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(MIDDLETOWN, Conn.) — New England liberal arts college Wesleyan University has ended legacy admissions in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down race-based affirmative action.

In a statement released Wednesday, University President Michael S. Roth addressed the importance of formally ending admission preference for “legacy applicants.”

“We still value the ongoing relationships that come from multi-generational Wesleyan attendance, but there will be no ‘bump’ in the selection process,” Roth’s statement read.

His statement continued: “As has been almost always the case for a long time, family members of alumni will be admitted on their own merits.”

Legacy admissions played a “negligible role” in the school’s admission process because being related to an alumnus indicated “little about that applicant’s ability to succeed” at the school, according to a press release from Wesleyan. But, the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action led to Wesleyan’s move.

Out of 2,280 students admitted for the class of 2027, only 4% had a parent who attended Wesleyan, according to the school. For the classes of 2022 to 2026 that figure hovered between 7% and 8%.

Last month, the high court decided that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s affirmative action admissions programs violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, impacting colleges nationwide.

The court’s decision undercuts more than four decades of legal precedent and is a blow to schools that say race-conscious admissions programs are vital to building a diverse student body.

Following the court’s affirmative action ruling, the admissions process for colleges and universities came further under scrutiny, particularly regarding legacy admissions.

Earlier this month, in a federal civil rights complaint against Harvard College, various civil rights and advocacy groups, including the Chica Project and Lawyers for Civil Rights, called on the Education Department to launch a federal investigation into the school’s practices surrounding legacy and donor preferences that disproportionately favor white students.

“Harvard’s practice of giving a leg-up to the children of wealthy donors and alumni – who have done nothing to deserve it – must end,” Michael Kippins, a fellow at Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in a statement to ABC News at the time. “Particularly in light of last week’s decision from the Supreme Court, it is imperative that the federal government act now to eliminate this unfair barrier that systematically disadvantages students of color.”

Nearly half of Harvard’s white students were recruited athletes, related to alumni, children of faculty and staff, or were “of special importance to the dean of admissions,” according to a 2019 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Less than 16% of African American, Asian American and Hispanic students at Harvard fall into these categories, according to the study.

Wesleyan University is the first university to end legacy admissions since the high court’s ruling.

Amherst College in Massachusetts ended legacy admissions in 2021, with then-school president Biddy Martin saying at the time, “Now is the time to end this historic program that inadvertently limits educational opportunity by granting a preference to those whose parents are graduates of the College. We want to create as much opportunity for as many academically talented young people as possible, regardless of financial background or legacy status.”

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca, Devin Dwyer and Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

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(MASSAPEQUA, N.Y.) — The wife of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has filed for divorce nearly a week after the Manhattan architect was arrested in the case, according to a new court filing.

The filing in Suffolk County Supreme Court is dated Wednesday and indicates the divorce will be “uncontested.” The case caption is Asa Ellerup v. Rex Heuermann.

The development comes in the wake of Heuermann’s arrest on July 13 in connection with three of the 10 victims linked to the Gilgo Beach, New York, murders.

In a statement shortly after the arrest, defense attorney Michael Brown referred to Heuermann as a “loving husband” and said he and Ellerup had been married more than 25 years.

Ellerup has no comment at this time, her attorney told ABC News on Wednesday.

Heuermann, 59, a father of two, was charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose bodies were found covered in burlap along Ocean Parkway on Long Island’s South Shore in December 2010, according to court records unsealed last week in Suffolk County Criminal Court.

Barthelemy disappeared in July 2009, Waterman disappeared in June 2010 and Costello was last seen in September 2010. The three women were between 22 and 27 years old and all worked as sex workers, court records said.

A fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in July 2007, was also tied to the three women. While Heuermann is not charged in the death of Brainard-Barnes, the court documents said he is the “prime suspect in her death.” The investigation into Brainard-Barnes’ death is ongoing, officials said last week.

“Each of the four victims were found similarly positioned, bound in a similar fashion by either belts or tape,” court documents stated.

A female hair was discovered on a belt used to tie Brainard-Barnes’ legs together, while two female hairs were discovered on Waterman — one on the tape used to bind her body — and one female hair was found on a piece of tape used to bind Costello’s body, according to court documents.

By using mitochondrial DNA testing not available in 2010, all of the hairs were determined to be from the same woman — with more than a 99% match for Heuermann’s wife, according to court documents. Police don’t believe she was involved, as she was out of the country when the killings occurred, according to cellphone records noted in the court records, but that Heuermann had the hairs on his body.

Mitochondrial DNA testing was also done on a single male hair found on the burlap used to wrap Waterman’s body, which was found to be a match to leftover pizza crust Heuermann threw into a Manhattan garbage can in January, according to court documents.

Heuermann is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder.

Defense attorney Michael Brown entered a not guilty plea on Heuermann’s behalf at his arraignment on Friday.

The investigation into the suspect includes interviews with incarcerated sex workers, according to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators have been talking to the sex workers about possible interactions with Heuermann, as authorities work to develop a more complete picture of his movements and methods, officials said. For the moment, these interviews are limited to sex workers jailed in Suffolk County but could expand to neighboring counties and beyond.

Investigations into Heuermann have also expanded beyond New York state since his arrest.

Authorities in Nevada said Tuesday they are investigating a connection between the accused serial killer and Las Vegas, where Heuermann had a timeshare.

“We are currently reviewing our unsolved cases to see if he has any involvement,” the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said in a statement Tuesday.

Authorities also said they are looking at possible ties to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where past investigations involving sex workers have led.

A first-generation green Chevrolet Avalanche linked to the suspect was seized this week in Chester, South Carolina, where Heuermann owns four vacant lots, police said. The vehicle arrived Wednesday at the Suffolk County crime lab for processing.

A second, black Avalanche was previously seized at Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park, police said.

Suffolk County police said Heuermann is believed to have had the green Avalanche at the time of the Gilgo Beach murders before giving it to a family member in 2014 or 2015.

The vehicle became a key piece of evidence after a person who knew Costello told police he had seen a Chevrolet Avalanche at her home prior to her disappearance, according to court records.

ABC News’ Victor Ordonez and Mark Osborne contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A swath of the United States is facing a dangerous combination of extreme heat and wildfire smoke this week.

More than 85 million Americans across 15 states — from California to Florida — are under heat alerts for Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The consecutive days of record-high temperatures combined with high overnight temperatures makes this heat wave especially threatening, as the longer it lasts, the more dangerous it becomes.

Six more heat-related deaths were confirmed in Maricopa County, Arizona, on Wednesday, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health announced. A total of 18 people in Maricopa County, which includes the cities of Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, have died this summer of heat complications, and another 69 deaths are under investigation, health officials said.

A 71-year-old man also died at Death Valley National Park in California on Tuesday as temperatures soared to 121 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Park Service. The man collapsed outside the bathroom at Golden Canyon and had likely been hiking the popular trail.

The man was wearing a sun hat and hiking clothes, and carried a backpack when he collapsed, according to the NPS. A helicopter was not able to respond to the scene due to the heat, park officials said. Park rangers performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator but were not able to revive him.

While a cause of death has not been determined, park officials “suspect heat was a factor,” according to the NPS.

A number of cities are shattering records amid scorching temperatures.

Tuesday marked the record-breaking 19th straight day the heat index value was at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, Arizona, with no end in sight. Overnight temperatures there also haven’t dropped below 90 degrees for a record 9 days in a row.

In Miami, Florida, the heat index value has been at or above 100 degrees for a record 38 consecutive days.

El Paso, Texas, has counted a record 33 straight days with the heat index value at or above 100 degrees.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, has gone a record 17 days in a row with the heat index value at or above 100 degrees.

Tucson, Arizona, broke its all-time record warm low temperature at 86 degrees on Wednesday morning.

The heat wave isn’t expected to end anytime soon. The latest forecast shows above-average temperatures for the rest of July, particularly in the West and the South.

The last 16 days on Earth have been the hottest on record and the planet’s surface temperature is on track to break a record set only a couple of weeks ago.

Meanwhile, several states in the East are under air quality alerts due to smoke from raging wildfires in neighboring Canada. The smoke was expected to lighten up on Wednesday as the weather front moves through the region.

California is now battling its own wildfires, with heavy smoke drifting over cities such as Fresno and areas up the northern coast. Dangerous smoke was expected to spread into Medford, Oregon, on Thursday.

Severe storms are possible Wednesday night and Thursday across the Plains from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles up through Minneapolis, with damaging winds, hail and possible brief tornadoes.

Multiple counties in far western Kentucky were under flash flood emergencies on Wednesday afternoon. The area is already experiencing widespread flooding due to significant rainfall Wednesday morning — up to 10 inches and more in some spots, according to the National Weather Service.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon, describing “significant damage” in the town of Mayfield due to heavy rainfall.

“So, the first thing for everyone is be safe and make sure your family is safe,” Beshear said in a statement. “Remember, we can replace stuff and we can rebuild homes. We don’t want to lose any lives.”

Flooding has also been reported across middle Tennessee as the heavy rain moved through on Wednesday – up to 6 inches in some regions. A flood watch will continue in the region today, which includes Nashville.

The influx of rain is being fueled by the abundant heat, moisture and instability in the atmosphere.

Another small area in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, including Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks, could also see severe storms on Wednesday. A tornado watch has been issued in those areas until 7 p.m.

A tornado has been confirmed to strike Halifax County, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon. Another tornado, an EF3, struck north of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, according to the National Weather Service’s Raleigh office.

The Pfizer facility in Rocky Mount sustained damage, the pharmaceutical company said in a statement. Employees who were in the building were able to evacuate and are “safe and accounted for.”

“We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production,” Pfizer said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident.”

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(NEWARK, N.J.) — A New Jersey Ponzi scheme architect, whose 24-year prison sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump in 2021, has been arrested again Wednesday on charges he defrauded investors by making false promises involving humanitarian supplies destined for Ukraine.

Eliyahu Weinstein and four other men were charged with conspiring to defraud 150 individual investors of more than $35 million and with conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to federal prosecutors in New Jersey.

“This is now the third time this office has charged Weinstein with a large-scale scheme to rip off investors,” U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said during a news conference in Newark on Wednesday.

This time, Weinstein allegedly used a fake name and falsely promised access to deals involving scarce medical supplies, baby formula, and first-aid kits supposedly destined for wartime Ukraine, prosecutors said.

“These were brazen and sophisticated crimes that involved multiple coconspirators that can came from Weinstein’s playbook of fraud,” Sellinger said.

Weinstein was convicted twice in New Jersey federal court for defrauding investors. His first case involved a real estate Ponzi scheme, and his second case stemmed from additional fraud Weinstein committed while on pretrial release. Those crimes resulted in combined losses to investors of $230 million, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to serve 24 years in prison.

On Jan. 19, 2021, after Weinstein had served less than eight years, Trump commuted Weinstein’s term to time served.

Soon after his release from prison, Weinstein allegedly began orchestrating a new scheme to solicit money from investors through a company called Optimus Investments Inc., according to the criminal complaint.

Weinstein ran Optimus while using a fake name, “Mike Konig,” keeping his true name and identity hidden because, as Weinstein acknowledged in a secretly recorded conversation, investors wouldn’t give them “a penny” if they learned of Weinstein’s involvement, the complaint said.

Weinstein joins a growing list of people who secured clemency from former President Donald Trump and have since faced additional legal scrutiny, as ABC News reported earlier this year.

At the time, ABC News reviewed the 238 people who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted during the Trump administration and found at least ten who were back under investigation, charged with a crime, or already convicted.

Legal experts called this recurring theme unprecedented — but not entirely unexpected, given the former president’s unorthodox approach to the pardon process.

“President Trump bypassed the formal and orderly Justice Department process in favor of an informal and fairly chaotic White House operation, relying in some cases on his personal views and in others on recommendations from people he knew or who gained access to him in various ways,” said Margaret Love, a lawyer who represents clients seeking pardons and a former U.S. Pardon Attorney, a Justice Department appointee who helps advise presidents on grants of clemency.

“So, it might have been predicted,” Love said at the time, “that some who made it through that lax gauntlet were going to get in trouble again.”

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(HOOVER, Ala.) — Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who returned home on Saturday after she went missing for two days, searched for Amber Alerts and the movie “Taken” on her phone before her disappearance, Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis told reporters Wednesday.

Russell also made searches related to bus tickets in the hours before she went missing, he said.

“There were other searches on Carlee’s phone that appeared to shed some light on her mindset,” Derzis said, adding he would not share them out of privacy.

“Taken,” the 2008 movie starring Liam Neeson, centers around a young woman who is abducted and the quest to save her from her kidnappers.

Derzis said Russell told police that she was abducted and while the investigation is ongoing, “We have no reason to believe there’s a threat to public safety.”

Russell told police that she was taken by a male and a female when she stopped to check on a toddler that she reported on the highway, Derzis said.

“She stated when she got out of her vehicle to check on the child a man came out of the trees and mumbled that he was checking on the baby. She claimed that the man then picked her up and she screamed,” he said.

Russell called 911 to report a toddler walking down the highway before her disappearance, but the Hoover Police Department said in a press release on Tuesday evening that investigators have not found any evidence of a child walking on the side of the road.

“The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls about a toddler walking down the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video,” the press release said.

Police also previously said that they did not receive any calls to report a missing toddler.

The update came amid questions surrounding the circumstances of Russell’s disappearance. Police said in the statement that detectives are continuing to investigate what happened from the time she called 911 on Wednesday at around 9:30 p.m. ET to report a toddler on Interstate 459 in Alabama, until she returned home on foot late Saturday.

ABC News has reached out to Russell’s family for comment.

The Hoover Police Department previously said the 25-year-old stopped her car to check on the toddler she reported after making the 911 call and called a family member to report what she saw. The family member lost contact with Russell, but the line remained open, according to police.

Officers who responded to Russell’s 911 call found her vehicle and some of her belongings on the scene, but there was no sign of Russell or the child she reported. Authorities said Tuesday that Russell stopped at a Target to buy snacks, but they were not found in her belongings at the vehicle.

Police said in the statement on Tuesday that detectives have obtained surveillance video of Russell that shows her walking alone in her neighborhood before she arrived home on Saturday night.

Medics were dispatched to Russell’s residence on Saturday after she returned home to aid an “unresponsive but breathing” person as described in the 911 call, but police said that first responders found Russell “conscious and speaking” when she arrived and she was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated and released.

ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Mariama Jalloh contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A swath of the United States is facing a dangerous combination of extreme heat and wildfire smoke this week.

More than 85 million Americans across 15 states — from California to Florida — are under heat alerts for Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The consecutive days of record-high temperatures combined with high overnight temperatures makes this heat wave especially threatening, as the longer it lasts, the more dangerous it becomes.

Six more heat-related deaths were confirmed in Maricopa County, Arizona, on Wednesday, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health announced. A total of 18 people in Maricopa County, which includes the cities of Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, have died this summer of heat complications, and another 69 deaths are under investigation, health officials said.

A number of cities are shattering records amid scorching temperatures.

Tuesday marked the record-breaking 19th straight day the heat index value was at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, Arizona, with no end in sight. Overnight temperatures there also haven’t dropped below 90 degrees for a record 9 days in a row.

In Miami, Florida, the heat index value has been at or above 100 degrees for a record 38 consecutive days.

El Paso, Texas, has counted a record 33 straight days with the heat index value at or above 100 degrees.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, has gone a record 17 days in a row with the heat index value at or above 100 degrees.

Tucson, Arizona, broke its all-time record warm low temperature at 86 degrees on Wednesday morning.

The heat wave isn’t expected to end anytime soon. The latest forecast shows above-average temperatures for the rest of July, particularly in the West and the South.

The last 16 days on Earth have been the hottest on record and the planet’s surface temperature is on track to break a record set only a couple of weeks ago.

Meanwhile, several states in the East are under air quality alerts due to smoke from raging wildfires in neighboring Canada. The smoke was expected to lighten up on Wednesday as the weather front moves through the region.

California is now battling its own wildfires, with heavy smoke drifting over cities such as Fresno and areas up the northern coast. Dangerous smoke was expected to spread into Medford, Oregon, on Thursday.

Severe storms are possible Wednesday night and Thursday across the Plains from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles up through Minneapolis, with damaging winds, hail and possible brief tornadoes.

Multiple counties in far western Kentucky were under flash flood emergencies on Wednesday afternoon. The area is already experiencing widespread flooding due to significant rainfall Wednesday morning — up to 10 inches and more in some spots, according to the National Weather Service.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon, describing “significant damage” in the town of Mayfield due to heavy rainfall.

“So, the first thing for everyone is be safe and make sure your family is safe,” Beshear said in a statement. “Remember, we can replace stuff and we can rebuild homes. We don’t want to lose any lives.”

Flooding has also been reported across middle Tennessee as the heavy rain moved through on Wednesday – up to 6 inches in some regions. A flood watch will continue in the region today, which includes Nashville.

The influx of rain is being fueled by the abundant heat, moisture and instability in the atmosphere.

Another small area in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, including Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks, could also see severe storms on Wednesday. A tornado watch has been issued in those areas until 7 p.m.

A tornado has been confirmed to strike Halifax County, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon.

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