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Supreme Court allows Idaho abortion ban to be enacted, first such ruling since Dobbs
On Friday, the Supreme Court intervened to allow Idaho’s criminal abortion ban to take effect and agreed to hear an appeal in April.
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On Friday, the Supreme Court intervened to allow Idaho’s criminal abortion ban to take effect and agreed to hear an appeal in April.
Zach Gibson/Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed Idaho’s abortion ban to go into effect, for now, and agreed to hear an appeal in the case, scheduling arguments for April.
The court’s order is the first time it has weighed in on a state’s criminal law banning abortions since the high court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Idaho has been a leader of state efforts to criminalize abortion. Its “Defense of Life Act” would would make it a crime for “every person who performs or attempts to perform an abortion,” even when the woman’s health is greatly endangered. Under the Idaho law, the only exception to the abortion ban is when an abortion is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.”
In August 2022 the Biden administration successfully sued to block the law. The government argued that the state statute illegally conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. That law requires hospitals to provide “necessary stabilizing treatment” when the health of the mother is in danger. And the court found that Idaho’s exception for only fatal cases “is narrower” than the federal law which “protects patients not only from imminent death but also from emergencies that seriously threaten their health.”
As the government explained in its brief, “pregnant patients arrive at emergency rooms in Idaho suffering from non-lethal conditions — including infections, pre-eclampsia, or premature pre-term rupture of membranes — for which pregnancy termination is the stabilizing care required to avoid grave harms like strokes, sepsis, and kidney failure.”
The lower court agreed that “it is impossible to comply with both [the federal and state] statutes,” and blocked Idaho’s law the day before it was to go into effect.
That decision was briefly overturned by a a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals comprised of all Trump-appointees. But the full Ninth Circuit quickly reversed that ruling, and kept Idaho’s law on ice until the Ninth Circuit decides the case.
On Friday, the Supreme Court intervened to allow Idaho’s criminal abortion ban to take effect and agreed to hear an appeal in April. The order could have widespread effects, empowering other states with less restrictive bans to pass more stringent laws.
US negotiators to head to Pakistan and Iranian cargo ship seized – a recappublished at 00:37 BST 20 April
Tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday
Here’s a recap of the latest developments.
US negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday with the intention of holding further talks on ending the war, Trump says – but Iranian state media cites unnamed officials as saying Tehran has “no plans for now to participate”.
The prospect of further high-level negotiations – a White House official says Vice-President JD Vance will attend – comes amid reports of fresh attacks on commercial vessels.
Trump says the navy intercepted and took “custody” of an Iranian tanker attempting to pass through the US blockade, “blowing a hole” in the ship’s engine room in the process.
Earlier, in the same post announcing his representatives would travel for more talks, Trump renewed his threat to destroy Iranian energy sites and bridges if no deal is reached.
Reports in Iranian media over the weekend suggest Iran is continuing to work on plans to potentially apply a toll to ships passing through the strait – although it’s unclear if such a move will be implemented.
Iranian state TV cites unnamed officials as saying that “continuation of the so-called naval blockade, violation of the ceasefire and threatening US rhetoric” are slowing progress in reaching an agreement.
Trump also accused Iran of violating the ceasefire, saying more commercial ships have been attacked by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
A UK maritime agency reported two commercial ships came under fire in the strait on Saturday.
Iran’s foreign minister had said on Friday that the strait would be opened – which was shortly followed by Trump saying the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place until a deal is reached. Iran has since said the strait is closed again.
new video loaded: 8 Children Killed in Louisiana Shooting, Police Say
By Christina Kelso
April 19, 2026
An aerial view shows damage from a tornado, on Saturday in Lena, Ill.
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Communities across the Upper Midwest are cleaning up after tornadoes and severe weather impacted the region over the weekend, damaging and destroying dozens of homes and knocking out power for tens of thousands.
“Numerous” severe storms were tracked across parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. At least 66 tornado reports were submitted in multiple states including Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Iowa, the NWS Quad Cities IA/IL office said Sunday.
No deaths have been reported from the severe weather and tornado outbreak.
In Marion Township in Minnesota, about 30 homes were damaged and a dozen have significant damage because of a tornado, according to the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office. The tornado also damaged at least 20 homes in Stewartville and there is a temporary shelter in Rochester for people displaced by the storms, according to MPR News.
“Tornado disaster recovery continues to occur at full speed,” the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday.
In Illinois, McClean County officials declared a disaster emergency because of severe storms in Bloomington. “At this time, no injuries have been reported, and emergency response agencies remain actively engaged to ensure public safety and continuity of essential services,” officials said in a statement.
But further north in the village of Lena, an EF-2 tornado caused the “most significant damage” where “many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees uprooted, and power lines downed,” the NWS said. Numerous roads have also been blocked by debris, the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office also said.
People continue to clean up following a tornado, on Saturday in Lena, Ill.
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There have been no fatalities and no reports of serious injuries associated with the storm, Chief Deputy Andy Schroeder from the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office told NPR on Sunday.
More than 43,000 customers lost power in Illinois but power was restored to almost all of them by Saturday night, according to electric utility ComEd.
Several tornadoes also occurred across Wisconsin, according to the NWS office in La Crosse. Twenty-six tornado warnings were issued by the office on Friday, the most in one day since the weather service office was built in 1995.
In one Marathon County town, 75 homes were destroyed by a tornado, according to Ringle Fire Chief Chris Kielman.
“It took out a whole residential area,” Kielman said, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
The American Red Cross of Wisconsin said volunteers are helping those impacted by the storm with meals, shelter and support.
Parts of the state are still dealing with multiple rounds of severe weather and tornadoes from earlier in the week that brought flooding to some communities.
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