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The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to block a Tennessee law barring abortions after the detection of a "fetal heartbeat."

Why it matters: The ban, which also prohibits abortions if the justification relates to race, gender or medical diagnoses such as Down syndrome, is one of several restrictive abortion laws enacted in recent years.

The First District Court of Appeal on Friday granted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) approval to uphold an order banning mask mandates in schools, per court documents filed Friday.

Why it matters: The move reverses a decision from earlier this week that paused the state's ability to enforce a ban on strict mask mandates in schools. The state will be able to resume punishing school districts that enforce mandates, which up until this point has included withholding funds from schools.

President Biden on Friday accused some Republican governors of being "cavalier" with children's health for resisting calls for implementing widespread coronavirus vaccine requirements.

Driving the news: Several Republican governors and the Republican National Committee on Thursday vowed to take the Biden administration to court over the president's plan to mandate COVID-19 vaccination or testing for more than 80 million private-sector employees.

A federal judge's long-awaited ruling in Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit against Apple gave both sides opportunities to claim wins.

Driving the news: The ruling, delivered Friday morning, requires Apple to let Epic, and other developers, tell users about alternative payment mechanisms and to link out to their own transaction systems.

The FDA said on Friday that it is "working around the clock" to support the process of making the coronavirus vaccine available for children under the age of 12.

Why it matters: The number of children getting hospitalized due to the virus is increasing, with some infectious disease doctors worrying that the Delta variant could be causing more serious illness in kids.

The House select committee in charge of investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot announced late Thursday that it had received "thousands of pages of documents" in relation to the investigation.

Driving the news: On Aug. 25, the committee sent requests to federal agencies asking them to preserve records and documents that contained information related to the attack. The panel gave the agencies a Sept. 9 deadline to hand over the materials.

Walmart just raised the largest green bond ever in the U.S. corporate bond market.

Why it matters: The $2 billion bond deal illustrates that U.S. investors’ interest in green bonds is not going anywhere. Companies are tapping into that demand, and putting money behind efforts to battle climate change.

Kentucky's Republican-dominated legislature voted on late Thursday night to revoke a statewide mask mandate in public schools meant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

Why it matters: The vote came on the final day of an emergency special legislative session called by Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in response to surging cases in the state.

Top Republicans are calling for a public uprising to protest President Biden's broad vaccine mandates, eight months after more than 500 people stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to overturn the election.

Why it matters: It has been decades since America has witnessed such blatant and sustained calls for mass civil disobedience against the U.S. government.

Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth says a key goal of the company's new $299 smart glasses is to kickstart a societal conversation on the norms around such products. On that front, the company has already succeeded.

State of play: Coverage of the launch of the Ray-Ban Stories focused as much on privacy issues as on the product themselves.

This weekend, we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people. But we've lost track of the fact that at least that many will die of COVID-19 within the span of two days.

The big picture: 9/11 was a shocking attack that sparked massive domestic foreign policy changes and conflict in two countries. While the pandemic has certainly led to enormous policy and lifestyle changes, the daily drumbeat of hundreds of COVID deaths in America isn't garnering the attention it once did.

President Biden used a call with Xi Jinping on Thursday night to test whether personal diplomacy with the Chinese leader can make more progress than the meetings among subordinates, who have been snubbing and rebuffing Biden's aides.

Driving the news: The call was the first between Biden and Xi in seven months. Since Biden's election they had only spoken once previously, on Feb. 10.

Airport security continues to evolve since 9/11, and it's possible that within the next decade or so, passengers will be able to sail through a virtually invisible screening portal without stopping.

• That means shoes stay on, electronics stay in the bag and pockets don't have to be emptied.

President Biden says he's met the enemy — and it's America's unvaccinated.

The big picture: The majority of U.S. sentiment may be with him. But Biden's still taking a major political risk, and he and his team know it. He's testing business leaders' resolve, putting Democrats' standing in swing states and districts on the line ahead of 2022's midterm elections and tempting a tsunami of litigation over new requirements that could touch 100 million Americans.

President Biden on Thursday announced aggressive new mandates on vaccinations and testing. Axios experts break down what the announcement means for politics, business and health care.

Axios' political reporter Hans Nichols: White House officials know that Biden was elected to contain the virus — and that if he’s not successful, his entire presidency is at risk.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) outlined his thinking on infrastructure strategy in a Thursday phone interview with Axios.

Why he matters: Gottheimer's role as a leader among centrists, with a razor-thin Democratic majority in the House, makes him crucial to the party's internal negotiations.