Gerrymandering case, bump stock ban, NFL's Annual League Meeting: 5 things to know Tuesday
Gerrymandering once again goes before the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has declined five times to intervene in partisan gerrymandering cases, but opponents hope the sixth time will be a charm. In two landmark cases Tuesday, the high court is considering whether congressional districts set by North Carolina Republicans and Maryland Democrats gave their candidates an overwhelming advantage during the past decade. A decision against either state could signal a change in the way legislatures controlled by one party determine their election districts. Chief Justice John Roberts, who has sided with liberal justices in several key cases, looms as the deciding vote.
Bump stock ban to go into effect
Barring a last-minute court challenge, a federal ban on bump stocks – devices that can make semi-automatic rifles fire almost as rapidly as a machine gun – will go into effect Tuesday. Bump stocks came under scrutiny after the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, in which a gunman killed 58 people and injured 800 others while using one. In December, the Justice Department ruled that existing bans against fully-automatic weapons also covered bump stocks. Owners have until Tuesday to destroy the devices or turn them in at an office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Failing to do so carries a $250,000 fine and a possible 10-year prison term.
NFL decisionmakers talk rules and much more
The NFL's Annual League Meeting is underway in Arizona, and there's plenty on the plate of the decision makers to discuss Tuesday. The NFL already has decided to let its oldest rivalry — Packers-Bears — kick off the league’s 100th season. Among the possible talking points will be how to make sure the botched pass interference call from the NFC Championship Game doesn’t happen again. The league also will discuss its onside kick rule, which moving forward could be similar to what the Alliance of American Football has adopted. Trying to stay out of the spotlight will be New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is facing charges of soliciting prostitution at a Florida spa.
FDA to make recommendations on defining risks associated with breast implants
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday will make recommendations on defining the risks of long-term chronic conditions with breast implants just a day after experts said it was too soon to ban a type of breast implant that has been linked to a rare form of cancer. The FDA has been grappling with how to manage emerging science that shows the implants can trigger a rare form of lymphoma that grows in the scar tissue surrounding the breasts. In the U.S., roughly 400,000 women get breast implants each year; 100,000 women get them after cancer surgery. Thousands of women have blamed their implants for a host of other chronic ailments, including rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue and muscle pain.
Oprah shares insightful stories in her latest new book
If you're going to write a book about finding your true calling in life, it makes sense to have one of your own. Oprah Winfrey's book, "The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose," out Tuesday, mines clusters of knowledge in the form of quotes and short interviews from her archives with world-renowned dignitaries and superstars, from Deepak Chopra and Jay-Z to Joel Osteen and Ellen Degeneres. Winfery, according to USA TODAY's Anika Reed, becomes the ultimate teacher through sharing her own wisdom and in tapping those who can also express their paths to purpose, even dedicating the book "to the teachers who help us realize we can take on the world." We rounded up some of Winfrey's most poignant insights from the book here.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gerrymandering case, bump stock ban, NFL's Annual League Meeting: 5 things to know Tuesday
