Thursday morning news: March 30, 2023

Kentucky Transgender Law » Republican Lawmakers in Kentucky have successfully reversed Democrat Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill.

The reinstated bill bans gender transition surgeries and treatments for minors in the state.

It requires doctors to set a timeline for de-transitioning any minors they have already helped with a gender transition.

It also bans schools from instructing students of any age on the topics of gender identity or sexual orientation.

The bill would also allow teachers to disregard transgender childrens’ preferred pronouns and would require that schools mandate students use bathrooms that match their birth gender.

Suspect arrested » Police arrested a Wisconsin man earlier this week in connection with the May 8th, 2022 firebombing of a Madison pro-life office.

Law enforcement apprehended the 29-year old suspect at Boston Logan International Airport Tuesday—as he was attempting to use a one-way ticket to Guatemala City.

The man is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail through the window of Wisconsin Family Action’s office ten months ago—after the Dobbs decision leak. When the incendiary device didn’t ignite properly, the suspect allegedly set another fire. His handwriting matches a slogan painted on one side of the building that said: “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”

During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last November, FBI director Christopher Wray assured Senators that the agency was doing all it could to address violence against pro-life groups:

CHRISTOPHER WRAY: My view plainly expressed to all of our people, including in the context of abortion related violence is that I don't care what side of the issue you're on, you don't get to engage in violence.

Investigators identified the suspect with DNA evidence from a discarded, partially eaten burrito. His DNA matched samples left at the crime scene. Police had been tracking his movements on security cameras since January. If convicted, he faces five to twenty years in prison.

Israel »

SOUND: [Protests, chanting]

Protesters are still on the streets in Israel criticizing a proposed change to the country’s judicial system.

Even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the plan earlier this week to, in his words, “avoid a civil war” protests drew tens of thousands of people to the streets.

The plan would allow Israel’s parliament more control over the appointment of judges and allow it to overrule Supreme Court decisions.

Netanyahu spoke at the Summit for Democracy yesterday.

NETANYAHU- We currently have a robust public debate about proposed democratic reforms, but let me make it clear, we will always ensure a strong and independent judiciary.

Netanyahu is on trial for corruption and his critics say the overhaul plan is an attempt to keep himself in office.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said he hopes Netanyahu will walk away from the proposed changes. Netanyahu fired back that it is not the U-S President’s place to tell Israel how to make its own decisions. But he added that the partnership between the two nations is still strong.

Russia/U.S. relations » Russia says it will stop sharing missile test information with the U.S. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Russia and the U-S had been sharing when test launches were held so that neither country mistook a test for an attack.

Meanwhile, Russia is conducting missile tests in Siberia… Those include trying to move mobile missile launchers through Siberia undetected by foreign satellites.

[SOUND: Missile being moved]

Last month, Russia suspended the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the U-S. The treaty limited how many nuclear warheads the U-S and Russia could keep deployed.

Russia is testing its nuclear-capable missile, the Yars ICBM system.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Zelenskyy invites Xi » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to Ukraine for a visit… roughly a week after Xi visited Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Chinese government has not confirmed whether a visit will take place.

MAO: [Speaking Chinese]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying however that Chinese leaders are in communication with all sides of the conflict in Ukraine.

This is not the first time Zelenskyy has invited Xi to visit.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy says the battle for Bakhmut is continuing… And that he’s thankful for the Ukrainian troops holding out in the city.

FDA Narcan » The Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter sales of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, or Narcan yesterday.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

JEAN-PIERRE: Naloxone can reverse overdoses caused by opioids, like fentanyl. It is a critical tool that has saved thousands of lives. And now, the FDA is making this life saving medicine more accessible to more people across the country.

Narcan is often used to treat opioid-related overdoses, including those from street drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, and oxycodone.

By late this summer, people will be able to buy Narcan without having to pay the full retail price or use an insurance co-pay.

Previously, every state allowed its sale without a prescription. But some patients said they didn’t want to get the drug from their pharmacy because they didn’t want their insurance company to find out.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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