Abortion bans likely in 26 states, Kim Potter trial opening statements: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: 26 states could ban abortion in some form
Health inequities reporter Nada Hassanein has the latest from the nation's abortion fight. Plus, new details and photos have been revealed in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, opening statements were heard in the trial of former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter, Michigan education reporter Lily Altavena tells us about possible charges against the school district where a shooting took place last week and a massive winter storm dumps snow around the country.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 9th of December, 2021. Today, the abortion fight continues, plus disturbing new details from the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
Troops in Myanmar have reportedly burned alive at least 11 rural villagers. The brutal violence came in apparent retaliation for an attack on a military convoy.
Late Sen. Bob Dole will lie in state at the U.S. Capital today. A funeral service will then take place tomorrow at Washington National Cathedral before services in his home state of Kansas over the weekend. Dole died on Sunday in his sleep at the age of 98.
The Pantone Color Institute has announced its color of the year for 2022. For the first time, it's their own creation, Very Peri. The color appears to be a shade of purple.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week on the constitutionality of Mississippi's ban on abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy. If the court okays the ban or decides to overturn Roe V. Wade altogether, at least 26 states are expected to follow suit and ban abortion in some form. Health inequities reporter Nada Hassanein reports on who is most at risk.
Nada Hassanein:
Experts say that women of color and low income women would be most affected by the snowball effect that this would create. That's because a lot of these states that are poised to further restrict abortions if this were to pass are in the South which has the highest concentration of Black people in the country. A lot of analysis have also shown wage gaps in these areas and including Mississippi, that shows the makeup of women of color have when it comes to the population of low income workers.
Studies have shown, such as The Turnaway Study by Diana Greene Foster over at the University of California, San Francisco, her study found significant harms of being denied abortion. Everything from economic hardship to mental health issues following birth, raising a child with other children who are already in the home which could affect the development of the other children in the home. There's even domestic violence concerns because some women might remain with a violent partner as they carry the pregnancy to term.
Taylor Wilson:
You can follow along with full coverage of the abortion fight around the country on USATODAY.com.
The sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell will continue today. Earlier this week, a witness said Maxwell herself sexually abused her at the age of 14 along with her partner Jeffrey Epstein. Prosecutors charge that Maxwell groomed underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. Something she denies. Yesterday another witness was called to the stand. The AP's, Larry Neumeister has more from New York.
Larry Neumeister:
The witness called by prosecutors was a guy that they let testify only as Sean. That was to protect the identity of his ex-girlfriend who testified yesterday. Her name is Carolyn and she had testified that Ghislaine Maxwell at one point told her that she had a great body that would be great for Jeffrey Epstein and his friends.
Today Sean testified that he drove his ex-girlfriend to Jeffrey Epstein's home in Palm Beach where she would give massages and then come out an hour later with hundred dollar bills. He says that he brought the girls to Palm Beach. That they were excited to make money. Any money. That he did this often and regularly whenever one of three women from Epstein's home would call. He said one of those women had a proper British accent.
In the afternoon, a second pilot, longtime pilot for Epstein, testified much as the first pilot had. That in all of his years of flying Epstein to his various residences, he never saw any evidence of sexual activity on the plane.
Taylor Wilson:
The prosecution may rest its case as soon as today.
The manslaughter trial of former Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter rolls on today. Prosecutors say she committed first and second degree manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright in April. The jury heard opening statements from both the prosecution and defense yesterday. Minnesota assistant attorney general Erin Eldridge and defense attorney Paul Engh.
Erin Eldridge:
I killed a boy. Those were the defendant's words. That's what she said after she did what she did.
Paul Engh:
So when she says taser, taser, taser, there's one last pause, the facts will show you. Mr. Wright can stop. All he has to do is stop and he'd be with us. But he goes. She can't let him leave because he is going to kill her partner. So she does taser, taser, taser and she pulls the trigger believing that it was a taser.
Taylor Wilson:
For more, search Daunte Wright on USATODAY.com.
There are increasingly more questions than answers around the action or lack thereof taken by school officials in a Michigan town before last week's deadly high school shooting there. As Michigan education reporter Lily Altavena tells us, the Oxford Community School District could be hit with civil liability lawsuits in the coming weeks.
Lily Altavena:
One attorney said that it will be argued that students under these school officials' care were very possibly in danger. Liability hinges on a number of things but in this case it's, again, whether students were put in danger and whether school officials failed to take action to protect students' lives.
A number of experts basically told me that there are evolving ways in which schools are handling what to do when a student is showing the red flags that the suspected shooter was seen to show. Things like searching for bullets, a graphic photo that some found disturbing. A lot of experts say it's time to put together threat assessment teams. Those are teams of school staffers with expertise that can look at a student as a whole and see whether the red flags that they're putting up are enough to take them out of school or to get them more counseling. More help.
Even before the shooting, schools have been closing down for staffing shortages because of COVID, but what happened on Tuesday added another layer. That added a layer of fear for not just this school district but across really the entire thumb of Michigan. Really across Michigan. We saw a number of schools shutter on Friday. Three days after the shooting and many cited threats that they just couldn't verify or later turned out to be nothing. But there's definitely been burgeoning fear. A lot of parents didn't feel safe bringing their kids to school last week.
Taylor Wilson:
You can read this full story with a link in today's episode description and you can find Lily on Twitter @lilyalta.
Winter is here. You can especially feel that in some parts of the country. Today a huge chunk of the Western and Central US could see up to a foot of snow. Places from Iowa to Colorado and New Mexico are under winter storm watches and warnings. The cross country system is not likely to evolve into a bomb cyclone as others have earlier this year, but it'll likely be strong enough to bring the first significant snow of the season to Western mountain ranges in particular like the Rockies. Head to USATODAY.com/weather for more.
You can find new episodes of 5 Things, seven mornings a week wherever you're listening right now. Thanks as always to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: More abortion bans likely, new Ghislaine Maxwell photos: 5 Things podcast
