Sign up for our daily briefing

Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Denver news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Des Moines news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Tampa Bay news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Charlotte news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Supreme Court temporarily blocks Louisiana abortion restrictions

Supporters of legal access to abortion, as well as anti-abortion activists, rally outside the Supreme Court. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily blocked a restrictive Louisiana abortion law from going into effect Friday, a measure providers say would have drastically reduced the number of doctors authorized to perform the procedure.

Why it matters: This case presented a swift test to the Supreme Court’s newly strengthened conservative majority, as anti-abortion forces hope it will overturn long-standing precedents on cases concerning abortion rights. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the more liberal justices in granting the stay, with the court voting 5-4.

Details: Last week, the high court temporarily blocked the state’s abortion law, passed in 2014, from going into effect next Monday. Justice Samuel Alito said that the Court needed more time to review the various filings before ruling on the emergency application filed by an abortion provider.

  • The law requires abortion services to have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles from the procedure. This mandate is nearly identical to a Texas abortion law the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in 2016, saying it would impose an "undue burden" on women’s constitutional right to abortion.
  • Lawyers at the Center for Reproductive Rights, who are representing the challengers, said the restriction would force the closure of two of the state’s three abortion clinics.

Go deeper

Hans Nichols, author of Sneak Peek
2 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Anthony Coley to lead Justice Department public affairs

The U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C. Photo: Xinhua/Ting Shen via Getty Images

Judge Merrick Garland, President Biden’s nominee for attorney general, has tapped Anthony Coley, an Obama-era Treasury Department official, to serve as a senior adviser and lead public affairs at the Department of Justice, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: As the public face of the DOJ, Coley will help explain — and defend — the department's actions, from sensitive cases to prosecutorial decisions, including the investigation into Hunter Biden.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
36 mins ago - Politics & Policy

AP: Justice Dept. rescinds "zero tolerance" policy

A young girl waves to onlookers through the fence at the US-Mexico border wall at Friendship Park in San Ysidro, California in Nov. 2018. Photo: Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden's acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson issued a memo on Tuesday to revoke the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy, which separated thousands of migrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border, AP first reported.

Driving the news: A recent report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz emphasized the internal chaos at the agency over the implementation of the policy, which resulted in 545 parents separated from their children as of October 2020.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Russell Contreras
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Biden picks up his pen to change the tone on racial equity

Vice President Harris looks on as President Biden signs executive orders related to his racial equity agenda. Photo: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

President Biden is making a down payment on racial equity in a series of executive orders dealing with everything from private prisons to housing discrimination, treatment of Asian Americans and relations with indigenous tribes.

The big picture: Police reform and voting rights legislation will take time to pass in Congress. But with the stroke of his pen, one week into the job, Biden is taking steps within his power as he seeks to change the tone on racial justice from the Trump administration.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow