President Donald Trump’s administration issued a long-rumored rule today exempting a broad range of employers from covering birth control in employer-sponsored insurance plans for moral or religious reasons.

The new regulation, issued by the Health and Human Services Department, takes effect immediately, though it is likely to be challenged in court.

The measure is a rollback of one of the Affordable Care Act’s most popular provisions, which stipulates that all insurance plans offered by employers and on the individual market must cover FDA-approved forms of birth control at no additional cost, including birth control pills, rings, intrauterine devices, and more.

Now, Trump’s mandate revision could deny birth control to hundreds of thousands of women as it expands the exemption to all nonprofit and for-profit employers including publicly-traded companies, who can choose not to cover birth control based on religious belief. The plan also allows a similar exemption for “moral conviction,” though publicly-traded companies are not included in this.

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One of the Obama administration’s goals when it passed the ACA was to expand birth control access to as many women as possible. And it was largely successful: More than 55 million women accessed birth control without co-payments because of the mandate, according to the New York Times.

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The measure had a direct impact on women’s wallets. For example, in the spring of 2014, 67 percent of women with private insurance paid nothing out-of-pocket for the birth control pill, up from just 15 percent in 2012, a report from the Guttmacher Institute found. A similar increase occurred among women using injectable contraception, vaginal rings, and IUDs, all of which added up to an estimated $1.4 billion in savings in 2013 alone, per the report. Average out-of-pocket spending on oral contraceptive pills has decreased by about $255 per year because of the ACA’s birth control mandate, and by $248 for an IUD, a study published in Health Affairs found.

As Money has previously reported, the 2017 Willis Towers Watson Emerging Trends in Health Care survey found that 11 percent of employers would stop covering forms of birth control if it was no longer required (59 percent would definitely keep covering it). “Dozens of employers are already suing to get out of this benefit, so we know they will want to take advantage of this,” says Mara Gandal Powers, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, which has vowed to fight the law.

Experts expect this to be challenged in court by women’s advocacy groups. The Obama mandate was challenged often, too, by colleges and companies that objected to providing this service, with the most famous case being the Hobby Lobby case of 2014.

Currently, 28 states require health plans to cover all FDA-approved forms of birth control, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

BALTIMORE — 

The widow of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings has resigned as Maryland’s Democratic Party chair to run for her late husband’s congressional seat.

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, 48, is expected to formally announce her campaign at her Baltimore home Tuesday morning, news outlets reported. Congressman Elijah Cummings died last month at age 68.

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“I am, of course, devastated at the loss of my spouse, but his spirit is with me,” Rockeymoore Cummings told the Baltimore Sun . “I’m going to run this race and I’m going to run it hard, as if he’s still right here by my side.”

She says Cummings told her he wanted her to succeed him if he died. She said he was conflicted about whether he should to resign or stay in office.

Rockeymoore Cummings also said she will undergo a preventative double mastectomy Friday. She expects her recovery to take up to four weeks. Her mother died from breast cancer in 2015 and her sister was diagnosed with the disease last year, according to the newspaper. She said the surgery had been planned since before her late husband died.

She’s joining a crowded race for the 7th District congressional seat. At least six Democrats and three Republicans have filed for the position.

Rockeymoore Cummings, who resigned Monday as party chair, is a public policy consultant who founded the Washington consulting firm Global Policy Solutions. State senator and party vice chair Cory McCray will take over as interim chair.

The special primary for the congressional seat is Feb. 4. The special election is April 28. The winner will fill the rest of the congressman’s term, until January 2021.

WASHINGTON — 

The Supreme Court said Tuesday that a survivor and relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting can pursue their lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 26 people.

The justices rejected an appeal from Remington Arms that argued it should be shielded by a 2005 federal law preventing most lawsuits against firearms manufacturers when their products are used in crimes.

The court’s order allows the lawsuit filed in Connecticut state court by a survivor and relatives of nine victims who died at the Newtown, Conn., school on Dec. 14, 2012, to go forward.

The lawsuit says the Madison, N.C.-based company should never have sold a weapon as dangerous as the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle to the public. Gunman Adam Lanza used it to kill 20 first-graders and six educators. It also alleges Remington targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games. Lanza was 20 years old.

Lanza earlier shot his mother to death at their Newtown home and killed himself as police arrived at the school. The rifle was legally owned by his mother.

The Connecticut Supreme Court had earlier ruled 4-3 that the lawsuit could proceed for now, citing an exemption in the federal law. The decision overturned a ruling by a trial court judge who dismissed the lawsuit based on the 2005 federal law, named the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

The federal law has been criticized by gun control advocates as being too favorable to gun-makers, and it has been used to bar lawsuits over other mass killings.

The case is being watched by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and gun manufacturers across the country, as it has the potential to provide a roadmap for victims of other mass shootings to circumvent the federal law and sue the makers of firearm.

The 2005 federal law has been cited by other courts that rejected lawsuits against gun-makers and dealers in other high-profile shooting attacks, including the 2012 Colorado movie theater shooting and the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings in 2002.

The National Rifle Assn., 10 mainly Republican-led states and 22 Republicans in Congress were among those urging the court to jump into the case and end the lawsuit against Remington.

CONCORD, N.H. — 

Mark Sanford dropped his challenge to President Trump for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, saying the focus on impeachment has made it impossible for his campaign to gain traction.

“You’ve got to be a realist,” Sanford said outside the New Hampshire statehouse. “What I did not anticipate is an impeachment.”

The former South Carolina governor and congressman announced his decision to suspend his campaign on the eve of televised impeachment hearings in the U.S. House. He centered his campaign on warnings about the national debt but had struggled to gain traction since announcing his run in September. He said Republicans were more interested in defending Trump from the threat of impeachment.

“It was a long shot, but we wanted to try and interject this issue, how much we’re spending, into the national debate which comes along once every four years,” Sanford said. “I don’t think on the Republican side there is any appetite for a nuanced conversation on issues when there’s an impeachment overhead.”

The effort had become even harder as a handful of state parties canceled their primaries and other nominating contests, including in South Carolina.

Sanford’s decision comes little more than a week after he moved his campaign’s “home base” to New Hampshire.

Sanford had once been a rising star in Republican politics, but in 2009 he was brought down by a lie about an extramarital affair. He claimed he had been hiking on the Appalachian Trail when in fact he had been in Argentina with his mistress.

Three years later, Sanford managed to win back his old seat representing a House district along the South Carolina coast. But a primary opponent in 2018 berated Sanford over his criticisms of Trump. Hours before the polls closed in the primary, Trump tweeted from Air Force One to taunt, “He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina.” Sanford lost the primary, and his opponent lost the general election to a Democrat.

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When Sanford entered the presidential field, Trump continued to mock him, calling him and the other Republican challengers “the Three Stooges.” The other two GOP challengers are former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois.

WASHINGTON — 

White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Tuesday that he no longer plans to sue over the House impeachment proceedings and will instead follow President Trump’s directions and decline to cooperate.

It’s the latest reversal in position by Mulvaney, who last week asked to join the lawsuit of another Trump advisor before changing his mind Monday and saying that he intended to bring his own case. It appears to resolve once and for all a four-day dispute that exposed divisions among current and former Trump administration officials about how best to respond to Democratic demands for cooperation and testimony.

In a court filing Tuesday, one day before the impeachment inquiry enters a critical phase of public hearings, Mulvaney said he no longer planned to ask a judge for guidance on whether he must cooperate with the House. He said he would rely on Trump’s instructions “as supported by an opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, in not appearing for the relevant deposition.”

Mulvaney had been subpoenaed to appear last week for a closed-door deposition before House impeachment investigators but did not show up.

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House Democrats had seen him as a potentially important witness, in part because he has publicly confirmed the contours of a quid pro quo arrangement in which the Trump administration would release military aid to Ukraine in exchange for that country announcing an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden. Mulvaney’s name has also repeatedly surfaced in the testimony of other witnesses who have cooperated.

After skipping his appearance last week, Mulvaney asked to join a lawsuit brought by Charles Kupperman, the president’s former deputy national security advisor. That case, filed last month, asked a judge to decide whether Kupperman had to comply with a subpoena from the House to testify or a competing directive from the White House that he not testify.

Mulvaney had argued that his circumstances were similar to that of Kupperman, but lawyers for both Kupperman and the House of Representatives opposed his request to join the suit and highlighted what they said were key differences, including the fact that Mulvaney has spoken publicly about the events at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said in a conference call on Monday that he was “not inclined” to grant Mulvaney’s request.

According to the Justice Department legal opinion that Mulvaney referenced, close advisors of the president are immune from having to testify to Congress because “preparing for such examinations would force them to divert time and attention from their duties to the President at the whim of congressional committees.”

A championship took Fred VanVleet to clear blue Caribbean beaches. He was there with his family — his girl, his daughter, his newborn son. He had money in the bank, halfway into a two-year, $18-million contract.

He felt accomplished, proud of the career he had built for himself. He felt at peace, aware that he had gone from an undrafted rookie from Rockford, Ill. to a Canadian hero after an incredible nine-game run to close the postseason. It was an amazing summer.

And, like so many other things with the Raptors, it had so much to do with Kawhi Leonard, one hell of a bounce and the ability to make the most out of an opportunity.

With the Raptors pushed to the edge of playoff extinction last year, Leonard glided to a pocket of open space in front of the Toronto bench. In the final seconds of Game 7 against Philadelphia in the second round, Leonard’s game-winner bounced and bounced on the rim before rolling in.

VanVleet had the best view a player would never want. He saw the play from the bench.

Had that shot not gone in, VanVleet’s summer is totally different. If the Raptors’ season ends that night, VanVleet enters free agency shooting just 27.6 percent in the playoffs averaging just 4.2 points per game.

But it didn’t end that night. The shot went in.

“And I got another chance,” he said.

VanVleet rebounded from the awful start in the playoffs, catching fire midway through the Conference Finals — a streak that coincided with the birth of his son. He finished the playoffs by making 30 three-pointers in Toronto’s last nine games.

If he doesn’t get that chance, does he head into next summer with a market value of $15 million or so a season in free agency? Does he play with the same kind of self-assurance if he goes home and thinks about all his misses over the summer?

“He certainly was struggling, right? And we certainly needed him out there,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. “I give him a ton of credit.”

The Leonard-less Raptors have earned a lot of credit for how they’ve looked this season. They came to Los Angeles as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, but serious injuries to Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka could’ve deflated that momentum.

Instead, the Raptors out-worked the Lakers and fought the Clippers from tip to buzzer, eventually losing 98-88.

Obviously, Leonard’s decision to leave the Raptors for the Clippers this summer created a massive whole on the Raptors’ roster. But VanVleet and, to a more prolific extent, Pascal Siakam, have happily stepped in and stepped up.

Siakam, last year’s Most Improved Player, might actually be the early favorite to win it again. He’s replaced Leonard as the Raptors’ top offensive player, his lightning quick spin move now in the same conversation as James Harden’s step-back jumper, Stephen Curry’s pull-up and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Euro step.

Prior to facing the Clippers, Siakam’s 27.4 points per game were seventh best in the NBA.

He struggled in Monday’s Leonard reunion, but Sunday against the Lakers, he went at Kyle Kuzma like it was a free basket every time. And after beating the Lakers, Siakam smiled talking about all the extra shots that are available to be taken now that Leonard is Los Angeles.

Like Siakam, VanVleet’s taken a big step to fill some of the void left by Leonard’s departure — a void that only got bigger with Lowry’s thumb injury last Friday.

After beginning the season starting next to the Toronto point guard, VanVleet’s slid over into the position, and in two games in L.A. he played all but 12 minutes, attacking defenses and bulldogging ball-handlers for each of the 84 minutes he was on the floor.

And after VanVleet proved that he could be a difference maker on the NBA’s biggest stage, nothing Nurse can ask of him now should be overwhelming.

“It certainly helped,” Nurse said.

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Because Leonard’s shot last season bounced into the basket, VanVleet got another chance. Because Leonard left for Los Angeles, Siakam got a chance to star. And because the Raptors are who they are — they’ll always have a chance to win.

“It’s really something,” Nurse said.

For Toronto, it’s actually everything.

Don Cherry, Canada’s most polarizing, flamboyant and opinionated hockey commentator, was fired Monday after a TV rant in which he said new immigrants were not honoring the country’s fallen soldiers.

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Rogers Sportsnet President Bart Yabsley announced the decision following discussions with the 85-year-old broadcaster.

“It has been decided it is the right time for him to immediately step down,” Yabsley said in a statement. “During the broadcast, he made divisive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for.”

On Saturday night, Cherry derided immigrants, saying, “You people you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”

The tradition of wearing poppies in Canada honors the country’s war dead on Remembrance Day, which was observed Monday.

Cherry has provided commentary following the first intermission of “Hockey Night in Canada” for more than three decades.

He said late Monday he would not be apologizing.

“I know what I said and I meant it. Still do. Everybody in Canada should wear a poppy to honor our fallen soldiers,” Cherry told the Canadian Press.

Cherry denied he was singling out visible minorities.

“I did not say minorities, I did not say immigrants. If you watch ‘Coach’s Corner,’ I did not say that. I said ‘everybody.’ And I said ‘you people,’ ” Cherry said.

“Irish, Scotch, anybody that’s newcomers to Canada, and they should wear a poppy to honor our dead from the past, whether they’re Scotch or Irish or English, or where they come from.”

Cherry added he could have stayed on “if I had turned into a tame robot who nobody would recognize.”

“I can’t do that after 38 years,” he said

Known for his outlandish suits, Cherry often mangled the names of foreign-born players over the years and occasionally weighed in with thoughts on politics. He has been a part of the Hockey Night broadcast since 1980.

“Don is synonymous with hockey and has played an integral role in growing the game,” Yabsley said. “We would like to thank Don for his contributions to hockey and sports broadcasting in Canada.”

The National Hockey League said in a statement that Cherry’s remarks were “offensive and contrary to the values we believe in.”

Ron MacLean, the longtime co-host of “Coach’s Corner,” apologized Sunday evening.

“Don Cherry made remarks that were hurtful, discriminatory, were flat-out wrong,” MacLean said. “I owe you an apology too. That’s the big thing I want to emphasize. I sat there, I did not catch it. I did not respond.”

The Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council said it was so overloaded with complaints about the segment that it exceeded the organization’s technical processing capacity.

Budweiser, the sponsor of Cherry’s “Coach’s Corner,” put out a statement condemning Cherry’s comments.

“The comments made Saturday on Coach’s Corner were clearly inappropriate and divisive, and in no way reflect Budweiser’s views,” said Todd Allen, vice president of marketing for Labatt Breweries of Canada, which has Budweiser as one of its brands. “As a sponsor of the broadcast, we immediately expressed our concerns and respect the decision which was made by Sportsnet today.”

Geno Smith clearly said “tails” before the coin toss.

No, wait. He clearly said “heads.”

Actually, the only thing clear about the matter is that the Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback didn’t say anything clearly as his team’s game against the San Francisco 49ers went into overtime Monday night.

In one of the most anticipated “Monday Night Football” games of the year, the two-loss Seahawks were looking to upset the then-unbeaten 49ers. So when the game was tied at 24-24 at the end of regulation, the coin toss to determine who got possession for the start of overtime was a pretty big deal.

And many viewers think official Alex Kemp botched the call.

Take a look (and listen):

Smith said something that sounded like, “Teds.” Kemp went with “heads,” and no one seemed to have a problem with it at the time — not Smith when Kemp first said “heads,” not 49ers’ Richard Sherman after the coin landed on heads.

But over on social media, a heated debate was taking place.

The funniest part about this debate is none of it ended up mattering. The Seahawks got possession of the ball but ended up turning it over. Then the 49ers missed what would have been a game-winning field goal, and the two teams exchanged punts before Seattle finally won the game 27-24 on a 42-yard field goal by Jason Myers as time expired.

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A spokesman for Orange Lutheran issued a statement on Tuesday responding to allegations that Lancer football supporters assaulted officials last Friday night after the Lancers’ overtime loss to Long Beach Poly in the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs at Veterans Stadium.

Several members of the officiating crew from the South Bay were allegedly pushed as they left the field. The incident is also being investigated by the Long Beach Police Department.

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The Orange Lutheran statement:

We find the alleged actions of a few individuals at Friday night’s game to be disheartening, unacceptable and out of place for who and what we represent. Orange Lutheran does not condone inappropriate spectator behavior, and this incident does not reflect the overwhelming majority of our community that has carried a strong tradition of positive fan support and encouragement. School leadership will continue to investigate the event that followed the conclusion of the game and will take appropriate action that is in alignment with and upholds our mission and core values.

The Southern Section has received an incident report and is also investigating.

Police are investigating the death of an infant who was found at a San Francisco golf course over the weekend, authorities said.

Officers responded about 2:19 p.m. Saturday to the Lincoln Park Golf Course and found the child’s body, according to a news release from the San Francisco Police Department. Paramedics were called, but the infant was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said they were concerned about the health of the baby’s mother. They’re asking anyone with information to come forward.

The Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment and further details were not available Tuesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department at (414) 575-4444.

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