Friday, June 30 top stories
Hello! I’m Renca and I will be taking Alex’s place for today’s top news. Today is Friday, June 30th. Here are the stories.
Supreme Court rules against affirmative action
The Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in colleges and universities in a 6-3 vote.
Affirmative action is when colleges and universities look at an applicant’s race, if they are not white, as a positive factor in considering whether to grant them admission to their institution. One of the motivations behind affirmative action is to increase diversity and representation in colleges and universities.
Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) had affirmative action programs. A conservative group called “Students for Fair Admissions” filed a lawsuit saying the programs were discriminatory against white and Asian students.
The Supreme Court said Harvard and UNC violated the Constitution, so now these programs cannot continue. This also means all affirmative action programs in all colleges and universities in the U.S. must end.
ABC News said the decision ends about 40 years of previous court decisions that supported affirmative action.
President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court’s decision is a severe disappointment, while Donald Trump said it is a great day for America.
High school ex-resource officer found not guilty in Parkland shooting trial
Scot Peterson (60) was a school resource officer accused of failing to confront a shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Yesterday, he was acquitted (not guilty) of child neglect and negligence. At the time of the shooting, Peterson was armed with a handgun. Prosecutors argued that Peterson took cover instead of confronting the gunman and putting his life first. Peterson’s defense team said he was scapegoated and in the chaos of shooting, he couldn’t have known where shots were coming from. He was acquitted on all counts after more than 19 hours of jury deliberations for 4 days. When that was announced, Peterson was seen weeping, hugging his legal team, and supporters. Some of the people in the room cheered and clapped. One of the victim’s fathers said he did not understand how a jury could just acquit Peterson. The massacre in Parkland was the deadliest U.S. mass shooting to ever go to trial. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, has a life sentence after he killed fourteen students and three staff members.
Fire breaks out at Tiffany & Co
An iconic jewelry store, Tiffany & Co, in New York City, caught fire yesterday morning. The fire department said they got a call at 9:38 am about the fire and no one was severely hurt. Approximately 100 people were evacuated and two people were brought to the hospital with minor injuries. Based on several articles, they said that it was an electrical fire that started in the basement. The fire was put out by noon. Tiffany & Co reopened this recent April after their three years renovations. This luxury store said they made restorations as the first “holistic renovation” since it opened in 1940. This store also made an appearance in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” which starred Audrey Hepburn.
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Connecticut state representative attacked
Connecticut state representative Maryam Khan was allegedly attacked after she attended Eid al-Adha services (Muslim celebration)with her family on Wednesday morning in Hartford. After the services, she and her children with a friend were approached by a man who made “vulgar and obscene remarks.” And then he grabbed her, hit her, and threw her to the ground. The suspect is a 30 years old man identified as Andrey Desmond. When he attacked Khan, he allegedly took off and was chased by other witnesses. They caught him and held him until the police arrived. Desmond was arrested and he is facing charges.
Heat dome hits Texas
Texas has been dealing with heat lately; at least 13 people have died from heat-related illnesses. Extreme heat has hit Texas and other southern states as well. Heat-related emergency room visits in Texas between June 18 to 24 have spiked up this year compared to last year. Temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees for several weeks in Texas. Officials say it is likely the death tolls will continue to rise because of the scorching heat. As for across the country, there are heat alerts in states such as New Mexico and Oklahoma.
That’s all for now. You have a great weekend and stay with the light.
Supreme Court:
Tiffany
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/29/business/tiffany-and-co-store-catches-fire-in-new-york/index.html
Connecticut:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/connecticut-state-rep-maryam-khan-attacked-eid-service/
Heat: https://abcnews.go.com/US/11-dead-texas-heat-related-illness-amid-scorching/story?id=100479859