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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan elections board on Wednesday rejected an abortion rights initiative after its two Republican board members voted against putting the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

EDMONTON — Alberta Health Services says an Edmonton-area hospital is to temporarily close its obstetrics unit for the second time in less than a month due to a lack of specialists.

OTTAWA — The CRTC says it will launch a new emergency crisis number for people in need of immediate mental health or suicide prevention support.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A nurse practitioner from northern Virginia sued CVS Health on Wednesday, saying she was fired for refusing to provide abortion-inducing drugs at its MinuteClinic medical facilities.

MARKHAM, Ont. — York Region public health said Wednesday that lab results are expected at the end of this week to confirm the presence of a plant-based toxin in a spice that is suspected of sickening 12 diners at a Markham, Ont.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma prosecutors should pursue charges against those who perform elective abortions but should give “substantial leeway" to doctors treating pregnant women for emergency conditions, the state's attorney general wrote Wednesda

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick's education minister said Wednesday he is hoping for a "reasonably normal" school year as students get ready for another academic term with COVID-19 still posing a threat.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor on Wednesday signed a new executive order that pledges $10 million to build a clinic that would provide abortions and other pregnancy care.

TORONTO — People in Ontario who test positive for COVID-19 no longer have to isolate for five days, the province's top doctor said Wednesday in announcing what he called a "practical and pragmatic" new approach to the dealing with the virus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days.