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CBI lobby group in ‘difficult place’ after rape claim,…
Andy Wood, boss of brewer Adnams, says his company is considering its membership of the group.
Andy Wood, boss of brewer Adnams, says his company is considering its membership of the group.
Idaho has become the first state to pass a law explicitly restricting some out-of-state travel for abortions.
The new legislation makes helping a pregnant minor get an abortion, whether through medication or a procedure, in another state punishable by two to five years in prison. Gov. Brad Little signed the bill on Wednesday night, and it goes into effect after 30 days.
Abortion has been banned at all stages of pregnancy in Idaho since August — a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Terminating a pregnancy is illegal in the state unless it saves the life of the mother or in cases of rape and incest in which the survivor has reported the incident to law enforcement.
Although Oklahoma and Texas allow lawsuits against people who help facilitate an abortion within the states’ borders, Idaho’s law is the first that expressly criminalizes assisting with an out-of-state abortion.
“Giving [minors] money, giving them a ride, helping them organize the visit to a doctor out of state — all of the activity that’s required to help a young person leave the state — any of that would be punishable,” said Elisabeth Smith, the director of U.S. state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
With the bill’s passage, Idaho has the most extreme abortion restrictions in the U.S., according to Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
“House Bill 242 might be the most extreme bill that I’ve ever seen in my career,” she said.
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last year, legal experts have anticipated attempts from conservative lawmakers to further restrict abortion access. Now, Smith said, Idaho has outlined a playbook for other states to copy.
“For a long time, there has been this sort of jockeying of which state could have the most oppressive laws on abortion,” she said. “For that reason, I think Idaho could be an example to anti-abortion lawmakers.”
Idaho’s new law offers those who facilitate a minor’s access to abortion a reasonable defense against prosecution if the parents consented.
David Ripley, executive director of Idaho Chooses Life, a political action committee that lobbies for anti-abortion legislation, said one reason for the law is that minors are unable to make their own informed decisions about any kind of medical care.
“When you’re talking about a minor being transported across state lines, especially for a medical procedure without parental consent, I think that is clearly within the authority of the state of Idaho to criminalize and discourage,” Ripley said.
But abortion rights advocates think the bill could pave the way for future laws that target people who help adults seek out-of-state abortions.
“That is the way, historically, all abortion restrictions have begun: by first limiting young people’s access, and then moving to adult access,” Smith said.
DelliCarpini-Tolman said Planned Parenthood will be “examining every angle that we can to fight this legislation.”
“The mere suggestion that the state would consider prosecuting someone for assisting a young person accessing safe, legal medical care in another state flies in the face of our democratic system and sets a dangerous statutory precedent,” she added.
Idaho isn’t the first state to attempt to limit people’s ability to assist those seeking out-of-state abortions.
In 2021, Missouri lawmakers included a provision in a larger abortion bill that would have made it illegal for a person to help a Missouri resident get an abortion outside the state. But the state’s House of Representatives blocked the provision.
In February, a federal judge in Texas also temporarily blocked prosecutors from pursuing charges against people who help facilitate out-of-state abortions while a lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban is argued in court.
States where abortion is legal, on the other hand, have pushed for legislation to protect out-of-state travelers who seek abortions within their borders.
Washington’s state Senate is currently considering a bill that would restrict courts and law enforcement agencies from responding to warrants, subpoenas or other court orders from states seeking information about abortions performed in Washington for nonresidents. Oregon is weighing similar legislation.
These so-called shield laws could make it tougher for Idaho prosecutors to build cases related to out-of-state abortions, Smith said.
Paul Dillon, the outgoing vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, said Washington legislators are expected to vote on the state’s shield law any day.
“It does feel like a race, I think, to make sure that those protections are in place before this Idaho law goes into effect,” Dillon said.
In the meantime, he added, patients who travel to Planned Parenthood clinics in Washington aren’t required to disclose where they came from or whom they traveled with. Residence data from those who’ve offered it suggests the Washington state clinics saw a 75% increase in Idaho patients from January 2022 to early 2023.
Idaho health workers who refer patients out of state for an abortion are in fraught legal territory, according to a recent letter from the state’s attorney general, which suggests its abortion ban prohibits these referrals. On Thursday, a group of providers, including Planned Parenthood, filed a legal challenge to that interpretation.
Critics of Idaho’s anti-abortion policies say the laws are already having downstream effects, including reduced access to reproductive health services.
Two Idaho hospitals announced last month that they were closing their labor and delivery units. One of them, Bonner General Health, said in a news release that the closure was due to a pediatrician shortage and Idaho’s political climate.
“The Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care,” the statement said.
Medical providers said the closures force patients to travel farther for reproductive care, which could jeopardize their health in emergencies. From Bonner General Health, the next closest Idaho hospital with a labor and delivery unit is 45 miles away.
Package holiday company Tui Group has recorded strong demand for Easter holiday trips to destinations with “guaranteed sun”, as it expects a busy summer and bookings to return to pre-Covid levels.
The optimistic update led to a big jump in the firm’s share price, which was up by around 13 per cent on Thursday morning.
The German-headquartered tourism business revealed that Britons were being drawn to countries around the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands especially, seeking sun, relaxation and activities abroad.
Turkey, the Balearics, Spain, Egypt and Greece are also popular destinations for holidaymakers this year.
More than 500,000 customers have booked a Tui holiday over Easter, the firm said.
Booking momentum remains encouraging and the travel trends and strong demand for the Easter holidays are a healthy signal for the upcoming summer
Sebastian Ebel, Tui Group’s chief executive
It expects its load factor – which airlines use to measure the proportion of seats on a plane that are filled – to be around 95 per cent for the period, which it said was broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels.
The travel and tourism industry has been slowly recovering from Covid, which first struck in March 2020, shutting down international borders and having a lasting effect on people’s hesitancy to travel.
The sector has also been impacted by severe staff shortages that led to major disruption for airports such as Heathrow last summer, with sudden flight cancellations and long delays.
Tui assured investors that people were willing to travel as it recorded a big increase in booking momentum since the start of the year.
Consumers were continuing to book at shorter notice and preferring package holidays and all-inclusive offers, it noted.
Sebastian Ebel, chief executive of Tui Group, said: “Booking momentum remains encouraging and the travel trends and strong demand for the Easter holidays are a healthy signal for the upcoming summer.
“Our products and strong brand are popular and in high demand – in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and many other markets where people are looking for relaxation in the sun and active experiences.
“Based on trends to date and, as we have said in March, we continue to anticipate capacity to be close to pre-pandemic levels. We expect a good summer 2023.”
A calico cat grabbed the attention of several netizens after it decided to make a surprise entry during Taraweeh prayers.
According to BBC, Imam Walid Mehsas was praying Taraweeh in Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria, when the cat jumped on him and climbed on his shoulders.
The video went viral on social media with netizens calling the scene “heartwarming”, “cute”, etc.
The small calico cat, with orange, black, and white fur, first tried to get the imam’s attention by pawing at his leg, but the imam paid it no heed.
The cat then brushed the imam’s cheek with its tail and licked his face, before jumping off him.
Netizens appreciated the imam for not losing his concentration while being gentle with the cat at the same time.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A bipartisan congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan on Thursday, a day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defied China by meeting with the island’s president.
“Being here I think sends a signal to the Chinese Communist Party that the United States supports Taiwan and that we’re going to harden Taiwan, and we want them to think twice about invading Taiwan,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
It was the delegation’s third overseas stop after visiting U.S. allies Japan and South Korea.
The lawmakers’ arrival in Taiwan comes as China, which claims the island as its territory, is still fuming over a meeting in California on Wednesday between McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai, who is transiting through the United States on her way back from a trip to Guatemala and Belize, is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Friday and will meet with McCaul’s delegation on Saturday.
The flurry of visits comes amid dramatically worsening China-U.S. relations, as Beijing increases pressure on the self-ruling democracy, declines to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and grows more assertive internationally. The sighting and downing of a spy balloon over the U.S. in February angered many Americans and soured ties even further.
China had criticized the McCarthy-Tsai meeting as a “provocation” and a violation of the one-China principle, under which Washington recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China while maintaining unofficial relations with Taipei.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Tsai and McCarthy, the third most senior U.S. government official, of promoting Taiwan independence through their meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
“China will take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing on Thursday.
The White House says that visits by high-level Taiwanese officials are routine and that China should not use Tsai’s travel through the U.S. as a “pretext” for greater aggression against Taiwan.
As of Thursday evening, Beijing had not announced any large-scale military drills of the kind it held after Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s predecessor, visited Taiwan last August, but Taiwan said it was monitoring some smaller movements.
The Maritime Safety Administration of Fujian province, which sits about 100 miles across the water from Taiwan, said Wednesday that it was launching a three-day joint cruise and patrol operation in the Taiwan Strait that could include “on-site inspections” of other ships. The Taiwanese government said it had lodged a strong protest with China over the operation and instructed shipping operators to refuse any Chinese requests to board.
Taiwan was also watching a Chinese aircraft carrier that its defense minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, said was about 200 nautical miles off Taiwan’s east coast on Wednesday. Chiu told reporters that although the carrier group was in the area for training purposes, the timing was “quite sensitive.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment Thursday on the aircraft carrier.
The U.S. delegation began its visit Thursday by meeting with Taiwanese Vice President William Lai, who is likely to be nominated by Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party to run as her successor in the presidential election early next year.
“I want to make it clear that the United States stands by you and will protect you,” McCaul said in remarks before the meeting.
He later clarified, “We protect Taiwan by arming and training them — and by being prepared to defend them if necessary.”
Lai said Taiwan, which regularly buys defensive weapons from the U.S., would do its utmost to protect itself as well.
“It is true that we need to prepare for a war in order to avoid one,” he said, “and we need to be prepared to fight to stop a war.”
In meetings with senior Taiwan officials from Thursday to Saturday, the U.S. lawmakers will discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and “other significant issues of mutual interest,” according to the American Institute in Taiwan, which serves as the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei.
Their visit “fully demonstrates the firm support of the U.S. Congress for Taiwan regardless of party affiliation,” the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Other members of the delegation include Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., and Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.
Courtney Kube reported from Taipei, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
Courtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Jennifer Jett is Asia digital editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.
Ed Flanagan, Mosheh Gains, Dawn Liu, Jace Zhang and Reuters contributed.
World Cup winner Argentina topped the Fifa rankings on Thursday for the first time in six years.
Argentina’s two wins in friendlies last month ended the one-year run at the top for Brazil, which lost at Morocco 2-1 and fell to No. 3.
France, the World Cup beaten finalist, followed Argentina in rising one place, to No. 2. France won back-to-back European Championship qualifiers against No. 6 the Netherlands and Ireland.
Belgium stayed at No. 4, with England next after two wins including beating No. 8 Italy.
Europe completed the top 10 with No. 7 Croatia followed by Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Morocco, which has joined the Spanish and Portuguese in a 2030 World Cup bidding plan, stayed at No. 11 to lead African teams.
The United States was still No. 13, two ahead of regional rival Mexico. Canada, the other North American co-host of the 2026 World Cup, rose six to No. 47.
West Ham United manager David Moyes is in “no doubt” he still has the support of the club’s board despite Wednesday’s 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle United dragging them further into the Premier League relegation battle.
The majority of home fans left the stadium before the final whistle and those who remained booed loudly as the team recorded only two shots on target.
West Ham are 15th on 27 points, three places above the final relegation spot.
Everton (16th), Nottingham Forest (17th) and Bournemouth (18th) are also on 27 points but have played a game more than Moyes’s side and have an inferior goal difference.
Asked whether he felt the board could consider making a managerial change, Moyes said: “I’ve got no doubt they are behind me. I’m confident in the way we work and what they think.”
The former Manchester United boss took responsibility for the team’s defeat and acknowledged the mounting pressure on his role.
“I’m a big boy and have left other jobs in the past. If this one happens, I would have to go with that,” he added. “I really like my job here. I like the people I work for and have enjoyed my time greatly. I’m hoping there are a couple of big days ahead in the not too distant future.”
West Ham next play at Fulham on Saturday.
North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions “to the brink of nuclear war” through their joint military drills and promised to respond with “offensive action,” according to North Korean state media.
A commentary published by North Korean state media on Thursday criticised the continuing exercises as “a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion.”
According to international media reports, US and South Korean forces have been conducting a series of annual springtime exercises since March, including air and sea drills involving a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier as well as B-1B and B-52 bombers, and their first large-scale amphibious landing drills in five years. On Wednesday, B52s were deployed for their first use on the peninsula in a month.
Pyongyang carried out a record number of weapons tests last year and has been ramping up its military activity in recent weeks. It has unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads, fired its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile – the Hwasong 17 – and tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone that is under development. It also fired cruise missiles from a submarine.
In a separate North Korean state media article, Han Tae Song, the permanent representative of North Korea’s diplomatic mission in Geneva, strongly condemned an annual resolution adopted this week by the United Nations Human Rights Council on the country’s rights situation.
The resolution, adopted without a vote, included the extension of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea by a year.
Han called the resolution an “intolerable act of political provocation and hostility” and “the most heavily politicised document of fraud.”
A landmark 2014 UN report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs – and possibly leader Kim Jong Un – should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities. The US sanctioned Kim in 2016 for human rights abuses.
There are several factors that increase the risk of lung cancer.
Smoking is the largest risk factor for lung cancer and is held accountable for the majority of the lung cancer cases in the world.
Apart from this secondhand smoke, air pollution, and exposure to chemicals like radon, asbestos also cause cancer in lungs.
Occupational exposure to certain substances which are carcinogenic in nature also increase the risk of lung cancer.
Lung cancer is treatable at an early stage, which makes it important to identify the disease.
Here are few unusual symptoms associated with lung cancer:
A devastating tornado tore through southeastern Missouri on Wednesday morning, killing at least five people and leaving widespread destruction as authorities warned of more twisters.
The tornado struck Bollinger County before dawn, sending first responders into a frantic search for injured people caught under the rubble, officials said.
“It’s with great regret that I can confirm five fatalities,” Bollinger County Sheriff Casey A. Graham said in statement.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott told NBC News early in the afternoon that officials are hopeful the death toll won’t grow.
“The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see it,” he said.
Officials in Louisville reported extensive damage and one possible death after a tornado struck southern parts of the city on Wednesday afternoon. At a news conference, Mayor Craig Greenberg said the death was potentially linked to the storm but said the county coroner would make the determination.
National Weather Service meteorologist John Gordon told reporters that a preliminary assessment showed the tornado likely had 90 mph winds and spanned the length of a football field. The area may have also been hit by a second tornado, Gordon said.
In Missouri, the tornado traversed rural Bollinger County, south of St. Louis, at a speed of about 45 mph, for about 15 minutes sometime between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. CT, National Weather Service meteorologist David Witten said.
The agency said the tornado appeared to be a high end EF2, with estimated peak wind speeds of 130 mph.
“It was significant given how much damage it caused,” Witten said, adding: “It looks serious and bad.”
A preliminary assessment found that 87 buildings had been damaged, with 12 of them destroyed, Missouri State Highway Patrol Superintendent Eric Olson said.
Five people were also injured in the severe weather, he said.
Glen Allen resident Joshua Wells, 30, said he couldn’t sleep overnight, out of anxiety about the incoming tornado that rocked his community.
Despite extensive damage to his house, he counted himself to be among the lucky ones.
“It’s been hellish,” Wells said. “Part of the roof has been sucked off, and one of the exterior walls has been slightly caved in, so it’s not really livable. But it’s hardly the worst house. There are houses with whole walls taken off, and some buildings have been leveled to the foundation.”
The highway patrol has urged people to avoid the area as first responders work to find injured survivors.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center said parts of the Ohio River Valley could see severe weather Wednesday night, with damaging winds, large hail and possible tornadoes.
Severe weather was also reported in other states Tuesday night, including Illinois and Iowa.
A tornado that tore across 15 miles of southern Iowa on Tuesday was a recorded as a high end EF-1, with peak winds of 110 mph and a maximum width that stretched 50 yards, according to the National Weather Service.
Several buildings were damaged but no injuries or deaths were reported, the agency said.
In Illinois, a local office for the agency said a tornado with peak winds of 160 mph and an EF3 rating struck an area southwest of Peoria on Tuesday night, injuring four people.
The twister lasted more than 20 minutes and covered roughly 18 miles, the agency said.
There have been at least 478 tornado reports across 25 states so far this year, doubling the average for this point in a single year.
Those twisters have been linked to at least 63 deaths, not including the multiple fatalities in southeastern Missouri. The annual average of tornado-related deaths is 71.
Those twisters have been linked to at least 63 deaths, not including the multiple fatalities in southeastern Missouri. The annual average of tornado-related deaths is 71.
David K. Li
David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Kathryn Prociv
Kathryn Prociv is a senior meteorologist and producer for NBC News.
Melanie Kucera, Cristian Santana and The Associated Press contributed.