Nebraska Woman Who Gave Abortion Pills to Teen Daughter Gets Two Years in Prison

For The New York Times, Jesus Jiménez reports that Jessica Burgess, a Nebraska woman who acquired abortion pills that her teenage daughter used to end her pregnancy last year, was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison. Burgess, 42, was charged with violating Nebraska’s abortion law, furnishing false information to a law enforcement officer, and removing or concealing human skeletal remains after the police found private Facebook messages she had exchanged with her daughter. Her daughter, Celeste Burgess, was released from jail on Sept. 11 after serving 90 days in jail for removing or concealing human skeletal remains. PRRI finds that 81% of Americans oppose laws that make it a felony crime to seek an abortion.

Millions of LGBTQ+ Americans Overlooked in Census Data May Soon Be Able To Share Their Experiences

Orion Rummler for 19th News describes the U.S. Census Bureau’s plan to include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in next year’s American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS collects additional data that are not covered in the Census, including information on internet access, transportation, employment, education, and more. In the past, the ACS has only been able to identify cohabiting same-sex couples, which overstated the economic well-being of LGBTQ+ people, according to a report from the Brookings Institute. PRRI finds that LGBTQ Americans are more than twice as likely as the general population to be under age 30 and to belong to Generation Z.

Earth’s Sixth Mass Extinction Is Underway and “Rapidly Accelerating,” Study Warns

In a new study, researchers warn that Earth’s sixth mass extinction is rapidly accelerating, Ivana Saric at Axios reports. According to the study, animal species are going extinct at rates 35 times faster than the historical norm over the past million years. Furthermore, the study found that habitat destruction, illegal trade, and climate disruption will likely continue to drive extinction rate acceleration in the coming decades. By losing entire branches of genera, “we’re losing the capability of the planet to maintain life in general, and to maintain human life in particular,” Gerardo Ceballos, the study’s lead author, stated. Register for PRRI’s upcoming webinar on climate change here.

National Cathedral Swaps Confederate Windows for Kerry James Marshall’s Art

The Washington Post’s Marisa Iati reports that Kerry James Marshall replaced the Washington National Cathedral’s former Confederate-themed windows for a $18.65 commission to symbolize 1865, the year the nation’s last enslaved African Americans were liberated at the conclusion of the Civil War. The cathedral revealed the stained glass windows this weekend, seven years after deciding the Confederate imagery should be replaced as a result of heightened racial tensions nationwide. The 2022 PRRI-EPU Religion and Inclusive Public Spaces national survey found three in four Black Americans (76%) agreed with the statement “We should not memorialize historical figures who supported the Confederacy or racial segregation in public spaces,” compared with less than half of white Americans (48%).

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Read PRRI’s full report “Creating More Inclusive Public Spaces: Structural Racism, Confederate Memorials, and Building for the Future” here.