Your noon Briefing: Trump makes Supreme Court pick

Welcome to your noon digest of what’s been making news and what to watch for.

Hello readers. Here is your noon roundup of today’s top stories and a long read for lunchtime.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 01, 2006 Brett Kavanaugh (L) is sworn in as a US Court of Appeals Judge for the District of Columbia by US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (R) as Kavanaugh's wife Ashley (C) holds the Bible during ceremonies 01 June 2006 in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump will announce his US Supreme Court pick Monday July 9, an intensely anticipated decision likely to swing the bench rightward for years to come and which has Washington readying for an explosive confirmation battle. / AFP PHOTO / Paul J. RICHARDS

Trump’s Supreme Court pick

Donald Trump has chosen judge Brett Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court nominee to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, in a move which would secure a conservative majority on the country’s highest court and fundamental change in its treatment of key social issues across America.The 53-year-old is a staunch ideological conservative who was deputy White House counsel in the Bush administration and also worked with special prosecutor Kenneth Starr during his investigation into then president Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

“Judge Kavanaugh has earned a reputation as a brilliant jurist with impeccable legal credentials, and he is universally respected for his intellect, as well as his ability to persuade and build consensus.”

Donald Trump

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Elon Musk's picture of preparations at the cave. Picture; Twitter.

Five wait for freedom

The final five members of the Thai soccer team wait for freedom, as Elon Musk takes his mini-submarine to the flooded caves.The rescued soccer team will be quarantined and tested for the potentially fatal airborne lung infection known as cave disease. Richard Lloyd Parry, meantime, ponders what’s next for the 12 Wild Boars. Keep up with all the latest as the final phase of one of the most difficult and ambitious rescue missions ever attempted unfolds in our live blog.

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New ZealandÕs Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney this evening. Picture: David Swift.

NZ a ‘bolthole for asylum seekers’

Acting New Zealand Prime Minister Winston Peters says he regrets that his country has allowed itself to be used as a “bolthole” for people wanting to enter Australia. The New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister, who is standing in for Jacinda Ardern while she is on maternity leave, said he believed Australia’s relationship with New Zealand had been “patchy” since then prime ministers Helen Clark and John Howard signed an agreement in 2001, denying welfare to New Zealanders living in Australia.

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British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Brexit Minister) David Davis arrives in Downing Street in London on March 15, 2017. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday she would be given the power to start Brexit talks within days but declined to name a date for a process already disrupted by Scotland's independence bid. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALL

The long read: Mayday arrives for UK

Greg Sheridan writes that Brexit has taken a messy turn that leaves the UK mired in political disarray and at the EU’s mercy.

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Comment of the day

“May is hapless and hopeless. She should be dumped before she does any more damage to UK, which should just leave the EU.”

Colin, in response to ‘Brexit crisis threatens British PM Theresa May as Johnson resigns’.