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Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed a bill to undo a long-dormant law that bans all abortions except those done to save a patient’s life.

Hobbs says the repeal, signed Thursday, is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. But the repeal may not take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, in June or July. 

Abortion rights advocates hope a court will step in to prevent that outcome.
The effort to repeal the long-dormant law won final legislative approval Wednesday in a 16-14 vote of the Senate, as two GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats.

A repeal means that a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become Arizona’s prevailing abortion law.

Read more:  https://bit.ly/3UHq9Gj 

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple-effects across the country.

The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

The agency’s move, confirmed by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in over 50 years can take effect.

Read more:  https://bit.ly/3Qr34Fl 

On a three-lane test track along the Monongahela River, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one was on board.

A quarter-mile ahead, the truck’s sensors spotted a trash can blocking one lane and a tire in another. In less than a second, it signaled, moved into the unobstructed lane and rumbled past the obstacles.

The self-driving semi, outfitted with 25 laser, radar and camera sensors, is owned by Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation. Late this year, Aurora plans to start hauling freight on Interstate 45 between the Dallas and Houston areas with 20 driverless trucks.

Within three or four years, Aurora and its competitors expect to put thousands such self-driving trucks on America’s public freeways.

The vehicles have drawn skepticism from safety advocates, who warn that with almost no federal regulation, it will be mainly up to the companies themselves to determine when the semis are safe enough to operate without humans on board. But Aurora and other companies argue that years of testing show that their trucks will actually be safer than human-driven ones.

Read more:  https://bit.ly/49SjZYx 

The Supreme Court on Thursday appeared likely to reject former President Donald Trump’s claim of absolute immunity from prosecution over election interference, but it seemed possible Trump could still benefit from a lengthy trial delay, possibly beyond November’s election.

Chief Justice John Roberts was among at least five members of the court who did not appear to embrace the claim of absolute immunity that would stop special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump on charges he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

But in arguments lasting more than 2 1/2 hours in the court’s first consideration of criminal charges against a former president, Roberts also was among several justices who suggested that the case might have to be sent back to lower courts before any trial could begin. Roberts indicated he was unhappy with the reasoning adopted by the federal appeals court that ruled against Trump.

The timing of the Supreme Court’s decision could be as important as the outcome. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has been pushing to delay the trial until after the election, and the later the justices issue their decision, the more likely he is to succeed.

Read more:  https://bit.ly/3WcIaxp 

Airlines will be required to provide automatic cash refunds within a few days for canceled flights and "significant" delays under new rules issued by the Biden administration. The rules also require airlines to better disclose fees for baggage or canceling a reservation. Read more:  https://bit.ly/44vqG1H 

The hugely popular Chinese app TikTok may be forced out of the U.S., where a measure to outlaw the video-sharing app has won congressional approval. In India, the app was banned nearly four years ago. Here’s what happened:  https://bit.ly/49Qxvfg 

A jury of 12 people was seated Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, and the court quickly turned to selecting alternate jurors.
Read more:  https://bit.ly/3xFsGbh 

O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76. 

Read more:  https://bit.ly/4aPCcqj 

Join The Associated Press on April 8 at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a total solar eclipse watch party live from Texas with livestreams from Mexico, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio and New York. 

The AP will be live along the path of totality starting at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Commentary will start at 1:30 p.m. EDT and feature interviews with party organizers and scientists. 

Caitlin Clark of Iowa is The Associated Press Player of the Year in women’s basketball for the second consecutive year.

Read more:  https://bit.ly/3vuDTL7