(AP) — Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday night they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic elevation to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Biden’s nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring she’ll become the first Black female justice.
The senators from Alaska and Utah announced their decisions ahead of a procedural vote to advance the nomination and as Democrats pressed to confirm Jackson by the end of the week. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced last week that she would back Jackson.
All three Republicans said they did not expect to agree with all of Jackson’s decisions, but that they found her well qualified. Romney said she “more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity.” …
With three Republicans supporting her in the 50-50 split Senate, Jackson is on a glidepath to confirmation and on the brink of making history as the third Black justice and only the sixth woman in the court’s more than 200-year history. Beyond the historic element, Democrats have cited her deep experience in nine years on the federal bench and the chance for her to become the first former public defender on the court. …
Ko Barrett is a vice chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report due to be published Monday provides the most updated assessment of how to stop climate change from getting worse. The science has become all too familiar: The planet is warming faster than we thought and human activity is the cause. The consequences of this warming are already manifest in our daily lives. Depending on where you live, you may have experienced hotter temperatures, destructive floods, more extreme storms, or prolonged droughts. We are not yet on track to limit global warming to the levels set by countries for the critical decades to come. …
The bottom line across every IPCC assessment is that every fraction of a degree of warming matters — meaning that every single action to prevent that warming can make a difference.Younger generations are callingon leaders to act. Those of us with the ability to inform and enact change owe it to them to tenaciously pursue progress.
When the stakes are high, that’s when innovation tends to flourish — just look at the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, or the way in which humanity has rallied to provide refuge to millions of displaced Ukrainians. Governments have demonstrated the capacity to do big things time and again. Although the solutions must be as big as the problem itself, that doesn’t mean small actions don’t matter. Everyone has a role to play.
Individually, we can influence change on multiple levels. The easiest is in our daily lives. Many of our personal decisions offer us the chance to reduce our contribution to climate change: our transportation choices, energy use, diets, use of natural resources and purchases — all contribute to the solution. Of course, these individual contributions don’t provide the entire solution, but these small changes add up.
We also can’t underestimate the power of collective action to encourage us to become more resilient to climate change and reduce emissions in innovative ways. There are endless opportunities to get involved: by participating in community solar programs, urban tree-planting initiatives, and conserving water in the face of persistent drought. A growing number of cities are making net-zero carbon pledges ― demonstrating the potential of community-based action to spur global climate ambition. What’s more, by talking about the possibilities with our friends, families, and neighbors, we inspire others to join us — leading to a ripple effect of action. …
The world is on track to usher in a devastating level of global warming, warns a major report from the world’s leading climate scientists.
“It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said of the study in a statement. …
To avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis, the analysis from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says, leaders must make radical, immediate changes. That includes rapidly phasing out the use of fossil fuels.
The world has already warmed by roughly 1.1 degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution, chiefly due to the burning of coal, oil, or gas. The more ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement aim to limit warming to 1.5 degrees; crossing that threshold would exacerbate hunger, conflict, and drought globally, destroy at least 70 percent of coral reefs, and put millions at risk of being swallowed by rising seas.
The world has only a 38 percent chance of achieving that goal, the new report says. …
Employers are adding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month, and would hire even more people if they could find them. Consumers are spending, businesses are investing, and wages are rising at their fastest pace in decades.
So naturally, economists are warning of a possible recession.
Rapid inflation, soaring oil prices and global instability have led forecasters to sharply lower their estimates of economic growth this year, and to raise their probabilities of an outright contraction. Investors share that concern: The bond market last week flashed a warning signal that has often — though not always — foreshadowed a downturn.
Such predictions may seem confusing when the economy, by many measures, is booming. The United States has regained more than 90 percent of the jobs lost in the early weeks of the pandemic, and employers are continuing to hire at a breakneck pace, adding 431,000 jobs in March alone. The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6 percent, barely above the prepandemic level, which was itself a half-century low. …
But to the doomsayers, the recovery’s remarkable strength carries the seeds of its own destruction. Demand — for cars, for homes, for restaurant meals and for the workers to provide them — has outstripped supply, leading to the fastest inflation in 40 years. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve argue they can cool off the economy and bring down inflation without driving up unemployment and causing a recession. But many economists are skeptical that the Fed can engineer such a “soft landing,” especially in a moment of such extreme global uncertainty. …
[However] … a majority of forecasters say a recession remains unlikely in the next year. High oil prices, rising interest rates and waning government aid will all drag down growth this year, said Aneta Markowska, chief economist for Jefferies, an investment bank. But corporate profits are strong, households have trillions in savings, and debt loads are low — all of which should provide a cushion against any slowdown.
“It’s easy to construct a very negative narrative, but when you actually look at the magnitude of all those impacts, I don’t think they’re significant enough to push us into a recession in the next 12 months,” she said. Recessions, almost by definition, involve job losses and unemployment; right now, companies are doing practically anything they can to retain workers.
“I just don’t see what would cause businesses to do a complete 180 and go from ‘We need to hire all these people and we can’t find them’ to ‘We have to lay people off,’” Ms. Markowska said. …
Parasites are among the main factors that negatively impact the health and reproductive success of organisms. However, if parasites diminish a host’s health and attractiveness to such an extent that finding a mate becomes almost impossible, the parasite would decrease its odds of reproducing and passing to the next generation. There is evidence that Toxoplasma gondii(T. gondii) manipulates phenotypic characteristics of its intermediate hosts to increase its spread. However, whether T. gondii manipulates phenotypic characteristics in humans remains poorly studied. Therefore, the present research had two main aims: (1) To compare traits associated with health and parasite resistance in Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects. (2) To investigate whether other people perceive differences in attractiveness and health between Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects of both sexes.
[…]Results
First, we found that infected men had lower facial fluctuating asymmetry whereas infected women had lower body mass, lower body mass index, a tendency for lower facial fluctuating asymmetry, higher self-perceived attractiveness, and a higher number of sexual partners than non-infected ones. Then, we found that infected men and women were rated as more attractive and healthier than non-infected ones.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that some sexually transmitted parasites, such as T. gondii, may produce changes in the appearance and behavior of the human host, either as a by-product of the infection or as the result of the manipulation of the parasite to increase its spread to new hosts. Taken together, these results lay the foundation for future research on the manipulation of the human host by sexually transmitted pathogens and parasites.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen plans on Wednesday to warn of major consequences for the global economy as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with both the conflict and global sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s aggression disrupting the flow of food and energy around the world.
The comments by Ms. Yellen, who will appear before a House committee on Wednesday, come as the United States and the European Union are poised to announce another round of sanctions on Russian financial institutions, government officials and state-owned enterprises as the war in Ukraine shows no sign of abating.
“Russia’s actions represent an unacceptable affront to the rules-based, global order, and will have enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond,” Ms. Yellen will say at a Financial Services Committee hearing, according to her prepared remarks. …
Ms. Yellen will make clear that the United States has no intention of easing the economic pressure it is exerting on Russia through sanctions on its central bank, financial institutions and leaders. Ms. Yellen plans to emphasize that more than half of the world economy is united in the effort to impose sanctions on Russia and that the Biden administration is working to ensure that Russia does not benefit from financing available through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
“Treasury is committed to holding Russia accountable for its actions so it cannot benefit from the international financial system,” Ms. Yellen plans to tell lawmakers.
Ms. Yellen also plans to underscore how the war in Ukraine is causing global food prices to surge amid disruptions to wheat exports, casting the effect as especially problematic for poor countries. She will also argue that Russia’s actions are a reminder to invest in energy independence so the world is not reliant on such nations for oil and gas.
“We are witnessing the vulnerability that comes from relying on one fuel source or one trade partner, which is why it is imperative to diversify energy sources and suppliers,” Ms. Yellen will say.
The economic disruption is taking place at a fragile moment, as the global economy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, which has snarled supply chains and fueled inflation. …
The United States, Australia and Britain announced on Tuesday that they were bolstering their cooperation on developing new hypersonic weapons, an expansion of an agreement reached last year to build new nuclear-powered submarines.
Hypersonic weapons, which maneuver at several times the speed of sound, can potentially evade missile defense systems and quickly strike a target even if it is on the other side of the world.
The announcement is an attempt to jump-start the work of the United States and two key allies at a time when Russia and China have made important advances in developing and fielding hypersonic weapons.
Russia and China have invested heavily in hypersonic technology, and by some measures have moved ahead of the United States and its allies. Last August, China tested a hypersonic missile that circled the globe twice before hitting its target.
Russia announced in 2019 that it had deployed a hypersonic missile, and it has used the technology in an attack on a weapons depot in the war in Ukraine. Though it is clear Russia has fielded the weapons, it remains to be seen what tactical advantages superfast missiles have given Russian forces in Ukraine. …
but kept it quiet to avoid escalating tensions with Russia
… The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) was launched from a B-52 bomber off the west coast, the official said, in the first successful test of the Lockheed Martin version of the system. A booster engine accelerated the missile to high speed, at which point the air-breathing scramjet engine ignited and propelled the missile at hypersonic speeds of Mach 5 and above.
The official offered scant details of the missile test, only noting the missile flew above 65,000 feet and for more than 300 miles. But even at the lower end of hypersonic range — about 3,800 miles per hour — a flight of 300 miles is less than 5 minutes.
The test came days after Russia says it used its own hypersonic missile during its invasion of Ukraine, claiming it targeted an ammunition warehouse in western Ukraine. …
NY Times: …The United States, Australia and Britain announced on Tuesday that they were bolstering their cooperation on developing new hypersonic weapons, an expansion of an agreement reached last year to build new nuclear-powered submarines.
Hypersonic weapons, which maneuver at several times the speed of sound, can potentially evade missile defense systems and quickly strike a target even if it is on the other side of the world.
The announcement is an attempt to jump-start the work of the United States and two key allies at a time when Russia and China have made important advances in developing and fielding hypersonic weapons. …
Russia announced in 2019 that it had deployed a hypersonic missile, and it has used the technology in an attack on a weapons depot in the war in Ukraine. Though it is clear Russia has fielded the weapons, it remains to be seen what tactical advantages superfast missiles have given Russian forces in Ukraine. …
The announcement on Tuesday by the three countries was short on specifics, saying only that the “partners will work together to accelerate development of advanced hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities.”
The earlier announcement said the three countries would cooperate to develop nuclear submarines, and it was framed as an effort to counter China’s growing power in the Pacific and elsewhere. The announcement on Tuesday said the importance of the partnership had “only grown in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and unlawful invasion of Ukraine.”
In addition to working on nuclear reactors and hypersonic weapons, the three countries are also accelerating investments and experiments in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cybercapabilities, electronic warfare and other technologies.
According to the announcement, the additional areas of research also include smart robots meant to enhance undersea surveillance. The autonomous underwater vehicles, it said, “will be a significant force multiplier for our maritime forces.” Initial sea trials are planned for 2023. …
Britain is included in the new plan because the compact nuclear reactors for the Australian submarines will probably use the unusual designs of American and British submarines, which are powered by bomb-grade, highly enriched uranium. The United States has not shared the potent technology with other major allies because, if diverted, it could fuel nuclear arms.
The announcement said the three partner nations have engaged proactively with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the deal’s nonproliferation aspects. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the agency’s director general, told its board of governors on March 7 that Australia, Britain and the United States “are committed to ensuring the highest nonproliferation and safeguards standards are met.”
In February 2020, the US Department of Energy’s office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation released its report, Initial Evaluation of Fuel-Reactor Concepts for Advanced LEU Fuel Development, a screening study for potential fuel and reactor types that may be relevant to switching US naval nuclear propulsion away from reliance on highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel. The DNN report … ends up recommending two reactor types and seven fuels for further investigation in the next phase of its work. …
Currently, US and UK naval reactors are fueled by weapon-grade HEU (93.5% U-235). Russia and India also use HEU (≥ 20% U-235). The other two countries with nuclear submarines, China and France, use LEU. …
LEU is ‘low-enriched uranium’, the stuff that drives ordinary nuclear reactors. There is also HALEU.
Wikipedia: Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238U with 99.2739–99.2752% natural abundance), uranium-235 (235U, 0.7198–0.7202%), and uranium-234 (234U, 0.0050–0.0059%). 235U is the only nuclide existing in nature (in any appreciable amount) that is fissile with thermal neutrons. …
Low-enriched uranium (LEU) has a lower than 20% concentration of 235U; for instance, in …the most prevalent power reactors in the world, uranium is enriched to 3 to 5% 235U. High-assay LEU (HALEU) is enriched from 5–20%. …
Fun fact: nuclear submarines are actually steam-powered.
Nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers (have) onboard nuclear reactors. Atoms in the nuclear reactor split, which releases energy as heat. This heat is used to create high-pressured steam that turns propulsion turbines that provide the power to turn the propeller.
In 1996, France decided to stop enriching uranium to HEU levels for weapons purposes. If the Navy had wanted to use HEU fuel, it would have had to invest significant money to have its own HEU enrichment facility. By choosing to only use LEU fuel with enrichments much less than 20 percent in the fissile isotope uranium-235, France has saved money by purchasing from the commercial market. Moreover, France’s decision to use LEU fuel for naval propulsion has not degraded the operational performance of the ships.
Is LEU fuel the right choice for other nations? The author points out that it depends on the technical and economic context. For non-nuclear weapon states that only want a small nuclear navy, such as Brazil, this choice would be very suitable.
With turnover rampant and “Help Wanted” signs popping up everywhere, more employers are welcoming — or welcoming back — older workers, a group that has long felt derided and overlooked in the nation’s Darwinian labor market. …
Employment data show the number of older workers has been slowly edging up after a sharp dropoff at the outset of the pandemic, when millions lost their jobs or left the workforce voluntarily.
Last week, the Labor Department reported the US jobless rate dropped to 3.6 percent, a postpandemic low, as employers added an average of 600,000 jobs a month since last fall. The number of workers over 55 in the labor force grew by nearly 1 million in the past year.
Not all older applicants are finding the doors open, and many still aren’t ready to return to full-time jobs without more flexible schedules and the option to work from home. But plenty of employers have become more adaptable, in part to accommodate working families who had kids learning from home earlier in the pandemic. …
… Some recruiters cite the strong work ethic of older workers, saying they’re more likely than younger colleagues to show up on time and less apt to quit or call in sick — all assets in a heating economy dogged by severe labor shortages.
“Employers react to need,” said Doug Dickson, board chair of Encore Boston Network, which helps people over 50 find work. “When they see an opportunity to solve a problem, they go in that direction . . . This is a market where if you are prepared and you fit the need of hiring employers, you can get a job.”
Economists say several trends are converging to scramble the employment picture. Young employees are jumping between jobs more frequently than in the past. Workers of all ages have rushed for the exits in a coronavirus-fueled “great resignation.” But others who bailed out of the labor force early in the pandemic are “un-retiring” and returning to work. …
Some labor market watchers question whether the environment has really improved for all older employees, though, especially those in the tech sector and in blue-collar jobs.
In a report last week, the New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis in New York said the size of the nation’s retired population swelled by an additional 1.1 million older adults beyond the normal trend since March 2020. Many were pushed out of jobs during the COVID-19 lockdowns rather than leaving on their own, and have given up looking for work. …
[Ketanji Brown-Jackson was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by a Senate vote of 53-47, all 48 Dems with their 2 Ind allies and 3 GOP senators voting in her favor, 47 remaining GOP senators opposed.]
… Justice Breyer announced his own plans on Jan. 27. “I intend this (retirement) decision to take effect,” he wrote, “when the court rises for the summer recess this year (typically late June or early July) assuming that by then my successor has been nominated and confirmed.”
That means Judge Jackson, who stopped participating in the appeals court’s work when she was nominated, will be an interested bystander as the Supreme Court issues its big decisions in the coming months, including ones on abortion and guns. She will have time to hire law clerks and study the next term’s docket.
But she will not take the required judicial oath and formally join the Supreme Court until Justice Breyer’s work is done.
According to the Supreme Court’s website, there have been a handful of instances in which new justices were confirmed before retiring ones completed their service. But the months that Judge Jackson will spend on the sidelines appear to set a record.
She will not take the bench until the court returns from its summer break in October, but she will presumably be rested and well prepared for the next term, which will include major cases on affirmative action, voting and gay rights.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination for Supreme Court heads to full Senate with three Republicans saying they will support her
Boston Globe – April 4
Humans are responsible for climate change and humans have the capacity to solve it
Boston Globe – April 4 – Ko Barrett
Ko Barrett is a vice chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
‘A file of shame’: Major UN climate report shows world is on track for catastrophic levels of warming
Boston Globe – April 4
The world is on track to usher in a devastating level of global warming, warns a major report from the world’s leading climate scientists.
“It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said of the study in a statement. …
The US Economy Is Booming. So Why Are Economists Worrying About a Recession?
NY Times – April 5
Employers are adding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month, and would hire even more people if they could find them. Consumers are spending, businesses are investing, and wages are rising at their fastest pace in decades.
So naturally, economists are warning of a possible recession.
Rapid inflation, soaring oil prices and global instability have led forecasters to sharply lower their estimates of economic growth this year, and to raise their probabilities of an outright contraction. Investors share that concern: The bond market last week flashed a warning signal that has often — though not always — foreshadowed a downturn.
Such predictions may seem confusing when the economy, by many measures, is booming. The United States has regained more than 90 percent of the jobs lost in the early weeks of the pandemic, and employers are continuing to hire at a breakneck pace, adding 431,000 jobs in March alone. The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6 percent, barely above the prepandemic level, which was itself a half-century low. …
scientists have discovered a new beauty-aid…
Are Toxoplasma-infected subjects more attractive, symmetrical, or healthier than non-infected ones? Evidence from subjective and objective measurements [PeerJ]
Abstract Background
Parasites are among the main factors that negatively impact the health and reproductive success of organisms. However, if parasites diminish a host’s health and attractiveness to such an extent that finding a mate becomes almost impossible, the parasite would decrease its odds of reproducing and passing to the next generation. There is evidence that Toxoplasma gondii(T. gondii) manipulates phenotypic characteristics of its intermediate hosts to increase its spread. However, whether T. gondii manipulates phenotypic characteristics in humans remains poorly studied. Therefore, the present research had two main aims: (1) To compare traits associated with health and parasite resistance in Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects. (2) To investigate whether other people perceive differences in attractiveness and health between Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects of both sexes.
[…]Results
First, we found that infected men had lower facial fluctuating asymmetry whereas infected women had lower body mass, lower body mass index, a tendency for lower facial fluctuating asymmetry, higher self-perceived attractiveness, and a higher number of sexual partners than non-infected ones. Then, we found that infected men and women were rated as more attractive and healthier than non-infected ones.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that some sexually transmitted parasites, such as T. gondii, may produce changes in the appearance and behavior of the human host, either as a by-product of the infection or as the result of the manipulation of the parasite to increase its spread to new hosts. Taken together, these results lay the foundation for future research on the manipulation of the human host by sexually transmitted pathogens and parasites.
Yellen to Warn of ‘Enormous Economic Repercussions’ From Ukraine Invasion
NY Times – April 5
Ms. Yellen will make clear that the United States has no intention of easing the economic pressure it is exerting on Russia through sanctions on its central bank, financial institutions and leaders. Ms. Yellen plans to emphasize that more than half of the world economy is united in the effort to impose sanctions on Russia and that the Biden administration is working to ensure that Russia does not benefit from financing available through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
“Treasury is committed to holding Russia accountable for its actions so it cannot benefit from the international financial system,” Ms. Yellen plans to tell lawmakers.
Ms. Yellen also plans to underscore how the war in Ukraine is causing global food prices to surge amid disruptions to wheat exports, casting the effect as especially problematic for poor countries. She will also argue that Russia’s actions are a reminder to invest in energy independence so the world is not reliant on such nations for oil and gas.
“We are witnessing the vulnerability that comes from relying on one fuel source or one trade partner, which is why it is imperative to diversify energy sources and suppliers,” Ms. Yellen will say.
The economic disruption is taking place at a fragile moment, as the global economy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, which has snarled supply chains and fueled inflation. …
1973 again . . .
After Russian advances, US, Britain and Australia expand a partnership to develop hypersonic missiles.
NY Times – April 5
US tested hypersonic missile in mid-March
CNN – April 4
but kept it quiet to avoid escalating tensions with Russia
FYI…
In February 2020, the US Department of Energy’s office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation released its report, Initial Evaluation of Fuel-Reactor Concepts for Advanced LEU Fuel Development, a screening study for potential fuel and reactor types that may be relevant to switching US naval nuclear propulsion away from reliance on highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel. The DNN report … ends up recommending two reactor types and seven fuels for further investigation in the next phase of its work. …
Currently, US and UK naval reactors are fueled by weapon-grade HEU (93.5% U-235). Russia and India also use HEU (≥ 20% U-235). The other two countries with nuclear submarines, China and France, use LEU. …
US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel
FWIW,
Enriched uranium – Wikipedia
LEU is ‘low-enriched uranium’, the stuff that drives ordinary nuclear reactors. There is also HALEU.
Wikipedia: Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238U with 99.2739–99.2752% natural abundance), uranium-235 (235U, 0.7198–0.7202%), and uranium-234 (234U, 0.0050–0.0059%). 235U is the only nuclide existing in nature (in any appreciable amount) that is fissile with thermal neutrons. …
Low-enriched uranium (LEU) has a lower than 20% concentration of 235U; for instance, in …the most prevalent power reactors in the world, uranium is enriched to 3 to 5% 235U. High-assay LEU (HALEU) is enriched from 5–20%. …
Fun fact: nuclear submarines are actually steam-powered.
Nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers (have) onboard nuclear reactors. Atoms in the nuclear reactor split, which releases energy as heat. This heat is used to create high-pressured steam that turns propulsion turbines that provide the power to turn the propeller.
Nuclear propulsion for submarines – EPA
Also…
In 1996, France decided to stop enriching uranium to HEU levels for weapons purposes. If the Navy had wanted to use HEU fuel, it would have had to invest significant money to have its own HEU enrichment facility. By choosing to only use LEU fuel with enrichments much less than 20 percent in the fissile isotope uranium-235, France has saved money by purchasing from the commercial market. Moreover, France’s decision to use LEU fuel for naval propulsion has not degraded the operational performance of the ships.
Is LEU fuel the right choice for other nations? The author points out that it depends on the technical and economic context. For non-nuclear weapon states that only want a small nuclear navy, such as Brazil, this choice would be very suitable.
France apparently uses HALEU reactors for propulsion
Labor shortages across economy are creating opportunities for older workers
Boston Globe – April 7
For the record…
Judge Jackson is now a justice in waiting
NY Times – April 7
[Ketanji Brown-Jackson was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by a Senate vote of 53-47, all 48 Dems with their 2 Ind allies and 3 GOP senators voting in her favor, 47 remaining GOP senators opposed.]