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Police enter UCLA anti-war encampment; Arizona repeals Civil War-era abortion ban

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Police enter UCLA anti-war encampment; Arizona repeals Civil War-era abortion ban

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Law enforcement officers are moving into a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA. Violence erupted this week on UCLA’s campus when counter-protesters attempted to forcibly dismantle the tents. Journalists and protest organizers say fireworks and tear gas were used. The confrontation was a flashpoint among dozens of university protests against the war in Gaza that have broken out nationwide.

Counterprotesters try to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the University of California, Los Angeles campus in the early hours of Wednesday.

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Counterprotesters try to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the University of California, Los Angeles campus in the early hours of Wednesday.

Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images

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  • The nationwide protests began at Columbia University, where police cleared out an encampment and occupied campus building Tuesday night. On Up First, NPR’s Martin Kaste compares the police response to 1968 when Columbia students protested the Vietnam War. Kaste talked about some of these differences with Chuck Wexler, who runs the Police Executive Research Forum. Wexler thinks that in most cases, protesters are getting more careful treatment by the police. Still, injuries have been reported, and police trainer Russ Hicks says he’s seen some officers lose their cool. 
  • The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass an antisemitism bill Wednesday with bipartisan support. The measure would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism for use in the enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws in education programs. Some Democrats voiced concerns, however, that the international group’s definition could be broad enough to include protected free speech.   

Arizona lawmakers have voted to repeal a Civil War-era abortion ban. Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs is expected to sign the bill into law today. But it won’t go into effect until 90 days after the state’s legislative session — meaning the near-total abortion ban could temporarily go into effect before the repeal takes it off the books.

  • “This has really revealed a schism in the Republican party,” says Ben Giles of NPR network station KJZZ in Phoenix, Ariz. Party leaders like Donald Trump have called on Republicans to fix or repeal the law. But Giles says rank-and-file Republicans in the state, like Sen. Jake Hoffman, who leads the local version of the Freedom Caucus, say the law was great. 
  • As abortion continues to be a key issue heading into the 2024 presidential election, a new poll shows voters are more divided by party on the issue than ever before.

Donald Trump yesterday held his first campaign rallies since the start of his criminal hush money trial in New York. In lengthy speeches in Waukesha, Wisc., and Freeland, Mich., Trump focused on what a second term would look like and the consequences if he doesn’t win.

  • With his limited campaign schedule, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben says Trump is focusing on the new “Protect the Vote” program his campaign and the RNC recently rolled out. The program aims to get a “massive force of people” to watch poll workers and make sure ballots are counted correctly. Kurtzleben says the “renewed, early, organized sustained” push for this program doubles down on “the Big Lie” that Trump and the Republican party have been telling about who won the 2020 election.

How to thrive as you age

A man is walking up the steps of an underground passage

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A man is walking up the steps of an underground passage

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How to Thrive as You Age is a special series from NPR’s Allison Aubrey about the secrets and science of longevity.

Are you an elevator person or a stairs person? Your choice could help you live longer. A new meta-analysis presented at a European Society of Cardiology conference found that people in the habit of climbing stairs had about a 39% lower likelihood of death from heart disease, compared to those who didn’t climb stairs. They also had a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

  • How many stairs are enough? One study found climbing six to ten flights a day was linked to a reduced risk of premature death. Another found climbing more than five flights a day lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20%.
  • The benefits can kick in quickly. One study found that four to eight weeks is all you need to start seeing an improvement in your life.
  • But if you’re not a regular stair climber, researchers say you should start slowly.

Picture show

Aviva Siegel, who was held hostage in Gaza for 51 days, and whose husband Keith remains in Hamas captivity, spends time with her eight-year-old granddaughter Yali Tiv at her daughter’s home on Kibbutz Gazit on March 26. Aviva has been staying with her daughter in northern Israel since being released in November.

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Aviva Siegel, who was held hostage in Gaza for 51 days, and whose husband Keith remains in Hamas captivity, spends time with her eight-year-old granddaughter Yali Tiv at her daughter’s home on Kibbutz Gazit on March 26. Aviva has been staying with her daughter in northern Israel since being released in November.

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Tamir Kalifa/Tamir Kalifa for NPR

Aviva Siegel, 63, was taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, along with her husband Keith. She was released after 51 days, but he was not. Recently, Hamas released a video showing Keith alive.

See photos of Aviva and her family since her release, and read about how life has changed for them as they wait with hope for Keith’s return.

Check out npr.org/mideastupdates for more coverage and analysis of the conflict.

3 things to know before you go

Angie Cox, left, and Joelle Henneman hug after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference that repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings.

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Angie Cox, left, and Joelle Henneman hug after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference that repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings.

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  1. The United Methodist Church, one of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S., has voted to repeal its ban on LGBTQ+ clergy and the prohibition on its ministers from officiating at same-sex weddings.
  2. Scientists say the bird flu spreading among dairy cattle poses a low risk to humans. But federal health officials say they’ve started trying to develop a vaccine, just in case.
  3. If you’re an adventurous eater, you may want to take advantage of the two broods of cicadas that are about to emerge from the ground. Chef Joseph Yoon shares some delectable ways to cook the bugs.

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi and Obed Manuel.

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Richemont reinstates chief executive role as it navigates luxury market downturn

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Richemont reinstates chief executive role as it navigates luxury market downturn

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Richemont has re-established the role of chief executive after almost a decade as the Swiss luxury group navigates a market downturn.

The group, which is chaired by its controlling shareholder Johann Rupert, said Nicolas Bos, the head of its jewellery brand Van Cleef & Arpels, would take up the position on June 1. He will report to Rupert.

“Building on Richemont’s expanded scale and stronger focus on retail and jewellery, Nicolas will steer the group through the next phase of its evolution,” Rupert said. “The re-established CEO role will help streamline decision making and optimise operational management.”

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The decision to reinstate the role came as Richemont reported a slowdown in fourth-quarter sales.

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Arrests at the U.S. border fall in April, bucking usual spring increase

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Arrests at the U.S. border fall in April, bucking usual spring increase

A group of people wait to be processed after crossing the border between Mexico and the United States as they seek asylum in April 2024, near Jacumba, Calif.

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A group of people wait to be processed after crossing the border between Mexico and the United States as they seek asylum in April 2024, near Jacumba, Calif.

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WASHINGTON — Arrests for illegally crossing the U.S. border from Mexico fell more than 6% in April to the fourth lowest month of the Biden administration, authorities said Wednesday, bucking the usual spring increase.

U.S. officials have largely attributed the decline to more enforcement in Mexico, including in yards where migrants are known to board freight trains. Mexico won’t allow more than 4,000 illegal crossings a day to the U.S., Alicia Barcena, Mexico’s foreign relations secretary, told reporters Tuesday, down from more than 10,000 Border Patrol arrests on some days in December.

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Migrants were arrested 128,884 times in April, down from 137,480 in March and barely half a record-high of 249,737 in December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. While still historically high, the sharp decline in arrests since late December is welcome news for President Joe Biden on a key issue that has nagged him in election-year polls.

San Diego became the busiest of the Border Patrol’s nine sectors along the Mexican border for the first time since the 1990s with 37,370, replacing Tucson, Arizona.

Troy Miller, Customs and Border Protection’s acting commissioner, said more enforcement, including deportations, and cooperation with other countries resulted in lower numbers.

“As a result of this increased enforcement, southwest border encounters have not increased, bucking previous trends. We will remain vigilant to continually shifting migration patterns,” he said.

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Authorities granted entry to 41,400 people in April at land crossings with Mexico through an online appointment app called CBP One, bringing the total to more than 591,000 since it was introduced in January 2023.

The U.S. also allows up to 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans if they apply online with a financial sponsor and arrive on commercial flights. About 435,000 entered the country that way through April, including 91,000 Cubans, 166,700 Haitians, 75,700 Nicaraguans and 101,200 Venezuelans.

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Read the Texas Governor’s Pardon

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Read the Texas Governor’s Pardon

PROCLAMATION
BY THE
Governor of the State of Texas
PROCLAMATION No. 2024-0001
DPS #07666731
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME:
WHEREAS, Daniel Scott Perry, TDCJ #02450686, D.O.B. April 24, 1987, was
sentenced in the 147th District Court in Travis County on May 10, 2023, to twenty-
five years in prison for the offense of Murder, Cause No. D-1-DC-21-900007; and
WHEREAS, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has conducted an exhaustive
review of Daniel Scott Perry’s personal history and the facts surrounding his shooting
of Garrett Foster; and
WHEREAS, both the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and
Article I, Section 23, of the Texas Constitution protect the right to keep and bear arms
for, among other things, self-defense; and
WHEREAS, Texas law, consistent with those constitutional guarantees, provides one of
the clearest self-defense protections in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Texas Penal Code § 9.32(a) provides that a person “is justified in using
deadly force against another” when that person “reasonably believes the deadly force
is immediately necessary” to protect a person against another’s use of unlawful deadly
force; and
WHEREAS, Texas Penal Code § 9.32(c) provides that a person who is otherwise
lawfully present at the location where deadly force is used “is not required to retreat
before using deadly force”; and
WHEREAS, on July 25, 2020, Daniel Scott Perry, while driving on a public road in
Austin, slowed his vehicle as he rounded a corner onto Congress Avenue and
encountered a group of protestors obstructing traffic; and
WHEREAS, Daniel Scott Perry’s car was immediately surrounded by aggressive
protestors who rushed to obstruct, strike, pound, smash, and kick his vehicle; and
WHEREAS, Garrett Foster then approached within 18 inches of Daniel Scott Perry’s
car, confronted him, and brandished a Kalashnikov-style rifle in the low-ready firing
position; and
WHEREAS, Daniel Scott Perry fired his handgun at Garrett Foster to eliminate a
perceived threat to his safety and called law enforcement less than one minute later to
inform them of the incident; and
WHEREAS, Daniel Scott Perry explained to law enforcement at the time that he used
his weapon because he feared losing his life and has since consistently stated that he
acted in self-defense; and
WHEREAS, Travis County District Attorney José Garza, rather than upholding the self-
defense rights of citizens, has prioritized “reducing access to guns” that citizens may
use to lawfully defend themselves; and
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE
SECRETARY OF STATE
1:25 PM O’CLOCK
MAY 16 2024

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