Midday Roundup: Proposed laws would defund Planned Parenthood

Budget cut. Leaders in Congress introduced twin bills in the House and Senate on Wednesday to end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood while they are investigated for selling the body parts of aborted babies. “This is a sensitive topic for many, and I am aware our nation is divided on the issue of abortion, but it is common sense that we shouldn’t force taxpayers to assist the harvesting of human organs,” said Sen. James Lankford, who sponsored the bill in the Senate. In the past two weeks, the Center for Medical Progress has released undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives talking about the harvesting of body parts and haggling over the price of “donated” tissue. Since last Tuesday, seven state governments and three congressional committees have launched investigations into Planned Parenthood’s practices. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has called for testimony from Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical services at Planned Parenthood, who was featured in last week’s video.

Family tragedy. A 911 call in which a person dialed but didn’t speak led police to a home in a quiet Tulsa suburb, where they found five family members stabbed to death. Police have taken two teenagers into custody in the killings. The teens and the victims—who include children and adults—were all in the same family, but police have not disclosed their exact relationships. Two other children were found in the home. One was critically injured, and the other unharmed. Neighbors said the family homeschooled the children, and the mom was often outside walking with her kids. Crime, especially homicide, is rare in the suburb of Broken Arrow, police and residents said. “Usually the worst thing we have here is kids with baseball bats destroying mailboxes,” said Patricia Statham, a retiree who has lived in the neighborhood for 38 years.

Leaning right. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has been hit with a series of rough poll numbers. A Quinnipiac poll of about 1,200 registered voters shows Clinton trailing top-tier Republicans in three swing states. In Virginia, Colorado, and Iowa, she is behind leading GOP candidates by 5-7 points, well outside the margin of error. Other recent head-to-head polls have shown Clinton ahead. But in the survey of 1,000 adults, just 1 in 3 said they considered Clinton to be honest, and four out of 10 said she’s compassionate or likeable.

Protect and serve. The Navy Times is reporting that a naval officer and one of the Marines slain in last week’s terror attack in Chattanooga fired back with their personal sidearms. Defense Department regulations prohibit any personnel other than military police or law enforcement to carry weapons on federal property. That means the Navy officer, Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White, could face disciplinary action. Meanwhile, armed private citizens, most of them veterans, have begun standing guard outside recruiting offices in several states. In Charlotte, N.C., Kevin Collins said the volunteers are getting permission from local law enforcement and the recruiting centers. Collins said the only reaction volunteers get from passersby and recruiting personnel is gratitude.

Standing alone? Border patrol agents canceled a planned appearance with Donald Trump in Laredo, Texas, as other Republican presidential candidates increasingly shunned him. The president of the local border patrol union said they backed out of the tour after consulting with the National Border Patrol Council. Trump plans to highlight his hardline stance against illegal immigration at the border. He also said he would consider running as a third-party candidate if he cannot get more support from the Republican National Committee, which has rebuked him recently for his harsh rhetoric. Fellow candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry lashed out at Trump on Wednesday, calling his campaign a “cancer on conservatism” and a “barking carnival act.”

WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington and Jim Henry and The Associated Press contributed to this report.