Florida

Lawmaker tells colleagues she was abused by her father

A hush fell in the state Senate chambers as a Florida lawmaker revealed to colleagues during a debate over abortion that she was sexually abused by her father.

Sen. Larcenia Bullard cried Thursday during a lengthy Senate address as she said for the first time in public that her father sexually abused her.

“I can share this with you today because it’s no longer in the closet,” she said.

Bullard, 56, of Miami was the lone Senate Democrat to support a measure to let voters decide whether to require a parent to be notified before a minor’s abortion. The measure passed 27-13 and went to the state House, where a similar bill passed last month.

Bullard’s Democratic colleagues argued against the legislation, saying many girls cannot go to a parent to discuss an abortion because they are the victims of abuse by their fathers.

But Bullard countered that if she had not confided in her mother, she would never have found closure to her ordeal.

Boston

Minority activists praise legislative redistricting plan

A federal appeals court Friday approved a legislative redistricting map that minority activists say better reflects Boston’s changing racial and ethnic mix.

“This map is definitely leaps and bounds better than the one that was deemed illegal by the courts. It’s a much better map for communities of color,” said Atiya Dangleben, statewide director for the Massachusetts Voter Education Network.

The map of 17 state House of Representatives districts in Boston was approved by the same three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that in February threw out the plan used in the 2002 elections.

The court criticized legislative leaders for packing black voters into as few districts as possible, weakening their political clout to protect white incumbents.

Myanmar

Military reopens opposition party headquarters

Myanmar’s military government today reopened the headquarters of Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy party, almost a year after shutting it and all other party offices, a party official said.

The government appeared to be bowing to intense international pressure to ease restrictions against democracy proponents. The move comes a month before a constitutional convention. It was unclear whether the step indicates the government is preparing to release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.