News
Arizona says century-old abortion ban can be enforced; EPA limits 'forever chemicals'
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Today’s top stories
Arizona’s Supreme Court ruled that the state should follow a restrictive abortion ban passed during the Civil War. The near-total ban doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest and makes performing an abortion punishable by two to five years in prison. It includes an exception to save the woman’s life. In the ruling, the judges wrote they would stay the decision for 14 business days, possibly longer, allowing abortions to continue during that time.
After the Arizona Supreme Court allowed for near-total abortion ban, a group of abortion-rights protesters gathered outside the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix on April 9, 2024.
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Katherine Davis-Young/KJZZ
After the Arizona Supreme Court allowed for near-total abortion ban, a group of abortion-rights protesters gathered outside the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix on April 9, 2024.
Katherine Davis-Young/KJZZ
- On Up First, NPR’s Ximena Bustillo says this is now one of the oldest abortion laws on the books — older than Arizona itself. There’s an effort to put a measure on the state’s November ballot that would overrule this decision and establish a fundamental right to abortion. The amendment would protect abortion access until viability and protect the patient’s health, as determined by the health care provider giving treatment. Supporters of this amendment have already collected more than enough signatures to put it on the ballot.
The Environmental Protection Agency has put limits on certain PFAS, or so-called “forever chemicals,” in drinking water for the first time. PFAS are a large group of human-made chemicals that have been used since the 1940s to waterproof and stainproof products — at a cost to human health. These chemicals have been linked to cancers, liver damage, high cholesterol and more. The new rules mean utilities will now need to look for six of these chemicals in drinking water and remove them if they exceed EPA limits.
- Limiting six chemicals doesn’t sound like much, considering there are more than 12,000 known PFAS, NPR’s Pien Huang reports. But experts she spoke to say it’s a strong first step. The EPA estimates it will cost $1.5 billion each year for water companies to comply with its new rules. Huang says consumer water bills may go up eventually, but the federal government has dedicated billions of dollars for PFAS removal as a first resort.
President Biden will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House today for a state visit. The leaders are expected to discuss how to deepen their cooperation on global security issues, AI research and more. But a crack in the allies’ economic relationship could overshadow the event. Last year, U.S. Steel reached a nearly $15 billion takeover deal from Japan’s Nippon Steel — a deal Biden has opposed.
- This is going to make the state visit “very awkward,” NPR’s Franco Ordoñez says. White House officials insist the leaders won’t discuss it in their meetings, but Ordoñez says reporters are likely to raise questions at the press conference. He says it’s “highly unusual” for Biden to come out so publicly against this deal. Critics say Biden could discourage foreign investment and “contradict the idea that the U.S. is open for business.”
The science of siblings
Malte Mueller/Getty Images/fStop
Malte Mueller/Getty Images/fStop
The Science of Siblings is a new series from NPR exploring the ways our siblings can influence us, from our money and our mental health all the way down to our very molecules
Happy National Siblings Day! Science tells us that siblings can change our lives, even affecting our identity and sexuality. Here’s how:
- Studies have shown that men who are attracted to the same sex are more likely to have older brothers than other types of siblings. This phenomenon was dubbed the “fraternal birth order effect.”
- This effect shows about a 33% increase in the probability of male same-sex attraction for each older brother you have.
- Scientists theorized that the mother’s immune system response to the proteins created by the Y chromosome in male fetuses could be behind this effect. This is called the “maternal immune hypothesis.”
- But a recent study that sampled 9 million people showed women in same-sex marriages were also more likely to have older brothers, putting the hypothesis up for debate.
Learn more about the fraternal birth order effect and the dark history of scientific sexuality research on Short Wave. Read more about the science of siblings here, including how a male fetus’s hormones can affect his sister’s future in the womb.
Deep dive
Many young people who started vaping nicotine as teens several years ago haven’t quit the habit, data show.
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Many young people who started vaping nicotine as teens several years ago haven’t quit the habit, data show.
Daisy-Daisy/Getty Images
New data on vaping use among young adults suggests those who have gotten addicted to vaping in their teens haven’t quit. For years, marketing by e-cigarette companies has led teens to try vaping. In Colorado, the share of those aged 18 to 24 who regularly vaped rose by about 61% from 2020 to 2022 — to nearly a quarter of that age group. Nationally, vaping rates for young adults have increased from 7.6% in 2018 to 11% in 2021. Meanwhile, vape rates among high schoolers and minors have dropped significantly.
- Isolation and the pandemic have driven substance use. Experts say that not understanding the amount of nicotine in these products means that more young people have gotten hooked without realizing it.
- The “Juul effect” plays a role even after its ban. In 2019, Juul products were everywhere. Lawsuits argued that the company aggressively marketed itself to kids, and Juul paid millions in settlements as a result. The FDA banned flavored vape cartridges in 2020 in an effort to crack down on marketing to minors, but the products are still easy to find.
- Young adults lead vape sales, even though the product was originally intended to help users quit cigarette smoking. The 18-24 age group leads all age groups in regular use, and use gradually dropped with each age cohort, up to the 65+ demographic, of which just 1% use e-cigarettes.
3 things to know before you go
Country music star Morgan Wallen attending the CMA Awards in Nashville in November 2023.
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Country music star Morgan Wallen attending the CMA Awards in Nashville in November 2023.
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- Country star Morgan Wallen was arrested after allegedly throwing a chair from the rooftop of a bar Sunday night.
- Shares of Truth Social have slumped, and it’s now trading at its lowest level since the company’s trading debut on March 26.
- Workers at 911 call centers say their facilities are understaffed, according to a 2023 survey. Here’s why those answering emergency calls say their jobs have gotten even harder in the last few months.
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi and Obed Manuel. Mansee Khurana contributed.
News
“It’s blood money”: Family of exonerated man in Texas yogurt shop murders speaks out after settlement
The widow and the daughter of Maurice Pierce, one of the four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Texas yogurt shop murders, have confirmed they signed a multimillion-dollar settlement with the city of Austin.
Kimberli and Marisa Pierce spoke with correspondent Erin Moriarty in a new episode of the podcast “48 Hours: Case by Case.” Moriarty has reported on the yogurt shop murders for over 30 years.
Maurice Pierce’s widow Kimberli made clear that their priority has never been financial compensation. “It’s blood money for us. He died for this money,” Kimberli Pierce said. “It’s about the reform and the changes that need to happen, not only in Austin, but apparently across the country.”
They also went into great detail about what they believe happened when Maurice Pierce was shot and killed by police in 2010.
Maurice Pierce was one of four men, along with Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Forrest Welborn, who were wrongfully accused in the murders of four teenage girls in Austin on Dec. 6, 1991. Eliza Thomas, Amy Ayers, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison were tied up, shot and left inside the yogurt shop as it was set ablaze.
The four men were exonerated in February after investigators linked another man, Robert Eugene Brashers, to the killings. The city of Austin subsequently offered a $35 million settlement. Because Maurice Pierce died in 2010, his share of $10 million will go to Kimberli and Marisa Pierce.
Eight days after the killings, 16-year-old Maurice Pierce was arrested at a mall, carrying a .22, the same caliber handgun connected to the crime. Kimberli Pierce said police told Maurice Pierce that his gun was the murder weapon. He responded by mentioning his friend Forrest Welborn. Maurice Pierce was then wired up and sent to speak with Welborn, but investigators ultimately determined that Welborn and the others knew nothing about the murders, and no charges were filed at that time.
Marisa Pierce has said there was no evidence when her father was questioned, “only a detective and a narrative, a narrative so completely false. It feels evil.”
Nearly eight years later, in 1999, all four men were arrested after Scott and Springsteen confessed to the murders. They later recanted, saying they had been coerced. Springsteen and Scott were tried and convicted, but later those convictions were overturned on constitutional grounds. A subsequent DNA test excluded all four men. Maurice Pierce was never convicted but spent three years in jail before his release in 2003.
Kimberli Pierce said her husband came home a hardened man. She believes police continued to harass Maurice and their family after his release. In 2010, Maurice Pierce was stopped for a routine traffic stop, fled on foot, and was shot and killed by an Austin police officer who said Pierce had stabbed him with a knife.
Marisa and Kimberli Pierce told “48 Hours” that they intend to review the circumstances surrounding the night of Maurice Pierce’s death. Marisa Pierce revealed in new, emotional detail that she was on the phone with her father at the time. She believes he panicked and was only trying to get away, not to hurt anyone. She described her father’s last breaths: “And in those last moments, he had just said I’m sorry, I don’t think you’re gonna see me again, and I love you.”
“48 Hours” reached out to the Austin Police Department about the Pierces’ allegations of harassment and their questions about Maurice Pierce’s death in 2010. The police department said they had no additional comment.
For the Pierce family, the settlement is a starting point, not an end point. They have put forward seven proposed reforms they hope the city of Austin will approve, including appointing a child advocate whenever a minor is questioned, prohibiting deceptive interrogation tactics, educating juveniles about their rights and establishing accountability measures to address tunnel vision in police investigations.
In a statement shared with “48 Hours,” the Pierces wrote: “Real justice is not only about acknowledging harm after the fact but about creating safeguards that prevent future families from enduring the same pain.”
This year, Maine nearly became the first state to pass a statewide moratorium on new data centers. But before the law could take effect, supporters of an A.I. data center project in the small town of Jay rallied to fight the ban — and won. So why do residents there want one? We traveled to Jay to find out.
The U.S. Supreme Court
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Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday handed the Trump administration a tool that could make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to enter the United States.
Asylum is a form of legal protection available to people fleeing persecution in their home countries if they meet certain criteria. Under U.S. law, an asylum seeker who “arrives in” the U.S. is entitled to apply for asylum and generally cannot be removed from the country until their asylum application is processed.
By a 6-3 vote, the high court ruled that federal law allows the government to stop asylum seekers from physically setting foot in the country, effectively keeping them from applying for asylum.
The Obama administration was the first to try stemming the flow of asylum seekers that way. But the lower courts blocked the policy on grounds that it violated federal law by denying asylum to people who otherwise would have qualified for it, had they been permitted to literally put one foot over the border.
The Trump administration, however, sought to revive the policy, contending that the lower court’s ruling “deprives the Executive Branch of a critical tool for addressing border surges and preventing overcrowding at ports of entry.” And on Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito ruled that because asylum seekers are not in the U.S. when they are turned away at the border, they did not “arrive in” the country. Therefore, he continued, the legal protections for asylum seekers have not kicked in.
Writing for the liberal dissenters, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that Border Patrol agents speak with all immigrants at legal entry points and speaking with an agent is effectively the first step in “arriving in” the U.S.
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