Politics

For more than three decades now, since the failed nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court in 1987, nominations of new justices to the court have occasionally become political street fights. But President Biden's forthcoming nomination of a Black woman to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer likely won't be. According to conservative legal scholars and aides to senators on Capitol Hill, the GOP will likely put up little more than token resistance to whomever Biden eventually nominates. One factor in their thinking is plain: Democrats control the evenly divided Senate , with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote. As a practical matter, the GOP can't block whoever Biden nominates. "Elections have consequences," Senator Lindsey Graham , a Republican from South Carolina and the ranking minority member on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday, "and that is most evident when it comes to fulfilling vacancies on the Supreme Court." … [Read more...] about Why the GOP won’t put up much fight over Biden’s SCOTUS nominee

4 ROME (AP) — As squabbling Italian political leaders on Saturday struggled to clinch a deal to elect Italy's next president, momentum appeared to be building for President Sergio Mattarella to reconsider his refusal to serve a second term as head of state, a role which is meant to unify the nation. Members of Parliament and regional delegates were voting on Saturday for the seventh time since balloting for a head of state began earlier in the week. Several party leaders said their lawmakers would abstain or cast blank ballots, effectively dooming any chance that the round would yield at least 505 votes — just over half of the eligible Grand Electors — for any one candidate, the majority needed for victory. Round after round of fruitless balloting since Monday made plain the deep rivalries among the parties in Premier Mario Draghi's wide-ranging coalition, formed practically a year ago to lead Italy through the pandemic and help it recover … [Read more...] about Political leaders struggle to decide Italy’s next president

Only weeks ago, Boris Johnson declared that he was "absolutely confident" that this Christmas would be better than last year. But the emergence of the Omicron variant has thrown plans into chaos and conjured up grim echoes of last year’s cancelled festivities. On Tuesday night the Prime Minister insisted people in England WILL be able to go ahead with Christmas gatherings - despite increasing calls from top medics to cut back on socialising. But with infections surging, the Prime Minister now faces a nightmare straight after Christmas - as he weighs up imposing new restrictions to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed. Mr Johnson is not expected to bring in new measures this week, after delaying a decision on Monday in the face of opposition from his own Cabinet. Boris Johnson is weighing up imposing new Covid restrictions ( Image: Getty Images) People are facing uncertainty over their Christmas plans ( Image: Getty Images) … [Read more...] about Covid: Four factors shaping Boris Johnson’s decision on post-Christmas lockdown

Bette Midler continued her spat with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice on Friday by saying that his dog's "ass" would make a better governor after the Republican used the animal to criticize her. Justice, a Republican, displayed his dog's rear end during his state of the state address on Thursday as a rejoinder to critics and said they could kiss his pet's "hiney." The governor's his fondness for his English bulldog is well-known. He has used the animal—named Babydog—as a means to promote COVID-19 vaccination uptake in his state. Film legend Midler had apparently angered the governor in a tweet about Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) that was critical of the people of West Virginia. At the end of his state of the state address , Justice addressed West Virginia's critics. "They never believed in West Virginia, that we could do it," Justice said. "They told every bad joke in the world about us," he said. "So following that standpoint, Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those … [Read more...] about Bette Midler and Gov. Jim Justice continue trading insults using dog’s behind

Soccer in the United Kingdom is a celebration of the British at their most tribal. A fan of one team might live next door to a fan of another and if they don different shirts on game day, these neighbors will be steeped in different lore and howl for different outcomes. The forces that pit one tribe against another will seem both mysterious and trivial to nonfans. With occasional exceptions. When Southampton F.C. played Swansea City a few weeks ago even the soccer agnostic would have realized that the game highlighted a major difference. A difference on a national scale. The stands were essentially empty. That’s because the game was held in Swansea, which is in Wales, where the government, battling the coronavirus, was then limiting sporting events’ crowds to just 50. (The rules have since been eased.) “In normal circumstances, I would be on my way to Wales this afternoon,” Mark Littlewood said on the day of the game. Mr. Littlewood is the director general of the Institute of … [Read more...] about Britannia, With Fewer Rules

At first, Hillsdale College seems to resemble dozens of other small liberal arts schools with rich histories. There are statues of Washington and Lincoln, Jefferson and Churchill, and a monument to students who fought for the Union — a point of pride at a college that was founded by abolitionists, visited by the crusading former slave Frederick Douglass and open to black students and women from its founding in 1844. Cross the quad on what is known as the Liberty Walk, though, and you encounter something different: statues of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. If it isn’t ready to add a bronzed Donald J. Trump to this pantheon, this is one college, at least, where his presidency is viewed with more hope than dread. In a letter to prospective donors, Hillsdale’s president, Larry P. Arnn, said that 2017 promises a “beginning to restore limited government.” Hillsdale, a private college of 1,400 students in southern Michigan that describes itself as “nonsectarian Christian” and … [Read more...] about In Hillsdale College, a ‘Shining City on a Hill’ for Conservatives

Correction Appended WASHINGTON, July 21 - For at least a year before the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court, the White House was working behind the scenes to shore up support for him among its social conservative allies, quietly reassuring them that he was a good bet for their side in cases about abortion, same-sex marriage and public support for religion. When the White House began testing the name of Judge Roberts on a short list of potential nominees, many social conservatives were skeptical. In hearings for confirmation to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, he had called the original abortion rights precedent "the settled law of the land" and said "there is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent." And they were frustrated, as many Democrats were this week, by his not having left a long record of speeches and opinions that laid out his views. But with a … [Read more...] about A Year of Work to Sell Roberts to Conservatives

Judge Amy Coney Barrett , President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, pushed back on Wednesday against Democrats’ charge that she would be a certain vote to overturn the Affordable Care Act, suggesting that she had no “animus to or agenda for” the law. On the final day of questioning at her confirmation hearings, Judge Barrett stopped short of directly indicating how she might rule when the court hears a challenge to the health care law next month. But she strongly suggested that she might be inclined to leave portions of it intact, despite Mr. Trump’s outspoken desire for the court to strike it down. The pushback stood out as a rare window of potential insight into Judge Barrett’s thinking in hearings that otherwise consisted mostly of evasions and nonresponses to Democrats seeking to portray her as a conservative extremist bent on catering to Mr. Trump’s legal whims. It came as Republicans and Democrats began making what amounted to their closing arguments in the highly … [Read more...] about Barrett, Revealing Little, Suggests She Might Preserve Health Law

Millions of Brits will be forced to pay more on their student loans under a “stealth tax rise” by the government today. Student loan repayment thresholds will be frozen from April 6 after ministers scrapped plans to raise them by 4.6%. That means graduates will have to shell out more of their disposable income as wages and prices rise with inflation. The respected Institute for Fiscal Studies warned the freeze will cost £30k earners £113 a year more than they would have expected. Millions of people will be affected by today's 'stealth' announcement (stock photo) ( Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto) It comes at the same time as a cost-of-living crisis, with inflation, energy bills and National Insurance rising while income tax thresholds are frozen. IFS senior economist Ben Waltmann said it was “a further hit to real incomes”, adding it “effectively constitutes a tax rise by stealth on graduates with middling earnings.” It comes despite Rishi Sunak and Boris … [Read more...] about Major student loans announcement will force millions to pay £113 more from April

A Boris Johnson-backing MP has tried to defend the Prime Minister by saying he made a mistake, "we've all done it", and "he's not robbed a bank!". Andrew Rosindell, who helped with the PM's 2019 leadership campaign, trotted out the latest in a string of eye-popping defences over Partygate after Mr Johnson launched so-called 'Operation Big Dog'. Another Tory, Conor Burns, was roasted by TV chef Nigella Lawson for claiming the PM was "ambushed by cake" at a June 2020 birthday party. She tweeted: "Ambushed by Cake: it just has to be the title of my next book!" He replied: "It’s yours if you want it! Could I include my Granny’s Christmas cake recipe?" But Ms Lawson shot back: "You think it’s a joke? Says it all". Boris Johnson said he welcomed Scotland Yard’s investigation into Downing Street parties ( Image: PRU/AFP via Getty Images) Police are investigating a number of gatherings and sources have reportedly given Sue Gray, the civil servant investigating No10 … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson-backing MP says ‘we’ve all done it’ and ‘he’s not robbed a bank!’