Wednesday morning news: May 3, 2023

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Troops to border » President Biden is deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as authorities brace for a major surge.

Pentagon spokesman, Brigadier General Pat Ryder.

PAT RYDER: In light of the changes on May 11th and the anticipated surge, DHS did reach out and request this support.

One week from tomorrow, the pandemic-era Title 42 rule will expire. That rule has made it easier for the government to quickly expel migrants who cross the border without permission.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained the role of the troops.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: These personnel will be performing like data entry or warehouse support. They will not be performing law enforcement functions or interacting with immigrants or migrants.

She said the point is to free up Border Patrol agents to concentrate on field work.

Even with Title 42 in place, the number of migrant encounters has shattered records in recent months.

Tens of thousands of migrants are already waiting on the other side of the Rio Grande for the end of Title 42.

Senate SCOTUS hearing » On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats held a hearing Tuesday calling for ethics reform on the Supreme Court.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said Chief Justice John Roberts has answered all of his panel’s questions.

DICK DURBIN: But the answers we received further highlight the need for meaningful Supreme Court ethics reform.

The hearing stems largely from a report suggesting that Justice Clarence Thomas should have disclosed decades’ worth of vacations paid for by conservative billionaire Harlan Crow. Thomas says he’s done nothing wrong.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham:

LINDSEY GRAHAM: This assault on Justice Thomas is well beyond ethics. It is about trying to delegitimize a conservative court.

Senators demand Blinken records » Meantime, two Republican senators are accusing Secretary of State Tony Blinken of lying under oath when he said that he had not communicated with Hunter Biden, the president’s son.

Senator Ron Johnson:

RON JOHNSON: You cannot trust Joe Biden, you cannot trust Hunter Biden, you can't trust the Biden family.

Johnson and Senator Charles Grassley say Blinken’s wife communicated directly with Hunter Biden while Blinken worked for the State Department under President Barack Obama.

At the time, Biden served on the board of the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. His position there has come under scrutiny for potential corruption.

The senators want Blinken to turn over any records he has related to Hunter Biden.

Vermont suicide » Vermont is now the first state to allow terminally ill people from across the country to commit medically assisted suicide. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed the bill to remove the residency requirement yesterday.

Vermont is one of ten states plus the District of Columbia that allows assisted suicide. All of the states require participants to be residents, but Oregon does not enforce the requirement.

Supporters say the Vermont law has safeguards in place to ensure no one is coerced into euthenasia.

But the group Vermont Right to Life says those are not enough to protect vulnerable people from coercion.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Jobs numbers » U.S. employers are hanging fewer help wanted signs in the window.

Job openings tumbled to a near-two-year low in March, according to a new report from the Labor Dept.

Employers posted roughly 9.6 million jobs in March, down from 10 million in February.

The number of Americans quitting their jobs fell to 4 million, while the number of layoffs increased to nearly 2 million.

The report indicates that the labor market is cooling down. The silver lining is that could help slow inflation.

Hollywood writers » Some late-night shows are airing reruns after more than 11,000 TV writers walked off the job Tuesday after contract talks broke down.

Writer Sean Crespo joined a protest in New York City.

SEAN CRESPO: There’s too much work and not enough pay. There’s not really a path to middle-class living anymore as a writer.

The Writers Guild of America says the shift to streaming content has undercut compensation for writers, many of whom received residual income from shows that aired as reruns on broadcast TV.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: A look at two Republican White House hopefuls who recently threw their hats into the ring. Plus, an unexpected path to adopting kids with disabilities.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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