Vox Sentences - Does Justice Thomas pay for anything?

Justice Clarence Thomas accepted more luxury gifts without disclosing them; Spain rescues dozens of migrants but hundreds are still missing.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Justice Thomas’s worsening ethics problem

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

• A New York Times investigation revealed Justice Clarence Thomas accepted gifts from members of an elite conservative-leaning group he joined in the early 1990s. [New York Times / Abbie VanSickle and Steve Eder]
• Thomas reportedly failed to disclose receiving football tickets and other gifts from wealthy friends in the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans — a nonprofit organization that celebrates “rags-to-riches” stories and provides scholarships. [Washington Post / Brittany Shammas]
• The Times investigation comes after ProPublica revealed Thomas accepted decades of luxury travel and other gifts from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow but failed to disclose them, raising questions about his ethics. [ProPublica]
• Thomas hosts Alger’s annual induction ceremony at the Supreme Court. The organization advertises the event to raise money in an apparent violation of rules against using the Court or its justices in fundraising. [Insider / John L. Dorman]
• Senate Democrats plan to introduce ethics legislation that would require the justices to adopt a code of conduct; however, the Court has resisted changes. [The Hill / Alexander Bolton]

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Our first-ever travel guide answers some of the biggest questions about navigating the world, the country, and your backyard. [Vox]

Three migrant boats are missing in the Atlantic

• Spain on Monday rescued a vessel off the Canary Islands that was carrying 86 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. [Reuters]
• The search is still ongoing for three ships that left from Senegal for the Canary Islands in late June — one large vessel carrying 200 migrants and two smaller ships carrying dozens more. [BBC]
• Over 12,000 people arrived in Spain in 2023 after taking the dangerous boat trip across the Atlantic from West Africa. At least 951 have died. [Deutsche Welle]
• The disappearance comes weeks after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean, killing hundreds of men, women, and children. Greece faced criticism for failing to intervene. [NYT / Isabella Kwai]

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Meta’s enjoying a resurgence after its Twitter competitor Threads reached 100 million users within a week of launching. [Vox / Shirin Ghaffary]

• Former President Donald Trump attacked Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds after a report described her close relationship with his 2024 rival Ron DeSantis. [Politico / Kelly Garrity]
• Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling for an FDA investigation into Logan Paul’s energy drink over its marketing and high caffeine content. [CNBC / Chelsey Cox]

• A federal court allowed Tennessee to enforce a ban on gender-affirming medical care like hormone therapy for transgender youth. [Vox/ Ian Millhiser]

These swishes and swoops define the RV aesthetic. [YouTube]

“They really treated him like a brother, like he mattered and, in return, he opened up the Supreme Court.” 

[Armstrong Williams on the Horatio Alger Association’s relationship with Justice Thomas / NYT]

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