Some 2024 GOP hopefuls call for ‘compassion’ in Texas abortion case but don’t say law should change

Some 2024 GOP hopefuls call for ‘compassion’ in Texas abortion case but don’t say law should change

WASHINGTON — Some of the Republicans seeking their party’s 2024 presidential nomination have said the case of a Texas woman whose health deteriorated as she unsuccessfully sought an abortion should be handled with “compassion,” but they did not criticize the state’s law. It’s the latest indication that the candidates see the politics surrounding abortion as … Read more

Florida mother fears her family will be devastated as trial on trans health care ban begins

Florida mother fears her family will be devastated as trial on trans health care ban begins

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The mother of a transgender girl sobbed in federal court Wednesday as she contemplated having to move away from her Navy officer husband to get health care for her 12-year-old if Florida’s ban on gender dysphoria treatments for minors is allowed to take affect. The woman, who testified as Jane Doe to … Read more

Rishi Sunak faces a revolt in the UK Parliament over his Rwanda plan after a grilling on COVID-19

Rishi Sunak faces a revolt in the UK Parliament over his Rwanda plan after a grilling on COVID-19

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced a rebellion from restive lawmakers over his signature immigration policy, while fending off tough questions Monday about his judgment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The twin pressures add up to one of the toughest weeks of Sunak’s 13 months in office, with both his present authority and past … Read more

Bank CEOs show support for SSI reform bill

Bank CEOs show support for SSI reform bill

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images Current SSI asset limits ‘lock people in poverty’ Current SSI asset limits are extremely low — $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 per couple. Those thresholds apply to all kinds of assets, including cash, bank accounts, investments and household goods. Beneficiaries who go over the limits are suspended or … Read more

Wisconsin judge reaffirms July ruling that state law permits consensual abortions

Wisconsin judge reaffirms July ruling that state law permits consensual abortions

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday reaffirmed her ruling from earlier this year that state law permits consensual medical abortions, handing abortion rights advocates a massive victory but opening up appellate options for conservatives. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, in June … Read more

Publishing industry heavy-hitters sue Iowa over state’s new school book-banning law

Wisconsin judge reaffirms July ruling that state law permits consensual abortions

The nation’s largest publisher and several bestselling authors, including novelists John Green and Jodi Picoult, are part of a lawsuit filed Thursday challenging Iowa’s new law that bans public school libraries and classrooms from having practically any book that depicts sexual activity. The lawsuit is the second in the past week to challenge the law, … Read more

Judge cites handwritten will and awards real estate to Aretha Franklin’s sons

Judge cites handwritten will and awards real estate to Aretha Franklin’s sons

DETROIT — A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin awarded real estate to the late star’s sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions. The decision Monday came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite scribbles and many hard-to-read … Read more

Ohio voters just passed abortion protections. Whether they take effect is now up to the courts

Ohio voters just passed abortion protections. Whether they take effect is now up to the courts

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s new constitutional projections for abortion access and other reproductive rights are supposed to take effect Dec. 7, a month after voters resoundingly passed them. That prospect seems increasingly uncertain. Existing abortion-related lawsuits are moving again through the courts now that voters have decided the issue, raising questions about how and when … Read more

Accuser sues Bill Cosby for alleged abuse dating to 1980s under expiring New York survivors law

Accuser sues Bill Cosby for alleged abuse dating to 1980s under expiring New York survivors law

NEW YORK — A woman who worked as a stand-in at “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s said in a lawsuit Tuesday that Bill Cosby drugged and sexually abused her after offering to mentor her in her acting career. It is the latest in a string of lawsuits filed against Cosby under New York’s expiring … Read more

Physicians, clinic ask judge to block enforcement of part of a North Dakota abortion law

Physicians, clinic ask judge to block enforcement of part of a North Dakota abortion law

BISMARCK, N.D. — Physicians and the former, sole abortion provider in North Dakota on Tuesday asked a judge to block enforcement of part of a revised law that bans most abortions, saying a provision that allows the procedure to protect a woman’s health is too vague. North Dakota outlaws all abortions, except in cases where … Read more