Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Brzezinski and Scarborough Speak Out About Trump Feud

President Donald Trump faced bipartisan criticism after launching a Twitter attack yesterday on the hosts of “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Many Republicans have expressed disappointment and embarrassment that the president would use such derogatory language. “I see it as embarrassing to our country,” said Maine Senator Susan Collins. It points to the problematic view he has of women, according to Republican pollster Christine Matthews, who spoke to the New York Times. But Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president’s words as “fighting fire with fire” and said they were appropriate.

Please just stop. This isn’t normal and it’s beneath the dignity of your office.

— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) June 29, 2017

This morning, Scarborough and Brzezinski said that officials from the White House called them and said that the National Enquirer, whose owner is a friend of Trump, would run a hit piece on them. According to Scarborough and Brzezinski, Trump would shut down the story if he apologized to them. The couple also said reporters from the Enquirer have been calling Brzezinski’s children and friends.

Here’s the clip:

This is a chilling story. https://t.co/HYJgBnajOy via @Morning_Joe https://t.co/6UCEHzfOET

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 30, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Revised Travel Ban Takes Effect Tonight

This evening, the new version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban will go partially into effect. On Monday, the Supreme Court said “okay” to parts of the revised travel ban, but will hear the case in the fall. SCOTUS aims to probe how much control a president can actually have over border and immigration issues.

The court said this implementation of the ban would not affect those who can prove a “bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” Last night, the State Department issued guidelines for how to decide such cases. It says that individuals such as step-siblings, half-siblings, parents, in-laws, and sons- and daughters-in-law are considered close family. However, grandparents, nieces, nephews, or brothers- and sisters-in-law are not.

Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are the countries that will be affected. Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU immigrants’ rights project, said the ruling worries him, as it could create arbitrary definitions of what close family relations are.

Under revised #TravelBan taking effect tonight at 8p ET “close family” excludes grandparents, aunts & uncles, & fiancées, among others pic.twitter.com/TQY3pVFcdd

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) June 29, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: June 29, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Happy Labor Day, Law Street readers. While enjoying a hopefully relaxing day, check out our top stories of the week.

1. Joe Scarborough Makes Awesome and Bizarre #AmnestyDon Music Video

Joe Scarborough, one of the hosts of the show “Morning Joe” really hates Donald Trump. Scarborough has slammed Trump on multiple occasions, beginning earlier this year, but seems to really have hit his stride with Trump-bashing this week. In honor of Trump’s constant nicknaming of his political opponents, Scarborough has given Trump a moniker of his own: #AmnestyDon. Read the full story here.

2. Impeachment Deliberations Begin for Brazil’s President, Vote Due Next Week

As the world’s attention recedes from Rio de Janeiro–which hosted the Olympic games earlier this month–Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is one step closer to being pushed out of office for good. On Thursday, Brazil’s Senate began deliberations regarding her permanent impeachment. A final vote will take place next week. Rousseff, 68, is currently serving an 180-day suspension, resulting from a Senate vote in May. Read the full story here.

3. Chip Cards: Making Credit Cards Safe Again?

By now, most people have become familiar with the additional hoop they have to jump through when buying things at the store. When you get to the checkout counter you do an awkward dance: do I swipe my credit card, do I put it into the chip reader, do I need my PIN, can I pay with my phone? The United States is currently in the middle of an update to its credit card infrastructure, an update that has been difficult for many consumers to navigate. What’s behind the recent changes and why have they just started now? Read the full story here.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Joe Scarborough, one of the hosts of the show “Morning Joe” really hates Donald Trump. Scarborough has slammed Trump on multiple occasions, beginning earlier this year, but seems to really have hit his stride with Trump-bashing this week. In honor of Trump’s constant nicknaming of his political opponents, Scarborough has given Trump a moniker of his own: #AmnestyDon.

On the show Monday morning, Scarborough clearly mocked Trump’s speaking style and his flip-flopping on immigration issues in one go, saying:

They’re calling him Amnesty Don. Amnesty Don, that’s what people are calling him, I’m not calling him that. Amnesty Don. Hashtag Amnesty Don. For 14 months, Amnesty Don has been putting illegal immigration at the center of Amnesty Don’s campaign… And, yet, nobody in Amnesty Don’s own campaign can tell you what Amnesty Don’s position is after Amnesty Don won the primaries promising to deport 11 [million illegal immigrants].

Scarborough said that he would write a song about his new nickname for Trump, and he followed through. Today Scarborough put up a music video on Facebook in an attempt to continue his trolling of the Republican nominee:

The feud between Trump and Scarborough (and Scarborough’s cohost Mika Brzezinski) has been on and off since February. While Scarborough used to be friendly with Trump, Trump’s hesitance to disavow KKK leaders who were supporting him soured their relationship, and since then Scarborough has hit Trump on a number of issues. Last week that feud spilled over to Twitter (although not for the first time):

Tried watching low-rated @Morning_Joe this morning, unwatchable! @morningmika is off the wall, a neurotic and not very bright mess!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2016

Joe Scarborough has officially descended into a professional Trump troll, and I can’t want to see what he comes up with next.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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