Headline

US Infant Mortality Spiked After Right To Abortion Overturned

Published

10 months ago

October 21, 2024

US infant mortality surged in the months following the Supreme Court decision to overturn the national right to abortion, driven by a rise in the number of babies with birth defects, a study said Monday.

The findings highlight the consequences of restricting abortion access across much of the country, according to the study’s authors. They also align with previous research published earlier this year, which focused specifically on Texas, a state that implemented a six-week abortion ban in 2021.

Restoring abortion protections dismantled by a Supreme Court shaped during Donald Trump’s presidency has emerged as a cornerstone in Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign for the November 5 election.

Researchers Maria Gallo and Parvati Singh of The Ohio State University analyzed a national database of birth outcomes, examining historical trends and comparing them to data from the 18 months following the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling.

Birth outcomes in large populations such as the entire US are generally stable except for predictable seasonal peaks and valleys which they accounted for in their analysis, the authors said.

“We found that in the months after the Dobbs decision, infant mortality in the United States was higher than that we would have expected,” Gallo, a professor at the university’s division of epidemiology, told AFP.

In three months — October 2022, March 2023 and April 2023 — the rates of infant mortality were about seven percent higher than typical, leading to an average of 247 more infant deaths in each of those months.

The majority of the increase was attributed to congenital anomalies. These include things like heart defects, neural tube defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and other organ system malformations.

“These are cases in which before Dobbs, people would have been able to have an abortion rather than have to continue the pregnancy and go through the experience of having an infant die,” Gallo added.

The period since the Dobbs decision has been marked by rapid changes in state-level abortion laws.

At present, 21 states either ban terminating pregnancies or restrict the procedure to gestational limits of 18 weeks or fewer.

Abortion is on the ballot in 10 states when voters go to the polls for the presidential and congressional elections, with activists hoping to secure new legal protections for the procedure.

Next, the researchers hope to establish whether the infant mortality rise was seen in all states or whether it was concentrated most among those with state policies or laws that restrict access to abortion.

“There’s a broader human toll to consider, including mental health consequences of being denied abortion care or being forced to carry a fetus with a fatal genetic abnormality to term,” added co-author Singh, in a statement.

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

23 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

23 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

Headline

US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

23 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”