Clinton aides agree to preserve emails after judge’s order

Clinton aides agree to preserve emails after judge’s order

WASHINGTON

Two aides to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have agreed not to delete any work-related emails or documents after an order from a federal judge that they preserve the records, according to their lawyers.

The pledges from Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills are contained in court documents submitted by the State Department this week as a part of a public-records lawsuit brought by the conservative group Judicial Watch.

That lawsuit sought records related to Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, specifically documents about the work of Abedin, Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff.

Truck bomb kills 67 at Baghdad market

BAGHDAD

In one of the deadliest single attacks in postwar Baghdad, a truck bomb shattered a popular fruit-and-vegetable market in a teeming Shiite neighborhood Thursday, killing 67 people and wounding more than 150 others.

Militants from the self-described Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing that incinerated much of the Jameela market in the district of Sadr City. The dead and wounded were carried away in blood-soaked blankets and garbage bags amid the charred and twisted stalls and spilled produce.

The Sunni extremist group, which holds about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria, said it targeted a gathering place for Shiites and vowed more attacks. It often attacks military checkpoints or predominantly Shiite areas with the goal of undermining confidence in the government’s security efforts.

Court rules against baker

DENVER

A suburban Denver baker who would not make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple cannot cite his Christian beliefs in refusing them service because it would lead to discrimination, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

The three-judge panel said in a 66-page ruling that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law does not prevent baker Jack Phillips from believing what he wants but that if he wants his business open to the public, he is prohibited “from picking and choosing customers based on their sexual orientation.”

The decision is the latest victory for gay couples, who have won similar cases in other states. Gay-rights supporters and religious-freedom advocates have passionately debated whether individuals can cite their beliefs as a basis for declining to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony.

Louisiana, Alabama told actions may violate federal law

BATON ROUGE, La.

Louisiana and Alabama may be violating federal law by ending state Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, federal health officials warned the states after both announced they were cutting off the payments.

Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday that the federal Medicaid agency notified the states of the possible violation.

“Long-standing Medicaid laws prohibit states from restricting individuals who have coverage through Medicaid from receiving care from a qualified provider,” Griffis said in a statement. “By restricting which provider a woman could choose to receive care from, women could lose access to critical preventive care, such as cancer screenings.”

Associated Press