International
California enacts gun control law inspired by Texas abortion ban
AFP
California’s governor signed into law Friday new gun control legislation modeled on a controversial legal approach used in Texas to curb access to abortions.
Last year, well before the US Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion, the Republican-controlled state of Texas enacted a new law allowing individuals to sue anyone helping to terminate a pregnancy, if a fetal heartbeat could be detected.
The Texas law allowed the individuals who filed the civil complaints, if they won their case, to receive “damages” of at least $10,000.
Officials in the heavily Democrat-leaning state of California, where there is solid support for abortion rights as well as for strict gun control measures, decided to push for new legislation that uses the same controversial legal mechanism.
The law Governor Gavin Newsom signed Friday will allow individuals to seek $10,000 from any person or company that manufactures, sells, or transports firearms that are banned in the state, which includes assault rifles and homemade so-called “ghost” guns.
State Senator Anthony Portantino, speaking at a press conference, was explicit that he and his bill co-authors had the Texas law in mind when they wrote their legislation.
“Frankly, if Texas can use a private right of action to attack women, we can use a private right of action to make California safer,” he said.
Court challenges to the California law, which is set to go into effect on January 1, 2023, are expected to follow from conservative organizations and the nation’s powerful gun lobby.
Newsom argued that it was the US Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, who “opened the door” to such a move.
“The Supreme Court said this was okay. It was a terrible decision. But these are the rules that they have established,” he added.
The US high court refused last year to halt the Texas abortion law from going into effect while challenges work their way through lower courts.
Similar Texas-style abortion restriction laws have since been enacted in several other Republican-led states.
Last month, a decision by the Supreme Court also expanded the right to carry concealed firearms around the country.
Newsom at the time called the decision “dangerous” and “shameful.”
Nearly 400 million guns were in circulation among the civilian population in the United States in 2017, or 120 guns for every 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey.
More than 45,000 people were killed in 2020 by guns, about half of which were suicides, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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