Bank of Canada cuts key rate for first time in more than 4 years
The Bank of Canada has cut its overnight rate by 25 basis points, a move not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
Wyoming has pushed to the front of state efforts to prohibit the most common type of abortion by instituting the nation's first explicit ban on pills that terminate pregnancies.
In many states women can get abortion pills prescribed online and delivered to their homes. The ease and availability of pills have made that method the most popular way to end a pregnancy - more than half of all abortions are done with that method, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion access advocacy group.
But 13 states now effectively ban abortion pills by prohibiting all forms of abortion, moves made after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling last year.
Fifteen states restrict access to the pills. Of those, six - Arizona, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota and South Carolina - require a doctor to administer them in person. Arizona also bans mailing abortion pills.
But before a law signed Friday by Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, no state specifically banned abortion pills. The law passed alongside a new abortion ban that seeks to sidestep issues with an earlier state ban that's been held up in court.
With two new abortion laws, the Wyoming Legislature was “kind of trying to cover all its bases” to prohibit abortions, said Elizabeth Nash with the Guttmacher Institute.
Gordon allowed the new broad abortion ban to take effect Sunday without his signature. Whether the abortion pill ban he signed takes effect July 1 as planned remains to be seen. It could be delayed in the courts if an abortion provider in the state sues over it. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Texas is considering a case with implications for abortion pill access nationwide
Here's a look at where abortion stands in Wyoming and elsewhere:
Yes. As of Sunday, abortions in all forms are illegal.
The state's lone clinic providing abortions until the ban was in the tourist mountain town of Jackson. Another clinic in Casper was set to open last year before an arson delayed plans. The clinic, Wellspring Health Access, was hoping to open next month but those plans are now uncertain.
Even before the ban, many women in Wyoming drove to Colorado and elsewhere to get abortions because it was more convenient. There's no prohibition on women in Wyoming continuing to go out of state to seek abortions.
Wyoming has long been a deeply conservative state but one that often avoided weighing in on social matters - live and let live is a credo of rural life in the West.
That's changing. With a state Legislature more dominated by Republicans than at any point in a century, leaders are able to delve into culture-war issues with hardly any opposition.
Last year, Gordon signed an abortion ban that took effect a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Within hours, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens suspended the ban, ruling that a lawsuit's claim it would harm pregnant women and their doctors could have merit.
The two nonprofits and four women, including two obstetricians, who sued also argued that the ban violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to make one's own healthcare decisions.
Attorneys for the state said that wasn't the intent - the amendment passed in response to the Affordable Care Act seeking to expand healthcare coverage nationwide.
This year, Wyoming lawmakers did an end-run around the lawsuit with a new, blanket abortion ban that specifies abortion is not healthcare and therefore not protected by the state constitution.
Most Republican-controlled states adopted abortion bans or tighter restrictions in anticipation that Roe v. Wade would be overturned eventually.
And last year, several Democrat-controlled states adopted protections for abortion access.
But that didn't end the legislative battles.
This month, Utah passed a law to ban abortion clinics, making it the first state to take that action. It came as the state's ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancies is held up by a legal challenge.
In Florida, lawmakers are trying to figure out what bans to put into place. Florida previously put into place a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is much looser than what other GOP-controlled states have done; a new measure to ban them after six weeks has been advancing through the Legislature. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 presidential candidate, is expected to sign it if it gets to him.
In South Carolina, also GOP-dominated, lawmakers are debating what kind of ban to try next after a ban on abortions after six weeks was rejected by the state's top court.
In Minnesota, a state where last year's election gave Democrats full control of the government, the governor this year signed into law additional protections for abortion access.
Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
The Bank of Canada has cut its overnight rate by 25 basis points, a move not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Hospitals of Regina Foundation (HRF) issued an official apology on Wednesday following comedian Rob Schneider's set at a fundraising event on Saturday night.
If an Oilers fan in Edmonton has the spare time, they can not only potentially witness their hockey heroes win and take a step closer to claiming puck glory, they can brag that they journeyed the longest distance between two NHL markets to do it.
Air Canada is now offering free beer and wine on flights within Canada and the U.S. until the end of the year.
Billionaire Elon Musk is questioning diversity and inclusion hiring practices, using the social media platform he owns to criticize a job posting from the University of British Columbia.
Five people associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang are facing charges after police raided two homes and two unlicensed bars in Waterloo Region.
President Vladimir Putin warned Germany on Wednesday that the use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia would mark a 'dangerous step.'
McMaster Children’s Hospital is pausing scheduled tonsil and adenoid surgeries for patients under the age of 18 after officials say two pediatric patients who underwent the procedure died shortly after being discharged.
It was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s birthday on Monday, but he could've probably done without the package that one of his more obscure backbenchers dropped on his doorstep, writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his latest column for CTVNews.ca.
Marking a milestone, Lakeshore resident Olga White celebrated her 107th birthday in style Wednesday.
The municipality of Tantramar, N.B., is holding a sale to get rid of surplus items it acquired after the Town of Sackville amalgamated with smaller communities last year.
For several weeks, a mysterious social media user has apparently been leaving $50 bills hidden across Metro Vancouver.
A statue dedicated to the Royal Regina Rifles Regiment has been officially unveiled in France just ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
A Cape Breton is this year's recipient of the McEuen Scholarship, which gives him basically a full ride to the medical school at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Mounties in Kelowna nabbed a would-be burglar with an apparent sweet tooth over the weekend.
When Alyssa Anklewich’s history teacher assigned her Westwood Collegiate class an essay about D-Day, the 15-year-old had other ideas.
Many people are familiar with the benefits of being in nature, but forest therapy goes a step further than a simple walk in the woods.
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.