Producer/host Tom Wright and the Lens team wrap a busy end of the week in New Orleans, with breaking news on two fronts.

First, Michael Isaac Stein reports on a last-minute bid by reproductive rights advocates to block a new state law from going into effect. The law requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected the bid but the court action effectively delayed the law’s taking effect a week, until February 4. Stein has more on that in a report posting later Friday evening.

Earlier Friday, federally-appointed monitors delivered a benchmark assessment of the New Orleans Police Department’s work to comply with the 2013 consent decree. “NOPD had a very slow start but progress in recent years has been remarkable,” said lead monitor Jonathan Aronie.

Finally, Lens contributor John Sullivan of Enterprise Community Partners discusses his column, “How to ‘undesign’ the legacy of racism and redlining that still shapes New Orleans“. It’s a fascinating if troubling review of how discriminatory housing practices still impact the City of New Orleans.

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