National Review / American Enterprise Institute
Ramesh Ponnuru is Senior Editor at the National Review and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life.
The brewing battle over Number 9 In splashy prime-time fashion President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch , a federal appellate court judge from Colorado to the US Supreme Court yesterday, fulfilling a campaign promise to nominate a conservative originalist. At 49, Gorsuch is expected to keep the court's conservative status quo for years to come. Some Democrats want to fight the nomination as payback for Republicans stonewalling President Obama's own pick, for nearly a year. Will the GOP escalate all the way to what's called “the nuclear option -- and do away with the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees altogether?
The Latest from Boston, Gun Bills Go Down The Boston investigation, gun control is defeated in the Senate
First Lady Paints Personal Portrait of President At the Democratic convention in Charlotte last night, First Lady Michelle Obama told the story of a rise to the White House from humble origins without losing family values. Without ever mentioning Mitt and Ann Romney, she created an image of stunning contrasts. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro also electrified the delegates, the first Latino to keynote a Democratic convention. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick lauded President Obama's long list of accomplishments, made even more impressive considering that "Congressional Republicans have made obstruction itself the centerpiece of their governing strategy." We hear some highlights.
The US Supreme Court and Reverse Discrimination In 2003, New Haven, Connecticut said it would promote firefighters based on a written and oral exam. But when the results were in, no blacks and only two Hispanics scored well enough to become lieutenants or captains. New Haven then scrapped the promotion exam. White firefighter Frank Ricci, who did well on the test, sued for reverse discrimination. Today, the US Supreme Court ruled in his favor .
The US Supreme Court and Reverse Discrimination In 2003, New Haven, Connecticut said it would promote firefighters based on a written and oral exam. But when the results were in, no blacks and only two Hispanics scored well enough to become lieutenants or captains. New Haven then scrapped the exam. White firefighter Frank Ricci, who did well on the test, sued for reverse discrimination. Today, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 in his favor , saying the white firefighters were unfairly denied promotions based on their race. Dissenters said the white workers deserved "sympathy," but "had no vested right to promotion." Is the decision, which could alter employment practices nationwide, a case of "judicial activism," conservative style? Will it have an impact on President Obama's nominee to the court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor , who was effectively overruled by today's action?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.