The State-by-State Battle Over Abortion in the US
In overturning Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court didn’t so much address America’s long-running fight over abortion as spread it to statehouses across the country. The court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization repealed constitutional protections for abortions that had been in place since 1973. That gave conservative governors and legislatures the power they had long sought to limit the medical procedure in their states, in some cases severely. Advocates on both side
washingtonpost.comUnderstanding the Showdown Over Race in US College Admissions
For almost as long as affirmative action policies have been used in college admissions, there have been legal battles over whether they should be allowed. The US Supreme Court has weighed in time and again, pushing along the evolution of how race plays into school acceptances. Now, more than 40 years after first considering the matter, the court is hearing cases that could mean the end altogether of racial considerations in shaping a student body.
washingtonpost.comThe Coming Showdown Over Race in U.S. College Admissions
For almost as long as affirmative action policies have been used in college admissions, there have been legal battles over whether they should be allowed. The US Supreme Court has weighed in time and again, pushing along the evolution of how race plays into school acceptances. Now, more than 40 years after first considering the matter, the court is hearing cases that could mean the end altogether of racial considerations in shaping a student body.
washingtonpost.comTwitter, Musk and Why Online Speech Gets Moderated
When the World Wide Web opened for public use in 1991, its enthusiasts proclaimed a new era of unfiltered free expression. That was before the internet in general, and social media platforms in particular, proved to be such effective places to spread misinformation about important matters such as Covid-19 and vaccines, disinformation (intentional falsehoods) about politics and elections, plus all manner of conspiracy theories and hate speech. Social media platforms have faced enormous scrutiny o
washingtonpost.comJustice Clarence Thomas once opposed Highland Park's assault weapons ban, saying that the 'overwhelming majority' of those with the rifles use them lawfully
Thomas called the city's ban "highly suspect because it broadly prohibits common semiautomatic firearms used for lawful purposes."
news.yahoo.comMichigan governor, AG, SOS seek disbarment of attorneys accused of pushing election fraud claims
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s top three elected officials are asking for the disbarment of four attorneys who they say pushed a false narrative of widespread election fraud in legal proceedings before multiple judges and courts including the nation’s highest judicial body, the US Supreme Court. The lawsuit, King v. Whitmer, went before the US Supreme Court and is being deemed frivolous by the three. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office on Thursday filed motions for sanctions in federal court against the same four lawyers, Michigan attorneys Greg Rohl, Scott Hagerstrom and Stefanie Junttila, along with Texas attorney Sidney Powell. AdRead: Michigan AG officially requests sanctions against attorneys behind 2020 election lawsuitsOn Monday, Nessel joined with Gov. AdRead More: Michigan leaders move for sanctions against GOP attorneys in Trump election lawsuits
Biden names Judge Merrick Garland as Attorney General after Obama-era Supreme Court snub
Attorney General nominee Judge Merrick Garland speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. During a live event on Jan. 7, Biden called the pro-Trump rioters’ invasion of the U.S. Capitol “an assault on the rule of law” just before formally nominating Judge Merrick Garland as Attorney General. More: Biden blames Trump for violence at Capitol that’s shaken USA federal appeals court judge serving since 1997, Garland is widely known for his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2016. Biden also nominated Thursday Lisa Monaco as Deputy Attorney General, Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney General and Kristen Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. In solemn tones, Biden said the actions Trump has taken to subvert the nation’s democratic institutions throughout his presidency led directly to the mayhem in Washington.
Metro Detroit officials preparing plans to challenge 2020 Census results
DETROIT – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Rep. Rashida Tlaib announced Wednesday they’re preparing to challenge the result of the 2020 Census. City and state officials argued that more time was needed to count due to the hurdles posed by COVID-19. The city of Detroit is in a lawsuit against the federal government to prove it counted Detroit properly. It is basically preemptively challenging the Census Bureau into proving Detroit was properly counted and thereby forcing congressional oversight over the Bureau. Click here to learn more about the U.S. CensusClick here to see more national and state census response data
Amy Coney Barrett sworn in as Supreme Court justice replacing liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg
WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court before Election Day, handing President Donald Trump a political victory. She was confirmed to the Supreme Court with a 52-48 vote on Monday night. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox also released a statement regarding the Senate confirmation of Barrett. “President Trump promised Americans that he would appoint rule of law justices to the Supreme Court, who would protect and defend our constitution. Tonight’s confirmation of his nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, is a fulfillment of this promise.
Abrupt census deadline may cost Michigan $300 million in federal funding, Congressional seats
The deadline to complete the 2020 Census has been shifting back and forth due to the coronavirus pandemic and numerous court rulings. Each Michigan resident counted in the census accounts for $3,000 in federal funding provided to the state. However, federal funding for states are based on the entire state’s census response rate, not just the response from individual communities. States are essentially competing against one another for federal funding associated with the census. The 2020 Census is a 9-question survey designed to count the population across the country and five U.S. territories.
GOP seeks to call off Senate work, but not Barrett hearings
WASHINGTON – The coroniavirus reached further into Republican ranks on Saturday, forcing the Senate to call off lawmaking as a third GOP senator tested positive for COVID-19. “The Senate’s floor schedule will not interrupt the thorough, fair and historically supported confirmation process,” McConnell wrote Saturday. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who like McConnell is running for reelection, added that senators can attend the hearings remotely. Republicans in the Senate who had attended GOP events began announcing that they too had tested positive. The news about Covid's march into the White House didn't let up and wasn't flattering after months of complaints that Republicans weren't approaching the pandemic in a serious or organized way.
Barrett opposed ‘abortion on demand,’ raising doubts on Roe
President Donald Trump has nominated Barrett to take the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an abortion rights supporter who died last month. White House spokesperson Judd Deere said Barrett already has distinguished her personal views from her responsibility as a judge. “As Judge Barrett said on the day she was nominated, ‘A judge must apply the law as written. In July, the Supreme Court did, in fact, throw out the panel’s ruling and ordered a new look at the case. Last year, the Supreme Court reinstated the fetal remains law, but not the ban on abortions for race, sex and developmental disabilities.
Joe Biden: Vacancy about health law, not court expansion
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden gives a speech on the Supreme Court at The Queen Theater, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wants voters to see Republicans’ push for a speedy Supreme Court confirmation as an end-run of Congress and the 2010 health care law. “She's gonna be a great justice” who will “rule (based on) the law,” Trump said of Barrett. Justices are scheduled on Nov. 10, a week after Election Day, to hear another challenge of the 2010 health care law. “Prior to going on the bench, she publicly criticized Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion upholding the law,” Biden noted.
Joe Biden delivers remarks following Trump’s Supreme Court nomination
– Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden delivered remarks Sunday on the U.S. Supreme Court following President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Justice Ginsburg, a liberal icon. Supreme Court decisions affect our everyday lives, and the Constitution was designed to give voters a voice on who makes those decisions. A judge on the federal appeals court based in Chicago, Barrett and her ideologies significantly contrast those of the late Justice Ginsburg. President Trump and former Vice President Biden are slated to debate on Tuesday night in Ohio.
Planned Parenthood opens massive Illinois clinic
Planned Parenthood's Anita Murphy works in the new Illinois facility ahead of its mid-October opening. (CNN) - As Missouri teeters on the brink of becoming the first state with no abortion clinics, a new Planned Parenthood center just across the Illinois border could help take patients who can't get abortions back home. Planned Parenthood said it is opening a new 18,000-square-foot health center in Fairview Heights, Illinois -- just 15 miles from Missouri. "We are thrilled to be able to better serve our patients through this new center, both in Southern Illinois and around the region," said Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. It could see an influx of patients from Missouri, which this year passed a law that bans most abortions after eight weeks.