Race dominated Thurgood Marshall's confirmation, too

+ Madeleine Albright and NATO expansion US Edition - Today's top story: Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court hearing is a flashback to how race and crime featured during Thurgood Marshall's 1967 hearings [View in browser]( US Edition | 24 March 2022 [The Conversation]( Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson – set to become the first Black woman to sit on the bench – will wrap up her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing today. It follows three long days of intensive questioning, mostly by Republican senators. Some 55 years earlier, Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice, had to endure a similarly testing process. The [similarities between the hearings]( of Jackson and Marshall – specifically, a shared focus by questioners on crime and race – are unmistakable, constitutional law scholar Margaret M. Russell writes. “In all likelihood, Jackson will become the next justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, representing another momentous step forward for this country. But it is also another reminder that transformative change on race, while continuing to progress, happens slowly in the U.S.,” Russell explains. Also today: - [Madeleine Albright helped reshape post-Soviet world]( - [Are gas tax breaks the answer to soaring prices]( - [How much is a March Madness Cinderella run worth?]( Amy Lieberman Politics + Society Editor Ketanji Brown Jackson, speaking during her confirmation hearing on March 22, 2022, would be the first Black woman to serve on the court. Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images [Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court hearing is a flashback to how race and crime featured during Thurgood Marshall’s 1967 hearings]( Margaret M. Russell, Santa Clara University 55 years after Thurgood Marshall testified during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s hearings show race and crime continue to drive questions about a Black jurist. Environment + Energy - [Would gas tax breaks make a big difference when prices are skyrocketing? We asked 4 experts]( Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University; Erich Muehlegger, University of California, Davis; Sanya Carley, Indiana University; Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida Consumers are feeling pain at the pump and demanding solutions. Some politicians are pushing gasoline tax waivers – but that means less money to fix roads, and often not much economic relief. - [Tornadoes, climate change and why Dixie is the new Tornado Alley]( Ernest Agee, Purdue University Studies show tornadoes are getting more common and more intense, and they’re shifting eastward to a new tornado hot spot. Politics + Society - [Madeleine Albright saw US as an ‘indispensable nation’ and NATO as an expansionist ideal]( Peter Harris, Colorado State University Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has died at age 84. But many of the foreign policy concepts she helped bring to the post-Cold War world remain. - [How fairy tales shape fighting spirit: Ukraine’s children hear bedtime stories of underdog heroes, while Russian children hear tales of magical success]( Mia Bloom, Georgia State University; Sophia Moskalenko, Georgia State University The Russian army has fared poorly and the Ukrainian military has fared well, defying experts’ predictions about the war in Ukraine. Can children’s fairy tales help explain the difference? Economy + Business - [March Madness stars can now cash in on endorsements – but some limits set by states and universities may still be unconstitutional]( Sam C. Ehrlich, Boise State University; Neal Ternes, Arkansas State University States and universities have passed many rules governing what types of name, image and likeness deals athletes can sign. Most are innocuous, but three may violate their First Amendment rights. Science + Technology - [New data-sharing requirements from the National Institutes of Health are a big step toward more open science – and potentially higher-quality research]( Stephen Jacobs, Rochester Institute of Technology Starting in 2023, all research proposals funded by the NIH will need to include a data sharing and management plan. An expert on open science explains the requirements and how they might improve science. - [An emphasis on brilliance creates a toxic, dog-eat-dog workplace atmosphere that discourages women]( Andrea Vial, New York University Abu Dhabi A focus on raw intellectual talent may unintentionally create a cutthroat workplace culture. New research suggests women’s preference to avoid that environment may contribute to gender gaps in some fields. Ethics + Religion - [Vaccine hesitancy is complicating physicians’ obligation to respect patient autonomy during the COVID-19 pandemic]( Ryan Liu, Penn State New ethical issues are emerging during COVID-19 as doctors struggle with their obligations to ‘do no harm’ and respect patient autonomy. Arts + Culture - [How much is the media buzz from a March Madness Cinderella run worth to a school like Saint Peter’s?]( Nancy Haskell, University of Dayton A recent study found that an unexpected run in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament can boost enrollment. Trending on site - [A large solar storm could knock out the power grid and the internet – an electrical engineer explains how]( - [What is the new COVID-19 variant BA.2, and will it cause another wave of infections in the US?]( - [The West thinks that Russians, suffering from sanctions, will end up abandoning Putin – but history indicates they won’t]( Today's graphic [A round graph showing the percentage of oil that different countries in the world produces.]( Read more in the story, [The US is banning Russian oil imports, but an embargo that includes European allies would have more impact]( - More from The Conversation US - Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly emails: [Politics Weekly]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( - - About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. 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