The end of June is here, and the Supreme Court has spoken. Many Americans are celebrating major wins, others are left shaking their heads, and some are still digesting all of the news and deciding where they stand. One thing is certain: the power of the federal government shrank a bit this week with the Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and the Voting Rights Act. On Saturday’s Melissa Harris-Perry, our host will take a deep dive into the implications of striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act and leaving it up to the states to allow or ban marriage equality.
Host Melissa Harris-Perry will also delve into the massive international game of “Where’s Waldo” with Edward Snowden, which ended this week when he was reportedly found in the transit section of Moscow’s airport. But asking the Russians to extradite the fugitive to the US may be like asking Putin to give back New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl ring: it just isn’t going to happen. Why? Snowden could have more information to leak, information far more important than what he’s leaked so far. We’ll discuss Snowden and his leaks with The Nation‘s
The Supreme Court justices aren’t the only ones making their voices heard this week. In Texas, hundreds of women and men packed the state house to support Wendy Davis and protest legislation that threatened to shut down nearly all the abortion clinics in Texas. And in California, members of the Organization United for Respect rallied at the Yahoo! shareholder’s meeting, calling on CEO and Walmart Board member Marissa Mayer to support their cause for better working conditions. Our panel will break down the fight in these states along with Ohio where citizens are voicing their opinions on Governor John Kasich’s abortion legislation and North Carolina, where “Moral Mondays” are going strong.
To cap off a week of political excitement, the Senate passed the “Gang of 8” immigration bill 68-32 on Thursday afternoon. Harris-Perry will break down what happens next as the Republicans in the House, who have aggressively denounced the bill, get ready to draft their version.
Be sure to read what we’ve linked above, and watch Melissa Harris-Perry Saturday at 10 a.m. EST on msnbc! Also, don’t forget to join us on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #nerdland.
Rachel Zuckerman