Federal appeals court order puts Texas immigration law back on hold | The Excerpt

On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: A federal appeals court has put a controversial Texas immigration law back on hold. Bernie Moreno won the Ohio Senate Republican primary, setting up a high-stakes battle in November. Plus, other contests were held in California and Illinois. USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Nick Penzenstadler has exclusive reporting on how kids can easily access ammunition online. President Joe Biden and lawmakers have announced a government funding deal that could avert a shutdown. Ukraine is open to aid in the form of a loan being pushed by some Republicans. USA TODAY Education Reporter Alia Wong discusses Muslim students' challenges during Ramadan.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, March 20th, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, the latest on a controversial Texas immigration law. Plus we look at a handful of Tuesday elections and how children can easily access ammunition online.

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A federal appeals court yesterday 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. The 2-1 ruling by the fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals came hours after the Supreme Court paved the way for the controversial state law to take effect yesterday, allowing Texas authorities to begin enforcing the measure. The appeals court panel has now blocked the state from enforcing us before and set a hearing for this morning to further review whether it can be enforced. The Justice Department previously called the law flatly inconsistent with the Supreme Court's past decisions, which recognize that the power to admit and remove non-citizens lies solely with the federal government. But Texas officials have said that the law is needed to deal with the federal government's inability or unwillingness to protect the border.

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Businessman Bernie Moreno will face Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown this fall after winning Ohio's Republican US Senate Primary yesterday. He defeated State Senator Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a contest that pitted the GOP's old guard against allies of former President Donald Trump. Yesterday's election wrapped a tight race that became increasingly vicious in its final weeks. The candidates and their allies spent millions to spar on the airwaves as they fought for voter support and most attacks centered around the candidate's conservative credentials and whether they'd have Trump's back if he's reelected in November. Trump endorsed Moreno back in December, but the nod did not put an end to the race like many expected. Ohio wasn't the only state holding a high profile election yesterday.

In California, Assemblyman Vince Fong advanced in the election for the 20th Congressional District to replace his ex-boss, former Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy. And in Illinois, three lawmakers face competitive challengers. Plus Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio also held presidential contests. And unsurprisingly, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump rolled in their respective primaries. They already clinched their party's nominations last week.

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Kids can get access to ammunition in just a few clicks online. I spoke with USA Today investigative reporter Nick Penzenstadler, for an exclusive report. Nick, thanks for making the time as always.

Nick Penzenstadler:

Yeah, no problem. Thank you.

Taylor Wilson:

So Nick, what was this undercover work from the group, Everytown for Gun Safety and what did they reveal here?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Yeah, they were interested in how easy is it to order ammunition online and get it delivered to your house. This is a little bit different than buying a gun. So they went to some of the top online retailers that sell ammunition and they purchased the same box of .223 caliber ammunition. That's the stuff that AR-15 shoot. And what they found is that there are very little age restrictions. Many times just check boxes and these pop-up ad type gates that come up, and that's about it.

Taylor Wilson:

I mean, this begs the question, isn't there a legal framework in place to stop this, Nick? Or what does the law say on this?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Right. There is a federal law that retailers can only sell to those that are 18 for some ammunition, 21 for others. But the law says that they only violate the statute if they know or have a reasonable cause to know that that person's underage. So the retailers say, "We're doing enough by putting up these affirmations that say, check the box. I'm old enough." And they say that's enough.

Taylor Wilson:

I mean, you touched on this a bit, but what does the gun industry say about this issue of how it's clear that many sites do not properly verify the age of their customers? What does this conversation look like among gun owners and what are we hearing from the industry itself?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Yeah, and this has been in the courts too. There's been a pretty prominent lawsuit against one of the companies we wrote about called Lucky Gunner that was tied to both the Aurora theater shooting where the shooter was of age, and also the Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas where the shooter was underage when he bought the ammunition. And the argument was they should have done more to vet those buyers. But the industry says, "Look, we take your name, we have you affirm that you're old enough and we're not in the business of keeping a registry." That's really the sensitive issue here, that a Second Amendment guarantees your right to have these, and the proponents of gun rights are private and they don't want gun registries. They're fearful that if there's a list somewhere of what you've purchased, that the government's going to know who you are and have you on the radar.

Taylor Wilson:

And in terms of gun safety advocates and this conversation going forward around solutions, Nick, I am curious what advocates want specifically, and also how would improved age verification actually work? Have we seen examples of this in other industries?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Yeah, definitely. So the gun violence prevention groups point to other regulated industries that do this routinely. You think about alcohol delivery. The popular app, Drizly, which has got purchased by Uber does this, where if you order a bottle of wine from your liquor store, it can be at your doorstep within minutes, but they've invested in this technology to scan your ID and make sure you're 21. Same goes for buying tobacco online and sports betting. Another emerging technology where they do an enormous amount of vetting to make sure that people are old enough to gamble online.

Taylor Wilson:

Nick Penzenstadler is an investigative reporter with USA Today. Thanks as always, Nick.

Nick Penzenstadler:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden and congressional leaders announced yesterday that they had reached a government funding deal. The announcement signals to close of a month long saga with numerous shutdown threats, with a tight window left to consider funding bills, it's still possible there will be a brief shutdown over the weekend. But it'll likely have little impact on services or federal workers unless it stretches into next week. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement that negotiators reached a deal on spending for the Department of Homeland Security, which should become a flashpoint over the weekend. You can read more with a link in today's show notes

In a potential breakthrough for Ukraine, its government has indicated that it's open to a proposal from some Republicans to receive US foreign aid in the form of a loan. Minister of foreign affairs for Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba did not shoot the idea down in a briefing with reporters yesterday. He told USA Today, the country already receives a mixture of loans and grants. If pushed forward, the move would signal the most significant breakthrough in the month long impasse between the White House and conservative Republicans over assistance to Ukraine. The country continues to struggle on the battlefield and defense hawks have said that US assistance is vital to stopping a further Russian advance there.

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Muslim students face tough challenges during the holy month of Ramadan, and advocates say more needs to be done to support them. I spoke with USA Today education reporter, Alia Wong to learn more. Alia, thanks for wrapping on The Excerpt today.

Alia Wong:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

Can you just start by filling those in who may not know how significant Ramadan really is for the Muslim community and what challenges do Muslim students face during this holy month?

Alia Wong:

Ramadan is an Islamic Holy Month, and it's a time of fasting and prayer and community. It's really a time when practicing Muslims really double down on their devotion to their religion and has sometimes been described as a period of really intense spiritual rejuvenation. So it's this really important time in the Muslim community. And of course, as I mentioned, a big tenant of it is fasting. A lot of teachers and other school administrators often aren't super familiar with what Ramadan entails or that it even exists, and this lack of awareness can mean that the students who observe it, don't get the flexibility or accommodations that they might need to both observe Ramadan and thrive in school. During lunchtime, it can be difficult or at least inconsiderate to expect a student who is fasting to just be immersed in aromas of food.

One of the important accommodations that is often needed is a place for students to go during lunchtime that doesn't have these reminders of food, and that can be a place where they can reflect and pray if they want to without those distractions. Another challenge, especially during this time in the world when we are seeing rising Islamophobia and other forms of anti-Muslim discrimination, is that it can be scary to come forward and say, "Hey, I'm Muslim. I observe Ramadan. Can you do X, Y, Z for me?" So the advocate and educator I spoke with really emphasized the need to send a community-wide message that these accommodations are possible and really kind of send that invitation out to families versus the reverse.

Taylor Wilson:

I'm curious, Alia, is there guidance from the education department on this? What do we hear from them about Ramadan?

Alia Wong:

It's long had guidance around students' right to pray and engage in other religious activities, but it has reissued guidance in recent years that deludes to students' rights as they pertain to Ramadan, specifically fasting and prayer, their rights to be excused from class when that's needed. That is a great first step advocate say, but really again, they emphasize that more is needed, that beyond just ensuring students have the right to pray, they should strive to proactively make their classrooms inclusive and make it known that, for example, a student who's fasting might not need to participate in intense cardiovascular activity during PE or they can be excused from music class if they need to because one of the frequent practices for some Muslims is to avoid listening to and singing music during this time. So really just again, expressing to families that these accommodations are possible beyond just ensuring that students have the right to pray.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, Alia Wong covers education for USA today. Thanks as always, Alia.

Alia Wong:

Thank you.

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Taylor Wilson:

Be sure to stay tuned to The Excerpt later today for a special episode, all about standardized testing. I'll be joined by John Friedman, Professor of Economics at Brown University, and Co-Director of Opportunity Insights at Harvard University. You can find the episode right here on this feed beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

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And today is the International Day of Happiness, a chance to take time to find something to smile about. Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the pod wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Federal court order puts TX immigration law back on hold | The Excerpt