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A6 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 PHILLY.COM Justices hear sides in free-speech case Censorship and inciting violence are key issues in Texas' bid to keep rebel flag off its license plates. ably would be the end of the state's program of allowing many specialized license plates, and a loss of free speech. "If you prevail, it's going to prevent a lot of Texans from conveying a message," Kennedy said. More skeptical about the state's argument, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito said the sheer number of messages and their wide range show that the state's only interest is financial. "They're only doing this to get the money," Roberts said.

"Texas will put its name on anything." Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller said the state makes the plates and owns them. Car owners remain free to express any message with paint or bumper stickers, he said. "Texas should not have to allow speech about al-Qaeda or the Nazi party simply because it offers a license plate propagating the message 'Fight he said. Roberts was unpersuaded by that argument. "If you don't want to have the al-Qaeda license plate, don't get into the business of allowing people to buy the space to put on whatever they want to say," the chief justice said.

A decision in the case is expected by late June. The First Amendment dispute has brought together some unlikely allies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, antiabortion groups, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, civil libertarian Nat Hentoff, and conservative satirist P.J. O'Rourke. to display plates with the flag, which remains both a potent image of heritage and a racially charged symbol of repression. Specialty license plates are big business in Texas; they brought in $17.6 million last year.

The state rarely rejects a specialty plate, but it turned down a request by the Texas division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for a license plate with its logo bearing the battle flag. The group's lawsuit led to Monday's hearing. The justices seemed uncomfortable with arguments advanced by both sides the state in defense of its actions, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans in its appeal for the symbol. If the court finds the state must permit the battle flag on license plates, Justice Ruth Bad er Ginsburg asked in a series of questions, would it be forced also to allow plates with a swastika, the word "jihad," and a call to make marijuana legal? Yes, lawyer R. James George a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall 45 years ago, responded each time on behalf of the veterans group.

"That's OK? And 'Bong hits for Ginsburg said, reaching back to an earlier case involving students' speech rights. George said yes, and remained firm even when Justice Elena Kagan added in "the most offensive racial epithet you can imagine." He told the justices that "speech that we hate is something that we should be proud of protecting." The result of such a ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, prob By Mark Sherman ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON In a dispute over a proposed Confederate battle flag license plate, the Supreme Court struggled Monday to balance worries about government censorship and concerns that offensive messages could, at worst, incite violence. Nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War, the justices heard arguments in a case over Texas' refusal to issue a license plate bearing the battle flag. Nine other states allow drivers AROUND THE WORLD Netanyahu extends apology r'71 .4 I 9 tit, i4 6 i i11t; l' A a. 1 A ,..4 1 i--, 1 111 MINIIMIONKoMmessisswgeut0.1.

i 1 yfelldi I rt i I t. AtiL 1 '''l 5'," 'Z .1 11 86-0' v-, Irl' 144, 4' 4 1., 01111-, a 0 5-------- ri, ,1, rztiii-o' if 0, 4,, Valli ss, --Nig Ilk. 4: .1 4 ,,411, 0 i 7mik i'f if 7 0,8,,. 4 4,, 4,, 4- I I 41 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to if4L 1) Israel's Arab citizens on Monday for remarks he oPt -made during last week's -111 parliamentary election. Ao The move appeared to be an attempt to heal rifts and mute criticism at home and in the United States.

Netanyahu drew accusations of racism in 111111111V.) Israel and a White House rebuke when, just a few hours before polling Benjamin Netanyahu had stations were to close, he warned that Arab citizens were warned that Arab citizens voting "in droves." Bloomberg were voting "in droves." But President Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, rejected Netanyahu's attempt to distance himself from his comments, telling an Israel advocacy group Monday that the U.S. can't just overlook Netanyahu's comments. Netanyahu, whose Likud Party won reelection, met with members of the Arab community at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on Monday and apologized. AP Outside Singapore General Hospital, a man grieves at a memorial that sprang up for former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died this week at 91. A state funeral is scheduled for Sunday.

SUHAIMI ABDULLAH Getty Singaporeans mourn loss of founding leader Lee Armed-drone rollout 7 NYC fire victims buried in Jerusalem Pakistan has demonstrated its first locally manufactured armed drone aircraft. The drone was introduced to the public Monday as part of Pakistan's Republic Day parade, with officials hailing it as a key element in the country's battle against local Islamic militant groups. The annual parade itself had been suspended for seven years due to fears of terrorist attack. tiWe won't see another man like him. To many Singaporeans, and indeed others too, Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore.

Lee Hsien Loong, Lee's son and prime minister AP By Stephen Wright and Jeanette Tan ASSOCIATED PRESS SINGAPORE Singapore mourned longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew with raw emotion and a blanket of relentlessly positive coverage on its tightly scripted state television Monday, mythologizing a man who was as respected as he was feared. The government announced that Lee, 91, "passed away peacefully" several hours before dawn at Singapore General Hospital. He was hospitalized in early February with severe pneumonia. State TV broke away from its regular programming with a rolling hagiographic tribute to Lee's life and achievements. In a live broadcast, one of its reporters called the death the "awful and dreaded" news.

Effusive tributes flowed in from world leaders, including President Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Moth. A self-proclaimed authoritarian who saw the world in stark realist terms, Lee commanded respect from Singaporeans, who this year will celebrate the country's 50th deep sense of loss among Singaporeans who lionize Lee for his role in creating an oasis of stability in a region saddled with corruption, political violence, and poverty. Many feel he provided them with a roof over their heads by creating a system of state-subsidized housing where the majority of Singaporeans live. Lee's son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, struggled to hold back tears in a televised address. Speaking in Malay, Mandarin, and English, he said Lee built a nation and gave Singaporeans a proud identity.

"We won't see another man like him. To many Singaporeans, and indeed others too, Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore," he said. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said Lee's "tremendous" role in Singapore's economic development is beyond doubt. "But it also came at a significant cost for human rights" he said. A private wake for the Lee family will take place Monday and Tuesday.

After that, Lee will lie in state at parliament. A state funeral is set for Sunday. Seven Jewish siblings who died in a New York house fire were laid to rest in Jerusalem on Monday at an emotional ceremony attended by several thousand mourners. Friends and relatives of the Sassoon family attended the service, as well as supporters who only learned of the tragedy through the news. The chief rabbi of Israel and mayor of Jerusalem also paid their respects.

The bodies of the children, ages 5 to 16, were flown to Israel overnight from New York and were immediately taken to Jerusalem in a convoy escorted by police. According to Jewish tradition, funerals take place as soon as possible after death. "Why seven? Seven beautiful lilies," the children's father, Gabriel Sassoon, cried out in an anguished eulogy. "So pure. So pure." He later called out the names of his children, one by one.

AP No third term? anniversary of independence. He led multiracial Singapore with an iron grip for more than three decades until 1990, and is credited with transforming the resource-poor island into a wealthy finance and trade entrepot with low crime and little corruption. Singapore's government has declared seven days of national mourning, and flags will fly at half-staff on state buildings. A national holiday has not been declared, and daily life in this pragmatically commercial city of vaulting glass towers and broad, immaculate streets continues to bustle. Still, there were tears and a Prime Minister David Cameron, who is seeking reelection on May 7, ruled out standing for a third term in 2020, saying "fresh leadership would be good." "I'm not saying all prime ministers necessarily definitely go bad, or even go bad at the same rate," Cameron told the BBC.

"The third term is something I'm not contemplating." Cameron is seeking a second term in the most uncertain election in decades. Bloomberg ACROSS THE NATIO Remains may be of family 3 die, 1 hurt when part of scaffold falls Obama announces $240M in STEM education pledges Authorities investigating the disappearance of an Alaska family missing for nearly a year have discovered four bodies and a handgun about a half a mile from their home. Kenai Police Lt. Dave Ross said Monday the bodies haven't been identified by a coroner, but police have every indication it's the missing family. Ross provided few details, saying the investigation remains open.

But he said there's no reason to believe another person was involved in the deaths. Rebecca Adams, 23; her boyfriend, Brandon Jividen, 38; and her children, Michelle Hundley, 6, and Jaracca Hundley, 3, were last seen in May. AP I Workers were dismantling a scaffold at a construction project in Raleigh when a 4 piece of it fell to the Joe, ground, killing three 0001116,.. 7 construction workers and 17.11.' Wlo sel-- -'s la seriously injuring a fourth. Dozens of other workers were evacuated.

i 4 1 The accident happened i I 11 around 11 a.m. as a 1 I 0 1 subcontractor, Associated LI 4 i Scaffolding, dismantled the kom 1 scaffold on the exterior of the 11-story building called Scaffolding hangs near broken windows at a Charter Square, said Mike Raleigh, N.C., building that was the scene of a Hampton, chief operating deadly accident. HARRY LYNCH! News Observer officer for the general contractor, Choate Construction Co. The equipment known as a mast climber scaffold rises up and down to take workers to different floors. "We are finished using it.

They actually were dismantling that piece when it happened," Hampton said. Choate issued a statement saying the company is "deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries." State Department of Labor spokesman Neal O'Briant said his agency is investigating. AP President Obama is highlighting private-sector efforts to encourage more students from underrepresented groups to pursue education in science, technology, engineering, and math. At the White House Science Fair on Monday, Obama announced more than $240 million in pledges to boost the study of those fields, known as STEM. This year's fair is focused on diversity.

Obama said the new commitments bring total financial and material support for these programs to $1 billion. The pledges the president announced include a $150 million philanthropic effort to encourage promising early-career scientists to stay on track and a $90 million campaign to expand STEM opportunities to underrepresented youth, such as minorities and girls. Obama launched "Educate to Innovate," his effort to encourage the study of science, technology, engineering, and math, in 2009. More than 35 student teams showed their projects at the White House Science Fair, which Obama said is one of the most fun events at the White House. "Every year I walk out smarter than when I walked in," he said.

AP 4 from DNA will answer A cow has apparently defied great odds and given birth this month to four calves that have been named Eeny, Meeny, Miny, and Moo. Jimmy Bar ling, whose wife, Dora, owns the 20 or so cattle in northeast Texas, said Monday that DNA tests will be done on tissue samples from the three bull calves and one heifer calf to satisfy those who question the births. "We knew she was pregnant, but we didn't know she was going to do this," said Bar ling, 76. Veterinarian Mike Baird said the odds of four live births from one cow are 1 in 11.2 million. AP.