. The justices ruled 6-3 to set aside lower court decisions against fishing companies that challenged a government-run program partly funded by industry that monitored overfishing of herring off New England's coast. It marked the latest decision in recent years powered by the Supreme Court's conservative majority that hemmed in the authority of federal agencies.

Iowa can enforce six-week abortion ban, US state's top court rules

Iowa can enforce a ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, the state's highest court ruled on Friday, reversing a lower court order that had blocked the law from taking effect. The 4-3 ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court held that the law does not violate citizens' rights under the state constitution, rejecting a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood.

Biden-Trump debate draws over 51 million TV viewers

Over 51 million TV viewers tuned in to watch Thursday's U.S. presidential debate between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump, according to final Nielsen data. The number is about 30% lower than the 73 million people who watched the candidates' first face-off in 2020, and among the three lowest-rated first presidential debates since 1976.

Biden's tough path in North Carolina worsens after debate

U.S. President Joe Biden's uphill battle to win North Carolina, a state Democrats consider pivotal this election and in which they have heavily invested for months, just got steeper after his shaky showing at Thursday's presidential debate. Biden delivered a defiant speech in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday in a rare campaign rally in front of a cheering crowd. "When you get knocked down, you get back up," he said, acknowledging his poor performance against Republican contender Donald Trump and noting he doesn't speak, walk or debate as well as he used to.

Trump criticized for 'Palestinian' insult in debate with Biden

Human rights advocates on Friday condemned former President Donald Trump's references to Palestinians, and immigrants allegedly taking Black American jobs, during Thursday's debate with President Joe Biden, calling the remarks racist or insulting. Biden and Trump had a brief exchange on the war in Gaza but did not have a substantive discussion on how to end the conflict which has killed 38,000 in the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry, and caused a massive humanitarian crisis with widespread hunger.

US Supreme Court raises bar for obstruction charge against Trump, Jan. 6 rioters

The U.S. Supreme Court raised the legal bar on Friday for prosecutors pursuing obstruction charges in the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump and defendants involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The justices ruled 6-3 to throw out a lower court's decision that had allowed a charge of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding - congressional certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 victory over Trump that the rioters tried to block - against defendant Joseph Fischer, a former police officer.

How Democrats could replace Biden as presidential candidate before November

After President Joe Biden's shaky performance at the debate with former President Donald Trump on Thursday night, some Democrats openly questioned whether he should be replaced as their candidate for the 2024 election. There is a process for doing so, but it would be messy.

US Supreme Court declines to keep Trump ally Bannon out of prison

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied a request by Steve Bannon, an influential ally of former President Donald Trump, to keep him out of prison while he appeals his conviction for contempt of Congress for defying a congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Bannon made the request to the justices on June 21 after a Washington-based federal appeals court rejected his bid to delay him from reporting to prison on July 1 - this coming Monday - as scheduled. Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election. Bannon's sentence could keep him imprisoned for much of the rest of the presidential race.

Biden acknowledges age, bad debate performance but vows to beat Trump

President Joe Biden said on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race after a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats. "I know I'm not a young man, to state the obvious," an ebullient Biden said at a rally one day after the head-to-head showdown with his Republican rival, which was widely viewed as a defeat for the 81-year-old president.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)