The decision by the Alabama Supreme Court last month raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics and prompted an outcry from patients and other groups. Three major IVF providers paused services.

The new law protects providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services.

Republicans in the state Legislature proposed the lawsuit immunity as a way to get clinics reopened. They refused, however, to take up a bill that would address the legal status of embryos.

The state’s three major IVF providers paused services after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling last month.

The decision prompted an outcry from groups across the country. Patients in Alabama also shared stories about having upcoming embryo transfers abruptly canceled and their paths to parenthood put in doubt.

“I’m just elated to get these ladies back on schedule,” said Republican Sen. Tim Melson, the bill sponsor.

The state Supreme Court ruled that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children.” The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics.

Republicans in the GOP-dominated Alabama Legislature looked to the immunity proposal as a solution to clinics’ concerns. But they have shied away from proposals that would address the legal status of embryos created in IVF labs.

House Democrats proposed legislation last week stating that a human embryo outside a uterus can not be considered an unborn child or human being under state law. Democrats argued that was the most direct way to deal with the issue. Republicans have not brought the proposal up for a vote.

Lawmakers pushed the immunity proposal as a way to address clinic’s immediate concerns and get them open. But they did not take up any legislation that would address the legal status of embryos.

“I think there is too much difference of opinion on when actual life begins. A lot of people say conception. A lot of people say implantation. Others say heartbeat. I wish I had the answer,” Melson said. Melson, who is a doctor, said lawmakers may have to come back with additional legislation but said he said it should be based on “science not feelings.”

The court ruled that three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed when a hospital patient got into the storage unit at a fertility clinic and dropped the embryos could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children.” The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics. A fourth couple filed a similar wrongful death lawsuit last week.

The court ruling recognizing embryos as children drew a backlash and patients saw appointments abruptly canceled or their paths to parenthood put in doubt.

The bill says that “no action, suit, or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo shall be brought or maintained against any individual or entity when providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization.” The immunity would be retroactive but would exclude pending litigation. Civil lawsuits could be pursued against manufacturers of IVF-related goods, such as the nutrient-rich solutions used to grow embryos, but damages would be capped and criminal prosecution would be forbidden.

Dr. Michael C. Allemand with Alabama Fertility said Tuesday that the legislative proposal would allow the clinic to resume IVF services by returning “us to a normal state of affairs in terms of what the liability issues are.”

He said the past weeks have been difficult on patients and staff as procedures have been postponed.

“There’s been some truly heart-wrenching conversations that have taken place,” Allemand said.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a group representing IVF providers across the country, said the legislation does not go far enough. Sean Tipton, a spokesperson for the organization, said Monday that the legislation does not correct the fundamental problem, which he said is the court ruling “conflating fertilized eggs with children.”

House Democrats proposed legislation that would put in state law or the state Constitution that a human embryo outside a uterus cannot be considered an unborn child or human being under state law. Democrats argued that was the most direct way to deal with the issue. Republicans have not brought the proposals up for a vote.

Republicans are also trying to navigate tricky political waters — torn between widespread popularity and support for IVF — and conflicts within their own party. Some Republicans have unsuccessfully sought to add Louisiana-style language to ban clinics from destroying unused or unwanted embryos.

State Republicans are reckoning with an IVF crisis they partly helped create with anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018. The amendment, which was approved by 59% of voters, says it is state policy to recognize the “rights of unborn children.”

The phrase became the basis of the court’s ruling. At the time, supporters said it would allow the state to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade were overturned, but opponents argued it could establish “personhood” for fertilized eggs.

During debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, state Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, said lawmakers were attempting to play “lawsuit whack-a-mole” instead of confronting the real issue — the implications of personhood-like language in the Alabama Constitution.

“The real solution to this is determining the definition of a child and having a real conversation about the implications of some of the decisions we’ve made,” England said.

She was immediately remanded to custody pending sentencing. She faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to The Associated Press.

Gutierrez-Reed was tasked with ensuring firearm safety and storage on the New Mexico set of the western when she handed Baldwin a prop gun that contained live ammunition. Baldwin fired, striking and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and wounding director Joel Souza.

In connection with the shooting, Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January, also for involuntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty and is slated for trial in July.

Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with evidence tampering for allegedly transferring a small bag of narcotics to someone else on the day of the shooting, special prosecutors said at the time.

During Gutierrez-Reed’s two-week trial, prosecutors said the then-24-year-old had unknowingly brought live ammunition on the set while being lax at following basic gun-safety guidelines that were industry standard. Witness after witness described set safety protocols that were akin to playing Russian roulette.

After the shooting, state officials found “willful and serious violations” and fined the production $136,793, the maximum allowed.

Prosecutors built on such allegations, doubling down in detailing “constant, never-ending safety failures” on the set, as prosecutor Kari Morrissey described it in her closing arguments. She also said Gutierrez-Reed exhibited an “astonishing lack of diligence” when it came to gun safety.

The young armorer’s defense meanwhile argued that she could not have shown “willful disregard” if she didn’t know the rounds were live. It has never been made clear how live ammo made it onto the set.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys also argued she was being made a scapegoat, adding she was not the one ultimately in control of the pace of the production.

“You had a production company on a shoestring budget [and] an A-list actor that was really running the show,” her attorney, Jason Bowles, said. “At the end, they had somebody they could all blame.”

After the verdict was read, Bowles said they planed to appeal.

Wednesday’s verdict shifts blame for Hutchins’ death in the wake of assistant director David Halls’ no-contest plea last year. Halls served six months of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor negligent use of a deadly weapon for declaring the gun “cold” before handing it to Baldwin.

Baldwin meanwhile has maintained that he did not pull the trigger and would never have pointed and fired a gun at another human. The FBI said otherwise. If found guilty, he could face up to 18 months behind bars in New Mexico.

With News Wire Services

The old Toddle Inn was set for demolition in two weeks, but burned down early Wednesday morning, News12 New Jersey reported.

Firefighting crews responded to 850 Broad Avenue just after 2:20 a.m. and put out the fire within an hour, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

“There was no ability for us to get inside,” Ridgefield Battalion Chief Scott Russo told the Bergen Record.

After the fire was doused, only rubble remained on the property. As investigators searched through the remnants of the building, they discovered a body.

Authorities said it was unclear if the person died from the fire or was already dead before the building began to burn. They were not immediately identified.

The building had sat vacant for months with no gas or electricity, and the windows and doors had been boarded up, officials told the Bergen Record. No first responders were wounded in the blaze.

“Everybody worked together as a team and it was extinguished quickly, under control very fast,” Deputy Chief Gary Bonacci told the outlet.

Arson investigators with the Ridgefield Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office are examining the blaze and its causes.

The Toddle Inn had been standing for a century and was owned by former Ridgefield Councilman Angus Todd and his ancestors for seven decades, according to the Bergen Record. Todd died in 2020, and the site remains scheduled for redevelopment.

Trump has been working for months to turn back primary challenges and get Republicans behind his comeback campaign for the White House after four years out of power.

That goal was sealed after he scored a sweeping victory in the Super Tuesday primaries.

President Biden was already the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee even before he brushed off nominal primary challenges to his reelection bid.

Now, Biden hopes to utilize Thursday night’s State of the Union address to kick off his presidential campaign against Trump, a contrast he hopes will rally voters behind him despite concerns about his age and other potential political weak spots.

Here are some takeaways:

What will Joe say in SOTU?

Biden has a rare national platform to make his opening argument to Americans for why he deserves four more years in the White House.

Look for Biden to boast about his achievements and to pitch himself as uniquely qualified to lead the country and the world through a challenging period — and paint a sharp contrast with the chaos under Trump.

The stakes are quite high.

With voters on both sides of the aisle concerned about Biden’s age, any perceived gaffe could harden pre-existing opinions that he is just too old to serve.

On the other hand, Biden has the opportunity to cut through the political noise and demonstrate his often-underrated political skills.

Who benefits from the general election matchup being set?

Pundits have been puzzled by the persistently high number of Americans who did not believe that Biden and Trump would actually be their parties’ candidates for the White House.

Democratic strategists in particular believe that Biden could benefit from the matchup between the two men now being set in stone.

Team Biden believes that Democratic voters may start focusing on Trump, a candidate many of them loathe and is perhaps the biggest motivator for them to get behind anyone running against him.

Can Trump rally Republican critics who backed Nikki Haley?

For Trump, the immediate challenge is to win over Republicans who supported Nikki Haley in the just-completed primary fight.

“Clearly there are a quarter to a third of the people who voted in the Republican primaries … who simply won’t accept him or don’t wan’t him back in the White House,” Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political analyst, said on CNN.

If past is prologue, Trump will likely seek to project strength with the Republican base as way to bring “traditional Republicans” back in the fold, Sabato added.

But Republican strategist Doug Heye noted that it won’t be a cakewalk for Trump, given that he deliberately sought to push away Haley supporters by declaring them “permanently banned” from his MAGA movement.

“That is dumb,” Heye told the News. “Anyone wearing a ‘Permanently Banned’ T-shirt is unlikely to return to the fold of the person insulting them.”

It appears that Trump’s mounting legal woes may not be the massive political headache they once seemed certain to pose.

So far, Trump’s indictment on 91 felonies and his four looming criminal trials have not damaged his political standing.

If anything, he has succeeded in using the trials to rally his supporters behind the idea that he is being unfairly targeted by liberal prosecutors.

Can Biden unify a fractured Democratic coalition?

The incumbent president has a unity problem of his own.

Biden is facing serious dissatisfaction with Democratic voters, some of whom are disenchanted over his handling of the economy or blame him for the influx of migrants across the southern border and into northern cities.

The most visible split is over Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza. Critics have mounted modestly successful campaigns to register opposition to the war in states like Michigan, where 13% of Democrats shunned him to vote for “uncommitted” delegates.

Polls show Biden suffering from relatively low approval with Latinos, Blacks and young voters, all key portions of the Democratic base.

That’s a flashing danger sign for the incumbent. But it’s also an opportunity for Biden to win back voters who traditionally back the Democrat in the end.

Sabato notes that the White House needs to do a much better job communicating his policy achievements on issues like the economy and abortion rights.

“They have got to use the campaign and the State of the Union address to make it clear what they have actually done,” he said.

A cluster of cases of the contagious virus quickly spread among an eight-person family in Hunterdon County, the state department of health said Tuesday.

The original infection could be tied to recent international travel, officials said.

No other details about the case were released due to privacy laws.

People with the mumps quickly start exhibiting symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite.

After several days, the salivary glands can swell, causing puffy cheeks and other discomfort in the face. It can also cause swelling of the brain, testicles, ovaries or breast tissue, which could lead to a number of other complications including brain inflammation, infertility or deafness.

The New Jersey Department of Health advised residents to get vaccinated against mumps, measles and rubella if they hadn’t done so already.

“These viruses are incredibly contagious, so if you suspect you may have measles, mumps, or rubella, it is important to call ahead before visiting any health care provider or facility so they can take special precautions,” acting health commissioner Dr. Kaitlan Baston said in a statement.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of mumps cases fluctuates year-to-year. There were 436 cases reported in the country last year.

“As a physician and as a mom, I understand what it is like to try to keep your kids and your family healthy,” Baston said. “The best way to keep you and your loved ones safe is to get the MMR shot. If you or your family have not gotten the shot, now is the time.”

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 17, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel confirmed during a press conference.

One 16-year-old boy sustained nine gunshot wounds to the torso and has been listed in critical condition, Philadelphia police said. The seven other victims suffered gunshots to various parts of their bodies, including the back, chest, arms, legs and buttocks, and are said to be in stable condition.

Police believe the shots were fired by gunman in a dark blue Hyundai parked near a Dunkin Donuts in the Burholme neighborhood just before 3 p.m. Three people wearing masks were seen on surveillance video getting out of the vehicle and opening fire at a group of students at the bus stop.

The vehicle fled away from the scene and the suspects are still at large.

Wednesday’s shooting happened near Northeast High School and Crossan Elementary School. The high school students had just been dismissed for the day when the gunplay began, officials said.

Authorities later confirmed at least 30 shots had been fired.

Transportation officials said two busses, Route 18 and Route 67, were also hit by bullets during the afternoon shooting, but no passengers onboard were known to be hurt.

Wednesday’s shooting marks the fourth time this week violence had erupted at a SEPTA location.

Cops said a man was shot and killed on a Route 79 bus in South Philadelphia Tuesday night. A 17-year-old high school student died and four other people were injured when at least one gunman with an automatic weapon opened fire at a bus stop Monday. And on Sunday, a 27-year-old bus passenger was fatally shot during an altercation.

Wednesday’s incident is said to have occurred while SEPTA Police Chief Chuck Lawson was in Philadelphia City Hall meeting with police and other city officials to discuss the recent shootings in the city, according to Fox29’s Steve Keeley.

With News Wire Services

Dante Lennon, 23, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced.

Lennon was driving a Mercedes-Benz nearly 70 mph on Jericho Turnpike through New Hyde Park when he slammed into a Lincoln Town Car carrying six people at around 11 p.m. on May 21, 2022.

Three of the passengers — Marlene Luu, 66; Hoa Ho, 68, and Tu Nguyen, 41 — were killed in the crash. The three women were leaving a sweet sixteen birthday party that had recently wrapped up at the Inn in New Hyde Park.

“A sweet sixteen party should be a cherished memory for family, but because of this defendant’s reckless and callous disregard for other motorists, it will instead be remembered as an unbelievable tragedy,” Donnelly said in a statement.

“In an instant, three family members were lost and another three injured when Dante Lennon, drunk and speeding, barreled into their Town Car. We continue to hold the family of Marlene Luu, Hoa Ho and Tu Nguyen in our thoughts as this defendant is sentenced for his crimes.”

Three other people in the vehicle, identified as men ages 72, 67 and 42, were injured in the wreck. Lennon also pleaded guilty to six counts of assault — three felonies and three misdemeanors — in the case.

The posted speed limit on Jericho Turnpike through New Hyde Park is 35 mph. Lennon was going nearly twice as fast at the time of the crash.

Lennon is due back in court on June 5 for his sentencing hearing. He is expected to get six to 18 years in prison, according to the district attorney’s office.

Authorities did not immediately identify the suspect but told Boston 25 News that the person had been taken into custody at around 4:30 p.m. after a holding out for roughly nine hours against law enforcement officers, including a SWAT team.

The officers and agents had descended on the home in Hyannis earlier in the day to investigate reports of a person being held at knifepoint, according to a statement from the Barnstable Police Department. Authorities evacuated nearby neighbors and residents as the crisis also triggered lockdowns for several schools in the Cape Cod area.

When they arrived on the scene just after 7:30 a.m., officers learned the occupants of the home had been allowed to leave, but that the suspect, armed with a knife, was still barricaded inside.

A shelter-in-place order was sent out for a 1-mile radius of the incident, and police evacuated homes nearby for emergency purposes.

Five schools across Barnstable were also placed under lockdown as authorities worked to negotiate with the suspect.

“No one is permitted into our schools or to exit them, but school operations within the building will continue,” a district spokesperson told Boston 25. “This is as a result of police activity in the Hyannis area.”

Authorities emphasized the lockdown measures were precautionary. By 10:30 a.m., school officials were informed there was no longer any danger because the suspect was “contained to his home.”

The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. in Butler Township, about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh, when Lee Ann Galante went outside to check on her barking dog.

Galante, 55, discovered her dog in an altercation with a black bear accompanied by three cubs. As she attempted to separate her dog, she was bitten on the head. She also suffered injuries to her face, neck and both arms.

Galante managed to free herself and got back inside her house with the dog, which was unharmed. She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment of her injuries and is expected to leave in good condition.

The mother bear was euthanized at the scene after continuing to be aggressive, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said. The cubs were tranquilized and transported to an undisclosed location. They may be tagged and released into an wilderness area, though a spokesperson for the commission told WTAE that they’re “leaning more towards caution and probably euthanizing these cubs to test them for rabies just in case.”

“This is a first for me and first for the area,” Sgt. Thomas Vensel of the Butler Township Police told CBS Pittsburgh. “Talked to some people [who said] they’d been seeing [bears] in the area. Obviously, there was a bird feeder up here that was knocked down. We had warm weather lately, so I’m assuming these animals are out and about.”

One neighbor told TribLive she had seen a bear in the area at least 10 times within the last month, while another’s doorbell camera captured four bears rummaging through trash cans.

Officials advised homeowners to bring bird feeders, pets, pet food and trash indoors at night since bears are leaving hibernation and looking for food. People should also not get between a mother bear and their cubs.

The exciting discovery was reported on Friday after the aquarium’s aerial survey team spotted “an unusual whale” while flying some 30 miles south of Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod.

The massive animal, which appeared to be feeding, kept diving and resurfacing as scientists took several photos of what they suspected to be an “incredibly rare” event.

After about 45 minutes of observation, researchers were able to confirm they had seen a gray whale, a species typically found in the North Pacific that can weigh up to 90,000 pounds and measure up to 49 feet.

“I didn’t want to say out loud what it was, because it seemed crazy,” Orla O’Brien, an associate research scientist at the aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, said in a news release.

It turned out O’Brien, who has been flying aerial surveys since 2011, was exactly right.

After showing the images to Kate Laemmle, a research technician who had also spotted the whale, both women were able to confirm the most unusual sighting.

They then started laughing because “of how wild and exciting this was,” Laemmle said. “To see an animal that disappeared from the Atlantic hundreds of years ago!”

Gray whales are easily distinguished from other whales “by their lack of a dorsal fin, mottled grey and white skin, and dorsal hump followed by pronounced ridges,” according to the aquarium.

The species vanished from the Atlantic Ocean by the 18th century. Even though they are regularly found in the North Pacific Ocean, there have been five sightings in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters over the past 15 years.

One whale, spotted off the coast of Florida late last year, is likely the same one seen in New England waters last week, according to researchers — who say such “strange sightings” could be linked to climate change.

Gray whales can now potentially travel through the Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific through the Arctic Ocean in Canada since the area has been regularly ice-free during the summer months “partly due to rising global temperatures,” which is something that wouldn’t have been possible in previous centuries.

The spotting of gray whales in the Atlantic serves as a “reminder of how quickly marine species respond to climate change, given the chance,”  O’Brien said.