Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 24

Alabama’s redistricting brawl rehashes bitter fight over voting rights (Politico)

The GOP-dominated Legislature passed a map on Friday that disregarded a lower federal court’s directive — one reinforced in June by the Supreme Court — that it should include two districts with a Black “voting-age majority or something quite close to it” when it redraws its lines. The legislature, over the unified objections of Democrats, instead came up with a map that falls short of that, with one narrowly Black-majority district and one with a Black voting age population of just under 40 percent, even as Republicans argue they are in adherence.

Doctors shouldn't have to risk arrest to be board certified

the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology is requiring OBGYNs travel to Texas to take certification exams.

ABOG, headquartered in Dallas, is telling candidates that they “should not be at legal risk” because Texas’ criminal and civil penalties only apply to abortions performed in the state. But the group hasn’t addressed the danger for doctors in pro-choice states who ship abortion medication to Texas patients via telehealth—potentially a tremendous criminal risk.

It was also just last week that a group of Republican attorneys general, including Texas AG Ken Paxton, pushed the Biden administration to allow them access to medical records of those who get out-of-state abortions. So if there’s a question of how broadly Texas law enforcement plans to interpret their ban, it seems fair that doctors would want to err on the side of caution.

Especially considering that the exam itself necessitates that some doctors talk about their work in abortion care: In order to be certified, OBGYNs must prepare a list of cases that they’ve worked on and are ready to discuss with a panel of examiners.

For OBGYNs of reproductive age, the threat of traveling to Texas goes beyond legal concerns. Those who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant aren’t keen on being in a state that would rather let them die than provide them an abortion.

And while ABOG says they have a partnership with a nearby hospital offering “high standards of obstetrical care in medical emergencies,” pregnant OBGYNs know better than anyone what the standard of care is—and that they’ll be unable to get it in Texas. After all, the state is being sued right now by 15 women whose lives and health were endangered by the ban.

There’s also something uniquely terrifying about the idea of hundreds of OBGYNs, many of whom perform abortions, all descending on one publicly-listed building at the same time in a state filled with anti-abortion sentiment, few gun regulations, and a recent spate of mass shootings. (ABOG’s emailed promise that their staff is trained in “active shooter response” isn’t all that reassuring.)

always follow the money:

Given that the exams have been successfully conducted remotely, and that ABOG is explicit in their support for reproductive rights—even threatening to revoke the board certification of doctors who spread misinformation about the procedure—some OBGYNs believe the organization’s insistence on holding the exams in Texas must be a financial one.

The organization is scheduled to open a new $34 million dollar office building later this year. And according to city permits reported by The Dallas Morning News, the 126,000-square-foot space will include the group’s offices, a conference center, and—you guessed it—a testing facility.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/barricades-go-up-around-fulton-county-courthouse-as-trump-indictment-looms

As another potential indictment of former president Donald Trump looms in Georgia, barricades have sprung up around the courthouse where he’d likely be arraigned. New Yorker writer Charles Bethea posted a video on Thursday showing the newly-erected barricades near Atlanta’s Fulton County courthouse—suggesting that they’re an ominous sign for the Trump legal team. The case, which could result in Trump’s third indictment, centers on Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results by pressuring state officials, and could draw in several collaborators.

DOJ sues Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott over Rio Grande barrier (Politico)

The Department of Justice sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for building a floating barrier at the southern border that the state says will deter migrants but that the Biden administration calls a threat to public safety.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, alleges that Abbott violated the law by building structures in the Rio Grande River without authorization, creating an obstruction in U.S. waters.

…

Abbott said in a letter early Monday that he would not comply with the Justice Department’s request to take down the barricade. The department had given the state until Monday to comply. Earlier this month, Texas set up miles of barriers using barbed wire and buoys in the river near Eagle Pass.

Bipartisan bill would bar federal agencies from denying job applicants over weed use

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2023/07/bipartisan-bill-would-bar-agencies-from-denying-job-applicants-over-weed-use/