Indiana is the first state in the country to pass an abortion ban since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
The ban makes abortion illegal except in cases of rape, incest, and if death may occur.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill before it had even been on his desk for an hour.
Indiana is now the first state to have established an abortion ban since the overturning of Roe V. Wade, the landmark ruling that established abortion rights across the country in 1973, The Indianapolis Star reported.
Indiana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1 and sent it to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk late Friday night. He signed it into law not even an hour later.
The bill makes exceptions for abortions on the conditions of rape or incest before 10 weeks after fertilization and in cases where the pregnancy threatens the life of the pregnant individual. The bill adds an additional exception if “the fetus is diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly.”
Prior to the bill, abortions had been allowed in the state up until 20 weeks post-fertilization since the year 2010.
“Following the overturning of Roe, I stated clearly that I would be willing to support legislation that made progress in protecting life. In my view, SEA 1 accomplishes this goal following its passage in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly with a solid majority of support,” Holcomb said in a statement Friday night.
The ban goes into effect on September 15.
Holcomb and the Indiana legislature did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
These days, unless you can spring for First Class, there’s absolutely nothing tolerable about air travel. Cramped seating, constant delays, and nickel-and-dime add-on fees for everything from carry-on bags to unsatisfying snacks make flying the unfriendly skies more insufferable than ever before.
It’s no surprise, then, to see more and more air travelers retreating into their own personal entertainment to try and forget the conditions around them. If you’re looking to join them, here are four key features that you can’t overlook when shopping for the perfect headphones for air travel.
Noise Cancellation Kind of a no-brainer, but a good set of set of noise-canceling headphones can take a lot of the weariness out of long flights. What you want to look for here is a headphone that delivers good isolation (in other words, good padding on or over your ears, or a tight seal for in-ears) as well as active noise cancellation. CURVE BT 120 NC is a great option that provides RightFit+ ear wings for a comfortable fit all day long and elimination of up to 95 percent of ambient noise. That way you’ll still be able to hear those all-important announcements, but you won’t have to suffer through the constant fatiguing drone of the plane’s engines.
If you prefer over the ears, our 900 Legacy provides an incredible 43 hours of total playback time with industry leading active noise cancellation thanks to the digital hybrid technology that places microphones both inside and outside the ear cups to provide some of the best active noise cancellation technology available.
Comfort “Comfort” and “air travel” are typically two terms that go together like peanut butter and sauerkraut. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bring your own comfort to the equation. When shopping for a pair of headphones for your next flight, you’ll want to look for a comfy padded headband that will cradle your cranium without exerting too much pressure, like the one found in the BT 390 on-ear foldable headphones.
Or maybe ditch the headband altogether and go with something like Phiaton’s BT 120 NC. This innovative neckband headphone features a barely-there collar that houses its earphones, so your personal listening entertainment is there when you need it and not when you don’t, so you won’t need to worry about digging for your carry-on when it’s time to return seatbacks and tray tables to their full upright and locked position. And the memory flex neckband is so lightweight, you’ll forget you’re wearing it.
A Way to Keep Listening When Batteries Die and There’s No Way to Recharge Them While noise-cancellation is a must-have feature for air travel, it also eats up battery life. As does Bluetooth wireless connectivity. So, what happens when you’re fourteen hours into a sixteen-hour flight and the music stops?
With Phiaton’s wireless NC headphones, that’s not a concern. Thanks to Everplay-X, you can plug in a cable and keep on rocking (or listening to podcasts, or watching movies, or whatever keeps you entertained until you’re free from your aluminum prison).
A Way to Stay Connected with the Ones You Love (Or Just Kinda Like) Of course, one of the downsides of all the escapism we’ve discussed so far is that you can end up feeling a little disconnected from the people you’re traveling with. That doesn’t have to be the case, though.
Remember the days of headphone splitters? Some Phiaton wireless headphones boast a feature called “ShareMe” that updates that old concept for the modern wireless age. With the 900 Legacy, for example, you have the benefits of excellent comfort, Everplay-X, and you can also pair it with another 900 Legacy wirelessly, so you and your travel companion can watch the same movie at the same time, or listen to the same album or playlist in perfect harmony.
Tennessee is holding both its Republican and Democratic primary elections on Thursday. Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time and 8 p.m. ET.
Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles emerged victorious in the state’s 5th Congressional District amongst a crowded GOP primary. Physician Jason Martin won Indiana’s Democratic gubernatorial primary on Thursday night, as well.
Governor
Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee ran for reelection unopposed in the Volunteer State’s GOP primary. Before becoming governor in 2019, he worked for his family’s construction company, Lee Company, where he served as chairman for a short period.
In December, Lee will face off against the winner of Thursday’s Democratic primary, where three candidates sought to unseat him: advocate Carnita Atwater, physician Jason Martin, and Memphis Councilman JB Smiley Jr.
House of Representatives
In early 2022, Lee approved and signed a new congressional map into law following the passage of the map in both chambers of the Tennessee legislature. The new map split up the city of Nashville into three different districts, leading incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of the state’s 5th Congressional District not to seek reelection.
“Despite my strength at the polls, I could not stop the General Assembly from dismembering Nashville,” Cooper said in a statement according to the Washington Post. “No one tried harder to keep our city whole. I explored every possible way, including lawsuits, to stop the gerrymandering and to win one of the three new congressional districts that now divide Nashville. There’s no way, at least for me in this election cycle, but there may be a path for other worthy candidates.”
Fighting for the Democrats in Cooper’s place in the 5th District is Tennessee State Sen. Heidi Campbell, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She’ll face off against the winner of the crowded GOP primary, which had nine candidates vying for the seat. The three leading candidates were former state House Speaker Beth Harwell, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, and retired Tennessee National Guard Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead
Additionally, five out of the state’s nine congressional members didn’t have any primary opponents: Reps. John Rose, Mark Green, Scott DesJarlais, Diana Harshbarger, and Tim Burchett.
State races
Each of Tennessee’s 99 state House seats is up for reelection this year, and 17 of the state’s 33 Senate seats are up for grabs as well.
Getting to and from work is enough of a grind even if you don’t live in a major metropolitan area. For those of you who do live in a decent-sized city, though, it can be an outright nightmare, whether you hop one train to get from your place to the office, or you have to switch tracks three times, take two buses, and hoof it by foot that last quarter-mile.
No matter how you get to work, though, good neckband headphones can make your commute that much more bearable. This innovative design provides instant accessibility with minimal inconvenience and discomfort, and a great balance between portability and features, making it ideal for business commuters on the go.
So, if you’re trying to get a little relief from your daily slog to and from the office, here are four big features to keep an eye out for when shopping for your next new headphones.
Noise Cancellation This was our top feature to keep an eye out for when buying headphones for air travel, and it’s at the top of the list here for the same reason. The drone of bus engines, the click-clack and roar of a subway car, or just the general noise of commuter traffic can all wear you down, even over the course of a short commute. With a good neckband headphone like the CURVE BT 120 NC or BT 100 NC, you’ll not only get good isolation from outside sounds thanks to the four sets of included silicon ear tips—which come in a variety of sizes so you can find the best fit—but you’ll also get great active noise cancellation that samples the din around you and nips the most offensive noises in the bud.
Good Battery Life (Without Extra Bulk) Of course, things like noise cancellation (not to mention wireless connectivity) do use a good bit of energy. And while you likely won’t need to get a full day’s use out of your headphones if you’re just using them for your daily commute, you likely need a bit more juice than your average wireless earphones provide.
The good news is, both the Phiaton BT 120 NCand BT 100 NC have extra space in their collars for battery space (and crucial electronics), so you’ll get between 6 and 12 hours of continuous use, depending on whether you need noise cancellation or other features. And if that doesn’t get you there and back again, you might want to check out the CURVE BT 120 NC with fast charge technology, or look around for a new job instead of a new set of headphones.
A Comfortable Collar The collar that houses the electronics of a neckband headphone is one of the things that makes it so great for commuters. Then again, you’re going to be spending a good chunk of your day with the thing around your neck, so you want to make sure that it’s not a burden. The good news is, the BT 120 NC and BT 100 NC are both featherweight—the former weighing just 0.14 lbs. and the latter tipping the scales at a barely there 0.076 lbs. (that’s less than one tenth of a pound for those of you who aren’t commuting to and from accounting jobs). The BT 150 NC’s collar is also made from a rubberized memory flex material for enhanced comfort when you’re on the go.
What’s more, the sweat and water resistant CURVE BT 120 NC’s Memory flex neckband provides lightweight suspension behind the neck, features 12mm dynamic drivers and boasts active noise cancellation, cancelling low frequency noise by up to 95%.
Added Conveniences When you’re at the mercy of public transportation, it’s always a good bet to expect the unexpected. That’s true of your personal audio solution, as well. That’s why Phiaton’s neckband headphones boast a handful of features designed to make your commute better when things don’t go exactly as expected.
Unexpectedly getting dragged into a conference call in the middle of your journey, for example. That’s not the nightmare you may expect, thanks to the CVC (Clear Voice Capture) technology built into Phiaton’s BT 220 NC and BT 100 NC. CVC works by applying a combination of background noise suppression and noise cancellation to ensure that everyone on the other end of the line can always hear your voice clearly, and you can hear theirs.
Worse than an unexpected conference call, though, is an unexpected dead battery. That’s where Phiaton’s Everplay-X technology comes in. If you do find yourself forgetting to charge your neckband headphones overnight, just pull out the included audio cable, connect it between your portable audio device and the headphones themselves, and you can keep on listening to your heart’s content.
Eastman is known for having penned a detailed six-page memo suggesting how then-Vice President Mike Pence should move to overturn the vote in favor of former President Donald Trump.
The Times obtained an email dated January 20, 2021, that Eastman sent to Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer at the time. The email — which the outlet authenticated with individuals involved with the Trump campaign — was sent several hours after Biden was inaugurated.
According to The Times, Eastman pitched to Giuliani the idea that their team could uncover voter fraud in Georgia by attempting to scrutinize the results of the state’s runoff elections, in which Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock clinched two Senate seats.
“A lot of us have now staked our reputations on the claims of election fraud, and this would be a way to gather proof,” wrote Eastman in the email, per The Times.
“If we get proof of fraud on Jan. 5, it will likely also demonstrate the fraud on Nov. 3, thereby vindicating President Trump’s claims and serving as a strong bulwark against Senate impeachment trial,” Eastman continued, per the outlet.
Also included in Eastman’s email was an appeal to Giuliani to help him to secure payment for the $270,000 in legal fees he had billed the Trump campaign for on January 19, The Times reported. This bill included $10,000 daily legal fees for working eight days in January 2021.
According to The Times, Eastman might not have received his payment.
Eastman and Giuliani did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment. Insider has not independently acquired or verified the authenticity of the email obtained by The Times.
In July, federal investigators obtained a search warrant for Eastman’s phone — a sign that the Justice Department might be moving in on those closest to Trump.
Whether you’re flying the unfriendly skies, commuting to work, or just trying to listen to your tunes or podcasts with a noisy HVAC system roaring in your ear, a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones can save your ears and help preserve your sanity.
Unfortunately, though, you may be under the impression that all noise-cancelling headphones are prohibitively expensive. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. While it’s true that noise-cancellation circuitry does add to the price of a headphone or earphone (it is pretty sophisticated technology, after all), you can still find plenty of NC offerings, in all shapes and sizes, for less than the price of a pound of Wagyu beef.
If coast-to-coast flights are a regular part of your schedule, you might look into something like Phiaton’s $79.99 CURVE BT 120 NC, for example. This model features RightFit+ ear wings for a comfortable fit all day long and elimination of up to 95 percent of ambient noise.
It’s also a great option if you’re looking for something compact, as it consists of little more than the earbuds you stick in your ear and a cable that loops around your neck, with the electronics for wireless connectivity and noise-cancellation housed in the earbud cases themselves. As such, you get a five-hour battery life with NC on, 8.5 hours with it off—for shorter trips or your daily commute, that’s probably more than most people need.
For those of you who need to block out some noise while exercising or riding the bus or subway to work, you might find that a good neckband headphone is more your speed. The BT 100 NC ($79.99) gets a boost in battery life thanks to their comfy collars, which rest around your neck and keep your earphones constantly at the ready, so you don’t need to fiddle around in your pocket or bag when you need to block out the outside world. Both also offer great active noise-cancellation, with up to 7.5 hours of blissful, noise-free listening time.
The one common denominator with all the above noise-cancelling headphones is that they also offer wireless Bluetooth connectivity. However, if your portable media player doesn’t support Bluetooth, though, or your headphones run out of battery, there’s Everplay-X. Simply put, it’s a handy technological trick that transforms your favorite wireless Phiaton headphones into their wired equivalents. How does it work? Well, take the 900 Legacy or the BT 100 NC, for example. If you find yourself running out of juice and you’re just not ready to stop rocking yet, all you have to do is pop open the USB port cover on the headphone and plug in the included Everplay-X cable into the jack. Attach the other end to your phone, tablet, or other portable device, and you’re ready to keep on rocking.
Kansas voters turned out in huge numbers to defeat an anti-abortion amendment.
Kansas rejected the amendment by a margin of over 20 points, a blowout loss.
The exceptionally high turnout is a major loss for anti-abortion groups and a warning sign for the GOP.
Kansas voters turned out in droves to summarily reject the first anti-abortion ballot measure in the post-Roe v. Wade era — and dealt a major warning sign to Republicans hoping the drastic curtailing of abortion rights nationwide won’t dent their prospects in the 2022 midterms.
Amendment 2 was pushed by anti-abortion activists and would have established no right to abortion and no right for government funding for abortion under the Kansas constitution.
With over 830,000 votes counted and 99% of the vote reporting as of 12:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, “no” was trouncing “yes” by 60% to 40%, a gaping 20-point margin.
The number of total votes cast on the amendment makes up nearly three-quarters of the votes cast in the general election in 2018, a midterm that saw a Democratic “blue wave,” according to the US Elections Project. That number also comes close to matching the roughly 887,00 votes cast in the general election in 2014 and the 858,000 cast in 2010 — both midterm years where the political climate also largely favored Republicans.
With over 800,000 voters turning out to vote for the amendment — compared to 470,000 who voted in the 2018 Kansas gubernatorial primaries — the referendum demonstrated a potent motivator for abortion rights supporters. With the 2022 election ahead, abortion access being directly on the ballot could pose a serious problem for the GOP that they hadn’t had to face in a world without Roe v. Wade’s protections.
A “yes” vote on the measure would have eliminated the right to abortion under the state constitution, while the “no” vote left the constitutional protections to abortion in Kansas unchanged, preserving the status quo.
Lower turnout levels typically associated with primaries, especially in midterm elections, and a political environment favoring the Republican Party were initially anticipated to favor proponents of the amendment.
But before polls even closed, Kansas’ chief election official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, predicted that turnout in the August primary was on track to surpass the offices’ projected 36% of the electorate and could go as high as 50%, a notably high rate for a midterm-year primary.
In this photo from Friday, July 8, 2022, a sign in a yard in Olathe, Kansas, promotes a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to allow legislators to further restrict or ban abortion
John Hanna/AP
Americans’ views on abortion can, in many cases, be murky and hard to parse, but most opposed overturning Roe v. Wade, and as the result of the Kansas amendment shows, strict abortion bans or “trigger laws” are often overwhelmingly unpopular among voters of both major political parties.
And, when given the chance to shape abortion policy directly, Kansas voters displayed no appetite for enabling strict abortion bans after nearly six weeks of being faced with the real-world consequences playing out across the country.
The voters’ decision upholds a 2019 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court establishing a right to abortion under the Kansas Bill of Rights, preserving a potential legal guardrail against the kind of abortion restrictions that could be passed into law if a Republican wins the governor’s race in November.
It also — for now — maintains Kansas’ status as a crucial access point for abortion care in the Midwest and Southwest.
But it offers a warning sign ahead for the fate of future anti-abortion ballot measures, two of which are up in November in Kentucky and Montana,Republicans’ hopes for muted Democratic enthusiasm and turnout for November, and — possibly — the state-level elected officials who champion harsh abortion bans and restrictions.
In a recent post, we discussed the features you should look for when shopping for the perfect headphones for air travel. That post assumed that you want to enjoy a wide spectrum of audio entertainment at 30,000 feet, but what if your needs are a little more specific? What if you mostly consume audiobooks and/or podcasts when flying? Your needs are probably a bit different.
For one thing, you likely don’t much care to dedicate even a modest amount of your carry-on space to larger over-ear or on-ear headphones. So, in this post, we’ll be focusing purely on smaller, more portable earphones that can easily be stashed in your pocket or simply left dangling around your neck when you’re done listening or sprinting to make your next connection.
In terms of key features to keep an eye out for, you’ll find that some remain the same, while others are considerably different. So, with no further ado, let’s jump right into those key features you need to keep in mind when shopping for a good set of earphones to keep the dulcet tones of Jim Dale or Roman Mars flowing to your ears on your next flight.
Noise cancellation is still a top priority When most people think “noise cancellation,” they likely think of larger over- or on-ear headphones. But many earphones these days also feature sophisticated technology designed to sample the noise around you and block out most of the droning engine noise before it reaches your ears. You might not be inclined to think that’s not as important when listening to podcasts or audiobooks, but it is. That’s because most spoken-word entertainment doesn’t feature much in the way of dynamic range—in other words, there’s little variation in overall loudness. So, without noise cancelation, you might find yourself turning the volume way up on Me Talk Pretty One Day or Hardcore History just to hear it over the roar. That’s a recipe for hearing loss.
The good news is, active noise cancellation doesn’t make for a prohibitively expensive earphone the way it once did. You can find it on models as affordable as Phiaton’s wireless BT 330 NCwith noise cancellation, Everplay-X, foldable design and convenient controls or the BT 120 NC, which also features Bluetooth wireless connectivity and handy in-line controls. Speaking of which…
Look for easily accessible controls It’s one thing to miss a few beats of your favorite song due to an in-flight announcement or the arrival of the drink cart. When you’re listening to a good audiobook or podcast, though, you don’t want to miss a moment of it. That’s why good audio playback controls are almost more crucial in this case than in general. You need that pause/play button to be instantly accessible.
That’s part of the appeal of an earphone like the BT 100 NC, which features full in-line musical controls that allow you to take charge of your songs and calls without having to find your device.
Neckband headphones help stave off pocket-patting panic If you fly with any regularity at all, you’ve no doubt experienced the following at some point: you’re deboarding the plane, anxious to make your connecting flight, when out of nowhere a sudden self-doubt strikes you in the pit of the stomach. Did you remember to bring your earphones with you? You didn’t put them in your carry-on, did you? Did you leave them in the pocket of the seat in front of you? Did you put them in your own pocket?
With a good neckband earphone like the BT 120 NC, you can leave that worry at home. With its comfy collar neckband and flexible cables, the BT 120 NC makes packing it away super easy. And they’re right there waiting for you around your neck when you’re ready to commence listening again. Plus, they feature all the niceties (and necessities) mentioned above, including world-class active noise cancellation and a slick combination of MultiPoint Connect and IPX4 water resistance for working out
Former FBI official Frank Figluizzi likened Matt Gaetz, Roger Stone, and Trump to the Sicilian mob.
Figliuzzi said Gaetz and Stone’s hot mic conversation made him think of “wiretaps of mobsters.”
“It’s a criminal organization,” he said of Trumpworld.
A former FBI official on Monday likened Trumpworld figures Rep. Matt Gaetz and Roger Stone, as well as former President Donald Trump, to the Sicilian mafia.
In the tape from 2019, Gaetz was heard reassuring Stone that “the boss” — presumably a reference to Trump — would still offer the latter a pardon.
Figliuzzi also noted how Stone, a long-time Trump associate, had said he was looking to Gaetz and “dozens of others” to help him escape his legal troubles.
“It’s a much larger conspiracy than I think even those of us who followed it every day could have imagined,” he added.
Figliuzzi also said that the conversations between Gaetz and Stone echoed the “we’re all in this together” mentality that Trumpworld seems to function on.
“You know, the Cosa Nostra, the Italian mafia, translates as, ‘this thing of ours,’” he said. “That’s all I keep hearing here: ‘We’re all in this together.’”
Figliuzzi added that the wiretaps of mobsters’ conversations that he’d heard in the past sounded “just like” Gaetz and Stone’s discussions.
“And they’re part of a criminal enterprise,” he said. “It’s a criminal organization. They know it. They know they’re screwed with regard to legality, and they know the only way out is for the boss to get them out of it.”
Gaetz and Stone were talking about Stone’s trial in 2019, which followed the latter’s indictment on one count of obstruction, five counts of making false statements to the FBI and congressional investigators, and one count of witness tampering in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
In the hot mic recording, Stone was also heard telling Gaetz that he might have to “appeal to the big man” because the majority of jurors surveyed for his trial despised him.
One of the most exciting trends in the personal audio marketplace in recent years is the emergence of what are known as “true wireless” earbuds. As the name implies, true wireless models offer complete freedom from cables or other tethers. There isn’t even a cord of collar connecting each of the earpieces. As such, many people find them to be a more comfortable, more convenient, less constrictive listening experience, whether at the office or on the go.
Given the complete lack of cords or collars or any other encumbrances, true wireless earbuds deliver a completely self-contained listening and communication experience. Everything from batteries to wireless transmitters to microphones is contained within the two little cases that slip right into your ears, and charging is handled via the same carrying case used to store your true wireless ‘buds when they’re not in use.
Unsurprisingly, due to the explosion in popularity of this new design, you have quite a few models to choose from when shopping for true wireless earbuds, with prices ranging from as little as $50 to upwards of $1,000 or more. Understandably, it can be difficult to determine what makes one true wireless offering a better value proposition than the rest, especially across such a broad price range. So, in this post, we thought it would be helpful to compare Phiaton’s new BOLT BT 700 True Wireless Earphones ($139.99) with some of their most popular competitors, the Jabra Elite Active 65t ($189.99) and see how they stack up in terms of features, functionality, convenience, and control.
First thing’s first, let’s dip into what both the Phiaton BOLT BT 700 and Jabra Elite Active 65t have in common.
Both feature Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity for longer range, lower energy consumption, and double the data transfer rate compared with Bluetooth 4.2.
Both feature a handy charging carrying case.
Both deliver up to five hours of playback time between charges, and take only two hours to reach a full charge.
Both offer easy access to digital voice assistants: Siri or Google Assistant for the BOLT BT 700; Amazon Alexa, Siri, and Google Now for the Jabra Elite Active 65t.
Both allow you to hear the world around you without removing your earbuds thanks to “HearThrough” in the case of the Jabra and “Audio Transparency Function” on the Phiaton, both of which work with music playing or in standby mode.
Both offer extensive playback and call controls, including volume up/down, play/pause, answer/end call, reject call, next track/previous track, and more.
Both are backed by a one-year warranty (although Jabra does extend dust and water resistance coverage to two years with in-app registration).
There are some noteworthy differences between the two offerings, though. The Phiaton BOLT BT 700 benefits from a few features that the Jabra Elite Active 65t lacks, including:
Its portable charging case serves double duty as a portable Bluetooth speaker.
Its case can recharge the earbuds more times, extending overall battery life to 20 hours, as compared with 15 hours on the Jabra.
It features balanced armature drivers instead of dynamic drivers, which are smaller and generate louder sounds using less electricity than dynamic drivers. If you remember from our previous post, less power used means longer playtime between battery charges.
It comes with four different sizes of silicon ear tips (XS, S, M, L) instead of three, which may be handy if you have trouble finding eart tips that fit.
It features multifunction touch pad controls on both earbuds, instead of the asymetrical mix of buttons found on the Jabra.
It’s a much better value at $139.99 retail (versus $189.99 retail).
Of course, it’s to be expected that different true wireless earbuds from different manufacturers would differ in terms of their feature sets. It really comes down to what features matter most to you as a consumer, and how much you want to spend to be freed from the tether of wires and headbands and neck collars altogether.
