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First lady Jill Biden visits Surfside building collapse site on one-year anniversary

First lady Jill Biden on Friday visited the site of the collapsed apartment building in Surfside, Fla., where 98 people died one year ago.

“On behalf of my husband, President Biden, whose heart and prayers have never left this community, we stand with you today and always. And as we gather, we express gratitude for this community,” Biden said in remarks at the Surfside Remembrance Event.

The 12-story condominium tower collapsed in the Miami suburb on June 24, 2021. A Miami-Dade Circuit Judge this week gave final approval to just over $1 billion in settlements for victims.

The first lady at the event thanked the fire fighters and first responders, as well as the members of the Surfside community and those across the U.S. who helped victims’ families.

“We honor the light you found in each other—a fellowship you never wanted to be a part of, but draw strength from just the same,” she said. “If there is something strong enough to help us carry the burden of grief forward—something able to break its gravitational pull—it’s love.”

She shared a message of unity to mark the anniversary, saying that Americans are still mourning the losses from the day. She also acknowledged the families whose loved ones died in the collapse.

“There are some who might say that the hurt fades over time. But we know that’s not true. There is a collapsed star spinning inside of us, and we will forever live in its gravity,” she said. “The things we carry are heavier now. And one year later—or many years later—our knees sometimes buckle beneath the weight of our grief.”

The visit is part of a two-day trip to Florida for the first lady. On Thursday, she was in Palm Beach for an event at a health center to highlight private sector commitments to end cancer, as part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

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Manchin ‘alarmed’ by Kavanaugh, Gorsuch’s votes on Roe

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he was “alarmed” that Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh voted to overturn Roe v. Wade after testifying that they believed the case was settled legal precedent during their confirmation hearings. 

Manchin tweeted on Friday that he was “deeply disappointed” that the court chose to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has provided constitutional protections for abortion for nearly half a century. 

“I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans,” Machin wrote. 

Manchin was one of three Democrats to vote to confirm Gorsuch and the only Democrat who voted to confirm Kavanaugh. 

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday in its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case concerned a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. 

Six of the justices voted to uphold the Mississippi law, but only five, including Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, voted for the court to rule that abortion is not protected by the Constitution at all. 

Manchin said he was raised “pro-life” but accepts that others might not share his definition of the term. He said exceptions to abortion bans should be made for instances of rape and incest and when the pregnancy puts the life of the mother at risk. 

He added that he would support legislation to codify the rights guaranteed by Roe v. Wade into law. 

Manchin voted last month against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have enshrined abortion protections into federal law, arguing the bill would have gone too far.

Other senators, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who voted to confirm Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have also said that the justices voting to overturn federal abortion rights would contradict them previously saying they considered Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 case where the court upheld abortion rights, as settled precedent.

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Watch live: Biden delivers remarks on Supreme Court decision

President Biden will speak Friday on the decision by the Supreme Court to strike down Roe v. Wade.

The event is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m.

Watch the live video above

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First state abortion bans kick in following Supreme Court ruling

The first state abortion bans have taken effect after the Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, driving home the immediate consequences of the monumental decision. 

Abortion bans are now in effect in Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Missouri, and more states are expected to soon follow.  

Thirteen states have “trigger” laws that ban abortion in the event of Roe v. Wade being struck down. Not all of those trigger laws go into effect immediately, but in three states they do: Louisiana, South Dakota and Kentucky, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.  

In Missouri, which first required the change’s certification from the state attorney general, Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Friday quickly certified that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, putting the ban into effect.  

“With this attorney general opinion, my Office has effectively ended abortion in Missouri,” said Schmitt, who is currently running for the U.S. Senate.  

His office said there are exceptions to the ban for a “medical emergency.” 

“My Office has been fighting to uphold the sanctity of life since I became attorney general, culminating in today’s momentous court ruling and attorney general opinion,” Schmitt added. 

Six other states could soon follow, according to Guttmacher, once their requirement of certification from the state attorney general or other official occurs: Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban had originally brought the issue before the high court.

Three more states have trigger bans that will take effect in 30 days: Idaho, Tennessee and Texas.  

In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear blasted the trigger law taking effect.

“Today’s decision triggers an extremist Kentucky law that creates a total ban in Kentucky that will eliminate all options for victims of rape or incest,” Beshear tweeted.  

The cascade of state abortion bans illustrates that abortion will be illegal in most cases across many of the states controlled by Republicans. Women in those states seeking abortions could have to travel hundreds of miles, at significant cost, to try to find a provider.  

Overall, Guttmacher estimates that abortion is likely or certain to be banned in 26 states. 

“Even with today’s horrible decision, abortion is still legal in most of the country. People who need care should go to abortionfinder.org,” Planned Parenthood said in a statement.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Thomas calls for overturning precedents on contraceptives, LGBTQ rights

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday called for overturning the constitutional rights the court had affirmed for access to contraceptives and LGBTQ rights in an opinion concurring with the majority to decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In his separate opinion, Thomas acknowledged that Friday’s decision does not directly affect any rights besides abortion. But he argued that the constitution’s Due Process Clause does not secure a right to an abortion or any other substantive rights, and he urged the court to apply that reasoning to other landmark cases.

Thomas wrote, “in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.”

Since Justice Samuel Alito’s draft majority opinion was leaked earlier this year, Democrats and liberal activists have warned that the conservative majority would soon turn its attention to other rights that the court has affirmed.

The three cases Thomas mentioned are all landmark decisions establishing certain constitutional rights.

In Griswold v. Connecticut, the court ruled in 1965 that married couples have a right to access contraceptive. In 2003, the court said in Lawrence v. Texas that states could not outlaw consensual gay sex. And the court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Source: TEST FEED1

Most teens not exercising enough, study finds

Most teens are not exercising enough, and researchers say this could be related to their school’s climate.  

Researchers at the University of Georgia found that 75 percent of students were not getting the recommended amount of daily exercise and looked for a link between exercise and student’s school environment. 

“The length of recess, physical facilities and social environments at schools have been found to affect physical activity among students,” said Janani Thapa, an associate professor of health policy and management at the University of Georgia.  

The team surveyed 360,000 high school students across Georgia, finding female students exercised less than males.  

“We do not know much about the role of school climate on physical activity,” said Thapa. “There must have been barriers that were faced by certain groups of students. Hence, we wanted to investigate the difference by gender.” 

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They measured students’ views on school connectedness, peer social support, adult social support, cultural acceptance, physical environment, school safety, peer victimization (bullying) and school support environment. 

Activity levels fell for both genders from grades 9 through 12. Yet the research suggests physical activity rose when there was a positive school climate. In schools where students reported bullying there was a corresponding drop in activity – especially among female students.  

“For example, female students who are active in sports and physically active may not fit the gender norm and hence may face bullying,” said Thapa. 

The researchers said schools can play a part in increasing teens’ exercise by creating a safe atmosphere for their students.  

Medical professionals recommend children ages six through 17 exercise for 60 minutes each day.  

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Biden’s executive order is a strong step forward — as LGBTQ youth need support

It was inspiring to be at the White House’s Pride celebration last week, surrounded by fellow LGBTQ leaders and the young people we serve, as President Biden not only acknowledged Pride Month but took historic action to advance the rights of LGBTQ Americans. 

The executive order touches upon many top policy priorities that The Trevor Project and our movement partners have been working on for years, including working to end the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion “therapy,” expanding the collection of LGBTQ-inclusive data across the federal government, protecting transgender and nonbinary young people’s access to gender-affirming care, and investing in suicide prevention resources. If implemented effectively, these initiatives can help save young LGBTQ lives.

This strong showing of support for the LGBTQ community comes at a time when we need it most. This year alone, our community has had to fight more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills, most targeting transgender and nonbinary youth. The onslaught of legislation includes laws that threaten to prosecute parents and doctors who provide gender-affirming health care, as well as laws that censor books and lessons in schools related to LGBTQ topics. 

Twenty-five anti-LGBTQ bills have passed, and thankfully, several have already been blocked in court or continue to be actively challenged. But the heated, public debates around these policies have generated a marked increase in threats and harassment against LGBTQ young people and their families. LGBTQ youth are watching, and what they see scares them.

As a suicide prevention and mental health organization, we at The Trevor Project strongly believe that supporting LGBTQ children should transcend political and cultural divides. We know that LGBTQ youth suicide is a public health crisis. Our research has found that 45 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. This is about saving lives. We must come together to equip young people with the tools they need to not only survive, but thrive.

It’s past time we finally put an end to so-called conversion “therapy” which attempts to change a person’s LGBTQ identity. The medical and scientific community has been clear that we should be expanding access and eliminating barriers to the LGBTQ-affirming medical and mental health care that so many LGBTQ young people are desperate to receive. In the midst of a mental health crisis — and a nation still processing the lingering impacts of COVID-19 loss and isolation — we must ensure that young people have access to the care they need. 

That’s also why it is so crucial that our schools become properly equipped with suicide prevention resources for LGBTQ students, as this executive order demands. Just over half of LGBTQ youth report that their schools are affirming spaces — and we know that when LGBTQ students feel affirmed at school, they report lower rates of attempting suicide.

Beyond schools, our nation’s crisis care system is long overdue for transformation, and 988, the new three-digit code for the national suicide prevention lifeline that will launch on July 16, provides us with a prime opportunity to reimagine responses to mental health crises. We are hopeful that this executive order will help ensure 988 is designed equitably, with specialized services for LGBTQ youth, who attempt suicide at more than four times the rate of their peers. 

We know that LGBTQ youth are disproportionately impacted by victimization and discrimination, which contributes to increased mental health challenges and suicide risk. However, we can’t grasp the full scope of these problems without robust, national data collected for LGBTQ Americans. President Biden’s executive order calls for the advancement of systematic data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity across federal agencies, which will be critical information for researchers and policymakers. 

After years of tireless work from advocates across the country, we’re finally seeing people in positions of power take serious steps toward addressing these issues. There are so many issues impacting, and threatening, the lives of LGBTQ people every day in this country. With at least 14 transgender people murdered this year — most of whom are women of color — 2022 is on track to become the deadliest year on record for the trans community, yet again. This executive order is a critical opportunity to listen and learn from the most marginalized among us and take action. 

Being surrounded by so many joyful LGBTQ people at the White House was an energizing moment of celebration after months of seemingly endless bad news. As we continue to witness homophobic and transphobic attacks against our community and grapple with concerns around safety at Pride events, the road ahead will be long and filled with challenges. 

But we must continue celebrating our pride, our existence, and our victories after so many years of tireless advocacy in the face of adversity. I’m grateful to this administration for taking this important, historic step toward advancing so many long-sought LGBTQ-inclusive policies that will help us better support LGBTQ young people who deserve love, support, and respect. 

Amit Paley is CEO of The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.

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House appropriators move to extend Title 42 through DHS budget

House appropriators voted Friday to extend a Trump-era border policy, adding a six-month extension of Title 42 to the Department of Homeland Security Budget.

The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), was passed by voice vote, leaving unclear with Democrats voted in support of the effort.

Title 42 contravenes asylum law, allowing border officials to rapidly expel migrants without allowing them to seek protection in the U.S.

The Biden administration continued the policy during the first year of its administration but moved in April to rescind the policy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined the pandemic conditions that Trump used to justify his emergency order were no longer necessary as the U.S. learns to live with COVID-19.

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from lifting Title 42, which the administration has appealed.

But the Newhouse amendment would require the Biden administration to keep the policy in place for another 180 days beyond the date that Title 42 is eventually terminated.   

Source: TEST FEED1

CNN guest tears up: SCOTUS ruling on Roe 'heartbreaking betrayal of half the country'

A guest on CNN was on the verge of tears as she discussed the bombshell ruling from the Supreme Court on Friday overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1970s decision granting the right to have an abortion.

“It’s a heartbreaking betrayal of half of the country,” said Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor who appeared on CNN as part of the network’s breaking news coverage of the Friday ruling.

Rodgers’s voice cracked as she spoke, and CNN played footage of people gathered outside of the Supreme Court either celebrating or protesting the decision.

“Sorry I’m getting … watching the women there,” Rodgers said. “It’s emotional. It’s a real problem.”

The decision is likely to dominate the news cycle on Friday and throughout the weekend. It was expected, following the leak of a draft ruling last month.

Nearly every major network and cable news channel broke into regularly scheduled programming with live coverage of the decision on Friday.

Source: TEST FEED1