September 30, 2021

The Justice Department will argue against Texas' abortion law Friday. Here's what you need to know.

by Reese Oxner, Texas Tribune


Texas’ near-total ban on abortions became law Sept. 1 and quickly became the target of several lawsuits aiming to stop its enforcement.

But as those legal battles continue — with one case the subject of a federal court hearing Friday — Senate Bill 8 still stands.

Abortion providers, doctors, women’s rights groups and even the U.S. government are battling to overturn the law, which bans the procedure after approximately six weeks of pregnancy — before many know they’re pregnant. The nation’s highest court has taken up the law once — though it didn’t weigh in on its constitutionality — and multiple lawsuits are pending. A federal lawsuit filed by the Biden administration will hold a hearing Friday in a U.S. District Court.

Abortion remains a constitutional right under Supreme Court precedent. But the structure of SB 8 allows it to skirt precedent by offloading the enforcement of the statute from government and law officials to private citizens.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/30/texas-abortion-law-legal-challenges/

September 30, 2021

Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic

Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic majority districts

by Cassandra Pollock and Carla Astudillo, Texas Tribune


Texas House members on Thursday released its first proposal for a new map redrawing the chamber's 150-member districts. The initial draft would both increase Republicans' strength across the state and the number of districts in which white residents make up a majority of eligible voters.

House Bill 1, authored by Corpus Christi Rep. Todd Hunter, the GOP chair of the House Redistricting Committee, is just the first draft, and it will likely change as it makes its way through the legislative process before it’s signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. The House committee will hold a public hearing 9 a.m. Monday to discuss this first version of the chamber's map.

The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data. Those numbers, released earlier this year, showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade.

The new map though would create fewer districts where Black and Hispanic people make up a majority of eligible voters. Black and Hispanic Texans make up two racial groups that along with Asian Texans outpaced the growth of white residents in the state over the last decade.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/30/texas-house-redistricting-map/

September 30, 2021

Sarkozy convicted by French court in campaign financing case

Source: AP

PARIS (AP) — French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was convicted Thursday and sentenced to a year of house arrest for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid, will appeal the ruling, his lawyer said.

The court said Sarkozy would be allowed to serve the one-year sentence at home by wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, noted that the sentence corresponds to the maximum his client faced. He said he had spoken with Sarkozy, who had asked him to appeal.

“The verdict won’t be enforceable” pending appeal, he added.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/europe-france-elections-trials-campaigns-aa6fc25ed310108a29b77bc5175a6de6

September 30, 2021

Congress moves to avert partial government shutdown

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another with the Senate poised to approve legislation that would fund the federal government into early December.

The House is expected to approve the measure following the Senate vote Thursday, preventing a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Friday.

Democrats were forced to remove a suspension of the federal government’s borrowing limit from the bill at the insistence of Republicans. If the debt limit isn’t raised by Oct. 18, the country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession, says Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Republicans say Democrats have the votes to raise the debt ceiling on their own, and Republican leader Mitch McConnell is insisting that they do so.

But the most immediate priority facing Congress is to keep the government running once the current fiscal year ends at midnight Thursday. The bill’s expected approval will buy lawmakers more time to craft the spending bills that will fund federal agencies and the programs they administer.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-bills-mitch-mcconnell-janet-yellen-financial-crisis-8f5b5b0c6c4cb12af8316ffc0b098771

September 30, 2021

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, lava fountains form in park

Source: AP

HONOLULU (AP) — One of the most active volcanos on Earth is erupting on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed Wednesday that an eruption has begun in Kilauea volcano’s Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit.

Webcam footage of the crater showed lava fountains covering the floor of the crater and billowing clouds of volcanic gas were rising into the air. The same area has been home to a large lava lake at various times throughout the volcano’s eruptive past.

The eruption is not in an area with homes and is entirely contained within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/environment-and-nature-hawaii-kilauea-volcanoes-hawaii-volcanoes-national-park-21deaf9cafc50adf7b6fadccfd18b6f1

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This webcam image provided by the United States Geological Survey shows a view of an eruption that has begun in the Halemaumau crater at the summit of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (USGS via AP)

September 30, 2021

Judge denies Josh Duggar bid to dismiss child porn charges

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A federal judge has denied motions seeking to dismiss child pornography charges against former reality TV star Josh Duggar.

U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks on Monday also denied motions to suppress all statements Duggar made to investigators and photos that were taken of Duggar after he was in custody, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Duggar, who appeared in TLC's “19 Kids and Counting,” was charged in April with two counts of downloading and possessing child pornography.

He is accused of using the internet in May 2019 to download and possess the material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children younger than 12, according to court documents.

Duggar has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each count if convicted.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/judge-denies-josh-duggar-bid-dismiss-child-porn-80309573

September 30, 2021

No charges filed in shooting near Washington state college

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Prosecutors have declined to file criminal charges against man suspected of shooting and killing his roommate and wounding a Washington State University football player outside a house party in Pullman early Saturday.

Whitman County Prosecutor Dan LeBeau said the investigation in to George Harris III’s claim of self defense is ongoing and charges could be filed later, The Spokesman-Review reported.

Harris, 23, was released from jail Wednesday after the 72-hour window to file charges lapsed.

As police responded to a noise complaint about the party near the WSU campus officers heard gunshots nearby and found Liban Barre and WSU football player Brandon Gray with gunshot wounds.

Read more: https://www.idahopress.com/news/state/no-charges-filed-in-shooting-near-washington-state-college/article_4a3ccd90-c418-5edd-8493-f42a50b31573.html

September 30, 2021

Ted Cruz Wants to Free Britney, Bill Cosby Wants to Free R. Kelly & NBA Cracking Down on Vaccines

September 30, 2021

Former Idaho legislator was returning from Central America when arrested in Georgia

Former Idaho legislator Aaron von Ehlinger had been in Central America since May and was in the process of returning to Idaho when he was arrested in Georgia over the weekend, his attorney said Wednesday.

After hearing of the two felony charges he faces — rape, and sexual penetration with a foreign object, both filed more than two weeks ago — von Ehlinger contacted Boise attorney Jon Cox. Von Ehlinger was out of the country on a previously planned vacation, as well as a potential business interest, according to Cox.

The former legislator planned to turn himself in and contest the charges, Cox said.

Von Ehlinger, who lives in the Lewiston area, planned to arrive in Spokane last Friday on his way home, but had a “hiccup” in his travels and missed a connecting flight to Houston, Cox said. He ended up flying to Atlanta on Saturday instead.

Read more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article254614317.html

September 30, 2021

Jane Doe, accuser of Idaho lawmaker, sets stage for civil suit against Legislature

The former legislative intern who accused a Republican state representative of sexually assaulting her and testified at his Idaho House ethics hearing has taken the first step in civil litigation.

On Sept. 3, attorney Erika Birch filed a tort claim with the state on behalf of the 19-year-old woman, identified as Jane Doe.

Idaho Reports obtained a copy of the claim through the Secretary of State’s Office. Idaho Reports does not publicly identify victims or accusers of sexual assault; nor does the Idaho Statesman.

The tort claim comes six months after Jane Doe accused former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, of sexually assaulting her in Boise. Jane Doe reported the assault and Von Ehlinger was called before the House Ethics Committee for a public hearing, where Jane Doe testified in April.

Jane Doe worked as a page at the Idaho Capitol in the 2020 legislative session and an intern in 2021.

Read more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/article254144248.html