From Columbia Radio News in New York, I’m David Newtown.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed to Supreme Court
The United States Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court today. Her confirmation hearings were marked by Republican opposition. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the vote.
News clip: On this vote, the Yeas are 53, the Nays are 47, and this nomination is confirmed.
Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Court in its 233-year history. Jackson will take over for Judge Stephen Breyer. He is set to serve until the Court’s current term ends, usually in late June.
New York Attorney General Seeks to Hold Donald Trump in Civil Contempt
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to hold former President Donald Trump in civil contempt of court. She says he has refused to comply with a court order to produce documents related to an ongoing investigation into his personal taxes.
Her Office wants Trump to pay a ten thousand dollar fine for every day he refuses to comply with the court’s order.
President Trump was initially supposed to release those documents on March 3rd of this year, but the Office of the Attorney General agreed to accommodate his request for more time. The date was extended to March 31. On that date, though, the Office of the Attorney General says Trump raised new objections and refused to produce any of the selected documents.
UN Votes to Remove Russia from Human Rights Council
This afternoon, the United Nations National Assembly passed a resolution to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. This is in response to what Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has repeatedly called war crimes—killings of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha as Russian troops retreated from its capital Kyiv.
Russia is the second country to ever be suspended from the Human Rights Council. The first was Libya in 2011, which was removed in response to Moammar Gadhafi’s crackdown on anti-government protestors.
After the vote, Russia announced its own decision to end its relationship with the Human Rights Council.
Stocks
The S and P 500 is up about half a percent, the Dow Jones is up about a third of a percent, and the NASDAQ is up about a fourth of a percent.
David Newtown, Columbia Radio News.