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American Press
a day ago
- Politics
- American Press
Supreme Court doesn't rule on Louisiana's second majority Black congressional district
Supreme Court. (Associated Press Archives) The Supreme Court on Friday put off ruling on a second Black majority congressional district in Louisiana, instead ordering new arguments in the fall. The case is being closely watched because at arguments in March several of the court's conservative justices suggested they could vote to throw out the map and make it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act. The case involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court that has been skeptical of considerations of race in public life. Justice Clarence Thomas noted in a brief dissent from Friday's order that he would have decided the case now and imposed limits on 'race-based redistricting.' The order keeps alive a fight over political power stemming from the 2020 census halfway to the next one. Two maps were blocked by lower courts, and the Supreme Court intervened twice. Last year, the justices ordered the new map to be used in the 2024 elections, while the legal case proceeded. The call for new arguments probably means that the district currently represented by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields probably will remain intact for the 2026 elections because the high court has separately been reluctant to upend districts as elections draw near. The state has changed its election process to replace its so-called jungle primary with partisan primary elections in the spring, followed by a November showdown between the party nominees. The change means candidates can start gathering signatures in September to get on the primary ballot for 2026. The state's Republican-dominated legislature drew a new congressional map in 2022 to account for population shifts reflected in the 2020 census. But the changes effectively maintained the status quo of five Republican-leaning majority white districts and one Democratic-leaning majority Black district in a state in which Black people make up a third of the population. Civil rights advocates won a lower-court ruling that the districts likely discriminated against Black voters. The Supreme Court put the ruling on hold while it took a similar case from Alabama. The justices allowed both states to use congressional maps in the 2022 elections even though both had been ruled likely discriminatory by federal judges. The high court eventually affirmed the ruling from Alabama, which led to a new map and a second district that could elect a Black lawmaker. The justices returned the Louisiana case to federal court, with the expectation that new maps would be in place for the 2024 elections. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave lawmakers in Louisiana a deadline of early 2024 to draw a new map or face the possibility of a court-imposed map. The state complied and drew a new map, with two Black majority districts. But white Louisiana voters claimed in their separate lawsuit challenging the new districts that race was the predominant factor driving the new map. A three-judge court agreed. Louisiana appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.
American Press
2 days ago
- American Press
Super Bowl halftime performer who disrupted performance arrested
Associated Press Archives A 41-year-old New Orleans man has been arrested for a disturbance he is accused of creating during the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 9 in the Caesars Superdome. Louisiana State Police Sgt. Kate Stegall said Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu is in custody. The preliminary investigation revealed that during the halftime performance, a performer deviated from his assigned role, retrieved a Sudanese flag bearing the message 'Sudan and Free Gaza,' and disrupted the halftime show by running across the field with the flag. Security and law enforcement personnel on site quickly recognized the unauthorized action and apprehended the performer after he refused to comply with their commands to stop. Through investigative means, troopers identified the performer as Nantambu and confirmed he was hired as an extra performer during the halftime show. In coordination with the National Football League, troopers learned that Nantambu had permission to be on the field during the performance, but did not have permission to demonstrate as he did, Stegall said. An arrest warrant was subsequently obtained through the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. On Thursday, Nantambu surrendered himself through coordination with his attorney and was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center for resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly. This investigation remains ongoing, Stegall said.
American Press
17-06-2025
- Politics
- American Press
Trump says US knows where Iran's leader is hiding but won't kill him — ‘for now'
President-Donald Trump. (Associated Press Archives) President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. knows where Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict but doesn't want him killed 'for now.' Trump urged, in a social media posting, Iran's 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' as the five-day conflict continues to escalate. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump added. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.' Trump's increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government come after he urged Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his participation in an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team. The comments about Khamenei and calls for surrender came shortly after Trump in a separate posting touted complete control of the skies over Tehran. Trump in the opening days of the conflict rejected a plan presented by Israel to kill Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Israelis had informed the Trump administration that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. But White House officials informed the Israelis that Trump opposed such a move. Administration officials were concerned that the plan to kill Khamenei could enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region. But deepening American involvement, perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate Iranian nuclear sites built deep underground or offering other direct U.S. military support, comes with enormous political risk for Trump. Trump, as he made his way back to Washington, expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement. He said he was now looking for 'a real end' to the conflict and a 'complete give-up' of Tehran's nuclear program. 'They should have done the deal. I told them, 'Do the deal,'' Trump told reporters on Air Force One. 'So I don't know. I'm not too much in the mood to negotiate.' Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb . Trump, who held a Situation Room meeting with advisers on Tuesday afternoon, has been gradually building the public case for a more direct American role in the conflict. His shift in tone comes as the U.S. has repositioned warships and military aircraft in the region to respond if the conflict between Israel and Iran further escalates. Trump returned to the White House from his abbreviated trip to the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with five days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president.
American Press
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- American Press
Doctor charged with supplying Matthew Perry ketamine will plead guilty to distributing the drug
Matthew Perry attends a November 2022 event in West Hollywood. (Associated Press Archives) A doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the 'Friends' star's overdose death has agreed to plead guilty, authorities said Monday. Dr. Salvador Plasencia has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, federal prosecutors said in a statement. They said the plea carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and Plasencia is expected to enter the plea in the coming weeks. Plasencia and a woman accused of being a ketamine dealer had been the primary targets of the prosecution, after three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation. Plasencia had been scheduled to start trial in August. An email to his attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered. The 'Friends' star Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him. About a month before the actor's death, he found Plasencia, a doctor who who in turn allegedly asked the other doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case. 'I wonder how much this moron will pay,' Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Santa Monica, California, where Plasencia practiced and San Diego, where Chavez practiced, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said. After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry's 'go-to,' prosecutors said. While Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry's ketamine in his final weeks, another defendant, Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor. She is also scheduled to go to trial in August. She has pleaded not guilty — making her the only one of the five people charged in Perry's death who has not entered a plea agreement. Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on 'Friends,' when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit.
American Press
15-06-2025
- Politics
- American Press
Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader, US official says
President-Donald Trump. (Associated Press Archives) President Donald Trump rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel's military operation aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region. Asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel's 'Special Report with Bret Baier,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan. 'But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,' Netanyahu said. Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri later called reports about the Israeli plan to kill Khamenei 'fake.' Netanyahu in the Fox interview also said regime change 'could certainly be the result' of the conflict 'because the Iranian regime is very weak.' Trump's rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters. Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would 'soon' make a deal to end their escalating conflict. Trump in an early morning social media posting said the United States 'had nothing to do with the attack on Iran' as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day. Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S.—which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry—for its backing of Israel. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,' Trump said. Hours later Trump took to social media again to predict 'Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal.' The U.S. president said he has a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities 'just like I got India and Pakistan to make' after the two countries' recent cross-border confrontation. India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India's strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other's territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases. It was the most serious confrontation in decades between the countries. Trump on Sunday repeated his claim, disputed by India, that the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate. Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia. 'Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!' Trump said. 'Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!' Trump is set to travel later Sunday to Canada for Group of Seven leaders summit where the Mideast crisis will loom large over his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan and the European Union. There's a divide in Trump world about how far the president should go in backing Israel. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson are among the prominent backers of Trump who have argued voters backed Trump because he would not involve the nation in foreign conflicts. GOP Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul praised Trump for having shown restraint and said he hoped the president's 'instincts will prevail.' 'So, I think it's going to be very hard to come out of this and have a negotiated settlement,' Paul said in an appearance on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'I see more war and more carnage. And it's not the U.S.'s job to be involved in this war.' In an interview aired on CBS' 'Face the Nation' GOP South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he preferred diplomatic efforts, but if diplomacy doesn't work Trump should 'go all in' on destroying Iran's nuclear program. 'If that means providing bombs, provide bombs,' he said. 'If that means flying with Israel, fly with Israel.'
