Here are things to know for Friday, September 3:
1. President Biden says Supreme Court abortion ruling ‘insults’ rule of law, says government will seek ways to protect access to procedure
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President Joe Biden has said the Supreme Court abortion ruling “insults” the rule of law, says government will seek ways to protect access to procedure.
A deeply divided Supreme Court has allowed a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in force, for now stripping most women of the right to an abortion in the nation’s second-largest state.
The court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others that sought to block enforcement of the law, which went into effect Wednesday. But the justices also suggested that their order likely isn’t the last word on whether the law can stand because other challenges to it can still be brought.
The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and before many women know they’re pregnant.
2. Afghanistan refugee says Taliban is demanding her return from Houston
An Afghan refugee who’s been living in Houston for the past two years says the Taliban sent a letter to her family, who is hiding in Afghanistan, stating that they need to come forward and demanded her return.
She is now desperately trying to get them out and somewhere safe.
“I don’t know what they want to do with us,” the woman who does not want to be identified told KPRC 2. “We never thought we could have this situation just because we helped.”
The woman said her immediate family was forced to flee Afghanistan in 2019. Her husband spent eight years there working with the United States military. They are now living in Houston.
Her extended family, including her brother, is still in Afghanistan. She said many of them also worked with the U.S. military.
“We cannot sleep through the night all the time, just thinking what will happen now in Afghanistan, what will happen for our family,” she said.
3. 2 doses of COVID vaccine will give you longer immunity, UTMB researcher says
Eight months after the second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is when experts believe antibodies begin to diminish and a booster vaccine is needed.
You get boosters for other vaccines including flu, pneumonia, and Tdap.
The difference with the COVID mRNA vaccines is that it teaches the body to fight the spike protein. While antibodies decreasing within a year after vaccination isn’t great, it’s not the only thing working to protect you from an infection.
UTMB professor in molecular biology, Pei-Yong Shi, said the immune system ramps up a defense after your second dose of the vaccine and will likely last a long time, especially compared to someone who never gets a vaccine.
“Compared with not vaccinated for sure, you’re much better off even without the booster,” he said.
However, since the vaccine taught your body to recognize the spike protein, your body should be able to generate antibodies when they’re needed, but the length of time your body is trained to do that is still under investigation.
4. Worried about COVID-19, most parents no longer want kids in school full time, CDC-funded survey finds
Parents aren’t just anxious about sending their children back to school as the delta variant rages.
They’re so worried about their kids’ health and the safety of their communities that many parents — especially Black and Hispanic parents — now say they’d rather keep them home learning remotely, at least part time, new research finds.
“It’s not just that parents aren’t OK,” said Adam Burns, a partner at Edge Research, who led the nationwide parent survey released Wednesday from the National Parent Teacher Association.
“They’ve been not-OK for about 18 months.”
Many parents believed in the spring that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic was behind them, hoping that widely available vaccines would mean no longer having to contend with the technical glitches, academic struggles and emotional challenges of online instruction.
5. UH among those being considered for Big 12 expansion, reports say
There are multiple reports that the University of Houston is one of the focal points of the Big 12′s adjustment for a new era without Texas and Oklahoma.
Many Houston fans still remember the efforts of the school in accomodating the Big 12′s contemplating of expansion back in 2016 and the process that followed, only for the conference to choose to stay with the status quo, effectively rejecting UH.
Five years later, much has changed in the college landscape. Texas and Oklahoma both decided to leave the Big 12 for the SEC starting in 2025. Not only that, the Big 12 was also not part of the recent three-conference alignment by the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12. It is fair to say the Big 12′s future without Texas and Oklahoma has come into question.
Now, as reported first by The Athletic and later confirmed by other outlets, the Big 12 is evaluating their options in expanding to fill that gap, and the University of Houston is mentioned in these reports as one of the four main schools being targeted along with Brigham Young University, University of Central Florida, and Cincinnati.