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☆ South Carolina advances 6-week abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The measure, which passed mostly along party lines with a vote of 82 to 33, is a heavily amended version of a ban that the state Senate passed in February. It failed then because House Republicans wanted to instead push through a near-total abortion ban, which five women in the state Senate banded together to block. A similar six-week ban passed last year was ruled unconstitutional by the South Carolina Supreme Court in January. South Carolina is one of several U.S. states where Republican lawmakers are considering aggressive abortion restrictions this week over strong Democratic opposition. Some of the state senators who supported it originally have expressed opposition to the House version, leaving its fate uncertain.

☆ North Carolina lawmakers to vote on overriding veto of 12-week abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The legislature in early May passed the measure, which would cut the window for most abortions in the state back from 20 weeks. "If just one Republican keeps that promise made to the people, then we can stop this ban," Cooper said. The bill whizzed through the legislature with a party-line vote in fewer than 48 hours, passing the Senate 29-20 and the House 71-46. That would make it more difficult for women from out-of-state to obtain an abortion in North Carolina. Near-total abortion bans have taken effect in 14 states since the U.S. Supreme Court revoked federal abortion rights in June 2022, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group.

☆ Lawmakers in three states consider abortion bans at 12 weeks or less
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In North Carolina, the Republican-controlled state Senate voted to override Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto of a bill banning most abortions after 12 weeks. The state House was expected to override the veto later on Tuesday evening. Near-total abortion bans have taken effect in 14 states since the Supreme Court ruling, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group. The bill under consideration by the state House on Tuesday was a heavily amended version of that measure. Democratic lawmakers last week filed 1,000 amendments to the House version, ensuring that debate would last for dozens of hours, since lawmakers may speak for six minutes for and against each amendment.

☆ North Carolina governor vetoes 12-week abortion ban, override likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At a rally in Raleigh, the state capital, Cooper signed paperwork to veto the bill as a crowd chanted "veto." "This bill has nothing to do with making women safer and everything to do with banning abortion," Cooper said, calling on Republicans to reconsider their stance. Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the anti-abortion group North Carolina Values Coalition, criticized Cooper for vetoing the bill and for holding his rally the day before Mother's Day. That would make it more difficult for out-of-state abortion seekers to obtain the service in North Carolina. Near-total abortion bans have taken effect in 14 states since the U.S. Supreme Court revoked federal abortion rights in June 2022, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group.

☆ New York City choking death revives debate over subway crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The overall subway crime rate spiked in April 2020, as COVID-19 gripped New York, but city statistics show the daily rate fell back to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021. Robbery and grand larceny, the other most common types of major subway crime, dropped during the same period. But the data does not show how often the assailants or victims are homeless, according to Herrmann. "The problem is people are conflating homelessness with crime," said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director at Riders Alliance, a grassroots organization that advocates for city subway reform. Republican Lee Zeldin highlighted grisly city subway crimes in last year's gubernatorial election, prompting Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul to also focus on anti-crime policies in her campaign.

☆ New Yorkers to protest chokehold killing on subway, demand criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The examiner's homicide finding alone does not imply intent or culpability, which are issues that prosecutors will consider in deciding whether to bring criminal charges. The 24-year-old former Marine, who was white, was questioned by police and released on Monday, local media said. A video of the incident that has circulated on social media showed an unidentified passenger applying a chokehold to a man identified as Neely on the floor of a subway train for more than three minutes. Democratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes neighborhoods in the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, said Neely was murdered and called for his killer's arrest. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Julia Harte in New York Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Tim Moore listens on the floor of the state Senate to debate over the bill limiting most abortions to the first trimester of pregnancy, a sharp drop from the state’s current limit of 20 weeks gestation, at the State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeMay 4 (Reuters) - North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature on Thursday passed a bill limiting most abortions to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a sharp drop from the state's current limit of 20 weeks' gestation. The state Senate approved the bill 29-20 along party lines, a day after the state House of Representatives passed it in a similar party-line vote. The measure now heads to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, who has vowed to veto it. Reporting by Julia Harte Editing by Colleen JenkinsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Carolina House passes 12-week abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

If the state Senate passes the bill on Thursday as expected, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper will almost certainly veto it. Under the North Carolina proposal, elective abortions after the first trimester would be banned except in instances of rape, incest, life-limiting fetal anomalies and medical emergencies. Key to the North Carolina House Republicans' veto-proof majority is former Democratic state Representative Tricia Cotham, who in April changed her party affiliation to Republican. Abortions in North Carolina rose by 37%, more than any other state, in the first two months after the Supreme Court revoked federal abortion rights in June 2022, according to a study by the Society of Family Planning, a nonprofit organization that promotes abortion rights and research. In the six months after the ruling, there were 3,978 monthly abortions on average in North Carolina, up 788 from the average in the two months beforehand, the society said.

☆ ACLU sues Montana House Speaker for silencing transgender legislator
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 1 (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Montana and its Republican House Speaker on Monday, accusing them of violating a Democratic transgender legislator's First Amendment rights by barring her from the House floor after she protested a bill banning gender-affirming healthcare for minors. Montana House Speaker Matt Regier did not immediately respond to requests for comment. After the Republican supermajority in the legislature silenced Zephyr within the chamber until she apologized for her April 18 comments, her supporters protested at the statehouse on April 24. A Republican supermajority in the Tennessee statehouse earlier this month expelled two Democratic lawmakers who had protested in support of gun control, drawing national attention. Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Donna Bryson and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Four killed, multiple injuries in Alabama shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Law enforcement officers walk through the crime scene, a day after a shooting at a teenager's birthday party in a dance studio, in Dadeville, Alabama, U.S., April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney OrrApril 16 (Reuters) - Four people were killed and multiple others injured in a shooting on Saturday night that was tied to a birthday party in the small town of Dadeville, Alabama, the state law enforcement agency said at a news conference on Sunday morning. The state agency declined to answer questions or provide further detail during the news conference. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a Twitter post on Sunday morning that she was staying "closely updated" by law enforcement as details emerged. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter.

April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. telehealth abortion providers scrambled on Thursday to keep their services available after a federal appeals court ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone could be distributed amid ongoing litigation but with significant restrictions. Mifepristone is used with another drug called misoprostol to perform medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions. Jayaram Brindala, founder of Abortion Telemedicine, said the provider would "no longer be able to send the mifepristone medication by mail anywhere." Brindala added the company would still send the misoprostol-only regimen to states that allow it. Other telehealth practices that provide abortion medication said they were waiting to see what happens next in court before announcing any changes in policy.

[1/2] Police deploy at the scene of a mass shooting outside an Old National Bank branch near Slugger Field baseball stadium in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. April, 10, 2023. Police identified the shooter in Louisville as Connor Sturgeon, who was employed at the Old National Bank's downtown branch at the time of the shooting. Monday's shooting brought the number of people killed by gun violence in Louisville to 40 in 2023 so far, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in his remarks at the vigil. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. While mass shootings have become commonplace in the U.S., the shooting stunned the Tennessee city and the country.

☆ Louisville to hold vigil as family says shooter had mental health issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Louisville will hold a vigil on Wednesday for those who were killed and wounded in this week's shooting at a downtown bank by an employee who his family said suffered from mental health issues they had been "actively addressing" before his rampage. In a statement released to a TV station in the Kentucky city, the family said there were "never any warning signs or indications he was capable" of carrying out a mass shooting. The station, Fox-affiliated WDRB, provided the statement on its website after receiving it from an attorney for the family on Tuesday evening. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. Police identified the shooter in Louisville as Connor Sturgeon, who was employed at the Old National Bank's downtown branch at the time of the shooting.

The body camera footage opens with an image of the console of the police cruiser as it pulls up to the downtown building. The steering wheel veers wildly from side to side as rookie officer Nickolas Wilt drives the car and his partner, Cory Galloway, shouts directions off camera. After more gunfire, Galloway - who is himself injured - hits the gunman, 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, from his position out on the steps. "Suspect down," Galloway shouts as he walks into the building. "What you saw on that video was absolutely amazing," Humphrey said after displaying the body camera video from both officers as well as a bystander.

☆ Louisville shooter legally purchased rifle -police
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Community members attend a vigil at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church following a mass shooting at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. April, 10, 2023. REUTERS/Jeffrey DeanApril 11 (Reuters) - The 23-year-old bank employee who shot dead five colleagues and wounded nine other people at his workplace in Louisville on Monday legally purchased the rifle, Louisville Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday. Louisville police responded within minutes to reports of an attacker on Monday morning at the bank office near Slugger Field baseball stadium. Sturgeon grew up in southern Indiana, just north of Louisville, according to his mother's Facebook page. Those statistics use the definition of four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter - according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

☆ Five dead after shooting attack in downtown Louisville
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Louisville Metro Police deploy for an "active police situation" that includes mass casualties near Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. April 10, 2023. Michael Clevenger/USA Today Network via REUTERSApril 10 (Reuters) - Five people were dead and six others were wounded after a shooting attack on Monday at a bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, the city's police department said. A short while after confirming the attack, police said the shooter was dead, without giving further details. "We do not know exactly the circumstance of his death at this time," Paul Humphrey, a Louisville Metro Police Department deputy chief, told reporters. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he was headed to Louisville in response to the shooting.

[1/2] People exit the building after a vote on to expel two of three Democratic members for their role in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., April 6, 2023. On Thursday, the Tennessee House of Representatives' Republican supermajority voted to remove Democratic Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two young Black legislators, over demonstrations pushing for stricter gun laws. On Thursday, President Joe Biden decried the expulsions of the state lawmakers on Twitter, calling them "shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent." The White House, which announced the trip, did not provide other details about the meeting, scheduled for Friday evening. Nearly 50 organizations, led by the gun safety advocacy group the Newtown Action Alliance, called for nationwide student walkouts in solidarity with those in Tennessee.

[1/2] A sign urging voters to reject a state constitutional amendment declaring there is no right to abortion is seen during the primary election and abortion referendum at a Wyandotte County polling station in Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. August 2, 2022. Opponents say the bill undermines the will of Kansas voters who in an August statewide referendum rejected by nearly 60% a state constitutional amendment that would have declared there was no right to abortion. A similar bill failed in Kansas in 2019 after its Republican supporters narrowly failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to overcome Kelly's veto in the state House. The Kansas legislature earlier this week approved a bill creating new punishments for doctors accused of not providing sufficient care to infants that are delivered alive during an abortion. The bill has veto-proof majorities in both houses, but it could still be challenged and overturned in court.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy said: "The defendant Donald J. Trump falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws." SOCIAL MEDIA POSTSProsecutors during the arraignment said Trump made a series of social media posts, including one threatening "death and destruction" if he was charged. "They can't beat us at the ballot box so they try to beat us through the law," Trump said. The false records included invoices from Cohen, entries in a ledger for Trump maintained by the Trump Organization, and check stubs, according to the indictment. "Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime.

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.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social profile shortly after arriving in New York from Florida on Monday, urging supporters to donate to his campaign. The arraignment, where Trump will be in court to hear charges and have a chance to enter a plea, was planned for 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) on Tuesday. Citing a single source briefed on Tuesday's arraignment procedures, Yahoo said none of the charges against Trump were misdemeanors. PROTESTS AND POPULARITYPolice over the weekend began erecting barricades near Trump Tower - where Trump arrived on Monday after flying in from Florida - and the Manhattan Criminal Court building, with demonstrations expected at both sites on Tuesday. On the Manhattan case, Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels.

☆ Stormy Daniels: Woman at center of Trump indictment is porn star-turned-ghostbuster
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, arrives at ABC studios to appear on The View talk show in New York City, New York, U.S. April 17, 2018. A Trump fundraising group sent an email asking supporters for more contributions after his indictment. After he announced his impending arrest, searches for Daniels on the website Pornhub jumped 21,655%, according to the site's research and analysis branch. And my mom was a trainwreck, and my clothes didn't fit, and I was poor and I smelled," Daniels told Vice News in 2021. Daniels has said she received the hush money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

☆ Gun injuries sending more Americans, especially kids, to emergency rooms -study
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Emergency rooms in the U.S. saw a significant rise in the number of patients with gun injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Thursday. Of all age groups, those between 0–14 years experienced the largest increase in the proportion of gun injury emergency room visits, the study said. About 40 children and young adolescents with gun injuries visited U.S. emergency rooms each week on average in 2022, up from 2019's weekly average of about 29. Researchers who study gun violence in American schools have long warned that the stresses and challenges of the pandemic are worsening the problem. The number of patients admitted for firearm injuries began rising in March 2020 and spiked two months later, even as the total number of emergency room visits plummeted, according to the data.

[1/2] A vehicle is towed from the property as community members pray while visiting a memorial at the school entrance after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 29, 2023. Security experts said the Covenant School apparently had good safety protocols. It was a grim reminder that any campus could be the target of gun violence, spurring educators around the country to review security protocols and try to reassure parents. Protective measures notwithstanding, Corcoran said the Covenant School shooting exposed how deadly such attacks can be even when school leaders "did everything right." It is not clear that hardening school security always works.

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