A new Supreme Court Justice
ZWF #9: Sunday, April 10, 2022
A historic moment in American history took place on Thursday afternoon. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the newest Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson becomes the first black woman to sit on the nation’s highest court.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a new Justice will sit on the Supreme Court and the final round of golf’s first major of the year takes place today. Plus, some of the top stories from the past week you’ll want to know about.
Also, you should go listen to Episode 58 of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! From two weeks ago, I made my Final Four picks and broke down the matchups, so you can check out if my picks were made correctly. Plus, a breakdown of the teams who have qualified for the 2022 World Cup, and a quick look at the debate over transgender athletes participating in sports. Download and listen to the Zander’s Facts Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
The goal of Zander’s Weekend Facts is to give you the facts about what has been going on in the world around us this past week. You’ll just have to read these facts, instead of listening to them on the Zander’s Facts Podcast.
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, April 10, 2022:
History for the Supreme Court
On Thursday, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next Justice to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson was confirmed by a 53-47 vote in the Senate. Three Republicans, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, joined all 50 Democrats in voting to confirm Jackson. Jackson will join the eight other justices on the bench in June or July when retiring Justice Stephen Breyer will step down.
Jackson will become the first black woman in U.S. history to sit on the nation’s highest court. A historical moment in a country that would have allowed Jackson to be enslaved prior to 1865 and would not allow her to vote prior to 1920 due to her race and gender, respectively. While Jackson is the first black woman Justice, she is the third black Justice and the sixth woman Justice.
Prior to her nomination to the Supreme Court, Jackson clerked with Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she is replacing on the court, from 1999 to 2000. In 2009, Jackson was nominated by President Obama to serve as the vice-chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, where she served until 2014. In 2013, she was confirmed by the Senate to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated for that post in 2012 by President Obama. In March 2021, Jackson was nominated by President Biden to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and was confirmed by the Senate in June 2021.
Jackson was nominated for the Supreme Court in February by President Biden and underwent confirmation hearings in March. During the confirmation hearings taking place in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jackson was pressed by Republicans on several issues, including her past sentencing on child pornography cases, critical race theory, abortion, and gender identity. Immediately after her confirmation vote took place in the Senate, several Republicans uncommonly rushed out of the chambers. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney was the only Republican Senator who was seen applauding after the vote.
The New Yorker - The Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearings May Be Only the Beginning
CNN - Two GOP senators chose to disrespect Ketanji Brown Jackson. And it's a bad look
The final round of The Masters
Golf’s first major tournament of the year commenced on Thursday. The 86th edition of the Masters Tournament is taking place this weekend, with the final round set to tee off later today. This year’s event marks a return to normal for the tournament, which was moved to November from its usual early April date in 2020 and was played with limited fans in 2021.
The tournament is the youngest of the four major tournaments in golf, first starting in 1934, but is rich with history and tradition. The Masters is the only major to be played on the same course each year, at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The field of the tournament is also the smallest out of the majors as the tournament is invitation-only. Each year, the winner of the tournament is given a green jacket, one of the most recognizable and prestigious awards in individual sports. Additionally, the champion of the previous year’s tournament is allowed to host the annual Champions Dinner, an exclusive dinner held on the Tuesday night before the tournament begins where only past winners and the club chairman are invited.
This year’s tournament has had several intriguing storylines to follow. Last year’s champion, Hideki Matsuyama, who became the first Japanese professional golfer to win a major tournament, has remained in contention through Sunday. Scottie Scheffler, the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking is ahead by three strokes at -9 entering the final round as he looks to win his first-ever major tournament. In the previous two Masters Tournaments Scheffler has competed in, his best finish is tied for 18th.
And then there is the story that has captivated the sport. Tiger Woods, who has not played at a professional golf event since the 2020 Masters in November 2020 was seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash in February 2021. Woods made his return to professional golf this weekend, with a comeback many did not see coming after last year’s wreck. While Woods has not had the best weekend, he did make the cut, seen by many as an extraordinary accomplishment. After posting a 78 on Saturday, his worst round ever at Augusta, Woods sits tied for 41st place at +7 heading into the final round of play.
The Masters is the first of four major golf tournaments to be played this year. The PGA Championship will take place from May 19-22 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The U.S. Open will take place from June 16-19 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Finally, the Open Championship will take place from July 14-17 in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Heading into today’s final round, many are seeing the tournament as Scottie Scheffler’s to lose, as he holds a three-stroke lead at -9. However, Cameron Smith is not far behind at -6, while Sungjae Im sits in third place at -4, and Shane Lowry and Charl Schwartzel each have a score of -2. Coverage of the final round of the 2022 Masters Tournament begins at 2:00 pm et later today on CBS.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the past week in the world of sports:
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was tragically killed in South Florida on Saturday morning. Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that Haskins was hit by a dump truck while crossing the westbound lanes of Interstate 595 around 7:00 am. It is currently unclear why Haskins was crossing the highway. Haskins had been in South Florida training with Steelers teammates. Haskins broke multiple single-season Big Ten records while playing at Ohio State in 2018, including passing yards with 4,831 and touchdown passes with 50. Haskins was drafted as the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers before the 2021 season. Haskins was only 24 years old.
One of the most momentous Premier League matches in years takes place later this morning. Manchester City and Liverpool face-off for the second time this Premier League season at 11:30 am et. Only one point separates the two squads at the top of the league table, with Manchester City having 73 points and Liverpool having 72 points. The match has the potential to serve as a league title decider in a league that rarely allows for such a match, due to the lack of a postseason. The two sides drew 2-2 in their first meeting of the season back in October. Manchester City has only lost once to Liverpool in their last 12 matches in Manchester. The match kicks off from Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England at 11:30 am et on USA Network and Telemundo.
The 2021-2022 NBA regular season comes to an end tonight. All 30 teams will play their final regular-season game, while for 10 of those teams, it will be the final game of their seasons. After today’s games, the top six teams in each conference will automatically advance to the postseason, which begins on Saturday. The 7-10 seeds in each conference will advance to the play-in tournament, with only two spots per conference in the playoffs available. For more analysis, check out this Wednesday’s edition of the Zander’s Facts podcast. NBA analyst Hill Billy will join the pod for a preview of the play-in and playoff matchups.
Major League Baseball opened its season on Thursday after the beginning of the season had been delayed by a labor dispute being owners and players. The defending champion Atlanta Braves look to defend their title this season while the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers are also seen as potential title favorites. Despite the delayed opening of the season, MLB still plans for all teams to play a full 162 game regular season.
Formula 1 recently announced that Las Vegas, Nevada will host a Grand Prix for the first time since 1982. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is set to take place on a Saturday in November beginning in 2023. It will become the third race to take place in the United States as the popularity of the sport has soared over the last few years. ESPN’s telecasts of Formula 1 races have jumped in ratings thanks to more coverage of the sport along with the success of the Netflix documentary, Drive to Survive. Austin, Texas, and Miami, Florida currently host the other two Formula 1 races in the United States.
In case you missed it, Kansas won the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship with a 72-69 win over North Carolina on Monday night. The Jayhawks overcame a 15-point deficit at halftime to secure head coach Bill Self’s second national championship. While #1 seed Kansas was seen as the favorite heading into the game, #8 seed North Carolina put up a tremendous first half performance. The Jayhawks ended up making a run in the second half to eventually win the game by three points. Since the turn of the century, 16 of the 22 national champions in men’s college basketball have been #1 seeds in the tournament they won.
Rapid-fire Facts
From a week of headlines, here are some of the top stories you should know about:
On Thursday, a federal appeals court reinstated a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers implemented by the Biden administration. The mandate was initially announced in September 2021 but was halted by a federal district court judge in January 2022. This new decision allows the mandate to resume, one in which 95% of all federal workers were in compliance when the mandate was halted. Despite clearance by the courts, the Biden administration is reportedly delaying further implementation of the mandate.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Ukraine on Saturday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The meeting discussed potential measures the U.K. along with NATO could take to further support Ukraine against Russian forces. Johnson’s visit comes as Russian forces have retreated from the capital region in Ukraine to focus on the eastern side of the country.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from his position on Saturday. Pakistan’s parliament held a no-confidence vote on Khan, which resulted in his removal from power. On Monday, the parliament will vote to appoint a new Prime Minister, who will serve until the next elections in October 2023. Khan was found of unconstitutionally dissolving parliament and blocking a no-confidence vote by the country’s Supreme Court.
A new media company emerged on Friday as Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T was confirmed. The new company, Warner Bros. Discover, will combine assets from Discovery and WarnerMedia to form an entertainment content giant. While Discovery CEO David Zaslav will head the new company, AT&T’s shareholders received 71% of WBD’s shares. Discovery features such brands as Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Discovery Plus, Food Network, HGTV, and more. WarnerMedia operates Cartoon Network, CNN, HBO, HBO Max, TBS, TNT, and other brands. The company is expected to combine streaming services Discovery Plus and HBO Max at a later date.
On Monday, Elon Musk revealed he bought a 9.2% stake in social media company Twitter. The investment in Twitter makes Musk the company’s largest shareholder. While it is not known Musk’s true intentions in acquiring a piece of the company, it is believed Musk will fight for free speech, and an edit button for tweets (which is now developed), among other actions.
Mexico is holding a presidential recall referendum today in a first for the country. Despite a recall being held, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is widely expected to remain in power. The recall is being held at the request of the President, who argues that recalls empower direct democracy and would allow for unsatisfactory leaders to be removed easily from power. Opponents of López Obrador are arguing for a boycott of the vote, saying the President is attempting to bolster support after several scandals have affected the Mexican leader.
Spain is expected to adopt a law this coming week in which harassment of women entering abortion clinics will be forbidden. The law was passed by the parliament and Senate in Spain and is expected to be enacted in the next few days. Any violation of the new law could see a sentence of up to one year in prison. The most recent abortion laws in the country came into effect in 2010, in which abortions are legal upon request in the first 14 weeks of the pregnancy and afterward only for serious risk to the health of the woman or fetal defects.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to Episode 58 wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Zander’s Facts’ Linktree page for more on anything Zander’s Facts related: Zander's Facts on Linktree
The Zander’s Facts podcast returns with an all-new episode this Wednesday! Zander’s Facts NBA analyst Hill Billy joins the pod for a preview of the NBA Playoffs. Listen in to get our predictions for who will win this year’s championship in professional basketball. Set your reminders for the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, coming out this Wednesday morning!
Do remember to check out the next edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts next Sunday! If you haven’t already, make sure to sign up with the link below to get Zander’s Weekend Facts in your inbox every Sunday so you don’t miss anything!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
