An Oklahoma law requiring women seeking abortions to undergo ultrasound exams and doctors to show and describe the images to the women has also been struck down: opponents argued it was unconstitutional because it applied only to abortions and not to other procedures.

ECONOMIST: Abortion laws: And then there was one | The

The fact that it has not yet been struck down by the courts says more about the current state of human-rights legislation in Britain than the merits of the issue.

ECONOMIST: Myra Hindley

It struck down a ban on handguns that has been in place in the District of Columbia for 32 years.

NPR: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban

Obama seems to have been trying to make the accurate observation that since the '30s the court has not struck down a federal law that applies to economic activity on the ground that it exceeds Congress's Commerce Clause authority.

WSJ: The Man Who Knew Too Little

There has also been speculation that the Paris-bound flight was struck by lightning, but that should not bring down a modern airliner, former Airbus pilot John Wiley told CNN.

CNN: A330-200: Ultra-modern and extremely safe