Attack on a health center used in an anti-polio campaign in Pakistan kills 2 police officers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday continued to block the head of Florida’s health department from taking any more steps to threaten TV stations that air commercials for an abortion rights measure on next week’s ballot.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker extended a temporary restraining order, siding with Floridians Defending Freedom, the group that created the ads promoting the ballot question that would add abortion rights to the state constitution if it passes Nov. 5.

Walker handed down the decision from the bench after hearing arguments from attorneys for the campaign and state officials. The order extends a previous one that bars State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo from taking any further action to coerce or intimidate broadcasters that run the commercials.

Walker said extending the temporary restraining order will give him more time to rule on the preliminary injunction that the abortion rights campaign is requesting.

The group filed the lawsuit after Ladapo and John Wilson, who was then the top lawyer at the state health department before resigning unexpectedly, sent a letter to TV stations on Oct. 3 telling them to stop running an abortion rights ad, asserting that it was false and dangerous. The letter also says broadcasters could face criminal prosecution.

The ad at issue features a woman named Caroline Williams who said Florida’s current law — which bans most abortions after six weeks — would have barred her from getting the procedure that her doctors said was needed to extend her life, after she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2022. Her providers wouldn’t go forward with her cancer treatment while she was still pregnant.

The decision Walker handed down on Tuesday extends an Oct. 18 order barring state officials from “trampling” on the free speech rights of those they disagree with.

“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false,’” the judge said in the previous order.

He added, “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

Tuesday’s hearing is the latest development in an ongoing fight between advocates for abortion rights and officials in the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has waged his own state-funded campaign to block the ballot measure.

If approved by 60% of Florida voters, the constitutional amendment would protect the right to an abortion until fetal viability, considered to be somewhere past 20 weeks. The measure would override current state law, which bans most abortions after six weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant.

In the weeks leading up to the election, DeSantis has held taxpayer-funded, campaign-style rallies with doctors and religious leaders to advocate against the proposed amendment. Four state agencies have set aside millions of dollars in public funds to create their own commercials railing against the abortion measure and another proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state — a move that critics say violates a state law that bars government officials from using their public office for electioneering.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

TORONTO – Ontario taxpayers are set to receive $200 cheques in the mail early next year, a $3-billion plan the premier suggests is not tied to a possible early election.

Premier Doug Ford and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy made the announcement today, a day ahead of the province’s fall economic statement, which serves as a mini budget.

Ford says everyone who filed 2023 tax returns should expect to receive a $200 cheque, plus an additional $200 per child.

It comes as Ford has refused to rule out the possibility of an election sooner than the next fixed date of June 2026, and while he has said he will not call one this year, opposition parties are preparing for a possible spring contest.

Ford says his government has been looking for ways to save Ontarians money all along, including on transit fares, a gas tax cut and licence plate renewal fees.

Ford and Bethlenfalvy say the government can afford to send out $3 billion worth of cheques now because of higher-than-expected revenues, including due to the impact of inflation on provincial sales tax money in government coffers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser says she shared the explosive allegations about Indian officials taking part in criminal activity in Canada with her counterpart in New Delhi before the RCMP went public with the news this month.

Nathalie Drouin told the House of Commons national security committee today there was an effort to work with the Indian government to ensure accountability.

On Oct. 14, the RCMP said Indian diplomats and consular officials were persons of interest in cases of extortion, coercion and violence, including murder, that targeted Canadian citizens.

Drouin says a meeting was held with Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore two days earlier.

Drouin says the decision was made to go public when it became evident the Indian government would not co-operate with Canada on proposed accountability measures.

The RCMP said it took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety.

The same day as the RCMP news conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Canada was expelling the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats.

The Indian government denies the allegations and has expelled six Canadian diplomats.

Drouin told the committee that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

She said the information was then passed along to the government in New Delhi, which allegedly works with Lawrence Bishnoi’s criminal network.

Bishnoi is currently in prison in India, but Drouin said his vast criminal network has been linked to homicides, assassination plots, coercion and other violent crimes in Canada.

Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer said this reinforces “whispers” that have existed in the Sikh community for years and described the situation as something out of a Bollywood movie.

Drouin is appearing at the committee alongside RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme and CSIS director Daniel Rogers.

Both Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Joly are expected to appear at future meetings as the study continues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.