Today’s News: December 14, 2021

California School District Forced to Postpone COVID-19 Mandate as 30,000 Kids Didn’t Comply

Activist Post – Wanting to transform California into the prototype of what government overreach looks like, Governor Gavin Newsom, shortly after beating his recall election, announced major COVID-19 mandates that forced workers and teachers to take the so-called miracle drug. Not only that, with the FDA approving the shot for children 5 and older, Newsom also mandated that all children attending school, public or private, had to get the jab before being able to attend classes. While waving his arm and slinging mandates faster than President Joe Biden, it appears Newsom’s mandates are nothing more than hot air.

On Friday, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) broke the news that the original deadline of January 10,2o22 for mandatory shots was being postponed to September of that year. The reason for the sudden and drastic shift is due to the fact that over 30,000 students in the LAUSD system alone would not be allowed to attend classes.

If the mandate was to go into effect on its original date, the program “City of Angels” would have to create resources and space to accommodate all 30,000-plus students for independent study. And according to officials, the program has been struggling already since the beginning of the year. To add a massive influx of students would cripple the program practically overnight.

Acting LAUSD Superintendent Megan Reilly stated, “Los Angeles Unified applauds the 86.52 percent of students aged 12 and older and their families who are in compliance with the vaccine mandate, and the many other families who are still in the process of adding their vaccine records to the system. This is a major milestone, and there’s still more time to get vaccinated!”

Surprisingly, Reilly never mentioned how the mandate was being postponed due to tens of thousands of children not getting the shot.

While some districts try to convince students to get the COVID-19 shot, offering them free pizza, the final decision on if the postponement will be approved or not lies in the hands of the Board of Education. They are expected to make an announcement on Tuesday.

Court Rebuffs Biden Administration’s Bid to Lift Block Against CMS COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Epoch Times – A federal appeals court on Monday turned down an attempt by President Joe Biden’s administration to lift a preliminary injunction against its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.

The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the bid, which had been made in a motion by Department of Justice lawyers.

The ruling was unsigned and did not contain an explanation for the rejection.

U.S. Circuit Judge Jane Kelly, an Obama nominee, said she would have granted the motion.

The mandate in question was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in November. It required every facility that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding to force workers to get a vaccine by Jan. 4, 2022, affecting some 17 million workers.

But the rule was blocked by a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judges Matthew Schelp that was later expanded by another Trump nominated judge. The judges said CMS likely lacks the authority to promulgate a vaccination rule.

The Biden administration on Nov. 30 asked the appeals court to block the injunction, claiming district courts lack jurisdiction to enjoin enforcement of a condition on Medicare funding.

“The preliminary injunction rests on a series of errors and should be immediately stayed pending appeal,” the motion stated. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra “has explicit statutory authority to require facilities voluntarily participating in Medicare and Medicaid to meet health and safety standards for the protection of patients,” it added.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Attorney General Douglas Peterson disagreed, telling the court in a response that the government did not successfully show it would successfully succeed in the case and that it would be irreparably injured absent a stay.

“Preventing defendants from enforcing CMS’s unlawful mandate pending appeal will inflict no cognizable injury—let alone irreparable harm—on them,” they wrote in the filing.

The court sided with the states, which also include Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.

“The court made the right decision,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said in a statement. “This mandate would have only worsened the workforce shortage in our healthcare system, leaving Iowans without the care they need. President Biden should rescind this unlawful rule and respect the personal liberties and freedoms of our healthcare workers.”

—> View the GORSUCH, J., dissenting HERE

False Panic: WHO/CDC Finds Zero Omicron Deaths In The World, Only 1 Hospitalized Across 22 States

Technocracy News – Henny Penny, aka Chicken Little, doesn’t have a monopoly on fabricated panics. The Omicron variant is a giant nothing-burger with zero reported deaths in the U.S., and yet medical Technocrats continue to cry “The sky is falling!” Big Pharma is manufacturing booster shots, which are recommended for everyone to avoid this latest pandemic threat. Alas, the clever fox. ⁃ TN Editor

Europe’s latest COVID wave appears to be slowing already, despite all this chatter about omicron overtaking delta by Christmas, as at least one British scientist has suggested it will. And in South Africa, scientists say the omicron variant isn’t causing any deaths or severe infections, in keeping with the view that the variant will likely cause more mild infections than delta.

In the US, the situation is even more subdued. While cases have seen a slight uptick over the past week, the number of deaths has remained near its lows.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara County reported its first case of the omicron variant, health officials confirmed Friday, in an individual who had been fully vaccinated, but didn’t receive their booster shot. It was California’s 14th case of the omicron variant so far.

Santa Clara’s Public Health Director Dr. Sara Cody said the following in response: “Although there are still many unknowns about this variant, we strongly recommend getting vaccinated and getting your booster if you haven’t already to help guard against Omicron…It is a new variant, but we know what to do, and that’s to continue with all our layers of protection: vaccinate, boost, mask, ventilate, distance, and test often.”

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, the bureaucrat who coined the term “pandemic of the unvaccinated” (only to see the virus cut through vaccine protections like butter), confirmed Friday afternoon that the US has only seen one patient hospitalized due to omicron, and that nearly all cases of the variant found in the US so far have been notably mild.

Does that mean the CDC will still push for expanding the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include those who have gotten the booster? It’s too soon to tell…but that’s where things seem to be headed.

But while Walensky just yesterday spent her time urging all Americans as young as 16 to get their booster shots as soon as they are able, the CDC director’s tone was notably more restrained on Friday, when the agency said the first batch of cases were mostly mild, with most patients reporting symptoms such as a cough or a runny nose.

Omicron has now been detected in at least 22 states, according to CDC data shared with the media. And although health experts stress it’s still too early to draw any strong conclusions on how the variant will spread in the country, Walensky admitted that the reaction appears to be mild so far. The agency elaborated on its findings in a 5-page report looking at 43 people in the US who have tested positive for the omicron variant.

That’s not all: the Epoch Times reported Friday that the WHO had finally returned its requests for comment, and confirmed that the agency couldn’t specify a single death that’s attributable to omicron.  And while South Africa has seen a sizable uptick in hospitalizations over the last couple of weeks, it’s too soon to tell if this is due to omicron, delta or other variants.

According to WHO, “for Omicron, we have not had any deaths reported, but it is still early in the clinical course of disease and this may change.”

Circling back to the CDC report, more than half of the patients infected were young, between the ages of 18 and 39, and roughly 75% were fully vaccinated – including one-third who had also received a booster shot. Six cases had a previously documented COVID infection, and one-third of the infected had recently traveled internationally.

While we agree it’s not a large number, the group is roughly equivalent to the size of some preliminary studies carried out by drug companies and governments. One obvious weakness in the data is the fact that only a handful of patients over age 65 were included in the sample.

COVID-19 Vaccines Induce Lower Antibodies Against Omicron Variant: Study

Epoch Times – A lower level of antibodies against the Omicron virus variant is triggered by COVID-19 vaccines, researchers said in a new study.

Using blood samples from people who received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine or the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, researchers with the University of Oxford found “a substantial fall” in neutralizing antibodies, with evidence of some people failing to have any.

“This will likely lead to increased breakthrough infections in previously infected or double vaccinated individuals, which could drive a further wave of infection,” the authors wrote in the preprint study.

Omicron is a variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. The variant was discovered by scientists in South Africa last month, and dates back to at least October, according to genomic sequencing of positive tests.

Early studies, including one from Pfizer and its partner, point to primary vaccination regimes having a dramatically lower effect in terms of preventing COVID-19 infections.

“Although different methodologies and types of selected sera have been used, these results consistently show a reduced neutralization capacity of sera from vaccine recipients and convalescent sera against the Omicron virus as compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variants,” the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a recent brief.

Some research suggests a booster dose can restore some of the lost protection while others indicate natural immunity, or the defense bestowed from recovery, isn’t as good against Omicron infection, though the drop in protection has not been as pronounced.

Levels of antibodies are the primary measure of protection against infection.

Much more important, though, is protection against severe disease, since many COVID-19 cases are detected with no or mild symptoms.

Democrat Governor Declares COVID-19 Emergency ‘Over’

Epoch Times – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has declared that the COVID-19 emergency is “over” and at this point, it’s unvaccinated people’s “own darn fault” if they become infected with the CCP virus.

“Everybody had more than enough opportunity to get vaccinated,” Polis told Colorado Public Radio last week. “Hopefully it’s been at your pharmacy, your grocery store, a bus near you, [or at] big events. At this point, if you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s really your own darn fault.”

Polis, a Democrat, said he won’t implement another statewide mask mandate due to the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Since it was discovered several weeks ago, one Omicron variant death has been confirmed thus far, occurring in the UK.

“Those who get sick, it’s almost entirely their own darn fault,” he said. “I don’t want to say that nobody [will get the CCP virus if they are] vaccinated, but it’s very rare.”

The governor also said he’ll leave masking mandates up to individual counties and municipalities.

Philadelphia Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Passports for Indoor Dining

Epoch Times – The City of Philadelphia will mandate proof of COVID-19 vaccination for indoor restaurants, bars, and similar venues starting Jan. 3, the city’s health commissioner announced on Dec. 13.

“Any place that sells food or drink to be consumed on-site will have to require that everyone who enters be fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said.

From Jan. 3 to Jan. 17, establishments may accept proof of a negative COVID-19 test instead of proof of vaccination, she said.

“That negative COVID test must have been for the last 24 hours,” Bettigole said. “Then, after January 17, negative COVID-19 tests will no longer be accepted and everyone must have completed their primary COVID vaccination series.”

The mandate also applies to sporting venues, including the Wells Fargo Center; people will have to show proof of vaccination to watch a Philadelphia 76ers or Flyers game, Bettigole said.

“It applies to most of the Wells Fargo Center because people eat throughout the space,” she said. “We do not want to close our restaurants. So that’s the reason for the vaccine mandate.”

Bettigole said that the mandate also will apply to children who are 5 years and 3 months and older. Those children, she added, would have to have their first dose of the vaccine by Jan. 3 and the second by Feb. 3 in order to enter an establishment.

Senator Urges Biden Administration to Recognize Natural Immunity

Epoch Times – The White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should acknowledge the immunity gained from prior COVID-19 infection in their messaging, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said on Dec. 12.

Marshall, a doctor, has called for many Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but also opposes vaccine mandates, such as the ones put forth by President Joe Biden and top officials in his administration. Instead of mandating vaccination, Marshall recommended being honest with people about the vaccines, including how studies indicate people with natural immunity, or the immunity that people have after recovering from COVID-19, gain little benefit from getting a vaccine.

“The CDC needs to acknowledge natural immunity,” Marshall said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And really, the messaging coming out of the White House has to acknowledge natural immunity and be honest with America.”

Host Chuck Todd challenged the senator, questioning whether he was encouraging people to get the virus that causes COVID-19.

“Would you advise somebody to get the virus rather than get the vaccine?” Todd asked.

“Of course not,” Marshall said. “But if you’ve had the virus, that needs to be acknowledged and then a decision made with the patient and the doctor deciding if they should get the booster or not.

“Maybe check their level of antibodies. Take into account what their health care situation is. A type II diabetic that’s had the virus, I would check their level of antibodies and probably encourage them to get the booster. But a 19-year-old Navy SEAL who has a higher chance of getting pericarditis, a heart inflammation, than going to the hospital from the virus, I probably would have a different answer. So, you cannot have a one-size-fits-all recommendation from the federal government.”

Scientists Claim They May Have Discovered the Cause of Alzheimer’s

Epoch Times – Researchers say that they may have discovered the molecular-level cause of Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists at the University of California–Riverside said in recent findings that the key to understanding Alzheimer’s may have to do with “tau” proteins that likely cause neurofibrillary tangles—which are found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Previously, researchers suggested that amyloid plaques, which are a buildup of amyloid peptides, may be the cause.

Both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are critical indicators that doctors look for when trying to diagnose Alzheimer’s.

“Roughly 20 percent of people have the plaques, but no signs of dementia,” said UCR chemistry professor Ryan Julian in a statement. “This makes it seem as though the plaques themselves are not the cause.”

Researchers focused on the different structures a single molecule can manufacture, known as isomers.

“An isomer is the same molecule with a different three-dimensional orientation than the original. A common example would be hands. Hands are isomers of each other, mirror images but not exact copies. Isomers can actually have a handedness,” Julian said.

The team scanned proteins in brain samples that were donated to their lab, and in brains where there was an accumulation of the tau protein but no Alzheimer’s diagnoses, they found that the “normal” tau had a different-handed form than in individuals who had plaques or tangles, and who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The proteins also survived longer than is considered normal, the researchers said.

If a protein stays too long—generally more than 48 hours—some amino acids in the proteins convert into the “other-handed” isomer, they noted.

“If you try to put a right-handed glove on your left hand, it doesn’t work too well,” Julian said. “It’s a similar problem in biology; molecules don’t work the way they’re supposed to after a while because a left-handed glove can actually convert into a right-handed glove that doesn’t fit.”

The human body has a process called autophagy, they noted, which clears used or defective proteins from cells. When people age, autophagy can slow down, although it isn’t clear why, Julian said, which is what his team is attempting to figure out.

“If a slowdown in autophagy is the underlying cause, things that increase it should have the beneficial, opposite effect,” he said.

64 Confirmed Dead, Over 100 Missing After Tornadoes Hit Kentucky

Epoch TImes – At least 64 people were killed when four or more tornadoes struck Kentucky late Dec. 10, Gov. Andy Beshear told a press conference on Dec. 13.

Authorities believe the death toll may increase to 80.

As of Dec. 13, at least 105 Kentucky residents are still unaccounted for as National Guard personnel and hundreds of other local first respondents search for survivors, clear debris, and give food and water to those who lost their homes.

At least four tornadoes struck Kentucky just before the weekend, with one staying on the ground for more than 200 miles.

Early estimates peg the number of homes damaged or destroyed in the thousands. Deaths have been confirmed in eight Kentucky counties and damage surveyed in 19 counties. The city of Mayfield was essentially razed while other areas, including Bowling Green, saw significant damage.

“It’s hard when your whole life gets taken away in a few minutes,” Deborah Gibson of Bowling Green told the Lexington Herald-Leader after her apartment was torn apart.

Beshear said, “With this amount of damage and rubble, it may be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives.”

MIA is first U.S. airport to test COVID-19 detector dogs

MIA News – Airport partners with FIU on pilot program at employee checkpoint

As part of its ongoing effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19, Miami International Airport is now getting help from some furry new friends: detector dogs specially trained with protocols created by the Global Forensic and Justice Center (GFJC) at Florida International University (FIU).

Thanks to a resolution sponsored by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee and approved by the Board of County Commissioners in March 2021, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department is partnering with the GFJC at FIU and American Airlines to host a 30-day COVID-19 detector dog pilot program at MIA, making it the first U.S. airport to test COVID-sniffing canines. The dogs are deployed at an employee security checkpoint.

“This pandemic has pushed us to innovate to stop the spread. I applaud Commissioner McGhee and the County Commission for thinking outside the box with this initiative. We’re proud to do everything we can to protect our residents. I look forward to seeing how the airport tests their skills and expanding the pilot program to other County facilities.”

Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County

Detector dogs have the potential for immediate detection and response to the virus in public spaces like airports. After hundreds of training sessions at FIU’s Modesto Maidique Campus in Miami this year, the detector dogs achieved accuracy rates from 96 to 99 percent for detecting COVID-19 in published peer-reviewed, double-blind trials. After the pilot program ends in September, FIU will continue to work on the accuracy and specificity, which will assist in COVID variant detection, of the canine following scientifically validated methods.

Full appeals court hears challenge to school dress code mandating skirts for girls

Courthouse News Service- The en banc Fourth Circuit was asked Friday to decide if a charter school’s policy requiring female students to wear skirts is constitutional, after a three-judge panel held that it is.

Charter Day School Inc., a charter school in Brunswick County, North Carolina, opened in 1999 and functions much like other charter schools that fall into a unique public-private partnership with states. Designed to allow more freedom and experimentation while also offering choices to parents and students, charter schools are typically not tethered to the same rules that govern traditional public schools. 

A group of girls who attend Charter Day School found one of its policies particularly offensive: the requirement to wear a skirt. They filed a lawsuit in North Carolina federal court in 2016, saying the skirts restrict their movement and don’t offer any protection from the cold. Beyond physical constraints, they also argued the policy is unlawful sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause because it only applies to female students.

Charter Day School says the policy exists to support “traditional values,” “mutual respect” and “chivalry.” As for the constitutional concerns, the school argues only a state actor can be held to those standards and the unique nature of charter schools means they are not state actors, unbound to rules governing other public schools. 

That argument failed to convince a North Carolina federal judge, who sided with the students in March 2019. Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard, a Ronald Reagan appointee, found the disciplinary nature of the dress code violates the equal protection clause, but said dress codes are not covered by Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex for all schools receiving federal aid.

Is Omicron Another Lab Creation?

Mercola – According to media reports, the Omicron variant was discovered in Botswana, in four fully “vaccinated” individuals. Physicians in South Africa responded saying that while the variant has been detected, they are not seeing significant illness from it. All cases so far have been mild and none has required hospitalization

Omicron appears to be evading the COVID jab, resulting in breakthrough infections at a higher rate than previous variants. This is a sign that the mass vaccination campaign may be breeding “vaccine” resistance

There’s a curious feature of Omicron, however, that hints at it having been modified in a lab. The closest genetic sequences date back to mid-2020. It doesn’t seem to belong to any of the evolutionary branches that have emerged since

Omicron has 25 nonsynonymous and only one synonymous spike mutation compared to its most recent common ancestor, AV.1. Were it a natural occurrence, that ratio ought to be somewhere between 25 to 50 and 25 to 100

There’s no precedent for this oddity occurring in nature. There is, however, precedent for this in lab-leaked pandemics

Progressive District Attorneys Radically Change Rule of Law in California Cities

Epoch TImes -Amidst a wave of “smash-and-grab” robberies and other crimes, a former prosecutor is claiming that more than 50 prosecutors, support, and victim services staff have quit their jobs over San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s progressive criminal justice reform policies.

“The office is imploding,” said the source, who produced a list of those who’ve left their jobs since Boudin was sworn into office on Jan. 10 last year.

“Not all of them quit, but most of them quit. Some were fired,” said the source, who requested anonymity out of a fear of reprisal. “The list isn’t up to date. I think more have left.”

Boudin fired seven prosecutors his second day on the job.

Another former investigative supervisor sued Boudin for wrongful termination last month, claiming retaliation for calling out “improper and unlawful actions” by two prosecutors.

Boudin’s office hasn’t responded to inquiries.

The source also cited a Sept. 24 Superior Court hearing at which Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan raised concerns about actions taken in the district attorney’s office.

“For what it’s worth, let me say a few things, maybe with the forlorn hope that someone in the DA’s office might pay attention,” Chan said.

Court transcripts quote Chan saying he “wholeheartedly” supports Boudin’s efforts to reform the criminal justice system, but said, “I cannot express in any more certain terms my disapproval of the manner in which the Office of the District Attorney is being managed.”

“We simply cannot have the current levels of inadvertence, disorganization, and expect there to be any public confidence in what we do here collectively.”

Chan criticized the “constant turnover” in the office and said, “I hope that people in the District Attorney’s office will shift their focus from some of the bigger issues and concern themselves with the unglamorous yet necessary work of public prosecution.”

The former prosecutor agreed with Judge Chan’s comments in the hearing and accused Boudin of trying to downplay increased crime statistics.

Document of Interest: Texas v. Biden, No. 21-10806 (5th Cir. 2021)

The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) was created by the Secretary of DHS on December 20, 2018. On June 1, 2021, DHS permanently terminated MPP. The district court subsequently vacated the Termination Decision and ordered DHS to implement the Protocols in good faith or to take a new agency action that complied with the law. DHS chose not to take a new agency action, and instead chose to notice an appeal and defended its Termination Decision, seeking a stay of the district court’s injunction while the appeal was pending. The Fifth Circuit denied the motion and the Supreme Court affirmed. On October 29, 2021, DHS issued two additional memoranda to explain the Termination Decision, purporting to “re-terminate” MPP. The Government then informed the Fifth Circuit that, in its view, the October 29 Memoranda had mooted this case.

Under Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit precedent, the court concluded that this case is nowhere near moot. In any event, the vacatur DHS requests is an equitable remedy, which is unavailable to parties with unclean hands. The court stated that the Government’s litigation tactics disqualify it from such equitable relief. The court addressed and rejected each of the Government’s reviewability arguments and determined that DHS has come nowhere close to shouldering its heavy burden to show that it can make law in a vacuum.

On the merits, the court concluded that the Termination Decision was arbitrary and capricious under the APA. The court also concluded that the Termination Decision is independently unlawful because it violates 8 U.S.C. 1225, which requires DHS to detain aliens, pending removal proceedings, who unlawfully enter the United States and seek permission to stay. Finally, in regard to the Government’s contention that section 1182 allows DHS to parole aliens into the United States on a case-by-case basis, the court concluded that deciding to parole aliens en masse is the opposite of case-by-case decisionmaking. The court denied the Government’s motion to vacate the judgment and affirmed the district court’s judgment.

Wholesale Prices See Biggest Annual Surge on Record, Adding to Broader Inflation Woes

Epoch TImes – Wholesale prices rose at their fastest annual pace on record in November, with the newest inflation-related datapoint adding to broader concerns about the persistence of elevated prices as higher input costs for producers tend to trickle down to consumers.

The Labor Department said in a Dec. 14 statement that, for the 12 months ending in November, the final demand producer price index (PPI) jumped by 9.6 percent, the highest number in the history of the series, which goes back to 2010. Consensus forecasts predicted a slower 9.2 percent rise in the PPI final demand measure.

On a month-over-month basis, the final demand PPI gauge rose 0.8 percent in November. While that’s lower than the record high 1.2 percent logged in January, it represents an acceleration in wholesale prices from the prior month’s reading of 0.6 percent and a sign that inflationary pressures were once again picking up steam.

Producer prices excluding food, energy, and trade services—a gauge often preferred by economists as it excludes the most volatile components—also shot up in November compared to the prior month’s readings. On a month-over-month basis, so-called core PPI rose 0.7 percent in November, nearly double October’s pace of 0.4 percent. In the year through November, core PPI climbed 6.9 percent, the largest advance in the history of this particular series, which dates back to 2014.

“Not good news—PPI is the wholesale price index, which is a leading indicator for future consumer inflation,” Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican, wrote in a tweet.

Allianz chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian said in a tweet that the hotter-than-expected PPI jump would make the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, set to conclude on Wednesday, “even more interesting.”

CA Governor Newsom Unveils Plan for Assault Weapons Ban With Texas’s Abortion Bill as Inspiration

It would allow private citizens to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells those weapons for up to $10,000

Morning Brew – When Texas passed an abortion law that leaves enforcement authority in the hands of private individuals, experts predicted this unusual structure could become a model for other legislation.

They were right. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this weekend that he’s crafting a law that bans assault-style weapons using an enforcement approach similar to that of Texas’s abortion bill. It would allow private citizens to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells those weapons for up to $10,000 (Texas’s law empowers individuals to sue abortion clinics.)

• Some context: California had previously banned assault weapons for 32 years, but that was overturned this summer by a federal judge. Newsom ripped the judge following the ruling and began looking for alternative ways to enforce an assault weapons ban.

Enter: Texas

Newsom, a Democrat, is no fan of Texas’s law that bans most abortions—he’s even pledged to make California an abortion “sanctuary” should Roe v. Wade get upended by the Supreme Court.

So far, Texas’s law is holding up in court despite a barrage of legal challenges, and last week the Supreme Court allowed it to remain in effect. Newsom thought, “Hey, if they can do it to advance their policy goals, so can I.”

• Gun rights advocates saw this coming. One nonprofit even filed a brief with the Supreme Court opposing Texas’s abortion law because of the potential consequences for the second amendment.

Big picture: Republicans in California say Newsom’s announcement is just “grandstanding” in order to pad his presidential resume, should he decide to run. But it’s still a sign that other states aiming to ramp up gun control may take their cue from Texas.