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Updated 5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Texas county judge temporarily blocks anti-abortion group from enforcing ban against Planned Parenthood

Photo: Sergio Flores For The Washington Post via Getty Images

A Texas county judge on Friday granted a temporary restraining order against Texas Right to Life and its associates, preventing the anti-abortion group from enforcing a new six-week abortion ban against three Planned Parenthood affiliates.

Why it matters: The Texas law is the most restrictive abortion ban allowed to be enforced since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision enshrined abortion as a constitutional right. It also incentivizes people to sue anyone suspected of helping a pregnant person obtain an abortion — and awards at least $10,000 to people who succeed.

In photos: Biden tells Louisiana "we're going to have your back"

President Biden with residents of the Cambridge neighborhood in LaPlace, Louisiana. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden met with locals in Louisiana on Friday to offer federal assistance less than a week after Hurricane Ida tore through the Gulf Coast and destroyed millions of homes, AP reports.

Why it matters: Ida has killed at least 48 people in the Northeastern U.S. and 13 in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Over one million people were still without power in Louisiana as of Tuesday morning.

The Next Astronauts
Season 2 of How it Happened is here. Get the inside story of the first space flight to orbit without professional astronauts. Listen for free.
10 hours ago - Health

White House may scale back COVID-19 vaccine booster plan

Photo: Andi Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Top government health officials are warning the White House to scale back a plan to offer coronavirus booster shots beginning Sept. 20, contending that regulators need more time to collect and review necessary data for a third dose, sources confirm to Axios.

Why it matters: Officials are now weighing whether the plan will have to be modified as the Delta variant makes up for the majority of COVID-19 cases in U.S. and hospitals fill up with coronavirus patients, the New York Times reports.

Biden's issues order on declassification review of 9/11 documents

The sun rises above One World Trade Center and lower Manhattan in New York City on Sept. 3, 2021. Photo: Gary Hershorn via Getty Images

President Biden signed an executive order on Friday directing the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to pursue a declassification review of documents related to the FBI's investigations of the 9/11 attacks.

Why it matters: Victims' families have told the president they will object to his presence at next week's 20th-anniversary memorial events unless he declassifies documents that they believe will show the Saudi Arabian government supported the attacks.

Biden taps former Delaware governor to lead Afghan resettlement in the U.S.

Jack Markell. Photo by Sebastián Vivallo Oñate/Agencia Makro/LatinContent via Getty Images.

President Biden on Friday appointed Jack Markell, a former governor of Delaware, to temporarily lead the Afghan resettlement effort in the United States, per the Washington Post.

Why it matters: The massive push to resettle Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban rule faces considerable challenges, including the screening and housing of tens of thousands of people.

Chip shortage forces General Motors to idle North American plants

An incomplete GMC Hummer EV at a factory in Detroit in August 2021. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

General Motors will temporarily shut down eight of its 15 North American assembly plants for a week starting Monday because of a worsening global microchip shortage, according to ABC News.

Why it matters: The coronavirus pandemic and other disasters have disrupted supply chains for semiconductors, which are crucial for thousands of computer-controlled systems in new vehicles.

Remington subpoenas school records of Sandy Hook shooting victims

Some of the remaining memorial items to Sandy Hook Elementry students and staff who died are viewed in Newtown, Connecticut, on January 3, 2013. Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

A gunmaker being sued by nine families of Sandy Hook shooting victims has subpoenaed school records belonging to five children and four educators who were killed, the Connecticut Post reports.

Driving the news: Lawyers representing the nine families in court on Thursday sought to seal the records requested by the now-bankrupt Remington company.

Biden: "No question" Delta variant is to blame for poor jobs report

President Joe Biden speaking at the White House on Sept. 2. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

There is "no question" that the Delta variant is to blame for the disappointing August jobs report, President Biden said in remarks on Friday, a fact that he argued underscores the importance of continuing to vaccinate Americans and passing his economic agenda.

Why it matters: The U.S. economy added only 235,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than what economists expected in part because of the surge in new coronavirus cases driven by the Delta variant.

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
15 hours ago - Economy & Business

Texas CEOs stay silent on abortion ban

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Photo: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

In defending his state's new abortion ban, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott yesterday used business migration as his shield: "The people who are not wringing their hands are the people who create jobs that run businesses."

Why it matters: Business leaders have become America's new politicians, swinging their outsized influence on civil rights in Indiana, voting rights in Georgia and public health throughout the pandemic.

Felix Salmon, author of Capital
Updated 16 hours ago - Economy & Business

U.S. added 235,000 jobs in August, a massive slowdown

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. economy added a meager 235,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate fell from 5.4% to 5.2%, the government said Friday.

Why it matters: It's the first jobs report to factor in the extent of the COVID-19 surge driven by the Delta variant — showing a massive slowdown in the recovery after July's blockbuster jobs report. Economists had expected 725,000 jobs to be added.

How to reduce the toll of the next big storm

Expand chart
Data: National Weather Service; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Weather and climate science experts are struggling to determine how their accurate warnings of potentially disastrous urban flooding, instigated by Hurricane Ida’s remnants and supercharged by climate change, still resulted in so many deaths.

Why it matters: As climate change exacerbates extreme precipitation events such as this one, disconnects between forecasters and the public will need to be fixed in order to limit future deaths.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he may support Texas-like abortion law

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference in Viera, Fla., on Wednesday. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) indicated Thursday he could support a law banning abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, saying it was "interesting" and that he was "going to look more significantly at it."

Why it matters: States with Republican governments — newly emboldened by the Supreme Court's decision to leave Texas' law in place — could soon attempt to enact their own near-total abortion bans.

Ina Fried, author of Login
19 hours ago - Technology
Column / Signal Boost

What to expect from the fall tech launches

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

The inevitable centerpieces of fall's new-hardware season are new iPhones, Windows 11 PCs and other devices from Facebook, Amazon and Google. But to see where tech is moving next, you'll want to pay close attention to the market's edges — the niche products and surprise debuts that represent the companies' experiments and long bets.

Why it matters: The industry is on the cusp of new devices, including augmented reality glasses. Full-featured, affordable devices are still a couple years away, but, as we've written, the future is being developed in plain sight if you look closely enough.

20 hours ago - World

Japan's Prime Minister Suga to step down after one year in office

Suga detailing his resignation on Japanese television. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he will not seek re-election as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party this month, bringing his time as prime minister to an end ahead of a general election on Nov. 28.

Why it matters: Japan is the world's third-largest economy and a key U.S. ally. Suga became the first world leader to visit the White House in-person in April, where he and President Biden announced a "new era" in U.S.-Japan relations aimed in part at countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Democrats' next moves after a stunning SCOTUS loss on abortion

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Democrats say they're itching for a political fight over abortion rights — and that it will help them in the 2022 midterms. But even if they're right, they’re still losing the war.

The big picture: The Supreme Court appears to be barreling toward rulings giving red states significantly more power to restrict women's access to abortions, if not to ban the procedure outright.

Tina Reed, author of Vitals
20 hours ago - Health

America's in a COVID funk

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

The pandemic may not be over, but Americans are over the pandemic — and it's starting to show in our collective willingness to cooperate with public health guidance.

Why it matters: Over the last several weeks, the Delta variant dashed hopes of getting back to normal at a time when our patience for safety measures — and sometimes, each other — is already wearing thin.

Updated 22 hours ago - World

New Zealand police kill "ISIS-inspired terrorist" after mass stabbing at mall

Armed police patrol the area around Countdown LynnMall after a mass stabbing in west Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday. Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

New Zealand police shot dead a man after he entered an Auckland supermarket and stabbed multiple people in an "ISIS-inspired" terrorist attack on Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Details: Authorities said six people were taken to hospital, three with critical injuries, after the stabbing at the supermarket in LynnMall shopping center. The attacker was a known "violent extremist," Ardern said at a briefing.

ISIS militant pleads guilty to role in scheme that killed four Americans

Photo: Samuel Corum via Getty Images

An ISIS militant pleaded guilty Thursday to all charges related to his participation in a "brutal" scheme to capture, torture and ultimately behead hostages in Syria, including four Americans, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Why it matters: Alexanda Amon Kotey, a former British citizen who was part of an ISIS cell dubbed "The Beatles," is among those responsible for the 2014 executions of American journalist James Foley and other hostages, according to the DOJ.

Deadly Northeast floods: More than 40 killed by Hurricane Ida's remnants

Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Remnants of Ida brought historic rainfall and flash flooding that caused chaos and power outages across the Northeastern U.S.

The latest: More than 40 deaths have been reported from the flooding from Maryland to Connecticut, the AP reports.