SCOTUS skepticism of race-conscious admissions, charges in Paul Pelosi case: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Supreme Court signals skepticism of race-conscious college admissions

USA TODAY Supreme Court correspondent John Fritze explains. Plus, President Jair Bolsonaro still has not conceded in Brazil's election, USA TODAY national correspondent Bill Keveney looks at a push for progressive men to raise their voices on abortion rights, a slew of charges is unveiled against the attacker on Paul Pelosi and Twitter users may soon have to pay to get verified.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 things you need to know Tuesday, the 1st of November 2022. Today the Supreme Court on whether colleges may consider the race of their applicants, plus the latest from Brazil where Jair Bolsonaro still has not conceded and more.

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The Supreme Court gathered yesterday to debate one of its most important questions of the term. Producer PJ Elliott spoke with USA TODAY Supreme Court correspondent John Fritze to find out more on whether colleges may consider the race of their applicants.

John Fritze:

There's two cases here, one involving UNC, one involving Harvard, and they're both pretty much raising the same question, which is whether these colleges can consider race when they do their admissions. And it seemed pretty clear that the majority of the court's conservatives were opposed to that idea. I don't think there's any question really that the court is going to rule against the schools. I think the question at this point is how far they go.

PJ Elliott:

John, what are the potential ripple effects of this case?

John Fritze:

There's been a lot of debate about that. A lot of academics feel like there could potentially be ripple effects into the private sector economy, into the employment economy, a lot of companies these days have DEI, diversity and inclusion programs intended to really reverse systemic discrimination and racism. That's not directly at issue in this case, we want to be clear about that, but the way things work at the Supreme Court is when you get a decision one way, there's often a bunch of other litigation that comes up behind it.

PJ Elliott:

So what happens next?

John Fritze:

They are now going to go back and hand drafts back and forth for the next several months, and I expect we will not get a ruling anytime soon. I suspect this is going to be one they're going to do at the very end of the term, likely in June of next year.

Taylor Wilson:

You can find John's full story in today's episode description.

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A full day after losing Brazil's runoff presidential election, President Jair Bolsonaro has still not conceded. As of last night, he still hadn't spoken to the public or the media neither conceding nor challenging the election's results as some have feared. Left-leaning former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the runoff Sunday night with 50.9% of the vote to Bolsonaro's 49.1%. It was the closest election since Brazil's return to democracy in 1985. This was the scene as thousands of Lula supporters took the streets of São Paulo to celebrate.

[Sounds of celebration]

And unlike Bolsonaro, Lula spoke...

Translation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva:

"It's not fair for a people so kind, so affectionate, a population that likes music like Samba, happy people to suffer so much because of a fascist government that didn't like people, who didn't like Black people, who didn't like indigenous people."

Taylor Wilson:

Before the runoff, Bolsonaro had repeatedly questioned the reliability of his country's electronic voting system, similar to former President Donald Trump who he admires. He also said he has proof of fraud, though has not provided any evidence. But in his silence, many of his closest allies publicly said he lost. Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira told reporters on Sunday, "The will of the majority seen on ballots shall never be contested." São Paulo's governor elect and others also sent blessings to Lula. Like Trump, Bolsonaro has his own legal concerns. He's the target of a Supreme Court inquiry and to the spread of fake news and a Senate investigation has recommended that he be charged with crimes for his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his previous presidency from 2003 to 2010, Lula expanded a widespread social welfare program, but he's also remembered for corruption and served nearly two years in prison. This time around, he's pledged to boost spending on the poor, reestablish relationships with foreign governments and ban clear cutting in the Amazon rainforest.

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In the wake of the Supreme Court's rejection of Roe vs. Wade, progressive men are being called on to raise their voices and become more active for abortion rights. PJ Elliott spoke with USA TODAY National Correspondent Bill Keveney for more.

Bill Keveney:

The conservative men is a reference to a lot of the legislators and governors in states that have passed strict abortion bans. But for progressive men, there are various groups and efforts that are trying to persuade men to support abortion rights, particularly in their choices in the election to make their voices heard. It's partly that abortion so directly affects women. So much of the focus has been on women, rightly so, but men are voters, too. They have opinions and there's a call on both sides, but in particular because of so much opposition to the Supreme Court decision for more liberal men to come out to persuade others and to vote in support of abortion rights.

PJ Elliott:

Bill, let's talk about Kansas for a second. What happened there and how were they able to uphold abortion rights despite being such a conservative state?

Bill Keveney:

Kansas is a conservative state, but it's also a reminder that states can be red or blue, but they're not monolithic and they're a little bit more like the Western states where some of the conservative is more of a libertarian conservatism, and I think a lot of this was seen as perhaps whether should government be involved in this decision, in a personal decision.

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Taylor Wilson:

A 42-year old man has been charged with attempted murder, assault, and attempted kidnapping in connection with the violent attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In announcing charges against David DePape, the Justice Department said the suspect told police that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi and wanted to break her kneecaps if she did not answer his questions truthfully. Federal authorities hit him with a special assault charge that carries up to 30 years in prison and with attempted kidnapping of a United States official. The suspect allegedly assaulted Paul Pelosi with a hammer and police say he carried a backpack with tape, rope, gloves, and zip ties. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins also unveiled her own charges, attempted murder, elderly abuse, threats to a public official and other local charges.

Brooke Jenkins:

What is clear based on the evidence that we have thus far is that this house and the speaker herself were specifically targets of the defendant.

Taylor Wilson:

According to court documents, Paul Pelosi engaged in conversation with the suspect before moving to a bathroom where he called 911. The attack came just over a week before midterm elections and amid a surge in threats against public officials. On the day of the Pelosi attack, a joint bulletin was released by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, National Counterterrorism Center and US Capitol Police. It read, "The most plausible domestic violent extremist threat is posed by lone offenders who leverage election-related issues to justify violence. Enduring perceptions of election fraud related to the 2020 general election continue to contribute to the radicalization of some domestic violent extremists and likely would increase their sensitivity to any new claims perceived as reaffirming their belief that US elections are corrupt."

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The process to get that coveted blue check mark on Twitter may soon change. New Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk said that the social media platform will change its verification process, tweeting yesterday that it's being revamped. He did not give any specific details, but there are reports that the company plans to charge $20 a month to be verified. The platform previously launched its Twitter Blue subscription service offering what it calls premium features, including the undo tweet feature. As of now, users can be verified without subscribing to Blue, but the company is now considering a plan that would require verified users to subscribe for $4.99 a month or risk losing their verification, according to the Platformer, a Silicon Valley newsletter. And technology news website The Verge is reporting that the company will actually raise the price of Twitter Blue to $19.99 a month. The current verification process has been free, but the account must be what Twitter calls authentic, notable, and active.

Meanwhile, Musk has already made sweeping changes to Twitter's leadership. He fired top executives and made himself CEO last week. He's since also ousted all nine members of Twitter's board making him sole director. He's reportedly considering bringing back the video platform Vine, which shut down in 2016. As for his plans on content moderation, he tweeted on Friday that he's forming a content moderation council with diverse viewpoints. Critics have said they worry the app will become a cesspool of misinformation and hate speech without major restrictions. Others have applauded Musk for possibly lifting limits on speech. It's still not clear whether Musk will let some banned accounts back on like that of former President Donald Trump.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the year right here, wherever you're listeningright now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show, and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SCOTUS affirmative action skepticism, Paul Pelosi attack: 5 Things podcast