Donald Trump's SCOTUS shortlist; sweeping new overtime rules; Democrats are getting chippy.
Vox Sentences is written by Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind.
TOP NEWS
A Supreme Court list longer than Donald Trump's fingers
Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Donald Trump released a list of 11 judges he'd consider appointing to the United States Supreme Court to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, if Trump won the presidency (and if Scalia's seat isn't already been filled by the time Trump takes office).
[AP / Jill Colvin and Mark Sherman]
Trump's keeping a promise he made Republicans in March, as many of them balked at the idea of letting President Trump fill a Supreme Court seat.
[Time / Tessa Berenson]
Since he's won the nomination, some Republicans — including Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who's on the Judiciary Committee — have said they'd rather confirm Obama nominee Merrick Garland than leave Trump to his own devices. The shortlist is supposed to get the Flakes of the world on board.
It appears that Trump worked with conservative groups to develop the list, including the Heritage Foundation; this listicle by Heritage's John Malcolm, written in late March, names several of the judges who ended up on Trump's list as potentials for "the next Supreme Court justice."
[The Daily Signal / John Malcolm]
The result: The list is pretty conservative, both in terms of judges' ideology and in that there aren't any really out-there picks. To be honest, it's so respectable it's almost boring.
[Vox / Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind]
The exception is Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, whose shoot-from-the-hip Twitter account has included much mockery of Trump. Asked by reporters Wednesday what he thought of being included on Trump's shortlist, Willett reportedly giggled and said he'd "exercise judicial restraint" by declining to comment.
[AP / Jill Colvin and Mark Sherman]
Not all judicial conservatives are won over by the list. Orin Kerr of the Volokh Conspiracy points out that the judges are all over the map in terms of judicial philosophy — indicating that Trump and his allies think conservatives will find one judge they like on the list and be reassured by the possibility Trump will pick that one.
[Washington Post / Orin Kerr]
Because this is all so up in the air, it's legal. But Trump's rumored plan to announce his potential Cabinet, perhaps at the Republican National Convention, is arguably illegal.
[Vox / Dylan Matthews]
Make Overtime Great Again
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
The Obama administration released final regulations Wednesday that allow 4.2 million more American workers to qualify for overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week.
[The White House]
The overtime rules are a long time coming — in the sense that they're the implementation of an executive order Obama signed more than years ago, and in the sense that they reflect a shift in the Democratic Party toward belief in the need for government to ensure worker prosperity.
[Vox / Matt Yglesias]
The regulations double the maximum salary to qualify for overtime — it's now about $47,000. Furthermore, workers who make more than that — up to $134,000 — might qualify if their jobs don't include "executive, administrative, and professional" duties (and if you think that sounds extremely vague, you're right).
[ABC News / Susanna Kim]
Employers have warned that they're going to have to shift other forms of compensation, like bonuses, into salary in order to bring workers' salaries above the overtime threshold. Labor advocates say that if businesses react to new regulations by increasing worker salaries, that's a win-win.
[Wall Street Journal / Melanie Trottman and Eric Morath]
One place overtime rules will have a huge impact: the food industry, where a majority of workers make less than the salary threshhold, and where working more than 40 hours a week is considered the only way to move up the career ladder.
[Eater / Ryan Sutton]
One place they won't: academia. The rules make it clear that students who are working as teachers — like TAs — don't qualify for overtime.
[Inside Higher Ed / Scott Jaschik]
The bitter end of the Democratic primary
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Democrats are reeling over the Nevada Democratic Party's state convention Saturday, which ended abruptly after the state Democratic Party chair refused to seat some of Bernie Sanders's delegates.
[Vox / Jeff Stein]
In the days since the convention, the state chair has been doxed and has received 1,000 nasty messages, including death threats. (Rolling Stone interviewed some of the people who sent these messages; the interviews do not place them in a good light).
[Rolling Stone / Tessa Stuart]
The mishegas has provoked the closest thing the Democratic primary has had yet to a breakdown in civility. Sanders's campaign is accusing the DNC of rigging the primary for Clinton; DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid are demanding apologies from Sanders; the White House and the Clinton campaign are trying to play it cool.
[CNN / Chris Moody]
At the end of the day, Sanders will still drop out of the race, probably before the convention. He will probably negotiate with the Democratic Party to get leverage on the party's platform.
[Time / Sam Frizell]
To do that, though, he needs to keep his supporters enthusiastic enough to persuade the party that they're a force to be reckoned with. That means he can't exactly start chiding them now.
[Vox / Dara Lind]
MISCELLANEOUS
Here's how big the gender pay gap is, by occupation. Only seven jobs out of 446 see women making more than men. [Wall Street Journal]
Streets take up way too much space in cities that could be used for apartments, offices, stores, and pedestrian spaces. So Barcelona is reclaiming nearly 60 percent of its streets and giving them back to the people.
[The Guardian / Marta Bausells]
Today in "reasons to ban men": Ten of them explain why they send dick pics. Reasons include, "In a world of tragic penises, I have a stun-gun of a phallus."
[NY Mag / Mandy Stadtmiller]
Guantanamo Bay has an official magazine for military base staff. It's … really something.
[Gawker / Sam Biddle]
Last night, Faking It, one of my (Dylan's) favorite shows on air, aired its series finale. Let's remember it by reading the final installment of Autostraddle's exceptional recaps.
[Autostraddle / Riese Bernard]
VERBATIM
"Trump’s comments like ‘You can’t be a 10 if you’re flat-chested,’ that’ll come back to haunt him. There are probably more ugly women in America than attractive women." [Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) to Washington Post / Dave Weigel]
"Which character do you identify with?" "My favorite character is probably … the dwarf, what’s his name?"
[President Obama to GQ / Bill Simmons]
"Many trans men I spoke with said they had no idea how rough women at work had it until they transitioned. As soon as they came out as men, they found their missteps minimized and their successes amplified."
[Time / Charlotte Alter]
"The worst thing that could happen is having your penis bitten off, and you do have to worry about worst-case scenarios."
[Edward to NY Mag / Alexa Tsoulis-Reay]
"There is a lot of work by men, as well as women, using female genitalia in a romanticized way. My work is the angry manifestation."
[Judith Bernstein to NYT / Phoebe Hoban]
WATCH THIS
Why your laptop charger is so hot [YouTube / Liz Scheltens, Gina Barton, and Audrey Quinn]
Vox / Liz Scheltens and Gina Barton
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