Good morning, everyone. It’s National Creamsicle Day. If you can’t get one, consider making this 3-ingredient instead. Now, on to the news.

NEED TO KNOW

Missouri and Arizona approve abortion ballot initiatives

Missouri and Arizona are the latest in a growing number of states to greenlight ballot initiatives that would potentially restore abortion rights in November.

Their goals: Both and measures would protect the right to receive abortion care up until fetal viability (usually around 24 weeks of pregnancy), and would prohibit the government from limiting access to it. [NBC News]

Bigger picture: Voters in six other states — Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York and South Dakota — will decide this November whether to . Montana and Arkansas are also considering ballot measures. [CNN]

What women say: A new Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that most reproductive-age women in the U.S. whether abortion is legal, regardless of their party affiliation. [The Hill]

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

✨ Rare cosmic event

The Perseid meteor shower hit its peak across the northern hemisphere at the same time as the northern lights in some areas yesterday. Here’s a look at the around the world. [Yahoo News]

➡️ Tropical Storm Ernesto

Nearing hurricane strength, Tropical Storm Ernesto is projected to bring heavy rain and cause power outages as it today. It could also bring dangerous rip currents along the East Coast next week. [CNN]

🩺 Biden’s ‘Cancer Moonshot’

President Biden announced $150 million in grants as part of his “Moonshot” initiative to by 50% over the next 25 years. “It’s not just personal,” he said. “It’s about what’s possible.” [AP]

⚖️ Trump, Musk charged

The United Auto Workers against Donald Trump and Elon Musk, alleging that they tried to “threaten and intimidate” workers during their recent conversation on X, which Musk owns. [Reuters]

📺 ‘AGT’ golden buzzer

America’s Got Talent judge Sofia Vergara pressed the golden buzzer during the quarterfinals to give what she called one of the show’s “most ambitious acts” a direct pass to the final. . [Entertainment Weekly]

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY

🔎 Bad Monkey, a crime dramedy series starring Vince Vaughn, is on Apple TV+. . [TVLine]

📺 The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras premieres at 8 p.m. ET on MTV. Here’s . [TheWrap]

⚾ In baseball, the Yankees and the White Sox at 8:10 p.m. ET on the MLB app. [USA Today]

☀️ And don’t forget to: Read your daily . Play . Check the in your area.

TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the U.S., ending World War II. Celebrations erupted internationally, but one famous but controversial photo of a sailor in New York City became the enduring symbol of post-war jubilation. [Time]

3 QUESTIONS

…about the WNBA season

The WNBA season ramps back up tomorrow. I asked sports reporter Cassandra Negley to break down what we could see in the coming games.

Lily: So, who are the teams to beat at this point?

Cassandra: New York Liberty’s chemistry , but the Connecticut Sun just in Marina Mabrey. I also believe the fifth-place Las Vegas Aces are still dangerous as the two-time reigning champs.

Lily: Caitlin Clark now has half of a WNBA season under her belt. How’s she faring?

Cassandra: I think Clark is living up to expectations as the league’s assists leader and Rookie of the Year favorite. Hopefully with recent rest she’ll hit more of her .

Lily: What’s the one game to watch this week?

Cassandra: I’d say the Liberty-Aces Finals super-team rematch on Saturday [4 p.m. ET on CBS]. It’s the first time they’re meeting this year with point guards Courtney Vandersloot and Chelsea Gray available.

Who else could win Rookie of the Year? Here’s .

FEEL-GOOD MOMENT

More than 4,000 people recently attended an Ohio festival called Twins Days, which is the for multiples. “You automatically have this very innate connection with other twins,” one person said. “You’re all part of a special club.” [Today]

Have an excellent day. See you tomorrow!

💡 P.S. Before you go, your daily advice: How much money should you actually save each month? Experts recommend . [Yahoo Finance]

About The Yodel: The Yodel is a morning newsletter from Yahoo News.

If you start your day with The Yodel, you can keep up with weather, national news, politics, entertainment and sports — in four minutes or less. Sign up.

Election officials in Arizona and Missouri this week announced that abortion-rights supporters in their states had gathered enough petition signatures to put proposed amendments enshrining abortion rights into their states’ constitutions, bringing to seven the number of states with abortion votes set for November.

The U.S. Supreme Court removed the nationwide right to abortion with a 2022 ruling, which sparked a national push to have voters decide.

Since the decision, most Republican-controlled states have passed abortion restrictions, including 14 that ban it at every stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect access.

Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions before voters since 2022 — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont — have sided with abortion rights supporters.

MISSOURI

Missouri voters will decide whether to guarantee a right to abortion with a constitutional amendment that would reverse the state’s near-total ban.

The secretary of state’s office certified Tuesday that an initiative petition received more than enough signatures from registered voters to qualify for the general election. It will need approval from a majority of voters to become enshrined in the state constitution.

The Missouri ballot measure would create a right to abortion until a fetus could likely survive outside the womb without extraordinary medical measures, generally considered around 23 or 24 weeks into pregnancy. The ballot measure would allow abortions after fetal viability if a health care professional determines it’s necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

ARIZONA

Voters in Arizona will decide in November whether to amend the state constitution to add the right to an abortion up to about 24 weeks into pregnancy. The Arizona secretary of state’s office said Monday that it had certified enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

Under the proposed amendment, the state would not be able to ban abortion until the fetus is viable, with later abortions allowed to protect a woman’s physical or mental health. Opponents of the proposed amendment say it goes too far and could lead to unlimited and unregulated abortions in Arizona. Supporters say it would protect abortion access free from political interference.

Abortion is currently legal for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona.

COLORADO

Colorado’s top election official confirmed in May that a measure to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution, along with requirements that Medicaid and private health insurers cover abortion, made the ballot for the fall election.

Supporters said they gathered nearly double the required number of signatures needed.

Amending the state constitution requires the support of 55% of voters.

Abortion is already legal at all stages of pregnancy in Colorado.

FLORIDA

The state Supreme Court ruled in April that a measure to legalize abortion until viability could go on the ballot despite a legal challenge from the state. Attorney General Ashley Moody had argued that there are differing views on the meaning of “viability” and that some key terms in the proposed measure are not properly defined.

To pass, the measure needs support from at least 60% of voters, a high threshold that supporters say they are hopeful of reaching after collecting nearly a million signatures on the petition to get it on the ballot.

Abortion is currently illegal in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy under a law that took effect May 1.

MARYLAND

Maryland voters also will be asked this year to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. Abortion is already allowed in Maryland until viability.

NEVADA

The Nevada Secretary of State’s office announced in June that a ballot question to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution has met all of the requirements to appear in front of voters in November.

Under the amendment, abortion access for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy — or later to protect the health of the pregnant person — would be protected. To change the constitution, voters would need to approve it in both 2024 and 2026.

Abortion up until viability is already allowed in the state under a law passed in 1990.

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota voters will decide this fall on a constitutional amendment that would ban any restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. The measure would allow the state in the second trimester to “regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” An abortion ban would be allowed in the third trimester, as long as it included exceptions for the life and health of the woman.

Opponents have sued to try to take the initiative off the ballot.

While not explicitly preserving a right to abortion, a reproductive rights question is on the ballot in New York. The measure would bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive healthcare,” along with sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability. Abortion is currently allowed in New York until fetal viability.

The question was on the ballot, then removed in May by a judge who found lawmakers missed a procedural step when they put it there. An appeals court reinstated it in June.

MONTANA

Abortion rights proponents in Montana have proposed a constitutional amendment that would bar the government from denying the right to abortion before viability or when it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

After a legal battle over the ballot language, the Montana Supreme Court in April wrote its version of the language that would appear on the ballot if enough valid signatures are certified. Sponsors were required to submit about 60,000 signatures by June 21. They turned in nearly twice that many — about 117,000 — and backers have said counties have validated more than enough signatures. The secretary of state has until Aug. 22 to finalize the November ballot.

Abortion is already legal until viability in the state under a 1999 Montana Supreme Court opinion.

NEBRASKA

Competing abortion measures could be before voters in November after supporters of each said this month that they turned in far more signatures than the 123,000 required for ballot access.

One would enshrine in the state constitution the right to abortion until viability. Supporters said they submitted more than 207,000 signatures.

The other would write into the constitution the current law, which bars abortions after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Its backers said they submitted more than 205,000 signatures.

The measure that gets the most votes will become part of the state constitution.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) — If you needed to fill up your car on Tuesday, you may have noticed that prices increased by an average of about 10 cents across southwest Missouri.

According to AAA, the average price for regular gasoline in the Show-me state is currently $3.15, up only two cents from yesterday. However, in the Springfield area, that is a much higher jump. Springfield’s average is around $3.09, while on Monday, it was $2.99.

“In the last couple days, it’s been rising tension in the Middle East,” said Nick Chabarria, a AAA representative. “Anytime that there’s a chance of conflict there, that, of course, impacts crude oil around the globe and certainly right here in the U.S.”

Chabarria said before this week that crude oil prices have declined for four straight weeks. Prices have since gone up to around $80 per barrel. He also said it’s essential to consider where gas prices have been in recent weeks. The average in Springfield at $3.09 is indeed ten cents higher than it was yesterday. But it’s the same average price as a week ago. A month ago, it was $2.95; a year ago, it was $3.60, and he said Missouri has the tenth lowest average price in the country.

“They can go up really, really quickly. It’s really, really hard for them to come back down quickly, typically,” said David Mitchell, professor and director of the Bureau of Economic Research at Missouri State University. “The gas stations have already bought it at that higher price. They’re reluctant to let it go at a lower price that might be below cost, at least until the kind of the tanks are re-emptied and they get a chance to rebuy.”

According to Mitchell, a number of factors can impact the price you pay at the pump. He attributes the recent spikes to unrest in the Middle East and the fact that summer vacation is winding down.

“I think you have a lot of people going out for one last hurrah before the semester starts for their kids,” said Mitchell. “I think that has a lot to do with it as well, too.”

With the end of summer, AAA said prices typically get lower in the colder months.

“Partly because there’s less demand for gasoline, but also because stations will switch over from summer blend gasoline to winter blend, which is a little bit cheaper to produce,” said Chabarria.

While drivers can’t do anything about the price of gas, there are a few things that they can do to help offset how much fuel they consume. AAA suggests keeping up on your car’s maintenance. The idea is that if your car is performing well, it’ll be more fuel efficient. Also, AAA suggests consolidating your trips. If you can, consolidate your errands into as few trips as possible.

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