Were you too caught up in school and other activities last week to pay attention to the news? Do you want to be informed about current events? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s what you missed last week.
1. A new Roe v. Wade challenge
The Supreme Court agreed to take up a key abortion case next term that could pose a major challenge to Roe v. Wade. The case concerns a controversial Mississippi law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks. A federal judge struck down that law in 2018. Now that the Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, it could set a new precedent that emboldens other states to enact similarly strict abortion laws. A majority of Americans want Roe v. Wade to stay in place.
2. Policing changes
15 unions that represent law enforcement officers across the country have endorsed a policing plan that includes an unprecedented shift in the way that unions protect bad police officers. Under the plan, law enforcement officers and those in adjacent professions would be encouraged to act as “active bystanders” and intervene when another union member is doing something wrong. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a DA is set to reveal the findings of a state investigation into the police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., and in South Carolina, two deputies involved in the in-custody death of Jamal Sutherland in January have been fired.
3. Havana Syndrome
The US is investigating two cases of a mysterious illness that affected White House officials late last year. The cases are consistent with “Havana Syndrome,” an inexplicable combination of sensory experiences and physical symptoms that have sickened more than 100 diplomats, spies and troops across the globe. The government has revealed it’s investigating a more serious case, although the intelligence community still isn’t sure who is causing the strange array of nervous system symptoms or if the episodes can even be called “attacks.”
4. Japanese doctors call for Olympics cancelation
The Tokyo 2020 Games start this summer, but a major Japanese doctors’ group is calling for the already delayed event to be canceled over fears that the country’s healthcare system cannot accommodate potential medical needs of thousands of international athletes, coaches and media amid a surge of coronavirus cases in the country. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association said, “We strongly request that the authorities convince the International Olympic Committee that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games.”
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