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Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions, and Biden 'strongly' disagrees

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

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 overturned admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest private and public colleges, respectively.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.”Justice Clarence Thomas — the nation's second Black justice, who had long called for an end to affirmative action — wrote separately that the decision “sees the universities’ admissions policies for what they are: rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in their ente...

Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of Martin Luther King Jr., dies at 95

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has died.Her niece, the Rev. Bernice King, tweeted that her “beloved aunt” died Thursday. She was 95.For decades after her brother’s assassination in 1968, Farris worked along with his widow, Coretta Scott King, to preserve and promote his legacy. But unlike her high-profile sister-in-law, Farris’ activism — and grief — was often behind the scenes.“She may not have always been on the line of the march, but that was true with a lot of the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement,” said Marcellus Barksdale, a history professor at Morehouse College, of Farris in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. “Because of the luminescence of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, Christine kind of got dimmed by that, but she was no less important.”Farris was born Willie Christine King on Sept. 11, 1927, in Atlanta. She was the first child of the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Christin...

Republicans expand their Hunter Biden investigation by seeking an interview with the lead prosecutor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday requested voluntary testimony from nearly a dozen Justice Department officials involved in the investigation of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as GOP lawmakers widen their scrutiny into what they claim is improper interference by the agency.Leaders of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees asked in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland for nine officials from the Justice Department and two from the FBI to appear for the interviews to address recent allegations made by two IRS employees who worked on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings.“Recent startling testimony from Internal Revenue Services whistleblowers raises serious questions about the Department’s commitment to evenhanded justice and the veracity of assertions made to the Committee on the Judiciary,” Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky ...

Pence makes a surprise trip to Ukraine and meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Thursday, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and touring the war-torn country as it fights Russian aggression.Pence, who this month launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, has been deeply critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.He has called on the U.S. to deliver more military aid to the country and criticized GOP rivals who have questioned the ongoing U.S. involvement, saying there is no room in the party for “Putin apologists” and pushing back against those who want the U.S. to take on a more limited role on the world stage.Pence spent roughly 12 hours in the country Thursday, according to an adviser, with stops in Moshchun, Bucha and Irpin, according to NBC News, which traveled with him.“I’m here because it’s important that the American people understand the progress that we’ve made and how support for the Ukrain...

France braces for another night of violence after the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

NANTERRE, France (AP) — France braced for another feared eruption of urban rioting Thursday night after the deadly police shooting of a suburban 17-year-old, with tens of thousands of officers hitting the streets and commuters rushing home before transport services closed down early for safety reasons.Despite government appeals for calm and vows that order would be restored, smoke from cars and garbage set ablaze was already billowing over the streets of the Paris suburb of Nanterre following a peaceful afternoon march in honor of the teen identified only by his first name, Nahel.The police officer accused of pulling the trigger 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.” After a morning crisis meeting following violence that injured scores of police and damaged nearly 100 public buildings, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said t...

Novak Djokovic’s bid for Wimbledon title No. 8 and Grand Slam trophy No. 24 starts next week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Listen to Novak Djokovic’s opponents explain why he is as successful as he is — why he will begin his pursuit of a fifth consecutive and eighth overall Wimbledon championship on Monday; why he also will be attempting to claim an Open era-record 24th Grand Slam trophy over the coming fortnight on the All England Club’s grass courts — and they’ll offer plenty of answers.His best-in-the-game return of serve. His dangerous two-handed backhand. His elasticity. His stamina. His defense. His ability to read someone else’s intentions, get to where a ball is headed and send it back with force, a combination Casper Ruud described this way after losing to Djokovic in the French Open final: “He sort of just goes into this mode where he just becomes, like, a wall.”Listen to Novak Djokovic explain why he’s done what he’s done and why, at age 36, he’s still doing it, and he’ll offer a reason far less tangible and far less observable, something he mentioned during his vict...

Petro-Canada payments systems largely restored in wake of cyberattack: Suncor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it is making progress in resolving the customer disruptions that have occurred this week in the wake of a cyberattack against the oil and gas company.The Calgary-based company says debit and credit transactions are once again available at most of its Petro-Canada retail sites.Many Petro-Canada locations across the country have been cash-only for several days due to what Suncor has described as a “cybersecurity incident.”The security breach also affected the company’s Petro-Points app, website and some car washes, which remain unavailable.Suncor says it will continue to update customers as more services come back online.The company has declined to provide details about the type of cyberattack or which other parts of its operations may have been affected.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)The Canadian Press

Bed Bath & Beyond lives on!(line). Overstock.com buys rights to bankrupt retailer and changes name

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Bed & Bath & Beyond will live on, online at least, after Overstock.com acquired the bankrupt retail chain’s intellectual property assets for $21.5 million.The online retailer Overstock.com is dumping its name online and will become Bed & Bath & Beyond, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year.The switcheroo to a very recognizable brand was cheered on Wall Street. Shares of Overstock.com Inc., based in Midvale, Utah, soared 20%. The deal doesn’t include Bed Bath & Beyond stores, the last of which are expected to be shuttered Friday, nor the Buybuy Baby chain.The name change will roll out in Canada next month and in August, a relaunch of the company’s website and mobile app as Bed Bath & Beyond will appear in the U.S. Those visiting ovestock.com will be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com.“Combining the strengths of the Overstock operational model and the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will create a powerful synergy,” Overstock....

Driver lost control of tanker truck on off ramp before I-95 collapse, federal safety officials say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver of a tanker truck hauling gasoline lost control on a curved off-ramp on Interstate 95, causing the truck to flip and catch fire, leading to the collapse of the northbound lanes in early June, federal safety officials said Thursday in a preliminary report.The National Transportation Safety Board’s brief report outlined what happened on June 11, when an elevated section of Interstate-95 collapsed after the tanker truck caught fire underneath it. It largely confirmed what state officials said earlier.The truck, which was a combination vehicle composed of a truck tractor and a tank trailer, was hauling 8,500 gallons (about 32,200 liters) of gasoline from Wilmington, Delaware, to a gas station located on Oxford Avenue in Philadelphia, according to the report. It was operated through an affiliate carrier leased to Penn Tank Lines. The driver, who was killed in the crash, exited I-95’s northbound lanes at Cottman Avenue on a curved off-ramp that w...

UK government vows to challenge court ruling that its plan to send migrants to Rwanda is unlawful

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:28:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British court ruled Thursday that a U.K. government plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is unlawful, delivering a blow to the Conservative administration’s pledge to stop migrants making risky journeys across the English Channel.In a split two-to-one ruling, three Court of Appeal judges said Rwanda could not be considered a “safe third country” where migrants from any country could be sent. But the judges said that a policy of deporting asylum seekers to another country deemed safe was not in itself illegal, and the government said it would challenge the ruling at the U.K. Supreme Court. It has until July 6 to lodge an appeal.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that “while I respect the court I fundamentally disagree with their conclusions.” Sunak has pledged to “stop the boats” — a reference to the overcrowded dinghies and other small craft that make the journey from northern France carrying migrants who hope to live in the U.K. More than 45,00...