Comment on Lawsuits fighting mask mandates, business closures from COVID-19 from around the South

By JACQUES BILLEAUD (Associated Press) PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. Although no vote was taken on the repeal itself, Republican Sens.

By DORANY PINEDA (Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie “Erin Brockovich.” The rule is the first in the nation to specifically target the heavy metal, known as chromium-6, and is expected to reduce the number of cancer and kidney disease cases from long-term ingestion, state officials say. The proposal was unanimously passed by the State Water Resources Control Board, though it needs approval from the Office of Administrative Law to take effect. The standard could inspire other states to adopt their own.

By ED WHITE (Associated Press) The U. S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The deal has not been finalized and no money has been paid, the source said on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak before a formal announcement. An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations by women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016. The settlement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled a long-awaited package of bills that will provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U. S. weapons systems and give humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. The package totals $95.3 billion in spending, which matches the total that the Senate passed in mid-February.

By TRAVIS LOLLER (Associated Press) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Wednesday seemed ready to agree with an attorney for Nashville police that the writings of a school shooter could be released as public record once the investigation is officially closed. But the parents of children at the Covenant School added an extra twist to an already complicated case by asserting that they have gained legal ownership of the writings from the shooter’s parents and now hold the copyright. None of the eight attorneys arguing before Davidson County Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles during a two-day hearing claimed to be a copyright expert.

By SETH BORENSTEIN and BRITTANY PETERSON (Associated Press) With cloud seeding, it may rain, but it doesn’t really pour or flood — at least nothing like what drenched the United Arab Emirates and paralyzed Dubai, meteorologists said. Cloud seeding, although decades old, is still controversial in the weather community, mostly because it has been hard to prove that it does very much.