CBS News
Colorado organizers fail to gather enough signatures to put anti-abortion measure on the ballot
Colorado organizers who sought to put an anti-abortion initiative on the ballot this November failed to gather enough signatures in time to qualify.
The proposed measure from the Colorado Life Initiative sought to declare “a living human child must not be intentionally dismembered, mutilated, poisoned, scalded, starved, stabbed, given toxic injections known to cause death, left to die of the elements for lack of warmth or nutrition, used for experimentation, or treated in any way inhumanely to cause intentional physical harm leading to intended death or intended to cause disability to otherwise healthy and functioning parts of the body of a child.”
For the purposes of the group’s initiative, a “living human child” exists “from the moment human life biologically begins at conception,” according to its website.
The group needed to collect 124,238 signatures by the April 18 deadline. Faye Barnhart, co-sponsor of the measure, told CBS News that the group had collected “tens of thousands of signatures,” but fell short.
In a press release, the Colorado Life Initiative blamed abortion opponents they deemed “ProLife In Name Only” — even calling them “PLINOs” — as well as insufficient publicity and recruitment for its failure to obtain enough valid signatures.
Barnhart told CBS News she’ll keep working on the issue and hopes to put forward another ballot measure in the next election.
An abortion rights group, Coloradans for Reproductive Freedom, appears to have been more successful in its signature collection efforts. It hopes to put a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to an abortion on the ballot and submitted 230,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office on Thursday. The group’s signatures must now be validated by the secretary of state.
Abortion is legal in Colorado, but the abortion access constitutional amendment would prevent the government from taking away the right, and it would override a 1984 measure that prohibits health insurance from covering abortion care for “public employees and people on public insurance.”
Abortion could be on the ballot in more than 10 states this November, and measures supporting the procedure have had success in each state where it has appeared on the ballot since Roe v. Wade was overturned, ending federal protections for the procedure.
Although it has been handed back to the states, the issue has also become an integral part of President Biden’s reelection bid. Former President Donald Trump said the issue should be decided by the states.
A CBS News poll showed that 57% of Americans believed the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe versus Wade was bad for the country, and they think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Additional polling shows that abortion is a motivating issue more for Democrats than for Republicans. A majority of women, younger voters and those with college degrees — all groups that tend to favor legalized abortion — said the issue of abortion will be a major factor for them in the election.
Jennifer De Pinto contributed to this report.
Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected a Republican-led effort to implement more than half a dozen controversial new election rules before Election Day.
In a brief order issued Tuesday, the court declined to reinstate the seven new rules implemented by the State Election Board, and declined to consider an expedited appeal — effectively ending the effort to get the new rules in place in time for the upcoming election.
A lower level Georgia judge on Oct. 16 declared the rules “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” The rules, which include one that requires ballots to be hand-counted and two related to certification of results, were supported by three of the State Election Board’s five members, all of whom were endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
President Biden defeated Trump in the state in 2020, and Trump has since repeated disproven claims that fraud cost him the election.
The new rules were opposed by not just Democrats, but also state Republican officials who cast doubt on whether they were legal. They said a hand count could delay election results, and argued in court that it was too late to properly train election workers on the new responsibilities.
Other rules passed by the board — include one that would have required county officials “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections,” a potentially laborious process — and another that would have required them to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying results. That rule did not explain what a “reasonable inquiry” entails.
The Georgia Supreme Court didn’t outright reject the appeal. In the order Tuesday, the court said it is declining to fast forward proceedings.
“When the appeal is docketed in this court, it will proceed in the ordinary course,” the justices wrote.
Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected a Republican-led effort to implement more than half a dozen controversial new election rules before Election Day.
In a brief order issued Tuesday, the court declined to reinstate the seven new rules implemented by the State Election Board, and declined to consider an expedited appeal — effectively ending the effort to get the new rules in place in time for the upcoming election.
A lower level Georgia judge on Oct. 16 declared the rules “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” The rules, which include one that requires ballots to be hand-counted and two related to certification of results, were supported by three of the State Election Board’s five members, all of whom were endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
President Biden defeated Trump in the state in 2020, and Trump has since repeated disproven claims that fraud cost him the election.
The new rules were opposed by not just Democrats, but also state Republican officials who cast doubt on whether they were legal. They said a hand count could delay election results, and argued in court that it was too late to properly train election workers on the new responsibilities.
Other rules passed by the board — include one that would have required county officials “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections,” a potentially laborious process — and another that would have required them to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying results. That rule did not explain what a “reasonable inquiry” entails.
The Georgia Supreme Court didn’t outright reject the appeal. In the order Tuesday, the court said it is declining to fast forward proceedings.
“When the appeal is docketed in this court, it will proceed in the ordinary course,” the justices wrote.
CBS News
Thousands of duloxetine bottles, an antidepressant sold as Cymbalta, recalled over toxic chemical
Thousands of bottles of the antidepressant duloxetine, which is sold under the brand name Cymbalta, have been recalled due to the presence of a toxic chemical, according to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration.
The October 10 recall is due to the presence of N-nitroso-duloxetine, a chemical that is toxic if swallowed and is suspected of causing cancer, according to the National Library of Medicine. The FDA classified the recall as Class II, which means that the drug could cause “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.”
The medication, manufactured by Towa Pharmaceutical Europe, was distributed nationally throughout the U.S., according to the recall notice.
Towa and the FDA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Duloxetine recall
The recall covers 7,107 bottles of duloxetine, the FDA said. The bottles include 500 delayed-release 20mg capsules. The lot number is 220128, with an expiration date of 12/2024.
Duloxetine, a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is prescribed for anxiety and depression, and can also be used to treat nerve pain for people with diabetes, the Mayo Clinic notes. It’s also used for people with fibromyalgia and chronic pain related to bones and muscles, it adds.
Georgia Supreme Court won’t step in to reinstate controversial election rules
Georgia Supreme Court won’t step in to reinstate controversial election rules
Thousands of duloxetine bottles, an antidepressant sold as Cymbalta, recalled over toxic chemical
Georgia Supreme Court won’t step in to reinstate controversial election rules
Georgia Supreme Court won’t step in to reinstate controversial election rules