High Court May Ban Race in College Admissions; Harvard, U. of N. Carolina Prefer Using Race

 The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today (October 31, 2022) about whether colleges can consider the race of prospective students in the interest of diversity, the USA Today website reports. 

The justices will hear arguments in two cases brought forward by Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

If the Supreme Court bans race determination in university admissions, it could have a negative effect on affirmative action and diversity.

S.Korea Pres.Calls Week-Mourning for 153 Deaths; Died in Surge at Seoul Halloween Festivities

 South Korea's President, Yoon Suk-Yeol, declared a week-long period of national mourning today (October 30, 2022), hours after at least 153 people -- mostly in their teens and 20s -- were killed and more than 100 were injured in a crowd surge during Halloween festivities in a nightlife district in Seoul, the Christian Post website reports.

Among those who died in Seoul's Itaewon nightclub district last night are at least 20 foreign nationals, including people from the U.S., Norway, Australia, China, Russia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Iran.

While the cause of the crush is not known, reports say tens of thousands of people flooded into the narrow streets of the Itaewon neighborhood for Halloween festivities which created panic among the crowd.

 

Poll:45% of Americans See US a Christian Nation; Surge in Nationalism Attention May Have Impact

 Forty-five percent of Americans believe that the U.S.  should be a "Christian nation,"a new Pew Research Center survey shows, the Religion News Service website reports today (October 29, 2022).

But researchers say  respondents differed greatly when it came to defining what a Christian nation should look like. 

Pew's findings suggest the recent surge in attention paid to Christian nationalism has had an effect on Americans.

Husband of House Speaker Beaten with Hammer; Paul Pelosi Hit in San Francisco Home in Break-In

 Paul Pelosi, husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked and severely beaten by an assailant with a hammer who broke into their San Francisco home early today (October 28, 2022), according to the Newsmax website. 

Paul Pelosi, 82, suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body, and was treated by doctors for bruising, severe swelling. and other injuries.

The assailant is in custody, and the motivation for the attack is under investigation.

Cancer Death Rates Fall in US from 2015 to 2019; Every US Racial and Ethnic Group Sees a Decline

 Pre-pandemic cancer death rates continued to decline among men,  women, children,  adolescents, and young adults in every major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. from 2015 to 2019, the UPI website reports today (October 27, 2022).

Overall, the latest "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer" said new cases of cancer remained stable for men and children, but increased slightly for women, adolescents, and young adults from 2014 to 2018. 

The nation's top health officials said this continues a trend in declining cancer mortality that reflects improvements in prevention, detection, and treatment.

Record No. of Border Crossings, Deaths in 2022; 2,378,944 Immigrant--Law Official Encounters

 The U.S. saw a record number of border crossings and migrant deaths in 2022, the Christian Post website reports today (October 26, 2022).

There were 2,378,944 encounters between illegal immigrants and law enforcement officials at the U.S. border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022 which ended September 30. 

This marked a significant increase from fiscal year 2021, which recorded 1,734,686 border crossings. 

A record 856 migrants died at the U.S.--Mexico border in fiscal year 2022.

Rishi Sunak Is Britain's New Prime Minister; Replaces Liz Truss Who Quit after 2 Months as PM

Rishi Sunak became Britain's new prime minister -- its third in three  months -- after meeting with King Charles III today (Ocrober 25, 2022), the UPI website reports.

 It was the first time King Charles fulfilled his constitutional role of meeting  a new prime minister. 

Queen Elizabeth II met former Prime Minister Liz Truss in Britain's traditional handover of power just days before the Monarch's death. Truss resigned last week, after less than two months on the job.