The 21st century has seen a steady expansion of U.S. gun rights. On Friday, the Supreme Court walked back a controversial ruling from two years ago that had confounded lower courts.

• Water dispute: The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a settlement over the management of the Rio Grande. The 5-4 decision rebuffs an agreement recommended by a federal judge over how New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado must share the water.
• Foreign income tax: The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, preserved a tax on Americans who have invested in certain foreign corporations as constitutionally sound.
• Columbia University: Dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters arrested in April after occupying a campus building had all criminal charges dropped. 
• Ukraine: Rolling blackouts have grown as Russia has intensified strikes targeting energy infrastructure, raising concerns about meeting national demand when the cold season returns. 
• Armenia recognizes Palestinian state: Israel summoned Armenia’s ambassador for what the Israeli Foreign Ministry described as a “severe reprimand.” Dozens of countries have taken this step, though none of the major Western powers has done so.

Read these news briefs.

Nonbelligerents in war often pay a very high price in the violent disruption of their lives. In Lebanon, the children, perhaps, can be entertained and distracted in the moment, but adults are all too aware of the value of what has been lost.

Haiti has dealt with decades of political turmoil and natural disasters. Although there hasn’t been an uninterrupted academic year since 2017, schools here embody hope for a stabler future.

A star hooper’s arc from college to helping elevate the women’s pro game is one small measure of broader progress. Two years after leading a deep report on Title IX’s 50th anniversary, a Monitor reporter updates us on each of the three braided strands in that legislation’s legacy. 

The long, languorous days of this season may just be the ideal time to revisit childhood memories of summers past. As our essayist discovered, simple pleasures never go out of style.

On June 23, women who are trained to invent, build, and fix today’s technology will celebrate International Women in Engineering Day. Started in Britain a decade ago, the celebration – and that is the main point – has since gone global. And for good reason. The number of women researchers in all technical fields worldwide is approaching parity with men.

A new study by a Dutch scientific academic publishing company, Elsevier, found that women were 41% of researchers in 2022 compared with 28% in 2001. In a few fields such as chemistry, as well as in a few countries such as Portugal, women have already reached parity. And the most experienced female researchers have their scholarly work cited in publications more often than male researchers do.

The annual celebration for women in engineering began in 2014 as a way to shift the narrative about the difficulties women face in research institutions traditionally dominated by men. “By nurturing and promoting positive role models, we can create a future where the barriers we faced no longer exist,” Dawn Childs, recent president of Britain’s Women’s Engineering Society, told The Manufacturer. 

“By shifting the conversation away from the negatives of being a woman in engineering, we can redirect our focus towards the immense potential we possess to make the world a better place through our problem-solving abilities,” she said. 

This upward trajectory for women in research has required more than fighting gender bias. Women have become adept at networking to learn the ropes and climb the career ladder. They are figuring out ways to navigate the first several years in research, work-life balance, and scholarships. After one workshop in Singapore for women in science and technology, one participant said she discovered “more about myself and how to communicate with the partners around me.”

As the gender gap narrows for women in research, many in their fields recognize that innovation relies on a broad concept of diversity beyond gender balance. A work environment that includes many unique perspectives and experiences helps foster innovation, as shown by a 2017 study by Boston Consulting Group. A yearly event to celebrate the advances of one particular group – women engineers – opens doors for others.