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California Churches to Be Exempt From Providing Abortion Coverage to Employees

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California Churches to Be Exempt From Providing Abortion Coverage to Employees


Three church buildings in California are exercising their spiritual freedom—a federal courtroom dominated—and now not should cowl abortion providers by means of well being care plans for workers, as of Aug. 25.  

U.S. District Courtroom Chief Decide Kimberly Mueller of the Japanese District of California dominated in favor of the three church buildings—Foothill Church in Glendora, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino, and Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch—which might probably lead different spiritual teams and businesses to exclude such well being care protection by exercising spiritual freedom assured below First Modification to the U.S. Structure. 

Starting in 2014, the California Division of Managed Well being Care ordered corporations to cowl abortion procedures when offering healthcare protection to workers. Nevertheless, some church buildings felt this interfered with their spiritual beliefs that oppose abortion as morally mistaken. 

The church buildings requested that abortion be coated provided that the lifetime of the mom was at stake and it was essential to avoid wasting her life. 

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In 2015, the three church buildings filed complaints towards the state division, claiming they’ve a proper to be exempt from the state coverage requiring abortion providers as a part of primary well being care protection. 

In 2019, the district courtroom dismissed their criticism. The church buildings appealed to the Ninth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals, which kicked the case again to the district courtroom in 2021 for reconsideration. 

The Ninth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals acted in response to final 12 months’s courtroom ruling in Fulton v. Metropolis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania —additionally a religious-freedom case. Philadelphia contracts with Catholic Social Companies, to certify foster households however later threatened to cease working with the company as a result of it refused to certify single and same-sex {couples}.  The courtroom dominated in favor of the company, saying the town violated the free train clause of the First Modification.  

When the California case was lastly being reconsidered, the three church buildings cited the free train clause within the First Modification to the Structure, “Congress shall make no legislation … prohibiting the free train [of religion].”  

In the meantime, the director of the state Division of Managed Well being Care, Mary Watanabe, listed causes for denying the plaintiffs’ exemptions primarily based on the equal safety clause, which says no authorities can deny a bunch of individuals’s equal rights and safety below its legal guidelines. She additionally argued that they will solely accommodate spiritual exemption requests from a well being care plan, as a substitute of an employer, in keeping with the courtroom order.

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In response to the state, the coverage additionally prevents “a flood of exemption requests” from over 26 million employers who may disagree with the covered-care providers offered by their plan. 

Nevertheless, the courtroom dominated, “None of those pursuits are sufficiently compelling, neither is the division’s inflexible method narrowly tailor-made.” 

The state division is contemplating its subsequent steps following the courtroom ruling and had no additional remark at this level, in keeping with its spokesperson. 

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills workers had been joyful that U.S. District Courtroom Chief Decide Kimberly Mueller dominated in favor of the church buildings, arguing the state’s mandate violated their First Modification rights.  

“Regardless of the unreasonable mandate, it by no means modified what Calvary Chapel Chino Hills has all the time carried out, and can all the time do, be a defender of the unborn little one who is continually below assault by the State of California,” Employees member Gina Gleason from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills informed The Epoch Occasions. 

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For the reason that courtroom order, the church buildings and the state have been instructed to file briefs on the scope of aid, that are due inside 30 days. 

Foothill Church and Shepherd of the Hills Church didn’t reply to requests for remark. A spokesperson for Mueller didn’t present feedback on the case.

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California

What's in store for California's new water year? Experts say 'extremes are getting more extreme'

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What's in store for California's new water year? Experts say 'extremes are getting more extreme'


LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Extreme weather and our changing climate means that forecasting has become even more important.

To help you become more climate-ready, ABC News and the ABC Owned Television Stations have teamed up to help you navigate this new reality.

What’s in store for California’s water year?

The state’s water year begins October 12 and ends September 30 of next year.

Typically, fall rain starts in October then the bulk of California’s rain falls from December to February. April is when we see peak snowpack. So what will this year look like? Climate experts are warning to be ready for some extremes.

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“What we’re seeing in the forecast right now is that we’re likely off to another late start to the wet season,” said Dr. Michael Anderson, who serves as the official State Climatologist for California. “Meaning, the dry conditions continuing and certainly still seeing the above-normal temperatures.”

High pressure is also in the mix, meaning rainfall could be delayed this year.

“That can happen as high pressure kind of keeps things, pushing storms to the north and we’re seeing that right now with almost all the [precipitation] activity hitting the very southern end of Alaska and northern British Columbia,” said Anderson.

But when it arrives, forecasters are urging people to be ready seeing as to we could see more extreme rain events during dry seasons.

“The one constant we are seeing is that extremes are getting more extreme,” said Jason Ince with the California Department of Water Resources. “Our droughts are getting longer and hotter, our big storms are getting stronger since warmer air can hold more moisture.”

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Forecasters are also on the lookout for Santa Ana and Diablo wind events this fall and the potential for decaying tropical systems to cause thunderstorms, which are both concerning for fire crews.

“We end up with some pretty good [precipitation] events sometimes with some thunderstorms, but those thunderstorms, if they’re dry can be fire starters which can be a problem,” said Anderson.

Our water demand is the highest from May to August but remember, this September started out dangerously hot in California so were still on the tail end of this season. Well finish this water year end of September. To learn more on the new water year, click here.

Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



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New California law will force companies to admit you don't own digital content

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New California law will force companies to admit you don't own digital content


California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 2426, a new law that requires digital marketplaces to make clearer to customers when they are only purchasing a license to access media. The law will not apply to cases of permanent offline downloads, only to the all-too-common situation of buying digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows or ebooks from an online storefront. spotted the development, which could see marketplaces facing fines for false advertising in the state if they don’t use clear language to explain the limitations of what access entails. In other words, you won’t be seeing language like “buy” or “purchase” once the law takes effect in 2025.

The move to digital storefronts has raised new parallel concerns about ownership and preservation for media in the modern age. Ubisoft’s move to after the game’s servers shuttered is one of the most recent examples of how customers can suddenly lose access to media they felt they owned. The new California law won’t stop situations like The Crew‘s disappearance from happening, and it won’t stop those losses from hurting. But it does make clearer that ownership is a pretty rare and intangible thing for digital media.

Governor Newsom is having a busy week. He also signed the state’s “” bill yesterday and last week signed two bills with protections against , both living and deceased.



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Letters to the Editor: Prop. 36 is a sensible response to theft and addiction in California

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Letters to the Editor: Prop. 36 is a sensible response to theft and addiction in California


To the editor: I was disappointed to read The Times’ editorial opposing Proposition 36, a ballot measure that would reclassify some misdemeanors as felonies and would also create a new category of crime called a “treatment-mandated felony.”

For full disclosure, I am the assistant CEO of the California District Attorneys Assn., which is one of the sponsors of Proposition 36.

Proposition 36 is a measured approach to the horrible situation we find ourselves in. It makes smart and surgical modifications to Proposition 47, a well-intended but problematic measure passed 10 years ago. I hope your readers take a look at the editorial by the San Jose Mercury News saying that Proposition 36 is a “smart response” to crime, addiction and homelessness.

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A recent highly respected poll found that 71% of likely California voters were in favor of the ballot measure. Among these are people who have lost loved ones to fentanyl and are tired of going to CVS and seeing socks and razors under lock and key.

Contrary to rhetoric of Proposition 36 opponents, nobody wants to go back to the days of disparately locking up brown and Black people. The goal is to make us more safe and help those living with addiction, mental illness and homelessness.

Proposition 36 will not solve the problem, but it will be one small step in the right direction.

Jonathan Raven, Davis, Calif.

..

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To the editor: The choices we make have consequences. When people make poor choices, like committing a third misdemeanor theft, those people should receive negative consequences.

California politicians have created policies and a culture that have resulted in a lack of appropriate negative consequences for people who make poor choices. Instead, those consequences land on society.

Unhoused people who break the law and refuse help are allowed to go on destroying themselves and our communities, while consequences such as fires and hazardous waste plague the rest of us. Thieves who steal everything from detergent to copper wiring go largely unpunished, while the rest of us wait for the keys to store cabinets and walk on unsafe, dark sidewalks.

The editorial board’s opposition to Proposition 36 shows its disconnect from reality. A kindergartner learns that choices have consequences. We Angelenos have learned what happens when our leaders and law enforcement officials fail to hold people accountable for their actions.

Progressive leniency has resulted in the filthy city we have today. We must hold everyone accountable to the same legal standards and consequences. Don’t steal the pizza.

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Victoria Mordecai, San Marino



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