US Domestic News Roundup: Missouri faces deadline to decide on only abortion clinic; USOPC says it is making progress on reforms

Missouri faces deadline to decide if its only abortion clinic can stay open

Missouri health officials will decide on Friday whether to renew the license of the state's only abortion clinic in the latest battle between abortion-rights advocates and states restricting abortion access. If the state denies the license and a legal challenge fails, Missouri could become the only U.S. state without a legal abortion clinic. It is one of 12 states to pass laws restricting abortion access this year, some aimed at provoking a U.S. Supreme Court review of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy.

USOPC says it is making progress on reforms amid new legislation

A top U.S. Olympic official on Thursday said the organization is addressing its failure to protect its athletes from the sexual abuse of a team doctor, comments that come days after the legislation was introduced aimed at reforming the body. U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette on Monday announced legislation that would create a commission to look into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and its national governing bodies, which run the individual sports.

U.S. appeals court lets Trump abortion referral 'gag rule' go into effect

A federal appeals court on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce a controversial rule barring clinics that receive federal funds for family planning services from referring patients to abortion providers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside injunctions blocking nationwide enforcement of the rule, which had been scheduled to take effect on May 3, while California, Oregon and Washington pursue legal challenges in court.

Transgender teen accused in deadly Colorado school shooting wanted revenge

A juvenile accused of opening fire at a Colorado school last month that left one student dead and eight others wounded sought revenge on classmates who bullied him because he is transgender, court documents released on Thursday showed. Alec McKinney, 16, told police he enlisted a second student, Devon Erickson, 18, to help him carry out the shooting at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

The Deciders: Meet the voters defining America's politics

A retiree worried about his granddaughter's future in Pinellas County, Florida. A factory worker in Racine County, Wisconsin, who doubts politicians will improve her life as a single mother. A Boy Scout leader willing to cross party lines to revive his blue-collar town in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. A gay, Latino college student in Maricopa County, Arizona, preparing to cast his first presidential ballot.

Medic stuns courtroom saying he killed prisoner, not Navy SEAL on trial

A Navy SEAL medic testified on Thursday that he was responsible for the death of an Islamic State fighter - not the Navy SEAL defendant undergoing a court martial for war crimes - describing it as a mercy killing. Special Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, a SEAL team medic, said under cross-examination by the defence in a courtroom at the San Diego Naval Base that he killed the fighter by asphyxiation after he saw Gallagher stab the victim with a knife.

Georgia carries out 1,500th U.S. execution since penalty was reinstated

Georgia on Thursday carried out the 1,500th execution in the United States since 1976, the year capital punishment was reinstated, by putting to death a man convicted of killing an off-duty prison guard in 1996. Marion Wilson, 42, who was put to death by lethal injection, was declared dead at 9:52 p.m. EDT at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, the state's department of corrections said in a statement.

U.S. psychoanalysts apologize for labelling homosexuality an illness

The American Psychoanalytic Association apologized on Friday for previously treating homosexuality as a mental illness, saying its past errors contributed to discrimination and trauma for LGBTQ people. It may be the first U.S. medical or mental health organization to issue such an apology. Although psychiatrists declassified homosexuality as a disorder in 1973 and psychologists came around nearly 20 years later, the APsaA says it is unaware of any related professional group to have apologized."It is long past time to recognize and apologize for our role in the discrimination and trauma caused by our profession and say, 'We are sorry,'" according to a statement by Dr Lee Jaffe, president of APsaA. The group uses that abbreviation to distinguish it from the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

U.S. group says Novartis MS drug price out of line with benefit

A U.S. group that reviews the value of medicines issued a critical report on Novartis's new multiple sclerosis drug Mayzent, calling its $88,561 list price "far out of line" compared with its benefits for patients. The Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), which has been reviewing Mayzent for months, recommended that Novartis lower the drug's price.

Fire rips through Philadelphia refinery, no significant injuries

Firefighters are battling a massive fire at Philadelphia Energy Solutions' refinery in Philadelphia, a blaze that has resulted in no significant injuries, the company said on Friday. The fire broke out at the Girard Point section of the 335,000-barrels-per-day refinery early in the day, the company said.