What A Day - An Abortion Access Win For Michigan

Episode Date: May 18, 2022

President Biden traveled to Buffalo, New York, yesterday to speak with the families of victims of the white supremacist mass shooting, as well as other community members. Without invoking any particular names, Biden also referenced political and media figures who have attempted to gain from spreading the racist lie of the so-called “replacement theory.”A judge in Michigan temporarily blocked the state’s nearly century-old abortion ban from going back into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Michigan is one of nine states with one of these pre-Roe-era abortion bans on their books.And in headlines: a senior Trump official met with two prominent activists from the ‘Stop The Steal Movement’ on January 6th, children aged 5 to 11 can now get COVID vaccine boosters, and federal lawmakers held the first congressional hearing about UFOs in over 50 years.Show Notes:Vote Save America – https://www.votesaveamerica.com/Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Wednesday, May 18th. I'm Gideon Resnick. And I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And this is What A Day, where we're reminding anyone who bought NFTs of our old episodes to sell them as quickly as humanly possible. That's right. We may have hyped it as a great investment back in March 2021, but we take it back and advise you to get out. Yeah, What A day. Not a licensed financial advisor. Not in any state or jurisdiction. On today's show, a Michigan judge ruled that the state's unenforced abortion ban cannot go into effect if Roe is overturned. Plus, we'll have

updates on recent mass shootings in Texas and Southern California. But first, we focus on Saturday's shooting in Buffalo, New York. President Biden traveled to Buffalo yesterday to speak with the families of victims of the white supremacist mass shooting and other community members. In a speech, he strongly condemned white supremacy and referred repeatedly to the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism. White supremacy is a poison. It's a poison running through. It really is

running through our body politic. And it's been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes. No more. I mean, no more. We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America. None. And look, failure to say that is going to be complicity. Silence is complicity. It's complicity. We cannot remain silent. I don't actually know if previous presidents have ever talked about white

supremacy before. It kind of feels like it's a big deal for him to be calling it out in this way, and good on him for doing that. But Gideon, what else did President Biden have to say during his visit? Yeah, so he also paid tributes to the victims in sometimes emotional moments. And without invoking any particular names, Biden also referenced political and media figures who have attempted to gain politically or financially from spreading the racist lie of the so-called replacement theory. I call on all Americans to reject the lie. And I condemn those who spread the lie for power, political gain, and for profit.

Yeah, so this is not entirely new territory for Biden. He has condemned white supremacy strongly in the past, as recently as the 2017 Charlottesville rally that compelled him, he said, to actually run for president. But some people are now asking, you know, what the actual plan is to try and prevent attacks like this in the future. NAACP President Derek Johnson told the Associated Press that it was important for Biden to show up in Buffalo, but, quote, we're more concerned with preventing this from happening in the future. And Tony Arrington, a hairstylist in Buffalo, told The New York Times, quote, I could care less about what Biden said.

I want to see action. Yeah, that response does make a lot of sense. I think a lot of us really do feel fed up at this point. But one thing that we talk about a lot after these horrific mass shootings is federal gun control legislation. What are people saying about that at this point? Yeah, so Biden was asked about that by reporters on Tuesday at the Buffalo airport, and he said this. The answer is going to be very difficult. It's going to be very difficult, but I'm not going to give up trying.

Yeah, and that is how it has historically been after all of these happened. Most of that difficulty stems from intractable problems in Congress that have plagued tons of other would-be popular pieces of legislation, like background checks in the past. Though a number of Democratic senators, including Dick Durbin and Chris Murphy, have reportedly met recently to discuss a proposal that they say could possibly pass amid this ever-growing frustration from gun control activists. But again, that is all easier said than done. Let's talk about state laws for a second, because on the federal side, myself at least, it's frustrating to talk about. How is a shooter even able to obtain this weapon? That's a question that a lot of people have been asking in the days since this horrific attack, right? So New York, for some context, is one of

19 states that has a so-called red flag law, which is intended to keep people from possessing firearms if they might be a danger to themselves or to others. The process for invoking this involves filing an application with the state court system, and the person applying has to include, quote, specific facts and circumstances to back it up. After that, a judge would hold a hearing in which both sides could be heard. And then if the order is granted, the person would have to surrender all of their guns and would not be able to buy others for up to a year. Just a year? I think it can get renewed, but it starts at that point, if I'm not mistaken. That's so wild. Yeah. But it is a pretty involved process to get through all of that. And since it took effect in 2019, there have been almost

600 orders barring people in the state from having guns, according to the through all of that. And since it took effect in 2019, there have been almost 600 orders barring people in the state from having guns, according to the State Office of Court Administration. I don't know, that feels like maybe should be a one and done situation in my book, but did this law apply to the gunmen in this case? It was not used here. The Shooters family law enforcement schools

could have started an application process, but reportedly none of them did. And in hindsight, they could have had some justification. Authorities say that last year, when the shooter was still in high school near Binghamton, New York, there was this project where students were asked about their plans after graduation. The shooter, who was 17 at the time, apparently responded by saying his were to commit murder-suicide. So he claimed that was a joke, but a vice principal reported the remark and the future shooter was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and was released just a few days later. There is later reporting that revealed that the shooter said in an online post that he was lying about it being a joke. State police said

on Monday that they had not sought a red flag order against him. They also previously said that there hadn't been a specific threat mentioned. That is apparently the threshold. And it's a point that New York Governor Kathy Hochul raised as well, though she also said this situation leads to questions about whether changes need to be made to the law. Additionally, the governor is going to reportedly unveil a new set of gun control bills as soon as today. So we're going to keep an eye on that as well. Yeah. And now turning back to another story that we've been following for a while, abortion rights nationwide. I am happy to report that we actually have some good news for a change.

Okay. Yeah. Yesterday, a judge in Michigan temporarily blocked the state's nearly century old abortion ban from going back into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. I think hearing that a near century law was going to take effect, something to pause on for just a moment. So how did this actually happen? Yeah, it is wild, but I'm happy to give the backstory here. So there is a law in Michigan from back in 1931 that made providing an abortion a felony without any exceptions for rape and incest. It also criminalized selling or advertising medications that could induce an abortion. When Roe became law of the land in 1973, that 1931 law became dormant, but it was still on the books, meaning that if Roe is overturned, it could be enforced again. Literally, it would be like living like we did 100 years ago.

So yeah, wow, completely wild. Would have been great if they just tied up that loose end and got rid of it. But it's fine, I guess. Both Planned Parenthood and Michigan's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer challenged this rule in hopes of blocking its enforcement. And in response to Planned Parenthood's case, a judge issued a preliminary injunction against this law. Yeah. Do we know why the judge made that injunction? I'm not a lawyer. Sadly, Josie is not here with us today, but I'm going to do my best impression here. As I said earlier, this isn't a permanent decision. It basically means that the law will not be enforced while the court is still examining it. And if Roe is

overturned, you know, in that period of time, it will not be enforced. In the ruling, the judge actually said that in the end, Planned Parenthood would most likely win the case, challenging the law's constitutionality. So this is just a precursor and great news for everybody who cares about abortion rights. Yeah. So to that end, what was the immediate reaction to all of this? Governor Whitmer called the decision, quote, an important victory for Michiganders. And that, quote, no matter what, I'll keep fighting like hell to protect access to abortion in Michigan. And Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is the defendant in this case, because her job is to defend laws on the books,

even if she doesn't like them, this abortion ban being one of those laws, agreed that yesterday's ruling was a victory and promised not to appeal this decision. Yeah, so obviously great news for Michigan, for Michiganders, but what about the other states with these kinds of old laws that are on the books that are not being enforced, but could if Roe is overturned? Yeah, simply, A, we'll never get over the word Michiganders, but I will get back to your question. We've talked about this on the show before. Michigan is one of nine states with one of these pre-Roe era abortion bans on their books. But in this case, we have Governor Whitmer. She is a Democrat. She is an ardent supporter of reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. That is not something that the rest of these states can say about their governors. Most of them are Republicans who in many cases are hoping to

add more abortion restrictions, not really help people get that kind of care. We'll continue to keep you updated on the status of those other states and where things stand. But that is the latest for now. Let's get to some headlines. Here is a quick update on what we know from yesterday's primary elections. Results were still coming in as we went to record last night. But in Pennsylvania, Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman won his Senate primary by a wide margin.

That is great news. And in the state's governor's race, Republican Douglas Mastriano won his party's primary. North Carolina's Senate primaries had both been settled too. Former state Supreme Court Justice Sherry Beasley won the Democratic primary, while the recipient of Trump's endorsement, Ted Budd, won the Republican primary. Meanwhile, North Carolina Republican congressman and walking, talking controversy factory, Madison Cawthorn, has lost his re-election bid to challenger Chuck Edwards.

This one really goes out to the Republican oppo machine. Congratulations. You guys did it. And hopefully, thanks to your work, we can all stop hearing about Madison Cawthorn. I would love to never hear his name ever again. We'll share more results from these states tomorrow, plus ones from Kentucky, Oregon, and Idaho.

Whatever we get, you will get. That is our gift to you, as well as our financial advice. Amid news of the shooting in Buffalo, the FBI and the Justice Department said on Tuesday that they're investigating yet another mass shooting as a hate crime. Last week, a gunman shot and wounded three Korean women at a hair salon in Dallas, Texas. Thankfully, they all survived with no life-threatening injuries, but local authorities believe that the incident may be linked to two other recent attacks in the area that targeted Asian-owned businesses.

On Tuesday, police arrested a man named Jeremy Smith in connection to the Dallas shooting and charged him with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. And Smith's girlfriend told authorities that whenever Smith is near Asian-Americans, he, quote, begins having delusions that the Asian mob is after him or attempting to harm him. One of the victims, who was shot three times in Dallas, spoke at a town hall on Monday night and said, quote, Meanwhile, in California, the man who was arrested in connection to the Taiwanese church shooting in Laguna Woods was charged with first three murder and five counts of attempted murder. If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison or the death penalty. The federal hate crimes investigation into that shooting remains ongoing. Yeah, this is the third mass shooting that we have talked about on this 20 minute show.

That's just horrifying and really hard to wrap your head around. But that is the country we live in. We are still learning about how friendly Trump's White House was to the people who wanted him to live there forever. The Washington Post reported yesterday that a senior Trump official at the State Department met with two prominent activists when they stopped the steel movement on January 6th. I personally wouldn't call them activists, but that is the title in this headline. The official, Robert Destro, Trump's former assistant secretary of state, confirmed the meeting. The two activists previously alluded to high level meetings with State Department officials.

One of them later ran for attorney general in Michigan. And as part of his campaign materials, he gave this not so subtle quote. On January 6th, 2021, I was in the State Department briefing Mike Pompeo's staff on how the election was stolen. Note to reader, don't tell the feds. Okay. Yeah, really professional, I guess. That's just not what I would ever put on campaign materials, but sure. This is the latest example of people in Trump's orbit working behind the scenes to spread

false narratives about the election. Meanwhile, in other January 6th news, Attorney General Merrick Garland is ramping up his investigation of the insurrection. Yesterday, the Justice Department asked the House Committee investigating the Capitol riot to hand over transcripts from interviews that they've conducted. The DOJ has been working on a separate investigation from the committee, but it seems as though the two are wrapping up before hearings begin in just a few weeks. There are quite a lot of January 6th affiliated folks running for office in the mix in a lot of places. It's something to behold. You really hate to see it. You really hate to see it. It's wild. Hard to wrap your head around. Great news for little kids who

understand that nothing good comes without at least one second of pain. Children ages 5 to 11 can now get COVID vaccine booster shots. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first COVID booster for this age group yesterday. The FDA okayed Pfizer-BioNTech's third shot of its lower dose pediatric vaccine for children who got their second shot at least five months ago. It is somewhat unclear how big the demand for this is. The CDC's data tracker shows that less than a third of five to 11 year olds are fully vaccinated. But many doctors say it's important for kids to have resources to protect themselves against the virus because their immunity wanes just like adults. In other COVID news, the Biden administration announced yesterday that Americans can now get

a third round of free at home test kits. People can go to the site COVID test.gov, which allows all US households to order an additional eight tests. This comes as cases are on the rise, but Congress has yet to pass additional funding for COVID resources. The White House released a fact sheet yesterday on that subject, noting that, quote, due to Congress's failure to provide additional funding for the nation's COVID-19 response, the administration cannot continue making the types of federal investments needed to sustain domestic testing manufacturing capacity so we may not know how many people in fact have covid in the u.s i guess will we ever um that is just a really bold call out i was gonna say like on their fact sheet they're just like hey it's their fault. They fucked us over. Facts are being shared. The C-SPAN X-Files

crossover episode we have all been waiting for aired yesterday when members of the House subcommittee convened for the first congressional hearing about UFOs in over 50 years. That's right. Lawmakers were able to ask Pentagon officials exactly what they knew about UFOs and whether or not they believe that they pose a threat to national security. Pentagon officials did say that they have absolutely not collected any proof of aliens landing on Earth, which is exactly what you'd expect someone with proof of aliens landing on Earth to say. During the hearing, Pentagon officials played multiple previously classified videos of what they're now calling UAPs, short for Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, an acronym that we hate here at WOD. Lawmakers looked critically at things like a clip of a small flying sphere,

which we at WOD are interpreting as either a spaceship for a little alien or sporting equipment for a giant alien. True. Ultimate Frisbee. Truly. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray, and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie also testified as leaders of the Pentagon's new UAP task force. But their answers to questions about what they actually knew about these UAPs was just one big shrug. Take a listen to Bray right here.

There are a number of events in which we do not have an explanation. And there are a small handful in which there are flight characteristics or signature management that we can't explain. Hmm. All right. What more do you need? Like something's happening and we don't know what it is. Something is afoot and we're going to find out. Both Bray and Moultrie did, however, commit to destigmatizing UAP reportingcommittee or get myself elected to Congress and just ask these people questions. You heard it here first, guys. Gideon is running for office because he wants to know the classified stuff about the UAPs. Yes. Even though they're saying they're going to be more transparent, like release everything. I want to know. Well, we have an open invitation for these gentlemen to come on here and explain what we're seeing in our skies.

And if you want to leak something to us here at WOD, our podcast, even though we can't really show it to people, we'll describe it in great detail on the show. So please just slide into our emails. In vivid detail. Thank you so much in advance for helping me live my dream of being in a Roland Emmerich movie. Those are the headlines. We'll be back after some ads. It's Wednesday WOD Squad and today we're doing a segment called wad recommends where we share an under the radar news story movie book or even a rude bumper sticker that caught our attention wad recommends correct uh today's recommendation is more of an action than a story it is to avoid being at the same party or event as model slash actress Cara Delevingne.

Yeah, this is a wild story. I mean, it's a collection of stories, but really boils down to this. Cara Delevingne has been acting like an absolute menace to society at parties, large gatherings, award shows lately. And there is lots of video evidence to back this up. Ample, ample. Most recently, she attended the Billboard Music Awards this past Sunday and engaged in some very questionable behavior towards Megan Thee Stallion. When Megan was posing for photos on the red carpet, Cara turned the photo shoot into a sort of Chaplin-esque physical comedy routine by grabbing the tail of Megan's dress and repeatedly throwing it into the air for the cameras with lots of encouragement from the photographers, but absolutely zero from Megan herself. She somehow ended up seated next to Megan during the show with Doja Cat in front of them.

And when Megan stood up to accept her award for best female rap artist, Cara did her patented dress grab again and generally seemed to get into Megan's personal space in a way that felt very uncomfortable to me as a viewer, probably felt more uncomfortable to Megan as a person. I'm sure. To get a sense of Megan's take on the situation, she later posted a photo of herself and Doja Cat from the event, where Cara had been fully cropped out of the center of the photo. Cara's recent behavior led people to resurface a clip from a performance by Azalea Banks in 2021 when Kara took things to another level. During that show, she rushed onto the stage,

grabbed Azalea's mic, and at one point got on her knees to lick Azalea's lead mid-song. This is like while she's performing to a crowd of people. It is incredibly odd. Okay, sure. So Gideon, how are you processing all of this? And how do you recommend not getting caught at the same party as this huge celebrity? I saw all of this video evidence prior during our research session for this section. That's what we call this. It was a lot of in-depth research.

I think that my recommendation is don't get nominated for a Grammy or don't be in consideration for a Grammy as a female performer, because it seems as though Cara may find you, try to befriend you, may try to lick you. May try to befriend you with this type of frenzied energy that is really just seems chaotic and like a lot. It's going to an 11 when you may be asked for one when you were like, when you're like, hey, nice to see you. Right, right. So that would be my recommendation. Never create music that could subject you to a Grammy, which by the transitive property will also subject you to Cara doing stuff near you. But same question for you, Priyanka. Yeah, I think if you steer clear from award shows, you're probably safe.

I do want to say she probably has no idea that it's coming off this way. But like, really, the videos, like she probably thinks she's being like really friendly. Like this almost like causes me to have more social anxiety because like she probably thinks that she's being like friendly and cool and making friends. But like everybody else is like,

hey, you're going way overboard. And this is like a lot. Please leave my personal space alone, which that's not okay to do. I sincerely hope for everyone listening to this that people don't talk about you one day on a podcast invading

their personal space and making them feel uncomfortable. That would not be good. The other recommendation is to not become the mayor of New York City. Oh my God. That is also in a video next to him.

That is, it's hard to say which is the worst video. Should we include all of them in our show notes? It's really not usually what we include. We can make an exception. We did a lot of research. A selection of Cara Delevingne videos for being wild in our show notes, guys. Yeah, check it out. That was WOD Recommends.

Stay safe. And please look up the clips we talked about so you can understand the threat we are all currently facing. Stay safe out there. WOD Recommends. Two more things before we go. This week on Strict Scrutiny, Kate and Leah interview reproductive health researcher Diana Green Foster about her 10-year study on the differences in outcomes for people who seek abortions but cannot obtain them. And on America Dissected, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has a conversation with Dr. Heather Urabunda about what the fall of Roe would mean for millions of people. Check out these great episodes and more on the strict scrutiny and America Dissected feeds. That is all for today. If you like this show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, look out for UAPs, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just the guest list for events

to make sure they are Cara Delevingne-free like me, what a day. It's also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. I'm Gideon Resnick. And sell your WOD NFTs. Yeah, drop those.

You can get three Slurp juices for the price of one if you sell right now. What's a Slurp juice? I don't know. What? Are these NFT references? I don't know anything either. This whole outro, no idea what we're talking about. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media.

It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance, Jazzy Marine, and Raven Yamamoto are our associate producers. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our executive producers are Leo Duran and me, Gideon Resnick. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.