Let the (Supreme) battle begin

Supreme  Court ... Thailand cave rescue ... separated families ... Brexit ... plastic straws

view in browser Tuesday 7.10.18 Will universal basic income work in the US? Stockton, California -- which will soon start giving some residents $500 a month -- is about to find out. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. By Doug Criss Supreme Court   Now that President Donald Trump has nominated Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court, a political battle royal has already begun in Washington. The stakes couldn't be higher: Kavanaugh is a young conservative who, if he's confirmed, could create a reliable five-vote conservative bloc on the court that could push it rightward for decades. Liberals promise a fight for the ages to block the nomination.  As for where he stands on the hot-button issues, conservatives generally like how Kavanaugh has ruled in cases involving religious liberty, the Second Amendment and abortion, although he hasn't expressed outright opposition to Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh has also said that presidents should be shielded from litigation while in office, with some observers speculating that's one of the reasons why Trump -- embroiled in the Russia investigation -- picked him. Others point out that confirming Kavanaugh wouldn't do much for diversity on the bench. There have been 113 Supreme Court justices, and all but six have been white men. Thailand cave rescue Divers pulled two more boys out of a flooded cave in northern Thailand today, a person who is part of the rescue operations tells CNN. That leaves two other boys and their coach inside the cave. Officials said they hope to get them all out today. Eight boys were freed from the cave during the rescue operations' first two days. They're recovering in a hospital and said to be healthy. A doctor and three Royal Thai Navy SEALs -- who had been helping the boys since they were found last week -- are expected to leave the cave as well. Today's rescue operation is expected to take longer to pull off than the first two days because of the large number of people involved. Separated families   Today's the deadline for the Trump administration to reunite immigrant children under 5 with their families. But the government says it will only have reunited just over half of them in this group. That's a small part of the thousands of young immigrants still in custody apart from their parents, detained under the administration's "zero tolerance" policy on the southern border with Mexico. Meanwhile, a federal judge rejected the Justice Department's request to change decades-old rules on how long the government can detain immigrant children. US District Judge Dolly Gee called the request -- which sought to change a rule that prevents immigrant children from being held in detention longer than 20 days -- "wholly without merit."  Brexit   It's been a minute since we talked about Brexit, but rifts over British Prime Minister Theresa May's strategy for getting the UK out of the European Union has plunged her government into chaos. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson quit, saying in his resignation letter that the Brexit "dream is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt." This move comes right after two other government ministers who deal with Brexit quit. Just days ago it seemed like May had a deal with her Cabinet on what the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the EU would look like. That plan is in tatters, and May's political future is in doubt. Plastic straws   If it feels like it's getting harder to get your hands on a plastic straw to drink with at restaurants, it's not your imagination. Some governments have started banning them because they contribute to ocean pollution and pose a threat to marine life. In the United States some companies are voluntarily dumping them. Starbucks is the latest to go strawless. The coffee company says it will phase out plastic straws by 2020. That will eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws per year. Hyatt and McDonald's are among the companies that have said they'll also stop using straws. 155 The number of people reported killed after heavy rains and landslides hit Japan. At least 10 people are missing. ADVERTISEMENT People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Flip-flop IHOb flips back to IHOP, but at least the breakfast chain's cutting us a break on pancakes for our trouble. No laughing matter Meet the beauty queen who put down her crown after the #MeToo movement was mocked at the Miss Massachusetts pageant. Not all heroes wear capes First the Florida firefighters saved the life of a man who suffered a heart attack while laying down sod. Then they finished his yardwork for him. Bake-off Looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy will have a new home, now that J.M. Smucker is selling Pillsbury and its other baking brands to a private equity firm. Grab your tissues She found her wedding ring in the ashes of her home lost in a wildfire. Then her husband dropped to one knee and proposed to her all over again. Neighborhood brawl It'll be neighbor vs. neighbor today when France and Belgium meet up in St. Petersburg, Russia, in a World Cup semifinal.   1 billion  That's the number of total streams in a week for "Scorpion," the latest album by Drake. It's the first time any album has ever had that many streams over a seven-day period. A new era of peace and friendship has been ushered.   Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel, tweeting that Ethiopia and Eritrea have signed an agreement to end the long war between the countries. BFFs Cuteness alert! Hey, it's a baby goat making friends with three kittens. What else do you really need to see today? (Click to view.) Share Tweet ALL CNN NEWSLETTERS CNN Five Things shows up in your inbox every weekday at 6 a.m. ET and on Sundays at 9 a.m. ET. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know. We're all about self-improvement. Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign yourself up! Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters. Copyright © 2018 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to CNN newsletters. update preferences or unsubscribe