A doctor headed for morning prayers at a Houston mosque was reportedly ambushed by three masked men who shot and wounded him today, a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque. 
 
The victim of the Texas incident, identified as Dr Arslan Tajammul, an eye specialist, was undergoing surgery and was expected to survive, according to KTRK, an ABC television affiliate. 
 
The doctor had parked his car and was walking to the Madrasah Islamiah mosque when he was ambushed and shot twice at about 5:30am. The three attackers fled on foot, KTRK reported. 
 
The victim was able to toss his cell phone to someone at the entrance to the mosque on Bintliff Drive and DeMoss Drive , in southwest Houston, and ask them to call 911, the TV station said. 
 
Houston police did not immediately respond to a request for information. 
 
The shooting took place a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque that had been attended by the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub. 
 
The victim in that case was punched in the head and face outside the Fort Pierce Islamic Center just after 4am on Saturday, the St. Lucie County sheriff&#39;s office said. 
 
Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, 25, was arrested in the attack and was charged with felony battery, the sheriff&#39;s office said. 
 
No racially motivated comments were made to the suspect during the incident, said the sheriff&#39;s office, which added the case is under investigation. 
 
The Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), however, said the attacker uttered racially offensive comments including &quot;you Muslims need to get back to your country&quot;, before assaulting the victim. 
 
The Islamic Center&#39;s imam had requested extra security in the wake of last month&#39;s mass shooting by Omar Mateen at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse. Mateen used to pray at the center. 
 
( Reuters)

Attack comes a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque that had been attended by Omar Mateen

A doctor headed for morning prayers at a Houston mosque was reportedly ambushed by three masked men who shot and wounded him today, a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque. The victim of the Texas incident, identified as Dr Arslan Tajammul, an eye specialist, was undergoing surgery and was expected to survive, according to KTRK, an ABC television affiliate. The doctor had parked his car and was walking to the Madrasah Islamiah mosque when he was ambushed and shot twice at about 5:30am. The three attackers fled on foot, KTRK reported. The victim was able to toss his cell phone to someone at the entrance to the mosque on Bintliff Drive and DeMoss Drive , in southwest Houston, and ask them to call 911, the TV station said. Houston police did not immediately respond to a request for information. The shooting took place a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque that had been attended by the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub. The victim in that case was punched in the head and face outside the Fort Pierce Islamic Center just after 4am on Saturday, the St. Lucie County sheriff's office said. Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, 25, was arrested in the attack and was charged with felony battery, the sheriff's office said. No racially motivated comments were made to the suspect during the incident, said the sheriff's office, which added the case is under investigation. The Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), however, said the attacker uttered racially offensive comments including "you Muslims need to get back to your country", before assaulting the victim. The Islamic Center's imam had requested extra security in the wake of last month's mass shooting by Omar Mateen at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse. Mateen used to pray at the center. ( Reuters)

Doctor shot by three masked attackers outside Houston mosque

The US Supreme Court today handed a victory to abortion rights advocates striking down a Texas law imposing strict regulations on abortion doctors and facilities that its critics contended were specifically designed to shut down clinics. 
 
The 5-3 ruling held that the Republican-backed 2013 law placed an undue burden on women exercising their constitutional right to end a pregnancy established in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The normally nine-justice court was one member short after the February 13 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia who consistently opposed abortion in past rulings. 
 
Conservative justice Anthony Kennedy joined liberal members of the court in ruling that both key provisions of the law violate a woman&#39;s constitutional right to obtain an abortion. 
 
Liberal justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the court, said that the appeals court that upheld the law was wrong in its approach, noting that courts are required to &quot;consider the burdens a law imposes on abortion access together with the benefits that those laws confer.&quot; 
 
Deferring to state legislatures over &quot;questions of medical uncertainty is also inconsistent with this court&#39;s case law,&quot; Breyer added. 
 
Three conservative justices - Chief Justice John Roberts, justice Clarence Thomas and justice Samuel Alito - dissented. 
 
By setting a nationwide legal precedent that the two provisions in the Texas law were unconstitutional, the ruling imperils laws already in place in other states. 
 
Texas had said its law, passed by a Republican-led legislature and signed by a Republican governor in 2013, was aimed at protecting women&#39;s health. The abortion providers had said the regulations were medically unnecessary and intended to shut down clinics. Since the law was passed, the number of abortion clinics in Texas, the second-most-populous US state with about 27 million people, has dropped from 41 to 19. 
 
Democratic President Barack Obama&#39;s administration supported the challenge brought by the abortion providers. 
The Texas law required abortion doctors to have &quot;admitting privileges,&quot; a type of formal affiliation that can be hard to obtain, at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of the clinic so they can treat patients needing surgery or other critical care. 
 
The law also required clinic buildings to possess costly, hospital-grade facilities. These regulations covered numerous building features such as corridor width, the swinging motion of doors, floor tiles, parking spaces, elevator size, ventilation, electrical wiring, plumbing, floor tiling and even the angle that water flows from drinking fountains. 
 
&#39;Substantial obstacle&#39; 
 
&quot;We conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes,&quot; Breyer wrote in the ruling. &quot;Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a pre-viability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the federal Constitution.&quot; 
 
Alito said in his dissenting opinion that the court should have upheld the law on a legal technicality. He criticised the majority, saying that in striking down the law, the court &quot;simply disregards basic rules that apply in all other cases.&quot; 
 
The last time the justices decided a major abortion case was nine years ago when they ruled 5-4 to uphold a federal law banning a late-term abortion procedure. 
 
Abortion rights supporters hailed the ruling. 
 
Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman&rsquo;s Health, which led the challenge to the Texas law, said, &quot;Every day Whole Woman&rsquo;s Health treats our patients with compassion, respect and dignity - and today the Supreme Court did the same. We&rsquo;re thrilled that today justice was served and our clinics stay open.&quot; 
 
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Twitter called the ruling &quot;a victory for women in Texas and across America.&quot; 
 
&quot;This fight isn&#39;t over: The next president has to protect women&#39;s health. Women won&#39;t be &#39;punished&#39; for exercising their basic rights,&quot; she said, a dig at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who once suggested women who get illegal abortions should face &quot;some sort of punishment.&quot; The presidential election is November 8. 
 
Abortion opponents denounced the ruling. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s exceedingly unfortunate that the court has taken the ability to protect women&rsquo;s health out of the hands of Texas citizens and their duly-elected representatives,&quot; Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement. 
 
Republican Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick added that abortion clinics are now &quot;free to ignore these basic safety standards and continue practicing under substandard conditions. By its ruling, the court held that the ability of abortion clinics to remain open &ndash; even under substandard conditions &ndash;outweighs the state&rsquo;s ability to put women&rsquo;s health and safety first.&quot; 
 
Some US states have pursued a variety of restrictions on abortion, including banning certain types of procedures, prohibiting it after a certain number of weeks of gestation, requiring parental permission for girls until a certain age, imposing waiting periods or mandatory counseling, and others. 
 
Americans remain closely divided over whether abortion should be legal. In a Reuters/Ipso online poll involving 6,769 US adults conducted from June 3 to June 22, 47 per cent of respondents said abortion generally should be legal and 42 per cent said it generally should be illegal. 
 
Views on abortion in the United States have changed very little over the decades, according to historical polling data. 
 
(Reuters)

The judges said the laws restricted access to abortion clinics, while rights activists said they were aimed at shutting them down

The US Supreme Court today handed a victory to abortion rights advocates striking down a Texas law imposing strict regulations on abortion doctors and facilities that its critics contended were specifically designed to shut down clinics. The 5-3 ruling held that the Republican-backed 2013 law placed an undue burden on women exercising their constitutional right to end a pregnancy established in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The normally nine-justice court was one member short after the February 13 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia who consistently opposed abortion in past rulings. Conservative justice Anthony Kennedy joined liberal members of the court in ruling that both key provisions of the law violate a woman's constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Liberal justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the court, said that the appeals court that upheld the law was wrong in its approach, noting that courts are required to "consider the burdens a law imposes on abortion access together with the benefits that those laws confer." Deferring to state legislatures over "questions of medical uncertainty is also inconsistent with this court's case law," Breyer added. Three conservative justices - Chief Justice John Roberts, justice Clarence Thomas and justice Samuel Alito - dissented. By setting a nationwide legal precedent that the two provisions in the Texas law were unconstitutional, the ruling imperils laws already in place in other states. Texas had said its law, passed by a Republican-led legislature and signed by a Republican governor in 2013, was aimed at protecting women's health. The abortion providers had said the regulations were medically unnecessary and intended to shut down clinics. Since the law was passed, the number of abortion clinics in Texas, the second-most-populous US state with about 27 million people, has dropped from 41 to 19. Democratic President Barack Obama's administration supported the challenge brought by the abortion providers. The Texas law required abortion doctors to have "admitting privileges," a type of formal affiliation that can be hard to obtain, at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of the clinic so they can treat patients needing surgery or other critical care. The law also required clinic buildings to possess costly, hospital-grade facilities. These regulations covered numerous building features such as corridor width, the swinging motion of doors, floor tiles, parking spaces, elevator size, ventilation, electrical wiring, plumbing, floor tiling and even the angle that water flows from drinking fountains. 'Substantial obstacle' "We conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes," Breyer wrote in the ruling. "Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a pre-viability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the federal Constitution." Alito said in his dissenting opinion that the court should have upheld the law on a legal technicality. He criticised the majority, saying that in striking down the law, the court "simply disregards basic rules that apply in all other cases." The last time the justices decided a major abortion case was nine years ago when they ruled 5-4 to uphold a federal law banning a late-term abortion procedure. Abortion rights supporters hailed the ruling. Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, which led the challenge to the Texas law, said, "Every day Whole Woman’s Health treats our patients with compassion, respect and dignity - and today the Supreme Court did the same. We’re thrilled that today justice was served and our clinics stay open." Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Twitter called the ruling "a victory for women in Texas and across America." "This fight isn't over: The next president has to protect women's health. Women won't be 'punished' for exercising their basic rights," she said, a dig at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who once suggested women who get illegal abortions should face "some sort of punishment." The presidential election is November 8. Abortion opponents denounced the ruling. "It's exceedingly unfortunate that the court has taken the ability to protect women’s health out of the hands of Texas citizens and their duly-elected representatives," Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement. Republican Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick added that abortion clinics are now "free to ignore these basic safety standards and continue practicing under substandard conditions. By its ruling, the court held that the ability of abortion clinics to remain open – even under substandard conditions –outweighs the state’s ability to put women’s health and safety first." Some US states have pursued a variety of restrictions on abortion, including banning certain types of procedures, prohibiting it after a certain number of weeks of gestation, requiring parental permission for girls until a certain age, imposing waiting periods or mandatory counseling, and others. Americans remain closely divided over whether abortion should be legal. In a Reuters/Ipso online poll involving 6,769 US adults conducted from June 3 to June 22, 47 per cent of respondents said abortion generally should be legal and 42 per cent said it generally should be illegal. Views on abortion in the United States have changed very little over the decades, according to historical polling data. (Reuters)

US Supreme Court stands up for women's right to abortion, strikes down restrictive Texas laws

As many as 40 people were injured after walking on hot coals as part of a self-help seminar, hosted by motivational speaker Tony Robbins in Texas, fire officials said on Friday. 
 
Attendees of the &quot;Unleash the Power Within&quot; event, held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, reported burns to their feet and legs just after 11 pm on Thursday, Dallas Fire and Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said. 
 
&quot;A lot of the attendees were asked to walk across hot coals, and as a result, a lot of the people sustained burn injuries,&quot; Evans said. 
 
Of the 30 to 40 people injured, five were treated at the Parkland Hospital burn unit, Evans said. The others were treated and released at the scene. It was unclear how many participated in the coal walk. 
 
The three-day seminar is intended to help people &quot;break through any limit&quot; and improve their quality of life, according a description posted on Robbins&#39; website. 
 
Representatives for Robbins, who is a popular motivational speaker, personal finance adviser and bestselling author, were not immediately available for comment. 
 
According to media reports, 21 out of 6,000 people who walked on hot coals at a Robbins event in 2012 in California were treated for burns. 
 
Most people avoid burns because coals are not efficient conductors of heat, but standing too long in one spot and other factors can increase the risk. In the 2012 incident, there was speculation, that the large number of people participating caused the lines of firewalkers to slow down, raising chances of burns. 
 
(Reuters)

Of the 30 to 40 people injured, five were shifted to the Parkland Hospital burn unit

As many as 40 people were injured after walking on hot coals as part of a self-help seminar, hosted by motivational speaker Tony Robbins in Texas, fire officials said on Friday. Attendees of the "Unleash the Power Within" event, held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, reported burns to their feet and legs just after 11 pm on Thursday, Dallas Fire and Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said. "A lot of the attendees were asked to walk across hot coals, and as a result, a lot of the people sustained burn injuries," Evans said. Of the 30 to 40 people injured, five were treated at the Parkland Hospital burn unit, Evans said. The others were treated and released at the scene. It was unclear how many participated in the coal walk. The three-day seminar is intended to help people "break through any limit" and improve their quality of life, according a description posted on Robbins' website. Representatives for Robbins, who is a popular motivational speaker, personal finance adviser and bestselling author, were not immediately available for comment. According to media reports, 21 out of 6,000 people who walked on hot coals at a Robbins event in 2012 in California were treated for burns. Most people avoid burns because coals are not efficient conductors of heat, but standing too long in one spot and other factors can increase the risk. In the 2012 incident, there was speculation, that the large number of people participating caused the lines of firewalkers to slow down, raising chances of burns. (Reuters)

Dozens burned 'unleashing' inner powers walking on hot coals at Tony Robbins seminar

An armed man was fatally shot by police after holding two people hostage in an Amarillo, Texas, Walmart store on Tuesday in an incident law enforcement described as workplace violence. 
 
The suspect was identified as Mohammad Moghaddam, 54, Amarillo police said, adding he was shot by a police SWAT unit. 
 
The two hostages were unharmed. One was a manager with whom the suspect had a work-related dispute, the department said. 
 
Moghaddam fired a shot when he entered the store and took two people hostage. The three then moved to an office inside the store, said deputy Danny Alexander, a spokesman for the Randall County Sheriff&#39;s Office. 
 
No further details about the suspect were immediately available. There were no reports of anyone else being injured in the incident. 
 
&quot;All customers and our two associates who were held hostage are safe. This was a very difficult situation and we are thankful for the quick response from law enforcement,&quot; said Deisha Barnett, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 
 
(Reuters )

Both hostages were unharmed. One was a manager with whom the suspect reportedly had a work-related dispute, police said

An armed man was fatally shot by police after holding two people hostage in an Amarillo, Texas, Walmart store on Tuesday in an incident law enforcement described as workplace violence. The suspect was identified as Mohammad Moghaddam, 54, Amarillo police said, adding he was shot by a police SWAT unit. The two hostages were unharmed. One was a manager with whom the suspect had a work-related dispute, the department said. Moghaddam fired a shot when he entered the store and took two people hostage. The three then moved to an office inside the store, said deputy Danny Alexander, a spokesman for the Randall County Sheriff's Office. No further details about the suspect were immediately available. There were no reports of anyone else being injured in the incident. "All customers and our two associates who were held hostage are safe. This was a very difficult situation and we are thankful for the quick response from law enforcement," said Deisha Barnett, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Reuters )

Police shoot armed hostage-taker at Texas Walmart

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