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Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on abortion pill rule

Capitol Police stand guard at the Supreme Court Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Photo:y Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The Supreme Court granted a Trump administration appeal on Tuesday and reinstated a federal requirement obligating women seeking an abortion pill to obtain the drug from a hospital or medical center in person.

Why it matters: It's the court's first ruling on abortion since the arrival of the conservative Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Details: Justices voted 6-3 in favor of the ruling, eight days before President Trump leaves office. The court's liberal justices dissented.

Of note, via AP: "The new administration could put the in-person requirement on hold after Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20."

The big picture: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit challenging over a Food and Drug Administration rule requiring the Mifeprex pill be picked up in person during a pandemic.

  • In December, a federal judge agreed with the groups and allowed the pill to be delivered via mail during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the order, via DocumentCloud:

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer
Updated Jan 13, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Lisa Montgomery first female inmate to be executed in U.S. in nearly 70 years

Demonstrators protest federal executions of death row inmates, in front of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., in December. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Lisa Montgomery became on Wednesday the first female inmate to be executed since 1953, per AP.

The big picture: The 52-year-old Kansas woman was declared dead at 1:31am after having a lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, following a Supreme Court ruling late Tuesday.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Courtenay Brown
11 mins ago - Economy & Business

Fed chair says low interest rates aren't driving stock market prices

Jerome Powell. Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Getty Images

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday that rock-bottom interest rates aren't playing a role in driving stock prices higher, while noting that vulnerabilities to the financial system are "moderate."

Why it matters: The statement comes amid unshakeable stock prices and a Reddit-fueled market frenzy — prompting widespread fears of a bubble and the role monetary policy has played in that.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
2 hours ago - World

Biden freezes U.S. arms deals with Saudi Arabia and UAE

Trump struck several large arms deals with Mohammed bin Salman (L) and Saudi Arabia. Photo: Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images

The Biden administration has put on hold two big arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which were approved in the final weeks of the Trump administration, a State Department official tells Axios.

Why it matters: The sales of F-35 jets and attack drones to the UAE and a large supply of munitions to Saudi Arabia will be paused pending a review. That signals a major policy shift from the Trump era, and may herald sharp tensions with both Gulf countries.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow