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RandySF's JournalUK police officer charged with showing support for Hamas
LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - A British police officer has been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly publishing an image in support of Hamas, a group banned in Britain as a terrorist organisation, police said on Wednesday.
Mohammed Adil, 26, from Bradford in northern England, was arrested last November and charged following an investigation by British counter-terrorism officers, Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said the inquiries had focused on messages shared on WhatsApp which had concluded the case should be referred to prosecutors.
"On Monday, PC Mohammed Adil, 26, was charged with two counts of publishing an image in support of a proscribed organisation, specifically Hamas, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act," the IOPC statement said. "The offences are alleged to have taken place in October and November 2023."
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-police-officer-charged-with-showing-support-hamas-2024-05-01/
Police Officers Respond as Clashes Erupt at U.C.L.A. Encampment
Administrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, called in law enforcement officers after violent clashes broke out at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment, a university official said early Wednesday.
The Los Angeles police were “responding immediately” to a request for support from the university, according to the office of the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass.
“Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Mary Osako, a vice chancellor at the university, in said an emailed statement.
“The fire department and medical personnel are on the scene,” she added. “We are sickened by this senseless violence and it must end.”
Videos posted to social media show clashes involving protesters, firecrackers exploding near groups of demonstrators and people spraying what appeared to be irritant sprays at one another. Some people are also seen tearing down metal barricades surrounding the encampment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/nyregion/ucla-protests.html
Trump leaves door open to banning medication abortion nationwide
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is planning to release more details in the weeks ahead about how his administration would regulate access to medication abortion, according to comments he made during a lengthy interview with Time magazine published Tuesday.
Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president, said that he has “strong views” about access to mifepristone, though he declined to say exactly what those are. He did not rule out a nationwide ban, or imposing new restrictions.
“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain,” Trump said, according to the transcript of the interview. “I’m not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week.”
Mifepristone is one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortions, which make up more than 63% of abortions nationwide, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/04/30/trump-leaves-door-open-to-banning-medication-abortion-nationwide/
Pregnant Floridians referred to North Carolina as state's six-week abortion ban begins
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state’s six-week abortion ban starts at midnight Wednesday, but Floridians are already being denied care. Health providers say they’re forced to refer some patients out of state due to other Florida laws on the books.
The new six-week ban was approved by the state’s GOP-controlled legislature last year and on hold until a favorable Florida Supreme Court ruling earlier this month. Justices, in a split decision, found the state constitution’s privacy protections didn’t cover abortion access.
Florida law is now set to change from restricting abortions past 15 to just six weeks. That's before many know they’re pregnant. It’s also around the time cardiac activity is detected, which some consider a heartbeat.
The new rules have exceptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, and health up to 15 weeks. Only abortions related to fatal conditions are allowed beyond that.
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/pregnant-floridians-referred-to-north-carolina-as-states-six-week-abortion-ban-begins
Florida's 6-week abortion ban takes effect as doctors worry women will lose access to health care
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Florida's ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant, went into effect Wednesday, and some doctors are concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to needed health care.
Dr. Leah Roberts, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist with Boca Fertility in Boca Raton, said the anti-abortion laws being enacted by Florida and other red states are being vaguely written by people who don't understand medical science. The rules are affecting not just women who want therapeutic abortions, meaning procedures to terminate viable pregnancies because of personal choice, but also nonviable pregnancies for women who want to have babies.
“We’re coming in between them and their doctors and preventing them from getting care until it’s literally saving their lives, sometimes at the expense of their fertility,” Roberts said.
The new ban has an exception for saving a woman's life, as well as in cases involving rape and incest, but Roberts said health care workers are still prevented from performing an abortion on a nonviable pregnancy that they know may become deadly — such as when the fetus is missing organs or implanted outside the uterus — until it actually becomes deadly.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/floridas-6-week-abortion-ban-takes-effect-doctors-109814370
Ballot amendment campaign launched to enshrine the right to fishing and hunting in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A proposed ballot amendment campaign launched to enshrine the right to fishing and hunting in Florida this week.
The campaign, called “YES ON 2,” was launched by leading Florida anglers, hunters and conservationists, according to an announcement.
The proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution would “preserve forever fishing and hunting, including by the use of traditional methods, as a public right and preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.”
The amendment will be on the November ballot. At least 60% of the vote is required in order for it to pass.
https://flvoicenews.com/ballot-amendment-campaign-launched-to-enshrine-the-right-to-fishing-and-hunting-in-florida/
ME: Proposed Ballot Question Wording for Initiative Seeking to Limit SuperPAC Contributions Now Available for Public Com
Public comment is now being accepted by the Secretary of State’s Office on the proposed ballot question wording for a citizens initiative that is set to go before Maine voters this November.
Validated by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in February, the law proposed by the initiative aims to change campaign finance law in the state by limiting the value of donations made to qualifying political action committees (PACs).
As it is currently drafted, the ballot question to be presented to Mainers in November reads:
“Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to groups that spend money independently to support or defeat candidates for office?”
According to the proposed legislation, contributions made by both individuals and businesses to PACs “for the purpose of making independent expenditures” would be limited to a total of $5,000 per calendar year.
https://www.themainewire.com/2024/04/proposed-ballot-question-wording-for-citizens-initiative-seeking-to-limit-superpac-contributions-now-available-for-public-comment/
VA: Arlington Democrats Host School Board Endorsement Vote: 2024 Election
ARLINGTON, VA — Voters have until May 11 to cast their electronic ballot for the School Board Endorsement Vote sponsored by the Arlington Democrats. The two candidates running for the two open seats on the Arlington County School Board who get the most votes will receive the party's endorsement in the November election.
On Tuesday, the Arlington Democrats released introductory videos of each of the three candidates seeking the party's endorsement: Kathleen Clark, Cheng Ling, and Zuraya Tapia-Hadley.
“At a time when Governor Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Republicans are attacking our teachers and schools, we need to elect strong leaders who will champion our public schools,” said Arlington Democrats Chair Steve Baker, in a release. “I encourage every Arlington Democratic voter to participate in our School Board Endorsement process now online through May 11 or during our three in-person voting days next week. The candidates we endorse ahead of the November election will stand up to Youngkin’s culture wars and ensure our children have access to a quality public education.”
Any registered voter in Arlington can cast a ballot during the endorsement vote, although they must sign a pledge prior to voting. The deadline for requesting an electronic ballot is Friday, May 10. You should received a ballot within 24-36 hours of requesting one and completed ballots must be submitted by 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 11.
https://patch.com/virginia/arlington-va/arlington-democrats-host-school-board-endorsement-vote-2024-election
CA-16: Evan Low (D) leads Joe Simitian (D) by four votes as Santa Clara County finishes recount.
After an astonishing eight-week saga of counting and recounting more than 182,000 ballots, Assemblymember Evan Low emerged on top Tuesday — ahead of Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian by just four votes in their race for second place in California’s Congressional District 16.
But it’s not over yet, as more than a dozen challenged ballots are still up in the air in San Mateo County.
On Tuesday, Santa Clara County wrapped up the recount in the primary race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, with Low gaining 11 votes overall and Simitian gaining seven. San Mateo County finished its recount last week and saw no changes in the vote totals for either candidate.
The captivating recount kicked off April 15 — more than a week after Low and Simitian tied behind former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. With no automatic recount provision in statewide or federal races in California, Jonathan Padilla, a 2020 and 2024 Biden delegate and former mayoral campaign staffer for Liccardo, requested the recount and has been paying for it through a Super PAC called Count the Vote.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/30/evan-low-leads-joe-simitian-by-four-votes-after-santa-clara-county-completes-its-recount-but-its-not-over-yet/
NV: RSLC Targets Down-Ballot 'Biden Allies' With 'Republican Roadmap' Campaign
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) and its affiliated PACs has released its ‘Republican Roadmap’ ad campaign throughout the swingy Silver State highlighting how “state Republicans serve as the last line of defense for their constituents” in a pivotal 2024 election year.
In Nevada, Democrats have a supermajority in the Assembly and are one seat short to having a supermajority in the Senate. A gain of one seat in the Senate and holding the supermajority in the Assembly would give the Democratic state party a veto-proof supermajority, thereby quashing any attempt by Governor Lombardo and his republican colleagues in the legislature to introduce or pass reformative legislation.
Although a dual supermajority is within grasp, state Democrats have rallied around President Biden who is facing the worst poll numbers of any incumbent president in recent history.
According to a recent tracking survey by pollsters Civiqs, overall the president has a net approval rating nationwide of -22 percent, with 57 percent disapproving of the job he is doing and 35 percent approving. In Nevada, Biden’s net approval is -23 percent, with 58 percent disapproving of the job his is doing.
https://thenevadaglobe.com/articles/rslc-targets-down-ballot-biden-allies-with-republican-roadmap-campaign/
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