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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has formally returned a lawsuit over Texas’ six-week abortion ban to a federal appeals court that has twice allowed the law to stay in effect, rather than to a district judge who sought to block it. Justice Neil Gorsuch on Thursday signed the court’s order that granted the request of abortion clinics for the court to act speedily. But the clinics wanted the case sent directly to U.S. Judge Robert Pitman, who had previously though briefly blocked enforcement of the Texas abortion ban known as S.B. 8. When Pitman ordered the law blocked in...

Protecting the right of people to be censored? A federal court blocked the Texas HB 20 law against social media censorship based on political view. Texas House Bill 20 was enacted to stop platforms from censoring content merely for being the wrong political viewpoint, but U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman has put the law on ice for now. “Pitman granted an injunction filed by NetChoice and CCIA [Computer & Communications Industry Association] to put HB 20 on hold until the case is complete,” Reclaim The Net reported. “The judge argues that the law violates the First Amendment rights of social...

A federal judge in Austin Wednesday blocked Texas' social media censorship law, which prohibits large social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from censoring users "based on their political viewpoints." The law, known as House Bill 20, was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 9 and set to take effect Thursday. However, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his ruling that the measure interferes with platforms' First Amendment right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms. Pitman called content moderation "the very tool that social media platforms employ to make their platforms safe, useful, and enjoyable for users."

The nation’s most restrictive abortion law remains in place for now, after a federal appeals court on Thursday sided with the state of Texas. In a brief 2-1 order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit refused the Justice Department’s request to reinstate an earlier court ruling that had blocked enforcement of the Texas law, which bars the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy and makes no exceptions for rape or incest. The brief order, which is expected to be appealed the Supreme Court, was backed by Judges James C. Ho, a nominee of Donald Trump,...

A federal appeals court reinstated Texas’ controversial "fetal heart beat" abortion ban on Friday night, days after a lower court suspended the Republican-backed law. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay, effectively pausing U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order against the abortion ban earlier this week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, had appealed the lower court’s decision. "Great news tonight, The Fifth Circuit has granted an administrative stay on #SB8. I will fight federal overreach at every turn," Paxton wrote on Twitter after the decision. The appeals court...

Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec ·33m BREAKING: Federal circuit court reinstates Texas heartbeat abortion ban 8:55PM • Oct 8, 2021

(CNN)A federal judge in Texas issued an order Wednesday blocking the state's six-week abortion ban. US District Judge Robert Pitman's order is a victory for abortion rights proponents, who had seen other attempts to block the law stymied by the ban's novel design. It may, however, be only a temporary victory. At a hearing Friday, a lawyer from the Texas attorney general's office made clear that the state would appeal such an order to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals if it were granted. That appeals court -- perhaps the most conservative in the country -- previously rejected a...

Federal Judge Rejects Joe Biden’s Emergency Demand to Block Texas Abortion BanA federal judge has blocked Joe Biden’s emergency request to stop the Texas abortion ban, which has saved anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 babies from abortion.The Texas heartbeat law went into effect Sept. 1, prohibiting abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy. Unique from other state heartbeat laws, the Texas law includes a private enforcement mechanism that allows people to file lawsuits against abortionists who violate the law and those who help them.Pro-life leaders in the state estimate as many as 100 babies...

A federal appeals court on Saturday granted a temporary administrative stay, allowing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's directive for one location per county for ballot drop boxes to remain in place for now. The grant from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit means the directive from Abbott, a Republican, will stand until the court has considered the state's motion for a stay on its merits. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had filed an emergency motion Saturday for a stay pending appeal to block a district court order that would have allowed county officials to accept hand delivery...

AUSTIN -- A federal judge in Austin blocked Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting the number of mail ballot drop-off sites a county can have. In an order issued late Friday night, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman of Austin put on hold Abbott’s order thereby allowing counties to have multiple mail ballot drop-off sites. The order said agents of the state are blocked from taking any action to inhibit election administrators from offering more than one drop-off location for ballots in their respective counties. The decision, issued by a Barack Obama appointee, is a blow to Abbott who argued the drop-off...

At the bottom of the world, in some of the roughest seas, live mysterious killer whales that look very different from other orcas. Now, for the first time, scientists have located and studied these animals in the wild. The orcas are “highly likely” to be a new species, says Robert Pitman, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The scientific team made the finding in January about 60 miles off the coast of Cape Horn, Chile..