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☆ Nashville board reinstates Black lawmaker expelled from Tennessee House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Omar Younis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 10 (Reuters) - A Nashville-area county council on Monday voted to reinstate Representative Justin Jones to the Tennessee House of Representatives, reversing Republican lawmakers who ousted Jones and another young, Black legislator last week for staging a gun control protest on the House floor. The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County voted 36-0 to make Jones, 27, the interim representative. Before the vote, the spokesperson said the House would seat whomever the county legislatures appoint "as the constitution requires." Jones and Pearson, 28, have both said they hoped to be reappointed and that they would run again in special elections. Republicans also targeted Gloria Johnson, who is white, for expulsion, as she joined Jones and Pearson in the floor protest.

☆ Nashville-area board may return lawmaker expelled from Republican-controlled statehouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

April 10 (Reuters) - A Nashville-area county council meeting on Monday may vote to return to the statehouse one of two Democratic Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled from the chamber last week after participating in a gun control protest. Returning Jones would send a pointed message to the Republicans who expelled him. A Memphis-area board of commissioners plans on Wednesday to consider reappointing Pearson on an interim basis to the seat from which he was removed. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Nashville on Friday to support the three Tennessee lawmakers targeted for expulsion. Jones, 27, was elected to Tennessee's House of Representatives last year.

☆ Nashville-area board may return Democratic lawmaker who was expelled from Republican-controlled statehouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrApril 10 (Reuters) - A Nashville-area county council may return to the statehouse one of two Democratic Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled from the chamber last week over a gun control protest when it meets on Monday to fill the vacant seat. On Wednesday, a Memphis-area board of commissioners will consider reappointing Pearson to the seat from which he was removed. Jones and Pearson both said on Sunday they hoped to be reappointed and that they would run again in special elections. Republicans also targeted Johnson but came up one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to oust her. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Nashville on Friday to support the three Tennessee lawmakers targeted for expulsion.

☆ Nashville-area board may send expelled Tennessee lawmaker back to statehouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrApril 10 (Reuters) - A Nashville-area county council may return to the statehouse one of two Democratic Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled from the chamber last week over a gun control protest when it meets on Monday to fill the vacant seat. Returning Jones would send a pointed message to the Republicans who accused him of violating decorum. On Wednesday, a Memphis-area board of commissioners will consider reappointing Pearson to the seat he was removed from. Jones and Pearson both said on Sunday they hoped to be reappointed and that they would run again in special elections. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Nashville on Friday to support the three Tennessee lawmakers targeted for expulsion.

REUTERS/Karen Pulfer FochtApril 9 (Reuters) - Two Tennessee Democrats who were expelled from the Republican-dominated state House of Representatives last week over their participation in a gun control protest said on Sunday that they hoped to soon reclaim their seats. Metro Council Member Kevin Rhoten said on Twitter that he had been bombarded with emails since Thursday asking him to vote to appoint Justin Jones for the District 52 seat, and that he planned to do that. "I would be honored to accept the appointment of the Shelby County Commission and to run in a special election," Pearson told NBC on Sunday. Videos posted to Twitter showed the two Black lawmakers, Representatives Jones and Pearson, shouting through a bullhorn on the House floor, saying "No action, no peace!" Only two other Tennessee state representatives have been expelled by their colleagues since the Civil War era: one in 1980 for soliciting a bribe in exchange for blocking legislation and another in 2016 after being accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women.

Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023. KANSAS: Although Kansans voted in favor of state abortion rights on a ballot measure last year, the Republican-led state Senate has passed a prohibition on prescribing abortion pills via telemedicine. The Republican-led state is currently enforcing a total abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. MONTANA: The Republican-led state Senate has passed a bill seeking to overturn a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that found that the state constitution protected a right to abortion. SOUTH CAROLINA: Despite the fact that the state Supreme Court recently struck down a six-week abortion ban in a 3-2 vote, Republicans have introduced a near-total abortion ban and a six-week ban this year.

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Hundreds of raucous Donald Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters swarmed around a New York courthouse on Tuesday as the former president appeared for his historic arraignment on charges related to hush-money payments. Hours before Trump turned himself in on Tuesday afternoon, crowds of people whistled, shouted and waved placards in support of Trump, who has already announced his candidacy for president in 2024. Separated by barricades from the Trump crowd, counterprotesters appeared to outnumber the Trump supporters. [1/7] Supporters of former President Donald Trump demonstrate outside Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, on the day of Trump's planned court appearance after his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz 1 2 3 4 5"I would like to thank patriotic Trump supporters who are here today," Greene said through a megaphone, eliciting cheers and chants of "U-S-A!"

Separated by barricades from the Trump crowd, counter-protesters celebrated the former president's indictment with signs that said "Lock him up!," a reference to a chant often heard directed at Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton during his successful presidential campaign in 2016. "I would like to thank patriotic Trump supporters who are here today," Greene said through a megaphone in the thick crowd, eliciting a burst of cheers and chants of "U-S-A!" Trump, 76, is set to become the first current or former U.S. president to be charged with a crime. Though the specific charges have yet to be disclosed publicly, Trump has said he is innocent and intends to plead not guilty. Nearby, a handful of Trump supporters stood outnumbered and cheered as a red-hatted Trump impersonator drove past in a limousine, flanked by a pickup truck flying several pro-Trump and anti-Biden flags.

☆ NYC mayor warns Trump supporters ahead of arraignment: 'Be on your best behavior'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jeenah MoonApril 3 (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed Donald Trump supporters directly Monday, saying city authorities would not hesitate to arrest and charge anyone who breaks the law in protest over the former president's upcoming arraignment on state charges. Trump was heading to New York on Monday and was due to surrender to prosecutors in Manhattan on Tuesday. Adams warned Trump supporters against turning to violence on Tuesday, saying the city was "not a playground for ... misplaced anger." While you're in town, be on your best behavior," said the Democratic mayor. The actress has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

Florida currently has a law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is being challenged in court. Republicans in the state House of Representatives and Senate filed concurrent bills last month to restrict the procedure further, starting at six weeks of pregnancy. With Republicans controlling the legislature and governorship in Florida, a six-week ban is likely to become law. The fate of the legislation also depends on how the state supreme court rules in a challenge of the 15-week ban. A six-week ban would restrict abortion access across the U.S. South, where most other states have already banned the procedure at early stages of pregnancy.

The conservative-leaning court will issue rulings this spring in cases questioning the legality of race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. To increase enrollment of all underrepresented groups on campus without race-conscious admissions, the study said, schools would need to overhaul the entire process. The study's authors said it was unlikely that schools would universally adopt class-conscious admissions. Those that do try class-conscious admissions might still face discrimination lawsuits if they start giving explicit preference to low-income students, Carnevale added. Schools would have to invest heavily in expanding their recruitment of high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds for a class-based alternative to produce anywhere near the level of racial diversity accomplished through race-conscious admissions, the study found.

Of the various potential rulings possible in the case involving the abortion pill mifepristone, either of those outcomes would be unprecedented judicial intervention in the agency's regulatory process. Some of the FDA's options could be politically and legally risky both for the agency and mifepristone suppliers, they said. The FDA said the pill was deemed safe after extensive studies and use, and that the challenge comes much too late. Under FDA statutes and regulations, drug approval withdrawal generally begins with an informal hearing, which can entail extensive document preparation and the convening of an advisory committee. Overseas provider Aid Access, an Austria-based service that ships abortion medication to U.S. patients, said it would continue providing the pill no matter how the FDA responds.

☆ Eight dead after two migrant boats capsize near San Diego
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - At least eight people have died after two fishing boats capsized off the coast of San Diego, California, in an apparent migrant smuggling operation, emergency officials said on Sunday. San Diego emergency crews began a search and recovery operation late Saturday night, after receiving a 911 call from a Spanish-speaker about fishing boats in distress off the coast of San Diego's Black's Beach. "This is one of the worst smuggling tragedies that I can think of in California, certainly here in the city of San Diego," Gartland said. The U.S. Coast Guard and the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard division were still involved in the recovery operation late Sunday morning. These have included incidents of migrants swimming, traveling by surfboard or taking panga fishing boats to cross into the U.S., he said.

March 12 (Reuters) - A Texas man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing three women of helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills, in one of the first major legal challenges under a state abortion ban since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Plaintiff Marcus Silva filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Galveston County, Texas, alleging that three Texas women are liable for wrongful death because they helped his ex-wife obtain abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy in July 2022. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, eliminating federal abortion rights, Texas has been one of about a dozen states that has enforced a total abortion ban. It is illegal to "aid or abet" abortions in Texas, which the lawsuit claims defendants Jackie Noyola, Amy Carpenter and Aracely Garcia did. Photos of text messages apparently between Brittni Silva, Noyola and Carpenter, attached as exhibitions in the court documents, show the women discussing Silva's pregnancy and her desire to get abortion pills in Texas.

REUTERS/Octavio JonesMarch 7 (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers in Florida filed bills on Tuesday to outlaw most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a ban that would severely undercut access to the procedure in the U.S. South if passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature. Data from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration showed that the number of out-of-state abortion patients rose 38% in 2022 compared to 2021. He has previously said he would sign an abortion ban as early as six weeks. Abortion rights advocates and Democrats, including White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, spoke out on Tuesday against the new bills, which would ban abortion before many women know they are pregnant. Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Joseph Ax; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Liberal, conservative advance in Wisconsin Supreme Court race with abortion rights at stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, a staunch conservative who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump when he ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2020, took second place, the AP projected. With a Democratic governor, Tony Evers, and a Republican-majority legislature often at loggerheads, the state Supreme Court's 4-3 conservative majority has issued a string of decisions that typically favored Republicans. But a conservative justice is leaving the bench this year, putting the political leaning of the court in question. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit claiming the statute is invalid - a case eventually headed for the state Supreme Court. A new liberal majority could also revisit other statutes, such as laws requiring voter identification, permitting concealed carry of firearms and weakening public sector unions.

☆ U.S. abortion rights groups and law firms launch legal defense network
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Gabriella Borter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Major abortion rights organizations and private law firms have teamed up to provide legal counsel to patients and providers navigating the complicated patchwork of U.S. abortion laws, the groups said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court's June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50-year-old precedent that established federal abortion rights, has resulted in a dozen states banning abortion almost entirely. The group's launch comes a day after 20 Democratic governors announced they had formed an alliance to protect abortion rights and access within their states. Abortion rights supporters have been largely dissatisfied with the Democratic-led administration's response to the elimination of abortion access in large swaths of the country. Abortion providers and those supporting abortion patients can seek counsel through the network, while patients will be referred to a helpline already run by If/When/How, one of the network's advocacy partners.

☆ Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' manslaughter charges downgraded, cutting possible prison time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Prosecutors have downgraded the involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, reducing the possible prison time the Hollywood star may face for the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the movie "Rust," charging documents showed. Carmack-Altwies filed altered charges for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed on Friday, removing the firearm enhancement and reducing their possible prison sentence from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 18 months. “We applaud the decision of the district attorney to dismiss the firearm enhancement and it was the right call, ethically, and on the merits," said Jason Bowles, an attorney for Gutierrez-Reed. In 2022, the criteria for applying the firearm enhancement -with the 5-year minimum prison sentence - was expanded to include when a weapon was simply "discharged" in the commission of a noncapital felony. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are both expected to make an initial court appearance in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Feb. 24.

☆ Alligator captured in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Lake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Members of the Parks Enforcement Patrol and Urban Park Rangers capture an alligator from a lake in Prospect Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., February 19, 2023. Courtesy of NYC Parks/Handout via REUTERSFeb 20 (Reuters) - New York City park staff stumbled across a sickly alligator in Brooklyn's Prospect Park this weekend, the Parks Department said, and rangers captured the lost reptile and brought it to the Bronx Zoo for care. Park maintenance staff found the alligator in Prospect Park Lake on Sunday morning, in the heart of the concrete jungle, and noted that it appeared lethargic and in a state of cold shock. The New York City Parks department issued a public warning against releasing non-native animals into the city's environment, which is illegal. New York City Urban Park Rangers respond to about 500 calls regarding animals in poor condition each year.

☆ Actor Tom Sizemore of 'Saving Private Ryan' hospitalized from brain aneurysm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Tom Sizemore, an American actor known for his roles in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down," has been hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a brain aneurysm early Saturday morning and is in critical condition, his manager said. "He is currently in critical condition and it’s a wait and see situation," the 61-year-old actor's manager, Charles Lago, wrote in an email. Sizemore has struggled with drug addiction for nearly as long as his career and has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. The actor has been arrested for driving under the influence and drug possession multiple times in recent years. Reporting by Gabriella Borter Editing by Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Most Americans think college admissions should not consider race -Reuters/Ipsos poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Gabriella Borter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sixty-seven percent of white respondents said they were against considering race at all in admissions, compared with 52% of minority respondents. In the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 46% of respondents said social policies such as affirmative action discriminated unfairly against white people. That view was held by 49% of white respondents and 39% of minority respondents. While most poll respondents said they did not think college admissions offices should consider race at all, 58% of all respondents said they supported programs aimed at increasing racial diversity of students on college campuses. Respondents also were asked how significantly other factors ought to play into college admissions.

☆ Factbox: Abortion battles in U.S. state capitols to watch in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Gabriella Borter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KANSAS: Although Kansans voted in favor of state abortion rights on a ballot measure last year, Republican lawmakers have proposed measures including a near-total ban on abortion and prohibitions on prescribing abortion pills over telemedicine. MONTANA: Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill seeking to overturn a 1999 state supreme court ruling, which found that the state constitution protected a right to abortion. SOUTH CAROLINA: Despite the fact that the state supreme court recently struck down a six-week abortion ban in a 3-2 vote, Republicans have introduced a near-total abortion ban and a 6-week ban this year. The success of that legislation may depend on the outcome of the state's appeal of the supreme court decision. PROTECTIONSMICHIGAN: Abortion rights advocates scored big wins in Michigan in the November 2022 election, securing a Democratic majority in the legislature and enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.

REUTERS/Alyssa PointerFeb 1 (Reuters) - As soon as next week, the Memphis City Council will consider a raft of reforms aimed at curtailing police violence after the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by five officers following a traffic stop. But after Nichols' beating and subsequent death made Memphis the latest emblem of police brutality against Black Americans, city leaders are facing more pressure than ever to shore up police accountability and hiring standards. "We cannot allow this moment to pass us by when activism coupled with concern from the community is at its peak," Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr. said. Memphis activist LJ Abraham said she hopes Nichols’ case will persuade the council to take demands for bolder reforms more seriously. In recent years, city leaders have sought to boost the department's officer ranks, which dwindled as violent crime spiked.

☆ Suspect in Half Moon Bay shooting rampage appears in California court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] A suspect is arrested by law enforcement personnel after a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay, California, U.S. January 23, 2023 in a still image from video. The hearing was held at the San Mateo County Superior Court in nearby Redwood City, California. The complaint against Zhao also alleged "special circumstances" accusing Zhao of "personally and intentionally" shooting to kill. IMMIGRANT VICTIMSHalf Moon Bay, a community of about 12,000 residents south of San Francisco, is home to both a luxury resort and a low-income farming community. Two days before the Half Moon Bay killings, another gunman 380 miles to the south opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a club frequented mostly by older patrons of Asian descent in Monterey Park.

[1/5] Police officers detain a man, believed by law enforcement to be the Half Moon Bay mass shooting suspect, in Half Moon Bay, California, U.S., January 23, 2023, in this screengrab taken from a social media video. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was visiting wounded survivors from Saturday night's massacre in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park when he was informed of Monday's killings in northern California. A semi-automatic handgun was found in his car, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus told an evening news conference. It ranked as the deadliest mass shooting ever in Los Angeles County, according to Hilda Solis, a member of the county Board of Supervisors. Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said investigators were looking into unconfirmed reports that the violence may have been precipitated by jealousy or relationship issues.

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