Hard Numbers: France enshrines abortion rights, US inflation cools, Venezuela’s many elections, Trump barred from Illinois ballot, House votes to avert shutdown, Dozens killed while seeking aid in Gaza
⅔: France is expected to enshrine the right to an abortion in their constitution next week if the bill achieves a ⅔ majority vote in a joint session of parliament. President Emmanuel Macron proposed the measure in response to the rollback of abortion rights in the US, and it overwhelmingly passed in both houses of the French Parliament.
2.4%: Inflation in the US fell to 2.4% in January, in line with the Federal Reserve’s expectations. However, the Fed has said it won't lower interest rates until inflation has reliably returned to the 2% target.
20: Venezuela’s government proposed 20 potential dates for a presidential election this year, ranging from mid-April through December. It’s still not clear whether candidates previously banned from running for office, including President Nicolás Maduro’s strongest adversary this year, Maria Corina Machado, can participate.
14: Illinois has barred Former President Donald Trump from their ballot on the same 14th amendment grounds as Colorado, which is currently being weighed by the Supreme Court. Trump has appealed Illinois ruling, and the case will likely fall under the Supreme Court’s decision on the Colorado case.
12: In a rare spurt of bipartisan productivity, Congress reached a deal on 12 spending bills and averted a government shutdown that was impending on Saturday. The deal was approved by House and Senate leaders from both parties yesterday, which paved the way for the bills to pass in the House on Thursday. The spending bills are only a stop-gap measure, ensuring that the government keeps the lights for a few more weeks while Congress debates full-year funding bills.
112: At least 112 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday when Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd of people gathered around aid trucks, Gaza health officials said. President Joe Biden said the incident was likely to complicate cease-fire talks. The Israeli military offered a conflicting account, stating that dozens were trampled and killed as people “stampeded” aid trucks. But the military also said warning shots were fired in a nearby incident, with one spokesperson stating that soldiers fired in self-defense when people kept approaching. The spokesperson did not specify how many were killed, but rejected the toll offered by Gaza officials.