Pres. Biden believes Equal Rights Amendment is ratified, cites ABA opinion
President Joe Biden issued a statement Friday, Jan. 17, saying he believes the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is the law of the land and should be added as the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, the statement has virtually zero legal effect.
While Congress passed the ERA in the 1970s, it failed to be ratified by the requisite three-quarters of 38 states by a 1982 deadline.
Biden is leaning on an opinion by the American Bar Association, the country’s largest association of lawyers and legal professionals. They concluded that the ERA did not have a time limit for ratification, meaning it should be accepted. After 1982, more states ratified the ERA, with Virginia pushing it to the 38-state threshold in 2020.
The Equal Rights Amendment centers around one section of its text: Section 1 says, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” In effect, it would formally protect the equal rights of men and women in the Constitution.
But the Constitution probably is not changing.
For starters, the National Archives would have to certify and publish the amendment. They’ve also leaned on previous legal opinions, saying Congress or courts would have to take action to remove the deadline.
“In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable. The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts.”
What comes next is unclear. Biden’s statement could further inspire legal challenges to overturn the deadline. It could also open the door to some political battles that led to the ERA falling short of its original window.
Reproductive rights advocates hope enacting the amendment could bolster protections for access to abortion and contraception. The law passed Congress just a few months before the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which made abortion legal in all 50 states.
The ERA faced opposition, led by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, in the 1970s and 1980s. She held up or stopped votes to ratify the amendment. Her arguments against the bill suggested that it threatened gender roles, risking the fate of laws like those protecting alimony and preventing women from being eligible for the military draft.
President-elect Donald Trump has not said much about the ERA. However, in 2020, his administration’s Justice Department said they considered the ratification window closed.
‘Your body, my choice’: Harassment of women spikes in wake of election
In the week since President-elect Donald Trump was reelected, sexist and abusive attacks on women have ramped up on social media. That’s according to a new analysis from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), an international advocacy group that describes itself as “dedicated to powering solutions to extremism, hate and disinformation.”
Phrases like “your body, my choice,” “get back to the kitchen,” and “we own your body” have been trending on platforms like X and TikTok.
The group says the uptick in online harassment signals far-right internet trolls and extremists feel emboldened by the outcome of the election, which also heavily featured women’s rights issues.
In its report, the ISD said harassment is already moving offline, with young girls and parents sharing real-world experiences involving the phrase “your body, my choice” on social media, including “the phrase being directed at them within schools or chanted by young boys in classes.”
The analysis also found posts about repealing the 19th Amendment. The amendment guaranteed women the right to vote, rose 663% on X last week, compared to the week before.
Women’s telehealth company Winx said sales of its morning-after pill were up 315% on the day after the election compared to the 24 hours before.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 12, sales of the product had climbed nearly 1,000%.
Wisp said sales of its emergency contraceptive medications went up nearly 1,000% as well, and just one day after the election.
“The surge in sales suggests that women are concerned about how a forthcoming Trump administration could restrict their access to emergency contraception, and they are preparing now,” Wisp CEO Monica Cepak told CNN.
What could another Trump term mean for contraceptives?
A state-by-state study by Center for American Progress estimated 48 million women would be impacted if Trump were to eliminate no-cost coverage of emergency contraceptives.
It’s a proposal that was part of the controversial Project 2025. The project was a presidential transition plan put out by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.
The Trump campaign repeatedly said it had nothing to do with the document.
Throughout the campaign, Trump said he doesn’t support a ban on birth control.
Some swear off sex as ‘4B Movement’ surges post-election
Following Donald Trump’s election victory, a South Korean feminist movement called the “4B Movement” is resonating with American women on TikTok. The movement’s principles, which include rejecting dating, marriage, sex and childbirth with men, have sparked conversations about gender dynamics in the U.S. amid concerns about women’s rights.
Inspired by years of activism in South Korea, the “4B Movement” — shorthand for the “Four Nos” — advocates for complete independence from men as a protest against societal expectations.
Since Trump’s 2024 victory, many women in the U.S. have adopted these ideals. Many cite a sense of solidarity and frustration with what they see as setbacks to women’s rights under his leadership.
On TikTok, hashtags like #4BMovement and #4BNos have gathered millions of views. Many women are sharing their personal stories and decisions to “opt-out” of relationships with men.
Influential users whose videos on the topic have gone viral, say the movement provides a sense of control in an environment where they feel their rights are increasingly under threat.
Getty Images
The “4B Movement” emerged in South Korea as a reaction to social issues such as the country’s gender wage gap, high rates of workplace harassment and limited protections for women. In recent years, it has influenced everything from birth rates to marriage trends. Advocates say opting out of traditional roles is a form of resistance to gender inequality.
Critics of the movement argue that it could deepen social divisions. They’ve called it an “extreme response” that risks fueling a so-called “gender war.”
Yet for supporters, the decision to join 4B isn’t simply a TikTok trend, it’s a call for meaningful change and a rejection of societal pressures.
While it’s unclear if the 4B Movement will have lasting effects in the U.S., it’s clear the ideas it represents are resonating with many women post-election. As more women turn to social media to share their views, the movement’s popularity shows no signs of slowing down.
Trump names campaign manager Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff
Donald Trump makes his first staffing announcement as president-elect, naming his White House chief of staff. And a federal judge in Texas makes a ruling concerning undocumented immigrants married to American citizens. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.
Trump names campaign manager Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 7, 2024
She will become the first woman to hold the job of chief of staff when Trump takes office on Jan. 20. It is a position considered to be the second most powerful job in Washington — behind the presidency.
Wiles, the daughter of the late NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall, also ran Trump’s campaign in the state of Florida during the 2016 and 2020 elections. Her political career dates back to Ronald Reagan’s years, when she worked as a campaign scheduler for his 1980 presidential bid.
In a statement, Trump said, “Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns. Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to make America great again.”
In the coming days, the president-elect is set to begin reviewing other names to build out his team, including filling cabinet positions. His son Donald Trump Jr. told Fox News the key factor each candidate must have is delivering on his father’s message and not someone who “thinks they know better.”
The GOP picked up a seat in Pennsylvania with several media outlets projecting Dave McCormick defeated Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey. Republicans now hold 53 seats in the chamber with two races, one in Nevada and one in Arizona, still to be called.
California governor calls special session to protect liberal policies
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special legislative session to protect the state’s liberal policies ahead of a second Trump presidency. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday they’re preparing to “protect California values” against the incoming administration.
California is ready to fight.
I just called an emergency special session to help bolster our legal resources and protect our state against any unlawful actions by the incoming Trump Administration.
Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate… pic.twitter.com/fIBPKsehot
“We know to take Trump at his word when he says he’ll roll back environmental protections, go after our immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, attack our civil rights and restrict access to essential reproductive care,” Bonta said. “Mr. Trump repeatedly overstepped his authority between 2016 and 2020. There’s no reason to think he won’t do it again. We checked him and we stopped him, and we pushed him back into his box when he tried to step out of it.”
The California special session is scheduled to start Dec. 2. Newsom is also calling on the state legislature to give the attorney general’s office more funding to battle federal challenges.
In his ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker — who was appointed by President-elect Trump during his first term — said Congress has not given the executive branch the authority to implement such a policy. Campbell Barker had previously put an administrative hold on the regulation as he considered the lawsuit, which was brought by Texas and 15 other states.
The policy, which the Biden administration called “Keeping Families Together,” would have applied to spouses who have been living in the country for 10 years, as well as stepchildren. It could have affected between 750,000 and 800,000 people.
3 arrested in former ‘One Direction’ singer Liam Payne’s death
In a press release, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office said authorities had arrested an employee at the hotel where Payne fell to his death last month, an alleged drug dealer, and a person who “accompanied the artist daily during his stay in the city of Buenos Aires.”
Officials said at least four supplies of narcotics were “conclusively proven” to have been addressed to Payne during his stay at the Casa Sur hotel between Oct. 13 and 16. Payne fell from a third-floor balcony of the hotel on Oct. 16.
Thursday’s report revealed that in the 72 hours before he died, Payne had alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription anti-depressant in his system.
The hotel employee and alleged dealer are both charged with providing narcotics while the third person is charged with providing narcotics and abandonment of a person followed by death.
Man behind AOL’S iconic ‘you’ve got mail’ dies at 74
An iconic voice that defined a generation in technology has died.
Elwood Edwards, endearingly known as AOL’s “You’ve got mail” guy, died Tuesday. Nov. 5, at the age of 74 after suffering from a “long illness,” according to an announcement by local news station WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio.
Edwards worked there as a graphics and camera operator, among other roles. According to the announcement, made Thursday, he died one day before his 75th birthday.
Harris sits down with Fox News, Trump holds town hall
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on Fox News to talk about topics ranging from immigration and whether she would continue policies implemented by the Biden administration. And what led to the tragic fatal fall of British pop star Liam Payne in Argentina. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024.
Harris sits down with Fox News, Trump holds town hall
With less than 20 days until America heads to the polls to elect the next president, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News Wednesday, Oct. 16. While Fox News is a familiar outlet for Trump, this was Harris’ first interview with the outlet since becoming the Democratic nominee.
In the one-on-one sit-down interview, Harris told Fox News Anchor Bret Baier her presidency would not be the same as Joe Biden’s previous four years after being questioned about past comments she made, saying she would not have done anything differently than the president.
“So, you’re not Joe Biden, you’re not Donald Trump, but nothing comes to mind that you would do differently?” Baier asked.
“Let me be very clear: my presidency would not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and like every new president that comes to office, I will bring my life experiences and professional experiences and fresh and news ideas,” Harris said. “I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”
At times during the interview the anchor and the vice president spoke over one another to get their point across. One of those times was when they touched on the topic of immigration and the border.
When pressed about whether she had concerns about President Biden’s health, Harris noted Biden is not the one running for president, Trump is and mentioned former senior Trump officials who said he is not fit for office.
Former President Trump’s town hall with Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner also aired Wednesday. It had an audience made up of all women.
During the event, Trump touched on the topics of abortion and IVF, where he said he was the “father of IVF.”
“We really are the party for I.V.F.,” Trump said. “We want fertilization, and it’s all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it, and we’re out there on I.V.F., even more than them.”
In response to Trump’s “father of IVF” comment, Vice President Harris told reporters it was “quite bizarre.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson said Trump made a joke “in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF as he strongly supports widespread access to fertility treatments for women and families.”
Judge invalidates 7 new Georgia election rules
As early voting is underway in Georgia, a judge has ruled seven new rules put in place after the 2020 election are “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.” Among those were three particularly controversial rules — one requiring ballots be hand-counted after polls close and two that had to do with the certification of election results.
On Wednesday, the judge ruled the state Election Board did not have the authority to make those rules and ordered them to be immediately removed. It must also inform all state and local election officials that the rules have been invalidated and not to follow them.
Also in Georgia Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged former President Trump with interfering in the 2020 election, asked an appeals court to reinstate multiple charges against him and his co-defendants that had been tossed out by the trial court judge earlier this year.
Willis argued the judge made a mistake in dropping six of the charges against Trump related to Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. That ruling removed three of the charges Trump was facing in the case. The same judge later tossed two more counts against Trump.
US bombers strike Houthi weapons facilities in Yemen
The “precision strikes” by the B-2 stealth bombers targeted five underground storage facilities used by the Iran-backed rebel group. Defense officials said those facilities housed advanced weapons that the Islamist military organization has been using to attack military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for months now.
Los Angeles Archdiocese to pay $880M to clergy sex abuse victims
Attorneys for more than 1,300 people who say they suffered abuse at the hands of local catholic priests, reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese. It puts an end to more than two decades of litigation against the most populous archdiocese in the United States.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reached an agreement in principle worth $880 million to compensate more than a thousand decades-old claims of childhood sexual abuse.
The archdiocese has previously paid $740 million to victims in various settlements. This settlement put the total payout at more than $1.5 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Liam Payne, member of One Direction, dies at 31 after fall from hotel balcony
The music industry and fans around the world are mourning the death of Liam Payne, a member of the British boy band One Direction. He died Wednesday at 31 years old.
According to authorities in Argentina, Payne fell from a third-story balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires. The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, however, the Associated Press reported police rushed to the hotel in response to a call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Since the band took an indefinite hiatus in 2016, Payne embarked on a solo career. The singer has been open about his struggles with alcoholism, announcing in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after seeking treatment.
Pop star Charlie Puth, who collaborated with Payne in the past, remembered the One Direction singer on social media saying, “Liam was always so kind to me. I can not believe that he is gone…may he rest in peace.”
Payne is survived by his 7-year-old son, his parents, and two older sisters.
Pizza Hut to open “Personal Pan Pizza Hut” pop-up location in New York City
For those craving pizza but not wanting to share it, Pizza Hut has come up with a concept just for you.
It’s opened the Personal Pan Pizza Hut, a small restaurant experience only offering the pizza chain’s popular 6-inch personal pan pizza. Guests who are able to snag a reservation can customize their pizza any way they want, in their personal hut.
The Personal Pan Pizza hut will only be around in New York City for two days sometime later this month, so spots are limited. Reservations open Thursday, Oct. 17, and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Donald Trump responds after Melania reveals abortion stance, Democrats react
Former President Donald Trump responded after his wife, Melania Trump revealed that she backs abortion rights. According to excerpts from her new memoir, the former first lady wrote that restricting a woman’s right to choose an abortion is the same as denying control over her own body.
Melania posted a video to X Thursday, Oct. 3, which confirmed her support for abortion rights.
“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?” Melania said.
Former President Trump was asked by Fox News what his thoughts were on Melania championing abortion rights in her book.
“We spoke about it and I said you have to write what you believe,” Trump said. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do. You have to write what you believe.”
His response is getting backlash from Democrats who argue his campaign, Project 2025, and the Republican Party have worked overtime to pass legislation that takes away women’s reproductive rights.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign noted Trump’s role in ending Roe v. Wade in a statement reacting to Melania’s stance of abortion rights.
“Sadly for the women across America, Mrs. Trump’s husband firmly disagrees with her and is the reason that more than one in three American women live under a Trump abortion ban that threatens their health, their freedom and their lives,” Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.
This week, Trump said he would veto a federal abortion ban if he is reelected and added the issue should be left to the states.
Melania’s book is set to be released Oct. 8, just a month before the election.
SCOTUS says Biden admin can withhold funds from Okla. over abortion info
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to reinstate federal family planning funds for the state of Oklahoma. The move upholds the Biden administration’s decision to withhold $4.5 million due to the state’s refusal to provide abortion-related information.
Three conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, dissented, indicating they would have granted Oklahoma’s request.
The Biden administration requires Title X grant recipients to provide non-directive counseling on prenatal care, adoption and abortion, including referral information if requested.
Oklahoma’s abortion law criminalizes encouraging abortions, and state officials say the law prevents them from following federal requirements for providing abortion-related information.
The Department of Health and Human Services offered a compromise that allows Oklahoma to provide a third-party hotline number for abortion information, which the state rejected.
Oklahoma’s loss of approximately $4.5 million in federal funding affects the state’s ability to distribute funds to public health services and county health departments.
The state argued that depriving county health departments of Title X services would be devastating, especially for rural communities where government-run health facilities are often the only access points for critical preventative services.
In its most recent election security update, the U.S. intelligence community said in July that Chinese actors are “using social media to sow divisions in the United States and portray democracies as chaotic.”
While researchers said in this case, not much came of the spamouflaging attempts, it’s part of a broader issue of foreign actors attempting to interfere with the U.S. election.
National security officials have said Russia and Iran have also mounted online influence operations targeting U.S. voters ahead of November. They say Russia remains the top threat but Iran has become more aggressive in recent months.
Vance accuses Walz of lying about IVF since he used IUI. What’s the difference?
Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is accusing his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, of lying about his family’s experience with IVF. That’s because Walz and his wife used a slightly different procedure called IUI to conceive.
IVF stands for in vitro fertilization, a multi-step process that involves stimulating the eggs, removing them from the body, fertilizing them in a lab, and then placing the embryo in the uterus.
IUI means intrauterine insemination. It’s much less invasive and is done by injecting sperm directly into the uterus during ovulation. The sperm sample is washed to select the highest quality sperm then they’re inserted into the uterus with a catheter to help them reach the egg.
IUI is often attempted before IVF, but it doesn’t face the same level of political controversy because it doesn’t risk the eventual destruction of unused embryos, which some anti-abortion advocates believe deserve the same protections as unborn children.
Walz has never directly said he and his wife had their children via IVF, but it’s been implied by statements he’s made in the past.
In February, after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF were considered children, Walz wrote on Facebook that he and his wife “have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF.”
In March, Walz’s team sent a fundraising email titled “Our IVF Journey,” sharing an article that referenced “his family’s IVF journey” in the headline.
Walz also seems to have implied it while speaking at a campaign rally in Michigan on Aug. 7.
“Is there anybody in America sitting around in a bar, a bunch of people talking and say, ‘You know what we need in this country? We need to ban Animal Farm. That’s the first thing we’d even do,’” Walz said. “Nobody says that. But you know what? It would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous. Because then they start thinking about things like IVF and banning IVF. And I have to tell you, this is very personal for my family. When my wife and I decided to have children, we went through years of fertility treatments.”
While the two procedures are very different, many fertility doctors say it’s common for people to use the terms IVF and IUI interchangeably, even if it’s not necessarily accurate.
