“The Supreme Court on Wednesday signaled it is on the verge of a major shift in its abortion jurisprudence, and is likely to uphold a Mississippi law that mostly prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Whether that would mean overruling Roe v. Wade’s finding that women have a fundamental right to end their pregnancies was unclear. But none of the six conservatives who make up the court’s majority expressed support for maintaining its rule that states may not prohibit abortion before the point of fetal viability, which is generally estimated to be between 22 and 24 weeks.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., often the most moderate of the conservatives, said Mississippi’s limit of 15 weeks was not a ‘dramatic departure’ from viability, and gave women enough time to make the choice to end their pregnancies.
The court’s liberal justices said the institution’s reputation would be irreparably damaged if nearly a half-century of its abortion jurisprudence was dismantled because of a change in membership.
But the nearly two-hour argument seemed to indicate that is exactly what would happen, with the three nominees of President Donald Trump — Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — key to the court’s decision expected to come several months from now.
See all updates from today’s arguments
Oral arguments can be misleading at times, with justices playing devil’s advocate in their questioning. But Kavanaugh in particular gave abortion rights supporters little to cheer in his comments and questions.
He presented a list of cases in which the Supreme Court had overturned long-held precedents, and said perhaps the best solution was for it to be ‘neutral’ on an issue in which he said the Constitution is silent.
That would return the issue to the states, where some would effectively prohibit abortions and a majority would impose new and dramatic restrictions.
Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, said the curtailment of abortion rights would be ‘severe and swift.’ She cautioned that the court had never revoked a constitutional right it had extended.
Graphic: What abortion laws would look like if Roe v. Wade were overturned
The court’s liberals said the only thing that has changed since it found a fundamental right to abortion in 1973’s Roe decision — and later affirmed in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey — was the arrival of new justices.
‘Will this institution survive the stench this creates in the public perception, that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?’ asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor. ‘If people believe this is all politics, how will we survive? How will this court survive?’
But the court’s conservatives said it has often overruled cases, especially in constitutional cases, that have later been revealed to be wrong.
Justice Clarence Thomas has said in previous decisions that Roe should be overruled. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. seemed in his questioning to agree.” Read more at Washington Post
“President Biden will announce Thursday that the more than 150 million Americans with private health coverage will be able to get at-home coronavirus tests reimbursed by their insurers, and that international travelers must show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken the day before departing for the United States.
The moves are part of a new winter strategy to combat the coronavirus pandemic just as the worrisome new Omicron variant circles the globe.
Senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the president’s strategy, said the administration would also distribute an additional 25 million at-home tests to community health centers and rural clinics to make them more available to those who are not covered by private insurers, including Medicaid recipients.
Additionally, Mr. Biden will call on employers to provide paid time off to their employees to get boosted. And the administration plans ‘a new effort to launch hundreds of vaccination clinics around the country,’ according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.” Read more at New York Times
“A person with the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus had been identified in California. The fully vaccinated person had returned to the U.S. from a trip to South Africa on Nov. 22. All their known contacts have so far tested negative for the variant, the CDC said.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“School officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents Tuesday morning about the teen, then, several hours later, the 15-year-old opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun on his classmates, police said, in what prosecutors described as a planned shooting.
Mr. Crumbley, a sophomore at the school, was charged with 24 felony counts, including first-degree murder, terrorism and various counts of assault, in connection with Tuesday’s mass shooting at the school in Oxford, about 40 miles north of Detroit, according to prosecutors. Three students were killed Tuesday; a fourth died Wednesday, police officials said. Six other students and one teacher were injured in the incident that roiled the semirural, primarily white community.
It was the second time administrators had met with Mr. Crumbley this week, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Oxford High School administrators had also met on Monday with Mr. Crumbley over ‘concerning behavior,’ Mr. Bouchard said Wednesday.
Mr. Bouchard declined to elaborate on the meetings, citing a continuing investigation. Oxford High School Principal Steven Wolf didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Surveillance video showed Mr. Crumbley on Tuesday entering a school bathroom with his backpack, said prosecuting attorney Marc Keast at the boy’s arraignment Wednesday afternoon. A minute or two later, Mr. Keast said, Mr. Crumbley exited the bathroom and began firing on students in the hallway at a ‘deliberate and methodical pace.’
Mr. Crumbley continued firing on students for about five minutes, Mr. Keast said, before turning his fire into classrooms. Officers arrived and arrested Mr. Crumbley inside the high school without incident after he had fired more than 30 shots from a 9mm semiautomatic handgun over a period of about five minutes. The gun had unspent rounds in it, Mr. Bouchard said.
A preliminary investigation of Mr. Crumbley’s phone, social-media accounts and other documents recovered at the scene indicated the attack was premeditated, Mr. Keast said.
‘This defendant planned this shooting,’ Mr. Keast said. ‘He deliberately brought the handgun that day with him, to murder as many students as he could.’
At his arraignment, Mr. Crumbley appeared in the courtroom via video hookup from the juvenile detention facility, sitting by himself at a table, bare-armed, in a black detention center vest. When District Court Judge Nancy Carniak asked him if he understood the 24 charges against him, he replied, ‘Yes, I do.’
Scott Kozak, a lawyer appointed to Mr. Crumbley for the arraignment, said that the court entered a plea of not guilty on Mr. Crumbley’s behalf.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The clock is ticking on another government shutdown. If lawmakers fail to pass a bill to keep things open, the government will run out of funding tomorrow. So far, lawmakers haven’t been able to reach a deal, and now all 100 senators must agree to hold a vote on the issue as soon as possible. Democrats and Republicans are grappling with disagreements over how long a funding extension should last. Some GOP senators are also threatening to stall the process by demanding a separate vote to defund federal vaccine mandate initiatives. While lawmakers are optimistic government funds won’t lapse, there would be real consequences if they do. Millions of military members and government workers could have to work without pay if things drag on, and things like gun permit applications would be affected, too. “ Read more at CNN
“WASHINGTON—The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol voted to recommend holding former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in criminal contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
The Democratic-led committee voted 9-0 to hold Mr. Clark in contempt, with the support of the panel’s two Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.).
Just ahead of the vote, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.), the chairman of the committee, said Mr. Clark had agreed to continue his deposition, which Mr. Thompson said would have to take place on Saturday. But the panel went ahead with the vote, saying that it was needed to keep pressure on Mr. Clark to fulfill his obligations under the subpoena and that the committee would re-evaluate the matter after he testifies.
The panel’s approval of the contempt resolution sends the matter to the full House, which is narrowly controlled by Democrats. If the House moves ahead with a vote, it could then refer the matter to the Justice Department for potential prosecution.
Last month, federal prosecutors charged Stephen Bannon, a onetime adviser to former President Donald Trump, with criminal contempt for defying a congressional subpoena.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell tried to cast doubt on an accuser’s testimony at the British socialite’s sex-trafficking trial on Wednesday, challenging the woman’s memory and showing inconsistencies with earlier statements she made to federal investigators.
A day earlier, the accuser, who testified under the pseudonym Jane, told jurors in a federal court in Manhattan how Ms. Maxwell helped disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse her when she was an underage teen in the 1990s. Ms. Maxwell would touch the young girl’s breasts and show her how to massage Epstein, the accuser said. In some incidents, the accuser said, she, Ms. Maxwell, Epstein and others would take off their clothes and have an orgy at his homes in Florida and New York.
Jane is one of four accusers expected to testify at the trial that Ms. Maxwell allegedly recruited and groomed them for sex with Epstein. Ms. Maxwell faces six criminal counts, including conspiring to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Jussie Smollett's legal team Thursday will seek to dent the credibility of a star witness who said the former ‘Empire’ star recruited him and his brother to stage a racist, homophobic attack on Smollett in January 2019. Much of what Abimbola Osundairo told jurors from the stand Wednesday appears to be corroborated by video and other evidence. Osundairo testified that Smollett asked him and his brother, Olabinjo, ‘to fake beat him up’ and instructed them on how to carry out the alleged hoax in Chicago. Smollett planned a ‘dry run’ and gave him a $100 bill to buy supplies for the staged attack, Osundairo said. ‘He wanted a camera to catch it,’ Osundairo said, adding that Smollett said he wanted to use the recording for media purposes.” Read more at USA Today
“President Donald J. Trump tested positive for coronavirus three days before his first debate with Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020, two former administration officials said Wednesday.
The White House did not announce the positive test at the time, and the president received a negative result shortly afterward and carried on with a campaign rally and the debate, the officials said. The account was first reported by The Guardian, which cited a forthcoming book by Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
The two former officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed the timeline on Mr. Trump’s test results contained in ‘The Chief’s Chief,’ by Mr. Meadows, Mr. Trump’s fourth and final White House chief of staff.
The White House declined repeatedly at the time to give a precise chronology of when precisely Mr. Trump first received a positive coronavirus test result. The administration first told the public in the early hours of Oct. 2 that Mr. Trump had tested positive. Mr. Trump was hospitalized later that same day.
Mr. Trump’s positive result was revealed only after a top adviser, Hope Hicks, was reported to be sick with Covid-19. At the time, Mr. Trump intimated in an interview with Fox News that Ms. Hicks might have given him the virus.
But Mr. Meadows wrote in his book that three days earlier, on Sept. 26, Mr. Trump received a positive test shortly before departing the White House for Air Force One to travel to Pennsylvania for a rally. The White House doctor, Sean Conley, called to deliver the news. ‘Mr. President,’ Mr. Meadows writes that he told Mr. Trump, ‘I’ve got some bad news. You’ve tested positive for Covid-19.’
The revelation came nearly a year after widespread speculation that Mr. Trump was sick when he first shared a stage with Mr. Biden for their first presidential debate on Sept. 29, months into the pandemic.” Read more at New York Times
“The suspect accused of mowing down at least 60 people, killing six, during the Waukesha Christmas parade in Wisconsin told Fox News he believes he is being ‘demonized’ and treated like a ‘monster.’” Read more at USA Today
“Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said Wednesday he is retiring at the end of his congressional term.
‘It’s time for me to pass the baton to the next generation so I can focus on my health and well-being,’ DeFazio, 74, said in a statement. ‘This was a tough decision at a challenging time for our republic with the very pillars of our democracy under threat, but I am bolstered by the passion and principles of my colleagues in Congress and the ingenuity and determination of young Americans who are civically engaged and working for change.’
DeFazio has been an active member of the transportation panel since he was first elected to represent Oregon’s 4th Congressional District in 1986.
DeFazio becomes the 19th House Democrat to announce plans to leave office at the end of his term for either another office or retirement. DeFazio also is the third committee chair who will not seek reelection next year, following Reps. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), chairman of the House budget committee, and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), chairwoman of the science, space and technology committee.” Read more at Washington Post
“The women's professional tennis tour suspended tournaments in China yesterday out of concern for Peng Shuai, on the same day that a top business voice made excuses for Beijing.
Why it matters: Ahead of February's Winter Olympics in Beijing, some sports figures are taking on the regime — while Big Business shrinks from confrontation with the world's second-largest economy.
What's happening: The Women's Tennis Association told AP that fears for the safety of Peng Shuai, the Chinese champion who accused a former Communist Party official of sexual assault, could result in cancellations beyond 2022.
WTA President and CEO Steve Simon said: ‘This is ... about what's right and wrong.’
In the NBA, the Boston Celtics' Enes Kanter, who changed his last name to ‘Freedom’ this week after becoming a U.S. citizen, has used social media to relentlessly protest human-rights violations in China.” Read more at Axios
“With Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players' Association expiring late Wednesday night, the league's 30 owners voted to lock out players beginning Thursday. This creates the first work stoppage since the players walked out in the summer of 1994 and returned for a shorter-than-usual 1995 season. MLB officials met multiple times with union counterparts and players on the MLBPA's executive council, but failed to hammer out an agreement during what's expected to be some contentious negotiations. Commissioner Rob Manfred will freeze all league business until a deal is reached. Manfred, who moved quickly to assign blame to players in a letter to fans released on the league's website, will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. ET in Arlington, Texas.” Read more at USA Today
“Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, announced Wednesday that she is pursuing a bid for governor in 2022.
The move means Abrams could face a rematch against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), to whom she narrowly lost the governor’s mansion three years ago.” Read more at Washington Post
“Governor Charlie Baker, the Republican who maintained the enduring support of his blue-state constituents through boom times, the Trump presidency, and the COVID-19 pandemic, will not seek a third term in 2022, he said Wednesday.
A moderate who has kept his distance from the controversies of the national Republican Party and cast himself as a thrifty and thoughtful manager, Baker, 65, would have entered the race as its front-runner. With less than a year before Election Day, Baker’s choice leaves the contest wide open. And it means he will forgo a shot at history: No Massachusetts governor has served three consecutive four-year terms.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Escalating threat. The United States says that Russia has plans to attack Ukraine, just a day after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Moscow would pay a ‘high price’ for using force against Kyiv. There is ‘evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves,’ said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, including ‘efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within, as well as large-scale military operations.’
Blinken’s statements come as Moscow announced it would expel certain U.S. diplomats from the country by Jan. 31, likely in retaliation for Washington’s earlier removal of more than 50 Russian diplomats.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“EU takes harder line on migration. As the migration crisis on the Poland-Belarus border deepens, the European Union has proposed new measures that allow Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania to suspend migrants’ asylum rights. Under this proposal, asylum seekers may have to wait for as many as four months for their requests to be processed. But aid groups fear this policy could be dangerous for the thousands of stranded migrants, especially as temperatures continue to drop.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Deepening rifts | Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired his finance minister amid widening divisions in his administration over aggressive interest-rate cuts that have undermined Turkey’s currency and fueled inflation. The lira, already trading near record lows, weakened on growing concern about the president’s economic policies and the removal of officials who disagree with him.” Read more at Bloomberg
“LGBTQ crackdown | Not much separates Ghana’s two main political parties when it comes to targeting LGBTQ people. Yinka Ibukun reports on how proposed legislation to punish them with jail time, legalize discrimination and to force anyone to report a gay person to the authorities is challenging the West African nation’s democratic credentials.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Symone Sanders, senior adviser and chief spokesperson to Vice President Harris, will leave by the end of the year, Axios' Alexi McCammond reports.
Why it matters: Sanders is a central staffer who is trusted by Harris, and is the aide most frequently by her side in public.
Context: Concern about dysfunction in Harris' operation starts in the West Wing and is widespread among top Democrats.
Sanders rose to prominence in 2016 as national press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.” Read more at Axios
“Professional degrees including dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic medicine, physical therapy and optometry produced graduates with some of the worst combinations of high debt and modest starting paychecks, according to a WSJ analysis of newly released federal data. The culprits span graduate programs at big state schools, for-profit colleges and some elite private universities. Professional associations and researchers cite data showing that rural areas are short of dentists, veterinarians and other health providers, in part because pay is generally lower there. They suspect heavily indebted grads feel compelled to seek out higher paying jobs, often in affluent suburbs. For recent dentistry graduates, the gap between debt and income was especially large for alumni of two elite private universities: the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and New York University. In each case, the median debt was more than four times as much as median earnings.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“People around the world marked World AIDS Day on Wednesday, 40 years after the first reported cases of illnesses and deaths linked to HIV. The epidemic has killed more than 36 million people worldwide, including 700,000 Americans. As part of her World AIDS Day message, Winnie Byanyima, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), stressed that the global AIDS response was off track even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the world needed to reset its targets if it is to meet the goal of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
In the United States, President Joe Biden unveiled a new strategy for combating HIV/AIDS, calling for a renewed focus on vulnerable Americans including older people and gay and bisexual Black and Latino men.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Alvin Lucier was an experimental composer who was more interested in the physics of sound than in melody and harmony. His music could sound like howling feedback or electronic crackling. He died at 90.” Read more at New York Times
Ankylosaurs had a unique way of fighting predators.Luis Pérez López
“Fossils found in Chile are from a strange-looking dog-sized dinosaur species that had a unique slashing tail weapon, scientists reported Wednesday.
Some dinosaurs had spiked tails they could use as stabbing weapons and others had tails with clubs. The new species, described in a study in the journal Nature, has something never seen before on any animal: seven pairs of ‘blades’ laid out sideways like a slicing weapon used by ancient Aztec warriors, said lead author Alex Vargas.
‘It’s a really unusual weapon,’ said Vargas, a University of Chile paleontologist. ‘Books on prehistoric animals for kids need to update and put this weird tail in there. ... It just looks crazy.’
The plant-eating critter had a combination of traits from different species that initially sent paleontologists down the wrong path. The back end, including its tail weapon, seemed similar to a stegosaurus, so the researchers named it stegouros elengassen.
After Vargas and his team examined the pieces of skull and did five different DNA analyses, they concluded it was only distantly related to the stegosaurus. Instead, it was a rare southern hemisphere member of the tank-like ankylosaur family of dinosaurs. (Though the stegouros name stuck and can be easily confused with the more well-known stegosaurus.)” Read more at AP News
“Walmart has removed the listing for a popular children’s Christmas toy after reports that the dancing, rapping cactus was singing inappropriate tunes in Polish. A woman in Canada was shocked to discover that the smiling green device was performing a tune by the Polish rapper Cypis including lyrics such as ‘The only thing in my head is five grams of cocaine / Fly away alone, to the edge of oblivion.’ According to the Guardian, “later lines include swearing, graphic imagery and references to depression.” Not all buyers were put off. One Amazon reviewer wrote: ‘Sings … a polish song about cocaine use. 10/10 would buy for my 1 year old again.’” Read more at Foreign Policy