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If you were wondering why the death of Barbaro hurts so , there is the answer : " A love story , at least a convincing one , requires three elements : the lover , the beloved , and the adventures they have together , " Smiley wrote . Supreme Court deliberations are private , but yesterday 's oral arguments on whether it is constitutional to allow school systems to use race in making school assignments became as much a public debate between the divided justices as a questioning of lawyers.And after two hours , it seemed to reflect a court majority highly skeptical of the proposition that the benefits of racially diverse public schools can justify any restriction on an individual 's constitutional right to equal protection . His decisions on First Amendment cases have been mixed . " Parents entrust public schools with educating their children , not indoctrinating them in religion , " the Eklunds ' attorneys stated in a brief asking the Supreme Court to take the case . " Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. spoke to his fellow members of the Federalist Society , a coalition of conservative lawyers and legal scholars who have gone from rebel outsiders to Washington insiders - - the group drew 1,500 people to its annual banquet and warranted appearances by administration leaders from Vice President Cheney on down.Roberts 's turn on the stage was the most complete , and it showed that his sure-footed performance in his confirmation hearings , where he left even senators opposed to his conservative philosophy aglow , was no fluke.He has a politician 's gift for appearing open while answering only the questions he wants to answer , along with an almost over-the-top humility about being , at 51 , the youngest chief justice since John Marshall , and he offers a reassuring middle ground between those worried about threats to judicial independence and those alarmed by activist judges.He provided a little something for everyone . " If you look at all the briefs , they are all written to Justice Kennedy , " said Benjamin W. Bull , chief counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund , an antiabortion legal organization.Solicitor General Paul D. Clement quotes Kennedy 's Stenberg dissent 22 times in his briefs defending the federal law , which was adopted by a wide margin in Congress and signed by Bush in 2003.Bush 's conservative appointees , Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr ., have thin track records on abortion , and some court-watchers say they may not be sure to vote to support the ban.As chief justice , Roberts might have institutional concerns if the court appears to abandon a major abortion ruling that has been on the books for only six years . Still , its unclear what message China intended to send , underscoring the opacity of China 's space and military programs and deepening suspicion over its avowed commitment to the purely peaceful use of space.Beijing has repeatedly pledged peaceful development of its army _ the world 's largest _ but has caused unease among its neighbors by announcing double-digit military spending increases nearly every year since the early 1990s.The anti-satellite test threatens to " undermine relationships and fuel military tensions between space-faring nations , " David Wright , of the Massachusetts-based Union of Concerned Scientists , said in a statement posted on the group 's Web site that was typical of criticisms from the U.S. scientific community.On Tuesday , the Foreign Ministry said it acknowledged holding the test to the U.S ., Japan and other countries , but insisted it opposed any arms race in space . " These technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment , and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change , " Bush said in proposing a series of measures to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 10 years.Environmentalists and scientists who study the problem say the nostrums Bush proposed Tuesday night will do little to prevent the serious environmental effects that the globe faces in coming decades.Environmentalists favor imposing a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions tied to a market-based emissions trading system . The empire was dissolved , and Japan was deprived of all territories it had seized by force . We felt we knew him.Possibly , this is anthropomorphic , and some have rightly pointed out that we should care as much about human beings . The Supreme Court heard a tobacco company 's plea for relief from a $ 79.5 million punitive damages award yesterday , in a case that could illuminate the Roberts court 's approach to tort reform.In recent years , the court has helped the business community on the punitive-damages issue , ruling that excessive awards violate companies ' constitutional rights . Douglas A. Berman , a law professor at Ohio State University , said : " It 's probably the normal number , but I always think they take too many . It overturned a $ 4 million punitive-damage award to an Alabama man who had sued a BMW dealer for selling him a repainted car instead of a new one.For the first time , the court declared that the constitutional right to due process of law meant that companies may not be subject to disproportionate punitive damages.In 2003 , the court broadly defined what qualifies as an excessive award , suggesting that punitive damages should normally be no more than nine times as large as compensatory damages . His research shows former Justices Byron R. White and Harry A. Blackmun , who left the court in 1993 and 1994 , respectively , were much more likely to grant certiorari - - or " cert " - - than their contemporaries.He said his studies of Blackmun 's papers , which detail cert grants , suggest that the downward trend could continue if Justice John Paul Stevens , 86 , is the next to leave . By the 9th cent ., however , the powerful Fujiwara family had established a firm control over the imperial court . An LDP victory in upper-house elections in July , which the party had earlier been expected to lose , was regarded by Koizumi as a mandate for his government . By third grade , boys have slightly higher math scores and slightly lower reading scores - - gaps that widen as the children grow older.The gender gaps for children age 9 to 13 approximately double in science and reading . Before that they had accepted only 60 petitions , as opposed to 80 at this point last year . And every time , a single memorable and increasingly alarming statement has stood out from the thousands of pages of technical discussion.The first report noted that Earth 's average temperature had risen by 0.5 to one degree Fahrenheit in the past century , a warming consistent with the global warming predictions but still within the range of natural climate variability . They have followed us , and favored us with their gifts to an extent that few other animals do , and partnered with us throughout history , from Persia to the Pony Express . His remarks were reported in the Gannett Co. ' s Journal-News.The court 's decision to halt the recount of Florida 's disputed election results , thus giving Bush the state 's electoral votes , has been heavily criticized as an example of the court overstepping its bounds and , worse , being driven by politics.Rather than let the recount take place and leave state officials and possibly Congress to determine the outcome of the election , the court 's five conservative justices decided to intervene.They eventually overturned a ruling of the Florida Supreme Court and halted the recount of the state 's disputed election results 36 days after the voting . The garage is closed until Thursday as the city replaces the controlling software , city spokesman Bill Campbell said.Dennis Clarke , the chief operating officer at Robotic Parking , acknowledged the operational problems , but said the garage has operated with " 99.99 percent efficiency . Since then , Justice Sandra Day O'Connor , who was in the majority , has been replaced by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. " It is improbable the jurors believed that the parties were engaging in an exercise in futility when respondent presented ( and both counsel later discussed ) his mitigating evidence in open court , " he wrote.He noted in the opinion , joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia , Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr ., that it was the third time the court has upheld the specific instructions . SHANGHAI , China - - China has sent men into orbit and launched dozens of satellites , but its test of a satellite-killing weapon is shaking up perceptions about where the Chinese space program is headed.The test , confirmed by Beijing on Tuesday after nearly a two-week silence , has drawn criticism from the U.S. and Japan , and touched off fears of an arms race in space .