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| Supreme Court To Hear Affirmative Action Case - Huffington Post Posted: 25 Mar 2013 08:56 AM PDT WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is broadening its examination of affirmative action by adding a case about Michigan's effort to ban consideration of race in college admissions. The justices already were considering a challenge to the University of Texas program that takes account of race, among many factors, to fill remaining spots in its freshman classes. The Texas case has been argued, but not yet decided. The court on Monday said it would add the Michigan case, which focuses on the 6-year-old voter-approved prohibition on affirmative action and the appeals court ruling that overturned the ban. The new case will be argued in the fall. A decision in the Texas case is expected by late June. The dispute over affirmative action in Michigan has its roots in the 2003 Supreme Court decision that upheld the use of race as a factor in university admissions. That case concerned the University of Michigan law school. In response to the court's 5-4 decision in that case, affirmative action opponents worked to put a ballot measure in front of voters to amend the state constitution to outlaw preferential treatment on the basis of race and other factors in education, as well as government hiring and contracting. In November 2006, 58 percent of Michigan voters approved the measure. Civil rights groups sued to block the provision the day after the vote. In November, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 8-7 to invalidate the ban as it applies to college admissions. It did not address hiring or contracting. The appeals court said the constitutional amendment is illegal under Supreme Court rulings from the late 1960s and early 1980s that prohibit placing special burdens on minority groups that want to bring about changes in laws and policies. The court said that forcing opponents of the ban to mount their own long, expensive campaign through the ballot box to protect affirmative action amounts to different, and unequal, treatment. That burden "undermines the Equal Protection Clause's guarantee that all citizens ought to have equal access to the tools of political change," the court said. By way of example, the court said that children of university alumni remain free to lobby lawmakers and university officials to adopt policies to take family ties into account in admissions. The 6th Circuit divided along ideological lines, with its more liberal judges in the majority. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette asked the Supreme Court to review the 6th Circuit's ruling. "Entrance to our great colleges and universities must be based upon merit, and I remain optimistic moving forward in our fight for equality, fairness and rule of law at our nation's highest court," Schuette said Monday. In the Texas case, a white student who was denied admission to the University of Texas is suing to overturn the school's use of race among many factors to fill out its incoming freshman classes. The bulk of the slots go to Texans who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. The Michigan case is Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 12-682. Also on HuffPost: "; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); }); |
| 'The Walking Dead': 10 characters we'll miss; 5 in danger (spoilers) - Los Angeles Times Posted: 25 Mar 2013 08:48 AM PDT Departing show runner Glen Mazzara has long contended that in the world of "The Walking Dead," no one is safe. And it's true that so far in the life of the AMC zombie series, a host of characters have met untimely deaths — at the hands of walkers and other dangers. (A strong warning to anyone who might have missed Sunday's episode, "This Sorrowful Life," stop reading right now unless you want to know which major character met his end last night.) In a shocking turn of events, David Morrissey's ruthless Governor shot and killed Merle, leaving fans of the Dixon brothers heartbroken — even as they might have breathed a sigh of relief that Daryl's life was spared — for now. (If there's anyone the writers can't kill, it's Norman Reedus' fan favorite; Mazzara conceded to Hero Complex that he's heard from plenty of audience members who promise to revolt should anything happen to him.) Michael Rooker's Merle might not have been the most affable guy, but his exit surely will be felt in surprising ways. The ghosts of earlier members of Rick's band of survivors continue to echo out in episodes even now, either as actual manifestations or as factors that cause the living characters to behave in certain ways.  At the end of Season 2, Shane turned on Rick, then turned zombie (note the contacts), then Carl turned on Shane. (AMC) In Season 1, a walker took several big bites out of Amy (Emma Bell). That turned her big sister Andrea (Laurie Holden) suicidal for a time. The character recovered her will to live and went on to former a sisterly relationship with Michonne (Dania Gurira), though obviously that particular bond has been sorely tested. Season 2 proved especially lethal, though. Carl (Chandler Riggs) was nearly killed by a hunter's bullet, and though he survived, that event set the stage for the death of Otis (Pruitt Taylor Vince) at the hands of Shane. Nor was Carl the only child in danger. In what remains one of the show's most heartbreaking moments, Season 2 brought the end of Carol's daughter Sophia, who turned into a walker and had to be put down. Then there was Dale, followed almost immediately by Jon Bernthal's Shane. Although the loss of Jeffrey DeMunn's Dale represented a deep blow — he had become the group's unfailing moral center — Shane's death proved more complicated. Anyone familiar with Robert Kirkman's comic books might have had an inkling that the increasingly unhinged former lawman wouldn't survive the show's unforgiving post-apocalyptic landscape. But it wasn't a hungry zombie that did Shane in — it was a knife wound to the gut courtesy of his former best friend and partner, delivered in a spectacular moonlight standoff in the second-season finale that gave the actor a chance to finally pop in a pair of zombie contact lenses. And in taking Shane's life to protect the group, Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes stepped onto the path he's followed this season, one of deep inner turmoil. Lori — wife of Rick, mother of young Carl — made a monumental self-sacrifice in Season 3 when she had a Caesarean to save her unborn baby, the child-of-questionable-parentage, and it spelled Lori's doom, and the departure of actress Sarah Wayne Callies. We also said goodbye to another original Atlanta survivor, T-Dog — how could you not like T-Dog? From Seasons 1 to 3, he seemed to get sidelined, but he did suffer a heroic death, sacrificing himself to walkers to save Carol (whose abusive husband Ed, played by actor Adam Minarovich, died in Season 1). After losing a couple of new characters met along the way — Axel, we hardly know you — now there's Merle. Speaking on the Georgia set of the show earlier this year, Rooker was quick to defend his often unlikable character. "Merle for me has always been not at all what I think most people think of Merle, as somewhat of a cliched Southern bigoted redneck," Rooker explained. "Merle's been around the world, been around the corner a few times, had some knocks and bruises, encounters with law enforcement. And you know what? He's a tough … you don't want to mess with him. In the way I sort of envisioned and developed the character, so far Merle is not some sort of psychopathic killing machine — when it comes to zombies, yes, he absolutely loves it and is quite good at it. [But now] Merle's kind of found a home, but there's still something missing, his family. His family is his brother." The Season 3 finale is upon us, "Welcome to the Tombs." Starting Monday night, AMC will begin a weeklong marathon of "The Walking Dead," from the first episode through "This Sorrowful Life," in preparation for the finale. The big question is, are we going to lose someone else from our diminishing band of survivors? In the gallery above, we look back on 10 characters who have completed their time on "The Walking Dead." Also included: five characters who might be in grave danger. Tell us your thoughts in the comments below, as well as your ideas of who might be next. – Amy Hubbard and Gina McIntyre ALSO: "Doctor Who" lords it over time, space and TV "Star Trek: The Video Game": Aiming to stun disbelievers "Oz the Great and Powerful": The art of the opening sequence |
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