Atlanta city council approves ‘Cop City’ funding despite protests
The Atlanta City Council voted overwhelmingly early Tuesday to approve $31 million in funding for the construction of a $90 million police and fire training complex, backing a project that has provoked nearly two years of sustained protests and further inflamed tensions over law enforcement in the city. The atmosphere inside City Hall leading up to the vote reflected how emotionally charged the debate over the planned complex had become. It lasted more than 16 hours, with well over 300 people addressing the council over the project, which has become known to many by the nickname conceived by its critics, “Cop City.” The 15-member council voted 11-4 in favor.
Christie begins his 2nd presidential campaign
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was eclipsed by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential primaries, filed paperwork Tuesday saying that he would seek the 2024 Republican nomination, setting up a rematch with the former president and expanding the field of GOP candidates. Christie, 60, has positioned himself as the person most willing to attack both Trump, his former friend turned adversary, and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has been in second place in nearly every public Republican primary poll for months. Christie has begun laying out an aggressive case against Trump based on the former president’s policies — namely, that he made promises that he never delivered.
Florida confirms arranging migrant flights to California
After days of silence, Florida officials confirmed Tuesday that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration had orchestrated two recent charter flights that carried groups of migrants from New Mexico to Sacramento, California. The flights generated an immediate outcry from California leaders, who promised to initiate criminal and civil investigations, saying that the migrants had been deceived into boarding the planes. They also sharply criticized DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate. In a statement released Tuesday evening, Alecia Collins, communications director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said that the migrants’ relocation to California had been “voluntary” and that they had been taken to a nonprofit.
Man convicted of nonviolent crime can own gun, court rules
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a man who committed a nonviolent crime cannot be legally prevented from owning a firearm — a potential setback to gun regulations spurred by a Supreme Court ruling last year that vastly expanded the right to bear arms. In an 11-4 ruling, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Philadelphia, overturned decisions by lower courts that had prevented Bryan Range, a Pennsylvania resident who had sued the state after being blocked from buying a shotgun for hunting and self-protection over a conviction for lying on a benefits application in the 1990s.
Columbia University drops out of U.S. News rankings for undergraduate schools
Columbia University announced Tuesday that its undergraduate schools would no longer participate in the U.S. News &World Report college rankings, the first major university to refuse to supply information to the influential undergraduate guide. Columbia said it had become concerned about the “outsized influence” the rankings played in the undergraduate admissions process. Columbia also noted that the expected U.S. Supreme Court decision to end or curtail affirmative action “may well lead to a reassessment of admissions policies in ways we can’t even contemplate at this point.” U.S. News defended its ranking system as an important guide for students.
Grand jury in Florida hints at unknowns in Trump documents inquiry
The latest twist in the inquiry into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents is the revelation that a previously unknown federal grand jury in Florida is hearing testimony in the case. That grand jury is separate from the one convened for months in Washington, which has been the center of activity for prosecutors as they investigate whether Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving office or obstructed efforts to retrieve them. The Florida grand jury, which began hearing evidence last month, has had only a handful of witnesses who have testified to it or are scheduled to appear before it, according to the people familiar with its workings.
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires darkens skies across northern U.S.
A smoky haze floated over a wide swath of the northern United States on Tuesday from Canada, where hundreds of wildfires were blazing, triggering air alerts from Minnesota to Massachusetts. In Ontario, a layer of haze blanketed parts of Ottawa and Toronto, where Canadian officials warned residents about the poor air quality, as smoke floated over portions of New York and Vermont. New York City’s Manhattan skyline was obscured by hazy skies. More than 400 active wildfires were burning in Canada on Tuesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. More than 200 of the fires were burning out of control, the agency said.
Long a target, Prince Harry takes on tabloids in court
Prince Harry finally got his day in court against the British tabloid press that he has long reviled, taking the stand in London on Tuesday to accuse the Mirror Newspaper Group of hacking his cellphone more than a decade ago. Harry stood by his claims that the Mirror Group’s reporters used unlawful means to dig up personal information about him. Harry, 38, declared that editors and journalists “have blood on their hands” because of the lengths to which they went to ferret out news about him and his family, not least his mother, Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 after being pursued by photographers.
After months of outrage, demonstrations wane over French pension reform
Street demonstrations and transport strikes disrupted France again on Tuesday as another day of protests against a pension overhaul took places. Tuesday’s protest, the 14th day of nationwide demonstrations since January, reflected the lingering anger at the government’s decision to raise the legal retirement age to 64 from 62 — a move that put France on edge and led to the biggest political threat in President Emmanuel Macron’s second term. With key parts of the overhaul already enshrined in law, opponents of the reform acknowledge that the chances of turning the tide now are slim and that Tuesday’s actions may be a last stand.
Bolsonaro to face trial over vote fraud claims
Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is scheduled to go on trial June 22 on charges that he abused his power as president to make baseless attacks against Brazil’s election systems. If convicted, he would be ineligible to run for office for eight years. A panel of seven judges in Brazil’s electoral court will decide the case. A rival political party has accused Bolsonaro of abusing the office of the presidency when, less than three months before Brazil’s elections last year, he summoned foreign diplomats to a meeting, made false claims about the country’s voting systems and broadcast the remarks on state television.
Arctic may lose nearly all summer sea ice as early as 2030s
The first summer on record that melts practically all of the Arctic’s floating sea ice could occur as early as the 2030s, according to a new scientific study — about a decade sooner than researchers previously predicted. The peer-reviewed findings, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, also show that this milestone of climate change could materialize even if nations manage to curb greenhouse gas emissions more decisively than they are currently doing. Earlier projections had found that stronger action to slow global warming might be enough to preserve the summer ice.
By wire sources