Law

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson arrives for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

Politics & Government

Watch: Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's Senate confirmation hearings

1:46pm March 21, 2022

by NPR Washington Desk

The Senate Judiciary Committee has kicked off four days of hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court. On Monday, senators and Jackson give opening statements.

Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books, including The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison and Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City

Book bans and the threat of censorship rev up political activism in the suburbs

9:53am March 21, 2022

by Odette Yousef

A conservative campaign to ban certain books from schools is prompting other parents to push back. The issue is often framed as the latest "culture war" battle, but some see democracy itself at stake.

Senate panel will hold 4 days of hearings for Biden's Supreme Court nominee

5:11am March 21, 2022

The Senate Judiciary Committee opens Supreme Court confirmation hearings Monday for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman on the high court.

Arrested under a Trump-era China initiative, Franklin Tao heads to trial

5:11am March 21, 2022

by John Ruwitch

University of Kansas professor Franklin Tao goes on trial Monday, in a case that critics say highlights how problematic and damaging the Justice Department's now-defunct "China Initiative" has been.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, 73, has been at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., since Friday, after experiencing "flu-like symptoms," the court said in a statement.

Politics & Government

Justice Clarence Thomas has been hospitalized with an infection, Supreme Court says

9:25pm March 20, 2022

by Emma Bowman

Justice Thomas' condition is improving and he will likely be released within two days, the court said. He'll stay involved in the consideration of any cases the court hears this week.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's Senate confirmation hearings are set to begin Monday, March 21.

Politics & Government

Confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson begin Monday. Here's what to expect

2:06pm March 20, 2022

by Elena Moore

Next week the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson, the federal judge President Biden has tapped as his Supreme Court nominee.

A jury will decide whether former county clerk Kim Davis is responsible for legal fees and other monetary damages after she refused to sign marriage certificates for same-sex couples in 2015.

Kim Davis violated same-sex couples' rights by refusing marriage licenses, judge says

4:40pm March 19, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The legal fight over the former county clerk's decision to refuse two gay couples marriage licenses in 2015 continues. A jury will decide whether she is responsible for their legal fees.

This undated file photo provided on July 11, 2019, by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the death row at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, S.C.

National

Death row executions by firing squad can now be carried out in South Carolina

9:37pm March 18, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

South Carolina's governor signed a law last year forcing death row inmates to choose the manner of their execution: either by firing squad or electric chair if lethal injection is not possible.

Shana Bonner, left, styles the hair of Pho Gibson at Exquisite U hair salon in this July 3, 2019, file photo. The U.S. House passed a federal anti-bias bill to protect against discrimination of race-based hairstyles.

The House passes the CROWN Act, a bill banning discrimination on race-based hairdos

7:12pm March 18, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The U.S. Senate still must pass the CROWN Act before it can be approved by President Biden.

Activists hold a news conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 10 asking for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the court.

Politics & Government

Black women form the first line of defense for a historic Supreme Court nominee

3:01pm March 18, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman nominated to the court. For many activists, her confirmation hearings bring pride and inspiration — and resolve against conservative attacks.