Daily Briefing: Another twist in Texas immigration policy

A federal appeals court has again prevented Texas from arresting and deporting migrants accused of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the the law briefly took effect. Also in the news: A Trump-backed Senate candidate was victorious in Ohio and why a higher number of abortions in the U.S. may not necessarily mean increased access.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. I'm spring-cleaning my finances.

Here is the news to know on Wednesday.

Federal appeals court order restores hold on Texas immigration law

A federal appeals court Tuesday night again issued a hold on SB 4 — a Texas law that would authorize state and local police to arrest and even deport people suspected of being in the United States without legal authorization — in the next phase of an ongoing legal rollercoaster over a state-level immigration policy.

The background: SB 4 was supposed to take effect earlier this month, but its implementation was delayed after the U.S. Justice Department and civil rights groups sued the state over constitutional challenges.

• The 2-1 ruling by an appellate court panel came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for the controversial state law to take effect Tuesday, allowing Texas authorities to begin enforcing the measure.

• The latest in a state-federal border fight: The Justice Department had called the law "flatly inconsistent" with the court's past decisions, but Texas officials said the state is the nation’s “first-line defense against transnational violence."

• What immigration advocates are saying: Concerns against SB 4 point to the state's inability to properly adjudicate immigration issues, that Texas' comparison of migrant entries to an invasion is inaccurate, and that those with lawful, federal immigration statuses could be subject to arrest and deportation to Mexico no matter their country of origin.

Despite bans, the number of abortions in the US increased last year

Abortions, particularly medication abortions, have increased in the United States in recent years despite bans prohibiting the procedure in more than a dozen states, according to a report published this week by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization. More than a million abortions occurred in the formal U.S. healthcare system in 2023, the year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The figure was the highest number in more than a decade and a 10% increase since 2020, the report said. But experts said the increase does not mean it's gotten easier to access abortion care. Read more

• An Arizona lawmaker shared plans to get an abortion during an emotional speech in the state Senate.

• President Biden signed an executive order to increase women-centered health research.

More news to know now

• Brazil's ex-president was charged with faking a Covid-19 vaccination.

• Ukraine is open to some U.S. aid in the form of a loan.

• Fed officials will clarify their view on interest rates on Wednesday.

• Peter Navarro, adviser to former President Donald Trump, surrendered at federal prison.

• On today's The Excerpt podcast, how kids can easily access ammunition online. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Trump-backed Bernie Moreno wins pivotal GOP primary

All eyes were on Ohio on Tuesday as Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno notched a major victory in the State's Republican Senate primary, setting up a pivotal contest against Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in November. Ohio joined Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Kansas in holding presidential contests, and unsurprisingly, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won their respective primaries, having already clinched their party's nominations last week. Read USA TODAY's live coverage of this week's elections.

• Brown is now one of two Democrats defending his Senate seat in a state Trump won.

• Arizona could determine the majority in the House and Senate — and single-handedly tilt the presidential race.

• A battleground no more? Florida's growing GOP dominance dims a presidential fight in the state.

Israel allowed less than half of aid convoys into Gaza in March

Israel facilitated only 11 of the 24 humanitarian aid missions the United Nations planned this month, the agency says. Other aid conveys were either turned down or delayed, while others were looted by people desperate for help. And the need for consistent aid is more important than ever as 70% of the 300,000 Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza are in danger of "catastrophic hunger," U.N. officials said, and it would take at least 300 trucks daily to satisfy Gaza's basic food needs. U.N. officials also warned this week against Israel using hunger as a weapon of war. Read more

• These graphics show how humanitarian aid drops in Gaza work.

• A professor slept in his office to protest antisemitism. He's not the only one.

Keep scrolling

• Here are the 30 best deals of Amazon's Big Spring Sale.

• Are people wearing "divorce rings"?

• Kris Jenner is mourning her sister, Karen.

• Here's every revelation from the Stormy Daniels doc.

• Yet another photo by Princess Kate was flagged as digitally enhanced.

• After sailing around the world, Cole Brauer says she's more grounded than ever.

• Muslim students face tough challenges during Ramadan.

• These employees have chosen the best places to work in 2024.

• These new museums are changing the way Black history is told across America.

It's time for the women to ramp up March Madness

One day after the men's First Four began, March Madness for the women gets started with two games on Wednesday, with Sacred Heart versus Presbyterian and Vanderbilt against Columbia. The expanded field is fairly new to the women's game, which started the First Four round in 2022. It was one of a handful of changes that the NCAA began making in the wake of a gender equity report showing vast disparities between the men's and women's basketball tournaments. Unlike the men's First Four, who stage all four initial games in one place, the women play each game at a different location, picking four sites out of the top 16 national seeds. Read more

• The Colorado State Rams embarrassed Virginia in the men's First Four.

• Wagner College will face UNC in the men's March Madness first round.

• Here's USA TODAY's bracket predictions for the NCAA men's tournament.

• No Caitlin Clark in the Final Four? Here are 10 bold predictions for the women's tournament.

Photo of the day: MLB 2024 Season Opener in Seoul

Major League Baseball's 2024 regular season begins overseas, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres meeting Wednesday for the first of two games in Seoul, South Korea. Read more

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas, border, immigration, abortion, Ohio election, Israel-Gaza, March Madness, MLB: Daily Briefing