UK lawmakers vote to decriminalize abortion amid concern about the prosecution of women

posted in: All news | 0

By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers voted Tuesday to decriminalize abortion in England and Wales after a lawmaker argued that it was cruel to prosecute women for ending a pregnancy.

The House of Commons approved an amendment to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law.

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.

Doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalized in 2019.

The vote passed 379-137.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers debated proposals Tuesday to decriminalize abortion amid concerns that police are using antiquated laws to prosecute women who end their own pregnancies.

Two amendments to a broader crime bill that would bar the prosecution of women who take steps to end their pregnancies at any stage were put before members of the House of Commons.

Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said change is needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.

“This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,” she said. “Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.”

Related Articles


Which countries currently have nuclear weapons?


Tropical Storm Erick in the Pacific near southern Mexico is expected to become a hurricane


Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices


US spies said Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon. Trump dismisses that assessment


Overnight Russian attack on Ukraine kills 15 and injures 156

Doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalized in 2019.

Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within the first 10 weeks.

That has led to a handful of widely publicized cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more.

A second amendment would go even further than Antoniazzi’s proposal, barring the prosecution of medical professionals and others who help women abort their fetuses.

Anti-abortion groups oppose both measures, arguing that they will open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy.

“Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,” said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the U.K.’s biggest pro-life campaign group.

Man who fired at gunman and killed Utah ‘No Kings’ protester was a safety volunteer, organizers say

posted in: All news | 0

By JESSE BEDAYN and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A military veteran who was trying to stop an alleged gunman and inadvertently shot and killed a demonstrator at a Salt Lake City “No Kings” rally was a “safety volunteer” for the demonstration, according to police and organizers.

The safety volunteer fired three rounds at Arturo Gamboa, 24, who had allegedly brandish a rifle at the crowd, hitting both Gamboa and a protester on Saturday, police said.

Related Articles


Toy company challenges Trump’s tariffs before the Supreme Court in long shot bid for quick decision


Tom Cruise is finally getting an Oscar — as will Dolly Parton, Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas


Zillow says it’s fighting for buyers. Compass says it’s fighting for sellers. What if neither is fighting for you?


In Oklahoma, Juneteenth highlights tribal slavery descendants’ fight for recognition and citizenship


Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, is arrested outside immigration court

Gamboa never shot the rifle, but was arrested on a murder charge and accused of creating the dangerous situation Saturday that led to the death of protester Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, police said. It’s still unclear what Gamboa intended to do with the rifle.

The investigation includes whether the man who shot Gamboa and Ah Loo was justified in firing his gun, the Salt Lake City Police Department said Monday. Police haven’t identified the veteran publicly, but protest organizers said late Monday that he was part of a “safety team” meant to help maintain order.

Police said that the permit for the protest did not specify that there would be armed security, and that the role and responsibilities of event staff were being investigated.

The protest of some 10,000 was otherwise peaceful.

Here’s what is known so far about the shooting:

How did the shooting unfold?

Hundreds of protesters were marching through downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday when, around 8 p.m., the veteran and another man said they spotted Gamboa, who was wearing all black clothing, move behind a wall and withdraw a rifle from a backpack, according to a news release from police.

The two men drew their handguns and ordered Gamboa to drop the rifle, but witnesses said he instead moved toward the crowd and held his rifle in a “firing position,” according to police.

The safety volunteer shot three rounds, hitting Gamboa and Ah Loo. Gamboa’s wound was relatively minor and he was arrested nearby by police, who found a rifle, gas mask and backpack in the area.

Ah Loo died after being taken to a hospital.

Police said they don’t yet know why Gamboa carried a rifle or disobeyed the orders from the two men. The Associated Press could not immediately find attorney listed for Gamboa or contact information for his family in public records.

Who was the man who fired at Gamboa?

The Utah chapter of 50501 Movement, which helped organize the “No Kings” protest, said in a statement late Monday that the man who confronted Gamboa was a “safety volunteer” and a military veteran. The group did not give further details on the person’s training or explain why he was armed.

“Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder, and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed there was an imminent threat to the protestors and took action,” the group said in a statement.

For the “No Kings” protests, all attendees, including those in safety roles, are asked not to bring weapons, said Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for 50501 Movement.

Who was the protester who was killed?

Ah Loo was a successful fashion designer and former “Project Runway” contestant who devoted his life to celebrating artists from the Pacific Islands.

This undated photo shows Utah State Rep. Verona Mauga and Arthur Afa Ah Loo, known to many as Afa. (Mauga via AP)

Benjamin Powell, a friend of Ah Loo’s, said the designer was born in Samoa but lived in Utah for about a decade.

Ah Loo, who was a self-taught designer known to many as Afa, devoted his life to doing “good things for his neighbors and community,” state Rep. Verona Mauga, a close friend, told The Associated Press. Their families were from the small village of Lotopa in Samoa, she said.

The 39-year-old leaves behind a wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe page for his family.

Powell said he and Ah Loo were working on an upcoming August fashion show, which Powell said will now honor Ah Loo’s unwavering commitment to his community.

Padilla says in Senate ‘it’s time to wake up’ after forced removal from Noem’s event

posted in: All news | 0

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Alex Padilla on Tuesday encouraged Americans to peacefully protest against President Donald Trump’s administration and said it’s “it’s time to wake up” in his first extended remarks in the Senate since he was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles last week as he tried to speak up about immigration raids.

In emotional remarks on Tuesday, Padilla, a California Democrat, recounted the altercation, in which security forced him out of the room and onto the ground after he tried to ask Noem a question. Padilla said that even though he was accompanied by a National Guardsman and an FBI agent, “I was pushed and pulled, struggled to maintain my balance” and ended up flat on his chest on the floor.

“I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway repeatedly asking, ‘Why I am being detained?’” Padilla said as several of his colleagues from both major political parties sat in their chairs and listened. “Not once did they tell me why.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., makes a brief statement to the media after leaving the Federal Building after he was forcibly removed from a news conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (David Crane/The Orange County Register via AP)

He said he wondered in the moment if he was being arrested — he wasn’t — and, if he was, what the city and his family would think.

“What will a city already on edge from being militarized think when they see their U.S. senator being handcuffed for just trying to ask a question?” Padilla said.

In a statement afterward, the Department of Homeland Security said that Padilla “chose disrespectful political theater” and that the Secret Service “thought he was an attacker.” The statement claimed erroneously that Padilla did not identify himself — he did, as he was being pushed from the room.

“Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands,” the statement said, adding that officers acted appropriately.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., speaks to media after leaving the Federal Building after he was forcibly removed from a news conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (David Crane/The Orange County Register via AP)

Padilla said he attended the press conference amid the immigration raids that have led to protests in California and around the country and as the Republican president sent military troops to his state. He said he spoke up after he heard Noem say that they wanted to “liberate” Los Angeles from Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats.

“Let that fundamentally un-American mission statement sink in,” Padilla said.

Related Articles


Toy company challenges Trump’s tariffs before the Supreme Court in long shot bid for quick decision


FDA to offer faster drug reviews to companies promoting ‘national priorities’


US spies said Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon. Trump dismisses that assessment


40 hours of violence and fear as gunman stalks Minnesota politicians


Newsom v. Trump: A defining moment for America or the California governor’s shot at presidency?

Padilla and his angry Democratic colleagues have framed the episode as intimidation by the Trump administration, especially as it came days after Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a detention center in New Jersey while Newark’s Democratic mayor, Ras Baraka, was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility.

Padilla encouraged Americans to speak out.

“No one is coming to save us but us,” Padilla said. “And we know that the cameras are not in every corner of the country. But if this administration is this afraid of just one senator with a question, colleagues, imagine what the voices of tens of millions of Americans peacefully protesting can do.”

Tropical Storm Erick in the Pacific near southern Mexico is expected to become a hurricane

posted in: All news | 0

MIAMI (AP) — A hurricane warning was issued Tuesday for a portion of southern Mexico as Tropical Storm Erick gained strength in the Pacific Ocean, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center said Erick was expected to rapidly intensify and become a hurricane by late Tuesday or early Wednesday. The cyclone was centered about 265 miles southeast of Puerto Ángel, Mexico, on Tuesday morning.

Related Articles


US spies said Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon. Trump dismisses that assessment


Overnight Russian attack on Ukraine kills 15 and injures 156


Alert raised to the highest level after Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano erupts


Trump says the US knows where Iran’s Khamenei is hiding and urges Iran’s unconditional surrender


G7 leaders try to salvage their summit after Trump’s early exit effectively makes it the ‘G6’

The tropical storm had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, the Miami-based center said. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph and forecast to approach the coast by late Wednesday.

A hurricane warning was in effect from Puerto Ángel to Punta Maldonado in coastal southern Mexico. The hurricane watch stretches west of Punta Maldonado to Acapulco and east of Puerto Ángel to Bahías de Huatulco. A tropical storm watch was posted east of Puerto Ángel to Salina Cruz.

A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the area, and preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, according to the NHC advisory.

Heavy rainfall up to 20 inches was forecast for parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero with lighter amounts in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states.

The rainfall may produce flooding and mudslides, the center said, and storm surge could produce coastal flooding.