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SCOTUS votes, NCAA pays and Macron salves

 
Today's politics story

Supreme Court lowers bar for racial gerrymanders

What happened
The Supreme Court voted 6-3 Thursday to keep in place a South Carolina congressional map that a lower court had ruled an impermissible racial gerrymander. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the court's conservatives, said the challengers had failed to prove the state's Republican legislature had removed a swath of Black voters from the Charleston-area swing district due to race instead of allowable "partisan preferences."

Who said what
"The challengers introduced more than enough evidence of racial gerrymandering," Justice Elena Kagen wrote in a blunt dissent for the court's three liberals. Alito's majority opinion betrays a "lack of familiarity with the events and evidence central to this case," she said, and creates "special rules to specifically disadvantage suits to remedy race based-redistricting."

The court's conservative majority "effectively substituted their judgment about what actually happened for that of the district court," said University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck. The Supreme Court is only supposed to do that when "lower court findings are clearly erroneous," Rich Hasen said at Election Law Blog. The "bottom line practical" impact of the ruling is that Alito has "once again come up with a legal framework that makes it easier for Republican states to engage in redistricting to help white Republicans maximize their political power."

What next?
Alito's opinion "did not entirely foreclose the possibility that civil rights groups might eventually prevail" using a different legal theory, Politico said. But "the chances of any changes in the map this year seem vanishingly remote."

 
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Today's SPORTS story

College athletes to get paid after NCAA settlement

What happened
The NCAA and five power conferences agreed Thursday to a $2.77 billion settlement that paves the way for schools to directly pay college athletes starting as soon as fall 2025. The agreement effectively kills the NCAA's century-old "bedrock amateurism model," The Associated Press said.

Who said what
The 10-year settlement "will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come," the NCAA said in a joint statement with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. It leaves a bunch of questions unsettled, including "who will get paid and how much," The Wall Street Journal said. 

Whatever the final terms, "the most far-reaching component is a new revenue-sharing model, which would pay athletes a cut of money their schools generate from broadcast rights deals, ticket sales and sponsorships," The Washington Post said.

What next?
Lawyers for the NCAA, colleges and plaintiffs will hammer out the details over the next four to six weeks, and if a federal judge signs off on the terms, the settlement could go into force in six to eight months.

 
 
Today's INTERNATIONAL Story

Macron tries to soothe New Caledonia uproar

What happened
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he won't force through a controversial voting reform that sparked violence in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, leaving six people dead.

Who said what
Macron flew to Nouméa, the New Caledonian capital, after sending 1,000 additional French gendarmes to quell rioting that began May 13 in response to legislation moving through France's Parliament. The reforms would allow more French residents to vote in local elections. Currently, only Indigenous Kanaks — who make up 40% of the population — and people who settled in New Caledonia before 1998 can vote. 

Many Kanaks worry the new legislation would "dilute their political voice," said the BBC, potentially endangering future independence votes. Three referendums held since 2018 failed, but the 2021 vote was boycotted by pro-independence groups.

What next?
Macron pledged to wait a "few weeks to allow for calm, the resumption of dialogue," before trying to broker a new agreement for the archipelago's future. The extra security, he said, "will remain as long as necessary."

 
 

It's not all bad

A new treatment using electrical pulses in combination with occupational therapy could restore movement to some people experiencing paralysis from the neck down. In a study of 60 people, 43 reported improvement in their ability to use their neck and arms, including one woman who can now unbuckle her seatbelt and lift a cup of coffee, the BBC said. The FDA is analyzing the study's data to determine if it will issue a license for the device. 

 
 
Under the radar

Fish are becoming smaller and we humans are most likely to blame. A study published in the journal Science said that body size tends among plants and animals "varied across communities," but "marine fish more consistently shifted toward smaller body size." This trend is concerning for scientists because more than 3 billion people worldwide rely on fish as a source of food.

"Organisms becoming smaller has important effects, as the size of animals mediates their contribution to how ecosystems function and how humans benefit from them," professor Maria Dornelas, one of the authors of the study, said to The Guardian. "Bigger fish can usually feed more people than smaller fish."

While scientists can confirm that fish are becoming smaller, they cannot pinpoint a specific reason. Experts have considered two explanations: overfishing and warming oceans. The changing demographic can also permanently alter the ecosystem. "In marine and other aquatic ecosystems, size determines whether you are a prey or predator," Asta Audzijonyte, who studies fish at the University of Tasmania, told The Washington Post. And fish are not the only aquatic species seeing changes in size. The research showed that several plants and other invertebrate species are also shrinking.

Ecosystems have shown signs of adapting. Fish are shrinking, but there are more of these smaller fish. "The relationship between abundance change and body size change is complex and variable, but there are signs that the overall reduction in body size is being counteracted by increasing overall abundance," the study in Science said.

 
 
On this day

May 24, 1883

The Brooklyn Bridge opened, marking the first permanent crossing between Brooklyn and the island of Manhattan. The bridge, a significant engineering feat, was designed by John Roebling, and was the world's longest suspension bridge at the time of its opening. Today, it is one of four bridges that span New York City's East River.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

Donald Trump drew a crowd in New York City's uppermost borough on Thursday, but he also drew a passel of protesters who "let out their anger" with some "Bronx jeers," the New York Daily News says. Trump is back in his old hometown because of his criminal trial — the "verdict could come by month's end," and "closing arguments start Tuesday," USA Today says. Trump has his own star power, but other "celebs hold little sway over voters," with "two notable exceptions: the Obamas," the newspaper reports. Adding to the unpredictability this fall, NOAA's "hurricane forecast worst ever," the Houston Chronicle says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

He fought the law

British tourists recently triggered a "health scare" in Turkey by scattering the ashes of a loved one in the sea, the Daily Mail said. Footage was posted online showing the ashes being sprinkled at a beach in Marmaris, and following a "backlash from concerned locals," health officials took water samples to check for contamination. The tests showed there was "no immediate health risk," but the unidentified tourists' unauthorized ceremony still caused offense, in part due to cremation being banned in Turkey.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Shannon Finney / Getty Images for Rooted Logistics; Brett Wilhelm / NCAA Photos via Getty Images; Ludovic Marin / Pool / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images