By Sharon Bernstein and Rose Horowitch

(Reuters) – With its excellent academic and music programs, Oberlin College in Ohio seemed like a perfect fit for Nina Huang, a California high school student who plays flute and piano and hopes to eventually study medicine or law.

But Huang, 16, said she crossed the college off her application list after Ohio enacted a near-total ban on abortion last month. She now plans to cast a wider net for schools in states with less restrictive laws.

“I don’t want to go to school in a state where there is an abortion ban,” she said.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide has some students rethinking their higher education plans as states rush to ban or curtail abortion, according to interviews with 20 students and college advisers across the country.

While it has long been the case that some students hesitated to attend schools in places with different political leanings than their own, recent moves by conservative states on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights have deepened the country’s polarization.

For some students, the restrictions raise fears that they won’t be able to get an abortion if they need one or that they will face discrimination for gender differences. Others said they worried about facing racial prejudice or being politically ostracized.

“I’m only in high school right now, and I’m still finding out who I am,” said Samira Murad, 17, who will be a senior this fall at Stuyvesant High School in New York. “I don’t want to move somewhere I can’t be myself because of laws put in place.”

It is too soon to determine whether such concerns will affect admissions in a measurable way, and evidence from other recent divisive state laws suggests there may be little overall impact.

But in the wake of Roe’s overturn, college counselors said abortion has figured prominently in many conversations with clients, with some going as far as nixing their dream schools.

“Some of our students have explicitly stated that they will not apply to colleges and universities in states which may infringe on their access to reproductive rights,” said Daniel Santos, chief executive of the Florida college counseling company Prepory.

‘TOPIC OF CONCERN’

Kristen Willmott, a counselor with Top Tier Admissions in Massachusetts, said students she works with have told her they are taking some top schools in Texas, Florida and Tennessee off their application lists due to their restrictive abortion laws.

Alexis Prisco, who is entering her senior year at Eastern Technical High School in Maryland, had planned to apply to her parents’ alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

She feels wary, however, after the state enacted a law effectively banning abortion.

“Now my mom has warned me that I need to be very careful when applying to schools in states with trigger laws,” said Prisco, 17, referring to bans designed to take effect once the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

Washington University declined to comment but shared a June 24 statement in which university leaders acknowledged the fears and frustration felt by some after the court ruling. Oberlin College did not respond to requests for comment.

Several students raised similar concerns about attending college in North Carolina after the state in 2016 passed a law restricting which bathrooms transgender people could use, said counselor Jayson Weingarten of New York-based Ivy Coach.

But he said many still chose to attend Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Admissions statistics from UNC show the number of applicants increased by 14% between 2016 and 2017 despite individual students’ unease.

Abortion is “a topic of concern for most of the students but not something that’s going to dissuade them from going to one of the most highly selective schools in the country,” Weingarten said.

Shahreen Abedin, a spokesperson for the University of Texas’ medical school, said the school had not seen a drop in applications that it could reasonably attribute to a state ban on abortions after six weeks that took effect in September.

For Maryland high school student Sabrina Thaler, however, the prospect of attending college in a state that bans abortion is unsettling.

Thaler, 16, recalled the question she posed to her high school class during a discussion in May after the decision that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade was leaked.

“What if I go to a college in a state where abortion is banned and I get raped and then I don’t have the option to have an abortion?”

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California and Rose Horowitch in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis)

Being a member of Kody Brown‘s polygamist, Mormon family means abiding by a certain set of guidelines, but the Sister Wives lead and estranged wife Meri Brown‘s only child together, Leon, is making it clear they’re forging their own path in life.

Last month, the 26-year-old revealed they’re transgender, announcing they’ll now go by Leon or Leo instead of Mariah. They’ll also be using “they/them” pronouns.

“I remember the first time that i knew i wasn’t a girl. i was pretty young & unfortunately i grew up in a context that was incredibly gendered & restrictive. so i continued to be socialized as a girl & later a woman,” they wrote in their Instagram reveal. “And here’s the thing, i’m finally ready to share my favorite self with the world. and that self is incredibly genderqueer, trans, and unapologetic.”

‘SISTER WIVES’ STAR MERI BROWN IS LIVING IT UP DURING WEEKEND GETAWAY WITH GAL PALS: ‘GOOD TIMES’

Continued Brown, “Being queer & trans are definitely some of my favorite parts of myself. and yet, there are so many things that i am learning to love about myself through this process. here’s to me getting to know myself, share myself, and continually evolve to be the person i am, to be my favorite self in all contexts.”

Scroll down to learn more about the reality star.

They’re an activist

On their Instagram account, which has over 170,000 followers, Brown describes themselves as a “radical humanist,” and many of their posts are focused on things like Pride, Black Lives Matter and transgender rights.

In one post about the BLM movement, they encouraged others to safely protest, sign a petition or donate money to help the cause.

They’re a dog lover

Brown owns two pups of their own.

“I’m not a parent to humans, but I sure do love being ‘dog mom,’” they wrote in an old social media post. “They help me appreciate the small things — like a sunny Sunday, a sweet smell in the morning, running around & enjoying moving our bodies. I think we can all learn a good lesson in following our intuition from our little pups, don’t you think?”

They’re a yogi

One look at Brown’s socials and you’ll immediately learn they’re frequently practicing with their mat. In 2019, they partnered with the MindBody app.

The star said they were “stoked to work with a company that has truly made yoga feel accessible.” Added Brown, “MINDBODY connection is something I am constantly cultivating in my life. Connection to self, through my self care/wellness practices, help me better connect to the world around me.”

By Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper

LONDON (Reuters) -Boris Johnson will announce his resignation as British prime minister on Thursday after he was abandoned by ministers and his Conservative Party’s lawmakers who said he was no longer fit to govern.

With eight ministers, including two secretaries of state, resigning in the last two hours, an isolated and powerless Johnson was set to bow to the inevitable and declare he was stepping down later on Thursday, a source said.

His Downing Street office confirmed that Johnson would make a statement to the country later.

After days of battling for his job, Johnson had been deserted by all but a handful of allies after the latest in a series of scandals broke their willingness to support him.

“His resignation was inevitable,” Justin Tomlinson, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, said on Twitter. “As a party we must quickly unite and focus on what matters. These are serious times on many fronts.”

The Conservatives will now have to elect a new leader, a process which could take about two months. It was not clear whether Johnson would or could stay on in a caretaker role while the person who would be the new prime minister was chosen.

“As well as resigning as party leader the PM must resign his office,” Conservative lawmaker Nick Gibb said. “After losing so many ministers, he has lost the trust and authority required to continue.”

Support for Johnson had evaporated during one of the most turbulent 24 hours in recent British political history, epitomised by finance minister, Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed to his post on Tuesday, calling on his boss to resign.

Zahawi and other cabinet ministers had gone to Downing Street on Wednesday evening, along with a senior representative of those lawmakers not in government, to tell Johnson the game was up.

Initially, Johnson refused to go and seemed set to dig in, sacking Michael Gove – a member of his top ministerial team who was one of the first to tell him he needed to resign – in a bid to reassert his authority.

One ally had told the Sun newspaper that party rebels would “have to dip their hands in blood” to get rid of Johnson.

But by Thursday morning as a slew of resignations poured in, it became clear his position was untenable.

“This is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country,” Zahawi said on Twitter. “You must do the right thing and go now.”

Some of those that remained in post, including defence minister Ben Wallace, said they were only doing so because they had an obligation to keep the country safe.

There had been so many ministerial resignations that the government was facing paralysis with no one willing to accept the vacant posts.

FROM POPULAR TO DESERTED

The ebullient Johnson came to power nearly three years ago, promising to deliver Britain’s departure from the European Union and rescue it from the bitter wrangling that followed the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Since then, some Conservatives had enthusiastically backed the former journalist and London mayor while others, despite reservations, supported him because he was able to appeal to parts of the electorate that usually rejected their party.

That was borne out in the December 2019 election. But his administration’s combative and often chaotic approach to governing and a series of scandals have exhausted the goodwill of many of his lawmakers while opinion polls show he is no longer popular with the public at large.

The recent crisis erupted after lawmaker Chris Pincher, who held a government role involved in pastoral care, was forced to quit over accusations he groped men in a private member’s club.

Johnson had to apologise after it emerged that he was briefed that Pincher had been the subject of previous sexual misconduct complaints before he appointed him. The prime minister said he had forgotten.

This followed months of scandals and missteps, including a damning report into boozy parties at his Downing Street residence and office that broke strict COVID-19 lockdown rules and saw him fined by police over a gathering for his 56th birthday.

There have also been policy U-turns, an ill-fated defence of a lawmaker who broke lobbying rules, and criticism that he has not done enough to tackle inflation, with many Britons struggling to cope with rising fuel and food prices.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Johnson’s resignation was good news for Britain.

“But it should have happened long ago,” he said. “He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale.”

(Writing by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate Holton, Frank Jack Daniel, Toby Chopra and Mark Heinrich)

Less than two weeks ago, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which affects access to abortion, and since then, Madonna has continued to raise her voice to support women’s rights.

On the Fourth of July, the singer shared an uncomfortable black-and-white video that showed a woman being dragged around a prison by security guards who eventually toss her on the floor. At the end of the video, a quote by Jean Paul Sartre appears on the screen: “Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”

The superstar, 63, captioned her post, “This is what life looks like if you’re a woman in America………….It’s not Independence Day For Us. Let’s start A Revolution!”

Fans were excited to see the Grammy winner expressing her opinions, with one writing, “MADONNA IS A TRUE AMERICAN. ,” while another commented, “Let’s fix #America – Let’s get to work!”

The “Like a Prayer” crooner has always been one to make her views known, and just a few months ago, she pushed the envelope when she released a NFT that portrayed her in the nude and giving birth to butterflies.

Unsurprisingly, the image ruffled more than a few feathers, but the mom-of-six defended the saucy artwork.

“I wanted to investigate the concept of creation, not only the way a child enters the world through a woman’s vagina, but also the way an artist gives birth to creativity,” she reasoned. “Most importantly we wanted to use this opportunity to benefit mothers and children who are most in need right now.”

MADONNA’S WILDEST MOMENTS THROUGH HER YEARS OF FAME — SEE THE LEGENDARY PHOTOS

“But on a more existential level, I’m giving birth to art and creativity and we would be lost without both,” added the star. “I think it’s really important that a lot of thought and conversation went into creating these videos.”

Despite her risqué antics, she recently made a plea to try and meet Pope Francis.

“Hello @Pontifex Francis —I’m a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don’t Swear,” she tweeted. “It’s been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters? I’ve been ex communicated 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair.”

He’s just that nice! After Keanu Reeves hopped off his flight, he was approached by an adoring fan, and instead of brushing him off, the actor was nothing but kind.

“Keanu Reeves was on my flight from London to NYC today. A young boy asked for an autograph at baggage & then began to fire off a series of rapid-fire questions. Keanu happily responded to every single one…” TV producer Andrew Kimmel wrote alongside a photo via Twitter.

“Kid: Why were you in London? KR: Filming a documentary. Kid: I saw online you were at the Grand Prix (pronouncing the x) KR: Yes, the Grand Prix (in a French accent, without correcting him). F1! Race cars! Kid: Do you drive? KR: Not F1, but I like riding motorcycles,” Kimmel said of the conversation.

“Kid: Do you live in NY? KR: I live in LA,” Kimmel continued. “Kid: How long are you gonna be in New York? KR: Four days! No… five. Five days! Kid: Why are you in NY? KR: Gonna see a broadway show! Kid: What broadway show? KR: American Buffalo! Mamet! Kid: Where are you staying in NY? KR: Midtown! By this time the kid was running out of questions, so Keanu started grilling him Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite?”

Despite the interrogation, the Matrix star, 57, “, especially after an international flight,” Kimmel shared. “I thought I’d share this because the dude is a class act and little moments like this can make such a big difference in people’s lives. We need more Keanus!”

Of course, people couldn’t help but gush over the sweet interaction. One person wrote, “Keanu Reeves is a wonderful human being. The best part of this interaction is that he also asked the kid questions and listened to his answers. He treated this boy like an equal,” while another added, “This is so keanu! Possibly the most patient, humble, humorous person crossed paths with. He doesn’t take himself seriously & zero ego. You literally can’t offend him if you tried. He could have been a monk ;). You feel at ease around him. Thank u God 4 gifting him to humanity.”

By John Shiffman

(Reuters) – A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal charge of defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting their family members’ corpses and selling the body parts without permission, a practice exposed in a 2018 Reuters investigative report https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-bodies-funeral.

Megan Hess, who operated a funeral home called Sunset Mesa and a human body parts business called Donor Services from the same building, entered the plea to the charge of fraud at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher in Grand Junction, Colorado. Gallagher scheduled Hess, who had previously pleaded not guilty, to be sentenced in January, with the prosecution calling for 12 to 15 years in prison.

Hess, 45, admitted on Tuesday that through her funeral home, located in the town of Montrose in the western part of the state, she defrauded at least a dozen families seeking cremation services for deceased relatives. Instead of cremating the bodies, court records show, her body broker company harvested heads, spines, arms and legs and then sold them, mostly for surgical training and other educational purposes.

Hess had been scheduled to go on trial in three weeks along with her mother, Shirley Koch, who also previously pleaded not guilty. Koch’s change-of-plea hearing is set for July 12.

After Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Chaffin made his sentencing recommendation, the lawyer for Hess, Dan Shaffer, urged a lighter sentence of about two years in prison. Hess has been free on bond since her arrest.

During the hearing, the judge asked Hess to describe in her own words the crimes she committed. Hess initially called the whole affair a “legal travesty.” When prodded by the judge, Hess agreed with the prosecution that she defrauded her victims, though she declined to go into detail.

Two family members and one friend of deceased people whose body parts were sold without permission by Hess spoke at the hearing. They told the judge that while they were still emotionally reeling from the episode and wanted to learn more details about what occurred, they welcomed the news that Hess had decided to plead guilty.

To increase sales, Hess targeted poor and vulnerable families as they grappled with a relative’s final days, according to government court filings.

“Meeting with hospice on the 4th … opening the floodgates of donors,” Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. “They have four or five deaths a day. Get ready!!!! … How about a deal on full embalmed spines … $950?”

Selling organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant is illegal in the United States. But the sale of cadavers and body parts for use in research or education, which is what Hess did, is not regulated by federal law.

Few state laws provide any regulation, and almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human body parts. After the Reuters 2018 investigation, Colorado’s legislature strengthened the state’s oversight.

Hess charged families up to $1,000 for cremations that never occurred, prosecutors said, and she also offered others a free cremation in exchange for a body donation. Many families received ashes from bins mixed with the remains of different cadavers, authorities said, and one client received concrete mix instead of a relative’s ashes.

FBI agents found that Hess forged dozens of body-donor consent forms. In court documents, a former employee accused Hess of earning $40,000 by extracting and selling the gold teeth of some of the deceased, an allegation first revealed in the 2018 Reuters report.

The Reuters series https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-bodies uncovered the actions of Sunset Mesa and Donor Services. Former workers told Reuters about questionable practices at the facility, including the dismembering of bodies without the knowledge or consent of families.

About a month after the Reuters stories, the FBI raided the site and state regulators shuttered the funeral home and crematory. A federal grand jury indicted Hess and Koch in 2020.

(Reporting by John Shiffman in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)