Today in History: June 26, US Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage
In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco, Calif.
In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city's residents, declaring: 'Ich bin ein Berliner' ('I am a Berliner').
In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the US had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of 'compelling evidence' Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush.
In 1996, in the case of United States v. Virginia, the US Supreme Court found that the Virginia Military Institute's male-only admission policy violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. (VMI enrolled its first female cadets the following year.)
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In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by J.K. Rowling, was published in the United Kingdom. It was later released in the United States under the title 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.'
In 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the US Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual's right to gun ownership is protected by the Second Amendment.
In 2013, in the case of United States v. Windsor, the US Supreme Court gave the nation's legally married same-sex couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans, and cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California in a separate decision.
In 2015, in its 5-4 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country, ruling that state-level bans on same-sex marriage violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.
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UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Fatal DR Congo church attack linked to Islamic State-backed rebels
A Lendu militiaman arrives to the U.N. disarmament post of Yambi in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo to give up his weapon in 2005. Bunia is 75 miles east of Komada, where Islamic State-backed rebels attacked a church in Momanda. File Pohot by Riccy Gares/EPA July 27 (UPI) -- Islamic-backed rebels killed at least 43 people in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including raiding a Catholic Church, early Sunday, a United Nations-backed radio station reported. The Allied Democratic Forces emerged in Uganda in the 1990s against the marginalization of Muslims but rebels have gone across the border into DR Congo. About 20 people were stabbed to death during the church's night vigil in the town of Komanda, Radio Okapi reported. Other bodies were found in burned-out houses and businesses near the church. One man's charred body was found in a truck set on fire. The DRC Army confirmed the incident but reported 10 deaths. An alarm sounded at 2 a.m. Sunday of smoke from burning houses. The attackers had already left the scene when military authorities arrived. All activities in the city were suspended. The attack was about 7.5 miles from the center of Komanda. Security forces, including the DR Congo Armed Forces, Ugandan military and local police, are searching for the attackers. The area had been relatively peaceful with residents returning to the city. Komanda is in DR Congo's Ituri province, which is mineral rich. The United States is seeking to get access to those critical minerals, which are used to manufacture high-tech devices and weapons. On June 27, DR Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., after 30 years of conflict between the two nations. Then on July 19, DR Congo and M23 rebels backed by Rwanda signed a declaration of peace after nearly four years of fighting. The rebels were not involved in the agreement in Washington but the declaration must follow the Washington Accord brokered by the United States. Around 7 million people have been displaced in Congo, which has a population of 106 million. Rwanda also borders Uganda to the south.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
France will recognize Palestinian state, becoming first G7 nation to do so
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France will recognize Palestinian statehood, a largely symbolic move but one that puts a leading, global nation at odds with Israel's push for countries to hold off on recognizing Palestinian statehood until a resolution of the decades-old conflict. Macron, in a statement on the social platform X, said the move is part of a commitment to 'a just and lasting peace in the Middle East' and that he will make the 'solemn announcement' ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September. A reported 146 countries have recognized the state of Palestine, but France's announcement makes it the first of the world's leading economies, as a member of the Group of Seven (G7) nations and a member of the United Nations Security Council. The announcement comes amid a breakdown in talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, the U.S.-designated terror group controlling the Gaza Strip. President Trump's special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, put the blame on Hamas as failing to show good faith. Macron urged an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the return of all the hostages held by Hamas and massive humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people there, where death from starvation appears to be increasing. Macron said he received unnamed commitments from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that made it possible to move forward with his announcement on Thursday. France is expected to host, alongside Saudi Arabia, a conference on achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly in September. 'The French people want peace in the Middle East. It is up to us, the French, together with the Israelis, the Palestinians, and our European and international partners, to demonstrate that it is possible,' Macron said. Israel has lobbied against international recognition of a Palestinian state, in particular at the U.N., where recognition and admission would bestow legitimacy and voting power in the General Assembly. Formal inclusion can only be granted by the U.N. Security Council, and the U.S. used its veto power in April 2024 to block Palestine's bid to become a full member. In May that year, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to grant Palestine status as an observer state and recommended the Security Council vote for its inclusion as a full, voting state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Macron's announcement in light of Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. 'Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,' he wrote on X. 'A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
The Hill
5 hours ago
- The Hill
Van Hollen: ‘A big lie' that UN aid for Gaza has been ‘systematically' stolen by Hamas
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Sunday there is no truth to claims that United Nations aid for Palestinians in Gaza has been 'systematically' stolen by Hamas. 'This is a big lie, the claim that when the U.N. organizations were delivering food to Palestinians, civilians, that it was being systematically diverted to Hamas,' Van Hollen told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on 'Face the Nation.' 'I want to say loudly and clearly, this is a big lie,' the Maryland senator added. On Sunday, Trump said Hamas is stealing food that was meant for people in Gaza, saying to reporters on multiple occasions that goods are being stolen as he was pressed on the hunger crisis in the region. Trump, alongside President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, was questioned about his response to the images of starving children in Gaza. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well,' Trump continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Trump on Sunday's 'Meet the Press' on NBC News. 'This is important to note: Israel, since this war began, has supplied over 94,000 truckloads full of food. It's enough food to feed 2 million people for two years trying to get that into Gaza. But Hamas has stolen the food, a huge amount,' Johnson said. He also criticized 'the system,' calling it 'broken,' adding that beginning tomorrow, the Israeli military will open 'new channels of distribution to get it [food] to those people who are desperately in need.' Former President Obama said on Sunday that 'aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza.' 'There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' the former president added in a post on the social platform X on Sunday.
