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Uprising’s guest expert Robert Jensen, an author and a professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, analyzes today’s news headlines:

Talks between the US and Afghanistan indicate that US troops in Afghanistan may be cut down to less than 10,000. Since Afghanistan’s April 5th election wound down, talks between both countries resumed over the continued presence of US troops. President Hamid Karzai who is winding down his tenure had refused to sign a status of forces agreement with the US. Now, it appears the US is ready to even consider as few as 5,000 troops, down from the current number of 33,000. Click here for a Reuters article about the story.

As the two major parties gear up for an election this year, the fight for Latino votes has ramped up once more. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is considering changing a policy which deports undocumented people who do not have serious criminal records. If enacted possibly tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants could be spared deportation. Meanwhile the Koch Brothers are backing a group called The Libre Initiative to help Latino voters in cities from Arizona to Florida with such things as obtaining drivers’ licenses and English classes. Click here for an AP article about deportations policy and here for a Reuters article about the Koch initiative.

The Supreme Court this morning upheld a ban on affirmative action in college admissions for a public university in Michigan. Justice Kennedy, in explaining the court’s position wrote, “the case is not about the constitutionality or the merits of race conscious admission policies in higher education. Rather the question concerns whether and in what manner voters in a state may choose to prohibit consideration of racial preferences.” Click here for a New York Times article about the story.