🏛 California governor signs law to lower price for abortions

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Tuesday to make abortions cheaper for people on private insurance plans, the first of more than a dozen bills the state’s Democratic leaders plan to pass this year to prepare for a potential US Supreme Court ruling that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

At least 26 Republican-controlled states are likely to either ban abortion outright or severely limit access, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that covers abortion and the right of women to control their own bodies. Limiting or outright banning abortion procedures forces women to travel to other states to get medical attention, prompting Democratic-led states like California to propose and pass new laws in preparation.

In Missouri, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it illegal for residents in the state to get an abortion in another state.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

🇺🇸 US Army eases fitness test standards for women, older troops

After three years of complaint and debate, the Army has scrapped its move to have a physical fitness test that is gender- and age-neutral, and will now allow women and older soldiers to pass while meeting some reduced standards.

The decision comes after a study by the RAND research organization confirmed that men were passing the new six-event fitness test at a much higher rate than women, and that older soldiers were struggling with their scores in the expanded, more difficult, test developed in 2019.

The new test, however, has met widespread criticism, as women and older soldiers, including some in senior positions, had difficulty passing. Guard and Reserve soldiers will have until April 2023 to take the test without consequences, and then results will start to count. The test is administered once a year.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

💰 Nancy Pelosi's husband just bought $2.2 million worth of Tesla stock

Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, purchased nearly $2.2 million worth of Tesla stock, according to a new congressional financial disclosure. He's made tens of millions of dollars in stock trades during the past few years, congressional records indicate.

Under current laws, members of Congress and their immediate family are required by law to disclose all individual stock trades within 30- to 45-days of making a purchase or sale.

Pelosi came under intense criticism after she rejected the idea of barring members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks while in office following the investigation.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

📡 ZTE’s probation for selling US-made products to Iran and North Korea comes to an end

The Chinese telecommunications company had been under supervision by the US government after pleading guilty to illegally selling American-made equipment in Iran and North Korea in 2017. ZTE incurred a $1.2 billion fine as a result of violating US sanctions against both countries.

US District Judge Ed Kinkeade did not punish ZTE for visa fraud, the subject of a separate case currently underway in Georgia. Despite ending a five-year legal saga, this ruling doesn’t change restrictions banning government officials in the US from using ZTE and the China-based Huawei products.

The Federal Communications Commission also has plans to rip and replace both ZTE and Huawei telecommunications equipment in a move that will cost $5.6 billion.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

‼️ Sputnik finds documents on UK training Ukrainian soldiers for fighting in Donbass

A Sputnik correspondent found a cache of documents in the liberated city of Volnovakha in the Donetsk Region, among which was a certificate confirming that Ukrainian serviceman Borys Kazarian had completed junior sergeant training courses with the participation of British instructors.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

🌔 NASA is looking for a second company to develop a human moon lander alongside SpaceX

NASA will give another company a chance to send a lander to the moon, nearly a year after the agency announced that SpaceX beat competitors, including Blue Origin and Boeing, for the opportunity.

Under the new plan, the agency will open a second competition for a lander system to all American companies other than SpaceX, with the aim of having a second lander prepared to fly by 2026 or 2027.

The winner of the second contract, dubbed the Sustaining Lunar Development contract, alongside SpaceX, “will pave the way to future recurring lunar transportation services for astronauts at the Moon,” NASA said.

Further details on the value of the contract will be coming next week, after President Joe Biden announces the fiscal year 2023 budget.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

🦠 Steve Wilhite, the creator of the GIF, died at age 74 due to complications from COVID-19.

The GIF allowed slow modem connections of the 1980s to transfer images more efficiently. Today, they are a mainstay of communication on the internet.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

A residential building in the city of Volnovakha, Donetsk Region, has been left in ruins after the Ukrainian military took shelter there, firing from British grenade launchers.

A Sputnik correspondent found a UK-issued training certificate for Ukrainians who fought in the Donbass in the courtyard of this house.

It turns out that the Royal Tank Regiment, the oldest tank unit in the world, took part in the training of Ukrainian soldiers

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus

⚡️ North Korea fires 'what could be a ballistic missile', Japan says

⚡️ Ukrainian military fires 15 Grad rockets and five 120mm mortars at Donetsk, DPR says

North Korea fires suspected long-range ballistic missile, Seoul says

⚡️ Over 402,000 Donbass refugees have already arrived in Russia, Emergency Services say

🇬🇧🇺🇦UK instructors trained Ukrainian soldiers who fought in Donbas in weapons use and navigation, according to a document found by a Sputnik correspondent in the liberated city of Volnovakha in the Donetsk Region.

A certificate confirmed that Ukrainian serviceman Borys Kazarian had completed junior sergeant training courses with the participation of British instructors. The training consisted of four modules: "weapons training", "navigation", "medical training" and "pairs movement."

Russian servicemen have defused more than 12,000 explosive objects while demining farmland in the Kherson region, the Russian Defence Ministry says

Subscribe to @sputniknewsus