Florida governor Ron DeSantis signs six week abortion ban bill
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill which would prevent women from getting an abortion after six weeks.
The ban will take effect only if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld in an ongoing legal challenge currently before the Supreme Court.
It follows moves by a number of other southern states to restrict the procedure, after the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade June last year.
So far, the states currently enforcing total bans on abortions are, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
Georgia has also enforced a law which restricts pregnant women from getting an abortion at around six weeks.
Pic: AP
The abortion ban will prevent around four million women in Florida from accessing abortion care after six weeks of pregnancy.
However, six weeks is before many women may even know they are pregnant.
The impact
The Turnaway Study included telephone interviews with 956 women who sought an abortion in the first trimester or just over or under the gestational limit of one of 30 abortion facilities across the US, and in-depth interviews with 31 women who had completed five years of surveys.
Researchers found women seeking an abortion in the second trimester recognised their pregnancy more than eight-weeks after their last menstrual period.
More than one in five realised they were pregnant after 20 weeks.
Democrats and abortion-rights groups have criticised Florida’s proposal as extreme.
The move has been seen as having the potential to give DeSantis a key political victory among some Republican voters as he prepares to launch his bid to become Republican presidential candidate for 2024.
In a statement White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the ban will impact nearly 15 million women of reproductive age who currently live in abortion banning states, women and girls who “have previously relied on travel to Florida as an option to access care.”
Exemptions
The bill has some exemptions, including allowing a termination to save a woman’s life.
Abortions for pregnancies involving rape or incest would be allowed until 15 weeks of pregnancy, provided a woman has documentation such as a restraining order or police report.
DeSantis has called the rape and incest provisions sensible.
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Backing the bill
Republican House representative Jenna Persons-Mulicka said: “We have the opportunity to lead the national debate about the importance of protecting life and giving every child the opportunity to be born and find his or her purpose.”
State representatives Jennifer Canady, left, and Jenna Persons-Mulicka Pic: AP
Mike Beltran, a member of the Florida House of Representatives, said the bill’s exceptions and its six week timeframe represents a compromise.
He added: “I can’t think of any bill that’s going to provide more protections to more people who are more vulnerable than this piece of legislation.”
On Thursday, a federal court ruled that abortion pill mifepristone will remain available in the US for the time being, but its distribution will be restricted.
This comes after District Judge Matthew J Kacsmaryk, a Trump administration appointee in Texas signed an injunction directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to halt its approval.
‘Americans demand the freedom to make their own decisions’
Ms Jean-Pierre said following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “the message has been clear.”
“Americans demand the freedom to make their own decisions about their own bodies without government interference,” she added.
“Despite this, Republican elected officials continue their work to dismantle our fundamental freedoms, including through attempts to ban abortion nationwide.”
“President Biden and his Administration stand with women and physicians-and we will continue to fight to protect access to abortion and defend reproductive rights.”
Actress Diane Keaton, who starred in films including The Godfather and Annie Hall, has died aged 79.
Keaton’s daughter, Dexter Keaton White, confirmed her death in California to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
With a long career, across a series of movies that are regarded as some of the best ever made, Keaton was widely admired.
She was awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globe Awards, and was also nominated for two Emmys, and a Tony, as well as picking up a series of other Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.
Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for Annie Hall in 1978. Pic: AP
Her best actress Oscar was for the Woody Allen film Annie Hall, which is said to be loosely based on her life.
She appeared in several other Allen projects, including Manhattan, as well as all three Godfather movies, in which she played Kay, the wife and then ex-wife of Marlon Brando’s son Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, opposite him as he descends into a life of crime and replaces his father in the family’s mafia empire.
With Woody Allen in 1978. Pic: Adam Scull/PHOTOlink.net/AP
Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams-Corleone to the “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in the now famous necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis.
Keaton also frequently worked with Nancy Meyers, starting with 1987’s Baby Boom.
Their other films together included 1991’s Father Of The Bride and its 1995 sequel, as well as 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give.
Keaton (centre) with Goldie Hawn (L) and Bette Midler at the premiere of The First Wives Club in 1996. Pic: AP
In 1996, she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.
More recently, she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.
‘Brilliant, beautiful’
The unexpected news of Keaton’s death was met with shock around the world.
Diane Keaton shows her hands after placing them on fresh cement during a ceremony TCL Chinese Theatre in 2022. Pic: Reuters
Her First Wives Club co-star Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.
“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”
Fellow co-star Goldie Hawn said Keaton had left “a trail of fairy dust, filled with particles of light and memories beyond imagination”.
“How do we say goodbye? What words can come to mind when your heart is broken? You never liked praise, so humble, but now you can’t tell me to ‘shut up’ honey. There was, and will be, no one like you,” Hawn added in a post on Instagram.
“You stole the hearts of the world and shared your genius with millions, making films that made us laugh and cry in ways only you could.”
Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”
Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn’s daughter, posted simply: “We love you so much Diane.”
Last year at New York Fashion Week. Pic: AP
In her Instagram tribute, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award-winning actress and producer Viola Davis said: “No!! No!!! No!! God, not yet, NO!!! Man… you defined womanhood.
“The pathos, humor, levity, your ever-present youthfulness and vulnerability – you tattooed your SOUL into every role, making it impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting them.
“You were undeniably, unapologetically YOU!!! Loved you. Man… rest well. God bless your family, and I know angels are flying you home.”
Diane Keaton and her children, Duke (left) and Dexter Keaton, at the premiere of ‘Book Club’ in 2018. Pic: AP
Keaton never married.
She adopted her daughter Dexter at the age of 50 in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.
There are no survivors from a factory explosion that ripped through a munitions plant in rural Tennessee, police have confirmed.
Eighteen people were missing after the huge blast, but Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis has now confirmed all died.
It happened on Friday morning at Accurate Energetic Systems, a company which supplies and researches explosives for the military.
Officers guard the gate at Accurate Energetic Systems military explosives plant. Pic: Reuters
It scattered debris over at least half a mile (800m) and was felt by residents more than 15 miles (24km) away, Mr Davis said.
Aerial footage showed the company’s hilltop location smouldering and obliterated by smoke for much of Friday, with just a mass of twisted metal, burned-out shells of cars, and an array of debris left behind.
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Emergency services have been unable to fully attend the site due to secondary blasts.
Mr Davis described it as one of the worst scenes he had ever seen.
“What we need right now is we need our communities to come together and understand that we’ve lost a lot of people,” he said.
The cause of the blast, which occurred about 60 miles southwest of Nashville, is not yet known but Mr Davis said it could be days, weeks or even months before foul play is ruled out.
Guy McCormick, a supervisory special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said experts need to make the area safe before specialist investigators begin combing through the remains.
He said the safety and security of the scene could change quickly because of the heat and pressure caused by the explosion.
Signs near the site on Saturday asked for prayers for the families.
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Terry Bagsby, 68, who works at a petrol station nearby, said people in the close-knit community were “very, very sad”.
“I don’t know how to explain it… Just a lot of grief,” he added.
Actress Diane Keaton, who starred in films including The Godfather and Annie Hall, has died aged 79.
Keaton’s daughter, Dexter Keaton White, confirmed her death to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
With a long career, across a series of movies that are regarded as some of the best ever made, Keaton was widely admired.
She was awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globe Awards, and was also nominated for two Emmys, and a Tony, as well as picking up a series of other Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.
Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for Annie Hall in 1978. Pic: AP
Her best actress Oscar was for the Woody Allen film Annie Hall which is said to be loosely based on her life.
She appeared in several other Allen projects, including Manhattan, as well as all three Godfather movies, in which she played Kay, the wife and then ex-wife of Marlon Brando’s son Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, opposite him as he descends into a life of crime and replaces his father in the family’s mafia empire.
With Woody Allen in 1978. Pic: Adam Scull/PHOTOlink.net/AP
Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams-Corleone to the “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in the now famous necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis.
Keaton also frequently worked with Nancy Meyers, starting with 1987’s Baby Boom.
Their other films together included 1991’s Father Of The Bride and its 1995 sequel, as well as 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give.
In 1996, she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.
Keaton (centre) with Goldie Hawn (L) and Bette Midler at the premiere of The First Wives Club in 1996. Pic: AP
More recently, she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.
‘Brilliant, beautiful’
Diane Keaton. Pic: AP
The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.
Her First Wives Club co-star Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.
“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”
Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”
Kate Hudson, whose mother is Goldie Hawn, posted simply: “We love you so much Diane.”
In her Instagram tribute, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award-winning actress and producer Viola Davis said: “No!! No!!! No!! God, not yet, NO!!! Man… you defined womanhood.
“The pathos, humor, levity, your ever-present youthfulness and vulnerability – you tattooed your SOUL into every role, making it impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting them.
“You were undeniably, unapologetically YOU!!! Loved you. Man… rest well. God bless your family, and I know angels are flying you home.”
Keaton never married. She adopted her daughter Dexter in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.
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