Nation Glance
Court: government can’t block immigrant teens from abortion
WASHINGTON — A federal court in Washington told the Trump administration Friday that the government can’t interfere with the ability of pregnant immigrant teens being held in federal custody to obtain abortions.
A judge issued an order Friday evening barring the government from “interfering with or obstructing” pregnant minors’ access to abortion counseling or abortions, among other things, while a lawsuit proceeds. The order covers pregnant minors being held in federal custody after entering the country illegally.
Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for sheltering children who illegally enter the country unaccompanied by a parent, have said the department has a policy of “refusing to facilitate” abortions. And the director of the office that oversees the shelters has said he believes teens in his agency’s care have no constitutional right to abortion.
The American Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit on behalf of the minors, which the judge overseeing the case also Friday allowed to go forward as a class action lawsuit.
“We have been able to secure justice for these young pregnant women in government custody who will no longer be subject to the government’s policy of coercion and obstruction while the case continues,” said ACLU attorney Brigitte Amiri after the judge’s order became public.
Autopsy disputes police account of fatal Sacramento shooting
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento police shot Stephon Clark seven times from behind, according to autopsy results released Friday by a pathologist hired by Clark’s family, a finding that calls into question the department’s assertion the 22-year-old black man was facing officers and moving toward them when he was killed.
Dr. Bennet Omalu also determined Clark took three to 10 minutes to die. Police waited about five minutes before rendering medical aid.
“The proposition that has been presented that he was assailing the officers, meaning he was facing the officers, is inconsistent with the prevailing forensic evidence,” Omalu said at a news conference with family attorney Benjamin Crump.
Sacramento police responded with a brief statement that said the department had not yet received an official autopsy report from the Sacramento County coroner’s office.
Mega Millions numbers: 11, 28, 31, 46, 59, Mega Ball 1
DES MOINES, Iowa — Numbers have been drawn for a giant lottery jackpot of at least $521 million.
Mega Millions announced Friday night that the winning numbers are 11, 28, 31, 46, 59 and Mega Ball 1.
It wasn’t yet known whether anyone had bought a winning ticket. The jackpot amount had climbed from $502 million to $521 million earlier in the day, but the final amount of the prize hadn’t been announced late Friday.
It’s the nation’s 10th largest lottery jackpot.
1,000 march in Salt Lake City over Mormon youth interviews
SALT LAKE CITY — About 1,000 current and former Mormons marched to the church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City Friday to deliver petitions demanding an end to closed door, one-on-one interviews between youth and lay leaders where sexual questions sometimes arise.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed its policy this week to now allow children to bring a parent or adult with them to the interviews, but protesters said that doesn’t go far enough to keep children safe. The policy change followed recent revelations that a former prominent missionary leader was accused of sexually assaulting two women in the 1980s. The ex-leader denies the allegations.