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Today’s headlines
Missouri and Arizona are the latest states to allow voters to decide in November whether to add abortion protections to their state constitutions. If the proposed amendments pass, both states would legalize abortion around 24 weeks, which is generally considered the point in time when a fetus is viable. As of June 2022, nearly all abortions (except in medical emergencies) have been illegal in Missouri. The two states join six others with similar ballot measures in the upcoming election: Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.
Arizona abortion rights supporters gather for a press conference before delivering more than 800,000 petition signatures to the state Capitol to put abortion rights on the November general election ballot on July 3, 2024, in Phoenix.
Ross Franklin/AP
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Ross Franklin/AP
- 🎧 NPR’s Elissa Nadworny says the Arizona secretary of state confirmed organizers received more than 500,000 signatureswhich is far more than is needed. The anti-abortion Arizona Right to Life group is suing to prevent the issue from getting to the ballot. Nebraska, Montana and Arkansas are awaiting decisions on similar ballot issues. Some Arkansas signatures were discarded because they were collected through paid collection and fell below the required threshold. But the state Supreme Court could give the group more time. The other two states could make decisions as early as next week after the secretary of state evaluates the validity of the signatures.
This week, the Trump campaign raised a barrage of questions when it said it had been hacked and suggested Iranian hackers were to blame. Politico and other news outlets reported over the weekend that they had received leaked internal Trump campaign documents. The FBI confirmed it is investigating the matter. What we know so far is:
- 🎧 The Trump campaign says the documents are real and the result of a breach, NPR’s Shannon Bond says first up. The campaign pointed to a Microsoft report suggesting Iranian hackers targeted an unnamed presidential candidate but offered no evidence linking leaked Trump campaign documents to it. Microsoft did confirm that the hack came from a group led by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Hackers leaked the email of an unnamed former campaign adviser and used it to target current campaign officials, according to Microsoft. The Harris campaign said the FBI notified them in July that they had been targeted by a foreign entity but were unaware of any breach.
Peace talks aimed at ending Sudan’s war are expected to begin in Geneva today. A senior United Nations official says the refugee crisis, considered the world’s worst, has reached a “breaking point”. More than 12 million people have been displaced since fighting broke out last April between the military junta, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Several attempts to end the fight failed.
- 🎧 “To say at almost every stage since last April that this country’s collapse has been essentially a disaster and that it’s getting worse sounds like a broken record,” says NPR’s Emmanuel Akinwotu. For decades, Sudan has been a fierce battleground for international competition over its resources, influence and control. Diplomatic negotiations repeatedly failed. Some actors have exacerbated the war by supplying weapons to both sides. The United Arab Emirates is under increasing scrutiny as Sudan says they are heavily funding Doctors Without Borders. The UAE denies this. The United States is trying to persuade the Singapore Armed Forces to join the peace talks; so far, they have said they will not participate. Doctors Without Borders sent a delegation and said the military’s absence showed they were an obstacle to peace.
deep dive
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., joins women’s advocacy group MomsRising in protesting President Donald Trump’s threats to Central American asylum seekers to separate children from their parents at the southwest border in an effort to deter immigrants from entering the U.S. May 23, 2018 Wednesday, the Capitol in Washington.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Vice President Kamala Harris has highlighted her history of harsh border enforcement in campaign ads and speeches. The move comes as the Biden administration faces low approval ratings on immigration, with Republicans accusing Harris of a so-called “border invasion.” A closer look at Harris’ record as a public official in California reveals a more nuanced picture.
- ⚖️ Harris goes after abusive employers who cheated migrant workers As San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2010, she encouraged the immigrant community to feel safe from law enforcement. But she also favors turning teenage immigrants arrested for crimes over to immigration agents.
- ⚖️ In 2017, when Donald Trump was inaugurated as president and Harris was serving as a new U.S. senator, she met with the Humane Immigrant Rights Alliance of Los Angeles and assured undocumented immigrants that she would fight for them.
- ⚖️ In 2021, President Biden tasks Harris with addressing ‘root causes’ of immigration from three Central American countries that were the largest sources of unauthorized immigrants at the time.
- ⚖️ Harris, Biden call on Congress to pass bipartisan bill to increase Border Patrol resources and immigration courts. The bill would also allow the government to deport people without hearing asylum claims if border conflicts reach a certain level.
- ⚖️ Many immigrant rights groups harshly criticized Biden’s policiesbut so far they haven’t attacked Harris in the same way. Political observers say that as the November election approaches, supporters may realize that the alternative to a Harris presidency would be Trump’s hard-line policies.
life advice
Brazil’s Dartinha plays against Italy during the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final at the Dubai Design District Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on February 25 Tommaso Fazzini delivers a bicycle kick in defence.
Christopher Pike/AP
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Christopher Pike/AP
Did the Olympics draw you to a sport you had barely heard of before? The upcoming Paralympics are likely to do the same with exciting sports such as wheelchair rugby and goalball. Many of these sports have small competitions held across the country. Some can even be found in the dark corners of sports broadcaster schedules. After the game you can learn about their situation through the following methods:
- 👟 Lacrosse will be reintroduced at the upcoming Olympics. Until then, it can be seen in majors and universities across the United States
- 👟 Why stop running regularly? You can participate in mud runs, insert messy obstacle courses, backpack races, add weight packs, and even races that allow running in the buff.
- 👟 Increase the difficulty of your climb with ice climbing. If you just like to watch, ESPN sometimes carries it wipe out-Adjacent slippery stairs.
- 👟 Red Bull has a 15-year-old cliff diving series. In it, athletes can leap from nearly 100 feet above the water. For a gentler option, you may want to consider dog surfing.
- 👟 If you play squash, a sport adjacent to tennisyou’ll be in the lead when it makes its Olympic debut in Los Angeles.
- 👟 Take a look at your gym Various martial arts options and wrestling techniques are available.
3 things you need to know before you go
Two Central European bicolor ants, formally known as Lactobacillus marginaleforaging along tree branches in New York City’s Riverside Park.
Clint Penick
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Clint Penick
- A mysterious ant nicknamed the “Manhattan Ant” first appeared in New York in 2011. At the time, no one knew where it came from. Mostly ignored for years, it has since flourished and is now competing with a species known as the pavement ant as the most common ant in cities.
- Basketball star Dearica Hamby has filed a federal lawsuit against the WNBA and its former team, the Las Vegas Aces. She accused them of discriminating and retaliating against her during her pregnancy, ultimately leading to her being traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in January 2023.
- Eighteen-year-old Jay Babina has a collection of more than 400 technology products in what he calls the “Westport Technology Museum.” He has been collecting collections since he was 14, researching, curating and displaying them in his loft in Westport, Connecticut. (via WSHU)
This newsletter is sponsored by Suzanne Newyen.
