JIM LEHRER: The U.S. Senate killed the immigration bill today. It did so by falling 14 votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate and move toward final passage. The bill was one of President Bush's top priorities. And today he said, "Congress's failure to act on it is a disappointment."
The vote means Congress is unlikely to take up immigration again until after the 2008 elections. We'll have more on the story right after this news summary.
The U.S. Supreme Court today handed down a major decision on schools and race. By 5-4, the court rejected plans in two cities that used race in assigning students. The cases came from Louisville, Kentucky, and Seattle, Washington.
Outside the court, a lawyer for the Seattle plaintiffs claimed victory.
SHARON BROWNE, Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation: It's going to require the school districts to focus on providing equal educational opportunities to all students regardless of their race. And the court emphasized that the equal protection clause means that the government, including school districts, must look at each of us as individuals and not members of a racial group. The bottom line is that race discrimination is wrong.
JIM LEHRER: Chief Justice John Roberts and three other conservatives ruled out racial considerations. The fifth member of the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy, left the door open in limited cases. He said if school districts have "a compelling interest" in diversity, "race may be one component."
In a strongly worded dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that "to invalidate the plans under review is to threaten the promise of Brown v. Board of Education." That landmark decision outlawed segregated schools in 1954.
Today, the lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund agreed the precedent is now in jeopardy.
THEODORE SHAW, NAACP Legal Defense Fund: It's not a good day because the court -- as Justice Breyer pointed out in as an impassioned and powerful dissent as I've heard or read from the bench in the Supreme Court -- walks away from both the spirit and the substance of Brown and, in one fell swoop, is overturning years of precedent. But Justice Kennedy's opinion leaves some sliver of hope open for school districts to engage in attempts to integrate their schools.
JIM LEHRER: In another decision today, the court overturned a nearly century-old ban on letting manufacturers set minimum prices for their goods. We'll have more on the schools and race case later in the program tonight.
President Bush refused today to hand over documents subpoenaed by two congressional committees. The material could involve the firings of federal prosecutors. But in a letter, White House counsel Fred Fielding invoked executive privilege and refused to comply.
Officials also said former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor will not testify. The committees' Democratic chairmen said they would press their demands. We'll have more on this story later in the program tonight.
In Iraq today, a car bomb killed at least 22 people in Baghdad. The attack hit a busy bus station during morning rush hour. More than 50 Iraqis were also wounded. To the south, three British soldiers were killed near Basra last night in a roadside bombing.
And the U.S. military announced another American soldier was killed today in Baghdad.
A suicide car bomber in Afghanistan killed two private security men today, including one American; three more Americans were wounded. They were riding in a convoy in Kabul when the car bomb rammed them and exploded. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
The American bald eagle came off the endangered species list today. In the 1960s, there were only 417 mating pairs of bald eagles still living in the wild. Hunting and the pesticide DDT were blamed. Today, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne made the birds' comeback official at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.
DIRK KEMPTHORNE, U.S. Interior Secretary: Today's 10,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles far surpasses the recovery goal of 3,900 nesting pairs. After years of careful study, public comment and planning, the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service are confident in the future security of the American bald eagle. From this point forward, we will work to ensure that the eagle never again needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act.
JIM LEHRER: We'll have more on this story later in the program tonight.
The Food and Drug Administration today stopped imports of farm-raised seafood from China. Catfish, shrimp, and other seafood contained antibiotics not allowed in seafood sold in the United States.
Also today, officials in Georgia confirmed a New York Times report that tainted toothpaste from China went to state prisons and mental hospitals. It contained a chemical used in anti-freeze. China has faced a growing list of safety problems with its goods, but the Commerce Ministry insisted today all Chinese exports are guaranteed safe.
The Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates unchanged today. The federal funds rate stayed at 5.25 percent, where it's been for a year. That's the benchmark for banks to set their prime lending rates and rates on consumer loans.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost five points to close at 13,422. The Nasdaq rose three points to close at 2,608.
