Idaho is 1st state to pass abortion ban based on Texas’ law
Idaho on Monday became the first state to adopt a copycat of an unusual new Texas law that relies on ordinary citizens to enforce a ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy as a way of getting around court challenges to its constitutionality. The Idaho House, led by Republicans, approved the bill 51-14 and sent it to Gov. Brad Little, a Republican. The bill was the latest display of confidence from anti-abortion activists and lawmakers. Both sides of the debate anticipate that by summer, the Supreme Court could pare back or overturn Roe v. Wade.
Document in Jan. 6 case shows plan to storm government buildings
A document found by federal prosecutors in the possession of a far-right leader contained a detailed plan to surveil and storm government buildings around the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year, people familiar with the document said Monday. The document, titled “1776 Returns,” was cited by prosecutors last week in charging the far-right leader, Enrique Tarrio, the former head of the Proud Boys extremist group, with conspiracy. The people familiar with the document added details about the scope and complexity of the plan it set out for directing an effort to occupy six House and Senate office buildings and the Supreme Court that day.
Democrats want investigation into Postal Service’s gas guzzlers contract
A group of House Democrats called Monday for an investigation into a decision by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to purchase up to 165,000 gasoline-powered mail trucks over the Biden administration’s objections that the multibillion-dollar contract would undermine the nation’s climate goals. The contract, worth up to $6 billion over 10 years, would be the Postal Service’s first large-scale vehicle purchase in three decades. In a letter to U.S. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb, lawmakers questioned whether the Postal Service had complied with a law requiring environmental reviews of major federal actions. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality have said that the Postal Service had made the wrong decision.
British government announces plan to allow residents to sponsor refugees
As the humanitarian toll in Ukraine intensifies, the British government announced Monday a program for British residents to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, amid widespread criticism of the country’s limited pathways for those fleeing the war. Despite extending the eligibility for those Ukrainians who could potentially come to Britain, the country is still requiring a visa, unlike nations in the European Union, which had waived all visa requirements for people fleeing the war. Introduced three weeks after the invasion began, “Homes for Ukraine” offers a new route for Ukrainian refugees to come to Britain, previously limited to those joining relatives already living there.
UK Supreme Court says Assange cannot appeal his extradition to US
Britain’s Supreme Court on Monday said it had refused the latest appeal by Julian Assange, the embattled WikiLeaks founder, to prevent his extradition to the United States. The announcement was a blow to Assange, coming just months after a high court said he would be able to appeal a decision by a lower court that would allow for his extradition. But he has not exhausted all his legal options in the British courts, his lawyers said. The Supreme Court in a statement said it had refused permission to appeal “because the application does not raise an arguable point of law.”
Surge of omicron infections prompts lockdowns in China
Several of China’s largest factory cities have ordered a lockdown, halting production of Toyota cars and Apple iPhones. Theaters, cinemas and many restaurants have closed in Shanghai. The northeastern province of Jilin on Monday banned its 24 million residents from leaving the province or traveling between cities. China is grappling with its largest surge of COVID-19 infections since the coronavirus first emerged more than two years ago in central China. Sustained outbreaks in two-thirds of the country’s provinces are proving the toughest test yet of China’s zero-tolerance coronavirus policy. Chinese officials are implementing some of their most stringent methods.
Seoul’s next leader faces limited choices over North Korea
After winning a bitterly contested presidential election, South Korean conservative Yoon Suk Yeol will enter office facing a quickly growing North Korean nuclear threat — and with few easy choices ahead to deal with it. A former prosecutor with no foreign policy experience who kickstarted his political career nine months ago, Yoon will face a turbulent moment in global affairs and the decades-old standoff with the North, over which many experts see Seoul as having lost leverage under the policies of outgoing President Moon Jae-in. It appears Yoon will be tested quickly, possibly even before he starts his presidency in May. North Korea often attempts to rattle new administrations in Washington or Seoul with major weapons demonstrations and has been signaling a resumption of long-range missile testing this year.
As gunman targets homeless, mayors urge all to seek shelter
The mayors of New York City and Washington D.C. appealed to the public for help Monday in an urgent search for a gunman who has been stalking homeless men asleep on their streets, killing at least two people and wounding three others in less than two weeks. Police in the two cities released multiple surveillance photographs, including a close-up snapshot clearly showing the man’s face, and urged people who might know him to come forward. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, speaking together at the news conference, urged anyone living on the streets to go to city shelters where they might be safer.
Pregnant woman, baby die after Russian bombing in Mariupol
A wounded pregnant woman who was taken on a stretcher from a maternity hospital that was bombed by Russia last week has died, along with her baby, The Associated Press has learned. Images of the woman, whom the AP has not been able to identify, were seen around the world, personifying the horror of an attack on civilians. She was one of at least three pregnant women tracked down by AP from the maternity hospital that was bombarded Wednesday in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The other two survived, along with their newborn daughters.
By wire sources
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