Somebody spilled the Supreme Court's beans

Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The Supreme Court hit publish on a draft opinion in a controversial abortion case before it was ready. Communities in the Midwest are under threat from swollen rivers and major flooding. And two giant pandas are headed to San Diego.

👋Hey, Wednesday! It’s Laura Davis. And it’s time for Wednesday’s news. Let’s go.

But first: Hey baby! 👶 This year's Gerber Baby has been revealed. Meet Sonny!

An unexpected win for abortion rights?

The Supreme Court may be about to allow emergency abortions in Idaho, according to a copy of the pending opinion, which appeared briefly on the court's website and was obtained by Bloomberg News. While litigation would continue, the opinion would still be a win for the Biden administration, which had challenged Idaho's strict abortion ban.

What happened? A court spokesperson acknowledged that the document was "inadvertently and briefly uploaded" to the court's website but said no official decision has been released and the opinion "will be issued in due course."

What's in the order: The draft order said it would reinstate a lower court order that had allowed hospitals to perform abortions needed to protect the health of the mother, according to the report. 👉 See more from the report.

Surreal devastation from floods

Over the past week, severe weather has slammed communities in parts of the Midwest, threatening major flooding in more than a dozen rivers. One of those rivers has partially breached a Minnesota dam, swallowed up a nearby home, and now threatens a highway bridge.

What's happening in Minnesota: The Rapidan Dam, which partially failed on Tuesday, saw "dramatic changes" in recent hours as the rushing flood widened and deepened a channel off to one side of the river, officials said Wednesday. 👉 See the latest weather updates.

Debris accumulates on the Rapidan Dam after torrential rains caused the Blue Earth River to swell, southwest of Mankato, Minnesota.
Debris accumulates on the Rapidan Dam after torrential rains caused the Blue Earth River to swell, southwest of Mankato, Minnesota.

Real quick

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Pandas embark on journey to San Diego

Incoming! Two pandas. Officials in China bid farewell Wednesday to two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, who will soon arrive in San Diego. The pair are the first pandas from China to arrive in the U.S. in 21 years, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Meet the pandas: Xin Bao, a 3-year-old female whose name means “new treasure of prosperity and abundance.” The male panda is 4 years old, and his name is Yun Chuan, meaning "cloud" and "big river," alluding to the place in China he's from − Sichuan. 🐼 Learn more about the pandas.

Yun Chuan ("yoon chu-an"), the 4-year-old male panda set to travel from China to the San Diego Zoo.
Yun Chuan ("yoon chu-an"), the 4-year-old male panda set to travel from China to the San Diego Zoo.

What Tuesday's primaries meant

A handful of primary elections Tuesday delivered tough fights that have revealed intense intra-party conflicts ahead of the November general election.  🗳️ Our takeaways.

  • A loss, and a win, for progressives: Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., became the first member of a progressive group of House lawmakers known as “the squad” to lose a primary challenge in the 2024 cycle, after suffering a bruising defeat to a more moderate candidate. But fellow New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won easily against a candidate positioned as a moderate alternative.

  • On the GOP side: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., won her first primary election after switching districts this year to run in a deeper-red area.

📬 Keep up with the political stories that matter in D.C. and beyond – without leaving your inbox. Sign up for our OnPolitics newsletter.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi: laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abortions in Idaho, Rapidan Dam flooding, giant pandas: Wednesday's news

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