1/ The Justice Department will seek emergency intervention from the Supreme Court to protect the availability of the widely-used abortion pill mifepristone. The decision comes after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially blocked U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order, which suspended the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone. It was the first time a court had ordered the suspension of a long-approved medication. The court, however, ruled that mifespristone could no longer be prescribed after the seventh week of pregnancy, rolled back mail delivery of the pill, and reimposed doctor visits. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “strongly disagrees” with the 5th Circuit’s decision, adding that the administration will “be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care.” Any filing would go to Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency matters from the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit. Alito wrote the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / NPR / CNBC / ABC News / CNN)

2/ Florida’s Republican legislature banned most abortions after six weeks, sending the bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The six-week ban includes exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies, and “fatal fetal abnormalities,” but effectively outlaws the procedure before many people know they’re pregnant. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, patients in the South have been traveling to Florida for abortions. Of the 82,000 people who had an abortion in Florida in 2022, nearly 7,000 of those traveled to the state. Of the 13 states that prohibit nearly all abortions, most are in the South, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. (Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times)

3/ The FBI arrested a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman in connection with the leak of highly classified U.S. intelligence documents, which included maps, intelligence updates, and the assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Federal agents took Jack Teixeira into custody, and the FBI conducted a search of his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, which appears to be his mother’s. Teixeira was the administrator of a chat group where the classified documents first appeared. The chat group of about 20 to 30 people reportedly shared a “love of guns, racist online memes, and video games.” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Teixeira was arrested “without incident” on allegations of “alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.” Teixeira will likely face charges under 18 U.S.C. 793 – better known as the Espionage Act. (