Texas abortion law's enforcement mechanism not valid, judge rules
CBSN
A Texas judge said Thursday the enforcement mechanism behind the nation's strictest abortion law — which rewards lawsuits against violators by awarding judgments of $10,000 — is unconstitutional in a narrow ruling that still leaves a near-total ban on abortions in place.
State District Judge David Peeples of Austin side-stepped the broader legality of the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, which since September has banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks and before some women know they are even pregnant. Abortion providers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the law but it has so far declined to do so.
Planned Parenthood celebrated the ruling but said abortion services still remain "virtually inaccessible" in Texas. Supporters of the law that was signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott said it was unlikely to have any practical impact or even dissuade lawsuits against abortion clinics.
Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are making end-of-life preparations for their 3-year-old son after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to CBS affiliate KUTV. The boy had been playing on his tractor before he ended up in the water and a mile downstream.
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Washington — As former President Donald Trump's "hush money" criminal trial in New York proceeds to closing arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His attorneys and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, where they sparred with prosecutors during two contentious, day-long hearings on Wednesday.