Is There a New Abortion Pill on the Way?

What's Happening

Health

Is There a New Abortion Pill on the Way? 

What's going on: A recent study suggests a new pill could safely and effectively replace mifepristone, the abortion medication used to terminate early pregnancies. The drug, ulipristal acetate, is already FDA-approved and sold in pharmacies under the name Ella, a 30-milligram emergency contraception pill. ​​However, preliminary research found that ulipristal acetate, in higher doses (60 milligrams), ended 97% of pregnancies when paired with the abortion pill misoprostol. The study was small (involving 133 women who were up to nine weeks' pregnant), and more testing is needed. Still, the findings comes at a time when mifepristone currently faces legal challenges and political scrutiny. 

What it means: Some reproductive health advocates are optimistic about the study — viewing it as a potential alternative for medication abortion, which accounts for over 60% of terminations. But others worry the research could give conservative lawmakers more ammunition to attack emergency contraception. For years, scientists and reproductive health advocates have emphasized that morning-after pills do not terminate pregnancies but instead prevent them by delaying ovulation. Even with this new research, there’s no evidence that Ella, at its current lower dose, can end an existing pregnancy. A spokesperson for the anti-abortion group Students for Life of America said they’d consider litigation regarding Ella. However, one lawyer warned that using the study to target emergency contraception could be politically risky for conservatives. According to a FiveThirtyEight poll, 70% of Americans believe it should be legal in “all” or “most” cases, including 62% of Republicans.

Related: ReproductiveRights.gov Vanished So theSkimm Brought It Back (theSkimm)

Politics

Trump's First Days Back Set a Wild Pace

President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office has seen a first-week frenzy of executive orders, including efforts to end DEI policies and alter health care for Americans. Yesterday, he signed an order to release more assassination files related to JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. (Still waiting on that promised drone report, though.) Some of his efforts are already seeing challenges, including:

Birthright Citizenship: A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.” The judge added: “I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear.” The president criticized the judge and his ruling, saying, “obviously, we’ll appeal.” Democratic attorneys general, immigrant rights groups, and individual plaintiffs have already filed lawsuits against the order, arguing it would burden state programs financially and logistically as children lose access to federal benefits. Legal experts say this could be just the start, with challenges likely to reach the Supreme Court — something expected for many of Trump’s new policies.

Hegseth’s Nomination: Pete Hegseth moved a step closer to leading the Pentagon after the Senate voted 51-49 to advance his nomination, despite new abuse allegations and last-minute Republican defections. Moderate Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined all 47 Democrats in trying to halt the nomination. Still, Hegseth isn’t in the clear — if just two more Republicans flip in the final vote, which is expected today, his confirmation could fail. Key votes like Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) have voiced their support, while others remain undecided. Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker hinted at how tight the final vote could be, suggesting Vice President JD Vance might need to cast a tie-breaking vote: “If I were JD Vance, I’d stick around.”

Related: MAGA Granny Refuses Trump’s Pardon, Calls Out ‘MAGA Cult’ (WaPo gift link)

International

Single or in a Couple? Spain Says It Doesn’t Matter When It Comes to Parental Leave

What’s going on: Spain has a pretty generous paid parental leave policy (or at least it’s generous by America’s standard). Each parent is entitled up to 16 weeks after having a child. In a two-parent household, that adds up to 32 weeks. However, the set-up didn't benefit single-parent households, who were forced to find childcare for their newborn after four months of leave. Enter: A legal battle brought forward by a single mom, who argued she should get the full 32 weeks to spend with her newborn — regardless of her family’s structure. A regional court agreed earlier this month, allowing single parents to request almost eight months of leave. Yes, paid.

What it means: Parents across Spain are now citing this court’s ruling to get more time off to care for their babies. Single-parent households make up one in 10 families in Spain and are the most at risk of poverty. The court’s ruling builds on a decision from a higher court that made it illegal to discriminate against children born into single-parent families. It’s also part of a larger effort in Spain, which has one of the lowest fertility rates in Europe, to push people to have more children. The change also puts Spain in line with other European countries looking to make paid parental leave more equitable between single parents and couples, such as Finland, Germany, and Sweden.

Related: The Child Tax Credit Could Decrease Under the Trump Administration (Newsweek)

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Settle This

The Oscar noms (and snubs) are officially out, and only one of the “Best Actress” contenders has been nominated for the award before. Who is it? 

Extra Credit

See

Thanks to classics like Superbad and Wedding Crashers, there’s a high bar for buddy-comedies. But Hollywood’s most charismatic multi-hyphenate (aka Keke Palmer) and most “brazenly self-deprecating” R&B superstar (aka SZA) managed to surpass it. One of Them Days follows broke but bubbly best friends Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA, in her first acting role ever) as they go to extreme lengths to scrape together $1,500 in the course of a day — after Alyssa’s freeloader boyfriend "borrowed" all their rent money to invest in his faux designer t-shirt line. Expect a series of comical misadventures as the roommates try to avoid eviction, while also keeping their friendship together.

Game Time

Brick Breaker meets word search in Spelltower, your new favorite game. For every word you find, letter tiles disappear. The fewer tiles left when you run out of words, the better your score. Try it.