WASHINGTON — The debate over abortion rights and the Supreme Court is moving to the center of the 2020 presidential campaign after Alabama’s vote to advance new constraints on terminating pregnancies, a development that could energize the bases of both political parties.

Alabama’s legislation — the toughest of several anti-abortion measures that have passed recently at the state level — prompted an outcry from Democratic presidential candidates, who warned that conservatives were laying the groundwork to undermine the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The White House, meanwhile, didn’t comment on the bill as President Donald Trump balances his conservative base against the potential of antagonizing women who are already skeptical of his presidency.

The debate quickly took over on the Democratic campaign trail. Rallying supporters in New Hampshire, Kamala Harris said she would back a legal challenge to Alabama and Georgia laws that would dramatically restrict abortions. She also vowed to make a commitment to upholding the Roe decision a “significant factor” in any Supreme Court nominees she might choose as president, though she declined to go as far as presidential rival Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has promised to only nominate judges ready to preserve the 1973 ruling that established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.

 

Alaska floatplanes collided at 3,300 feet before crashing

ANCHORAGE — Two sightseeing planes carrying cruise ship passengers in Alaska collided at about the 3,300-foot (1,006-meter) level before they crashed, the National Transportation Safety Board announced after a team arrived from Washington, D.C., to investigate the crash.

The two planes collided in midair Monday, and the Coast Guard raised the death toll to six people on Tuesday after finding the bodies of two people who had been missing. Five of the dead were passengers and the sixth was the pilot of one of the planes.

Federal investigators said the larger plane, a de Havilland Otter DHC-3 with 10 passengers and its pilot, had descended from 3,800 feet (1158 meters) feet and collided with a smaller de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, carrying four passengers from the same cruise ship, the Royal Princess, and the pilot.

The federal investigation into the cause of the crash could take months, but a preliminary report is expected to be released within two weeks, said Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the NTSB.

Coast Guard Lt. Brian Dykens said Tuesday evening that his agency and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad found the two bodies of those who were missing near the crash site of the smaller plane involved in the collision, a single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.

 

Pelosi warns Trump against war in Mideast; Dems demand info

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that the U.S. must avoid war with Iran, and she declared the White House has “no business” moving toward a Middle East confrontation without approval from Congress.

Pelosi’s remarks to House Democrats came amid growing concerns in Congress over President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran and mounting tensions in the Persian Gulf region over the administration’s claims of unspecified threats linked to Iran. Top leaders in Congress are expected to receive a classified briefing from the administration on Thursday, but Pelosi said the administration has resisted a wider briefing for all lawmakers and congressional requests for more information.

“We have to avoid any war with Iran,” Pelosi told her colleagues, according to a person in the room, who was granted anonymity to discuss the private caucus meeting.

Pelosi warned that the administration cannot rely on the last use of force authorization approved by Congress nearly 20 years ago for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since last week, House leaders have been asking for a classified briefing for lawmakers on the situation with Iran, but Pelosi said the administration indicated it couldn’t come together “that fast.”

 

Students in Colorado shooting face murder, other charges

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Two students suspected of shooting nine classmates, one fatally, in their Colorado charter school appeared in court Wednesday to face dozens of criminal charges that included murder and attempted murder.

The parents of the teen who was killed in the attack looked on before attending to their son’s memorial service. Senior Kendrick Castillo was just days from graduating when he was slain while trying to stop one of the gunmen during the May 7 attack at the STEM School Highlands Ranch, not far from the scene of the 1999 Columbine massacre.

Investigators say the accused assailants, 18-year-old Devon Erickson and 16-year-old Alec McKinney, opened fire with handguns. They were arrested at the school.

While court documents are sealed, the charges against the teenagers listed in electronic court records also included theft and arson. Prosecutors said both will be tried as adults. McKinney’s attorney, Ara Ohanian, said she would seek to move McKinney’s case back to juvenile court.

Judge Theresa Slade denied the prosecution’s request to make some of the documents public but said she would address the issue at the next hearing on June 7.