KBJ makes history! – Daily High Five

And the heat is back here in Iowa. With high temperatures back up in the 90's, make sure you drink plenty of water and stay inside and in the A/C if you can.

You can do both of those while you take a break and take a look at today's top story:

1. ABORTION ATTACKS : This week, Gov. Reynolds told local reporters that she does not plan to call a special legislative session to pass more restrictions on abortion. Instead, she's having her stacked Iowa Supreme Court do her bidding. She's asking Iowa courts to reinstate Iowa's ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and she's asking the Iowa Supreme Court to re-decide the case in which the state's proposed 24-hour waiting period for an abortion was argued.

For now, it's important to remember that abortion is still safe and legal in Iowa. You can find a whole list of ways you can take action to make sure it stays that way with Iowa Abortion Access Fund's new toolkit.

And check out the other stories we're watching today:

2. BAND-AID SOLUTIONS: While Gov. Reynolds launches attacks on our right to an abortion, she says she wants to expand access to birth control and family planning services. While that sounds nice, it doesn't do nearly enough to give pregnant people a choice. Not to mention, a lack of state funding has already caused multiple Planned Parenthood clinics, which offer services like family planning, to close in Iowa.

3. DROP THE FILIBUSTER: President Biden announced today that he would support making an exception to the filibuster in order to codify abortion rights into law. The filibuster is a Jim Crow relic and it's long past time we get rid of it, in order to pass meaningful legislation.

4. SETTING US BACK: Today the Supreme Court released its opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, ruling that the EPA does not have authority to shift the nation's energy production away from coal-burning power plants toward cleaner sources. This dangerous decision is one more attack on our freedoms, this time the freedom to access clean air and water that will set our country back and make all of us less safe. We need our lawmakers to take immediate action to address the climate crisis.

5. MAKING HISTORY: Thankfully, we do have some good news to end today's newsletter. Ketanji Brown Jackson is making history this afternoon as she is being sworn in as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Justice Jackson's historic confirmation gives us the chance to make the bench look more like us and add a critical perspective to improve our nation.

Want to hear more from our team? You can go to our online news blog, Potluck, to hear from Iowans and leaders around the state.

Want to help progressive messaging and policy in the state of Iowa? Sign up at ProgressIowa.org to volunteer, donate, and hear more from our team!

Thanks for reading, and we'll get back with you tomorrow for another High Five!

- The Progress Iowa Team

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.