Divided Supreme Court outlaws affirmative action in college admissions, says race can't be used
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.
The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public colleges, respectively.
The decision, like last year’s momentous abortion ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, marked the realization of a long-sought conservative legal goal, this time finding that race-conscious admissions plans violate the Constitution and a law that applies to colleges that receive federal funding, as almost all do.
Those schools will be forced to reshape their admissions practices, especially top schools that are more likely to consider the race of applicants.
Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
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Russian general is believed to be detained in aftermath of Wagner mutiny, AP sources say
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, is believed to have been detained days after mercenaries staged a revolt inside Russia, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday, citing U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence assessments.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
It’s not clear whether Surovikin faces any charges or where he is being held, reflecting the opaque world of the Kremlin’s politics and uncertainty after the revolt.
But his reported detention comes days after Wagner Group mercenaries took over the military headquarters in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and were heading toward Moscow in what appears to have been an aborted insurrection.
Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin has spoken positively of Surovikin while criticizing the country’s military brass and suggested that he should be appointed the General Staff chief to replace Gen. Valery Gerasimov. The New York Times this week reported that U.S. officials believe Surovikin had advance knowledge of Prigozhin’s plan to stage the revolt.
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Deputy acquitted of all charges for failing to act during deadly Parkland school shooting
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy was acquitted Thursday of felony child neglect and other charges for failing to act during the 2018 Parkland school massacre, concluding the first trial in U.S. history of a law enforcement officer for conduct during an on-campus shooting.
Former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson wept as the verdicts were read, while the fathers of two students murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb, 14, 2018, stared straight ahead and quickly left the courtroom. The jury had deliberated for 19 hours over four days.
After court adjourned, Peterson, his family and friends rushed into a group hug as they whooped, hollered and cried. Kevin Bolling, Peterson’s private investigator, chased after lead prosecutor Chris Killoran and said something. Killoran turned and snapped at him, “Way to be a good winner” and slapped him on the shoulder. Members of the prosecution team then nudged Killoran out of the courtroom.
“I got my life back. We’ve got our life back,” Peterson said as he exited the courtroom, his arm around his wife, Lydia Rodriguez, and his lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh. He has insisted that he would have confronted the shooter Nikolas Cruz, but because of echoes, he didn't know where the shots were coming from. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster for so long.”
He also said people should never forget the victims.
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California reparations report urges action on housing discrimination and overpolicing
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It was a report two years in the making — one that details how California, a state that never officially sanctioned slavery, can confront decades of policies that have kept Black residents from living in the neighborhoods they choose, being treated fairly at doctor's visits and building generational wealth.
California's reparations task force completed its work Thursday and turned more than 100 recommendations over to the Legislature, the first work of its kind in the U.S. The nearly 1,100-page document recommends the state formally apologize and suggests how to calculate monetary reparations.
Here's what the task force examined:
HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
The report recounts California policies that have kept Black families from retaining property and living in certain neighborhoods. The effects of redlining, which led to Black families being denied home loans; and eminent domain, where residents' property was seized by the government, still linger, the report states.
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Older Americans can get RSV vaccine this fall after consulting their doctor, CDC says
Americans 60 and older can get a new RSV vaccine but should discuss it with their doctor first, U.S. health officials recommended Thursday.
The newly approved vaccines are expected to be ready in the fall, a time when flu shots and updated COVID-19 shots also will be available. Those eligible for the RSV vaccine should talk with their doctor to see if it is right for them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
The CDC said adults with chronic heart or lung disease, weakened immune systems and those living in long-term care facilities are at higher risk for the respiratory infection.
RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but it can be dangerous for infants and the elderly. A surge last year filled hospitals with wheezing children. There's no vaccine yet for kids, but one for pregnant women to prevent illness in infants may be coming too, pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
On Thursday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the outgoing CDC director, signed off on a recommendation made last week by an advisory panel of outside experts for a single dose of the vaccines made by Pfizer and GSK. The FDA approved the shots last month for adults 60 and older.
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Rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges in deadly crowd surge at Texas festival
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas grand jury declined to indict rap superstar Travis Scott in a criminal investigation of a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld festival, where some spectators were packed so tightly they could not move their arms or even breathe, his attorney and prosecutors said Thursday.
Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the Harris County grand jury had met and decided not to indict his client on any criminal charges stemming from the concert.
“He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt,” Schaffer said, adding that the decision is “a great relief.”
Circumstances of the deaths limited what charges prosecutors were able to present before the grand jury, eliminating potential counts such as murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, said Alycia Harvey, an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
That left prosecutors to focus on possible counts of endangering a child in connection with the deaths of the two youngest concertgoers, ages 9 and 14, she added.
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Saying strike is "imminent," UPS gets a Friday deadline from union to come up with a better contract
Frustrated by an “appalling counterproposal” earlier this week, the head of the union representing 340,000 UPS workers said a strike is imminent and gave the shipping giant a Friday deadline to improve its offer.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked away from negotiations Wednesday, demanding that UPS give its “last, best, and final offer” no later than June 30.
Teamsters officials did not say what time the Friday deadline was or what actions it might take if it is not met.
“The largest single-employer strike in American history now appears inevitable,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, who accused UPS executives of hoarding profits instead of sharing them with workers.
“Executives at UPS, some of whom get tens of millions of dollars a year, do not care about the hundreds of thousands of American workers who make this company run,” O’Brien said.
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Man wanted on Jan. 6 charges arrested with weapons near Barack Obama's Washington home
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man armed with explosive materials and weapons, and wanted for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested Thursday in the Washington neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives, law enforcement officials said.
Taylor Taranto, 37, was spotted by law enforcement a few blocks from the former president's home and fled, though he was chased by U.S. Secret Service agents. Taranto has an open warrant on charges related to the insurrection, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
They said Taranto also had made social media threats against a public figure. He was found with weapons and materials to create an explosive device, though one had not been built, one of the officials said.
No one was injured. It was not clear whether the Obamas were at their home at the time of his arrest.
Metropolitan Police arrested Taranto on charges of being a fugitive from justice. The explosives team swept Taranto's van and said there were no threats to the public.
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France mobilizes tens of thousands of police to head off unrest after police fatally shot a teenager
NANTERRE, France (AP) — France mobilized tens of thousands of police officers Thursday in an effort to head off widespread urban rioting following the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that shocked the nation, with commuters rushing home before transport services closed early to avoid being targeted by rioters.
Protesters in some cities set fires in the streets as the night progressed.
The police officer accused of pulling the trigger Tuesday was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide after prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met.”
The detained police officer’s lawyer, speaking on French TV channel BFM-TV, said the officer was sorry and “devastated.” The officer did what he thought was necessary in the moment, attorney Laurent-Franck Lienard told the news outlet.
“He doesn’t get up in the morning to kill people,” Lienard said of the officer, whose name ha not been released. “He really didn’t want to kill. But now he must defend himself, as he’s the one who’s detained and sleeping in prison.”
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Italian police say the man filmed carving his name on the Colosseum is a tourist living in Britain
ROME (AP) — Italian police on Thursday said they believe the man filmed while engraving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend last week on the ancient Roman Colosseum is a tourist who lives in Britain.
The identification was made using photographic comparisons, Italian Carabinieri said in a press release. The statement did not provide the name of the suspect nor his whereabouts. When reached by phone, police said no further information could be given.
Italian officials have vowed to find and punish the tourist who carved “Ivan+Haley 23” on the the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, a crime that has resulted in hefty fines in the past.
The vandal was filmed in the act by an American tourist, Ryan Lutz of Orange, California, who posted the video on social media after he said Colosseum guards failed to show interest in his footage.
It was at least the fourth time this year that such graffiti was reported at the Colosseum, an act that carries fines up up to $15,000 and five years in prison.
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