Good morning.
Across Texas, Democratic-held cities are galvanizing to mitigate the effects of the Republican-run state’s near-total abortion ban after the US supreme court voted in June to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark case that gave Americans a constitutional right to terminate their pregnancies.
Texas’s capital, Austin, voted last week to “decriminalize” abortion in the city by passing the Guarding the Right to Abortion Care for Everyone (Grace) Act. Although abortion is still illegal in the state, the passing of the Grace Act will redirect the city’s budget to focus on going after more important crimes such as sexual assault, theft and burglary.
Local politicians in Waco, a city halfway between Austin and Dallas, followed suit and put forward their own version of the Grace Act for consideration.
Other cities such as San Antonio are also gearing up to protect those who receive and provide abortions. On Wednesday, the mayor, Ron Nirenberg, and the city council gathered on the steps of city hall to announce the consideration of a similar resolution in support of reproductive rights.
Will these cities succeed? Liberal cities face an uphill battle. City council member Teri Castillo, who drafted a resolution, anticipates the Republican party will identify ways to close potential loopholes or protections for those who wish or need to seek access to an abortion.
What else is happening? The number of clinics offering abortion care in 11 US states that have implemented total or six-week bans in the month since the supreme court overturned abortion rights has dropped from 71 to 43, a study shows.
Could the US highways that split communities on racial lines finally fall?
When the US transportation department recently announced a $1bn five-year pilot program to aid communities racially segregated by US government-sponsored highway projects, local residents responded with a mix of optimism and tempered expectations. Joe Biden singled out the Claiborne Expressway when the program, known as Reconnecting Communities, was first announced.
Experts and advocates question whether the initial investment is enough to reverse the devastation in Black neighborhoods in the name of connection. The amount unveiled by the transportation department is a far cry from the original $20bn proposed. But advocates agree that it’s an unprecedented and welcome step in pursuit of highway reparations.
Under the department’s program, announced in late June, cities, states, non-profits, tribal governments and city planning organizations can seek grants to conduct traffic studies, encourage public input on highway plans, and pursue other planning activities “in advance of a project to remove, retrofit, or mitigate an existing eligible facility to restore community connectivity.” Communities can apply for $195m in grants in the first year, $50m for planning studies, and the remainder for capital construction.
What do those who live locally say? Amy Stelly, an urban designer and co-founder of the Claiborne Avenue Alliance, which is advocating for its removal, told the Guardian: “It’s the beginning, not the end, of the process.”
‘What about my life?’ West Virginia girl, 12, speaks out against anti-abortion bill
An impassioned plea from a 12-year-old girl has gone viral after she spoke to West Virginia Republican lawmakers during a public hearing for an abortion bill that would prohibit the procedure in nearly all cases.
On Wednesday, Addison Gardner of Buffalo middle school in Kenova, West Virginia, was among several people who spoke out against a bill that would not only ban abortions in most cases but also allow for physicians who perform abortions to be prosecuted.
Addressing the West Virginia house of delegates, Gardner, among about 90 other speakers, was given 45 seconds to plead her case.
“My education is very important to me and I plan on doing great things in life. If a man decides that I’m an object and does unspeakable and tragic things to me, am I, a child, supposed to carry and birth another child?” Gardner said.
Why is Samuel Alito in the news? The US supreme court justice has mocked prominent figures around the world including British prime minister Boris Johnson, French president Emmanuel Macron and Prince Harry after they criticised last month’s ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision.
In other news …
Congressman Andy Levin, the scion of a distinguished Jewish political dynasty, a committed Zionist and the former president of his synagogue, has been stung by the largest pro-Israel lobby group’s campaign to paint him as an enemy of the Jewish state because he has spoken up for the Palestinians.
Alabama has executed a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend nearly three decades ago, despite a request from the victim’s family to spare his life. Joe Nathan James Jr received a lethal injection on Thursday night at a south Alabama prison after the US supreme court denied his request for a stay.
Instagram is reversing some changes to the app following a user backlash that saw influencer royalty Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian turning on the platform. The photo and video sharing app was accused of mimicking TikTok at the expense of its most loyal users.
Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia’s last remaining independent news outlets, is under threat after the country’s media watchdog demanded that its website and print edition be stripped of its licence. The announcement was made after the newspaper received two warnings over alleged violations.
Don’t miss this: how Marilyn Monroe’s ‘sex bomb’ image buries the truth
In life, Marilyn Monroe made herself noticed far beyond Hollywood and in ways very different from the corny “sex bomb” image that is the leitmotif of her modern iconography. Yet 60 years after she died, Monroe’s vivid presence in the world’s culture – only Diana, Princess of Wales rivals her hold over the public imagination – does not allow for nuance. The spectacle of Monroe’s tumultuous life and death still holds us in its grip. With a major new biopic on the way, her biographer sorts fact from fiction.
Climate check: what’s in the climate bill that Joe Manchin supports – and what isn’t
Joe Manchin, the centrist West Virginia senator and coal company owner who has repeatedly thwarted Joe Biden’s attempts to pass legislation to tackle the climate crisis, shocked Washington on Wednesday by saying he will support a bill aimed at cutting planet-heating emissions. The $369bn package has been touted by jubilant Democrats as the largest climate bill ever in the US, and even the world. So what’s in the legislation? And what does Manchin support and not support in it?
Last Thing: potential rival or running mate? Kristi Noem, the governor denying Trump a face on Mount Rushmore
Donald Trump’s rough summer continues. Hammered by the January 6 committee, his influence ebbing and possible prosecution looming, now the former US president must face the death of a long-cherished dream. No, Trump’s face will not be carved into Mount Rushmore. Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, home to the hallowed national memorial, has ruled out any additions to the 60-foot-tall (18-metre) faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
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