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The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has thrown in the towel.  Texas' abortion law has been appealed to the state Supreme Court, extending the state's stringent restrictions. On Monday, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed with Texas, sending a challenge to the state's privately enforced stringent abortion legislation to the Texas Supreme Court, where it is expected to languish as long as the law remains in existence. On Twitter, University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck commented, "This judgment now maintains the case in limbo — and abortion after 6 weeks in the nation's second-largest state — a dead-letter, indefinitely." The abortion clinics in Texas who are contesting the law had asked for their case to be referred to a federal district judge in Austin who had previously halted the bill before the conservative 5th Circuit appellate court reversed it. Judge Stephen A. Higginson, a Democ

As a beleaguered Boris Johnson signals to his backbenchers that he is willing to let the UK live with the virus, No 10 is working up measures to take off England's remaining pandemic restrictions as early as March. A senior government source revealed that the government was considering abolishing obligatory self-isolation for positive Covid cases, claiming that keeping the policy in place would be "perverse" in the long run. Guidance might take its place. The legal need to self-isolate, which carries fines of up to £10,000 if broken, is one of six pieces of Covid law set to expire in March, and the government is debating whether any of it is still essential. Giving your address to NHS test and track and listing members of your household are two more clauses that will expire or require renewal. Powers over government funding for sick pay, inquests, and emergency registration of medical workers are all still in place. Most of Plan B will be phased out. Working from home gui

According to her brother, a body has been discovered in the search for a British woman who was swept away by the tsunami in Tonga. Angela Glover died trying to save her dogs, and her family was "devastated," according to Nick Eleini. Her body was discovered by her husband James, who had managed to cling to a tree when the tsunami hit after an undersea volcano erupted, he claimed. "Angela and James enjoyed the Tongan people and loved their life in Tonga," Mr Eleini added. Mr Eleini, speaking outside their mother's home in Hove, said that Angela, 50, was born in Brighton and had lived in Tonga since marrying James. They were "well-loved by locals and ex-pats alike," he claimed, because he ran the Happy Sailor tattoo parlour, which employed and trained Tongans, and she started the Tongan Animal Welfare Society. Mr Eleini said Angela had a "strong love of dogs" and that her organization harbored and treated stray animals before trying to find the

Heavy snow and ice have blanketed areas of the United States and Canada, putting more than 80 million people under weather warnings. In several south-eastern regions, more than 145,000 people are without electricity, and thousands of flights have been canceled. North and South Carolina, as well as Virginia and Georgia, have all proclaimed states of emergency. The National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States predicts more than a foot (30 cm) of snow in certain regions. The NWS cautioned that snow and ice could cause "dangerous travel, power outages, and tree damage." According to the Associated Press news agency, highway patrols reported hundreds of automobile accidents. On Sunday morning, officials in Canada's Ontario province, which shares a border with New York state, issued storm warnings for much of the south. Toronto, the province's capital and largest city, is expected to receive seven inches (20 cm) of snow. According to the FlightAware data tracking web

In England, the minimum self-isolation period for people who test positive for Covid-19 has been reduced to five days. Following a review of the medical evidence, the quarantine period has been reduced to help alleviate staff shortages across the economy. However, on days five and six of their isolation, people must produce negative lateral flow tests. Meanwhile, 16 and 17-year-olds in England can now book a booster shot or visit a walk-in vaccination center. In the beginning, invitations will be sent to the 40,000 teenagers who received a second vaccine dose at least three months ago. More than 600,000 people aged 16 and 17 who have received two doses will eventually be eligible for the booster. In addition, approximately 500 clinically vulnerable 12- to 15-year-olds who are most at risk from coronavirus will be able to receive a booster. Day zero, according to isolation rules, is the day symptoms appear or people test positive. The first day of the isolation period is the following d