City strives to bolster yard waste collection

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out the 2020 conspiracy and bribery convictions of a major political donor in North Carolina and his associate, declaring that the trial judge erred in his jury instructions.

The evolving legal landscape around abortion access is causing confusion for providers and patients across the country after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In Florida, a new law banning abortions after 15 weeks went into effect Friday, after a judge said he would sign an order next week temporarily blocking it. Patients in Kentucky who were forced to cancel appointments with abortion providers this week are now scrambling to reschedule after a court there blocked the state’s restrictions. Elsewhere, clinics are reporting an influx of new patients from out of state, overwhelming providers and leading heath centers to tailor procedures to the legality of abortion in a person’s home state.

The fireworks are still a few days away, but travel for the July Fourth weekend is off to a booming start. The Transportation Security Administration said Friday that it screened more people on Thursday than it did on the same day in 2019, before the pandemic. Travelers so far seem to be experiencing fewer delays and canceled flights than they did earlier this week. But it's still early. Leisure travel has bounced back this year, offsetting weakness in business travel and international flying. Still, the total number of people flying has not quite recovered fully to pre-pandemic levels.

The Supreme Court decision to limit how the Environmental Protection Agency regulates carbon dioxide emissions from power plants could make an already grave situation worse for those affected most by climate change and air pollution, advocates say.