Arizona House Votes to Repeal Abortion Ban by Jeremy Duda, Jessica Boehm
April 24, 2024
Introduction:
(Axios) After two weeks of a stalemate, the Arizona House of Representatives voted to repeal an 1864 ban on nearly all abortions that had been reinstated by the state Supreme Court.
The big picture: Thanks to a handful of Republicans, both legislative chambers now have the votes to repeal the pre-Roe ban.
• The move, which Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has supported, would reinstate a 2022 law permitting abortions through 15 weeks of pregnancy to the books.
Driving the news: Republican state Reps. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma) and Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) joined Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) to give repeal supporters a 32-28 margin in the House on Wednesday.
Reality check: Even if Hobbs signs a repeal bill, the ban still may temporarily take effect this summer.
Democrats say they will save Speaker Mike Johnson's job if Republicans try to oust him
Source: AP
By KEVIN FREKING
Updated 10:54 AM CDT, April 30, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats will vote to save Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s job should some of his fellow GOP lawmakers seek to remove him from the position, Democratic leaders said Tuesday, avoiding a repeat of when eight Republicans joined with Democrats to oust his predecessor, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
Johnson, R-La., has come under heavy criticism from some Republicans for moving forward with aid for Ukraine as part of a $95 billion emergency spending package that passed this month. It would take only a handful of Republicans to remove Johnson from the speakership if the Democratic caucus went along with the effort.
But Democratic leaders took that possibility off the table.
“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” said a statement from the top three House Democrats, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar. “We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
NYPD Officers Descend on Columbia University Campus to Clear Protest by Phil Helsel
April 30, 2024
Introduction:
(NBC) After the NYPD entered campus tonight, Columbia blamed the actions of protesters for the situation.
“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” the university said in a statement.
Columbia said it asked the NYPD to intervene.
“We believe that the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University,” it said.
Police went on campus shortly after 9 p.m., it said.
The NYPD’s “Outside Agitators” Narrative Is an Excuse for Force by Inae Oh
May 2, 2024
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) The morning after the New York Police Department arrested pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, the city’s mayor appeared satisfied.
“This is not a department that was dealing with one production at a time,” Mayor Eric Adams said, flanked by top police officials, during a press conference on Wednesday. “You have to be a well-organized professional operation to deal with all of those encounters.”
This was part and parcel for Adams, a former NYPD officer with a habit of calling the city’s law enforcement “my cops” and “my police department.“ But then came the first inklings of what has become Adams’ calling card as he justifies the crackdown on protests.
“When I first started seeing the protest take place in the city, it just did not fit right,” he explained. “I saw similar indicators from the Black Lives Matter march when it was brought to my attention that there were those who came to the city to disrupt our city.” The mayor then claimed that an investigation had confirmed what had been “feared”: New York City had fallen victim to a global phenomenon in which “outside agitators” sought to radicalize young people. (For what purpose, the mayor wouldn’t say.)
Adams continues to commit to such vaguery. When repeatedly pressed for specific numbers by multiple news outlets the mayor stuck to variations of “I don’t think that matters.”
Greene's motion to vacate vote leaves conservatives with no easy options
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) decision to force action on ousting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has created a dilemma for some rank-and-file Republicans who will now face a tough choice: vote to boot a party leader endorsed by former President Trump, or join forces with Democrats to protect a figure loathed by many conservatives.
Greene’s resolution, which is expected to reach the floor next week, is likely to fail given the promise from Democratic leaders to keep Johnson in power for the sake of chamber stability. But the Georgia firebrand is pushing ahead, arguing the importance of getting every House lawmaker on the record so voters are crystal clear where everyone stands on Johnson’s leadership track record.
“Every member of Congress needs to take that vote,” she said. “I can’t wait to see Democrats go out and support a Republican Speaker and have to go home to their primaries. … And I also can’t wait to see my Republican conference show their cards and show who we are.
“Are they willing to actually fight? Or are they going to just keep going along to get along?”
Reproductive Rights Advocates Close in on Abortion Ballot Measures in Missouri and South Dakota by Julia Lurie
May 4, 2024
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) Reproductive rights organizers in two states with near-total abortion bans, Missouri and South Dakota, submitted roughly double the signatures needed to allow ballot measures that would put abortion before voters.
In South Dakota, organizers have submitted 55,000 signatures in support of the ballot measure granting a limited right to abortion—far more than the 35,000 required. In Missouri, organizers turned in 380,159 signatures, compared to the required 172,000, in support of a measure enshrining the “the right to reproductive freedom.” Missouri’s language is similar to ballot measures that passed in Ohio and Michigan.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, abortion rights advocates have won in seven out of seven abortion-related ballot measures. Groups in nearly a dozen states are have secured abortion amendments on the ballot this fall or are pushing to do so. Democrats are counting on these ballot measures to buoy their chances, especially in competitive states like Florida and Arizona.
In both Missouri and South Dakota, Republican policymakers are trying to stop the measures from succeeding.
