- Jen Psaki scorns Texas governor’s defense of abortion ban
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Abbott’s remarks ‘disgusting’
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9.29pm BST
Kamala Harris criticized Greg Abbott’s defense of the Texas abortion ban as the vice-president campaigned for governor Gavin Newsom in California this afternoon.
Harris said she saw Abbott’s comments about the abortion ban while watching the morning news today, likely referring to the Republican governor’s pledge to “eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas”.
VP Harris responds to Abbott: pic.twitter.com/9juO1dlGNo
9.08pm BST
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has lost another legal battle in his campaign to prevent schools from implementing mask mandates.
The AP reports:
A Florida judge ruled on Wednesday that the state cannot enforce a ban on public schools mandating the use of masks to guard against the coronavirus, while an appeals court sorts out whether the ban is ultimately legal.
The Leon county circuit judge, John C Cooper, lifted an automatic stay of his decision last week that the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and education officials exceeded their authority by imposing the blanket ban through executive order and hitting pro-mask local school boards with financial penalties.
Related: Blow to DeSantis as judge rules Florida cannot enforce mask mandate ban
