(WASHINGTON) — An apparent draft Supreme Court opinion obtained by Politico shows the panel’s conservative majority of justices is ready to overturn nearly 50 years of established abortion rights precedent since Roe v. Wade.
The document, which Politico said it obtained from a “person familiar with the court’s proceedings,” is marked “first draft” and dated Feb. 10, 2022 — two months after oral arguments were heard in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. ABC News has not independently confirmed the draft.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” writes Justice Samuel Alito, the opinion’s apparent author, in a copy of the draft posted online.
The leak is an extraordinary breach of Supreme Court protocol and tradition. Never before has such a consequential draft opinion been leaked to the public before publication.
Reached by ABC News, a Supreme Court spokeswoman declined to comment.
The Dobbs case involves Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy — well before fetal viability, the longstanding dividing line established by the court before which states cannot restrict a woman’s access to the procedure.
During arguments in December, five of the justices hinted that they were ready to do away with the “viability standard” established by Roe and a subsequent 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
An unnamed source familiar with the deliberations told Politico that Justices Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett all initially supported a ruling siding with Mississippi and “that line-up remains unchanged as of this week.”
The drafting of Supreme Court opinions, however, is a fluid and dynamic process, sources familiar with the internal operations have told ABC News. The document posted suggests a majority of justices is likely to side with Mississippi, but how broad a ruling will ultimately come down remains unclear.
Chief Justice John Roberts famously changed his vote late during deliberations over the Affordable Care Act in 2012, narrowly saving the law from being struck down. A Wall Street Journal editorial this month suggested that Roberts, who reveres established precedent and the court’s reputation, may be trying to convince one of his conservative colleagues to join him in a narrower opinion.
If Alito’s opinion were to hold, as written, it would dramatically upend abortion rights across America, effectively allowing each state to set its own policy.
“The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion,” the draft concludes. “Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Rise Against will be playing the 2022 #iVoted Festival.
The virtual event takes place November 8 — the same day as the U.S. midterm elections. You can RSVP to watch by sending in a selfie from outside your polling location, or with a blank, vote-from-home ballot.
Those who aren’t yet of voting age can also take part in the #iVoted Festival by RSVPing with their first voting-eligible election year and sharing “why they’re excited to vote.”
Other artists on the 2022 lineup include Halestorm, Umphrey’s McGee, Run the Jewels and Bowling for Soup frontman Jaret Reddick.
The 2021 documentary The Beatles and India, a film that explores the impact of the South Asian country and its culture on The Beatles‘ lives and music, as well as how the Fab Four helped introduce Indian music to the world, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 21.
The Beatles and India was co-directed by Ajoy Bose, author of the book Across the Universe — The Beatles in India, which served as the inspiration for the movie. The film includes rare archival footage, recordings and photographs; expert commentary; eyewitness accounts; and new segments filmed across India.
According to the film’s official website, the documentary “is the first serious exploration of how India shaped the development of the greatest-ever rock band and their own pioneering role bridging two vastly different cultures across the universe.”
The Beatles’ interest in Indian music was sparked after guitarist George Harrison bought a sitar and began to take lessons from Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar. The band first featured sitar on their classic 1965 tune “Norwegian Wood,” and Indian influences were subsequently included on such songs as “Tomorrow Never Knows,” “Love You To,” “Within You Without You” and “The Inner Light.”
The Beatles and India also looks at the band’s 1968 trip to Transcendental Meditation guru the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi‘s ashram in Rishikesh, during which many of the songs that appeared on The White Album were written.
You can pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray versions of The Beatles and India now at MVDShop.com.
(NEW YORK) — Families of victims of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School have agreed to remove InfoWars as a defendant in their defamation lawsuit, hoping to end what they’ve called the “charade” of InfoWars’ bankruptcy filing.
The families accused InfoWars of “intolerable abuse” through bankruptcy, which the website sought after it and founder Alex Jones were found liable for damages after claiming the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting that killed 20 children and six staff members was a hoax.
When an entity files for bankruptcy protection, it automatically suspends all litigation pending against that entity.
“These cases were removed to this Court to serve one purpose and one purpose only: delay,” the families said in new court documents filed in Connecticut on Monday.
“Every day that these cases are frozen on the Connecticut Superior Court docket is a day that Alex Jones avoids accountability and delays trial,” the document states. “Every day they are removed harms these families’ fight for justice.”
Last month, Jones was fined $25,000 for declining to sit for a deposition for the lawsuit. The Connecticut court ultimately ordered the return of $75,000 in fines after Jones attended a rescheduled deposition later in the month.
Jones is facing a new lawsuit in Texas over accusations that the Infowars host hid millions of dollars in assets after the litigation in the Sandy Hook case began.
Jones himself did not file for bankruptcy, and it’s believed he retains the bulk of the assets that could be used to pay the families’ damage awards. The families called InfoWars and its offshoots “shell companies” that offered nothing.
“To ensure that this intolerable abuse of the removal process ends immediately, all of the plaintiffs in these case … voluntarily dismissed all of their claims against Infowars,” the filing said.
Neither Jones nor his attorneys immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Ariana Grande posted the spiritual successor of her “Thank u, next” music video — a commercial for her r.e.m. beauty that has her further channeling Mean Girls. The singer shared a TikTok of her celebrating her newest collection coming to Ulta, so she recited the infamous scene where Amanda Seyfried fakes being sick.
Lizzo has no idea how Beyoncé obtained a never-before-seen baby photo of her, which the “Single Ladies” singer used to celebrate her 34th birthday. “Beyoncé?! Where u get this pic?? I ain’t seen this since I was born,” Lizzo tweeted, along with a sobbing emoji. Bey has yet to reveal her secrets.
Marry Me star Maluma welcomed Madonna on stage when performing in Medellín, Colombia. NME reports the two duetted on her 2000 hit, “Music,” and on their collaborative track, “Medellín,” which was on her Madame X album. Madge shared a carousel of photos of the event to her Instagram.
Justin Bieber added a pre-July 4th show to his Justice World Tour, where he’ll take over Los Angeles, California’s Kia Forum. The July 3 concert will close out his North American tour leg before he jumps across the pond to perform in Europe. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. PT on Ticketmaster.
Lady Gaga shared snaps of her and Tom Cruise sharing cheek kisses after he attended her Jazz & Piano Vegas residency. “Thank you for coming to the show last night,” she captioned the sweet pictures. “I love you my friend.” Gaga sings the track “Hold My Hand” for Tom’s upcoming Top Gun: Maverick movie.
Dua Lipa is the newest face of Truly hard seltzer, and promoted their new variety pack that drops May 15, which offers “tropical and blissful” flavors. Dua told USA Today she first tried hard seltzer in the U.S. because it’s not popular in England.
Dua Lipa is the newest face of Truly hard seltzer, and promoted their new variety pack that drops May 15, which offers “tropical and blissful” flavors. Dua told USA Todayshe first tried hard seltzer in the U.S. because it’s not popular in England and says she enjoys the taste.
Justin Bieber added a pre-July 4th show to his Justice World Tour, where he’ll take over Los Angeles, California’s Kia Forum. The July 3 concert will close out his North American tour leg before he jumps across the pond to perform in Europe. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. PT on Ticketmaster.
Lady Gaga shared snaps of her and Tom Cruise sharing kisses on the cheek after he attended her Jazz & Piano Vegas residency. “Thank you for coming to the show last night,” she captioned the sweet pictures. “I love you my friend.” Gaga sings the track “Hold My Hand” for Tom’s upcoming Top Gun: Maverick movie.
Madonna joined Marry Me star Maluma on stage during his Medellín, Colombia, show. NME reports the two duetted on her 2000 hit, “Music,” and on their collaborative track, “Medellín,” which was on her Madame X album. Madge shared a carousel of photos of the event to her Instagram.
Harry Styles is welcoming fans to Harry’s House with a one-night-only show in New York.
On May 20 — the same day his new album Harry’s House drops — Harry will perform at UBS Arena in Queens, New York, and fans can see him sing the songs from the new album live for the first time ever. Tickets cost just $25 all-in, and American Express card members can register now for early access to tickets.
If you’re selected for the pre-sale, you can buy tickets starting May 5 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET. If you aren’t an AmEx card member, you can simply register for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Presale, and buy tickets starting May 5 at 12 p.m. ET. There will not be a general on-sale date.
Harry’s tour of the U.K. and Ireland starts June 11.
Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on Sesame Street for 44 years before leaving in 2015, makes her animated debut on Monday on the PBS Kids show Alma’s Way.
The actress plays Granny Isa in the program, which she created. “It’s wonderful!” she enthuses about her first-ever animated role. “I never have to worry about what I’m gonna wear because animated characters never change their clothes. Every hair is in place!”
Manzano explains that the show “is based on critical thinking,” noting, “Every episode, Alma gets into some sort of jam or she has a problem and she…decides to ‘think it through,’ and kind of a bubble appears next to her head. And kids see the thought process. And we’re hoping that that will inspire them to understand that everybody has a brain and they could think, too.
The show takes place in the New York City borough of the Bronx — where Manzano grew up — something she calls “fabulous.”
“I feel like I’ve gone full circle,” she says. “You know, I started out in the Bronx, and now here I am, ending up in the Bronx.”
She adds, “Alma’s Way takes place in the Bronx in neighborhoods that I lived in, populated with many people that I loved and some who were actually my relatives.”
In fact, her character, Granny Isa, was so named to honor Manzano’s own mother, Isa.
As for her previous gig, Sesame Street, Manzano explains that she’s still thanked for helping generations of kids.
“I do hear it from a lot of people,” she tells ABC Audio. “And it’s frankly, it’s very gratifying to realize that all the work that you’ve been doing has made some impact and that people were indeed paying attention.”
(NEW YORK) — In 2021, more than 47 million Americans quit their jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – the most resignations on record. As resignation rates remain high in early 2022, in what has been since deemed by some as “The Great Resignation,” many are wondering if there is a shift in the way Americans are viewing work.
Desmond Dickerson, the Director of Future of Work Marketing at Microsoft, describes himself as a futurist. He said that pandemic remote work was just a “kickstart” to The Great Resignation.
“If you’re leaving the job previously [before the pandemic], that means uprooting,” said Dickerson. “But now all that needs to happen is that you toss one laptop to the side and then bring in a new one… So that barrier to entry for transitioning to jobs has changed.”
The pandemic radically changed how Americans work. Many turned homes into offices and some frontline workers began risking their lives for a paycheck. After the federal government spent nearly $2 trillion in a COVID-19 relief package, the economic rebound from the pandemic accelerated.
Although some businesses are now booming, they are having to fight hard to keep employees.
In late 2020, Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of business at Texas A&M, said he saw The Great Resignation coming. During the pandemic, he says he noticed four signals: a backlog of resignations, widespread burnout, people reevaluating their relationship with work and, finally, the opportunity of remote work.
“Once the threat of the pandemic started to lift, it made sense to me that many of these individuals would enact their plans to quit their jobs… People reevaluating what work meant to them,” said Klotz. “It seemed like there was a big disconnect there between what employees, what workers wanted and what organizational leaders were hoping would happen coming out of the pandemic.”
Dickerson said that the shift in mentality is evident in new job postings.
“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen remote work go from the margins into the mainstream, and the data on LinkedIn is showing us that one in seven jobs that are being posted right now have a remote or hybrid work component,” said Dickerson. “In March of 2020, that number was 1 in 67.”
While some are able to work from home, frontline workers continued to work in-person during the pandemic in order to keep grocery stories, restaurants and hospitals running. Overall frontline work pays less than the remote jobs from home and many frontline workers became fed-up because they felt like they were being unfairly treated, said Klotz.
“It’s really interesting for the individuals who have in-person work that are not able to switch to remote work,” said Klotz. “I think those individuals felt especially unfairly treated by the pandemic because not only did they have to work in-person, but they also saw another half of the population who are working remotely.”
From 1980 to 2019, according to the Economic Policy Institute, there has been a continual increase in pay rates of high earners, graduates and professionals but low earners remained flat.
Nicholas Bloom, an Economics professor at Stanford University, said that the job market has now shifted and front line workers have more of a say.
“For the first time, maybe in decades, [historically low earners] can say, ‘Look, I can quit my job easily, find another job and get a pay increase at the same time,” said Bloom. “And in fact, that’s why they’re quitting. People aren’t quitting, mainly because they’re dissatisfied with their current jobs, they’re generally quitting to get another job.”
Bloom said that the flexibility of finding a new job also applies to remote workers and employers are adding permanent remote work or hybrid options to hire and retain talent.
“Nobody I talk to is thinking of going back. I’m not aware of anyone who successfully got professionals back five days a week. I just don’t think it will happen,” said Bloom.
According to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, 53% of people surveyed said that they are putting more focus on their own mental health and wellbeing.
Dickerson said remote work has allowed people to do so.
“Organizations and leaders need to be very intentional about how they’re building this new future of work,” said Dickerson.
Before the pandemic, it was assumed that remote work would lead to unproductive results, but since then critics have been proven wrong, according to Klotz. The tricky thing is that although people can still be productive from home, some companies can still argue the value of face-to-face interactions.
”We’re in a bit of a golden age of business experimentation,” said Klotz. “The exciting thing is that the nine-to-five work week is not going to be replaced by some other single type of work arrangement. What it’s being replaced by is an almost infinite number of work arrangements.”
As people begin to adjust to things like hybrid schedules – a mix between in-person and remote work – the pandemic has opened the door to a massive shift in how companies work with their people as individuals.
“I’m regularly cautioning companies to avoid making decisions just among senior executives,” said Bloom. “We see quite large variations in how much people want to work from home, by age, by gender, whether they have kids, by race, by commute, time, by disability status.”
Klotz said he believes that even before “The Great Resignation,” a conversation of work-life balance was already happening just below the surface.
“It gives us this opportunity to really question the fundamental way that we were working with employees in 2019 and say, ‘How do we fix this to hopefully lower these turnover rates back down to where they were maybe 10 years ago or so?’” said Klotz.
