Trump knocks Arizona’s abortion ruling; more names redacted in Trump case

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Donald Trump said that Arizona’s Supreme Court went too far in authorising the state to enforce a law from 1864 that criminalises most abortions. He said he was confident the decision would be “straightened out” and “brought back into reason”. Arizona currently allows abortions up to the 15th week of pregnancy and will still do so until a lower court hears more challenges to the old law, which predates Arizona’s statehood. The ruling could also bolster an effort to enshrine abortion protections in the state’s constitution. Advocates say they have enough signatures—over 500,000—to add a referendum on the issue to November’s ballot.

The federal judge overseeing the classified-documents case against Donald Trump ordered the names of some two dozen witnesses to be redacted. Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating Mr Trump, had requested the redactions, citing witness-safety concerns, which have dogged other Trump cases. Judge Cannon, who previously ruled against Mr Smith on the issue, chided him for not making better arguments earlier.

The State Department approved an emergency sale of air-defence equipment worth $138m to Ukraine—a bid to support the country while a far bigger assistance package is stalled in Congress. The Senate passed a military-aid bill for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine worth $95bn in February, but Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, has refused to allow a vote on it, fearing his own party would scupper it.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, unveiled a bill to combat “judge shopping”—the practice of strategically filing litigation before specific judges. Mr Schumer’s plan calls for randomising case assignments when their outcomes would have nationwide or statewide implications, such as the ruling in 2023 that curbed federal access to an abortion drug.

The Department of Justice asked Congress for more money and time—in the form of an extension to the statute of limitations—to prosecute covid-19 fraudsters. As much as $200bn of funds intended for pandemic relief may have been stolen. The DoJ reported that it has criminally charged more than 3,500 people and recovered $1.4bn.

🌍 A view from elsewhere

Mr Johnson offers continued assurances of support to hide his fickleness on Ukraine, wrote Fabian Fellmann, a political correspondent, in Der Bund, a Swiss newspaper, on April 8th. But the party’s position on Ukraine is now ultimately decided by Mr Trump, and he remains unclear on the issue, argued Mr Fellmann. Looking to the House speaker for clarity “is a vain effort.”

Today’s polls

The race between the two candidates remains stubbornly stable. Judging from our poll tracker, which is updated daily and shows an average of the latest polls, the race between Mr Biden and Mr Trump is shaping up to be a dead heat.

Figure of the day

$515bn, the amount that American firms have directly invested in the countries in the bigger BRICS bloc (minus China) over the past 20 years. Chinese ones, by comparison, have spent just $215. Read our story on whether America or China is the big boss of the global south.

Daily quiz

Wednesday: After the vice-president and speaker of the House, who is next in line to the presidency? And who currently holds this position?
Tuesday: When was the last time that an incumbent president faced one of his predecessors in an election?

See how to participate in the quiz at the bottom of this page. If you’re enjoying this week’s questions, play Dateline, The Economist’s new history game.

Read all of our recent coverage of the 2024 election. Confused about a term? Check out our A-Z of American politics.

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