Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to step down, SATs going digital: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to step down
Supreme Court correspondent John Fritze talks with producer PJ Elliott about the high court's future. Plus, the Biden administration and NATO tell Russia there's no room for compromise, education reporter Chris Quintana explains how the SAT is going digital, it's International Holocaust Remembrance Day and we relay some 'Jeopardy!' news.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know, Thursday, the 27th of January, 2022. Today a Supreme Court Justice is set to step down, plus what Ukrainian Americans are saying amid tensions back home, and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
- The Federal Reserve yesterday pointed to almost definitely raising its key interest rate in March of this year, marking the first increase in more than three years. The announcement comes amid historic inflation.
- A body has been found as the search continues for 38 people missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Florida. One survivor said the boat left The Bahamas last weekend.
- And a pair of Americans are in action at the women's singles Australian Open semi finals today, but Madison Keys fell to Australian and number one seed, Ashley Barty earlier this morning. Danielle Collins will next try to upset number seven seed Polish player, Iga Swiatek.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to step down at the end of this term. The move comes after nearly three decades on the High Court and his retirement will hand President Joe Biden a chance to nominate a judge whose influence could be felt for decades. Fut was this move expected? Supreme Court correspondent John Fritze sat down with producer PJ Elliot to discuss.
John Fritze:
I think there was an expectation for a long time that Breyer would step down at the end of this term, which would be in the early part of the summer. I think the timing of this is a little bit surprising. I think usually we see the Justices make these announcements a little bit later. Of course, as we sit here, Breyer has not formally made that announcement yet but I think he will soon. It's a little early. We might see him sometimes in the spring. Usually we see him close to the end of the term, sometimes in the very last day of the term. So I do think the timing is interesting and worth noting here. Of course, you've got a President who has a very slim Democratic majority in the Senate and I think the last couple of months have shown that Biden's had a hard time getting an agenda through the Senate. And so in some ways maybe it makes sense to give them a little more runway to try to get a Supreme Court confirmation through.
PJ Elliott:
That's leading into the next question that I wanted to ask. Was this announcement possibly a calculated move to get a confirmation done before the midterms?
John Fritze:
Well, they certainly want to get a confirmation done before the midterms. That's absolutely the case. Whether it makes sense to launch it in January or launch it in June, these things tend to take a few months as Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation showed, they can move a lot faster if they feel like they need to. Although I think the difference there is that Republicans were fairly committed and cohesive to getting Barrett confirmed and I'm not sure yet whether the Democratic party will be as cohesive. I think there will be broad cohesion to getting Biden a nominee early in his term, but who knows, it's a caucus that's not always together. I think it remains to be seen how cohesive they will be. It will depend a little bit on the nominee.
PJ Elliott:
So who are on the top of Biden's list for replacement?
John Fritze:
I think the most prominent is Judge Jackson of the DC Circuit, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who frankly has been in the running for a Supreme Court nomination for a long time. President Obama considered her at one point for a slot on the Supreme Court. There's also a State Supreme Court Justice, Leondra Kruger, who has been widely talked about for the position. The important thing to note here is that Biden promised courts during his presidential election, standing in South Carolina ahead of the debate, a very important state for his primary election, that he would nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in the nation's history. And he did that in the state where the African American vote is hugely important. And a lot of African American constituents in South Carolina have said subsequently that, that was part of what helped them make their mind up about voting for Biden in the primary. So, he's committed to do that and the White House has said that he stands by that commitment.
So I think no matter who we get it's going to be a historic nominee and will make the Supreme Court far more diverse than it's been. But the flip side of that is that he doesn't have to. There's nothing in the constitution or anywhere else that says he has to do that. He could pick whoever he wants for the job, but I think most expectations right now are on Judge Jackson.
Taylor Wilson:
For this story and more from John Fritze, check out the Politics section at USATODAY.com/news.
The Biden administration and NATO yesterday told Russia there will be no concessions on the country's main demands to resolve tensions in Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Antony Blinken:
Right now, the document is with them and the ball is in their court, we'll see what we do. As I've said repeatedly, whether they choose the path of diplomacy and dialogue, whether they decide to renew aggression against Ukraine, we're prepared either way.
Taylor Wilson:
Blinken is alluding to a written response sent from the US to Moscow detailing as much. And in a separate written response, NATO held firm on the Alliance's open door policy for membership and rejected a Russian demand to permanently ban Ukraine from joining. For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that it is the West who's being aggressive.
Taylor Wilson translating for Sergey Lavrov:
If there is no constructive answer, if the West continues its aggressive course, Moscow as President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said, will take the necessary retaliatory measures.
Taylor Wilson
While many Ukrainians are not sure what to expect from Russia they're preparing for the worst. And expats living in the United States, like Alexei Prokopenko in New York City, are worried for their family back home
Alexei Prokopenko:
War in Ukraine with Russia continuing like eight years. And now I think it's like second phase of this war and that's going to be big war. And that's war not just only in Ukraine, that's war in the whole world for the democracy. We need to understand, today it's Ukraine, tomorrow is Europe, and after tomorrow it's whole world.
Taylor Wilson:
Russia continues to sit and carry out drills with more than a hundred thousand troops near Ukraine's borders.
Put down your number two pencils and grab your laptop. The SAT, one of the country's most commonly used college entrance exams is going digital. Education Reporter Chris Quintana has more.
Chris Quintana:
The company that administers the SAT, the College Board, announced this week that they're going to move the test to a digital format. And so they're starting that in 2024 but that has had a lot of interest for people right now. Obviously there are sophomores and freshmen in high school who will be taking the SAT digitally if they meet this 2024 timeline. So a lot of people have questions about what this looks like and what's going to change.
The College Board says that there are actually a surprising, a good number of benefits for students and the people who are administering the test. On the school-end it's supposed to be easier to set up students with laptops, either their personal ones or ones lent by the College Board. But it also means that they don't have to pack up all these forms and send them back to the College Board to be graded and then we'd get scores out to students that way.
The other big thing that I think most students will appreciate is the test is going to be two hours instead of three hours now. So that's about an hour shorter and they're saying that they can do this because they're using a new testing method. It's adaptive so it essentially tries to respond to a student's knowledge level so they don't get questions that are too easy or too hard for them, and that's supposed to cut the testing time.
This is coming at a time when a lot of colleges are frankly questioning if they need the SAT to admit students. This has been a movement that has been growing prior to the pandemic. But the start of the pandemic really accelerated it because there just wasn't enough places for students to take the test. So a lot of colleges started going the test optional route. And many now, they said they would do it for a year or two, many are now at that year or two and saying that actually, we're going to keep this in place for a little bit longer. Some states are passing laws like the ones that come to mind are Illinois and Colorado, that require public universities to be test optional. So, I think that's some important context to remember here. It's good for students but it may also be a way for the SAT to remain relevant.
Taylor Wilson:
You can find more from Chris on Twitter @CQuintanaDC.
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The date was created by the United Nations General Assembly and marks the date that the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945. It remembers the 6 million Jews and other victims killed during the Holocaust. To do so the UN will hold a virtual ceremony with testimonies from survivors. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said this week that society must fight against Holocaust denial.
Antonio Guterres:
Today we remember the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who perished in the Holocaust and also the Roma and Sinti and the countless other victims of its unprecedented order and calculated cruelty. The Holocaust defined the United Nations. Our very name was going to describe the Alliance fighting the Nazi regime and its allies. Our charter was drafted in San Francisco as the Dachau concentration camp was liberated. United Nations must always be on the front line of the fight against antisemitism and all other forms of religious bigotry and racism.
Today, we witness an alarming resurgence of xenophobia and hate. Antisemitism, the oldest and most persistent form of prejudice, is rising yet again. Attempts to downplay or downright deny the Holocaust are proliferating. No society's immune to irrationality or intolerance. We must never forget that the Holocaust could have been prevented. The desperate pleas of the victims fell on deaf ears. Too few spoke out, too few listen. Fewer still stood up in solidarity. Remembering the past is crucial to safeguarding the future. Silence in the face of hatred is complicity. Today, let us commit to never be indifferent to the suffering of others and never forget what happened or let it be forgotten by others.
Taylor Wilson:
The ceremony is set for 11:00 AM Eastern, 8 AM Pacific. You can watch live on un.org or on the United Nations YouTube channel.
Jeopardy will move into a new era today and if you haven't seen this week's episodes and don't want spoilers, stop listening now. Amy Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, was finally defeated last night but not before a 40 game winning streak. On Monday, Schneider became the quiz show's second all time winner, trailing only the current host, Ken Jennings, who won 74 consecutive games in 2004. But Schneider went down last night against Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago.
Ken Jennings:
Rhone Talsma, you are our new Jeopardy champion, with a one day total of $29,600. Congratulations to you.
Taylor Wilson:
Schneider, again, led the game going into Final Jeopardy, but couldn't answer the clue, the only nation in the world whose name in English ends in an H. It's also one of the 10 most populous. Talsma correctly wrote Bangladesh. Schneider will return later this year to play in the Tournament of Champions and is now the most successful woman in the show's history.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your audio. Thanks as always to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from Paste BN.