Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
A Bill Banning Most Abortions Becomes Law in Ohio. The six-week abortion ban known as the “heartbeat bill” is now law in Ohio. That makes Ohio the sixth state in the nation to attempt to outlaw abortions at the point a fetal heartbeat can be detected. (NPR)
Pete Buttigieg Announces Official Start to 2020 Campaign. Mr. Buttigieg’s main themes are generational change and winning back Rust Belt voters who supported Mr. Trump. (NY Times)
Ilhan Omar’s 9/11 Comments Spark More False Outrage – and Expose Anti-Muslim Bias. The most frustrating thing about this latest spasm of conservative backlash is the way it obscures Omar’s actual point about civil rights. (NBC News)
Julian Assange Arrested, Faces U.S. Charges Related to 2010 WikiLeaks Releases. The Justice Department announced Thursday that it is charging Julian Assange, setting the stage for a historic legal showdown with the controversial founder of WikiLeaks. (NPR)
Trump Urged Homeland Security Official to Close Border Despite an Earlier Promise of a Delay. Another example of the president trying to undo a federal decision and stretch the boundaries of his power, despite advice and legal issues. (NY Times)
A “Pure Racist Act”: N.Y. Post Slammed for Using 9/11 to Attack Rep. Omar Over Speech on Islamophobia. Many felt the newspaper had overstepped the bounds of acceptability. Others said they thought that the cover amounted to incitement of violence against Omar, who has faced a growing number of threats. (Washington Post)
Chicago is Tracking Kids with GPS Monitors That Can Call and Record Them Without Consent. Cook Country has a new contract for juvenile ankle monitors that critics say are an invasion of privacy. (The Appeal)
Netanyahu Set for Fifth Term as Israel’s Leader as Rival Concedes Defeat. Netanyahu claimed victory Tuesday night. “The right-wing bloc led by the Likud won a clear victory. I thank the citizens of Israel for the trust. I will start forming a right-wing government with our natural partners as soon as tonight,” Netanyahu said. (CNN)
How Kamala Harris’s Tax Returns Compares to Those of Other Candidates. The candidates’ tax returns showed that they earned substantially more than a vast majority of American households. (NY Times)
It’s the Sexism, Stupid. Why men are dominating the Democratic 2020 primary. (Politico)
