Judge Puts Temporary Hold on Abortion Restrictions
Two new Alabama laws restricting abortions were set to go into effect next month, but yesterday, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson blocked them, at least for now.
In the latest chapter of a long-running legal battle, an Alabama law banning a procedure called “dilation and evacuation” and one banning clinics within 2,000 feet of K-8 schools are on hold. They’d been set to take effect August 1, but Thompson issued a temporary restraining order to give the state time to respond to a legal challenge and to give the court more time to consider the case.
Two abortion providers, with help from the ACLU, are suing to have the laws declared unconstitutional. Dilation and evacuation, which the law banning it calls “dismemberment abortion,” is a common second-trimester procedure. The school-proximity ban could close two of Alabama’s five clinics, which account for well more than half the state’s abortions. Supporters of the ban say it protects young students from disruptive protests. Critics say it’s another way to make abortions hard or impossible to get.
Thompson’s order blocking enforcement of the restrictions would expire three weeks from an October 4 hearing.
‘The miracle’: A 6-year-old walked away from the train wreck that killed her family
Her parents, brother and cousin were killed in the collision, but the girl was found walking barefoot on the tracks. She's being cared for by grandparents after receiving three stitches in her head.
Here’s who’s canceled their Kennedy Center performances since Trump took over
The Martha Graham Dance Company is just the latest to say they will no longer perform at the Kennedy Center since Trump took over last year.
An Alabama mayor signed an NDA with a data center developer. Read it here.
The non-disclosure agreement was a major sticking point in a lively town hall that featured city officials, data center representatives and more than a hundred frustrated residents.
The divorce between the U.S. and WHO is final this week. Or is it?
The U.S. is the only country allowed to withdraw from the World Health Organization. And Jan. 22 is the day when Trump's pullout announcement should go into effect. But ... it's complicated.
Trump’s Board of Peace has several invited leaders trying to figure out how it’ll work
It's unclear how many leaders have been asked to join the board, and the large number of invitations being sent out, including to countries that don't get along, has raised questions about the board's mandate and decision-making processes.
Researchers find Antarctic penguin breeding is heating up sooner
Warming temperatures are forcing Antarctic penguins to breed earlier and that's a big problem for two of the cute tuxedoed species that face extinction by the end of the century, a study said.
