''Adoption not abortion'' is a common message at anti-abortion rallies, but tracking the impact Roe's overturning had on the adoption industry is murky. Four people were killed and two children were injured in Philadelphia after a mass shooting. And the family of a man found eight years after he went missing as a teen gives an update on his condition.
Here’s what to know today.
How the Supreme Court’s Dobbs abortion decision is affecting adoption
When Madelynn Ballenger discovered she was pregnant for the second time, she didn’t know whether she could take on another child.
It was September 2021, the month Texas’ ban on abortions after six weeks took effect, and 20-year-old Ballenger was five weeks pregnant. That left her with a few days to decide whether to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy.
She opted to carry the baby to term. Two days after she gave birth to a boy, she made an agonizing decision. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s the most difficult thing I’ll ever do.”
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Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion activists argued that doing so would lead more women with unwanted pregnancies to turn to adoption.
More than a year after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, its impact on the adoption landscape is proving to be multifaceted and complicated to measure.
Some adoption agencies are seeing significant upticks in the number of infants placed in adoptive care. Others say it’s still too early to tell. And there are other numbers that are much more difficult to track.
More abortion coverage
- In swing states with vulnerable Democratic senators up for re-election in 2024, the party is already hammering likely opponents over abortion rights.
5 people killed, 2 children injured in Philadelphia shooting
Five people were killed and two children were injured when a gunman opened fire in a Philadelphia neighborhood yesterday, police said. The children, boys aged 2 and 13, and were stable at a hospital. The suspect in custody, a 40-year-old man, had a semiautomatic rifle, a handgun, a ballistic vest and a police scanner. Here’s what else we know.
Israel’s biggest military operation in the West Bank in 20 years kills 10 and sends thousands fleeing
Israel’s largest military incursion into the occupied West Bank in some 20 years killed at least 10, sent streams of civilians fleeing and raised fears of a significant escalation after months of rising violence.
Thousands of residents fled the Jenin refugee camp, which Israel says is a militant stronghold, as the deadly raid entered its second day and bulldozers reduced parts of the sprawling area to rubble.
The operation follows months of intensifying incursions by Israeli troops into the West Bank city, and as the country’s far-right government faces domestic pressure to crack down after a spate of attacks against Israeli settlers.
A fake customer and a Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court ruled last week in favor of an evangelical Christian web designer who refused to work on same-sex weddings. It was a case that wound up dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights.
But the customer who supposedly reached out to Lorie Smith in 2016 about putting together a website for his marriage to another man was fake, The New Republic first reported. In fact, the supposed customer, Stewart, was quoted saying he has been married to a woman for years.
The revelation has led to complaints on social media that the case should have never made it as far as the Supreme Court. Legal experts disagreed.
Twitter’s chaotic weekend
There were more questions than answers after a weekend filled with sudden changes as to who could view tweets and how many tweets a user could view. There were even times when many users couldn’t see tweets at all.
It was the second time this year that major changes to the social media site coincided with technical problems. The chaos is something Twitter users have come to expect under Musk, but it was the first major issue under the new CEO.
Meanwhile, the owner of Facebook and Instagram is set to launch a new “conversation app” called Threads on Thursday that is expected to compete directly with Twitter.
▼ Today’s Talker
The Texas man who was found after eight years is…
…unresponsive and nonverbal, his family said in an update yesterday. Rudy Farias disappeared in 2018, when he was 18 years old, and he was recently found by a good Samaritan just miles from his home. Farias, now 25, is at a hospital, according to the nonprofit agency Texas Center for the Missing.
▼ Politics in Brief
Hunter Biden: David Weiss, the U.S. attorney tasked with investigating Hunter Biden’s tax filings, denied retaliating against an IRS whistleblower who claimed Weiss was blocked from filing charges outside his home district.
Pro golf probe: Two PGA Tour officials will testify in a Senate hearing next week on the organization’s plans to merge with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf.
▼ Staff Pick
A social media sensation: ‘White people food’
I had never considered my bland, efficient desk salad to be the “food of suffering” — but to some on Chinese social media, that’s just what it is. This story uses the #whitepeoplefood trend to explore the pressures felt by young people in China, and it includes one of my favorite quotes of late: “When you realize you can just eat a carrot raw, a door to a new world opens.” — Annie Hill, platforms editor
▼ In Case You Missed It
Churchill Downs extended its ban on trainer Bob Baffert through the end of next year.
Thrill-seekers got a major scare after the roller coaster they were riding got stuck, leaving them hanging upside down for hours
China is restricting the exports of two metals key to the manufacturing of semiconductors, escalating a trade war with the U.S. and Europe.
A boxing charity event run by online influencers was unable to raise money for the 14 charities creators had pledged to support, with one of the co-founders saying the event lost $250,000.
A 41-year-old hiking at a popular Oregon waterfall died when he stumbled and fell 200 feet down a cliff.
Robert De Niro’s grandson, a 19-year-old budding actor, has died, the family said.
▼ Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Fourth of July sales are here, and tons of summer essentials are heavily discounted — up to 70% off. Our Select team compiled a list of 69 sales you can browse right now, including on top-rated tech, home and apparel. Better yet, some deals last until the end of the week.
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