The cases of Fisher v. University of Texas (affirmative action) and Shelby County v. Holder (voting rights) are among the most prominent and controversial issues in front of the justices this term.

The court also has potential landmark cases involving same-sex marriage and gene patents to announce in June, as well as a high-profile adoption case, a case involving payments and generic drugs, and an Arizona voter ID case.

Related Story:

The court is , and it could add extra decision days to deal with a potential logjam of big cases. Officially, for now, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its final decisions for the term on June 25, but the court could add an extra day in the last week of June.

The affirmative action case was argued last October and is the last one from that session that hasnt seen a public ruling by the court, which led to speculation that it could be the first of the high-profile cases to be announced.

But the court decided in late March 2013 to hear a second affirmative action case, in its next term (which starts in October 2013) about an affirmative action suit in Michigan.

The ruling in the Shelby Voting Rights Act case will get its fair share of publicity.

Shelby County, Alabama, filed suit in district court, claiming that Section 5 and Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act are unconstitutional. Two courts then ruled that those sections were constitutional.

Section 5 prohibits selected districts and states from changing to their election laws and procedures without getting official approval, or preclearance, from the federal government. Section 4(b) defines the districts as having had a voting test in place as of November 1, 1964, with less than 50 percent turnout for the 1964 presidential election.

During those February hearings, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court didnt appear to be swayed by arguments by the Obama administration to keep the preclearance requirement in Section 5 of the law.

That provision requires all or parts of 16 states, including virtually the entire Southern region of the United States, to get Justice Department approval before changing election districts, voting rules, and polling locations.

Section 5 made headlines in 2012 when the Justice Department used it to block voter ID laws in Texas and South Carolina, two states that were under the preclearance doctrine.

In the past two decades, Justice Department officials have used Section 5 to block more than 2,000 proposed voting changes in the preclearance states.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A New Zealand politician suspected of leaking a report on the country's spy agency stepped down Friday from his ministerial duties.

Peter Dunne said he didn't leak the report to a journalist but had made errors of judgment nevertheless. He resigned as revenue minister but said he'd continue as a member of Parliament.

His resignation came after an inquiry into the leak found that Dunne had exchanged 86 emails with Fairfax Media reporter Andrea Vance in the two weeks before Vance published a scoop on the report. Dunne refused to turn over all the emails to the inquiry.

The report on the Government Communications Security Bureau concluded the agency unlawfully spied on up to 88 residents.

Prior to the leak, Prime Minister John Key had promised to publicly release the report. He did release it after Fairfax published its story.

Fairfax Media Executive Editor Paul Thompson said Friday the company never comments on its confidential sources.

Labels first need to be revised to remove age restrictions, and the government could file another appeal to block moving the products from behind pharmacy counters.

Doctors, reproductive health specialists, manufacturers and pharmacists struggled Thursday to make sense of the appellate ruling that allows the original two-pill version of emergency contraception to be sold immediately without restrictions. Theoretically that means girls of any age could buy the pills without a prescription and without providing identification just like aspirin, ointments and most other over-the-counter medicines.

But the ruling doesn't lift restrictions on newer one-pill versions, which means pharmacists and pharmacy clerks will have to be clear on the differences among five or so available versions.

Some basic questions and answers:

Q: How quickly will there be a change?

A: No one knows. The government has two weeks to file another appeal. Labels for pills affected by the ruling currently restrict over-the-counter sales to girls 17 and older. Younger girls need to have a prescription.

Q: What are pharmacies and manufacturers doing?

A: Pharmacies and manufacturers said Thursday they were reviewing the ruling. Manufacturers could seek label changes, or the Food and Drug Administration could reach out to manufacturers to speed the change. They could also try to bypass the FDA by relabeling and shipping the drugs with a copy of the court order.

Q: Didn't the FDA recently rule on morning-after pills?

A: Yes, the agency announced last month that one brand Plan B One-Step pills could be sold without a prescription to those 15 and older. The manufacturer, Teva Women's Health, plans to begin those sales soon. This week's court ruling won't change that. Also, against objections from conservatives, the FDA had planned to remove age restrictions on over-the-counter sales for emergency contraceptives two years ago. But Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled that decision in late 2011.

Q: Who uses morning-after pills?

A: The biggest users are women in their early 20s. A government report earlier this year said 14 percent of women aged 15 to 19 who've had sex have ever used emergency contraception, versus 23 percent of those aged 20 to 24. Only about 13 percent of teens have had sex by age 15, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit group that focuses on reproductive issues.

Q: What's available and how much does it cost?

A: There are several one-pill versions in the U.S.; the only two-pill version still being made is a generic, according to reproductive rights groups. Costs for one- and two-pill versions are generally around $30 to $50, with generics at the lower end of that range.

Q: What's the advice for teens?

A: To prevent pregnancy, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using condoms plus birth-control pills or IUDs, or abstinence. The academy also endorses morning-after pills, but they don't work quite as well about 90 percent effective. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the IUD and other implants are the most effective way for teens to avoid pregnancy, and says both are safe and nearly 100 percent effective.

Q: What's the history behind the court case?

A: A federal district judge in New York ruled in April in favor of a reproductive rights group's lawsuit seeking over-the-counter access without age restrictions for emergency contraceptives. The Department of Justice appealed and a federal appellate court is considering that objection. The government sought to block over-the-counter sales while the appeal is being considered, but a three-judge panel rejected part of that request on Wednesday.

Q: How does the emergency contraception work?

A: Pills affected by the ruling contain progesterone, the same hormone found in many birth control pills, but at higher doses. They are to be used as soon as possible within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The two-pill version was initially recommended to be taken 12 hours apart; it was later determined that taking them simultaneously was easier and as effective. The pills block ovulation and fertilization of an egg.

Q: How many of these pills are sold?

A: Sales for the first four months of this year: Levonorgestrel (progestin pills): $2.7 million; Plan B One-Step: $22.1 million; Next Choice 1 Dose: $35.6 million; My Way one pill: $76,000. That's according to IMS Health, a health data firm.

___

AP Business Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

___

More on emergency contraception: http://ec.princeton.edu/index.html .

Still, the share price of the world's largest social network is at a six-month low, partly due to fears that young users were beginning to cool their activities on Facebook, in favor of newer services like Twitter and the increasingly popular photo messaging application, SnapChat.

In midday trading, shares were up at $24.63.

Jefferies & Co and BMO Capital upgraded the stock to buy and outperform, respectively. Their analysts argued that user growth may have leveled off as Facebook gained scale, but it remained the most popular social media service and upcoming products - such as higher-margin video ads - may accelerate revenue growth.

"While MAU's (monthly active users) have somewhat plateaued due to the law of large numbers, we think there is room for financial upside as we expect marketers will find Facebook's 1B+ users irresistible despite any incremental changes in teen usage habits," Jefferies analyst Brian Pitz wrote in a research note.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

As severe weather rumbled through Friday night, meteorologists including 46-year-old Mark Britt noticed the radar showed a storm's tight rotation perilously close to their office in Weldon Spring, west of St. Louis.

The roughly 10 workers opted to bolt for a copy room with reinforced walls and hunker down, marking the first time in two decades that staffers chose to make a hasty retreat from their high-tech weather-watching tools, Britt said Saturday from the office that covers much of eastern Missouri and St. Louis' Illinois suburbs.

"We recognized immediately it was going to be an imminent threat," he said. "Since we were in the safe room, I wasn't overly worried. When we go in there, we know we're safe."

Leaving nothing to chance, the weather service has built-in redundancies for such an event: The Weldon Spring crew called upon their Kansas City-area colleagues to monitor the area and issue any public warnings for the region, Britt said. That proved "pretty seamless," Britt said, noting that severe weather alerts were issued while the St. Louis crew took cover.

Once clear of danger, "we knew we had to get back and do our job," Britt said from the office that ultimately escaped harm. "We had some damage close to the office, so it was pretty wise we took shelter."

Weather service crews on Saturday confirmed that the storm was nothing to mess with, classifying the damage as the work of an EF3 tornado, which has winds between 136 and 165 mph. No one was seriously injured.

The weather service post has had close calls before, most notably during what locals call "The Good Friday Tornado" of April 2011. That EF4 twister was the area's most powerful tornado in 44 years, packing winds of up to 200 mph that damaged or destroying hundreds of homes and pummeled Lambert International Airport.

"We almost took cover then, but we decided not to," Jayson Gosselin, Britt's fellow meteorologist, said of the 2011 storm, which came within a few miles of their office.

No one died in that tornado, and officials credited the local weather service with providing ample warning more than a half-hour's worth about the storm's approach, prompting warning sirens to blare at the airport where security officers and other workers herded people to stairwells and bathrooms.

"The bottom line is the 34-minute warning and the heeding of that warning by the citizens has saved countless lives," Gov. Jay Nixon said afterward.

The book, which once belonged to the critic and author Malcolm Cowley, will go under the hammer along with a group of Fitzgerald's letters and an unpublished poem in the June 11 books and manuscript sale in New York.

"The book is now almost universally recognized as standing among the great achievements of 20th-century American literature with the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, and more broadly, the American dream, resonating with readers for generations," Sotheby's said in a statement announcing the sale.

Fitzgerald wrote the Jazz Age drama while living in France. Although it was popular when it was published in 1925, it wasn't until Fitzgerald's death in 1940 that it was hailed as the great American novel.

News of the sale comes just weeks after the opening of director Baz Luhrmann's film "The Great Gatsby," starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the hero of the tragic love story.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Jan Paschal)

The simple, but elegant garment created by Hollywood costume designer Helen Rose for the then 18-year-old Taylor is an oyster shell-colored, floor-length satin gown with a fine silk gauze off-the-shoulder illusion neckline.

The dress, which was a gift from MGM film studios, has a top estimate of 50,000 pounds ($75,300). Rose also designed Grace Kelly's wedding dress for her marriage to the Prince of Monaco.

By the time Taylor married Hilton she was already a veteran actress and was just a year away from her Oscar-nominated performance in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "A Place in the Sun".

The A-list of old Hollywood - Greer Garson, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Esther Williams, and Van Johnson - were among the many stars who came to congratulate the bride.

The star of "Cleopatra" surpassed Michael Jackson as the highest-earning deceased celebrity in a survey released by Forbes in October 2012, with her estate pulling in $210 million, much of it from a 2011 auction of jewels, costumes and art work.

The auction of Taylor's jewels took in $116 million, more than double the record for a single collection, and set new marks for pearls, colorless diamonds and Indian jewels.

Taylor, who died in 2011 at the age of 79, was married eight times, twice to actor Richard Burton, and had a career spanning seven decades.

She first gained fame in 1944's "National Velvet" at age 12, and was nominated for five Oscars, winning best actress for "Butterfield 8" (1960) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), which also starred Burton.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Doctors say Beatriz (an alias to protect her true identity) suffers from a series of medical conditions that will likely kill her if she carries her pregnancy to term. Repeated tests have shown that Beatrizs baby isnt expected to live beyond infancy. State doctors from El Salvadors National Maternity Hospital asked the government for special permission to lift the abortion ban for Beatriz, arguing that the law was obstructing their patients right to health and life given her strong probability of maternal death.

After two months, the constitutional chamber of El Salvadors Supreme Court on Wednesday shot down the motion and ordered the doctors to continue monitoring Beatrizs health to provide her with proper medical treatment according to medical science. Abortion rights activists think the wording of the verdict is intentionally ambiguous, allowing doctors the wiggle room they need to perform an emergency Caesarean to save Beatriz, knowing full well the baby - which suffers a condition that has kept its brain and skull from developing wont survive.

Its a risky gamble. If the abortion rights group is wrong about interpreting the high courts reference to medical science as a tacit wink to their cause, it could mean jail time for Beatriz, the doctors, and the activists who supported the ending of her pregnancy. Though many women receive , the intent here would be to save the life of the mother, not the baby. It could be viewed as a de facto abortion, some fear.

In many ways, with this ruling we are right back to where we started two months ago, says Morena Herrera, president of the Citizens Group for the Depenalization of Therapeutic Abortion, which has been accompanying Beatriz since the beginning.

El Salvador is one of five countries in Latin America including Chile, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and to have a complete ban on all forms of abortion. That includes what doctors consider life-saving medical interventions known as therapeutic abortions to save a womens life from a high-risk pregnancy, or one resulting from rape or incest.

Two of the three Central American governments led by political parties that evolved from left-wing guerrilla movements El Salvadors Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMLN) and Nicaraguas(FSLN) are now hosts to the strictest abortion laws in the region. Its compelling proof, abortion rights activists say, that when it comes to the reproductive rights of women, Latin Americas so-called revolutionary left is no different than the reactionary right and sometimes worse.

In both El Salvador and Nicaragua, the former revolutionary parties formed electoral alliances with church leaders to appease Latin Americas most enduring and influential institution and calm old fears about communism. To win support from the church, both frentes had to make un-revolutionary concessions by adopting a socially conservative position against abortion.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

In El Salvador, the debate over Beatrizs situation is just getting started, and the lobby for public opinion on both sides is strong. Religious leaders and social conservatives have teamed up to support the abortion ban and defend the right to life of the unborn. Denying the procedure requested by Beatriz, in defense of the unborn, does not constitute a violation of constitutional rights, El Salvadors Episcopal Conference said in a seven-point declaration.

Meanwhile, womens groups, medical associations, and international rights groups argue in favor of therapeutic abortion. The Salvadoran government must act now to save Beatriz and fulfill its role as guarantor of human rights in the country. The world is watching and urging the authorities to intervene now to guarantee her right to life, said Esther Major, of Amnesty International, which accuses the Salvadoran government of playing Russian roulette with Beatrizs life. Amnestys campaign on behalf of Beatrizs reproductive rights has received nearly 155,000 letters of support from around the world.

Stuck in the middle of the debate, the unwitting protagonist remains hospitalized and out of the public eye.

Doctors diagnosed Beatriz with a dangerous combination of ailments that nearly proved fatal during her first pregnancy in 2012, which was saved by an emergency cesarean two months before her baby was due. Her son is now a 1-year-old and could become orphaned if doctors arent allowed to intervene, abortion rights activists claim.

As Beatriz nears the end of her second trimester of pregnancy, time is ticking. While lawyers are busy studying the wording of the courts ruling, international offers to help have come in from clinics in San Francisco, Mexico, and Spain, Herrera says. Beatriz has her passport and a prepared letter requesting a humanitarian visa to travel to the US or Mexico.

While grateful for the international solidarity, Beatriz most wants to be treated at home, Herrera says.

We hope the doctors operate on Monday, she says. It would be best for the country, best for the women of El Salvador, and most importantly best for Beatriz to be near her family and the doctors who have been caring for her.

'REAL PUBLIC DEBATE'

Although the criminal prohibition on therapeutic abortion has been on the books in El Salvador since 1998, it took Beatrizs story to force the issue into the realm of public debate.

When the abortion ban became law in 1998, there was never any real public debate, there was only a ... campaign by the church and fundamentalist groups, Herrera says. But now people are finally talking about it in high schools, in government institutions, in universities, and in the marketplace.

The debate has even divided the government, with the ministry of health taking a stance in favor of lifting the ban to save Beatriz and the state-run Institute of Legal Medicine (ILM) arguing it should be upheld. Jos Miguel Fortn, director of the ILM, claims the deterioration of Beatrizs health is inevitable over time independent of her pregnancy.

They say if her pregnancy is suspended, her health complications will be cured. But thats a lie, Dr. Fortn told local media.

Other state institutions are also getting involved and taking sides. El Salvadors immigration director went personally to the hospital to give her a passport, in the event she needs to leave the country quickly for a Plan B operation.

Herrera says the more Salvadorans debate the dilemma, the more they are beginning to realize how invisible the victims of the criminal ban have been over the years. Herrera says, her group has documented 18 women who have been sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison for having spontaneous abortions that judges later determined were aggravated homicides. Legally doctors can be punished as well, but none have been so far.

As the public learns about these cases, they see a common trait among the women: Theyre all poor. None could afford to have their risky pregnancies dealt with discretely at a private clinic, or fly to Miami for a weekend medical treatment.

Public opinion in El Salvador appears to be in Beatriz's favor. A nationwide poll conducted last November suggested that 57 percent of the population is in favor of a therapeutic abortion to save a mothers life.

I think there has been a 180-degree shift in public opinion and awareness about this issue in El Salvador. Beatrizs case represents a watershed moment for the country, says Marta Maria Blandon, director of Ipas , an international organization working for womens reproductive rights.

THE 'BEFORE AND AFTER'

But in neighboring Nicaragua, the possibility of change is much more elusive, Ms. Blandon says. Though there have been similarly emblematic cases of women like Beatriz who have drawn international attention to the issue of reproductive rights in Nicaragua, the lack of public information and debate under the current administration has prevented those cases from moving forward with the push to reinstitute therapeutic abortion, banned since 2006.

Instead, Nicaraguas socially conservative Sandinista government, which has close ties with religious leaders, has vowed to uphold the ban on therapeutic abortion. In 2008, more than 170 rights activists filed a constitutional challenge to the governments ban on therapeutic abortion. Five years later, the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Court has still not ruled on the matter, 2,340 days after the legal deadline for a verdict passed.

The governments refusal to discuss the matter has partially pushed the tinderbox issue back into the shadows as a social taboo.

Last week, the story of two 12-year-old pregnant girls who ended up at a maternity clinic in the rural municipality of Mulukuk after being repeatedly raped at home for the past four years barely made page 5 news in the national newspapers. Neither of the girls will be allowed to have a therapeutic abortion, and their case has not created a stir in Nicaragua.

Whereas the plight of Beatriz has activists around the world expectant that change could come in El Salvador, Nicaraguan society doesnt seem to want to talk about it anymore.

In El Salvador, the case of Beatriz will mark a before and after, Blandon says. But in Nicaragua, there is only a before, and then a before-that, as the country moves backwards.

Related stories

Become a part of the Monitor community

IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said researchers have made significant advances in devising a test, leaving officials hopeful a method can be approved soon for use at the Olympics and other events.

"Quite some progress has been made in terms of outlining the scientific basis for analysis of gene doping," Ljungqvist told The Associated Press. "We are moving. It's promising."

Up to 40 experts from around the world will meet in Beijing on June 5-6 to discuss recent findings and how to move forward in combatting the threat of athletes manipulating their genes to boost sports performance.

The meeting is being organized by the World Anti-Doping Agency in conjunction with China's national anti-doping agency. It will be the Olympic movement's fourth symposium on gene doping, following previous conferences in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, in 2002; Stockholm in 2005; and St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2008.

"There have been scientific studies which are quite promising," said Ljungqvist, also a WADA vice president. "We feel it's time to review this within the context of a small symposium of specialists."

Gene doping, which is prohibited by the IOC and WADA, involves transferring genes directly into human cells to blend into an athlete's own DNA to enhance muscle growth and increase strength or endurance. It is an illegal offshoot of gene therapy, which typically alters a person's DNA to fight diseases like muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis.

"We want to continue the momentum that we've got so we can get to a scenario where the detection methods can be approved," WADA director general David Howman told the AP. "It's close."

In 2010, two groups of scientists one in Germany and a U.S.-French research team said they developed gene doping tests in what WADA described at the time as a major breakthrough. One was a blood test that would detect doping as far back as 56 days, while the other was for detecting genetic doping in muscles.

However, the tests have not been validated and hopes they could be used at the 2012 London Olympics were not realized.

"When you have a scientific method, that is one thing, but you need to develop a technique and make good use of it," Ljungqvist said. "We have a reasonably good scientific basis and we'll have to discuss how to develop this further now."

How soon could a test be ready for use?

"You can never predict when," Ljungqvist said. "Science is full of surprises and obstacles."

The IOC and WADA say there is no evidence that athletes are gene doping, but warn that it may be only a matter of time. Scientists working on potential genetic cures for muscle diseases and blood disorders have been contacted by sports figures asking about enhancing performance.

"We know that those who wish to take a chance and cheat are ready to do anything," Ljungqvist said. "We've had people who are researching into this and they have been approached by coaches and the like. But we don't have any evidence suggesting this is yet in place."

Howman said WADA has received information about people looking on the black market for access to gene doping methods.

"Nothing has amounted that is sufficient to be able to put together a case," he said. "We don't discount the fact that people are fiddling around with it. Certainly, that possibility exists."

The prospect of genetic manipulation comes as drug cheats continue to turn to more traditional forms of doping, including steroids, EPO and blood transfusions.

Ljungqvist said the Lance Armstrong scandal, in which the American cyclist acknowledged doping during his seven Tour de France victories, shows that cheaters may not be as far ahead of the scientists as feared.

"The Armstrong case is very informative, that such an advanced doping cheat was using usual stuff," Ljungqvist said. "The wonder drugs are not there. It is still the same ones. That is interesting to us."

___

Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap

It will be Pacquiao's first fight since he was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in December, a defeat that prompted many to suggest the 34-year-old should retire after being left unconscious, face down on the canvas by his Mexican rival.

However, Pacquiao, winner of world titles at eight different weight divisions, has ignored the calls to quit and after the lengthy break will fight at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao-Resort and Hotel, Fred Sternburg said.

It will be a first bout outside the United States since 2006 for Pacquiao 54-5-2 (38 knockouts), who also lost to Timothy Bradley in his only other bout last year.

The back-to-back defeats have seemingly ended all hope of a lucrative clash against undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Rios 31-1-1 (23 knockouts) is also coming off a loss, Mike Alvarado claiming a unanimous points decision in their March contest in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao's trainer Freddy Roach predicted a swift end to the non-title bout.

"Manny is definitely going to get his mojo back with this fight," Roach told ESPN.com.

"I think it'll be an exciting fight but that Manny is going to land ... and knock this guy out somewhere along the way. Rios likes to exchange and his style is not really difficult to figure out, so Manny's gonna hit him." (Reporting by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Peter Rutherford)