HAMPTON, Virginia — NASA ushered in a new era of flight research Friday with the opening of a state-of-the-art wind tunnel at its Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, marking the agency’s first major new wind tunnel facility in more than four decades. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other federal and local leaders, including Virginia […]
This week, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson discussed with Michelle Obama, of all people, the importance of justices appearing impartial — and so far, the reactions to their conversation have been just about what you'd expect. She told the hosts on the Wednesday episode of "IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson" that "we all have to believe that there is a judicial system that is going to be fair, that is going to be neutral, that when you bring your dispute to the court, that judge doesn't have any pre-existing stake in the particular issue."'Can't make this up.'It's a surprising take, considering Jackson's background.For one thing, former President Joe Biden explicitly chose Jackson for the Supreme Court on the basis of her race and sex, though she said during her confirmation hearing that she could not define "woman" because she's "not a biologist." Jackson has also made a habit of penning bias-saturated jeremiads that have in some cases been extreme enough to raise the eyebrows of even other liberals on the bench. For instance, she:insinuated in her lone dissenting opinion in Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees that President Donald Trump was some sort of power-hungry menace and that those on the bench who failed to stop his "wrecking ball" were sycophantic enablers whose decision was both "hubristic and senseless";claimed in her dissenting opinion for Trump v. CASA Inc. that the Trump administration's request to address universal injunctions — which the high court found "likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts" — amounted to a request "to engage in unlawful behavior";accused her colleagues in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard of "let-them-eat-cake obliviousness" for their colorblind approach and claimed that race-based college admissions address "the well-documented 'intergenerational transmission of inequality' that still plagues our citizenry" to the "benefit of us all"; andechoed LGBT ideologues in her lone dissenting opinion in Chiles v. Salazar, claiming that "a robust professional consensus now acknowledges that sexual orientations and gender identities range widely" and that reality-affirming therapy for trans-identifying kids was ineffective and harmful.Despite these opinions, Jackson and Obama seem to believe that Jackson has been a relatively neutral jurist. RELATED: Platner's replacement in Maine is a family man — just not in the way voters might expect Obama pressed Jackson about whether she has to closely monitor her exposure to news, media, and other content "so that there isn't a bias."After noting that certain individuals employed at the court screen her invitations for various appearances and events "to make sure that there are no ethical conflicts," Jackson replied that "there are lots of limits on what judges can do, and I try to be very, very mindful and scrupulous with respect to that because, as you say, our obligation is to be unbiased in our approach.""And, so, you have to then navigate all the sources that could make for an appearance of partiality, which you want to avoid," the Biden nominee continued. "So there are lots of things that I end up not accepting for that reason. News sources, I think, you know, I don't have a lot of time — unfortunately, you know — but I do, you know, the normal, general media sources are made available, and I think it's harder when you're talking about — there's so much social media now."Jackson's expression of concern about bias and perceptions of bias while in the company of a rank partisan like Michelle Obama struck some critics as insincere or at the very least tone-deaf.House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) highlighted the cognitive dissonance, writing, "Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says SCOTUS must avoid even the appearance of political bias ... while appearing on Michelle Obama's podcast."Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote, "Ketanji Brown Jackson finds a way to inject political bias into just about everything she does. Whether it's attending the Grammys, joining Michelle Obama's podcast, or refusing to define the word woman, she couldn't care less about remaining impartial.""DEI hire justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says she's careful about which public engagements she accepts because she has to be impartial ... As she appears on MICHELLE OBAMA's podcast," Libs of TikTok tweeted. "Can't make this up."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
President Donald Trump's preoccupation with personal legacy projects frequently disrupts official business, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. Speaking to colleague Ezra Klein, Haberman said, "This I will say about getting into his mind: Seventy percent of it would be on his renovations." "It’s a legacy thing... It’s, 'What am I leaving behind so the world can’t kick me off the world or deplatform me or take my name off buildings in Manhattan or take away my Bronx leased golf course?'"Trump's monument fixation has prompted strange interruptions during meetings, Haberman explained, including contemplating whether to place a gold "fight, fight, fight" fist from Butler atop a planned arch. In another instance, Trump called French President Emmanuel Macron mid-meeting to ask about the Arc de Triomphe, asking if it has a visitor's desk and if people jump off it. Haberman noted Trump views these projects as essential to his historical legacy, to be "remembered by one name" with a distinctive mark on the world. "That doesn’t involve the boring work of trying to pass a bill," Haberman added, "That doesn’t involve the boring work of going to Iowa...This is fundamentally less interesting to him."Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
Elon Musk is going to throw some of his millions of dollars into the midterms and back Senator Susan Collins. The New York Times reports that Musk plans to spend $100 million to $120 million to help Collins, as well as other Republican candidates in close Senate races. Collins, who recently got a new Democratic challenger in former state Senator Troy Jackson, has an uphill battle to keep her seat in the blue state of Maine. In addition to Maine, Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, plans to spend money in Alaska, Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan, all states with Senate contests where Democrats are polling well. The super PAC is also considering investing in the Senate races in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, and is already backing House Republican candidates in California, Wisconsin, and Washington. America PAC is reportedly coordinating with major conservative organizations outside of the Republican Party, including the Sentinel Action Fund and the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity. Musk’s organization plans to utilize its funds to knock on voters’ doors before November. While Musk’s efforts successfully got President Trump elected in 2024, his political work since then has backfired. His money and public appearances in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election last year ended up costing conservatives the race, and possibly even broke the law. After initially swearing off politics, he’s now back with a vengeance to back his old friend Trump.But with more than a year of bad press from his Department of Government Efficiency’s decimation of the federal government, Musk’s name is mud with voters. Democrats will be only too happy to point out when he backs their opponents, and he’s going to have to resist his desire to make public appearances unless he wants a repeat of Wisconsin.
Democrats in Maine faced a barrage of attacks for supporting former Senate candidate Graham Platner, who was plagued by scandals that eventually crescendoed with sexual assault allegations from a previous romantic partner. Then came Troy Jackson, the former gubernatorial candidate, who swooped in as the party’s choice to take on incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) […]
Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton on Friday unveiled a sweeping new tax proposal, as his Republican campaign hits a polling stalemate against rival James Talarico in one of the country’s tightest races. Paxton, who is also the state’s attorney general, touted the sweeping tax breaks plan as part of a new affordability campaign message highlighting […]
