South Carolina rejects a near-total abortion ban

Another GOP-led state fails to ban abortion; North Korea will allow preemptive nuclear strikes.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Abortion remains legal in South Carolina

Jeffrey Collins/AP

• Thursday, the South Carolina Senate failed to pass a near-total abortion ban after two days of intense debate. [New York Times / Ava Sasani]
• Five Republican legislators, including all the chamber’s women, joined Democrats in opposition. It’s the latest sign that some Republicans are only willing to go so far in restricting abortion access.  [Associated Press / Jeffrey Collins]
• But the failure doesn’t mean access is safe in South Carolina. Legislators voted to amend the state’s six-week abortion ban to limit the length of time in which victims of rape or incest can receive abortions, to 12 weeks. [Vanity Fair / Abigail Tracy]
• Whether those changes go into effect depends on the outcome of a legal challenge to the state’s six-week ban. For now, the ban is suspended while the state's supreme court considers it. [Guardian / Richard Luscombe]
• The bill goes to the state House for approval, where it’s likely to pass based on that chamber's recent vote for a near-total ban. [Greenville News / Tim Carlin]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Rachel Cohen explains why a bipartisan bill to codify reproductive rights has angered abortion rights groups. [Vox / Rachel Cohen]

North Korea's nuclear ambitions

• North Korea has passed a law authorizing nuclear attacks against efforts to remove its leader, Kim Jong-un. [NYT / Choe Sang-Hun]
• The country’s parliament approved the measure, which outlines when and how its nuclear weapons can be used, as Kim vowed never to give up the weapons in negotiations. [Washington Post / Min Joo Kim]
• In recent months, North Korea has stepped up its threats against its adversaries as tensions grow between the US, Russia, and China. [CNN / Yoonjung Seo, Larry Register, and Heather Chen]
• The US believes North Korea could resume nuclear tests for the first time since 2017. The Biden administration has offered to hold talks. [Wall Street Journal / Dasl Yoon]

The Department of Justice on Thursday told a judge that appointing a special master to review documents seized from Mar-a-Lago undermines national security. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]

• Ukrainian troops are recapturing parts of the country’s east from Russian forces. [Reuters / Max Hunder and Tom Balmforth]
• Friday, King Charles III delivered his first address to the UK as monarch, on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. [BBC]
• A judge tossed out Donald Trump’s lawsuit accusing Hillary Clinton of working against him in the 2016 Russia investigation. [Axios / Erin Doherty]

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“If what is going on in my vagina isn’t an unreasonable invasion of privacy for this legislature to get involved in, I don’t know what is."

[Republican state Sen. Sandy Senn on South Carolina’s proposed abortion ban / AP]

The Queen is dead

Long live the king.

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