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CARL AZUZ: Welcome to CNN 10.
I've got a little more of my voice back today,
and I'm happy to use it to bring you objective news.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Another step is being taken in the US Supreme
Court confirmation process.
Late last month, President Joe Biden
nominated Federal Judge Ketanji Brown
Jackson to fill an upcoming vacancy on the high court.
Associate Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire in the months
ahead.
What's taking place this week is Judge Jackson's hearing before
the Senate Judiciary Committee.
This is a panel of 22 senators, 11 Democrats and 11
Republicans, who will have the chance to question the nominee
this week and try to figure out how
she'd rule on some of the most controversial
issues in America.
The committee will then hold a vote
to decide whether the Senate should confirm or reject
the president's nominee.
It can also decide to issue no recommendation at all.
After that, it's up to a simple majority of 51
out of 100 senators to determine whether the nominee
gets a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
Democrats currently control the US Senate.
They and the two Independents who vote with them
hold 50 seats.
Republicans also hold 50 seats.
But if there's a tie with the 50 Republicans voting
one way and the 50 Democrats voting the other,
the vice president who's a Democrat
casts the tie breaking vote.
That's why even though the seats are split 50-50,
Democrats are said to be in control of the Senate.
US Supreme Court appointments are
extremely important to America's two main political parties.
Democrats generally want to appoint
liberal justices, people likely to share their views
on controversial issues.
Republicans generally want to appoint conservative justices,
people likely to share their views on controversial issues.
Judge Jackson has previously worked as a public defender,
something that none of the current Supreme Court justices
has done.
And while supporters have said that gives her empathy
as a judge, critics have suggested
Jackson may be soft on crime at a time
when many parts of America are dealing
with higher crime rates.
So Judge Jackson will likely be questioned along those lines
this week.
Democrats hope to hold a vote on her nomination
before April 11th when Congress goes on recess
over Easter and Passover.
KARIN CAIFA: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
is no stranger to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
She's gone through the Senate confirmation
process three times for previous roles on her resume.
But this time will be different.
The Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment,
and today's opening statements will likely
give an indication of where senators plan to go
with their questioning of her.
[applause]
When President Biden nominated the first Black woman
to the Supreme Court last month, Ketanji Brown Jackson gave
a nod to another trailblazer.
KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motley's
shoulders sharing not only her birthday but also her steadfast
and courageous commitment to equal justice.
KARIN CAIFA: Jackson referenced Constance
Baker Motley, the first Black woman
to serve as a federal judge.
Now, Jackson is poised to inspire
another generation of Black women in law
and shape the nation's highest court.
JOE BIDEN: For too long, our government,
our courts haven't looked like America.
KARIN CAIFA: But some areas of her legal career
could draw scrutiny.
MITCH MCCONNELL: It'll be a respectful deep dive
into her record, which I think is
entirely appropriate for a lifetime appointment.
KARIN CAIFA: As Jackson has made the rounds on Capitol Hill,
GOP senators have indicated her time as a public defender will
be one of those areas, including work representing detainees
at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay,
and her views on the role of race in the US
criminal justice system.
Democrats will emphasize Jackson's
credentials and character at a groundbreaking moment.
DICK DURBIN: This is her fourth time before the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
In three previous times, she came
through with flying colors.
CARL AZUZ: If you can envision the amount of land covered
by 70,000 football fields, you can
get a sense of how much ground in Texas
has been burned by wildfires over the past week.
In all, there have been 175 of these blazes,
though only a handful of them have caused most of the damage.
A complex of seven fires, for instance,
had burned over 54,000 acres by Monday.
That's according to NBC News.
And it was reportedly 30% contained,
which means roughly a third of it
had been blocked off and kept from spreading further.
Firefighters are making progress, though.
They say the big L-fire which was less than 100 miles
Southwest of Dallas Fort Worth, that was under control
yesterday morning and people in the nearby city of Lipan
were allowed to return to their homes.
At least two deaths, one of them in neighboring Oklahoma,
have been blamed on the fires.
Rain is in the forecast for some of the affected areas in Texas
which can help firefighters put out the blazes.
But so are high winds, which can cause the fires to spread.
Supplies are pouring into the European nation of Ukraine.
We're talking about everything from drugs and health care aid
to guns and military equipment.
On Monday, the European Union reached an agreement
to send an additional $551 million
worth to the war-torn country.
That's only a fraction of the billions the United States is
sending to help supply the Ukrainian military
and give relief to Ukrainian civilians.
The nation's president is urging his people
to continue their fight against the Russian military, which
invaded the country almost four weeks ago.
And even as Ukrainian cities increasingly
show the scars of war, their people
are getting support from distant parts of the planet.
- From all over the world, boxes of donations, food, medicine,
and clothing now piled high and being sorted by volunteers
in a disused warehouse at the Polish town of Zamosc, Chelm,
not far from the border of Ukraine.
KATARYNA GORZALA: At the beginning,
I was really surprised that so many people want to help.
But now, I think I am used to it, you know,
how wonderful people are.
- Donations that Ukraine desperately needs loaded
into vans to be taken to the border and then
into the war-torn country.
The land routes from Europe are now Ukraine's lifeline.
The main roads humanitarian organizations
use to bring in their much needed supplies.
And they are far from safe.
One Ukrainian driver who didn't want
to be identified sharing some of his drive
and telling us of several cliches.
PRANAV SHERRY: I think we've kind
of seen that civilian targets are
not off-limits in this crisis.
And so that's a constant issue in the back of the most
humanitarians minds is, how do we deal with the potential risk
of directed attack?
How do we ensure that our aid is seen as separate
from, as we know, all of the military aid
that's going into Ukraine?
- Last week, Russia delivered a chilling warning.
SERGEY LAVROV: Well, we clearly said that any cargo moving
into Ukrainian territory, which we would believe is carrying
weapons, would be a fair game.
- On Thursday, the United Nations
got its first convoy of aid into the heavily damaged town
of Sumy, calling it a breakthrough
for cities facing, quote, fatal shortages of food,
water, and medicine.
And as the violence worsens, the need for medical supplies
to help the wounded continues to grow.
As does the West's determination to help.
President Joe Biden signing $13.6 billion worth of aid
only last week.
ROBERT MARDINI: The bottleneck is not funds
because there has been a great deal
of solidarity and generosity.
So we now really need to step up the operational response
inside the country.
- In the knowledge that the longer the conflict lasts
and the more the aid is needed, the more dangerous
it will become to deliver.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
"A bird of bad moral character" was how Ben
Franklin described what animal?
Bald eagle, carrier pigeon, vulture, or turkey.
In a letter to his daughter, the founding father
criticized the eagle as being too lazy to fish for itself.
[music playing]
Of course, the eagle still became
America's national symbol.
And now, you get to name one.
Well, anyone who donates between $10 and $50 can submit a name.
Third graders in California where the eaglet was born
will choose the winner from 35 randomly selected names.
The chick's parents are called Jackie
and Shadow, if that gives you an idea of the kind of name
officials might be looking for.
And while I'm not personally going to enter,
I might suggest Chick Hicks, Jessica Beagle, Featheron,
Marty McFly, Master Holt the beaconator,
Hawkeye, Jeff Bezos, Carl Azuz, or anything other
than eagle make eagle face, although I could eagerly
see that one being a winger.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Today's shoutout takes us to Ludlow, Kentucky
where we are happy to see our viewers at Ludlow High School.
And thanks to everyone for taking 10 for CNN.