In brief: Federal judge blocks abortion law

JACKSON, Miss. – A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked enforcement of a Mississippi law that could shut down the only abortion clinic in the state.

U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan in Jackson issued a temporary restraining order the day the new law took effect.

He set a July 11 hearing to determine whether to block the law for a longer time.

“Though the debate over abortion continues, there exists legal precedent the court must follow,” Jordan wrote.

The law requires anyone performing abortions at the state’s only clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. Such privileges can be difficult to obtain, and the clinic contends the mandate is designed to put it out of business. A clinic spokeswoman, Betty Thompson, has said the two physicians who do abortions there are OB-GYNs who travel from other states.

The clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, filed a lawsuit seeking to block it. The suit says the admitting privileges requirement is not medically necessary.

If Jackson Women’s Health Organization closes, Mississippi would be the only state without an abortion clinic.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said repeatedly he wants Mississippi to be abortion-free.

Four killed when helicopter crashes

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. – Sheriff’s officials say a private helicopter has crashed into an Arizona river, killing all four people who were onboard.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said the crash in the remote area likely took place Saturday during a flight from Sedona to Scottsdale.

Searchers reached the Verde River crash site on Sunday and found four bodies: the pilot, 70-year-old Raymond Perry, of Phoenix; 68-year-old passenger Karen Stinn, of Cave Creek; and 63-year-old Mike Dunaway and 64-year-old Linda Dunaway, of Glendale.

Scouts, leader, child killed in collision

Authorities have released the names of three Boy Scouts and their Scout leader who were killed in a head-on collision while driving back to Colorado from a camp in Wyoming.

The Woodland Park School District says Paul Kekich, 16, Nick Naples, 17, and Alex Ragan, 17, died in Saturday’s crash. Their leader, Richard Kleiner, also died.

The four were traveling on their way back to Woodland Park. Their vehicle crossed the centerline and collided with a motor home. The Wyoming Highway Patrol said a 3-year-old passenger in the motor home also died.

Four others were injured in the crash.