TV News LIES

A measure that would allow Texas residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers advanced to the desk of the governor, Greg Abbott, on Wednesday, setting up the state to be the first to try to crack down on the most common abortion method.

Supporters say it’s a key tool to enforce the state’s abortion ban, protecting women and fetuses.

Opponents see it not only as another way to rein in abortion but as an effort to intimidate abortion providers outside Texas who are complying with the laws in their states – and to encourage a form of vigilantism.

Texas bill allowing residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers reaches governor

If Greg Abbott signs, state would become first to try to crack down on the most common abortion method

Supporters say it’s a key tool to enforce the state’s abortion ban, protecting women and fetuses.

Opponents see it not only as another way to rein in abortion but as an effort to intimidate abortion providers outside Texas who are complying with the laws in their states – and to encourage a form of vigilantism.

If the measure becomes law, it’s nearly certain to spark legal challenges from abortion rights supporters.

Under the measure, Texas residents could sue those who manufacture, transport or provide abortion-inducing drugs to anyone in Texas for up to $100,000. Women who receive the pills for their own use would not be liable.

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The U.S. is seeing a late summer surge in COVID-19 cases, tracking from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

The spike is particularly pronounced in one region of the country, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, where about 15% of COVID tests reported to the CDC are turning up positive.

But practically the entire Western country isn’t far behind. A dozen more states west of the Mississippi reported test positivity rates about 10% last week.

In reality, the number of cases across the country is likely underreported as more people opt to test for the virus with at-home kits over lab tests.

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The US’s top public health agency was plunged into chaos on Wednesday after the Trump administration moved to oust its leader Susan Monarez, sworn in less than a month ago, as her lawyers said she would not resign and that she was being “targeted” for her pro-science stance.

Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was ousted on Wednesday evening, according to a statement from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that offered no explanation its decision.

“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people,” HHS said in an unsigned statement posted to social media.

Monarez, who was confirmed by the Senate just last month, appeared to have afoul of Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, after she declined to support sweeping changes to US vaccine policies, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times.

On Wednesday eveninhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/27/cdc-director-susan-monarez-oustedg, her lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell told the Associated Press she had neither resigned nor been told she was fired.

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Susan Monarez, the longtime government scientist recently confirmed as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been let go from her position after less than a month in the role.

A source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Hill that Monarez was ousted as CDC director. The Senate confirmed her July 29.

“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people. @SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad,” the X account for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted.

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Vinay Prasad, a top vaccine regulator ousted from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late last month, is set to return to his post, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“At the FDA’s request, Dr. Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told The Hill in a statement. “Neither the White House nor HHS will allow the fake news media to distract from the critical work the FDA is carrying out under the Trump administration.”

Prasad’s July 30 resignation as the FDA’s chief science officer followed criticism from right-wing figures — including activist Laura Loomer and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) — that ran parallel to a regulatory showdown with drug manufacturers over a gene therapy treatment for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Loomer, a key ally of President Trump with noticeable influence, lavished attacks on the FDA official in recent weeks — calling him a “saboteur” and “trojan horse” for HHS’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.

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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a staunch vaccine supporter, said he was “heartbroken” after hearing parents recount how their once-healthy children were injured or killed by vaccines.

The parents’ testimony, delivered during Tuesday’s U.S. Senate hearing, “Voices of the Vaccine Injured,” did little to sway Blumenthal from his belief that vaccines are “safe and effective” — but the gut-wrenching stories did lead the senator to suggest he may be willing to look into the issue of whether pharmaceutical companies should be held liable for injuries caused by their products.

“Maybe we ought to look at this system,” said Blumenthal, referring to the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which established a government compensation program for people injured by vaccines while granting legal immunity to vaccine makers.

Since 1986, the only recourse parents have had if their child was injured is to file a claim through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) — a bureaucratic labyrinth that rejects nearly half of all claims.

Blumenthal, ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which held the hearing, said the parents’ testimony “makes me want to do something.”

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