Month: June 2022

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, what happens to Texas state laws that were in place prior to the landmark ruling on abortion rights almost 50 years ago?

In Texas, where elective abortions already are restricted already to the first six weeks of gestation, a “trigger law” signed by the Gov. Greg Abbott would outlaw abortion within 30 days of the holding.

A court reversal of Roe would leave it to individual states to establish abortion laws. Texas and 12 other states have trigger laws that would outlaw or almost completely ban abortions if the 1973 decision in the case that originated in Dallas County is tossed in a ruling that could come as soon as this week. Before the court now is the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health case from Mississippi, which had a leaked preliminary opinion indicated justices are ready to overturn Roe.

An Australian woman has allegedly been bludgeoned to death by her father-in-law with an ax in northern Pakistan after an argument about moving back to Australia with her children.

Sajida Tasneem was allegedly killed in front of her father at a home she shared with her in-laws in the city of Sargodha, 250km south of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on 11 June.

Tasneem’s father, Sher Muhammad Khan, said his son-in-law, Ayub Ahmed, had forced his daughter to travel to Pakistan with her three children from their home in Perth, Western Australia.

Khan told the Guardian that when his daughter arrived in Pakistan, his son-in-law then returned to Perth.

Tasneem’s father-in-law, Mukhtar Ahmad, allegedly confiscated Tasneem’s passport.

“After my daughter’s return, Ahmad started demanding all the documents,” Khan said. “On his repeated insistence the documents were handed over to him.”

He told police that on 11 June he allegedly witnessed Ahmad hurling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – With the sun shining on the Anchorage Golf Course, Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed Senate Bill 9 into law last Thursday, which will implement sweeping changes to Alaska’s alcohol statutes.

“I just want to thank everyone who worked hard on this,” Dunleavy said to applause, holding up the signed bill for the cameras. “Congratulations, everybody.”

The signing ceremony was far from certain. It took over nine years and several near misses for the bill to pass through the Alaska Legislature at the end of the last legislative session.

Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, has been the bill’s primary sponsor and said it was “an exciting moment” to see it signed into law. He explained that representatives of bars, breweries and public safety organizations spent thousands of hours negotiating a compromise agreement despite having vastly different priorities.

“This is an example of how the political process can work,”

Law enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. When the gunman arrived at the school, he hopped its fence and easily entered through an unlocked back door, police said.

Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

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Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

Law enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. When the gunman arrived at the school, he hopped its fence and easily entered through an unlocked back door, police said.

Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

Uvalde city officials are using a legal loophole and several other broad exemptions in Texas to prevent the release of police records related to last month’s mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, according to a letter obtained by NPR in response to public information requests filed by member station Texas Public Radio.

Since the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary