Government

How are Supreme Court Justices selected? The President nominates someone for a vacancy on the Court and the Senate votes to confirm the nominee, which requires a simple majority. In this way, both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the federal government have a voice in the composition of the Supreme Court. Published hearing transcripts contain all witness testimony, the question-and-answer portion of the hearing, and any other material requested of the witness by the committee. It may take several months, or even years, for a hearing to be published. Unlike most other congressional documents, hearings are not available from the Senate or House Document Rooms. more »

Thirty-two states require that their electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote. Electors who snub the popular preference face fines or criminal charges in a few states. Electors typically vote for president at their state capitol roughly a month after Election Day. Individual secretary of state offices can answer questions about whether voting by presidential electors is open to the public. Maine and Nebraska are exceptions to the winner-take-all-electors rule. Those states have what’s called a “district system.” Two electoral votes go to the statewide popular vote winner. Then there’s one electoral vote for each congressional district, appointed based on the vote winner within the district. more »

Payrolls have now recovered roughly half of the 22 million decline. After rising to 14.7 percent in April, the unemployment rate is back to 7.9 percent ... A broader measure that better captures current labor market conditions — by adjusting for mistaken characterizations of job status, and for the decline in labor force participation since February — is running around 11 percent...The initial job losses fell most heavily on lower-wage workers in service industries facing the public — job categories in which minorities and women are overrepresented... Combined with the disproportionate effects of COVID on communities of color, and the overwhelming burden of childcare during quarantine and distance learning, which has fallen mostly on women, the pandemic is further widening divides in wealth and economic mobility. more »

Update, Oct. 3: “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” a source familiar with the president’s health told a White House pool reporter in a pool report issued at about noon. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.” At 74 years old, Trump is at higher risk of developing a more severe case of COVID-19 than younger people. Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data available through Aug. 6, show that people ages 65 to 74 are five times as likely as 18- to 29-year-olds to be hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die. more »