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☆ More U.S. Women Are Avoiding Unwanted or Mistimed Pregnancies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Claire Cain Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There could also be an increase in the share of unwanted or mistimed births in states with new abortion bans. The United States has long had one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy in the industrialized world. In 2015, just under a quarter of women said their pregnancy came too soon, a decline of 18 percent from 2009. There was also a slight decline of 5 percent, to 17 percent, in the share of pregnant women who said they did not want a baby at all. These declines were driven by younger women having significantly fewer unwanted pregnancies.

☆ Amending the U.S. Constitution Could Start With the E.R.A. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kate Shaw | Julie C. Suk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The last truly significant amendment — the 26th, which lowered the voting age to 18 — belonged to another era, in 1971, when Richard Nixon was president. It looked to be sailing to ratification, for which the Constitution requires approval by three-quarters of the states. in 1972, it included a ratification deadline, providing that the amendment would be part of the Constitution “when ratified within seven years” — that is, 1979. What Article V of the Constitution does say is that Congress is in charge of proposing amendments that it deems necessary. If the deadline power belongs to Congress, shouldn’t the power to change any deadlines it imposes — as well as the power to refuse to recognize rescissions — also lie with Congress?

☆ Health Plan Coverage of Abortion and Related Services
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Practical Law Employee Benefits | Executive Compensation | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +36 min

The Dobbs ruling, which returned the regulation of abortion to the individual states, has led to legislation that restricts abortion, including medication abortion, in many states. In response to the rapidly changing post-Dobbs legal landscape, this article addresses health plan coverage of abortion, medication abortion coverage and litigation, abortion-related travel benefits, and related Practical Law resources concerning these topics. The insurer in a fully insured health plan, health maintenance organization (HMO), or similar arrangement:Assumes the risk of providing health coverage for insured events by paying medical costs for eligible claims incurred under the plan. Self-Funded Health PlansBy contrast, employers with self-funded arrangements may have more discretion in providing coverage for abortion and related services. Changes to plan coverage of medication abortion will likely require plan administrators to:(For more on coverage of medication abortion, see Newly Launched, ReproductiveRights.gov Website Addresses Access to Medication Abortion (Mifepristone) Using Telehealth on Practical Law.)

☆ Supreme Court's Alito says abortion leak meant to intimidate court, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito believes the leak last May of a draft opinion that ended the nationwide right to abortion was meant to "intimidate" the court into changing its decision, the conservative justice told the Wall Street Journal. "It was a part of an effort to prevent the Dobbs draft ... from becoming the decision of the court," Alito said in an interview published by the newspaper on Friday, referring to the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Alito, who wrote the Dobbs decision, said that he thought he knew who leaked the decision to the Politico news outlet, but did not provide evidence to support that claim. A narrow majority of Americans - 56% - view the U.S. Supreme Court unfavorably, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this month. Partisanship colors that view, with 72% of Democratic respondents to the poll viewing the court unfavorably and 65% viewing of Republicans seeing it favorably.

☆ Justice Alito says he has a 'pretty good idea' who leaked the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade but doesn't have the proof to name them publicly
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Justice Alito claims to have a "good idea" who leaked the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. He went on to argue that the leak made the justices who had signed onto the draft opinion "targets of assassination." The leak of the draft opinion — besides infuriating those who favor abortion rights — caused a political firestorm of its own at the time. Furthermore, Justice Alito has himself been accused of leaking the outcome of Supreme Court deliberations before. But when asked about the theory that someone on the right leaked the draft, Alito strongly rejected that notion.

☆ Abortion Bans Fail in South Carolina and Nebraska
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Adeel Hassan | Eliza Fawcett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Currently, both South Carolina and Nebraska allow abortion up to around 22 weeks. Georgia and Florida also ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, but Florida’s ban is on hold pending a court challenge. South Carolina has become a destination for women seeking abortions as its Southern neighbors have shut down access to abortion. What’s NextWith a few weeks left in its session, South Carolina could still pass an abortion ban. And the state’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that its Constitution includes the right to abortion, but said the state still had an interest in regulating the procedure.

☆ Thunderstorms Lash Parts of the South, Spawning Tornadoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At least three tornadoes hit Florida on Thursday evening, damaging homes and downing trees and power lines, as severe thunderstorms tore across parts of the Southeast, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee said. No injuries were reported, according to local officials, who said emergency workers were still trying to assess the damage. “We have power lines down and no power,” said Lisa Shuler, the assistant emergency management director of Liberty County. About 50 miles southwest, in the city of Lynn Haven, residents reported golf ball-size hail that smashed into their homes and cars. Trees and roofs had also been damaged, an operator with the Lynn Haven Police Department said by phone.

☆ Fox agrees to give more Murdoch docs to Smartmatic in its defamation case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Fox News has agreed to give voting technology company Smartmatic additional documents about Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and other senior corporate executives. “We will produce the materials as quickly as we are able to,” Fox lawyer Winn Allen said. These materials will include deposition transcripts and exhibits, apparently from the recently settled defamation case involving Dominion Voting Systems, a Smartmatic lawyer said in court. The monster case pits Smartmatic against Fox News, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, and former host Lou Dobbs, who all promoted the baseless lie that Smartmatic rigged the 2020 election. An appeals court recently dropped Fox Corp. as a defendant, but Smartmatic refiled its lawsuit and is trying to re-add the parent company.

☆ North Dakota governor signs law banning nearly all abortions in the state
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Shawna Mizelle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Doug Burgum of North Dakota signed a near-total abortion ban bill into law Monday. The bill joins other GOP-led legislation aimed at restricting abortion access that has become law in a post-Roe v. Wade world. Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio and Texas have also passed six-week abortion bans, sparking legal challenges. North Dakota’s new law follows a legal battle over a 2007 trigger law that was blocked by a district judge last year. With the trigger ban on pause, North Dakota law had allowed abortion up until 20 weeks or more post-fertilization.

☆ Opinion | Republicans Did Something Most People Don’t Like, So They’re Changing the Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’s still room for innovation, however, and in the past year Republicans have opened new fronts in the war for minority rule. One element in these campaigns, an aggressive battle to limit the reach of the referendum process, stands out in particular. It’s an abrupt change from earlier decades, when Republicans used referendums to build support and enthusiasm among their voters on both social and economic issues. If they get their way, the measure could go to voters in an August special election (previously, Ohio Republicans had opposed August special elections). One proposal would require 60 percent of the vote; the other two would require a two-thirds vote.

☆ Media insiders would often gossip about which anchor was about to leave Fox News. None of them guessed Tucker Carlson.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Dominion lawsuit was an embarrassment to Fox, airing text messages the company would rather have kept private. Tucker Carlson's departure is a huge surprise. Like a plot twist in "Succession," the departure of Tucker Carlson from Fox News is one we didn't see coming. The news of Carlson's departure almost immediately wiped close to $1 billion off of Fox Corporation's market capitalization. Upon confirmation that Carlson had left Fox, veteran media reporter Sarah Ellison simply wrote: "Incredible."

☆ Tucker Carlson leaves Fox News in wake of Dominion defamation settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Right-wing prime-time host Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News immediately, the cable network announced Monday. "FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways," the company said in a statement Monday. Carlson's program, "Tucker Carlson Tonight," has long been one of Fox's top rated programs. Carlson, 53, was among the Fox hosts and executives who were questioned as part of the Dominion lawsuit. While the Dominion lawsuit was unlikely to affect Fox's business, it was unclear the toll it would take on its programming and hosts.

☆ Tucker Carlson's texts from the Dominion lawsuit reveal the real Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Rebecca Zisser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Private texts reveal incredible detail about Fox News' inner workings. Among the messages is a thread where Tucker Carlson privately bashes Trump. Top Fox News hosts, including Tucker Carlson, privately insulted Chris Wallace and hatched a plot for a rebellion — November, 16, 2020. In a group chat between the three biggest hosts, Carlson, Hannity, and Ingraham, few colleagues, including then-"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace, were spared. In a group chat between the three biggest hosts, Carlson, Hannity, and Ingraham, few colleagues such as then-"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace were spared.

“I hope the Republican Party can muster the courage to oppose late-term abortion like we have done in the past. But after the midterms produced a slimmer-than-expected majority, there now appears to be little appetite inside the House GOP for such a bill. Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas, told CNN: “it’s up to the states,” when asked about a national ban. The National Right to Life Committee said it is in regular communication with House Republican leadership about possible legislative efforts and educational needs on the issue. “What we’re working on right now is primarily reacquainting members with the abortion issue after the Dobbs decision.

☆ In Abortion Pill Ruling, the Supreme Court Trades Ambition for Prudence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — It was an interim ruling, and the majority gave no reasons. But the Supreme Court’s order on Friday night maintaining the availability of a commonly used abortion pill nonetheless sent a powerful message from a chastened court. Ten months ago, five conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating a constitutional right to abortion that had been in place for half a century. All three of the Trump justices were in the majority. Cynics might be forgiven for thinking that the decision last June, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was a product of raw power.

☆ Opinion | Trump Didn’t Doom the G.O.P. Neither Would DeSantis.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Republican Party is hardly a juggernaut. It struggles mightily to win presidential-level popular vote majorities. The Republican Party has championed unpopular causes, it has picked widely hated nominees, it has pioneered new forms of self-sabotage and political malpractice. has won the popular vote in four of them. Indeed, you could argue that they indicate how lucky the Democrats have been that the G.O.P.

It is the second time in a year that the Supreme Court has considered a major effort to sharply curtail access to abortion. Less than an hour later, a federal judge in Washington State, Thomas O. The competing rulings meant that the matter was almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court. But the panel imposed several barriers to access, siding in part with Judge Kacsmaryk, while the lawsuit moved through the courts. Seeking emergency relief, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene while a fast-tracked appeal moved forward.

☆ Starship Launch: Here Are the Challenges Elon Musk’s SpaceX Faces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Abortion Access: Where It Stands Almost One Year After Dobbs Decision From a high-stakes legal battle over an abortion medication, to states debating their own abortion legislation, WSJ’s Laura Kusisto highlights how abortion access has changed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and what could come next. Photo Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ Fox has more headaches coming after agreeing to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion's defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

After shelling out $787.5 billion to settle Dominion's lawsuit, Fox has more troubles on the way. Atop the list is a separate lawsuit from Smartmatic, another election technology company that sued Fox News Network and its parent company, Fox Corp., in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit asks for $2.7 billion in damages and was filed against Fox Corp.; Fox News Network; hosts Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and Lou Dobbs; and Powell and Giuliani. Aside from the Smartmatic case, Fox News has to deal with potential shareholder lawsuits. The overall value of Fox Corp. — which also includes Fox Sports and the streaming service Tubi — is more than $17.6 billion.

☆ Abortion Access: Where It Stands Almost One Year After Dobbs Decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Juice Mission Launches to Jupiter’s Moons to Explore Potential for Life The European Space Agency launched its Juice mission to explore the potential for life on Jupiter’s moons. WSJ’s Aylin Woodward explains what will happen on the eight-year journey and what scientists are hoping to learn once the spacecraft arrives. Photo: Jody Amiet/AFP/Getty Images

☆ Fox faces similar defamation case from Smartmatic after Dominion settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fox Corp. and its TV networks agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit this week, but the media giant's legal headaches don't end there. Still hanging in the balance is voting software company Smartmatic USA's defamation case, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages – over $1 billion more than Dominion initially sought in its lawsuit. Smartmatic, like Dominion, filed its defamation lawsuit against Fox for spreading false claims that its voting software helped rig the 2020 election that saw Joe Biden triumph over Donald Trump. Although Smartmatic's lawsuit was filed shortly ahead of Dominion's in 2021, the pace of the case has lagged in comparison. It remains unclear how or whether the settlement between Fox and Dominion will affect Smartmatic's case.

☆ 16 takeaways from Fox News' historic $787.5 million settlement with Dominion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

In the moments after I watched the judge announce the settlement in court, 16 things went through my mind:1. Evidence obtained by Dominion in the lawsuit and filed to court ahead of the settlement appeared to support that theory. There's always the Smartmatic case. In court filings ahead of the settlement, Fox complained about the $1.6 billion price tag Dominion put on the lawsuit. "Would be pretty unreal if you guys like 20x'ed your Dominion investment with these lawsuits," read one text to a Staple Street executive cited in a Fox court filing.

Members of the public wait to enter the Leonard Williams Justice Center where the Dominion Voting Systems defamation trial against FOX News is taking place on April 18 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)The court is back in session after a lunch break and opening statements are expected to begin soon in the historic defamation lawsuit brought by election technology company Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. Here’s what you need to know about the high-stakes case:Why is Dominion suing Fox News? The company alleges that people at Fox News acted with actual malice and "recklessly disregarded the truth" when they spread this disinformation about Dominion. According to Dominion’s theory of the case, Fox promoted these election conspiracy theories because "the lies were good for Fox’s business."

☆ Anti-abortion group asks Supreme Court to keep mifepristone restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Anti-abortion demonstrators celebrate outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2022. An anti-abortion group on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to keep restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone in place while the battle over the medication's legal status plays out. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily blocked those restrictions until 11:59 p.m. The anti-abortion organization also said the court should consider whether the FDA properly approved mifepristone in 2000 if it takes the case. If the lower court rulings against mifepristone ultimately stand, access to abortion could face restrictions even in some states where the procedure remains legal.

☆ Fox News' settlement with Dominion doesn't mean the risk of embarrassment is over, with Smartmatic saying it 'remains committed' to its own defamation case against the network
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company made the statement following Fox News' $787 million settlement with Dominion on Tuesday. Smartmatic sued Fox News for defamation in 2021 and is seeking $2.7 billion in damages. (In a statement, Fox News acknowledged the false statements and said the settlement reflected its "commitment to the highest journalistic standards.") It also opened the door to adding Fox News' parent company, the Fox Corporation, as a defendant. Before settling with Dominion, Fox News' public relations team said the same thing.

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