WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, March 21, 2022

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1/ The Senate Judiciary Committee held the first day of confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s Supreme Court pick. Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to serve on the Supreme Court, pledged to decide cases “without fear or favor” if confirmed, and vowed to make equal justice “a reality and not just an ideal.” Jackson told a divided Senate panel she was an independent thinker who decides cases “from a neutral posture,” and that she hoped to embody the “skill and integrity, civility and grace” of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she seeks to succeed. Sen. Josh Hawley, meanwhile, attacked Jackson in his opening statement, accusing her of issuing “lenient” sentences in child pornography cases as a trial judge. The White House called Hawley’s criticism “toxic and weakly presented misinformation,” adding that in the vast majority of Jackson’s cases involving child sex crimes, the sentences she imposed “were consistent with or above what the government or U.S. Probation recommended.” (Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN)

2/ Justice Clarence Thomas was hospitalized with an infection after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Thomas, the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court and second-oldest justice, is being treated with intravenous antibiotics and his symptoms are reportedly improving. His illness is not related to Covid-19. (ABC News / Washington Post / USA Today)

3/ A federal judge ruled that former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis knowingly violated the rights of same-sex couples by denying them marriage licenses. The ruling clears the way for a jury trial seeking damages against Davis as an individual. In 2015, Davis repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples in Kentucky, despite the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage and a letter from the governor instructing all county clerks to issue the licenses. Davis claimed that issuing the licenses would violate her Christian values. (NBC News / CNN / NPR)

4/ Biden warned that Russia is “exploring options for potential cyberattacks” against the U.S., advising U.S. companies to “harden your cyber defenses immediately.” In updated national cybersecurity guidance, the administration said Russia “could conduct malicious ...

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