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Most in U.S. say don’t ban race in college admissions but that role should be small: AP-NORC poll

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most U.S. adults say the court should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students’ race should ultimately play a major role in decisions, according to a new poll.

The May poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 63% say the Supreme Court should not block colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admission systems. The poll found little divide along political or racial lines.

US demands Netanyahu shelve NGO financing bill as precondition to meet Biden

30 May 2023; MEMO: The US administration has demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shelves a controversial bill aimed at curbing the activities of civil society organisations, as a precondition to meet with US President Joe Biden, Israeli media outlets reported on Sunday.

USA: Struggles continue for thousands in Florida 8 months after Hurricane Ian as new storm season looms

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Eight months ago, chef Michael Cellura had a restaurant job and had just moved into a fancy new camper home on Fort Myers Beach. Now, after Hurricane Ian swept all that away, he lives in his older Infiniti sedan with a 15-year-old long-haired chihuahua named Ginger.

USA: Trump’s welcome of Scott into 2024 race shows his calculus: The more GOP rivals, the better for him

NEW YORK (AP) — When Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina launched his campaign for the White House last week, the notoriously prickly former President Donald Trump welcomed his new competitor with open arms.

There were no accusations of disloyalty or nasty nicknames from the GOP front-runner like the barrage he unleashed when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered his leading rival, joined the race two days later with a bungled Twitter announcement.

USA: As rising oceans threaten NYC, study documents another risk: The city is sinking

NEW YORK (AP) — If rising oceans aren’t worry enough, add this to the risks New York City faces: The metropolis is slowly sinking under the weight of its skyscrapers, homes, asphalt and humanity itself.

New research estimates the city’s landmass is sinking at an average rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year, something referred to as “subsidence.”

That natural process happens everywhere as ground is compressed, but the study published this month in the journal Earth’s Future sought to estimate how the massive weight of the city itself is hurrying things along.

USA: Rescue operations underway after apartment building partially collapses in Davenport, Iowa

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Rescue operations were underway Sunday evening after part of an apartment building collapsed in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport. Authorities have not said whether anyone was killed.

Authorities said people were treated for injuries at the scene but did not detail how many.

Rescuers were called to the scene shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. Fire crews rescued seven people and escorted more than a dozen others from the building in their initial response, Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlsten said at a news conference.

USA: Historic acquittal in Louisiana fuels fight to review ‘Jim Crow’ verdicts

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Evangelisto Ramos walked out of a New Orleans courthouse and away from a life sentence accompanying a 10-2 jury conviction, thanks in large part to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision bearing his name.

Ramos v. Louisiana outlawed nonunanimous jury convictions as unconstitutional, with justices on the 6-3 majority acknowledging the practice as a vestige of racism from the era of “Jim Crow” laws enforcing racial segregation.

USA: Fight still ahead for Texas’ Ken Paxton after historic impeachment deepens GOP divisions

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The historic impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was just the first round of a Republican brawl over whether to banish one of their own in America’s biggest red state after years of criminal accusations.

Paxton and his allies, from former President Donald Trump to hard-right grassroots organizations across Texas, now wait to fight back in what Paxton hopes will be a friendlier arena: a trial in the state Senate.

Debt ceiling deal: What’s in, what’s out of the bill to avert US default

WASHINGTON (AP) — The details of the deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were released Sunday in the form of a 99-page bill that would suspend the nation’s debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.

USA: Biden and GOP reach debt-ceiling deal. Now Congress must approve it to prevent calamitous default

WASHINGTON (AP) — An “agreement in principle” between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would raise the nation’s legal debt ceiling, but now Congress has only days to approve a package that includes spending cuts and would avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.

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