Three Things January 21
1. Supreme court sends Texas abortion case to appeals court
On Thursday, Jan. 20, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a request to send the Texas abortion ban case back to the initial trial court in Texas.
According to NBC News, SCOTUS sent the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Opponents of the abortion ban say this decision will drag the proceedings out even longer because a new court means a whole new case has to be argued.
“When the mandate issued, I had thought that the Court of Appeals would quickly remand the case to the District Court so that it could reach the merits and enter relief consistent with our ruling," wrote Justice Stephen Breyer in a dissent for himself, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. "Instead, the Court of Appeals ignored our judgment. It kept the case and certified questions about the licensing-official defendants to the Texas Supreme Court. As a result, an unconstitutional 6-week abortion ban remains in effect in Texas—as it has for over four months.”
The appeals court has its own questions about the case. They sent an inquiry to the original court in Texas to clarify who the challengers can sue.
SCOTUS wasn’t unanimous in the decision to send the case back. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan all dissented when the court voted.
2. Georgia DA asks for special grand jury in election probe
Georgia Prosecutor Fani Willis, who has been looking into possible attempts of interference in the 2020 presidential election, has requested a special grand jury to help with the investigation.
In her letter to Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Christopher Brasher on Jan. 20, she states her office “has received information indicating a reasonable probability that the State of Georgia’s administration of elections in 2020, including the State’s election of the President of the United States, was subject to possible criminal disruptions,” reports AP.
During her investigation, Willis attempted to conduct interviews with multiple witnesses. However, many of those witnesses have refused to cooperate with the DA’s office without subpoenas.
Willis said a part of her investigation includes a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a November 2020 phone call between U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Raffensperger, the abrupt resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta on Jan. 4, 2021, and comments made during December 2020 Georgia legislative committee hearings on the election.
In her letter to Brasher, she also requested a Superior Court judge be appointed to help assist the grand jury.
3. 19-year-old becomes youngest person to achieve solo flight around the world
On Thursday, Jan. 20, Zara Rutherford became the youngest person to fly solo around the world.
After landing in western Belgium, Rutherford dedicated the flight, which took her 155 days, to all young women trying to succeed in male-dominated industries, reports PBS.
“Go for it. It takes a lot of time, patience, a lot of work, but it is incredible,” said Rutherford.
During her 52,000 kilometer journey, Rutherford touched down in five continents and visited 41 nations. For the entirety of her flight, she flew by Visual Flight Rules (VFR).
Rutherford felt inspired by her family to take the journey. Her parents and her brother are also pilots. In September, she hopes to study electrical engineering at a university in either the U.S. or Britain.
