Incoming: The Reign Of "Old Town Road" Is Over

Planned Parenthood funding, no-deal Brexit rehearsal, NYPD fires the officer who killed Eric Garner. Your BuzzFeed News newsletter, Aug. 20.

Planned Parenthood will withdraw from a federal funding program because of an abortion “gag rule”

First, a bit of context: Title X is the federal grant program for family planning organizations. Planned Parenthood serves more than 40% of the patients that receive care through that program.

In May, the Trump administration introduced rules barring abortion refferals or suggesting where a patient can get an abortion. After courts didn’t block the new rules last week, Planned Parenthood announced it will withdraw from the funding program.

The new regulations bar federal family planning money from going to clinics and organizations that offer non-abortion services — such as contraception services, gynecological exams, and cancer screenings — in the same facilities where they perform abortions.

What this means: More than 1.5 million low-income women use Planned Parenthood for birth control, pregnancy tests, disease screening, and other health services, in part with support from Title X. The head of Planned Parenthood says “the impact of this gag rule will reverberate across the country.”

The NYPD fired the officer who killed Eric Garner with a chokehold

In July 2014, Daniel Pantaleo killed Eric Garner, a father of five, by using a prohibited chokehold to restrain him. Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” turned into a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Five years later, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill announced that Pantaleo has been fired. O'Neill's decision came after the New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board filed administrative charges against Pantaleo in 2018.

The investigation found that Pantaleo “consciously disregarded the substantial and unjustifiable risk” of a chokehold.

SNAPSHOTS

The El Paso widower who invited “everyone” to his wife’s funeral after she died in the Aug 3. Mass shooting had his car stolen — and people got together to him a new one the next day. Antonio Basco was once again supported by a community of strangers who wanted to help.

The El Salvador woman who was tried twice for having a stillbirth has been acquitted. Evelyn Hernández was put on trial — again — last week for aggravated murder after she delivered a stillborn in 2016. After weeks of uncertainty, a judge ruled on Monday that she was innocent.

A 19-year-old was arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot up an abortion clinic on iFunny. Farhan Sheikh allegedly threatened to target doctors, patients, and visitors in his post. He is the second user on iFunny to be arrested in less than a week for allegedly making violent remarks on the site, which has become an online hub of far-right extremism.

This high school grad was left out of her yearbook because she wore a tux. Holley Gerelds skipped the black velvet drape traditionally worn by female grads in their senior yearbook photos, and put on a tuxedo instead. Her photos were cut out of the yearbook, in what she says is the first time she was discriminated against for being a lesbian. The school has agreed to reprint the yearbook with Gerelds included.

Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” has officially dethroned Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” on the Billboard Hot 100. After an unprecedented 19 weeks in the top spot, the reign of “Old Town Road” has come to an end. “Bad Guy” had been No. 2 for nine weeks and is now Eilish’s first No. 1 hit. This also makes Eilish the first artist born this century to hit No. 1.

British diplomats are preparing for a no-deal Brexit dress rehearsal

British diplomats are getting ready for a government-wide no-deal dress rehearsal, codenamed “Exercise Yellow Rehearse.” It will involve all Foreign Office posts in Europe and government departments in London.

The exercise is a sign that a no-deal Brexit is seen as the most likely scenario. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has committed to executing Britain’s exit from the European Union by the end of October, with a deal or without.

Departing the EU without a deal would put significant strain on the UK’s diplomatic network, which would have to deal with an array of issues, like the status of British citizens across the EU.

A source told us planning for the rehearsal is underway, and it's currently scheduled to take place Oct. 8–9, just three weeks before Brexit day. The purpose of the exercise would be to try to manage some of the chaos that would be created if the UK crashed out of the EU without a deal.

An influencer is defending her decision to post a photo shoot of her motorcycle accident on Instagram

Tiffany Mitchell, a lifestyle blogger based in Nashville, is answering critics who are questioning her decision to turn a scary motorcycle accident into an impromptu photo shoot.

Mitchell got into a motorcycle accident that left her shaken and with minor scrapes. A photographer friend was driving alongside taking photos of her at the time. The friend then continued to snap photos during and after the traumatic event.

The photos — including some of Mitchell lying on the road being tended to, and one with a bottle of Smartwater — were then shared on Instagram with a lengthy caption.

Many people sent Mitchell warm wishes. Others were taken aback by the optics of taking, and then sharing, professional-grade photos of her actual accident. It looked like this:


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