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What are legacy admissions — and do colleges need them?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

By Ramishah Maruf | CNNNew York  — Legacy college admission is an advantage given at birth, in which the children of a school’s alumni receive special consideration in the college admissions rat race. But after the US Supreme Court overturned race-based admissions over the summer, attention toward this already criticized practice intensified.While many students from minority or low-income backgrounds are likely the first in their families to attend college, legacy students are mostly White, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Since the Supreme Court’s decision on race-based admissions, Wesleyan University and the University of Minnesota dropped legacy admissions. Other schools, such as Johns Hopkins University and Pomona College, made the decision even earlier.RELATED: Harvard is getting scrutinized for legacy admissions. What does this mean for Stanford and other California colleges?“It was clear we should get rid of it,” Wesleyan President Michael Roth said on “CNN Th...

Israel hits Gaza with missiles in a third day of attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

By Aref Tufaha | Associated PressNOUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Israeli airstrikes struck militant sites in Gaza on Sunday for the third straight day, the Israeli military said, after Palestinian militants near the border fence launched incendiary balloons into Israel and threw an explosive at soldiers. The strike came on the heels of an Israeli military raid in the northern West Bank that Palestinian health officials said killed two Palestinians.It was the latest bloodshed in a surge of violence during a sensitive Jewish holiday period. A series of violent escalations on the border between Israel and Gaza over the past week has raised the specter of an escalation for the first time since a brief round of conflict last May between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.It comes at a fraught time. Jews are set to mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day on their calendar, on Sunday night followed by the weeklong Sukkot festival later in the month.There were no rep...

Pac-12 power ratings: Washington on top as Colorado holds steady, Utah, WSU and ASU rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

Let’s start with a public service announcement that targets a longstanding frustration across the Pac-12 footprint: Each team is required to make a minimum number of appearances on the Pac-12 Networks; that minimum corresponds to the number of non-conference home games on each team’s schedule.The conference just released the broadcast assignments for games on Oct. 7, and it features three games on the Pac-12 Networks.That leaves seven Saturdays to be scheduled, and most teams will be off the hook for required appearances on the network nobody watches.Only Colorado and Utah will enter the second half of the season (starting Oct. 14) with obligations unfulfilled. Each team must appear on the Pac-12 Networks at least once down the stretch.Our hunch: Utah’s date with Cal (Oct. 14) or perhaps Arizona (Nov. 18) will be assigned to the networks.Colorado’s options are limited because the Buffaloes have two Friday games in the second half — those belong to ESPN ...

First permits issued for new swordfish fishing gear that’s safe for marine mammals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

Permits are being issued to commercial swordfish fishermen who forgo large drift nets for a new system that won’t also capture whales and dolphins.The National Marine Fisheries Service recently issued its first 50 permits to fishermen using a new deep-set buoy gear that, unlike the mile-long, 100-foot-wide nets that drift in the ocean to tangle up fish, uses hooks to target only swordfish.The permits are going to the drift net fishermen who first agreed to pioneer the new gear and to fishermen who took buyouts to ditch the mesh nets permanently. The plan is to develop a new fishery using the gear and issue 25 new permits each year until 2027.Geoff Shester, a senior scientist with the nonprofit advocacy group Oceana, is among those who have been pushing for the new gear for years and called the new permits “a banner day for whales, dolphins and sea turtles that swim off our shores,” while also being “a massive leap forward for sustainable swordfish fishing in California.”“A thriving ...

Murder case in limbo: Man accused of killing popular Oakland youth mentor is mentally incompetent, attorney says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

OAKLAND — Criminal proceedings are being suspended over the killing of a popular youth mentor and coach, so that a mental health professional can evaluate the accused killer, court records show.At a September court hearing, the deputy public defender for 39-year-old Daniel Stith openly declared a doubt to Stith’s mental competence for trial, kicking off a legal process where a psychiatrist must now evaluate Stith and report her findings to a judge. Stith was not present for the hearing, having refused to leave his Santa Rita Jail cell, according to court documents.Stith was charged in 2021 with killing Concord resident Reuben Lewis III, 37, at a football practice attended by more than 100 people and children at Concordia Park in Oakland. Lewis was a former AAU basketball coach, and the community responded to his death with a huge outpouring of grief, including a vigil attended by then-Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and then-police Chief LeRonne Armstrong.Questions have been ...

Young mother slain at Bay Area Toyota service center identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

ALBANY, Calif. (KRON) -- A young Bay Area boy lost both of his parents on the same day. The boy, named King, was orphaned in the wake of two shootings at a Toyota service center in Albany, according to family and investigators."Losing a mother so tragically is devastating for any one, especially a young child (who is) as close to their mother as King was to his," King's grandmother wrote on a GoFundMe page.The boy's mother was identified by family as 24-year-old Alonna Gallon.Gallon was working on September 21 at the Toyota dealership's service center when she was shot by her son's father, according to family and investigators. The killing was a case of domestic violence, Alameda County Sheriff's Lt. Tya Modeste said.The victim's mother, Yuvonda Gallon, wrote, "Alonna was tragically killed at her place of employment by her child's father after making a conscience decision to distance herself from him due to his reckless behaviors. Alonna tried to the best of her individual abilities...

Solano County woman killed in collision on I-80

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

(BCN) -- A woman was killed and four other people were injured in a two-car crash Sunday night on Interstate Highway 80 near Davis, according to the California Highway Patrol.The wreck was reported shortly after 10 p.m. on eastbound I-80 near State Route 113, just west of Richards Boulevard.A Nissan Sentra was on I-80 traveling east in the left lane at a high rate of speed when a car changed lanes directly in front of it. Female victim killed after multiple people stabbed in Berkeley Hills: police The Sentra hit the left rear of the other car, a Nissan Maxima, according to the CHP. A woman in her 20s who was a passenger in the rear of the Maxima was not wearing her seatbelt and suffered fatal injuries in the collision.The four other people in the two cars, including both drivers, suffered minor to moderate injuries and were hospitalized. Alcohol doesn't appear to be a factor in the collision, the CHP said. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Washington Post Completely Botches Chaturbate Rules in Virginia Candidate Takedown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

The Washington Post had a salacious tip on its hands, graciously gifted to the newspaper by an unnamed Republican operative ahead of a crucial Virginia legislative election. The paper also had a problem: The activity the tip exposed was between consenting adults. But it was also rather sensational — sex and voyeurism on the internet — so there had to be a way to get it into print. The map through that thicket was also provided, it appears, by the same operative. The paper framed the story around an allegation that was elegant if a little absurd: Democratic candidate Susanna Gibson, it was alleged, had violated the terms of service of the sex site Chaturbate by soliciting monetary tips for performing specific acts with her husband. According to a snippet of the terms of service quoted by the Post, Chaturbate’s policy states that “requesting or demanding specific acts for tips may result in a ban from the Platform for all parties involved.”So it was that six of the resulting arti...

PBS’ free original programming lane may close soon, with Ken Burns and Elon Musk projects coming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — PBS was looking forward to a relatively free lane to offer fresh television to viewers downtrodden by the Hollywood strikes this fall, but that advantage may only last a couple of months now.A tentative deal reached late Sunday in the crippling TV writers strike, with hopes that actors would soon follow suit, has given rise to hopes that new episodes of favorite scripted shows might return sometime this winter.With commercial networks largely bereft of fresh material beyond reality shows, sports and games, PBS has a fall schedule of new programming, including a heavy dose of nonfiction, led by Ken Burns’ look at “The American Buffalo.”“I have to believe that people are looking for new stuff,” said Paula Kerger, CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service.PBS’ plans were virtually unaffected by the strike. One exception is a delay making “American Historia,” a three-part documentary series helmed by actor John Leguizamo about Latino figures in history, Kerger s...

Bahrain says attack by Yemen rebels kills one Bahraini officer and one soldier on the Saudi border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:09 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain’s military command says one of its officers and a soldier were killed in a drone attack by Yemeni rebels while patrolling the Yemeni-Saudi border.The statement says “a number” of soldiers were wounded in the attack early Monday.Bahrain is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, which has been at war with the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen for several years. A cease-fire had largely stopped the violence, and the two sides have appeared close to a peace agreement in recent months.Source