Texas enacts most extreme abortion law in US after supreme court inaction – live

A high school principal in Texas was suspended after parent criticism that he was promoting critical race theory, according to the Washington Post.

James Whitfield, principal of Colleyville Heritage High School, was initially the target of a heated school board meeting in July where one man accused Whitfield of promoting “the conspiracy theory of systemic racism”. Though school board policy barred direct attacks against individuals, the man named Whitfield throughout the meeting.

After several weeks of controversy, Whitfield, who is Black, was suspended by the school district.

“I was not given any clear reasoning behind the decision and was not given a timetable regarding further steps,” Whitfield told the Post. “I was simply told that it was in the best interest of the school district.”

Across the country, conservatives have spent the last year railing against critical race theory, though what ideas their anger is directed toward is largely undefined. In June, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that dictates what students in the state must be taught. Opponents of the bill say that it limits honest conversations about race in America and will make teachers shy away from discussing sensitive topics in the classroom.

New York governor Kathy Hochul, in one of her first major moves as the state’s new governor, called for lawmakers to return to Albany for a special session to extend the state’s eviction moratorium.

State lawmakers are expected to start a special session at noon today with the goal of extending the moratorium, currently set to expire at midnight, through mid-January.

“We are not going to exacerbate what is already a crisis in terms of the homelessness problem. We are not going to allow people who through no fault of their own lost income, are not able to pay and are facing eviction,” Hochul said at a press conference Tuesday.

The state’s Congressional delegation sent a letter to Hochul Monday urging her to extend the moratorium.

Last week, the US Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban on evictions, allowing evictions across the country to resume. Along with New York, other states like California, Maryland and New Jersey have put in place their own temporary ban on evictions.

Markwayne Mullin, a Republican US representative from Oklahoma, reportedly threatened the Tajikistan ambassador and his staff for not assisting him in transferring cash into the country, with the ultimate goal of going into neighboring Afghanistan to rescue five Americans, a woman and her four children, who are stuck in the country.

According to the Washington Post, Mullin planned to hire a helicopter for the operation and called the Tajikistan embassy for help. Embassy officials rejected his request, denying that they would break the country’s laws on cash limits to help him visit the country. The representative became outraged, demanding to know the names of the staff members who he was speaking to.

The Pentagon earlier had denied Mullin’s request to travel to Afghanistan given the dangerous conditions in the country. Two other Congress members have taken unauthorized trips to Afghanistan, Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts and Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan. The Pentagon and State Department have criticized these operations as PR stunts that take away resources from strained departments during a time of crisis.

House leaders Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy have spoken against lawmakers traveling to the country.

“You’re putting yourself – not just yourself, but you’re putting Americans in harm’s way, if the military has to protect you, which they will do,” McCarthy said last week.

Two top officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have reportedly resigned over frustrations toward the White House’s handling of Covid-19 vaccine booster shots. The officials worked in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the agency’s vaccine department.

Joe Biden’s announcement last month that Americans will be eligible for a booster shot has frustrated FDA regulators who are scrambling to organize data that clearly demonstrates the benefits of a booster shot and come up with a solid rollout plan by 20 September, the date when the administration said booster shots will become available.

Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert who is on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee told Politico that the booster plan is more the White House’s than the FDA’s. “The administration has kind of backed themselves up against the wall a little bit here.”

FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock sent a memo yesterday to FDA regulators yesterday emphasizing that she understands that work is “complex and the days are long” but “will hopefully one day allow us to fully put Covid-19 behind us and better prepare us for future challenges.”

Good morning, and welcome to the politics live blog.

The most restrictive abortion law since Roe v Wade will go into effect today in Texas, making illegal abortions once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, typically six weeks after conceptions. The law offers no exceptions for rape or incest.

The law allows any private citizen to sue an abortion provider, leaving clinics in the state vulnerable to lawsuits. Multiple challenges against the law were brought to court but have so far seen no actions. The US supreme court has not acted on an appeal made against the law. The court is expected to take up a Mississippi abortion ban in its next term, though its lack of action around this Texas law signals the risk Roe v Wade is in with the court’s anti-choice majority.

“Abortion access will be thrown into absolute chaos,” Amanda Williams, executive director of the abortion support group the Lilith Fund, told the Guardian. “It is unbelievable that Texas politicians have gotten away with this devastating and cruel law that will harm so many.”

We’ll be keeping an eye out for reactions to this new law. Here’s what else we’re watching today.

• A law that restricts voting by mail and empowers poll watchers is headed to the desk of Texas governor Greg Abbott after it passed the state’s legislature. Abbott has indicated he plans to sign the legislation into law.
• The debate over mask mandates in schools continues as Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf announced yesterday that K-12 schools must mandates masks.
• The Caldor Fire is closing in on Lake Tahoe, threatening over 34,000 structures in the popular resort town. Meanwhile, people in Louisiana are still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, dealing with stifling heat as blackouts continue in New Orleans.

Stay tuned for more live updates.