host: more about that letter from senator durbin.ohn roberts picking up the story, saying the chair invited the chief justice to testify and was focused on the ethical roles governing the supreme court as well as changes to those guidelines. the story adding the call to robert's testimony comes at a turbulent time for the court and its members concerns surrounding the lifetime appointments involving justice clarence thomas who are according to an investigation failed to disclose 20 years of luxury trips with billionaire and republican donor heartland fro. -- harlan crow discussion on how supreme court justices discuss ethical issues w in your year end report on the federal judiciary. , there has been a stay stream of revelations regarding justic falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal juds and public servants generally. these problems were apparent in 2011 and the failure to address them has contributed to a crisis of public confidence, the status quo is no longer tenable. that is part of the letter that dick

her absence is not preventing chairman durbin of the judiciary committee from moving nominees.sterday. one of whom is from louisiana who will receive republican votes. what senator feinstein's absence is preventing, my friend senator durbin from doing is ramming through a handful of president biden's nominees who aren't qualified to be federal judges. they either think the u.s. constitution is the name of a ship or based on their record, they want to ignore the constitution. they are from the loon wing of the democratic party and they won't receive republican votes and senator feinstein's absence stops senator durbin from ramming those nominees through. >> bill: you dropped a name there of a judge from baton rouge, louisiana. but it is possible that you could put that judge through the committee based on what you just said. he would pass tomorrow. >> yeah. so likely would the other two nominees from whom we heard yesterday. now, i'm not sure how i will vote on the other two, but based on my experience with judiciary i think all three if senator durbin called a vote would pass.

durbin this week they have also their own ethical codes to consult.n top of this and there's no evidence that they need to be doing anything more than they're already doing. >> yep. they also decide cases and controversies which have to come to them. they don't get to go out there and solicit cases -- so it's another that's another argument for a different standard. we have to take one more break, when we come back it's hits and misses of the weekbe. anyway, like i was saying, it's getting harder [ somber music playing ] and harder to make ends meet and... hon, do you mind? well, on the bright side, new customers [ angelic choir singing ] who bundle and save with progressive save over 20 percent on average. sorry, we let them practice here on thursdays! sounding good, friends! psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an inc

i'll talk to the senate committee chairman dick durbin joining me for insight and bade.ashington post columnist eugene analyses are rachael bade, "the washington post" columnist eugene robinson, amy walter of the cook political report, and marc short former choof of staff to vice president mike pence welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, the longest-running show in television history this is "meet the press" with chuck todd >>> good sunday morning. americans are seething at their political leaders and at each other. that's according to brand-ne nbc news poll we are releasing right now. they're dissatisfied with what seems to be inevitable a 2024 rematch between joe biden and donald trump, as biden prepares to formally announce his campaign for a second term this week just one in four americans believe he should run for re-election 70% say he shouldn't run. by the way, only 5% of american shouldn't run. actually want both of these gentlemen to run and let me show you even more of this poll 50% of 2020 biden voters say he shouldn't run.

you've got dick durbin coming up on "meet the press," judiciary chair. what are you hearing, what answers are you hoping to hear from him? >> we're going to find out. the question i have now is, is the movement to push senator feinstein to resignation only growing? i could tell you this. i know behind the scenes it is. there is not many senate democrats who think this should go on much longer. the question is, what's much longer? is it a couple of weeks? is it a couple of months? i think that's about it. but there really is a lot of concern, a lot of input. >> what are you hearing, if anything, from feinstein's camp? >> not much from their camp specifically, but from people that do know a little something about her situation, it's my understanding she's not well at all. that this is a very serious situation that she's dealing with. that she's had a very hard time recovering from shingles. and there are many people at her age that never really recover. from a bout with shingles like she's had. you know, look -- i don't understand how the staff and family

this is what durbin is asking for in his letter. he said the statement of principles raises more questions than it resolves, and we request that you respond to several key questions, and then it outlines a number of specific pieces of information that the committee is looking for to try and help explain what the penalties would be if a supreme court justice doesn't abide by this code of ethics, which many believe is a bit flimsy. this is the back and forth volleying, there isn't movement toward strengthening the ethics laws that supreme court justices are expected to abide by. >> senator dick blumenthal of connecticut sits on that committee. he says that clarence thomas's failure to report those gifts on his ethics form was potentially criminal, his words. could they put forward charges? what can they do if they believe it's potentially criminal? >> they don't have the power to put forward charges. they could conduct an investigation, much like the january 6th select committee did, and then offer up a criminal referral to the depart

why is that not the discussion we are having as opposed to durbin asking john roberts to come by and talk this out. there is no official power for chief justice roberts. he doesn't have the authority to remove or punish a supreme court justice. constitutionally, only impeachment can remove a supreme court justice. but roberts is in the position where he could promulgate ethics rules for his own court. if justices do not follow those ethics rules, he would at least be in the position to call them out, to use the power of the pulpit, use the power of the press to say this is wrong, please stop it. that's not an official power but i think it would matter to certain people if john roberts got up in front of a microphone and said the stuff we have learned in the stuff we've learned is unacceptable and we cannot have it here at the supreme court. that would mean something to somebody. roberts won't do that. host: justice thomas or just is gorsuch, is it still in your mind to the appearance of wrongdoing or was there actual wrongdoing? guest: figuring out the quid pro quo is the difficult p

dick durbin joins me now.or durbin, welcome back to "meet the press". >> good to be with you, chuck. >> i want to start with this issue of trying to create formal ethics standards for supreme court justices. you invited chief justice roberts. he appears to have responded by saying thank you. go ask the judicial reform folks for somebody. have you -- double he has turned your invitation down? some of us are debating whether that response is an official decline of your invite? >> i don't view that as an official response and we're waiting for the chief justice to answer my invitation. i think that's the first step that auto to be taken with the supreme court itself, with its leader, the chief justice. make it clear that they're going to bring reform when it comes to the ethics to the court and spell out what they're going to do. i asked the chief justice ten years ago the very question we're asking today, what is the court going to do to bring its standards of ethics up to the level of even other courts in this

durbin also said in that invitation that the status quo of the supreme court could essentially policeissues, is, quote, no longer tenable this is in response to those allegations against clarence thomas but this is also, if you loo at the bigger picture of where we are, in some ways i response to the backlash a majority of americans no believe, according to recent polls, the decision on dobbs t overturn the 50 years of precedent when it comes to abortion in the country coul be politically motivated of course, the court, includin chief justice robert vehemently deny that still, democrats have a job to push on in this. and i think they will hold thi hearing with or without robert on may 2nd take a listen to what durbin had to say today >> we're still waiting for the chief justice to answer my invitation i think that's the first ste that ought to be taken that th supreme court itself, with his later the chief justice, mak it clear that they're goingt reform what comes to ethics to the court. there's no question in my mind that the supreme court has exempted itself from standards applied

in some ways, what durbin is trying to do is that for a lon time john roberts was able t push the courto go t chrissy as they wanted so i think the - for doing that again i think he has lost control of the situation, what we wil say. >> quick last one to you david mentioned regulation and you -- just clarence thomas basically energized democrats and get fo them to >> run at least from limits and no more long -- philosopher kings >> >> th difficulty with term limits is that it is hard to do without constitutional amendment you could get to court - the way that it is going t happen is the same way tha filibuster reform happened several years ago. there is going to need to be a series of consecutive ou reaches. roe was overturned i think that was the first outrage. we see more outrages like than i think that is the point wher you start to see democrats lined up and say, a, this cour is out of control. it is taking away ou democracy. the court is a society in to many cases, in ways that congress doesn't agree withi the peoples representative don't re-with and the presiden doesn't agree with

but this legislation that senator durbin and others are proposing is called. if it were more accurately named, it seems to me might be the kermit gosnell tribute act. it would eliminate all restrictions at the state or federal level on access to abortion. the bill says it supersedes and applies to all federal and state laws, and that no law and conflict with this shall be enforced. it allows the access to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, including late term abortions. it doesn't speak to infanticide, but we can imagine what would come next. the hyde amendment, which you alluded to, which has provided, for many years now, since the 70s, that no tax payer funds should be used, could be used to fund abortion would be overruled. all parental consent and parental notification laws if your child became, your adolescent child became pregnant, you would have no right to know of their seeking access to abortion or certainly no right to consent. if someone wanted to get an abortion because they had eight female baby and they wanted a male child, this law w

but this legislation that senator durbin and others are proposing is called. if it were more accurately named, it seems to me might be the kermit gosnell tribute act. it would eliminate all restrictions at the state or federal level on access to abortion. the bill says it supersedes and applies to all federal and state laws, and that no law and conflict with this shall be enforced. it allows the access to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, including late term abortions. it doesn't speak to infanticide, but we can imagine what would come next. the hyde amendment, which you alluded to, which has provided, for many years now, since the 70s, that no tax payer funds should be used, could be used to fund abortion would be overruled. all parental consent and parental notification laws if your child became, your adolescent child became pregnant, you would have no right to know of their seeking access to abortion or certainly no right to consent. if someone wanted to get an abortion because they had eight female baby and they wanted a male child, this law w

what has the chief justice said, and what might senator durbin do in response?ef justice roberts coming before this committee to testify. for durbin he says that's not acceptable because he wants the chief justice of the supreme court to be part of this conversation around a code of ethics for the supreme court, especially in light of the reporting that has shown those reports that you're talking about, about clarence thomas and about neil gorsuch, both supreme court justices and potential ethics violations or at least things that look a little bit fishy publicly and from an optics perspective that's what's prompting multiple senators here, again, to renew calls for reforms on the ethics of the supreme court you're not just hearing it from chairman durbin on the judiciary side, though they are going to be doing a hearing on that, and they did want the chief justice to be part of that conversation, that hearing is going forward regardless, but we're also seeing senators start to coalesce around the idea of insisting, of mandating that the supreme court institute

senator durbin says he hasn't taken it a know, but the chief justice said he received the letter and forwarded to the folks that oversee the judicial code of conduct for every other federal judge. but that's the point here. if it is against the law, if a federal judge purposely leaves out something in their financial disclosure form, but it is not a crime if a supreme court justice does it. and the reason there is a distinction is that supreme court justices are considered constitutional officers, and with separation of powers. congress can make a law that ties the hands of financial disclosure and makes it a crime if you don't do it properly for district and circuit judges, but not for constitutional officers, which are the supreme court justices. similar to the executive branch. the president and vice president are exempt from any criminal violations for not doing financial disclosures, but a cabinet secretary would be subject, facing criminal charges. so the point is, and that's the reason why he wants the chief justice to appear before the committee and not just justice thomas, b

i hope that's what dick durbin has in mind.ings he can do you heard senator blumenthal say he thinks they should subpoena harlan crow and brian duffy. they could mark up any one of these bills, these ethics bills introduced dick durbin could have a hearing on the bill that was introduced today, bipartisan bill from lisa murkowski of alaska and angus king and introduce a new bill today. >> we will keep watching stay free between 4:00 and 6:00. >>> when we come back, the college board's announcement it is revising its ap course on african american studies it's what looks like a win for academic freedom and what looks like another defeat -- they are peeling up -- for florida governor ron doeesantis. there's reporting why they reversed the course. >>> the firing of tucker carlson isn't just a big topic in our country. it's big news in russia as well. he was a major amplifier of moscow's propaganda, especially when it came to the war in ukraine. we will take about that. we will be introduced to a russian dissident, a musician, who i

but dick durbin could investigate these things he has subpoena power.about this matter. that post report over the weekend, nicolle, that shell company that clarence thomas is still reporting income from, there's a lot of questions there. is that just a clerical error where he refused -- or mistakenly forgot to update the name of the llc on his disclosure forms or is that a shell company that other donors like harlan crow are using to funnel contributions to clarence thomas to influence him? he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt on that we should investigate that and dick durbin has that power >> let's have a really blunt conversation about those two men. they do have power they have a moral compass. they're good public servants brian fallon, let's start with merrick garland. if he won't impeach trump, who basically livestreams his crimes, what are the chances he opens an investigation into clarence thomas? >> yeah, you know, i would answer that question two ways, nicolle. one is there are appropriate grounds here for a federal investigation. the a

you heard from dick durbin on the issue of clearance thomas. on the senate side, the republican minority little mitch mcconnell asked about justice thomas at a news conference here is a portion of what he had to say. [video clip] >> do you have comments on the reports of the hospitality justice clarence thomas received and the judiciary committee, do they plan to hold a hearing on the ethical standards of the supreme court? sen. mcconnell: the supreme court and system as a whole separate part of our constitution. the democrats, it seems to me, spend a lot of time criticizing individual members of the court and going after the institution. for example, my counterpart went in front of the supreme court and called out two of the supreme court justices by name and threatened them with some kind of reprisal. i don't know what kind. if you ruled -- if they ruled the wrong way in a case he cared about. they were unconcerned with security issues in the homes of supreme court justices. i have confidence in the chief justices of the united states to deal

durbin: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the eveptses this week in nashville, tennessee are still verb -- events this week in nashville, tennessee, are still fresh in our minds. the fact that a shooter went on the campus of a christian school, a school for children, little children, this person who went on that campus blasted her way into the building and then took the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adults who were principal and teachers in the school. it is heartbreaking to think that we are reliving this scene over and over again where our children who are sent by their loving parents off to school, lunches in hand, never came home. never came home. we don't know all the details yet of the shooter or the weaponry which she owned at the time or used in the event. but we do know that there were weapons that were very familiar with. one of course is the ar-15, the military assault-style weapon that has sadly become so popular in america. this morning's "washington post" had an editorial which touched

supreme court senate judiciary committee chair dick durbin asked chief justice john roberts to testifycongress in early may about potential ethics reforms and rules for justices so far, the supreme court has declined to comment on that request. this follows reports by p propublica that justice clarence thomas didn't disclose gifts given to him he did not disclose the sale of properties from thomas' family to crow. with us now to talk more about this, nbc news capitol hill correspondent ali vitali and a former federal and state prosecutor in new york as well as a former clerk for the justice sandra day o'connor, now msnbc little analyst what is the leaikelihood that chief justice will appear before the senate judiciary committee >> unclear at this point, jose we know from talking to chairman durbin yesterday, at that point he had not yet heard back from the chief justice, though you would expect potentially the reaction from republicans to be what it has been in the last few days, many of them suggesting that this is a bad idea for the chief justice to come in and testify. here is senat

says roberts hasn't personally responded to this impatient yet, but durbin wa told the senate requeste judicial conference and forwarded to th judicial conference committe on financial disclosure. in a letter to chief justice roberts, senator durbin said quote, the courts decade-lon failure to address ethic problems has contributed to crisis of public confidence. he went on to say, quote, th status quo is no longe tenable. all of this comes after series of reports in propublic saying justice thomas failed t disclose luxury trips and even a real estate deal wit billionaire republican donor karlyn crow. my political panel is back wit me now, i hope you all can say propublica, because i clearl couldn't hello again to trump brendan buck and ameshia cross so, brendan, the chief justice isn't obligated to show up technically, right congress has limited oversight over the supreme court what do you think happens here what does this look like what do you think he does here >> it will be a fascinatin test look, i think john roberts cares a lot about the suprem court. the image of the court doin

so let's be clear, durbin is not calling for an impeachment here, right?e heard aoc there call for an impeachment. are these calls for impeachment kind of coming are from the more progressive arm of the democratic party what are you hearing overall >> yeah, i mean, look, an impeachment is a very far throw right now, obviously the house is controlled by republicans who are by and large, from the ones i've spoken to, taking his side on this and said he has followed -- this is what they say, not me -- he has followed the guidelines to the best of his knowledge and to the best of his understanding. let's break this down a little bit, yasmin. it's important to remember last year, last congress there was a push to tighten up the stock trading standards for members of congress. this was something that had been a hot button issue for many years now. they got close on a number of proposals. that bill died the house democratic leadership never brought it up. but alongside that stock trading proposal, there was a push to revamp the ethics guidelines for supreme court

for durbin, he would have preferred to see justice roberts come and speak to the committee. reasons why he won't be appearing. but durbin said while the letter that roberts sent might address some ethics concerns opaquely, it ignores the obvious, which is these recent revelations in recent days about justice gorsuch and justice thomas. >> the gorsuch situation was he sold property to one of the nation's largest law firms after getting that appointment >> reporter: that's exactly right. that has come in recent days, only adding more fuel to the fire here on capitol hill about the push for supreme court ethics reform. this, though, has been a conversation that's been going on for about the last year various senators on both sides of the aisle saying more needs to be done to govern the way ethics are conducted by the nation's highest court we're watching in bipartisan fashion some senators pushing ideas that would make the supreme court create its own code of conduct. that, of course, coming from senators angus king and lisa murkowski. but we're waiting to see where the full bo

. >> german durbin, ranking member graham and distinguish senators. last june the supreme court affirmed ordinary law-abiding americans have a right to bear guns in public for self-defense. instruct out new york's restrictive public carry framework which required applicants to prove they had a proper cause to exercise the constitutional rights outside the home. i'm burdened that was usually insurmountable. additionally bruin rejected lower court's use of a heightened scrutiny approach and approach and they, not heller. that in practice led many courts to never make a gun line they could not find perfectly constitutional. instead under bruin judges must assess where the challenge restriction is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation. some pundits and politicians immediately responded with hysterical fear mongering about potentially devastating consequences. even today the title of this hearing presupposes albeit with fewer theatrics bruin is a thing from which the public must be protected. this is simply not true. brui

democratic senator dick durbin, chair of the judiciary committee, has requested that justice robertsr quote another justice whom you designate testified before his committee next month. durban wants to press roberts on what durbin calls a steady stream of revelations of justice is not living up to ethics standards. the supreme court doesn't need to wait on congress to clean up its act. the justices could take action today if they wanted to, and if the court fails to act, congress must. republicans on durban's committee are arguing chief justice roberts should reject durban's request, senator john cornyn, saying quote it would be a circus. it's rare for a supreme court justice to testify before congress, but the court is under rare scrutiny at the moment. a recent report by the investigative news outlet propublica revealedhat justice clarence thomas and his wife, jenny, accepted luxury travel. and gifts from republican mega donor harlan crow. we found this has been going on for more than 20 years, and, you know, stretches back to the 19 nineties. in another report, propublica reported

in fact biden's senator durbin pointed to the presidents ability this morning.e was asked about an editorial in the new york times saying biden's refusal to engage with the public regular raises questions about his age and health to which senator durbin said. >> i think his schedule reflects an active person mentally and physically he was engaging with the american people on a regular basis. i don't know what more there asking for. >> i don't know either let's take a look at biden schedule, what is biden's big launch week look like. cnn showed us on friday. monday the follow-up, tuesday the big launch on the actual event there just releasing the video. on wednesday photo with the south koreans, thursday nothing, friday a donor meeting. that is it. basically only one thing in the entire week the meeting with the south koreans you can vaguely describe as governing and this is the launch week not exactly the greatest showcase of governing i've ever seen. what about the other part biden's projection of compete competence, spoil of a choice, so much competence to pro

democratic senator dick durbin, chair of the judiciary committee, has requested that justice roberts or another justice whom you designate testified before his committee next month. durban wants to press roberts on what durbin calls a steady stream of revelations of justice is not living up to ethics standards. supreme court doesn't need to wait on congress to clean up its act. the justices could take action today if they wanted to, and if the court fails to act, congress must. republicans on durban's committee are arguing chief justice roberts should reject durban's request, senator john cornyn, saying quote it would be a circus. it's rare for a supreme court justice to testify before congress, but the court is under rare scrutiny at the moment. a recent report by the investigative news outlet propublica revealed that justice clarence thomas and his wife, jenny, accepted luxury travel. and gifts from republican mega donor harlan crow. we found this has been going on for more than 20 years, and, you know, stretches back to the 19 nineties. in another report, propublica reported that

committee chairman dick durbin says the hearing will continue asplanned. >>> and mattel has now introduceddown syndrome. the doll was developed alongside the national down syndrome society and will be available this summer. >>> for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." >>> we want to begin with some breaking news. senior administration officials tell cbs news that the isis leader behind the 2021 suicide bombing at the kabul airport has been killed. 13 u.s. service members died in that terror attack, and 45 others were injured. at least 170 afghans were also killed. the white house did not release the terrorist's name but described the senior islamic state leader as the mastermind of the assault. it happened at an airport entrance known as abbey gate, where people were gathering, hoping to get out of afghanistan with the help of.s the deadly attack occurred during the chaotic withdrawal, and it is considered one of the presidency. cbs's david martin is going to start us off t

romping to a for no victory of her and her frankfurter reclaim 1st place in the buddhist begun . durbin got onto a bright start when jude billing and put the host ahead in the 19th minute with an elegant turn and finish. 2 goals from danya marlon and another from thats hummel's sealed a win which sees a title raise take a dramatic late turn. are only 5 matches to go and that's the latest on d, w. is this our stay tuned for? don't fail. i'm married ever seen thanks for watching. and we're interested in the global economy. our portfolio d w. business beetle and here's a closer look at the project. i would appreciate.

in response, durbin said his committee will act based on the report, though he didn't say how. right—wing causes. but in a statement, he said the hospitality was quote: . "no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dearfriends." he added that he and his wife "have never sought to influence justice thomas on any legal or political issue." and that "i would never invite anyone who i believe had any intention of doing that." "these are gatherings of friends." propublica says neither mr thomas, nor the supreme court responded their requests for comment live now to justin elliott, one of the propublica reporters on the story. he isjoining us for more on this. thank you for being with us on the bbc news. tell us how you came across this information on the story. yeah, well, we information on the story. yeah, well. we got — information on the story. yeah, well, we got interested - information on the story. yeah, well, we got interested in - information on the story. yeah, well, we got interested in the i well, we got interested in the troubles of supreme cour

feinstein just last friday, and she and i are very hopeful that she will return soon and us for senator durbin the judiciary committee are considering it. >> yes. [inaudible]. >> yes. >> when we about temporarily enjoy. >> this afternoon and yes. >> earlier today, if you don't raise the debt ceiling, 20 cause a heckuva mess there's word that the republicans are trying to feel the inflation reduction act and you find there could be compromise and you know the is. >> yes the compromise is very civil, this was amended successfully the last three times like under president trump, once when both houses for the republicans one is from one house and one is democrat and then undivided and that is a bipartisan solution with no hostagetaking and no brinkmanship and we passed a clean debt ceiling there's certainly time to discuss budget cuts and tax increases and there should be never be this and in the direction the speaker mccarthy is edited into default which would have damage to the market people and in terms of higher costs and prices will go up and so many different things and in terms of an econom

to police itself is once again ratcheting up following chief justice john roberts letter to d ick durbin issues at the court. >> what we received yesterday was not just the letter saying that i respectfully decline the invitation and what appeared to be a defense of the status quo. >> the various ethical questions and signed by all nine of them and self-enforced policy includes deciding for themselves to recuse from a case and durbin pushing for more and a new bipartisan bill requires them to leave a new bill and top republican doesn't sound like he's on board. >> there are desperate and never ending jobs to smear and defame justices appointed by the republican presidents going back years and decades. >> back in 2016, roberts acknowledges the court's obligation. >> we have to be above or apart from the criticism because we make unpopular decisions. >> questions about gifts and things he bought for a personal friend and this week focus on a real estate transaction between justice gorsuch and high profile lawyer heading a worldwide firm with thousands of attorneys around the globe, some of

buddhist lager where bind munich, coach thomas tuggle, saw his new side beat, his former club lucy durbin for 2. it was one of the biggest matches in german football for years with dorman going into the game in 1st place. but an awful goal keeping miss jake helped send byron back to the top. not since the champions league final of 2013 has a meeting between these 2 old rivals. being such a high stakes affair, torment were flying high before the fixture, but in 23 disastrous minutes were brought crushing down to earth plans opener on 13 minutes, was the result of the surreal. gold keeping blunder from dorman stuff. a cagle kobe, a long bull by dianne corner, from inside the bye, and hoff catastrophically misjudged by the keeper. it was a nightmare star for the swiss, and worse was on its way. a simple corner saw dorman suffer their next set back. when matthias denise had out was turned home by thomas miller and 5 minutes after that mula made it 3 when a luckless kobus buildable at his feet. after diving to stop leave we st. a's long range effort. 23 minutes into his career as by a coach, t

durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, i thank my colleague from minnesota, and i especially thank my colleague from maryland, -- the senator from maryland has been working on this issue for a long time and, ben, thank you for your leadership, and lisa murkowski, making it a bipartisan effort. i've got a good speech here, but i want to tell you a story. and the story goes back to my graduation from law school and the first job i ever had. i was working for the lieutenant governor for the state of illinois, paul simon. simon, as governor of illinois, presided over the illinois state senate. we met one another and he said he would offer me a job when i graduated law school and lo and behold hold, i was the part. pearmt -- parliamentarian of the state senate. simon thought there was a course in law school called parliamentary law. there wasn't. i had to learn it by reading the rule book over and over again. eventually i was good at it and i needed to be because there was a big debate in springfield, illinois, in th

. >> thank you chairman durbin, ranking member. >> microphone. next chairman durbin, ranking member graham, and distinguished members of this committee. on sunday i traveled to rolling four, mississippi to assure the residents there and others in mississippi devastated by the tornadoes that had just struck, that our department will support the recovery in the days, weeks, and months ahead. more than 20 people lost their lives and many more lost their homes and all they possess. yesterday, i spoke with sanders blackburn and hegarty and with governor lee and mayor cooper and offered our department support in response to the tragic -- to tragic and senseless murders of children and adults in st. paul christian school in nashville, tennessee. under blackburn, i note this is very personal to you and your connection to the school and of course the community. our thoughts, prayers, and support her with all who are suffering today. the threat landscape has evolved significantly since our department was created 20 years ago. homeland security, as we thoug

tuesday, chief justice roberts turned down a request from judiciary committee chair senator dick durbin to testify on at an ethics hearing next week, offering instead a signed statement by the justices reaffirming a commitment to foundational ethics principles. durbin deemed the statement inadequate and said -- "it is time for congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the supreme court, the only agency of our government without it." graduate student teachers at the university of michigan have been on strike for the past month demanding fair wages, sexual harassment protections, and new provisions for campus safety, among other issues. in response to the strike, university of michigan's president moved to withhold worker salaries and sent police officers to intimidate strikers, resulting in one graduate worker being attacked by an officer. this is amir fleischmann of the graduate employees organization. >> over the past three years, we have seen a gap between our salaries and cost-of-living triple. this is something that is being felt by workers

. >> thank you chairman durbin, ranking member graham and members of the committee. a board-certified obstetrician gynecologist practicing in texas for over 30 years. today i advocate for both of my patients, a woman and her unborn child. every successful abortion ends the life of one of my patients and often harms the other as well. in the coming legislative sessionpa senator graham will likely reintroduce federal minimum protections limiting elective abortion after 15 weeks gestation with exceptions for rape, incest into the life and health of the mother. conversely, senator baldwin reintroduced the women's healthe protection act, which ironically does nothing to protect the health of a pregnant woman from a dangerousnd abortion. the unborn human life is never acknowledged and abortion is presented as procedurally and morally equivalent to a vasectomy or colonoscopy. this proposed legislation insists there can be no comments and safeguards to protect a woman. the words choice, voluntary and consent or completely missing. opening the door to others who will benefit

>> well, the key word in senator durbin's remarks was "enforceable" code of ethics. >> yeah. >> everyuthority -- and i administered these ethics laws for the white house. every ethics authority needs to have some kind of independent review. they need to have transparency, and they need to have accountability if they go awry. i meant it can't be that one governmental body, one judicial body in all the land, that if a justice thomas takes hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed luxury travel gifts, jim, that he decides if he did wrong or not. >> yeah. >> and respectfully, some of those justices are my friends, but respectfully, even if all nine of them agree that justice thomas should make those calls or justice gorsuch was a law school classmate of mine -- no, that's not the american idea. we started out talking about separations of powers. you know another thing we have? checks and balances. well, where is the checks, and where are the balances if justice thomas is deciding his own ethics violations? >> seems out of balance. and we've seen the propublica reporting that this go

even if durbin wanted to, he wouldn't be able to do it.here are continuing conversations whether or not they're trying to impose an ethics code on the supreme court. as you know, they don't have one in the same way that federal judges do, it's now a point of contention and very partisan at this point. and see how it goes. aishah: let's pivot to your new book and we're so excited about it. and i think that relationships are one of god's greatest gifts. the they're hard, whether it's a marriage, your parent, your kids. and what about somebody who is watching in a tough spot in a relationship that they're in? >> yeah, so i feel like the world has a lot of advice on relationships and it's not always the best advice. i think that people are finding a lot of dead ends in what the world tells them pursuing love and romance and there's actually a lot of wisdom in the bible, the book is also about that, but friendships and the whole love your neighbor than yourself. i couldn't find any exceptions or outs out there. respecting and loving your fellow

roberts received the invitation from democratic committee chairman dick durbin to appear next week during a hearing on ethics standards at the supreme court.oferts provhe pan with a statement of ethics signed by all nine justices. the invitation came after news reports of a close relationship between justice clarence thomas and billionaire conservative donor harlan crow. >>> reaction continues to pour in after the death of harry belafonte. the legendary actor, singer, and civil rights activist died yesterday in new york at his home at the age of 96. the reverend al sharpton tweeted, "he was a history-changing activist. a culture-changing entertainer, and an unmatched intellectual." oprah winfrey posted this on instagram, "thank you for your music, your artistry, your activism, your fight for civil rights and justice." vlad duthiers looks back at belefonte's storied life and career. ♪ >> reporter: affectionately known as the king of calypso, harry belafonte sparked a craze for caribbean music to worldwide audiences. ♪aylight come mme ♪ his 1956 album featuring hits like the "banana boat so

, i think the fundamental problem with his hearing, as it has been diligently constructed by dick durbin ask the supreme court to apply its own ethical standards to itself. once you asked the supreme court to sue police itself, which is ridiculous. the supreme court cannot police itself. it's proven that it can't police itself. asking it super nicely, oh, john, would you please police yourself right now, is down. when lisa happen is not asking the supreme court just police itself, we need to have congressional legislation to police the supreme court. that's not apparently what this hearing is all about. that's why i don't think that the invitation was ever going to go anywhere. of course, roberts doesn't want to show up. it's the kind of thing we're like, if you ask a high school football player who just, you know, just got accepted to texas a&m. hey buddy, you want to tell me about your new car? what's he gonna say? no, i'm good, son. i do want to talk about my new car today. that's what roberts is right now. he doesn't want to talk about his life. he doesn't want to talk about his frie

senate judiciary committee chairman #### durbin vowing supreme court ethics reform must happen regardlessr courts participation in the process. the ethics standards hearings follow. justice clarence thomas is failure and financial transact boxes lucas tomlinson has the story a stern response from senator #### durbin after chief justice john roberts declined a request to testify at an ethical standards hearing next week. durban writing in a statement, quote, make no mistake. supreme court ethics reform must happen whether the court participates in the process or not, and roberts writing quote testimony before the senate judiciary committee by the chief justice of the united states is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence. accompanying roberts has letter to durban was a statement on ethics principles and practices signed by all nine justices describing the rules they follow regarding travel gives an outside income renewed cry for ethics reform on the nation's core comes after a close relationshi