Apr 22, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Court allows Arkansas to ban abortions during coronavirus pandemic

Arkansas State Capitol building. Photo: Don & Melinda Crawford/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that Arkansas is allowed to ban most surgical abortions during the coronavirus pandemic, AP reports.

The big picture: Other red states have sought to block abortion clinics from operating during the coronavirus pandemic and have found their bans being challenged in court.

In Texas, a federal appeals court ruled that clinics can administer medication abortions as the state continues to try to ban abortions during the pandemic.
In Tennessee, a federal judge ruled the state must continue allowing abortions.

Arkansas' only surgical abortion clinic is allowed to carry out the procedure if it protects the life or health of the mother.

What they're saying: The appeal court stated in its ruling that the Arkansas Health Department’s “directive is a legally valid response to the circumstances confronted by the Governor and state health officials.”

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Workers — especially millennials and Gen Zers — are paying close attention to the words and actions of their employers during national crises, such as the protests following the killing of George Floyd in police custody.

Why it matters: American companies have an enormous amount of wealth and influence that they can put toward effecting change, and CEOs have the potential to fill the leadership vacuum left by government inaction. More and more rank-and-file employees expect their bosses to do something with that money and power.

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Trump backs off push to federalize forces against riots

Photo: Brendan Smialowski /AFP via Getty Images

A day after threatening to federalize forces to snuff out riots across the country, the president appears to be backing off the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, sources familiar with his plans tell Axios.

What we're hearing: Aides say he hasn’t ruled out its use at some point, but that he's “pleased” with the way protests were handled last night (apart from in New York City, as he indicated on Twitter today) — and that for now he's satisfied with leaving the crackdown to states through local law enforcement and the National Guard.

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Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Updates: George Floyd protests continue for 8th day

Police officers wearing riot gear push back demonstrators outside of the White House on Monday. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Protests over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people continued Tuesday across the U.S. for the eighth consecutive day, prompting a federal response from the National Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

The latest: The National Park Service said in a statement Tuesday that while it "is committed to the peaceful expression of First Amendment rights," it "cannot tolerate violence to citizens or officers or damage to our nation’s resources that we are entrusted to protect."

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