THE SHOW NOTES: SCOTUS Affirmative Action, NPR Defends Terrorists, & Turning Off Your A/C
Welcome! The Chinese spy balloon was carrying American-made hardware.
BIDEN: Putin "is clearly losing the war in Iraq." - Twitter
OUTRAGE: NPR is defending domestic terrorists in Georgia.
OH: Vanna White ‘holding out’ for 50% of Pat Sajak’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ salary
The Show Notes is my blueprint for radio but is only for subscribers. You can subscribe and listen here.
BREAKING: Major SCOTUS Ruling
The Supreme Court of the United States outlawed the practice of using race as a factor for college admissions in a major 6-3 decision that saw Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissent. The ruling over twin cases at Harvard and the University of North Carolina upends nearly 40 years of legal precedent.
Context: Harvard's affirmative action policies allowed an African American student in the 40th percentile of their academic index to have higher odds of acceptance than an Asian student in the 100th percentile of their index.
John Roberts: “The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race.”
Clarence Thomas: “While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold out enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles so clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States: that all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law." - Full quote
In response, the President of the NAACP said on MSNBC “The worst thing about affirmative action is that it created a Clarence Thomas.”
Bonus: Clarence Thomas wrote a rare response to Ketanji Brow Jackson’s take on today’s ruling that is truly amazing.
Smoke and Heat
120 million Americans are under air quality alerts thanks to record wildfires raging across Canada. Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Washington, and Indianapolis earned the worst air quality in the country with a rare “very unhealthy” rating issued by the National Weather Service.
What’s happening: 250 wildfires across Canada are currently deemed “out of control,” pushing unprecedented levels of toxic smoke south.
More: Here are back-to-back days in Pittsburg:
Texas: A weeks-long historic heat wave in Texas has shattered previous records and has energy experts concerned about the state’s power grid. The state’s primary energy company claimed power demand also hit a record high. 82 million people in the South are under a heat warning as of Thursday morning.
Insane: While the southeast is under a record heat wave, The Washington Post (paywall) wants you to turn your air conditioner off up to 8 hours per day to fight climate change. But don’t worry, you could save 11% on your heating bill! Insanity.
Bonus: 14,000 solar panels were destroyed in Nebraska by a hail storm last night. This doesn't happen to baseload power plants. - Twitter
🔥 Trending news: