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News Wrap: Supreme Court throws out Curtis Flowers conviction, citing racial bias

In our Friday news wrap, the Supreme Court threw out the murder conviction and death sentence for a black Mississippi man, citing racial bias in jury selection. A 7-to-2 majority found Curtis Flowers was deprived of a fair trial. Also, the state of Missouri refused to renew the license of a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis -- the last clinic in the state where abortions are conducted.

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  • Judy Woodruff:

    In the day's other news, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a murder conviction and death sentence for a black Mississippi man, citing racial bias in jury selection.

    The 7-2 majority found Curtis Flowers was deprived of a fair trial because a prosecutor excluded black jurors over six trials. Flowers could now face a seventh trial.

    A mass government roundup may begin Sunday for migrant families who have received deportation orders. Several news organizations report Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is likely to launch predawn raids in major cities. President Trump tweeted earlier this week that millions of migrants will soon be deported.

    Longtime advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is accusing President Trump of sexually assaulting her back in the 1990s. In a memoir excerpted in "New York Magazine," she says it happened in a department store dressing room. Carroll is now the 16th woman to accuse Mr. Trump of sexual assault. The president denies all of the claims, and he said today that he has never met Carroll.

    The state of Missouri refused today to renew an abortion license for a Planned Parenthood clinic in Saint Louis. It is the last Missouri clinic where abortions are conducted. But a judge's previous order will let it continue at least for now. Planned Parenthood vowed to challenge the licensing decision.

  • M’evie Mead:

    We will continue to fight for our ability to deliver high-quality, patient-centered health care, and that includes the full range of reproductive health care.

    And so I want the people of Missouri to know that people in need of reproductive health care, that they can come to Planned Parenthood. The doors are open.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Last month, Missouri's Republican governor also signed a law banning most abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy.

    In Hong Kong, there were fresh protests today, demanding that city leaders scrap a proposal allowing extraditions to mainland China. More than 1,000 demonstrators wearing black rallied outside the police headquarters and government buildings. Others marched in the streets and put up barricades, but there was no violence.

    Violent anti-Russian clashes, though, did break out overnight in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, and at least 240 people were hurt. Some were left bleeding after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the demonstrators who were trying to storm the Parliament Building in Tbilisi, the capital. Anti-Russian feeling runs deep in Georgia, after Moscow helped two Georgian provinces break away in 2008.

    Protesters from across Europe gathered in Western Germany today to call for action on climate change. Organizers estimate 20,000 people filled the streets. The protest came a day after the European Union failed to agree on a plan to make the E.U. carbon-neutral by 2050.

  • Paula Maas (through translator):

    It's simply a shame and terrible what happens. Germany, among other industrial nations, is one of the countries mainly responsible for climate change, and we do not feel the effects yet, in comparison to the countries in the global south. And it is simply essential to take to the streets against it and to protest.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Today's rally took place near one of Germany's largest coal mines.

    Back in this country, 11 Republican state senators in Oregon stayed off the job for a second day to block climate legislation. Majority Democrats are pushing a measure to make dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Republicans want a public referendum instead, and they have refused to show up to deprive the state Senate of a quorum.

    Wisconsin's state Supreme Court has upheld the legality of a special legislative session that curbed the powers of the incoming governor and attorney general. Democrats won those jobs last November, and Republican lawmakers called the session afterward in December. The laws that they passed still face a legal challenge in federal court.

    Russian-born businessman Felix Sater was a no-show today before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. He worked on a proposed Trump Tower for Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign before the project was abandoned. His lawyer cited health reasons today. Democrats said they will now subpoena Sater.

    And Wall Street's weeklong rally finally ran out of gas. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 34 points to close at 26719. The Nasdaq fell 19 points and the S&P 500 slipped three.

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