Today is
Thursday June 04, 2026
HOLLYWOOD (AP) – Talking animal movies do not, on the whole, have the best reputation. Yes, there is “Babe,” but “Babe” is the exception. Most are pretty bad, whether it’s the uncanny effects, the shoddy storytelling or some horrifying combination of the two.
Audiences have earned the right to be skeptical when something like “The Sheep Detectives” comes along — everyone involved was too. And yet this family-friendly “Knives Out” with a murder mystery at the center, a starry ensemble including Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and Nicholas Braun, as well as the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Regina Hall and Patrick Stewart as yes, talking sheep, has caught more than a few off guard for its quirky humor, its sincerity and its unexpected depth.
Chris O’Dowd, who voices Mopple, “the most patient sheep,” noted: “You don’t get a lot of projects that are from the director of ‘Minions’ and the writer of ‘Chernobyl.’ It’s an unusual combination.”
In the film, in theaters Friday, Jackman plays George, a kind, but isolated shepherd in the English countryside who reads his animals murder mysteries at night. Unbeknownst to him, not only do they understand the words, they debate the stories among themselves. So when George dies under mysterious circumstances, the flock take what they’ve learned to try to help the dimwitted local police officer (Braun) solve the case, language barriers and all.
“What we know from watching this movie now with audiences over and over and over is that people are repeatedly delighted and surprised at how much more there is going on here than just silly sheep doing something silly,” screenwriter Craig Mazin said. “There are some really beautiful moments and themes and things that parents can talk about with their kids … and, most importantly, it is legitimately a movie that is meant for everyone.”
Aiming high with ‘The Sheep Detectives’
The story of how “The Sheep Detectives” got made goes back almost 20 years, when veteran producer Lindsay Doran (“Sense and Sensibility”) told Mazin about Leonie Swann’s novel “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story.” He was expecting something cute, goofy and silly, but found himself enchanted by how smart, moving and philosophical it was.
It would take nearly a decade to secure the rights, and almost another to get the thing made, and made well thanks to studio executive Courtenay Valenti who, Mazin said, rescued it from rotting on a pile of scripts. Along the way they would find themselves emboldened by the caliber of talent who wanted to be part of it as well.
“Everybody involved was all on the same page of aiming as high as we could and sticking to our guns when it came to quality,” Mazin said. “Phil Lord and Chris Miller came on as producers as well, and their entire career has been about taking things that other people might not make good and making them good.”
Molly Gordon, whose character becomes a primary suspect when she mysteriously shows up in town the night of the murder, had the same reservations as many.
“The script was sent to my agent, and he emailed me, like, ‘This is really profound’ and I was like ‘How could this be profound?’ Like, I just, like, the sheep movie?” Gordon said. “And then within 10 minutes of reading it, I was like, this is one of the best scripts I’ve ever read.”
The real audience test
Mazin’s own kids grew up while “The Sheep Detectives” was getting made. But he still invited his 21-year-old daughter to watch it with him and his wife a few months back. She’s proud of her dad for his career, but, he said, also wouldn’t hesitate to call something of his “mid.”
“When the film ended, they were both just sort of a sobbing, happy mess,” he said. “My daughter, who doesn’t cut me any slack at all, AT ALL … Was like, ‘That is such a good movie.’ I thought, ‘OK’ … if your kids are older, it still works.”
The movie is coming into a fairly healthy theatrical marketplace, where PG-rated movies are often outperforming PG-13 movies and where non-franchise movies with the right buzz have been finding their audience, including another Amazon MGM release, “Project Hail Mary.” Mazin, a veteran screenwriter who also co-hosts the popular “Scriptnotes” podcast, doesn’t often hype his own projects like this. Usually he thinks they should speak for themselves.
“Nobody needs the guy who wrote something to say, no, it’s really good. This is the first time in my career that I’m like, but actually, no guys. I love this,” he said. “Seeing this movie is a purely positive experience.”
And it needs a little bit of hype. “The Sheep Detectives” is currently tracking for a muted box office debut, in the $10 million to $15 million range. But it’s also a movie that has been underestimated at nearly every step.
“Low expectations are, you know, sometimes a gift,” Mazin laughed.
PALESTINE – The Palestine Police Department is looking for a 30-year-old man who was last heard from in February. According to our news partner KETK, a Facebook group dedicated to Zachary Overturf’s disappearance, his last known communication was with his mother on Feb. 26 via phone. His apartment, which he shared with a friend at Whispering Pines Apartments, had recently caught fire on Feb. 22 at 1:06 a.m., and only his wallet, credit card, cell phone and keys were found.
Overturf is about 6-foot-1-inch tall, weighs approximately 160 lbs., and is described as a White man with brown hair and blue eyes. He has several tattoos, including an incomplete circle on his right wrist, an eye on the right side of his neck, a wolf and native American girl on his shoulder and a ghost with scythe on his left leg.
Overturf is said to have frequented Timber Crest Apartments, which is near Whispering Pines Apartments. Facebook messages to Zach Overturf have not been able to be delivered since April 9.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palestine Police Department at 903-729-2254 or send an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 903-729-8477.
SULPHUR SPRINGS (KETK) — An ongoing narcotics investigation in Hopkins County has resulted in the arrest of several people, the seizure of a large amount of illegal substances and over $70,000, officials said on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK and the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, investigators executed a search warrant at an apartment complex on Sulphur Springs. Three people were arrested at the scene.
During the search, the following illegal substances and contraband were recovered:
*309 grams of cocaine
*1,677.5 grams of THC vape pens
*73 grams of psilocybin
*15 pounds of marijuana
*Two AR-platform rifles
*One pistol
*$73,294.02
“The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant and proactive in its mission to protect the citizens of Hopkins County and will continue to take decisive action against illegal activity,” the sheriff’s office said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington Monument this week was following the path of Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing Wednesday.
The suspect, Michael Marx, was shot multiple times during Monday’s confrontation and was in the back of an ambulance on his way to a hospital when he said, “‘F(asterisk)(asterisk)k the White House’ and “Kill me, kill me, kill me,’” a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.
The sworn statement does not specify whether investigators believe Marx had a particular target.
Marx was walking along the path of Vance’s motorcade when officers spotted him near the intersection of 15th Street and Independence Avenue. The officers were responding to a Secret Service agent’s report that Marx was seen near with White House complex with a firearm concealed on the right side of his body, the affidavit says.
Marx pulled a firearm from his waistband as he ran away from Secret Service officers and fired at one of them, but a bystander behind the officer was shot in the leg, the affidavit says. Officers returned fire and struck Marx in his abdomen, a hand and his left arm, according to the filing. It says Marx spit at officers as they provided him with aid after the shooting.
The teenage bystander was not seriously injured and has been released from a hospital, ABC News reported. ABC was first to report what the suspect allegedly said after the shooting.
Marx, who had a Texas driver’s license, was charged in a complaint with assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm during a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The shooting came just over a week after a California man tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner while armed with guns and knives. Cole Tomas Allen has been charged in that incident with attempting to assassinate the president and firing a gun at a Secret Service officer.
Around the time of Monday’s shooting, President Donald Trump was holding a small business event at the White House, which was briefly locked down as authorities investigated.
Online court records did not immediately list the name of a lawyer representing Marx.
Marx has used aliases, including Michael Patrick and Michael Zavici, according to the affidavit. It says Marx had a 2011 drug trafficking conviction in Florida that made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An election year redistricting movement has spread to South Carolina as Republicans attempt to redraw majority-Black congressional districts that have suddenly become susceptible because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upending protections for minority voters.
Urged on by President Donald Trump, South Carolina Republicans are attempting to redraw a district long held by a Black Democratic lawmaker in their quest for a clean sweep of the state’s seven congressional seats.
Lawmakers already are meeting in special sessions in Alabama and Tennessee in a bid to change their U.S. House districts. And Louisiana lawmakers are making plans for new congressional districts after the Supreme Court last week struck down the state’s current map.
The stakes are high for minority voters who stand to lose their preferred representatives and for any Republican lawmakers reluctant to follow Trump’s wishes. In Republican primary elections Tuesday, Trump-endorsed challengers defeated at least five of the seven Indiana state lawmakers targeted by Trump’s allies for refusing to support a congressional redistricting effort last year.
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling said Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The ruling significantly altered a decades-old understanding of the law, giving Republicans grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats.
The ruling revved up an already intense national redistricting battle ahead of a November midterm election that will determine control of the closely divided House.
Since Trump prodded Texas to redraw its U.S. House districts last year, a total of eight states have adopted new congressional districts. From that, Republicans think they could gain as many as 13 seats while Democrats think they could gain up to 10 seats. But some of the new districts could be competitive in November, meaning the parties may not get all they sought.
South Carolina to test its will for redistricting
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn has represented South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District since it was redrawn to favor minority voters in 1992. He’s running for an 18th term. But it could get harder for him to win reelection if Republicans redraw his district.
A committee on Wednesday easily passed a proposal that could allow South Carolina lawmakers to consider drawing new congressional districts, setting up a showdown on the state House floor later in the day.
The resolution would require a two-thirds vote to pass. Republicans have a supermajority, but some are concerned that an attempt to redraw the map to get rid of the state’s lone Democratic representative could backfire and create up to two districts where Democrats are competitive.
Democratic state Rep. Spencer Wetmore said the redistricting effort reveals cynical politics focused more on winning for a narrow group than on helping all people.
“Daddy Trump calls and needs to grasp at some power, and once again we jump,” she said.
The state’s primaries are June 9 and early voting starts in three weeks.
Tennessee plan targets Memphis district
Republicans on Wednesday released a proposed new U.S. House map that would split Memphis’ home of Shelby County among three districts, instead of the current two. The map would break up the state’s lone Democratic-held U.S. House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis, creating a ripple effect of alterations to districts throughout the western and central parts of the state.
“Tennessee is a conservative state and our congressional delegation should reflect that. This bill ensures it does,” said Republican state Sen. John Stevens, who is spearheading the legislation.
The plan was being presented Wednesday in legislative committees, with the expectation that both chambers could vote on it Thursday.
Democrats and civil rights activists have denounced the redistricting effort. When the state Senate began work Tuesday, shouts of “shame, shame, shame” could be heard inside the chamber from protesters gathered in the hallways.
On the chamber floor, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Black Democrat from Memphis, called the redistricting “an act of hate.”
The candidate qualifying period in Tennessee ended in March. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Alabama looks at setting a new primary
The state House on Wednesday could debate legislation that would allow Alabama to hold a special congressional primary, if the Supreme Court clears the way for the state to change its U.S. House districts.
In light of the court’s ruling on Louisiana’s districts, Alabama officials have asked courts to set aside a judicial order to use a U.S. House map that includes two districts with a substantial number of Black voters. Republicans instead want to use a map passed in 2023 by the Legislature that could help the GOP win at least one of those two seats currently held by Democrats.
Alabama’s primaries are scheduled for May 19. If the Supreme Court grants the state’s request after or too close to the primary, the legislation under consideration would ignore the results of that primary and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.
Democrats denounced the legislation as a Republican power grab that harkens back to the state’s shameful history of denying Black residents equal rights and representation.
Republicans are “working to secure an electoral victory by taking Alabama back to the Jim Crow era, and we won’t go back,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell told a crowd gathered outside the Alabama Statehouse.
Thousands had already voted in Louisiana
After last week’s Supreme Court decision, Republican Gov. Mike Landry postponed the state’s May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts. State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, a Republican, said a redistricting committee he leads plans to hold a public hearing Friday.
Louisiana voters had already sent in more than 41,000 absentee ballots by last Thursday, when Landry suspended the House primaries, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. That’s about a third of all the absentee ballots sent out to voters. Around 19,000 were from registered Democrats, 17,000 from registered Republicans and the remainder belonged to neither party.
Democrats and civil rights groups have filed several lawsuits challenging the suspension of Louisiana’s congressional primary.
SMITH COUNTY – Smith County Road 1139, also known as Indian Creek Road, will be closed Thursday, May 7, for a bridge replacement. CR 1139, west of Tyler and near Lindsey Park, from Spur 364 to CR 1140, is the roadway affected. The project is expected to take about three months.
TYLER – The City of Tyler will show appreciation for outstanding public servants during Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) from May 4 through May 8. All City of Tyler non-emergency offices and facilities will be closed Friday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for an interdepartmental event. Essential and emergency functions will continue.
Celebrated since 1985, PSRW is a nationwide public recognition campaign honoring the men and women who serve as federal, state, county, and local government employees.
UPSHUR COUNTY – Following a nearly three-year investigation of drug trafficking in Upshur County, seven people have been placed under arrest in connection with a drug ring that had been distributing large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
According to our news partner KETK and the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy assigned to the DEA Task Force opened an investigation in December 2023 on Cole Seabolt, who is known as an illegal drug supplier in the county.
During the course of the investigation, authorities became aware of a drug trafficking organization that had operated in Upshur and surrounding counties, distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
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NEW YORK (AP) – Lawyers for Spirit Airlines returned to a U.S. bankruptcy court in New York on Tuesday to seek approval for dismantling the once-busy budget carrier and turning its parts into cash for creditors.
The liquidation marks a dramatic turn for Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2025 hoping to escape financial ruin. The airline’s parent company was attempting to restructure the business for the second time since November 2024 when it abruptly stopped operating flights over the weekend.
Since the going-out-of-business announcement early Saturday, lawyers filed a series of court motions laying out a rapid wind-down plan centered on selling off every possible Spirit asset, from airplanes and engines to spare parts — and limiting additional payroll, leasing and other costs.
The shutdown itself was tightly choreographed. The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., said it made its announcement in the middle of the night to ensure the jetliners making their final runs for the airline were safely on the ground and their crews accounted for.
Spirit attorney Marshall Huebner said during a Tuesday court hearing that rising jet fuel costs since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran “engulfed Spirit entirely.”
The airline’s fuel expenses grew by oughly $100 million “in March and April alone,” and rapidly drained Spirit’s liquidity and derailed its restructuring efforts,” Huebner said.
He apologized directly to Spirit’s employees and customers, especially passengers who he said may now be completely “priced out” of certain routes without the ultra low-cost carrier.
Huebner described a swift effort by other airlines and other segments of the aviation industry to assist Spirit’s employees and customers once the airline’s end looked inevitable.
“The entire industry sprang into action to get our people home,” Huebner said. Spirit employed about 17,000 people and carried about 50,000 passengers on its final day of operations. The final flight, which traveled from Detroit to Dallas, landed after midnight Saturday.
With its planes grounded, Spirit said it planned to keep a skeleton crew of about 150 employees initially, eventually shrinking to roughly 40. The group, largely made up of veteran staff and executives, including some “senior management employees,” will be responsible for securing aircraft, coordinating logistics and overseeing the liquidation process.
The company also was seeking Judge Sean Lane’s approval to provide retention incentives to keep those workers in place through the liquidation.
In the last two weeks, Spirit was in discussions with the Trump administration about a hoped-for rescue deal that fell through, eliminating what the company described as its last viable path forward. Of the potential bailout, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday, “We oftentimes don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”
Duffy said other U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, were offering $200 one-way fares for a limited time to travelers holding Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase.
Airlines also stepped in to assist stranded Spirit crew members, he said, with some offering a preferential hiring process for former Spirit employees looking for work.
JACKSONVILLE – Recognized for her interactive lessons and creative classroom transformation, a Jacksonville teacher got to step into the magical world of Disney as a part of a nationwide educator celebration for National Teacher Appreciation Week. Sandra Rojas, who teaches at Jacksonville Middle School, was chosen alongside 14 other educators as part of the Disney Imagination Campus and the television show “Abbott Elementary’s” Teachers Celebrations.
“[Rojas] gives students choice in how they show understanding through writing, art, and collaboration, and meets with students one-on-one to set goals, review progress, and support growth in reading and communication skills,” Walt Disney World Resort said.
The teachers served as honorary grand marshals in a parade through Magic Kingdom Park in Florida ahead of beloved Disney character and colorful floats.
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CROCKETT (KETK) – A man was arrested in Crockett on Saturday evening after a stolen firearm and illegal drugs were found inside his vehicle during a traffic stop.
According to our news partner KETK and the Crockett Police Department, at around 10 p.m., an officer initiated a traffic stop of 25-year-old Jeremy Frizzell after police said he was seen recklessly driving his Dodge Charger on East Loop 304, across from Los Ranchos Mexican Restaurant.
During the traffic stop, Frizzell was taken into custody and charged with reckless driving. Following the arrest, a probable cause search of Frizzell’s car was conducted and officers said they discovered multiple firearms, one of which was confirmed to be stolen from a recent burglary in Houston County.
Officers also discovered what is suspected to be meth and marijuana inside the vehicle, along with drug paraphernalia.
Frizzell now faces the following charges after the search of his vehicle, including: Unlawful carrying of a weapon with a felony conviction, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft of a firearm.
Frizzell is currently being held in the Houston County Jail and the investigation remains ongoing.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of attempted murder and attempted arson.
Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, wearing an orange jail uniform, did not speak as his attorney entered the pleas during his arraignment in state court. The 20-year-old also faces federal charges.
Moreno-Gama, of Spring, Texas, hurled the flammable bomb at Altman’s home last month, setting an exterior gate alight before fleeing on foot, authorities allege. Less than an hour later, he went to OpenAI’s headquarters about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away and threatened to burn down the building, they say.
After an initial court appearance last month, his lawyer, Diamond Ward, said Moreno-Gama was experiencing a mental health crisis and had been excessively charged. Ward, a San Francisco deputy public defender, said it was a “property crime, at best” and that prosecutors were trying to curry favor with Altman.
On Tuesday, Ward requested a mental health evaluation for Moreno-Gama. The judge granted the request and scheduled another hearing for later this month.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said last month that Moreno-Gama carried out a “targeted attack on Mr. Altman” and that prosecutors had evidence to substantiate the charges.
Moreno-Gama’s parents said in a statement shortly after the attack that he has never harmed anyone and recently began having mental health issues.
Authorities said Moreno-Gama, who works part-time at a pizzeria and is attending community college, expressed hatred of artificial intelligence in his writings, describing it as a danger to humanity and warning of “impending extinction,” according to court filings.
Officials haven’t said whether Altman was home at the time of the attack.
The state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison.
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s campaign to politically punish Republicans who stand in his way moves through Indiana on Tuesday, when seven state senators face Trump-backed primary challengers.
In neighboring Ohio, primaries for U.S. Senate and governor will lock in the candidates for two major races with national implications.
And in Michigan, voters in a bellwether district will fill a vacancy in the state Senate, a race with implications for the balance of power in a battleground state.
An effort pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump last November to redraw Indiana’s congressional map failed. With the recent Supreme Court decision limiting the Voting Rights Act, some fear it could happen again. (AP video: Obed Lamy)
Here’s what to watch for.
How strong is Trump’s grip on the Republican Party?
Trump is taking aim at seven Republican state senators in Indiana who opposed his plan to redraw congressional district boundaries to help the party gain seats in the U.S. House.
Groups allied with the president have spent millions on advertising, an extraordinary flood of cash and attention into races that are typically low profile.
The races are a test of Trump’s enduring grip over his party as Republicans grow increasingly anxious about the midterm elections in November.
The results will signal to Republicans everywhere about how big a price they’ll pay with their voters if they distance themselves from Trump even as his popularity fades. And it will show the president whether he can still credibly threaten consequences for Republicans who cross him.
The Trump-targeted state senators all represent districts he carried in 2024, mostly by 20 percentage points or more.
The key races to watch are districts 1, 11, 19, 21, 23, 38 and 41.
Ohio races get started in earnest
The state’s primary is the wind up to the big show. Although Ohio has become increasingly conservative, Democrats believe their path back to a U.S. Senate majority runs through the state.
They’re putting their hopes behind former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost Ohio’s other Senate seat to Bernie Moreno in 2024.
He’s expected to face off with Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed last year to fill the vacancy created when JD Vance became vice president.
The race is a special election to fill the last two years of Vance’s term.
In the campaign for governor, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has parlayed his national name recognition, tech industry connections and alliance with Trump into a record fundraising haul. He’s largely ignoring Republican rival Casey Putsch, focusing his rallies and television ads on the general election.
An engineer and vehicle designer who calls himself “The Car Guy,” Putsch has attracted fans with provocative YouTube videos that troll Ramaswamy and criticize national Republicans over their handling of the Epstein files, positions on energy-guzzling data centers and support for Israel.
Amy Acton, Ohio’s former public health director, is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination. She played a key role in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Will Democrats sweep another special election?
The special election for a state Senate seat in central Michigan carries outsized importance.
It’s another test of enthusiasm in a series of special elections that have swung almost universally toward Democrats since Trump returned to the White House. It also could affect the balance of power in the Michigan State Capitol. A Democratic victory would give the party a firm majority in the state Senate, while a Republican win would deadlock the chamber in a 19-19 tie.
The district is closely matched. Democrat Kamala Harris beat Trump there by less than 1 point in the 2024 presidential election.
The seat has been vacant for more than a year, since Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned to take a seat in Congress.
Democrats are showing surprising strength in special elections and off-year contests across the country, winning races in unexpected places and significantly narrowing the gap, even when they fall short.
There’s no guarantee the trend will continue through the midterms, when turnout will be much higher, but it has nonetheless energized Democrats and spooked Republicans worried about keeping their congressional majorities.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a lower-court ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortions are provided across the nation.
The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor.
Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week.
The latest order will remain in effect for another week while both sides respond and the high court considers the issue more fully.
Most abortions use pills rather than procedures
The majority of abortions in the U.S. are obtained through medications. Some Democratic-led states have laws that seek to give legal protection to those who prescribe the drugs via telehealth to patients in states with bans.
Those prescriptions have blunted the impact of abortion bans that most Republican-led states have sought to enforce since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. One recent report suggested that in the 13 states where abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy, more women obtained abortions with pills prescribed by telehealth last year than by traveling to other states.
Louisiana sued to roll back the Food and Drug Administration’s rules on how mifepristone can be prescribed, asserting that the policy undermines the ban there. The case also questioned the safety of the drug.
That lawsuit is the furthest along of several efforts by abortion opponents to curtail access to mifepristone.
Restrictions would not end telehealth abortions
Mifepristone is usually taken with a second drug, misoprostol, for abortions. According to the FDA label on mifepristone, the combination completes medical abortion 97.4% of the time.
Misoprostol can also be used alone for terminating pregnancies, with some studies putting its effectiveness at around 80% or higher.
In countries where mifepristone is banned or unavailable, misoprostol is frequently used alone.
Unlike mifepristone, misoprostol has never been formally approved by the FDA for abortion. The drug is most commonly used to treat stomach ulcers, but it has been adapted by doctors for use in medication abortions. Because the FDA never cleared the drug for ending pregnancies, it has faced far less scrutiny from anti-abortion groups.
Several groups that prescribe abortion bills by telehealth made the switch over the weekend to misoprostol only, a regimen that can cause longer-lasting side effects.
Dr. Angel Foster, founder of The Massachusetts Abortion Access Project, said her organization was prepared to send misoprostol only on Monday afternoon but was able to switch back to the two-drug combination.
“Regardless of what happens with this regulatory issue, we and other groups will continue to provide high-quality abortion care to patients in all 50 states,” she said.
Rapid rulings have created confusion
Foster said her organization spent the weekend guiding different groups of patients: those who were sent mifepristone but had not received it yet; those who had been approved for the drugs but had not paid or been sent them; and those who reached out with initial requests.
For now, she said, they are asking patients to approve being sent pills with or without mifepristone — in case of another change.
Monday’s ruling offers more time to figure out a course of action in case mifepristone prescriptions are curtailed again.
“We have a little bit more time to navigate this new landscape with the stay,” said Julie Burkhart, the founder of Wellspring Health Access, a Wyoming abortion clinic that provides roughly 100 abortions a year through pills prescribed by telehealth.
Elizabeth Ling, associate director of legal services at If/When/How, which provides legal guidance for people considering abortion, said that wherever the legal battle goes next, there’s one thing women need to understand: “The outcome is not going to make it a crime for people to access care.”
None of the state laws currently include any punishment for women who obtain abortions.
The court fight continues
Anti-abortion groups vowed to continue the legal battle.
Monday’s ruling “is a temporary procedural step that leaves unresolved the very real concerns about the safety of these drugs and the decision under the Biden administration’s FDA to recklessly remove longstanding safeguards,” Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said in a statement.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who filed the lawsuit against the FDA along with a woman who says her boyfriend coerced her into taking abortion pills to end a pregnancy, criticized drug companies for their role in the case.
“Big abortion pharma claims they need an emergency stay because they will lose massive amounts of money if they can’t kill more babies quickly and efficiently by mail without medical oversight,” Murrill said in a statement. “The administrative stay is temporary, and I am confident life and the law will win in the end.”