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U.S. NEWS Friday 11 august 2023

New school bus routes a 'disaster,' Kentucky superintendent

admits. Last kids got home at 10 pm

Associated Press The district opened an on-
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ken- line comment form for the
tucky's largest school sys- new bus routes on July 24
tem cancelled the second and received thousands
and third day of classes af- of complaints from parents
ter a disastrous overhaul of concerned that their chil-
the transportation system dren were having to walk
that left some children on too far to catch the bus or
buses until just before 10 that bus stops were at at
p.m. on opening day. busy, unsafe intersections.
Jefferson County Public District spokesperson Mark
Schools Superintendent Hebert told the paper last
Marty Pollio called it a week that they were con-
“transportation disaster” in tinuing to review the parent
a video posted on social requests for changes.
media Thursday morning. Latasha Gomis told the
Pollio apologized to the dis- paper last week that the
trict's 96,000 students along bus for her two elementary
with their families, the bus school children was sched-
drivers, and the school of- uled to pick them up at 6
ficials who had to stay with a.m. for a 7:40 a.m. school
students for hours as they start. The bus stop is almost
waited on buses to arrive Jefferson County Public Schools school buses packed with students makes their way through the a half-mile from their home
Wednesday. Detrick Bus Compound on the first day of school Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Louisville, Ky. and there are no sidewalks.
(Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal via AP)
He called the decision to Gomis called the district’s
close schools on Thursday Louisville has 65,000 bus rid- reported. The district spent current routes because of transportation department
and Friday the most difficult ers, according to its web- $199,000 to hire the Alpha- the driver shortage. Even but was told nothing could
of his career but said it was site. Route engineering firm to after increasing pay and be changed, she said. Ken-
necessary. District officials The disaster came after create a plan that would cutting routes, the district tucky law allows bus stops
will spend the four days be- major changes to school cut the number of bus did not have enough driv- for elementary students to
fore Monday reviewing the bus routes and school start routes and stops. ers, and students contin- be up to a half-mile away
routes and having drivers times this year meant to al- In pushing for the changes, ued to get to school late while middle and high
practice them, he said. The leviate a bus driver short- Pollio said the district simply and leave school late all school students may walk
district that encompasses age, the Courier Journal could not keep up with its year long, he said. up to one mile.q

Appeals court rules against longstanding drug user gun ban cited

in Hunter Biden case

By Lindsay Whitehurst strong historical roots — a The deal, which was round-
Associated Press finding that led to chal- ly criticized by Republicans,
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lenges of many of the na- also called for two guilty
federal appeals court tion's gun laws. pleas on misdemeanor tax
has ruled that drug users “Our history and tradition charges. But the future of
shouldn’t automatically be may support some limits the agreement is unclear
banned from having guns, on an intoxicated person’s after a judge raised con-
marking the latest sign of right to carry a weapon, but cerns about it last month.
upheaval in the nation's it does not justify disarming The Fifth Circuit is now the
firearm legal landscape a sober citizen based ex- highest court to consider
and raising questions about clusively on his past drug the law since the Bruen de-
a law cited in the case usage,” the three-judge cision was handed down
against Hunter Biden. panel for the Fifth Circuit — and its ruling will likely be
The opinion overturns the Court of Appeals in New cited in other similar cases
conviction of a Mississippi Orleans wrote in Wednes- around the U.S., said Jake A collection of illegal guns is displayed during a gun buyback
event, May 22, 2021, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
man, Patrick D. Daniels day's ruling. Charles, a law professor at (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
of Gulfport, who had two The ruling raises questions Pepperdine Caruso School
guns found in his car during about the future of the law, of Law who studies the Sec- Mississippi and Texas, aren't guns since the Bruen case,
a traffic stop last year and which also had a central ond Amendment. bound by the ruling. Since though judges in some oth-
acknowledged using mari- role in the proposed plea “As the first federal court Biden’s case was filed in er cases have agreed that
juana regularly but wasn't deal for Hunter Biden, the appeals ruling on this provi- Delaware it's not expected it doesn't stand up under
accused of driving under president's son. sion, it’ll be persuasive and to have an immediate im- Bruen.
the influence. Hunter Biden had been ex- influential to other circuits pact on the case. The appeals court called
The appeals court cited the pected to acknowledge and other district courts The ruling also acknowledg- the opinion relatively nar-
2022 U.S. Supreme Court that he had a gun during who are reviewing these es more than a dozen other row in applying to cases
decision known as New a period when he was ad- kind of challenges,” he times that lower-court judg- similar to the Mississippi
York State Rifle & Pistol As- dicted to drugs but avoid said. es have upheld the ban case and, overall, the law is
sociation v. Bruen, which prosecution on the count Still, judges outside the Fifth on “unlawful users" of con- rarely used in cases without
said gun laws must have if he stayed out of trouble. Circuit region of Louisiana, trolled substances having another crime involved.q