Word: courting
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Whenever a Supreme Court Justice leaves the bench--as Justice David Souter said on May 1 he would do--it causes tumult. As President Barack Obama prepares to name a replacement, his opponents gird for an attack. The Senate, which must confirm the nominee, leans heavily in Obama's favor. But between committee hearings, interest-group lobbying and the occasional scandal, any Supreme Court nomination can be an arduous process...
President John Tyler suffered the most rebuffs; in 1844-45, he presented the same five candidates for the court a total of nine times. (Only one was confirmed.) President Lyndon Johnson was snubbed in 1968 when his nomination of Justice Abe Fortas as Chief Justice was filibustered so heavily that Fortas withdrew. As a Senator, Obama joined an unsuccessful filibuster against Samuel Alito in 2006. Even the legendary Louis Brandeis faced strong opposition over his progressive rulings (combined with an undercurrent of anti-Semitism...
Obama's opposition to Bush's nominations may earn him some backlash from Senate Republicans. Souter (who received a relatively easy confirmation in 1990) is viewed as a liberal judge, so an Obama replacement may not upset the court's balance. Time will tell if that's enough to avoid getting borked...
...Mumbai Alleged Gunman Fights Back Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving suspected gunman involved in November's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including murder and waging war, in a Mumbai court on May 6. After failing to convince the court that he was under 18 and should be tried as a minor, Qasab admitted he was 21 but maintained his innocence, claiming he had been tortured into confessing. Two others accused of helping plan the attacks also pleaded not guilty. More than 160 people died in the assault, including nine suspected...
...What They're Banning in Germany: On May 5, the German Constitutional Court upheld a ban on married people's combining already hyphenated names (or "chain names"), ruling that surnames with three or more parts "would quickly lose the effectiveness of their identifying purpose." The decision is less than shocking in a country where parents must seek approval from local authorities before they officially name their children...