SUPREME COURT RULING IN ABORTION CLINIC PROTEST CASE; STEM CELL AGENCY FIGHTS FOR ITS LIFE; LEAN TUESDAY; IRAQ UPDATE; AMERICANS FAMILIES ON THE HOMEFRONT
SUPREME COURT RULING IN ABORTION CLINIC PROTEST CASE
The Supreme Court dealt a setback Tuesday to abortion clinics in a two-decade-old legal fight over anti-abortion protests, ruling that federal extortion and racketeering laws cannot be used to ban demonstrations. Anti-abortion groups brought the appeal after the 7th Circuit had asked a trial judge to determine whether a nationwide injunction could be supported by charges that protesters had made threats of violence absent a connection with robbery or extortion. The 8-0 decision ends a case that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had kept alive despite a 2003 decision by the high court that lifted a nationwide injunction on anti-abortion groups led by Joseph Scheidler and others. Larry Mantle speaks with the opposing parties in the case.
STEM CELL AGENCY FIGHTS FOR ITS LIFE
Three taxpayer groups filed a pair of lawsuits claiming the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is not a legitimate state agency because it lacks proper oversight. The trial that began Monday could determine the fate of the agency, which was created after Proposition 71 was approved by 59 percent of voters in 2004, authorizing the agency to dole out an average of $300 million in research grants annually over 10 years The agency has yet to hand out a dime because legal troubles. The head of California's stem cell research institute is expected to take the stand when the trial that could determine the fate of the institute resumes today. Larry Mantle talks with LA Times staff writer Lee Romney.
LEAN TUESDAY
Today’s culmination of the eight-day pre-Lenten bash falls nearly six months to the day after the Aug. 29 storm that smashed thousands of homes and killed more than 1,300 people, the vast majority of them in New Orleans. Despite partly sunny weather and temperatures in the 70s, the crowds were smaller than usual in a city that still has less than half its pre-storm population of almost a half-million. Larry Mantle talks with LA Times national correspondent Scott Gold about this year’s Mardi Gras. He also talks with New Orleans attorney Michael Sullivan by cell phone from the French Quarter. Michael has entered today’s Bourbon Street Awards Contest in the Best of Show competition. He is dressed as the Renaissance artist, Michaelangelo, to signify New Orlean’s re-birth.
IRAQ UPDATE
Although sectarian violence has receded somewhat since the wave of attacks that shook the nation last week, tensions remain high between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis, with religious leaders on both sides calling for unity and an end to attacks on each other’s mosques. Sunnis meanwhile appear interested in resuming talks to form a new Iraqi government. They walked out last Thursday following the Askariya shrine bombing that sparked attacks against Sunni mosques in Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere.
AMERICANS FAMILIES ON THE HOMEFRONT
In her new book Kristin Henderson shares the story of what life is like for the diverse women and men who are married to the military when a loved one is deployed. She exposes the often-difficult aspects of military culture on and off America's bases. She is a journalist, an author, and a military spouse; Henderson participates in the Marine Corps' family readiness program, the Key Volunteer Network. She is the Key Volunteer for the company in which her husband serves, passing information between the company's commanders and spouses and acting as a resource for spouses in need of help or service.