Thursday Afternoon Update: Harvard’s alleged morgue intruder, Rand Paul demands COVID documents, Germany developing ‘Iron Dome’.

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.

Supreme Court Upholds Indian Child Welfare Law

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a 1978 law that states Native American parents should have priority preference when Native American children are up for adoption. The Law was challenged by several non-Native American families, who argued that Congress had gone outside of its constitutional authority. In a 7-2 vote, the majority opinion was authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett who ruled that, “Congress’s power to legislate with respect to Indians is well established and broad.” President Joe Biden praised the decision, saying, it kept in place “a vital protection for tribal sovereignty and Native children.”

Federal Agencies Hacked

Several U.S. federal government agencies were effectively hacked due to a vulnerability in a widely used software called “MOVEit.” The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed to CNN that it “is providing support to several federal agencies that have experienced intrusions.” It’s unclear who is responsible for the attack.

Harvard Morgue Manager Accused Of Selling Body Parts

Several people are accused of stealing and selling human remains from Harvard Medical School’s morgue.

A grand jury has indicted the morgue manager, 55-year-old Cedric Lodge, in the criminal plot, which, according to the complaint, lasted from 2018 to earlier this year. The federal complaint was filed in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where one of the defendants lives. Lodge allegedly allowed buyers to come into the morgue and pick and choose what remains they wanted to buy. He also allegedly stole parts of donated cadavers including brains, skin, and bones, took them home to his New Hampshire residence, and shipped them to buyers by mail. Six other people, including Lodge’s wife Denise Lodge and a mortician from Arkansas, have all been charged in the scheme.

Space Force General Admits She’d Prioritize Gender Surgery Access Over Qualified Officers

Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt is under fire for admitting during a recent Department of Defense Pride event that she would allow access to “gender-affirming care” to take priority over qualifications when deciding where to assign officers.

Burt has gone viral in a video this week in which she explains how she handles several states that have passed laws banning transgender surgeries — and in some cases, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors. In the speech, Burt states that while she would normally consider job performance and qualifications before selecting officers for certain jobs, she also has had to consider whether her troops and their families would be comfortable taking jobs in certain states.

The @DeptofDefense “pride” event last week gets more bizarre with scrutiny.

Thread:

1. Here, LTG Burt openly admits she lets supposed concerns over “anti-LGBTQ+ laws in a state” about “healthcare” dictate personnel choices, even if it means choosing a less-qualified officer. pic.twitter.com/O5zc2yku9P

— William Thibeau (@WilliamThibeau) June 14, 2023

Rand Paul Plays Hardball For COVID Docs

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky vowed on Thursday to block all nominees and legislation in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions until key documents related to COVID and its origins are released.

Until such time as the majority decides it would like to cooperate with me in a bipartisan fashion to obtain the COVID documents necessary to conduct oversight, I will object to every piece of legislation and nominee coming out of this committee. pic.twitter.com/stFn9SWtqU

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) June 15, 2023

Germany Getting Its Own ‘Iron Dome’

The nation of Germany is moving ahead to purchase new technology similar to Israel’s “Iron Dome” defense system. The Budget Committee of Germany’s National Parliament released its initial payment of €560 million toward the purchase of the Israel-made Arrow-3 air defense system. The purchase is part of the European country’s  €100 billion defense upgrade.

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