AFP

The conservative-majority US Supreme Court appeared poised on Monday to ban the use of race or ethnicity as a factor in deciding who gets into America’s elite universities.

The top US court heard nearly five hours of arguments on the use of race or ethnicity in admissions to Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) — respectively the oldest private and public institutions of higher education in the country.

Harvard and UNC, like a number of other competitive US schools, consider an applicant’s race or ethnicity as a factor to ensure a diverse student body and representation of minorities, a policy known as “affirmative action.”

It emerged from the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s to help address the legacy of discrimination in higher education against African Americans.

The suits against Harvard and UNC were brought by a group known as Students for Fair Admissions, which claims that race-conscious admissions policies discriminate against equally qualified applicants of Asian American origin.

“The racial preference is operating to the disadvantage of Asian American applicants,” Patrick Strawbridge, attorney for Students for Fair Admissions, told the court.

“When you use race, you’re telling applicants that their race matters,” Strawbridge said, calling it “inherently divisive” and unconstitutional.

“It gets us further away from a world where the government treats race as irrelevant,” he said.

Strawbridge’s arguments appeared to get a sympathetic hearing from the conservative justices on the court, setting the stage for another potential historic reversal like in June, when the high court overturned its landmark 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision guaranteeing a woman’s right to abortion.

Conservatives have a 6-3 majority on the court, which includes three justices nominated by former president Donald Trump, a Republican.

– ‘Don’t have a clue what it means’ –

Justice Clarence Thomas, a longtime opponent of affirmative action, said he could not think of another case “where the court deferred to the alleged discriminator.”

“I’ve heard the word diversity quite a few times and I don’t have a clue what it means,” he added. “It seems to mean everything for everyone.”

Conservative justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett repeatedly pressed the attorneys for Harvard and UNC about when there would be an “end point” to affirmative action and whether there were any “race-neutral” alternatives.

“Your position is that race matters because it’s necessary for diversity,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to stop mattering at some particular point.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the court, and the other two liberals pushed back against the arguments put forward by Students for Fair Admissions.

“You haven’t demonstrated or shown one situation in which all they look at is race,” Jackson said. “They are looking at the full person.”

Justice Elena Kagan said the court has previously “rightly recognized that student body diversity is a compelling interest that can justify limited consideration of race in university admissions.

“That holding recognizes a simple but profound truth — when students of all races and backgrounds come to college and live together and learn together they become better colleagues, better citizens and better leaders.

“In your view, it really wouldn’t matter if there was a precipitous decline in minority admissions,” Kagan said to Strawbridge. “Your brief says it just doesn’t matter if our institutions look like America.

“Doesn’t it?” she asked.

– ‘Cause racial diversity to plummet’ –

The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden and dozens of major American companies have weighed in on the side of the universities.

“A blanket ban on race-conscious admissions would cause racial diversity to plummet at many of our nation’s leading educational institutions,” US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the court.

Previous courts have upheld affirmative action — in 2016 by a single vote — but the policy has been controversial from the start, and a number of white students have mounted legal challenges over the years, claiming “reverse discrimination.”

Nine states have banned affirmative action at public universities including California, where voters did so in a ballot proposition in 1996.

In a 1978 decision, the Supreme Court banned the use of quotas in university admissions as unconstitutional.

But it said race or ethnicity can be considered as one factor among others, in admitting students to ensure a diverse student body and combat historic discrimination. 

Jackson sat out the Harvard case because she has served previously on the Board of Overseers at the school, her alma mater.

The court is expected to deliver its decision by June.

Taylor Swift made music history Monday, becoming the first artist ever to simultaneously nab all 10 spots on the top US song chart after the release of her album “Midnights.”

“Anti-Hero” led the charge, taking the Billboard Hot 100’s top spot.

It’s the first time in the chart’s 64-year history that a single artist has claimed the entire top 10, Billboard said.

The last artist to come close was Drake, who took nine of the coveted spots in September 2021.

“10 out of 10 of the Hot 100??? On my 10th album??? I AM IN SHAMBLES,” tweeted Swift, with a nod to her devoted fan base’s love of searching for hidden clues in her content including titles, numbers and dates.

Swift released the highly anticipated “Midnights” — her 10th studio album — on October 21, which also debuted at the top of Billboard’s main albums chart with the biggest week for a release since Adele’s “25” in 2015.

The release of “Midnights” crashed Spotify for hours, but it still set a record as the most-streamed album in a day, according to the platform.

The album’s 13 songs tell “the story of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” Swift said.

Together, they form “a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour.”

The three songs off “Midnights” not in the top 10 also charted, as did seven more tracks from the extended “3am edition.”

Swift’s latest album sees her returning to pop and recalling some of her earliest hits after two pandemic albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” leaned into folk.

It also drops as the 32-year-old makes good on her vow to re-record her first six albums so she can control their rights — a process she was contractually allowed to begin in November 2020.

She has released two of them thus far: “Fearless” and “Red.”

Taylor Swift made music history Monday, becoming the first artist ever to simultaneously nab all ten of the top US song chart’s spots after the release of her album “Midnights.”

The total takeover saw her song “Anti-Hero” launch in the Billboard Hot 100’s top spot.

It’s the first time in the chart’s 64-year history that a single artist has claimed the entire top 10, Billboard said.

The last artist to come close was Drake, who took nine of the coveted spots in September 2021.

Swift released her highly anticipated album “Midnights” on October 21, also debuting at the top of Billboard’s top album’s chart with the biggest week for a release since Adele’s “25” in 2015.

Swift’s release of her 10th album crashed Spotify for hours, but “Midnights” still set a record as the most-streamed album in a day, according to the platform.

The album’s 13 songs tell “the story of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” Swift said.

Together, they form “a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour.”

Swift’s latest album sees her returning to pop and recalling some of her earliest hits after two pandemic albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” leaned into folk.

It also drops as the 32-year-old has found resounding success as she makes good on her vow to re-record her first six albums so she can control their rights.

She has released two re-records of her six albums thus far: “Fearless” and “Red.”

Swift still has four left, after she was contractually allowed to begin the process in November 2020.

Ukraine suffered sweeping blackouts and water supplies were cut for 80 percent of Kyiv residents on Monday after another wave of Russian missile strikes on key infrastructure.

The Ukrainian army said “more than 50” cruise missiles were launched at targets across the country, days after Russia blamed Ukraine for drone attacks on its fleet in the Black Sea.

The army said many missiles were shot down by air defences but Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said they had caused power cuts in “hundreds” of areas across seven Ukrainian regions.

Several blasts were heard in the capital Kyiv.

“Currently, due to the emergency situation in Kyiv, 80 percent of consumers remain without water supply,” the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

“Engineers are also working to restore power to 350,000 homes in Kyiv that were left without electricity,” he added.

In the west of Kyiv, an AFP journalist saw over 100 people waiting patiently to collect water from a park fountain after their supply was cut off by the Russian attack.

All of them carried empty plastic bottles to be filled.

“Russian terrorists have again launched a massive attack against electricity installations,” said the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter: “Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Russia fights civilians.”

The Russian army confirmed it had carried out cruise missile strikes and said they had all reached their intended targets.

– ‘Cold winter ahead’ –

Three missiles struck a site to the north of Kyiv, a soldier close to the target told AFP.

“It is dangerous here because there could be more strikes,” the soldier said at a blocked crossroads.

In a nearby town, Mila Ryabova, 39, told AFP she was woken by between eight and 10 “powerful explosions”.

“We were together with my family, preparing my daughter for school, but now there is no electricity in our house and at school,” said Ryabova, a translator.

“I’m not afraid of anything. (Some people) are still in shelters now, but not us. 

“But we are worrying and talking about opportunities to move abroad, because there is a cold winter ahead. We may not have electricity, heat supply. It can be hard to handle, especially with a small child.”

Previous strikes this month have already destroyed around a third of Ukraine’s power stations.

In Moldova, the government said a Russian missile shot down by Ukrainian air defences fell on a village in the north of the country, but without causing any injuries.

The country’s interior ministry said the missile fell on the village of Naslavcea close to the Ukrainian border.

– Grain deal –

Monday’s attack comes after Russia pulled out of a landmark agreement that allowed vital grain shipments via a maritime safety corridor. 

The July deal to unlock grain exports signed between warring nations Russia and Ukraine — and brokered by Turkey and the United Nations — is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict.

But Russia announced Saturday it would suspend its participation in the deal after accusing Kyiv of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea fleet, which Ukraine labelled a “false pretext”.

Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea has been targeted several times in recent months and serves as the fleet’s headquarters and a logistical hub for operations in Ukraine.

Despite Russia’s decision, at least 10 cargo ships loaded with grain and other agricultural products left Ukrainian ports Monday, according to a marine traffic website.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that continuing grain exports without Russian participation was “hardly feasible”.

“It takes on a different character, much more risky, dangerous,” he said.

In all, 12 ships were due to leave Ukraine on Monday and four were to head to the country, according to the Joint Coordination Centre that has been overseeing the agreement. 

“Civilian cargo ships can never be a military target or held hostage. The food must flow,” Amir Abdulla, UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, said on Twitter. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country has stayed neutral throughout the eight-month war in Ukraine, vowed to pursue efforts to keep the agreement in force despite Russia’s moves.

“Although Russia acts hesitantly… we will resolutely continue our efforts to serve humanity,” Erdogan said in a televised address.

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Attorneys in the saga over Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover have asked a Delaware court to dismiss the litigation following the deal’s closure, according to court documents released Monday.

“Yesterday evening, Defendants and Twitter closed the transaction contemplated by the merger agreement dated April 25, 2022,” said the October 28 letter from Musk’s attorney in the case to Judge Kathaleen McCormick.

“In light of this development, Defendants and Twitter have agreed to dismiss their claims and counterclaims as set forth in the stipulation and proposed order of dismissal submitted with this letter.”

Twitter sued Musk in the Delaware court in July after the unpredictable billionaire tried to walk away from the April deal to acquire the social media company for $44 billion.

But with an October trial date looming, Musk revived the deal in early October, ultimately sealing the takeover last week.

After taking over, Musk immediately dismissed senior Twitter leaders and said he would appoint a “content moderation council.”