A law that effectively banned abortions in Texas after the sixth week of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest took effect last Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block it. We spoke to Leah Litman, an assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan and cohost of the podcast “Strict Scrutiny,” to get a better understanding of how the law was designed.

Also in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott signed a voting restriction bill, yesterday, that bans 24-hour voting and drive-through voting, institutes onerous vote-by-mail ID mandates, and more.

And in headlines: the Taliban announced the formation of its interim government in Afghanistan, President Biden visited New Jersey and New York to survey the damage caused by Ida, federal unemployment benefits expired, former Trump advisor Jason Miller was briefly detained in Brazil, and Jamie Spears filed a petition to end Britney Spears’ conservatorship after 13 years.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday