Midday Roundup: Judge rules immigration action unconstitutional

Meaningless victory? A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that parts of President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration are unconstitutional. Judge Arthur Schwab said the White House orders restricted prosecutorial discretion on deportations and gave immigrants substantive rights, exceeding the president’s executive authority. But Schwab did not attempt to set aside the executive order and gave the defendant in the case—a man on trial for re-entering the country after one deportation—the right to seek a deferral under the new policy to avoid being evicted from the country again. Although a morale-booster for opponents of the president’s executive orders, the ruling isn’t likely to have a substantial effect on the situation. Several states are challenging the orders, so the Obama administration will have to defend them in court eventually.

Better late than never. Republicans have won the midterm election’s last unfinished race, a congressional seat in Southeast Arizona. Martha McSally defeated incumbent Democrat Ron Barber by 167 votes out of about 220,000, a recount confirmed. Gabrielle Giffords held this House seat until she was wounded in a mass shooting in January 2011. Barber, who worked for Giffords and was also wounded in the shooting, succeeded her. The win by McSally, a former Air Force pilot, gives Republicans their largest House majority since the administration of President Herbert Hoover, controlling 247 seats to 188 for Democrats.

Currency crash. The Russian ruble is in free-fall despite the government’s drastic interest rate hike Tuesday. The Russian government raised interest rates from 10.5 to 17 percent. Analysts say the surprise rate move will squeeze an already fragile economy, but the government had few options. A similar increase last happened in 1998, when the government defaulted on its debt and Russian interest rates surpassed 100 percent. Falling oil prices and Western sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Crimea have weakened the country’s economy. The government gets about half of its revenue from oil.

Compounded charges. Fourteen people connected with a compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts have been charged for their involvement in a meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people in 2012. More than 750 people contracted the deadly fungus after getting tainted steroid shots made by the New England Compounding Center. Most of the shots were given to help control back pain. Federal investigators allege the pharmacy’s owners and employees used expired ingredients, failed to properly sterilize the drugs or test to make sure they were safe. The pharmacy had been cited for unsafe practices. Technicians also allegedly were told to lie on cleaning logs, certifying that labs had been cleaned when they had not. Regulators later found potential contaminants in the lab, including standing water, mold, water droplets, and dirty equipment.

Imperfect officers. The Supreme Court has ruled evidence gathered during a mistaken vehicle stop is admissible as evidence in court. Attorney Robert Montgomery gave what turned out to be the winning argument before the high court in October, saying, “The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, but it does not require that police officers be perfect.”A North Carolina police officer thought state law required two working brake lights when only one was required. He pulled over a driver on that mistaken understanding and discovered cocaine in the car, leading to a conviction of the passenger. That conviction was upheld under this 8-1 ruling.

WORLD Radio’s Mary Reichard and Jim Henry contributed to this report.