堕胎药获取途径受阻：联邦裁决与最高法院介入
美国联邦上诉法院于上周五做出裁决，实质性地颠覆了美国民众获取堕胎服务的途径，并将此议题再次推向最高法院。此次争议核心围绕着堕胎药米非司酮（Mifepristone: 一种用于终止妊娠的药物）展开。自2021年起，美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA: 负责食品、药品、化妆品、医疗器械等产品安全监管的美国政府机构）允许医疗机构通过邮寄方式分发该药物，这一政策调整是在疫情高峰期为应对患者就医不便而做出的。在最高法院于次年推翻“罗诉韦德案”裁决后，针对堕胎药的远程医疗问诊变得日益普遍，尤其是在那些实施堕胎禁令或限制的州，患者转向州外医疗机构获取服务。总体而言，全美范围内通过远程医疗进行的堕胎服务变得越来越常见，据统计，去年上半年超过四分之一的堕胎服务通过此方式提供。
然而，路易斯安那州对此提起了诉讼，声称这种做法使其州的堕胎禁令形同虚设，并让该州不得不为因药物副作用受害的女性承担医疗补助费用。联邦上诉法院裁定，尽管路易斯安那州的诉讼将继续进行，但FDA必须要求患者亲自就医才能获得米非司酮。面对这一裁决，该药物的两家生产商已向最高法院提出紧急请求，要求立即恢复全面获取。其中一家厂商称该诉讼是对“必要药物的无端攻击”。目前已有超过100项研究证实米非司酮的安全性和有效性。在此期间，堕胎服务提供者已被迫做出调整，包括取消远程医疗预约，或转而开出效果略差、副作用可能更大的替代药物。这一变化不仅影响到从州外获取药物的女性，也对农村地区、无法找到儿童看护或难以请假亲自就医的患者造成冲击。怀俄明州唯一的堕胎诊所表示，已暂时中止所有远程医疗堕胎预约。
Original English Source
[music]
From The New York Times, it's the
headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's
Monday, May 4th. Here's what we're
covering.
A federal appeals court ruling on Friday
has upended abortion access in the US
and put the issue back in front of the
Supreme Court. Here's what to know about
the case.
[music]
It centers on the abortion pill
mifepristone.
Since 2021, the FDA has allowed medical
providers to send that drug through the
mail. It made that change at the height
of the pandemic when a lot of people
couldn't get to the doctor.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe
v. Wade the next year, telemedicine
appointments for abortion pills became
even more popular. Patients in states
with bans or restrictions on the
procedure turned to out-of-state
providers. And just in general,
nationwide, abortion through
telemedicine has become more and more
common. By one count, more than a
quarter of all abortions in the first
half of last year were provided that
way.
But now, Louisiana has sued to stop
that,
[music]
claiming the practice has allowed
patients to get around the state's
near-total abortion ban and put the
state on the hook for Medicaid bills for
women harmed by the drug.
On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled
that while Louisiana's lawsuit is moving
forward, the FDA must require patients
to visit medical providers in person to
get mifepristone.
Two manufacturers of the drug filed an
emergency request with the Supreme Court
over the weekend, asking the justices to
step in and immediately restore full
access. One called the lawsuit a
baseless attack on an essential
medication.
More than 100 studies have found
mifepristone to be safe and effective.
In the meantime, abortion providers have
already been forced to adapt over the
last few days, either canceling
telehealth appointments or prescribing a
medication that's considered somewhat
less effective and more likely to have
side effects.
The change is upending care not just for
women getting medication from out of
state, but also for patients in rural
areas or those who can't find child care
or get time off work to see a doctor in
person.
The only abortion clinic in Wyoming told
the Times that it has temporarily
suspended all telehealth abortion
appointments for now.
投票权法案削弱背景下的南部选区重划争议
最高法院关于路易斯安那州的裁决余波未平，现在又到了重新划分选区的时候。上周最高法院削弱了投票权法案（Voting Rights Act: 旨在禁止投票中的种族歧视的联邦立法）后，南部多州正在发起新的选区重划行动。阿拉巴马州和田纳西州州长已召集特别会议，一些共和党人急于在中期选举前稀释黑人多数选区（Majority-Black Districts: 选民以非洲裔美国人为主的选区）。他们计划将这些选区延伸至孟菲斯市外100至120英里，并可能将其一分为三。这一举动引起了民主党人的警觉，尤其是在孟菲斯，共和党人正试图拆分一个在州历史上曾选出首位黑人联邦众议员的选区。田纳西州副州长声称：“田纳西州现在有机会向华盛顿再输送一名共和党议员。我们打算抓住这个机会。”
Original English Source
In another quick update related to the
Supreme Court, Now that we're on the
other side of this Louisiana decision,
it is time for us to redraw these maps.
After the justices' decision last week
weakened the Voting Rights Act, southern
states are now launching new
redistricting efforts. The governors of
Alabama and Tennessee moved to call
special sessions as some Republicans
rushed to dilute majority-black
districts before the midterms. The way
they're going to change it, it'll extend
these districts out 100, 120 miles out
of Memphis. They'll probably split it
into thirds. That's alarmed Democrats,
especially in Memphis, where Republicans
are clamoring to split up a district
that's the only one in state history to
ever elect a black lawmaker to the US
House of Representatives.
The state's lieutenant governor said,
quote, "Tennessee now has the
opportunity to send another Republican
voice to Washington. We intend to seize
it."
霍尔木兹海峡困境与特朗普的“自由计划”
在与伊朗的战争最新进展中，特朗普总统昨日宣布，美国将于今晨启动一项新行动，旨在帮助那些滞留在霍尔木兹海峡（Strait of Hormuz: 连接波斯湾与阿曼湾的战略性水道）的船只。自战争爆发以来，数百艘货船一直受困于该水域附近。这些船只不仅载有石油和天然气（这已导致燃料价格飙升），还运载着化肥和氦气等关键物资，后者对于制造为人工智能（Artificial Intelligence: 模拟人类智能的机器能力）提供动力的计算机芯片至关重要。由于担心伊朗会用无人机袭击船只或布设水雷，该海峡的交通已停滞近两个月。伊朗还曾提出对每艘船征收高达200万美元的过路费。
特朗普将其解决此问题的努力称为“自由计划”（Project Freedom: 特朗普提出的旨在保障霍尔木兹海峡航运自由的行动），宣称美国现在将“引导船只通过该水域”。尽管具体操作尚不清楚，但美国军方随后发表声明称，将主要协调交通，而非直接护送任何船只通过海峡。特朗普的声明本质上是对伊朗的挑战。他赌伊朗不会向任何试图离开的船只开火，从而避免成为第一个打破停火协议的一方。与此同时，美国与伊朗之间就可能结束战争的长期协议进行的任何谈判仍然停滞不前。
Original English Source
Now, in the latest on the war with Iran,
President Trump announced yesterday that
the US is launching a new effort this
morning to try and help the ships that
have been stranded in the Strait of
Hormuz.
Hundreds of cargo ships have been stuck
near the waterway since the war began.
They're carrying not just oil and
natural gas, which has driven up fuel
prices, but also things like fertilizer
and helium, which is crucial for making
the computer chips that power artificial
intelligence.
Traffic's been pretty much at a
standstill for 2 months now due to fears
about Iran attacking ships with drones
or laying mines.
Iran has also floated charging tolls
upwards of $2 million a ship.
Trump is calling his effort to fix that
Project Freedom, saying the US will now,
quote, "guide ships through the
waterway."
It's not clear what that will look like,
though the US military followed up with
a statement that indicated it would be
coordinating traffic rather than
directly escorting any ships through the
strait.
Trump's announcement is essentially a
challenge to Iran. He's betting the
country won't want to fire on any ships
trying to leave and risk being the first
to break the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, any talks between the US and
Iran on a potential long-term deal to
end the war remain stalled.
Spirit Airlines破产：廉航遗产与航空业影响
Spirit Airlines（美国一家超低成本航空公司）上周末以戏剧性的方式宣布倒闭，全面停止运营，导致数万名乘客滞留。如果您预订了Spirit Airlines的航班，请勿前往机场，将无人为您提供帮助。公司的倒闭并非完全出乎意料。在两年内两次申请破产，并曾向白宫寻求救助但未果。伊朗战争导致的燃油价格上涨也使其雪上加霜。
近2万名员工因此失业，尽管其他航空公司可能会迅速吸收他们，特别是备受追捧的飞行员和机械师。其他航空公司也为滞留的Spirit客户提供了折扣票价。就长期航空旅行而言，Spirit Airlines留下了复杂的遗产。在其鼎盛时期，这家超低成本航空公司因提供极低票价而被誉为“航空旅行民主化”的推动者。那些原本可能无法承担例如前往劳德代尔堡旅行的人，现在可以负担得起了。它还在其运营的机场普遍降低了机票价格，经济学家称之为“Spirit效应”（Spirit effect: 廉价航空公司进入市场导致其他航空公司降低票价的现象）。然而，Spirit也通过对打印登机牌、提前选座或携带随身行李等服务收费，引发了一种逐底竞争（Race to the bottom: 企业为削减成本和提高竞争力而相互压价的行为）。其竞争对手纷纷效仿，其他航空公司也开始推出自己的“超简朴”选项，即基础经济舱（Basic Economy: 航空公司提供的最基本、限制最多的经济舱机票选项）。随着Spirit Airlines完全退出市场，一些专家认为机票价格可能全面上涨，但具体涨幅仍有待观察。
Original English Source
[music]
I'm actually stranded in Dallas now,
apparently stuck in the Orlando airport
trying to get home. I flew Spirit to
Miami yesterday and I just woke up to
the text message that Spirit has
literally shut down. Spirit Airlines
closed down in dramatic fashion over the
weekend, stopping all operations and
leaving tens of thousands of passengers
out of luck. If you have a flight
scheduled with Spirit Airlines,
don't show up at the airport. There will
be no one uh here to assist you. This
was not a total surprise. The company
was in its second bankruptcy in 2 years
and had been asking the White House for
a bailout, which did not come through.
The rising fuel prices from the war in
Iran didn't help, either.
Almost 20,000 employees have lost their
jobs, though other airlines may quickly
snap them up, especially pilots and
mechanics who are in high demand.
The other airlines have also been
offering discounted fares to try and
help out any stranded Spirit customers.
In terms of what this could mean for air
travel in the long run, Spirit leaves
kind of a complicated legacy. In its
heyday, the ultra-low-cost airline was
credited with essentially democratizing
air travel by offering such low fares.
People who might never have been able to
afford, say, a trip to Fort Lauderdale
now could. It also helped keep ticket
prices down in general at airports where
it operated, a phenomenon economists
dubbed the Spirit effect.
But Spirit also created a kind of race
to the bottom by charging for things
like printing your boarding pass,
choosing a seat ahead of time, or having
a carry-on bag. Its competitors started
to do the same, and other airlines also
started introducing their own
super-no-frills option, dubbed basic
economy.
With Spirit now totally out of the
market, some experts think prices could
go up somewhat across the board, though
just how much remains to be seen.
AI代理运营精品店的实践与挑战
我即将走进And And Market，这是一家由And And Labs（一家致力于AI应用研究和开发的实验室）创立的精品店。该店几周前开业，旨在通过将AI代理（AI Agent: 能够自主感知环境、做出决策并执行行动以实现目标的智能软件系统）Luna置于精品店的运营核心，来探索其商业应用的可能性。我的同事Heather Knight一直在报道旧金山这家由AI运营的商店。
具体来说，这家店由一个名为Luna的AI代理负责管理。店内有贺卡、马克杯、各种日期果，看来Luna也开始涉足日期果销售了。还有很多书。我认为它在挑选商品方面有所进步，商品种类比上次多了不少。此前店里显得相当空旷。这家商店被誉为美国首家完全由AI掌控的店铺，包括选品、下单、定价等所有运营环节。
然而，Luna也有一些力所不能及之处，比如拆箱或防范商店扒手。因此，这个AI代理发布了招聘信息，面试了应聘者，并组建了员工团队。Heather表示，迄今为止出现了一些小插曲。Luna曾为员工洗手间订购了1000个马桶座套，随后似乎混淆了商品类别，将其列为待售商品。它还一度严重搞砸了员工排班，导致商店不得不因此关闭数日。出于某种原因，Luna似乎也无法停止订购蜡烛，各种形状、大小和气味的蜡烛，当然，这些气味Luna是无法感知的。
根据受访者的不同，整个项目可以被视为一项实验，也可以被看作是一场营销噱头。但其背后的公司And And Labs对此投入了真金白银。他们签下了三年的租约，而且是在一个租金不菲的街区。他们赋予Luna明确的盈利使命。但到目前为止，这家商店已经亏损了13,000美元。
Original English Source
[music]
And finally, I'm about to walk into And
And Market, which was founded by And And
Labs. It opened a few weeks ago, and
it's an experiment to see what happens
when you put an AI agent in charge of a
boutique. My colleague Heather Knight
has been reporting on a shop in San
Francisco that is run by AI.
Specifically, an AI agent called Luna.
There are some greeting cards, mugs.
What is that? Dates? Multiple types of
dates. I guess Luna's gotten into dates
now. Lots of books. It's getting a
little bit better at picking products, I
think. There's more here than there was
last time.
Um it was pretty empty. The shop is
being billed as the first in the country
to let AI run the show, choosing the
products, doing the ordering, setting
the prices, etc.
There are a few things Luna can't do,
though, like unpack boxes or ward off
shoplifters.
So, the AI agent posted some job
openings, interviewed people, and
brought on staff.
Heather says so far there have been some
hiccups. Luna ordered 1,000 toilet seat
covers for the employee bathroom, then
seemed to get confused and listed them
as merchandise.
It also messed up the employee schedule
so much at one point that the store had
to close for a few days.
And for some reason, it seems like Luna
just can't stop ordering candles, every
shape, size, and smell, which Luna, of
course, can't.
The whole thing is either an experiment
or a stunt, depending on who you ask.
The company behind it, And And Labs, is
committed. They have signed a 3-year
lease and not in a cheap neighborhood.
And they gave Luna the explicit mission
to make money. So far, the shop has lost
$13,000.
Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy
Mumford. [music]
We'll be back tomorrow.
[music]
📌 文中提及的人物和组织
公司/组织: FDA, Supreme Court, Spirit Airlines, And And Labs, The New York Times
产品/模型: mifepristone, Luna