Forced birth for teenagers The Florida State Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that a pregnant 16-year-old with no parents is not “sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy.” Florida law requires that a parent or legal guardian provide consent for a minor’s abortion. In the absence of consent, a minor may petition the courts […]
Fulton County Lindsey Graham A federal judge ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to testify before a Fulton County grand jury investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. District Judge Leigh Martin May, an Obama appointee, ruled on Monday that Graham’s position as a senator does not shield him from the subpoena: “Individuals on the […]
The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is best known for abolishing slavery after the Civil War, freeing three million Confederate slaves from servitude. Less well known is the second phrase of the Amendment that allows prisoners to be required to perform labor or else face punishment while in custody. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except […]
Self-induced abortion A 17-year-old girl and her mother were charged with multiple felonies for aborting a stillborn fetus and burying it without alerting authorities. According to court records, Celeste Burgess and her mother, Jessica Burgess, bought mifepristone and misoprostol to end Celeste’s pregnancy after the state’s legal abortion period of 20 weeks post-fertilization. Celeste and her mother […]
Housekeeping: HOW TO SUPPORT: If you are in the position to support my work, I have a patreon, venmo, and a paypal set up. No pressure though, I will keep posting these pieces publicly no matter what – paywalls suck. NOTIFICATIONS: You can signup to receive a weekly email with links to my posts. “Civil war coming to America, there won’t […]
Indicted officer Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appointed a police officer indicted for using excessive force to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the state agency that regulates standards for law enforcement officers. Justin Berry was one of 19 Austin Police Department officers indicted earlier this year on aggravated assault charges for using violence against racial justice protesters in 2020. […]
Kavanaugh investigation During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, FBI Director Chris Wray confirmed that the agency passed all tips in the investigation into then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the Trump White House without any independent investigation. (clip) Note “BI” stands for “background investigation” Whitehouse: Director Wray, as you know we are now […]
Seizing religious items U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have been seizing turbans from Sikh asylum seekers at the southern border in violation of federal law and official CBP policy. In a letter to CBP, the ACLU said there had been nearly 50 documented cases of Sikhs saying religious headwear was taken and never returned as they passed through […]
More deleted Jan. 6 messages Just two weeks after learning that the Secret Service deleted communications from the time period around the insurrection, reports have emerged that both the Department of Homeland Security and Defense Department likewise erased messages from January 6th. DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari learned in February that text messages for Trump’s acting homeland security secretary […]
Reconciliation package Congressional Democrats reached a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on a clean energy package that will reduce U.S. carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. The budget reconciliation bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, contains several climate, health care, and tax measures. Despite its name, experts say it is unlikely to actually curb inflation. […]
