thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Spanish banks merge in sign of hard economic times ahead

LISBON , Portugal - Two of Spain ’ s biggest banks said Friday they were merging , pushed together by a need to weather tough economic times that likely will cost thousands of jobs .
The tie-up between CaixaBank and Bankia will create the largest lender in the country , with assets of more than 664 billion euros ( $ 787 billion ) .
The deal comes as Europe ’ s financial sector braces for lean times .
With banks ’ profitability in recent years already dented by low interest rates , which squeeze their profits on loans , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as uncertainty about the future due to the coronavirus pandemic and the United Kingdom ’ s departure from the European Union .
The deal requires approval by shareholders and regulators , and is expected to be concluded in the first quarter of next year .
The Spanish government had welcomed the possibility of a merger , saying the sector needs to become stronger through consolidation .
The banks expect to make annual savings of 770 million euros ( $ 912 million ) as they seek economies of scale and further development of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bring layoffs among the combined staff of 50,000 , though the statement made no mention of job cuts .
The banks ’ officials said it was too early to predict how many jobs might be lost .
Bankia president José Ignacio Goirigolzarri told a news conference in Valencia , in northeastern Spain , the merger offered staff the possibility of career growth within “ a culture of scrupulous meritocracy.
” “ This is a time of disruption , and it ’ s at these times that opportunities arise and a swift response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shares in Caixabank were down 1.5 % and Bankia dropped 4 % in morning trading , while the main stock index in Madrid was 1.5 % lower .
Caixabank will have 74.2 % of the new company , which will be called CaixaBank .
Bankia will hold 25.8 % .
CaixaBank S.A. is one of Spain ’ s big three banks , along with Santander and BBVA .
It has more than 35,700 staff and almost 4,600 offices .
With some 15.6 million customers , Caixabank has more than 44 % of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100 million euros ( $ 118 million ) a year .
It reported a profit of 1.7 billion euros ( $ 2 billion ) last year .
Bankia S.A. was created in 2010 by the merger of seven regional Spanish savings banks as a way of surviving the then financial crisis .
It is Spain ’ s fourth-largest bank by assets .
Following a 2012 government bailout , 61.8 % of Bankia ’ s shares are held by the state , with the rest traded on the stock market .
It has around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profit of 541 million euros ( $ 638.5 million ) .
Santander and BBVA have bigger international operations than CaixaBank .


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Couple wedded in Nebraska celebrates 85 years of marriage

OMAHA , Neb .
- Ralph and Dorothy Kohler are celebrating their wedding anniversary — for the 85th time .
@ @ @ @ @ just 17 and she was 16 when they tied the knot on Sept. 17 , @ @ @ @ @ County Courthouse in Tekamah , Nebraska .
“ Everybody said it would never last , @ @ @ @ @ credits longevity in life and marriage to healthy habits — neither of them has ever @ @ @ @ @ “ I cooked , and he liked to eat , ” Dorothy said .
Each @ @ @ @ @ ’ s passions .
Ralph took up ballroom dancing and Dorothy took up shooting clay @ @ @ @ @ took it up sells her short .
Dorothy became a trap shooting national champion in @ @ @ @ @ to California a few years ago to be close to a daughter , one of @ @ @ @

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thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Global shares mixed amid worries on coronavirus, economy

TOKYO - Global shares were mixed on Friday as investors weighed the uncertainties around global economic outlook and a new rise in coronavirus cases in many countries .
Wall Street appeared set for a subdued start to trading , with Dow futures sinking nearly 0.1 % and S & P 500 futures up nearly 0.2 % .
France ’ s CAC 40 fell 0.2 % to 5,031 , while Germany ’ s DAX gained 0.3 % to 13,246 .
Britain ’ s FTSE 100 lost 0.2 % to 6,040 after the government imposed new limits on public gatherings to counter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are assessing whether recent gains in the stock market are overdone considering a glum economic outlook .
Economists say that the speed of the recovery from the global recession will depend on containing the spread of the coronavirus , which is picking up again in many countries .
Central banks including the Federal Reserve , Bank of England and Bank of Japan this week refrained from providing more stimulus but are committed to keeping rates low until growth picks up sustainably .
U.S. jobs figures on Thursday highlighted how the economy is struggling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell only slightly last week to 860,000 , a historically high number that illustrates the broad economic damage still taking place nine months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the U.S .
Some investors appeared disappointed by a lack of new action by the Fed , whose easy monetary policy has helped drive stock markets .
“ Hesitations as to whether the U.S. economy can sustain the current pace of recovery amid the lack of additional fiscal policy support and the Fed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reeling once again , ” said Jingy Pan , senior market analyst at IG .
Japan ’ s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 % to finish at 23,360.30 .
South Korea ’ s Kospi added 0.3 % to 2,412.40 .
Australia ’ s S & P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 % to 5,864.50 .
Hong Kong ’ s Hang Seng rose 0.5 % to 24,455.41 , while the Shanghai Composite edged up 2.1 % to 3,338.09 .
In energy trading , benchmark U.S. crude gained 14 cents to $ 41.11 a barrel .
Brent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15 cents to $ 43.45 a barrel .
The dollar cost 104.57 Japanese yen , down from 104.63 yen Thursday .
The euro stood at $ 1.1850 , up from $ 1.1804 .


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Greece: Police move more homeless migrants to new tent camp

KARA TEPE , Greece - Police on the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday resumed relocating migrants rendered homeless when fires ravaged the country ’ s largest refugee camp amid a local COVID-19 outbreak .
Of the 5,000 people moved to a new army-built camp on the island , 135 so far have tested positive for the coronavirus , officials said .
More than 12,000 migrants and refugees fled the fires that the Greek government maintains some Afghan migrants deliberately set last week to protest a virus lockdown at the Moria camp .
Thousands have slept outdoors on a nearby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Greece is one of the southern European countries that receives the greatest share of refugees and migrants from Africa and the Mideast .
The European Union is preparing to issue proposals for a major overhaul of the 27-nation bloc ’ s migration policies .
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the proposals as well as EU aid for Lesbos migrants on a video call with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel , his office said .
Police began moving more people into the new camp early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their backs or pulled plastic vegetable crates loaded with their belongings .
Others used trash bins and strollers to transport their clothes and cooking equipment .
Government officials said they expected the operation to last through Sunday .


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court’s feminist icon, is dead at 87

Ruth Bader Ginsburg , the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women ’ s rights , who in her ninth decade became a much younger generation ’ s unlikely cultural icon , died at her home in Washington on Friday .
She was 87 .
The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer , the Supreme Court said .
By the time two small tumours were found in one of her lungs in December 2018 , during a followup scan for broken ribs suffered in a recent fall , Justice Ginsburg had beaten @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cancer 10 years later .
She received a coronary stent to clear a blocked artery in 2014 .
Barely five feet tall and weighing 100 pounds , Justice Ginsburg drew comments for years on her fragile appearance .
But she was tough , working out regularly with a trainer , who published a book about his famous client ’ s challenging exercise regime .
As Justice Ginsburg passed her 80th birthday and 20th anniversary on the Supreme Court bench during President Barack Obama ’ s second term , she shrugged off a chorus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to give a Democratic president the chance to name her replacement .
She planned to stay “ as long as I can do the job full steam , ” she would say , sometimes adding , “ There will be a president after this one , and I ’ m hopeful that that president will be a fine president.
” When Justice Sandra Day O ’ Connor retired in January 2006 , Justice Ginsburg was for a time the only woman on the Supreme Court — hardly a testament to the revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had helped bring about in her career as a litigator and strategist .
Her years as the solitary female justice were “ the worst times , ” she recalled in a 2014 interview .
“ The image to the public entering the courtroom was eight men , of a certain size , and then this little woman sitting to the side .
That was not a good image for the public to see.
” Eventually she was joined by two other women , both named by Mr. Obama : Sonia Sotomayor in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After the 2010 retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens , whom Justice Kagan succeeded , Justice Ginsburg became the senior member and de facto leader of a four-justice liberal bloc , consisting of the three female justices and Justice Stephen G. Breyer .
Unless they could attract a fifth vote , which Justice Anthony M. Kennedy provided on increasingly rare occasions before his retirement in 2018 , the four were often in dissent on the ideologically polarized court .
Justice Ginsburg ’ s pointed and powerful dissenting opinions , usually speaking for all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court turned further to the right .
A law student , Shana Knizhnik , anointed her the Notorious R.B.G.
, a play on the name of the Notorious B.I.G.
, a famous rapper who was Brooklyn-born , like the justice .
Soon the name , and Justice Ginsburg ’ s image — her expression serene yet severe , a frilly lace collar adorning her black judicial robe , her eyes framed by oversize glasses and a gold crown perched at a rakish angle on her head — became an internet sensation .
Young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arms ; daughters were dressed in R.B.G .
costumes for Halloween .
“ You Can ’ t Spell Truth Without Ruth ” appeared on bumper stickers and T-shirts .
A biography , “ Notorious RBG : The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg , ” by Irin Carmon and Ms. Knizhnik , reached the bestseller list the day after its publication in 2015 , and the next year Simon & Schuster brought out a Ginsburg biography for children with the title “ I Dissent.
” A documentary film of her life was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summer of 2018 , and a Hollywood biopic centred on her first sex discrimination court case opened on Christmas Day that year .
The adulation accelerated after the election of Donald J. Trump , whom Justice Ginsburg had had the indiscretion to call “ a faker ” in an interview during the 2016 presidential campaign .
( She later said her comment had been “ ill advised.
” ) Scholars of the culture searched for an explanation for the phenomenon .
Dahlia Lithwick , writing in The Atlantic in early 2019 , offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than ever , women starved for models of female influence , authenticity , dignity , and voice hold up an octogenarian justice as the embodiment of hope for an empowered future.
” Her late-life rock stardom could not remotely have been predicted in June 1993 , when President Bill Clinton nominated the soft-spoken , 60-year-old judge , who prized collegiality and whose friendship with conservative colleagues on the federal appeals court where she had served for 13 years left some feminist leaders fretting privately that the president was making a mistake .
Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R. White , an appointee of President John F. Kennedy , who was retiring after 31 years .
Her Senate confirmation seven weeks later , by a vote of 96 to 3 , ended a drought in Democratic appointments to the Supreme Court that extended back to President Lyndon B. Johnson ’ s nomination of Thurgood Marshall 26 years earlier .
There was something fitting about that sequence , because Ruth Ginsburg was occasionally described as the Thurgood Marshall of the women ’ s rights movement by those who remembered her days as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union during the 1970s .
The analogy was based on her sense of strategy and careful selection of cases as she persuaded the all-male Supreme Court , one case at a time , to start recognizing the constitutional barrier against discrimination on the basis of sex .
The young Thurgood Marshall had done much the same as the civil rights movement ’ s chief legal strategist in building the case against racial segregation .
When Ruth Ginsburg arrived to take her junior justice ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Supreme Court ’ s bench on the first Monday of October 1993 , the setting was familiar even if the view was different .
She had previously stood on the other side of that bench , arguing cases that were to become legal landmarks .
She presented six cases to the court from 1973 to 1978 , winning five .
Her goal — to persuade the Supreme Court that the 14th Amendment ’ s guarantee of equal protection applied not only to racial discrimination but to sex discrimination as well — was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under Chief Justice Earl Warren , famous for its liberal rulings across a variety of constitutional fronts , had never recognized sex discrimination as a matter of constitutional concern .
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Warren E. Burger , who was appointed by President Richard Nixon in 1969 , figured to be no more hospitable .
Ms. Ginsburg started from the premise that she needed to provide some basic education for an audience that was not so much hostile as uncomprehending .
She took aim at laws that were ostensibly intended to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notions of male and female abilities and needs .
“ The justices did not comprehend the differential treatment of men and women in jury selection and other legal contexts as in any sense burdensome to women , ” she said in a 1988 speech .
She added : “ From a justice ’ s own situation in life and attendant perspective , his immediate reaction to a gender discrimination challenge would likely be : But I treat my wife and daughters so well , with such indulgence .
To turn in a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gain an understanding that legislation apparently designed to benefit or protect women could have the opposite effect.
” So there was a successful challenge to an Idaho law that gave men preference over women to be chosen to administer estates , a practice the state had defended as being based on men ’ s greater familiarity with the world of business ( Reed v. Reed , 1971 ) .
There was a case challenging a military regulation that denied husbands of women in the military some of the benefits to which wives of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assumption that a man was not likely to be the dependent spouse ( Frontiero v. Richardson , 1973 ) .
Another case challenged a Social Security provision that assumed wives were secondary breadwinners whose incomes were unimportant to the family and therefore deprived widowers of survivor benefits ( Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld , 1975 ) .
In that case , as in several others , the plaintiff was a man .
Stephen Wiesenfeld ’ s wife , Paula , had died in childbirth , and he sought the benefits so he could stay home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After the Supreme Court victory , Ms. Ginsburg stayed in touch with the father and child , and in 1998 she travelled to Florida to help officiate at Jason ’ s wedding .
In 2014 , in a ceremony at the Supreme Court 42 years after Paula Wiesenfeld ’ s death , Justice Ginsburg presided over her one-time client ’ s second marriage .
In a 1976 case , Craig v. Boren , which Ms. Ginsburg worked on but did not personally argue , the Supreme Court for the first time formally adopted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sex were subject to “ heightened scrutiny ” from the courts .
In that case , the court struck down an Oklahoma law that permitted girls to buy beer at age 18 but required boys to wait until they were 21 .
The precise question the court addressed in Craig v. Boren may not have been profound , but the constitutional consequences of the answer certainly were .
Although the court never adopted the rule of “ strict scrutiny ” that Ms. Ginsburg argued for in her early cases , instead reserving that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discrimination , the initially reluctant justices had clearly embraced the conclusion that the 14th Amendment ’ s guarantee of equal protection included equality of the sexes .
It was a moment of personal triumph , therefore , when nearly 20 years after making her last argument before the Supreme Court , Justice Ginsburg announced the court ’ s majority opinion in a 1996 discrimination case involving the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington .
By a lopsided 7 to 1 , the court had found that the all-male admissions policy of a state-supported military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that its “ adversative ” method of educating young men to be citizen-soldiers through a physically challenging curriculum was unsuited for young women .
Under legal pressure , the state had set up an alternative military college for women — less rigorous and notably lacking the powerful alumni network that conferred substantial advantages on V.M.I .
graduates .
That was not good enough , Justice Ginsburg wrote for the majority in United States v. Virginia .
She explained that the state had failed to provide the “ exceedingly persuasive justification ” that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differently .
“ Women seeking and fit for a V.M.I.-quality education can not be offered anything less under the state ’ s obligation to afford them genuinely equal protection , ” she wrote , adding , “ Generalizations about ‘ the way women are , ’ estimates of what is appropriate for most women , no longer justify denying opportunity to women whose talent and capacity place them outside the average description.
” In this majority opinion , the most important of her tenure , Justice Ginsburg took pains to make clear that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differences between the sexes .
“ Inherent differences between men and women , we have come to appreciate , remain cause for celebration , ” she wrote , “ but not for denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual ’ s opportunity.
” Any differential treatment , she emphasized , must not “ create or perpetuate the legal , social , and economic inferiority of women.
” In August 2018 , Justice Ginsburg visited the Virginia Military Institute for the first time and addressed the corps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women among the student body of 1,700 .
She knew that her decision “ would make V.M.I .
a better place , ” she told cadets .
On June 26 , 1996 , as Justice Ginsburg delivered her opinion in the V.M.I .
case , there was a subtext , not necessarily apparent to the courtroom audience .
She described the moment in a speech the following year to the Women ’ s Bar Association in Washington : how she had glanced across the bench to her colleague , Justice O ’ Connor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal fabric that supported the V.M.I .
decision .
Justice O ’ Connor , early in her tenure as the first woman on the Supreme Court , had written a majority opinion that ordered an all-female state nursing school in Mississippi to admit men , warning against using “ archaic and stereotypic notions ” about the proper roles for men and women .
Justice O ’ Connor ’ s opinion in that 1982 case relied on the Supreme Court precedents that Ruth Ginsburg ’ s cases had set .
And Justice Ginsburg ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in turn cited Justice O ’ Connor ’ s 1982 opinion , Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan .
The constitutional circle was closed .
The two justices , three years apart in age , with Justice O ’ Connor the elder , were among the first generation of women to make their way into the highest levels of a legal profession that was hardly waiting to welcome them .
Justice O ’ Connor was offered nothing but secretarial jobs after graduating among the top students in her class at Stanford University ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of nine women in her Harvard Law School class of 552 , was a law review editor and outstanding student who was recommended by one of her professors for a position as a law clerk to Justice Felix Frankfurter .
The professor , Albert Sacks , who later became dean of the law school , wrote to Justice Frankfurter , a former Harvard law professor , that “ the lady has extraordinary self-possession ” and that “ her qualities of mind and person would make her most attractive to you as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had never hired a woman , declined to invite the star student for an interview .
Their common life experience gave the two women a bond that appeared to grow in intensity despite their opposing views on such important areas of the court ’ s docket as affirmative action and federalism , and despite their very different origins : one the daughter of Southwestern ranchers and the other the Brooklyn-born daughter of Russian Jews .
Ruth ’ s father , Nathan Bader , immigrated to New York with his family when he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Celia Amster , was born four months after her family ’ s own arrival .
Ruth , who was named Joan Ruth at birth and whose childhood nickname was Kiki , was born on March 15 , 1933 .
She grew up in Brooklyn ’ s Flatbush neighbourhood essentially as an only child ; an older sister died of meningitis at the age of 6 when Ruth was 14 months old .
The family owned small retail stores , including a fur store and a hat shop .
Money was never plentiful .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who graduated from high school at 15 but had not been able to go to college ; her family sent her to work in Manhattan ’ s garment district so her brother could attend Cornell University .
She had high ambitions for her daughter but did not live to see them fulfilled .
She was found to have cervical cancer when Ruth was a freshman at James Madison High School , and she died at the age of 47 in 1950 , on the day before her daughter ’ s high school graduation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was unable to attend , her teachers brought her many medals and awards to the house .
On June 14 , 1993 , when Judge Ginsburg stood with Mr. Clinton in the Rose Garden for the announcement of her Supreme Court nomination , she brought tears to the president ’ s eyes with a tribute to her mother .
“ I pray that I may be all that she would have been had she lived in an age when women could aspire and achieve and daughters are cherished as much as sons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cornell on a scholarship .
During her freshman year , she met a sophomore , Martin Ginsburg .
For the 17-year-old Ruth , the attraction was immediate .
“ He was the only boy I ever met who cared that I had a brain , ” she said frequently in later years .
By her junior year , they were engaged , and they married after her graduation in 1954 .
Theirs was a lifelong romantic and intellectual partnership .
In outward respects , they were opposites .
While she was reserved , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pauses between sentences that left some conversation partners unnerved , he was an ebullient raconteur , quick with a joke of which he himself was often the butt .
The depth of their bond , and their mutual commitment to treating their family and careers as a shared enterprise , was nonetheless apparent to all who knew them as a couple .
Mr. Ginsburg , a highly successful tax lawyer , would become his wife ’ s biggest booster , happily giving up his lucrative New York law practice to move with her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jimmy Carter named her to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit .
Thirteen years later , he lobbied vigorously behind the scenes for her appointment to the Supreme Court .
Settling in Washington , Mr. Ginsburg taught tax law at Georgetown University ’ s law school .
He occupied a chair that a longtime client , Ross Perot , had endowed for him in gratitude for years of tax advice that had saved the Texas entrepreneur untold millions of dollars .
He was also a gourmet cook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , later , baked delicacies for his wife to share with colleagues at the court .
( Ruth Ginsburg was , by her own description , a terrible cook whose children forbade her from entering the kitchen . )
The Ginsburgs lived in a duplex apartment at the Watergate , next to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , where they frequently attended the opera and ballet .
Their 56-year marriage ended with his death from cancer in 2010 at the age of 78 .
In his final days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a yellow pad , for his wife to find by his bedside .
“ My dearest Ruth , ” it began .
“ You are the only person I have loved in my life , setting aside , a bit , parents and kids and their kids , and I have admired and loved you almost since the day we first met at Cornell.
” He added , “ What a treat it has been to watch you progress to the very top of the legal world !
!
” Their two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intellectual property law at Columbia Law School , and James , a producer of classical music recordings in Chicago , survive , along with four grandchildren .
Following their marriage , the couple settled in Lawton , Okla. , where Mr. Ginsburg , having served in the R.O.T.C .
during college , was due to spend two years as an Army officer at nearby Fort Sill .
Ms. Ginsburg applied for a government job at the local Social Security office .
She was offered a position as a claims examiner at the Civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she informed the personnel office that she was pregnant — with Jane , her first child — the offer was withdrawn .
A pregnant woman could not travel for the necessary training , she was told .
She accepted a clerk-typist job at the lowly rank of GS-2 .
As one of her biographers , Jane Sherron De Hart , wrote in “ Ruth Bader Ginsburg : A Life ” ( 2018 ) , the young wife , soon-to-be mother and future feminist icon “ rationalized the incident as ‘ just the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years before Ruth Ginsburg made it her life ’ s work to challenge the web of assumptions and the assignment of roles that limited women ’ s opportunities .
Early in their marriage , with both enrolled at Harvard Law School ( Mr. Ginsburg had completed his first year before entering the Army ) , the couple faced a daunting crisis .
During his third year of law school , Mr. Ginsburg learned he had an aggressive testicular cancer , which was treated with radiation .
The prognosis was poor , and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Other students took notes for him , and Ms. Ginsburg , while attending class herself and caring for their young daughter , typed up the notes and helped him study .
He recovered and graduated on time .
Harvard Law School was a challenge for women even in the best of times .
There were no women on the faculty .
During Ms. Ginsburg ’ s first year , the dean , Erwin Griswold , invited the nine women in the class to dinner and interrogated each one , asking why she felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking the place of a man .
Ruth stammered her answer : that because her husband was going to be a lawyer , she wanted to be able to understand his work .
When her husband received a job offer in New York , Ms. Ginsburg asked Harvard officials if she could spend her final year at Columbia and still receive a Harvard degree .
The request was denied , so she transferred and received a Columbia degree , tying for first place in the class .
In 1972 , she became the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Columbia law faculty .
The experience evidently continued to rankle , and some years later , after Harvard announced that it was changing its policy and would now award a Harvard degree to students in similar predicaments , Mr. Ginsburg wrote the Harvard Law Record an ironic letter recalling that the incident had left his wife ’ s “ career blighted at an early age.
” “ I asked Ruth if she planned to trade in her Columbia degree for a Harvard degree , ” Mr. Ginsburg wrote .
“ She just smiled.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2011 at a ceremony during which Plácido Domingo , another honorary degree recipient that year , addressed her in song .
Justice Ginsburg , an opera devotee , called it one of the greatest experiences of her life .
After her graduation from Columbia , Ms. Ginsburg received no job offers from New York law firms .
She spent two years clerking for a federal district judge , Edmund L. Palmieri , who agreed to hire her only after one of her mentors , Prof. Gerald Gunther , threatened never to send @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not .
After the clerkship , Ms. Ginsburg returned to Columbia to work on a comparative law project on civil procedure .
The project required her to learn Swedish and to spend time in Sweden .
The experience proved formative .
Feminism was flourishing in Sweden , and there was nothing unusual about women combining work and family obligations .
Child care was readily available .
An article by the editor of a feminist magazine caught Ms. Ginsburg ’ s attention .
“ We ought to stop harping on the concept of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the editor , Eva Moberg , wrote .
“ Both men and women have one principal role , that of being people.
” Between 1963 and 1970 , Ms. Ginsburg produced a treatise on Swedish civil law , which remains a leading work in the field , along with a dozen other articles and books .
But more than this impressive academic output , the most important product of her Swedish interval may have been the effect on the young lawyer of directly observing a different way to organize society .
After more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York University , would not hire her , she took a job teaching at Rutgers Law School , where she was the second woman on the faculty .
In fact , fewer than two dozen women were teaching at all American law schools combined .
Her second child , James , nine years younger than his sister , was born during this period .
In addition to teaching , she began volunteering to handle discrimination cases for the New Jersey affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union , which brought her such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had lost their jobs when they became pregnant .
A childhood friend from summer camp , Melvin Wulf , who had become national legal director for the A.C.L.U.
, heard about her work and brought more cases her way .
Among them was the Idaho case on estate administrators that eventually became her first Supreme Court victory , Reed v. Reed .
The 88-page brief she filed in that case , an inventory of all the ways in which law served to reinforce society ’ s oppression of women , became famous in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” on which feminist lawyers drew for many years .
In 1972 , the A.C.L.U .
created a Women ’ s Rights Project and hired Ms. Ginsburg as its first director .
At the same time , she left Rutgers and began teaching at Columbia .
It was under the A.C.L.U .
project ’ s auspices that she carried out her Supreme Court litigation strategy to persuade the justices that official discrimination on the basis of sex was a harm of constitutional dimension .
The implications of this strategy were not immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closely as it unfolded .
Clearly , Ms. Ginsburg was doing something different in selecting cases in which the victims of disparate government treatment were men .
On one level , it was obvious that she was trying to feed the justices a diet of cases they could easily digest : Why should men be treated less generously than women simply because they were men ?
What the government owed to one sex , it owed to the other , full stop .
But for Ms. Ginsburg , something deeper and more radical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to free both sexes , men as well as women , from the roles that society had assigned them and to harness the Constitution to break down the structures by which the state maintained and enforced those separate spheres .
That was why a widowed father seeking social welfare to enable him to be his baby ’ s caregiver was the perfect plaintiff : not only because his claim to the benefits that would go automatically to a widow might strike sympathetic justices as reasonable , but because his very goal could open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that child care was not a sex-determined role to be performed only by women .
Wendy W. Williams , an emeritus professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and Justice Ginsburg ’ s authorized biographer , wrote in a 2013 article that Ms. Ginsburg ’ s litigation campaign succeeded in “ targeting , laserlike , the complex and pervasive legal framework that treated women as yin and men as yang , and either rewarded them for their compliance with sex-appropriate role behaviour or penalized them for deviation from it.
” Professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ male and female were viewed in law and beyond as a natural duality — polar opposites interconnected and interdependent by nature or divine design — and she understood that you couldn ’ t untie one half of that knot.
” Male plaintiffs were thus essential to the project of dismantling what Justice Ginsburg referred to as “ sex-role pigeonholing.
” Sex discrimination hurt both men and women , and both stood to be liberated by Ruth Ginsburg ’ s vision of sex equality .
Prof. Neil S. Siegel of Duke Law School described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizenship stature.
” A former Ginsburg law clerk , he described in a 2009 article a moment when “ an adoring female visitor to chambers once remarked to Justice Ginsburg that her ‘ feminist ’ girlfriends just loved the justice for what she had done for American women.
” According to Professor Siegel , “ the justice replied to the effect that she hoped the visitor ’ s male friends loved her as well.
” Many who had followed Ms. Ginsburg ’ s litigating career expressed surprise as she began compiling a moderate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit , which she joined in 1980 .
She sometimes appeared more comfortable with the court ’ s conservative members , who included such judges as Antonin Scalia and Robert H. Bork , than with liberal colleagues including Judge Patricia M. Wald , another appointee of Mr. Carter ’ s who was the first woman to serve on that important court .
In fact , Judge Ginsburg ’ s anomalous role as what might be called a judicial-restraint liberal sprang from deep convictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judicial branch should work in partnership with the other branches , rather than seek to impose a last word that left no room for further discussion .
This was the basis for her criticism of Roe v. Wade , the Supreme Court ’ s 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion .
In a speech at New York University Law School in 1993 , several months before her nomination to the Supreme Court , she criticized the ruling as having “ halted a political process that was moving in a reform direction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divisiveness and deferred stable settlement of the issue.
” While leaving no doubt about her own support for abortion rights , she said the court would have done better to issue a narrow rather than sweeping ruling , one that left states with some ability to regulate abortions without prohibiting them .
“ The framers of the Constitution allowed to rest in the court ’ s hands large authority to rule on the Constitution ’ s meaning ” but “ armed the court with no swords to carry out its pronouncements , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to be wary of “ taking giant strides and thereby risking a backlash too forceful to contain.
” In contrast to Judge Ginsburg ’ s underlying assumption , there was in fact ample evidence that what had once appeared a steady legislative march toward revision or repeal of the old criminal abortion laws had stalled by 1973 in the face of powerful lobbying by the Roman Catholic Church .
And there was also evidence that the backlash against the decision was not a spontaneous response — in fact , polling in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and growing public approval — but rather was elicited by Republican strategists hunting for Catholic voters , who had traditionally been Democrats .
In later years , Justice Ginsburg acknowledged questions about the historical accuracy of her narrative , but she maintained her criticism of the decision .
The New York University speech alarmed the leaders of some women ’ s groups and abortion rights organizations , some of whom lobbied quietly against her when Justice White announced in March 1993 that he would soon be leaving the court .
Mr. Clinton , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , conducted an almost painfully public search among judges and political figures , with contenders including Mario Cuomo , then the governor of New York , who turned him down , and Bruce Babbitt , the incumbent secretary of the interior .
As the search wound down , it appeared the president had chosen Stephen G. Breyer , chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston , who had come to Washington at the president ’ s invitation for an interview .
Judge Breyer was in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent bicycle accident , and the interview did not go well .
Martin Ginsburg , meanwhile , had been urging New York ’ s senior senator , Daniel Patrick Moynihan , to press his wife ’ s case with the president .
Mr. Clinton was at first reluctant , grumbling to Mr. Moynihan that “ the women are against her.
” But after a 90-minute private meeting with Judge Ginsburg on Sunday , June 13 , the president made up his mind .
He called her at 11:33 that night to tell her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I believe that in the years ahead she will be able to be a force for consensus-building on the Supreme Court , just as she has been on the Court of Appeals , ” Mr. Clinton said at the announcement ceremony the next day .
The appointment proved highly popular with the public , and she was confirmed on Aug. 3 , 1993 , over the dissenting votes of three of the Senate ’ s most conservative Republicans : Jesse Helms of North Carolina , Don Nickles of Oklahoma and Robert C. Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Judiciary Committee , Judge Ginsburg said her approach to judging was “ neither ‘ liberal ’ nor ‘ conservative.
’ ” She did , however , make clear that her support for the right to abortion , despite her criticism of Roe v. Wade , was unequivocal .
In answer to a question from Sen. Hank Brown , a Colorado Republican , she said : “ This is something central to a woman ’ s life , to her dignity .
It ’ s a decision that she must make for herself .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ her , she ’ s being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.
” Fourteen years later , on a Supreme Court that had turned notably more conservative with the departures of Justices Marshall and O ’ Connor and their replacement by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. , Justice Ginsburg expressed herself on the subject of abortion in one of her most stinging and widely noticed dissenting opinions .
In Gonzales v. Carhart , the court by a 5-to-4 vote upheld a federal law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infrequently to terminate pregnancies during the second trimester .
In his majority opinion , Justice Kennedy said the law was justified in part to protect women from the regret they might feel after undergoing the procedure .
That rationale , Justice Ginsburg objected in dissent , relied on “ an anti-abortion shibboleth ” — the notion that women regret their abortions — for which the court “ concededly has no reliable evidence.
” The majority ’ s “ way of thinking , ” she wrote , “ reflects ancient notions about women ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Constitution — ideas that have long since been discredited.
” It was during that 2006-7 Supreme Court term that Justice Ginsburg ’ s powerful dissenting voice emerged .
Another decision that term provoked another strong dissent .
The court voted 5 to 4 in the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to reject a woman ’ s pay discrimination claim on the grounds that the woman , Lilly Ledbetter , had not filed her complaint within the statutory 180-day deadline .
Justice Alito ’ s majority opinion held that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ms. Ledbetter ’ s first paycheck reflecting the management ’ s decision to pay her less than it paid the men doing the same job .
Justice Ginsburg objected that , properly interpreted , the 180-period began only when an employee actually learned about the discrimination .
Congress should make this clear , she wrote , declaring : “ The ball is in Congress ’ s court.
” The impact of her unusually direct call to Congress was magnified because she took the unusual step of announcing her dissent from the bench .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ technical dispute over a statute of limitations became a very public call to arms .
It worked .
Congress voted to overturn what Justice Ginsburg called the court ’ s “ parsimonious reading ” of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .
On Jan. 29 , 2009 , the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill that Mr. Obama signed into law .
“ Justice Ginsburg was courting the people , ” Prof. Lani Guinier of Harvard Law School wrote in a 2013 essay .
Professor Guinier called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of judicial speech ” that “ could be easily understood by those outside the courtroom.
” Justice Ginsburg took care with her opinions , those for the majority as well as those in dissent .
Her opinions were tightly composed , with straightforward declarative sentences and a minimum of jargon .
She sometimes said she was inspired to pay attention to writing by studying literature under Vladimir Nabokov at Cornell .
Still , it was her dissents , particularly those she announced from the bench , that received the most attention .
Playing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to switching the decorative collars she wore with her judicial robe on days when she would be announcing a dissent .
She even wore her “ dissenting collar , ” which one observer described as “ resembling a piece of medieval armour , ” the day after Mr. Trump ’ s election .
One of her best-known dissents came in 2013 in Shelby County v. Holder , in which the 5-to-4 majority eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by invalidating the provision that required Southern jurisdictions , along with some others , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” — before making a change in voting procedures .
“ What has become of the court ’ s usual restraint ?
” Justice Ginsburg demanded in an ironic reference to conservative calls for “ judicial restraint.
” And she ended her announcement with these words : “ The great man who led the march from Selma to Montgomery and there called for the passage of the Voting Rights Act foresaw progress , even in Alabama .
‘ The arc of the moral universe is long , ’ he said , but ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is a steadfast commitment to see the task through to completion .
That commitment has been disserved by today ’ s decision.
” Among Justice Ginsburg ’ s roughly 200 majority opinions — seven or eight per term — one of her favourites came in a relatively obscure decision in 1996 called M.L.B .
v. S.L.J .
The question was whether a parent whose parental rights had been terminated by a court decree had a right to appeal even if unable to pay the cost of having the official court record prepared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruled that the state had no obligation to pay for the required record , without which the appeal could not proceed .
Constitutional doctrine offered no clear path to ruling for the mother , M.L.B .
With few exceptions , most notably the right to a lawyer for an indigent criminal defendant , the Constitution does not grant affirmative rights , and Supreme Court precedent rejects the notion that poverty is a condition deserving of special judicial consideration as a matter of equal protection .
So Justice Ginsburg anchored her 6-to-3 decision in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the court had treated protection for family relationships as fundamental .
“ The state may not bolt the door to equal justice ” when it came to parental rights , she wrote in an opinion that delicately threaded the needle between unfavourable Supreme Court precedents and those from which favourable legal authority could be extrapolated .
“ In this context , ” Prof. Martha Minow , a dean of Harvard Law School , wrote in an admiring essay on the opinion , “ Justice Ginsburg ’ s opinion for the court in M.L.B @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” A decision in 2017 addressed the differential treatment imposed by federal immigration law on unwed mothers and unwed fathers who seek to transmit their American citizenship to their children born overseas .
Under the law , the mother could transmit her American citizenship as long as she had lived in the United States for at least one year .
For fathers , the requirement was five years .
The assumption built into the law was that while the mother ’ s identity was obvious , it was less so for fathers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsibility of parenthood on behalf of their out-of-wedlock offspring .
Writing for a 6-to-2 majority in Sessions v. Morales-Santana , Justice Ginsburg found the law to violate the constitutional guarantee of equal protection .
The sex-based distinction , she wrote , was “ stunningly anachronistic , ” reflecting “ an era when the law books of our nation were rife with overbroad generalizations about the way men and women are.
” Invoking language she had used for many decades , first as an advocate and now as a justice , she continued , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the court has come to comprehend , have a constraining impact , descriptive though they may be of the way many people still order their lives.
” No Fear on the Bench Asked often to explain the success of her 1970s litigation campaign , Justice Ginsburg usually offered some version of having been in the right place with the right arguments at the right time .
“ How fortunate I was to be alive and a lawyer , ” she wrote in the preface to “ My Own Words , ” a compilation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ when , for the first time in U.S. history , it became possible to urge , successfully , before legislatures and courts , the equal-citizenship stature of women and men as a fundamental constitutional principle.
” Still , she could not fully deny that she had played more than a walk-on role .
“ What caused the court ’ s understanding to dawn and grow ?
” she asked in an article published in the Hofstra Law Review in 1997 .
“ Judges do read the newspapers and are affected , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as distinguished constitutional law professor Paul Freund once said , but by the climate of the era .
“ Supreme Court justices , and lower court judges as well , were becoming aware of a sea change in United States society .
Their enlightenment was advanced publicly by the briefs filed in court and privately , I suspect , by the aspirations of the women , particularly the daughters and granddaughters , in their own families and communities.
” Justice Ginsburg was as precise in her appearance as in her approach to her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pulled back and favoured finely tailored suits by the designer Giorgio Armani , interspersed occasionally with flamboyantly patterned jackets acquired on distant travels .
She appeared on several lists of best-dressed women .
Although on the bench she was an active and persistent questioner , in social settings she tended to say little .
She often let her more outgoing and jovial husband speak for her , and she struck those who did not know her well as shy and even withdrawn — although in talking about her great love , opera , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there was so little wasted motion that it was nearly impossible to imagine her as the high school cheerleader and twirler she had once been .
It was not so much that there were two sides to her personality , as it might have appeared , as that her innate shyness simply disappeared when she had a job to do .
She once recalled that before her first Supreme Court argument , she was so nervous that she did not eat lunch “ for fear I might throw up.
” But about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fear dissolved , ” she said .
She realized that she had a “ captive audience ” of the most powerful judges in America , and “ I felt a surge of power that carried me through .
”


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87

WASHINGTON—U.S .
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , a diminutive yet towering women ’ s rights champion who became the court ’ s second female justice , died Friday at her home in Washington .
She was 87 .
Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer , the court said .
Her death just over six weeks before Election Day is likely to set off a heated battle over whether U.S. President Donald Trump should nominate , and the Republican-led Senate should confirm , her replacement , or if the seat should remain vacant until the outcome of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known .
Chief Justice John Roberts mourned Ginsburg ’ s passing .
“ Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature .
We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague .
Today we mourn , but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice , ” Roberts said in a statement .
Ginsburg announced in July she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lesions on her liver , the latest of her several battles with cancer .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ vowed to stay on the court as long as her health held and she stayed mentally sharp .
“ I have often said I would remain a member of the court as long as I can do the job full steam , ” she said in July .
“ I remain fully able to do that.
” Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court ’ s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers .
Young women especially seemed to embrace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her defence of the rights of women and minorities , and the strength and resilience she displayed in the face of personal loss and health crises .
Those health issues included five bouts with cancer beginning in 1999 , falls that resulted in broken ribs , insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospitalizations after she turned 75 .
She resisted calls by liberals to retire during Barack Obama ’ s presidency at a time when Democrats held the Senate and a replacement with similar views could have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ almost certainly try to push Ginsburg ’ s successor through the Republican-controlled Senate — and move the conservative court even more to the right .
Her appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1993 was the first by a Democrat in 26 years .
He was at first reluctant ; “ The women are against her , ” he grumbled .
But after a 90-minute private meeting with Ginsburg , the president made up his mind .
He called her at 11:33 p.m. that night to tell her that she was his choice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead she will be able to be a force for consensus-building on the Supreme Court , just as she has been on the Court of Appeals , ” Clinton said at the announcement ceremony the next day .
“ Ruth Bader Ginsburg does not need a seat on the Supreme Court to earn her place in the American history books .
She has already done that.
” The appointment proved highly popular with the public , and she was confirmed on Aug. 3 , 1993 , over the dissenting votes of three of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee , Ginsburg said her approach to judging was “ neither ‘ liberal ’ nor ‘ conservative.
’ ” She did , however , make clear that her support for the right to abortion , despite her criticism of Roe v. Wade , was unequivocal .
In answer to a question from Sen. Hank Brown , a Colorado Republican , she said : “ This is something central to a woman ’ s life , to her dignity .
It ’ s a decision that she must make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that decision for her , she ’ s being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.
” Ginsburg initially found a comfortable ideological home somewhere left of centre on a conservative court dominated by Republican appointees .
Her liberal voice grew stronger the longer she served .
Ginsburg was a mother of two , an opera lover and an intellectual who watched arguments behind oversized glasses for many years , though she ditched them for more fashionable frames in her later years .
At argument sessions in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for digging deep into case records and for being a stickler for following the rules .
She argued six key cases before the court in the 1970s when she was an architect of the women ’ s rights movement .
She won five .
On the court , where she was known as a facile writer , her most significant majority opinions were the 1996 ruling that ordered the Virginia Military Institute to accept women or give up its state funding , and the 2015 decision that upheld independent commissions some states use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights , Ginsburg took an interest in capital punishment , voting repeatedly to limit its use .
During her tenure , the court declared it unconstitutional for states to execute the intellectually disabled and killers younger than 18 .
In addition , she questioned the quality of lawyers for poor accused murderers .
In the most divisive of cases , including the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000 , she was often at odds with the court ’ s more conservative members — initially Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas .
She was perhaps personally closest on the court to Scalia , her ideological opposite .
Ginsburg once explained that she took Scalia ’ s sometimes biting dissents as a challenge to be met .
“ How am I going to answer this in a way that ’ s a real putdown ?
” she said .
Ginsburg ’ s pointed and powerful dissenting opinions attracted growing attention as the court turned further to the right .
She was anointed the “ Notorious R.B.G.
, ” a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ B.I.G.
, a famous rapper who was Brooklyn-born , like the justice .
Soon the name , and Ginsburg ’ s image — her expression serene yet severe , a frilly lace collar adorning her black judicial robe , her eyes framed by oversized glasses and a gold crown perched at a rakish angle on her head — became an internet sensation .
Young women had the image tattooed on their arms ; daughters were dressed in R.B.G .
costumes for Halloween .
“ You Can ’ t Spell Truth Without Ruth ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The adulation accelerated after the election of Trump , whom Ginsburg had had the indiscretion to call “ a faker ” in an interview during the 2016 presidential campaign .
( She later said her comment had been “ ill advised.
” ) Scholars of the culture searched for an explanation for the phenomenon .
Dahlia Lithwick , writing in The Atlantic in early 2019 , offered this observation : “ Today , more than ever , women starved for models of female influence , authenticity , dignity , and voice hold up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope for an empowered future.
” Reached by phone late Friday , Sen. Lindsey Graham declined to disclose any plans for what will happen in the Supreme Court now that she is gone .
He called Ginsburg a “ trailblazer ” and said , “ While I had many differences with her on legal philosophy , I appreciate her service to our nation.
” Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer tweeted : “ The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice .
Therefore , this vacancy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new president.
” Ginsburg authored powerful dissents of her own in cases involving abortion , voting rights and pay discrimination against women .
She said some were aimed at swaying the opinions of her fellow judges while others were “ an appeal to the intelligence of another day ” in the hopes that they would provide guidance to future courts .
“ Hope springs eternal , ” she said in 2007 , “ and when I am writing a dissent , I ’ m always hoping for that fifth or sixth vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more often than not.
” She wrote memorably in 2013 that the court ’ s decision to cut out a key part of the federal law that had ensured the voting rights of Black people , Hispanics and other minorities was “ like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.
” Change on the court hit Ginsburg especially hard .
She dissented forcefully from the court ’ s decision in 2007 to uphold a nationwide ban on an abortion procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on it , had struck down a similar state ban seven years earlier .
The “ alarming ” ruling , Ginsburg said , “ can not be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this court — and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women ’ s lives.
” In 1999 , Ginsburg had surgery for colon cancer and received radiation and chemotherapy .
She had surgery again in 2009 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and in December 2018 for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Following the last surgery , she missed court sessions for the first time in more than 25 years on the bench .
Ginsburg also was treated with radiation for a tumour on her pancreas in August 2019 .
She maintained an active schedule even during the three weeks of radiation .
When she revealed a recurrence of her cancer in July 2020 , Ginsburg said she remained “ fully able ” to continue as a justice .
Joan Ruth Bader was born in Brooklyn , New York , in 1933 , the second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ older sister , who gave her the lifelong nickname “ Kiki , ” died at age 6 , so Ginsburg grew up in Brooklyn ’ s Flatbush section as an only child .
Her dream , she has said , was to be an opera singer .
Ginsburg graduated at the top of her Columbia University law school class in 1959 but could not find a law firm willing to hire her .
She had “ three strikes against her ” — for being Jewish , female and a mother , as she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ married her husband , Martin , in 1954 , the year she graduated from Cornell University .
She attended Harvard University ’ s law school but transferred to Columbia when her husband took a law job there .
Martin Ginsburg went on to become a prominent tax attorney and law professor .
Martin Ginsburg died in 2010 .
She is survived by two children , Jane and James , and several grandchildren .
Ginsburg once said that she had not entered the law as an equal-rights champion .
“ I thought I could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than any other , ” she wrote .
“ I have no talent in the arts , but I do write fairly well and analyze problems clearly .
”


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--The Latest: Cruz urges Trump to nominate RBG successor soon

WASHINGTON - The Latest on the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( all times local ) : Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says President Donald Trump should nominate a successor to the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg next week .
Cruz said Friday shortly after Ginsburg ’ s death was announced that Trump needs to move quickly .
He says a Supreme Court that is split 4-4 “ can not decide anything ” and under that scenario , “ I think we risk a constitutional crisis.
” The Texas senator is a member of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Ginsburg ’ s successor .
He called on Trump to nominate a “ principled constitutionalist with a proven record.
” Cruz is also among 20 individuals Trump recently added to his list of potential Supreme Court nominees .
The Republican-led Senate in 2016 refused to hold a hearing on President Barack Obama ’ s nomination to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court after he died that February .
Leader Mitch McConnell said then it wasn ’ t fair because it was an election year .
The 2020 election is 46 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Arizona says the Senate should vote on whomever President Donald Trump nominates to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg .
Some other GOP senators in competitive reelections initially did not address whether the Senate should vote on Trump ’ s pick .
Ginsburg died Friday of complications from cancer at age 87 .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the GOP-run Senate will vote on Trump ’ s selection , whomever it is , even though it ’ s an election year — the reason he gave for not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court pick in 2016 .
But four other Republican senators facing tough reelection fights skirted the question of whether the Senate should vote on a Trump pick .
Maine Sen. Susan Collins called Ginsburg a “ trailblazer for women ’ s rights , a fierce champion for equality , and an extremely accomplished American who broke countless barriers in the field of law .
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis noted the liberal Ginsburg ’ s friendship with the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia , saying their relationship showed “ we can disagree on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump says the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was “ an amazing woman ” who led an “ amazing life.
” Ginsburg died Friday of complications from cancer at the age of 87 .
The news of her death broke shortly after Trump began to address a campaign rally in Minnesota .
Trump spoke obliquely about future Supreme Court vacancies but did not mention the late justice during nearly two hours of remarks .
Trump told reporters after the rally as he headed back to Air Force One that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ginsburg was a key liberal vote on the court , and her death leaves a vacancy that will spur a fight over her replacement with less than seven weeks before the election .
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to hold confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama ’ s court pick to replace Antonin Scalia when the justice died in February 2016 .
He cited the reason as it being an election year .
But McConnell said Friday that the Senate will vote on whomever Trump picks to replace Ginsburg .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ his wife , Rosalynn , are saddened by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , praising her as a “ beacon of justice ” over a long and remarkable career .
Ginsburg , the court ’ s second female justice , died Friday at her Washington home of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer .
She was 87 .
Carter said in a statement that he was proud to have appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 — a step taken long before her 1993 selection for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic president , Bill Clinton .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s death is “ an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children.
” The Democratic leader said Friday that Congress must ensure that the person who replaces Ginsburg on the court “ upholds her commitment to equality , opportunity and justice for all.
” The liberal justice died Friday of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87 .
Pelosi said Ginsburg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight for gender equality ” leaves “ an enduring legacy of progress for all women , ” and her legal opinions “ have unequivocally cemented the precedent that all men and women are created equal.
” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote on whomever President Donald Trump picks to replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court , even though it ’ s an election year — the reason he gave for not voting on President Barack Obama ’ s court pick in 2016 .
Hundreds of people have gathered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg .
Dozens in the crowd were lighting candles on Friday night and sat somberly on the high court ’ s steps .
Ginsburg died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87 after 27 years on the court .
The crowd left candles , flowers , small American flags and handwritten condolence messages .
Some wept as they placed the bouquets of flowers on the steps .
“ RBG ” was also drawn inside a pink chalk heart in the sidewalk .
Flags outside the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jennifer Berger was among those who had gathered outside the courthouse .
The 37-year-old said she wanted to show her support and pay tribute to Ginsburg .
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court ’ s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers .
Young women especially seemed to embrace the court ’ s Jewish grandmother , affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG , for her defence of the rights of women and minorities .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump ’ s pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court , even though it ’ s an election year .
The Republican Senate leader issued a statement Friday night , about an hour and a half after the Supreme Court announced the liberal justice ’ s death from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer .
When conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016 , also an election year , McConnell refused to act on President Barack Obama ’ s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the opening .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s surprising presidential victory .
Trump ended up nominating Neil Gorsuch , who was confirmed to the court .
The 2020 election is 46 days away .
McConnell had earlier said he would move to confirm a Trump nominee if there were a vacancy this year .
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , a diminutive yet towering women ’ s rights champion who became the court ’ s second female justice , has died at her home in Washington .
She was 87 .
The court says Ginsburg died Friday of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced in July that she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lesions on her liver , the latest of her several battles with cancer .
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court ’ s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers .
Young women especially seemed to embrace the court ’ s Jewish grandmother , affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG , for her defence of the rights of women and minorities , and the strength and resilience she displayed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crises .
Those health issues included five bouts with cancer beginning in 1999 , falls that resulted in broken ribs , insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospitalizations after she turned 75 .


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Firefighter dies battling blaze, another fire burns homes

JUNIPER HILLS , Calif. - The death of a firefighter on the lines of a wildfire east of Los Angeles was under investigation Friday as another blaze to the north burned homes in a small community on the edge of the Mojave Desert .
The death occurred Thursday in San Bernardino National Forest as crews battled the El Dorado Fire about 75 miles ( 120 kilometres ) east of LA , the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement .
The fire erupted earlier this month from a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their baby ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forestry and Fire Protection , or Cal Fire , said .
The name of the firefighter was being withheld until family members are notified .
“ Our deepest sympathies are with the family , friends and fellow firefighters during this time , ” Forest Service spokesperson Zach Behrens said in the statement .
No other information was released about the firefighter , the agency the firefighter worked for , or the circumstances of the death .
The firefighter ’ s body was escorted down the mountain in a procession of first-responder vehicles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 26th death involving wildfires besieging the state .
More than 18,500 firefighters were battling more than two dozen major wildfires in California on Friday as a cold front moving through the western states was causing gusty winds .
In northern Los Angeles County , winds were gusting at more than 30 mph ( 48.2 kph ) as the Bobcat Fire moved into the community of Juniper Hills and threatened nearby Paradise Springs after burning all the way across the San Gabriel Mountains to the desert .
After burning for nearly two weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fronts and putting up an enormous plume of smoke visible from across the region .
“ We have aircraft , crews and equipment doing everything they can to slow the spread , “ Angeles National Forest tweeted .
Wyatt Stephenson helped his friend evacuate his home at the top of Juniper Hills .
“ We were waiting for the fire to come over the ridge .
When it finally came over , we got him out of there , ” Stephenson said .
“ We found out later that his house burned .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ wasn ’ t immediately clear how many homes were burned .
On the south side of the fire , firefighters continued to protect Mount Wilson , which overlooks greater Los Angeles and has a historic observatory founded more than a century ago and numerous broadcast antennas serving Southern California .
A new blaze sparked by a vehicle that caught fire was growing in wilderness outside Palm Springs .
To the north , a fire burning for nearly a month in Sequoia National Forest roared to life again Friday and prompted evacuation orders for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ City and Mineral King .
More than 7,900 wildfires have burned more than 5,300 square miles ( 13,727 square kilometres ) in California this year , including many since a mid-August barrage of dry lightning ignited parched vegetation .
The El Dorado Fire has burned more than 33 square miles ( 85.4 square kilometres ) and was 66 % contained , with 10 buildings destroyed and six damaged .
Cal Fire said earlier this month that the El Dorado Fire was ignited Sept. 5 when a couple , their young children and someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gender reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains .
The device was set off in a field and quickly ignited dry grass .
The couple frantically tried to use bottled water to extinguish the flames and called 911 .
Authorities have not released the identities of the couple , who could face criminal charges and be held liable for the cost of fighting the fire .
Shortly after the fire began , San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson issued a statement saying he was aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how the fire started .
“ If investigative reports are filed with our office , we will review all facts , evidence , statements , and reports to determine what criminal charges , if any , need to be filed , “ Anderson said .
In 2017 , a massive Arizona wildfire was accidentally started by an off-duty Border Patrol agent who shot a target filled with an explosive blue powder at a gender reveal .
The fire burned 73 square miles ( 189 square kilometres ) and caused $ 8 million in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a misdemeanour and sentenced to probation .
Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report .

Marcio Jose Sanchez And John Antczak - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--McConnell pledges quick vote on next justice; Biden says no

WASHINGTON - The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just over six weeks before the election cast an immediate spotlight on the high court vacancy , with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly vowing to bring to a vote whoever President Donald Trump nominates .
Democratic nominee Joe Biden vigorously disagreed , declaring that “ voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice to consider.
” McConnell , in a statement just over an hour after Ginsburg ’ s death was announced , declared unequivocally that Trump ’ s nominee would receive a vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barack Obama ’ s choice for months ahead of the 2016 election , eventually preventing a vote .
Trump , in brief remarks to reporters after learning of her death , called Ginsburg “ an amazing woman , ” adding that “ she led an amazing life.
” He had continued with a campaign speech for more than an hour after the nation learned of her death , and said later he had been unaware .
He had boasted in the speech that the next presidential term could offer him as many as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose members are confirmed for life .
Biden , returning to Delaware from his own campaign stop in Minnesota , praised Ginsburg upon his arrival .
Ginsburg was “ not only a giant of the legal profession but a beloved figure , ” he said .
She “ stood for all of us.
” The process of replacing her should not begin until after the election , he made clear .
Ginsburg ’ s death could significantly affect the presidential race , further stirring passions in the deeply divided nation as the campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took the stage for a Minnesota rally not long before Ginsburg ’ s death was announced .
He spoke for more than 90 minutes , never mentioning it , apparently not alerted to the development .
He spoke to reporters about her passing as he boarded Air Force One to return to Washington .
But he did say in his speech that whoever is elected in November will have the ability to potentially fill several Supreme vacancies , declaring , “ This is going to be the most important election in the history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get it right.
” A confirmation vote in the Senate is not guaranteed , even with a Republican majority .
Typically it takes several months to vet and hold hearings on a Supreme Court nominee , and time is short ahead of the election .
Key senators may be reluctant to cast votes so close to the election .
With a slim GOP majority , 53 seats in the 100-member chamber , Trump ’ s choice could afford to lose only a few .
McConnell did not specify the timing , but pushing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ session would carry other complications , including the political tangle of trying to push it through in the final weeks of the year after voters have decided control of the White House and control of the Senate .
Trump has made appointments to the federal judiciary , including two Supreme Court justices , part of his legacy and said last month that he would “ absolutely ” try to fill a vacancy on the high court if one came up before the end of his first term .
“ Absolutely , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an August 11 interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt .
“ I would move quickly .
Why not ?
I mean , they would .
The Democrats would if they were in this position.
” Trump last week added 20 names to his list of candidates he ’ s pledged to choose from if he had future vacancies to fill .
Trump tried to cast the list in contrast with judges who could be nominated if Biden wins in November , warning Biden would select “ radical justices ” who would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote of Congress , ” even though Biden has never outlined his list of potential picks and the Senate must confirm any nominee .
Naming his possible choices , less than two months before the election , is aimed at repeating the strategy that Trump employed during his 2016 campaign , when he released a similar list of could-be judges in a bid to win over conservative and evangelical voters who had doubts about his conservative bonafides .
The average number of days to confirm a justice , according to the Congressional Research @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be after the election .
Biden has promised to nominate a Black woman to the high court if given the chance .
He has said he ’ s also working on a list of potential nominees , but the campaign has given no indication that it will release names before the election .
Democrats believe doing so would unnecessarily distract from Biden ’ s focus on Trump ’ s handling of the pandemic and the economy , while also giving the president and his allies fresh targets to attack .
Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owe the American people ” a list of whom they ’ d consider because , aside from “ matters of war and peace , the nomination of a Supreme Court justice is the most important decision an American president can make .
”

Jonathan Lemire And Lisa Mascaro - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Homeland Security whistleblower not yet ready to testify

WASHINGTON - A whistleblower from the Department of Homeland Security who says he was pressured to suppress facts in intelligence reports says he won ’ t be able to testify before a House panel until the department gives him more access to “ relevant information , ” according to his lawyer .
Attorney Mark Zaid said Brian Murphy , a former top intelligence official at the department , won ’ t participate in a closed-door deposition with the House Intelligence Committee “ until the clearance issues have been resolved favourably in order to properly protect Mr. Murphy ’ s legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ look forward to and desire the opportunity ” to participate .
“ Mr .
Murphy wishes to provide protected , classified whistleblower disclosures to the relevant oversight authorities in the Executive and Legislative Branches , ” Zaid said in a statement .
“ That requires his access , as well as his legal counsel , to all relevant information.
” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff made Murphy ’ s complaint public last week and said he had been invited to provide a deposition on Sept. 21 .
He has not been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
An intelligence committee official said the panel hasn ’ t rescheduled the deposition at this time , but said DHS had delayed the processing of his lawyers ’ clearances .
The official , who was granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting , said the clearances were needed so Murphy could be properly represented during any classified portions of the deposition .
Murphy said in the complaint that he was pressured by senior officials to suppress facts in intelligence reports that President Donald Trump might find objectionable , including information about Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat posed by white supremacists .
The department has denied his allegations .
Murphy , a former FBI agent and Marine Corps veteran , also alleged that senior DHS officials pressed him to alter reports so they would reflect administration policy goals and that he was demoted from his post as principal deputy under secretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis for refusing to go along with the changes and for filing confidential internal complaints about the conduct .
He remains with the department in a different capacity .

Mary Clare Jalonick And Eric Tucker - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Ginsburg, a feminist icon memorialized as the Notorious RBG

When court was in session , she often had her head down , sometimes leading visitors to think she was asleep .
She once acknowledged that she did occasionally nod off .
She once confessed to dozing during a State of the Union .
But it was a mistake to equate her gait and gaze with frailty , for Ginsburg showed over and over a steely resilience in the face of personal loss and serious health problems that made the diminutive New Yorker a towering women ’ s rights champion and forceful presence at the court over 27 years .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ recurrent health problems , working regularly with a personal trainer .
She never missed any time in court before the age of 85 , and then only following surgery in December 2018 for lung cancer .
Ginsburg died Friday of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer at her home in Washington at 87 , the court said .
Late in her court tenure , she became a social media icon , the Notorious RBG , a name coined by a law student who admired Ginsburg ’ s dissent in a case cutting back on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice was at first taken aback .
There was nothing “ notorious ” about this woman of rectitude who wore a variety of lace collars on the bench and often appeared in public in elegant gloves .
But when her law clerks and grandchildren explained the connection to another Brooklynite , the rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
, her skepticism turned to delight .
“ In the word the current generation uses , it ’ s awesome , ” Ginsburg said in 2016 , shortly before she turned 83 .
In 2018 , Ginsburg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a feature film “ On the Basis of Sex , ” in which the actor Felicity Jones portrayed her .
In her final years on the court , Ginsburg was the unquestioned leader of the liberal justices , as outspoken in dissent as she was cautious in earlier years .
Criticizing the court ’ s conservative majority for getting rid of a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 2013 , Ginsburg wrote that it was like “ throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the death of her husband in 2010 probably contributed to Ginsburg ’ s decision to remain on the bench beyond the goal she initially set for herself , to match Justice Louis Brandeis ’ 22 years on the court and his retirement at the age of 82 .
Ginsburg had special affection for Brandeis , the first Jew named to the high court .
She was the court ’ s second woman and its sixth Jewish justice .
In time she was joined by two other Jews , Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Sonia Sotomayor .
Both developments were perhaps unthinkable when Ginsburg graduated from law school in 1959 and faced the triple bogey of looking for work as a woman , a mother and a Jew .
Forty years later , she noted that religion had become irrelevant in the selection of high-court justices and that gender was heading in the same direction , though when asked how many women would be enough for the high court , Ginsburg replied without hesitation , “ Nine.
” She could take some credit for equality of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1970s , she argued six key cases before the court when she was an architect of the women ’ s rights movement .
She won five .
“ Ruth Bader Ginsburg does not need a seat on the Supreme Court to earn her place in the American history books , ” President Bill Clinton said in 1993 when he announced her appointment .
“ She has already done that.
” Her time as a justice was marked by triumphs for equality for women , as in her opinion for the court ordering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or give up its state funding .
There were setbacks , too .
She dissented forcefully from the court ’ s decision in 2007 to uphold a nationwide ban on an abortion procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion .
The “ alarming ” ruling , Ginsburg said , “ can not be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this court — and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women ’ s lives.
” Ginsburg once said that she had not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equal rights .
“ I thought I could do a lawyer ’ s job better than any other , ” she wrote .
“ I have no talent in the arts , but I do write fairly well and analyze problems clearly.
” Besides civil rights , Ginsburg took an interest in capital punishment , voting repeatedly to limit its use .
During her tenure , the court declared it unconstitutional for states to execute the intellectually disabled and killers younger than 18 .
She voted most often with the other liberal-leaning justices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican appointees , John Paul Stevens and David Souter , then later with President Barack Obama ’ s two appointees , Sotomayor and Kagan .
In the most divisive of cases , Ginsburg was often at odds with the court ’ s more conservative members .
Yet she was personally closest on the court to Justice Antonin Scalia , her ideological opposite .
She once explained that she took Scalia ’ s sometimes biting dissents as a challenge to be met .
“ How am I going to answer this in a way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
Scalia died in 2016 .
As for her own dissents , Ginsburg said that some were aimed at swaying the opinions of her fellow judges while others were “ an appeal to the intelligence of another day ” in the hopes that they would provide guidance to future courts .
“ Hope springs eternal , ” she said in 2007 , “ and when I am writing a dissent , I ’ m always hoping for that fifth or sixth vote — even though I ’ m disappointed more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was born in Brooklyn in 1933 , the second daughter in a middle-class family .
Her older sister , who gave her the lifelong nickname “ Kiki , ” died at age 6 , so Ginsburg grew up in Brooklyn ’ s Flatbush section as an only child .
Her dream , she has said , was to be an opera singer .
Her mother , Celia Bader , died of cancer the night before Ginsburg , then 17 , was to graduate from high school .
Celia Bader never attended college but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public television documentary about Jewish Americans , Ginsburg said , “ What ’ s the difference between a bookkeeper in New York ’ s Garment District and a U.S. Supreme Court justice ?
One generation.
” She first gained fame as a litigator for the Women ’ s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union .
She had worked on the legal team that persuaded the high court to rule for the first time ever in 1970 that a state had violated the Constitution by denying women equal treatment .
At argument @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was known for digging deep into case records and for being a stickler for following the rules .
She was more comfortable than most with long silences , and in the several interviews Ginsburg granted this reporter in her office at the court , it was difficult , but rewarding , to resist the natural tendency to fill those silences with another question .
The most interesting things she said typically followed long pauses .
Appearing at a law school forum in 2008 , she noted with relief that there was no retirement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold our offices during good behaviour , ” Ginsburg said , citing language from the Constitution .
“ So all of my colleagues behave very well.
” She married her husband , Martin , in 1954 , the year she graduated from Cornell University .
She attended Harvard University ’ s law school but transferred to Columbia University when her husband took a law job in New York .
Ginsburg had graduated at the top of her Columbia Law School class but could not find a law firm willing to hire her .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than her share of “ mazel ” — the Hebrew word for luck — to help her along in life .
“ Suppose there had been a Wall Street firm interested in hiring me ?
What would I be today ?
” she intoned in 2007 .
“ A retired partner.
” Martin Ginsburg went on to become a prominent tax attorney and law professor at Georgetown University .
Ginsburg was a law professor at Rutgers University and Columbia , then later a federal appeals court judge for 13 years .
Theirs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ginsburg was the undisputed master of the kitchen , often baking cakes for the justices ’ birthdays .
In 1999 , Ginsburg had surgery for colon cancer and received radiation and chemotherapy .
She had surgery again in 2009 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and in December 2018 to remove cancerous growths on her left lung .
In 2019 , doctors treated Ginsburg with radiation for a tumour on her pancreas .
She maintained an active schedule even during the three weeks of radiation .
When she revealed a recurrence of her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with lesions on her liver that were treated with chemotherapy every two weeks , Ginsburg said she remained “ fully able ” to continue as a justice .
She is survived by two children , Jane and James , and several grandchildren .
Her determination was perhaps most evident on the day the court met for the final time in June 2010 .
Her husband had died a day earlier , and her children told her their father would want her to go to work .
The justices filed into the courtroom that @ @ @ @ @ @ @


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Hawaii court hears case on legality of foreign fishing labour

HONOLULU - The Hawaii Supreme Court heard arguments Friday on the legality of granting licenses to foreign workers in Hawaii ’ s longline commercial fishing fleet , which for years has been under scrutiny after an Associated Press investigation revealed claims of human trafficking and questionable labour practices .
The case involves the issuance of Hawaii state commercial fishing licenses to individual foreign fishermen who are not “ lawfully admitted ” to the United States .
State law says only those legally in the country can get licenses to catch and sell marine life , but the workers do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are ordered to live onboard the fishing boats by federal officials .
They must eat , sleep and work on the boats , often for years at a time , and are subject to deportation .
Friday ’ s hearing stems from a petition that was filed by a Native Hawaiian fisherman who sought to have the state enforce a statute that declares only people who are in the U.S. legally can acquire commercial fishing licenses .
The petition was denied by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court upheld the ruling before the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case .
State and industry interpretations of law were disputed by Lance Collins , attorney for the plaintiff Malama Chun , who , as a Native Hawaiian , has cultural and traditional rights to challenge the state because the rules impede his ability to access a resource , namely tuna .
But Collins said Chun is equally concerned about the way the foreign crews are treated .
Collins said there is a “ continuing decline of his ability to engage in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which of course ties in to the state ’ s obligation under the public trust doctrine to protect marine resources , ” Collins said .
“ Mr .
Chun ’ s position is that the labour practices and the situation where individuals who work on these ships are not able to meaningfully connect with legal process or otherwise vindicate their rights with respect to labour and health and safety in the state of Hawaii does impact the obligation of the state to protect the vulnerable , “ Collins said .
He said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a society where “ things that look like modern day slavery or human trafficking are not permitted to occur.
” The foreign crews , about 700 men mostly from Pacific island nations and Southeast Asia , are allowed to get off their vessels while docked at gated piers and move around the immediate area , but they can not leave the dock and must live aboard the boats , often in cramped , unsanitary conditions .
They are not protected by U.S. or state labour laws .
The attorney for the state argued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admitted even though they are officially detained on board .
“ The issue of whether or not the crew members are lawfully admitted under the terms of the statute is addressed in the conclusions of law , ” said Deputy Attorney General William Wynhoff in representing Hawaii .
The federal government “ knows these people are here .
They ’ re in the United States , in the waters of the United States , and they ’ re lawfully admitted .
They can ’ t come on shore , but they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Wynhoff said .
“ Nobody ’ s making them go away.
” The fishermen are allowed to fish in Hawaii under a loophole in federal law that allows those seeking highly migratory species such as tuna to utilize foreign labour to take those fish .
Other fishing fleets in the United States are required to have mostly American crews .
An attorney for the Hawaii Longline Association argued that the workers were not taking fish in waters exclusively controlled by state authorities because federal law applies to the majority of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The court found explicitly that the boats do not fish closer than 50 miles to the north and east or 100 miles to the south and west of the main Hawaiian islands , ” said Geoffrey Davis on behalf of the Hawaii longline fishing industry .
“ So part of this rests on on how far out the state has jurisdiction over fishing in those waters.
” The state shares jurisdiction and enforcement of the fishery with federal authorities in waters up to 200 miles off shore .
Previous efforts by local and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fishery have fallen flat , and subsequent efforts by Hawaii residents have been similarly unsuccessful .
The fishermen are paid as little as $ 350 a month , which is more than they can make in their home countries where people live on less than a dollar a day .
Many workers also get small bonuses , boosting their monthly pay to $ 500 or $ 600 .
A few get a percentage of the catch , making it possible to triple their wages .
The Honolulu fleet is among the most profitable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can sometimes sell for $ 1,000 or more .
The men work long hours — 12 to 20 hours a day — setting thousands of hooks on miles of fishing line that is drifted behind the boats .
Like any job in fishing , one of the most dangerous occupations , injuries and deaths are common .
Last week , a 53-year-old Vietnamese man working on a Honolulu-based longline boat was reported missing in the early morning hours .
The Coast Guard said the man was not wearing a flotation device when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vessel St. Marie Anne .
Officials suspended their search for the fisherman after scouring an area roughly the size of New Hampshire .
The court is considering the arguments before making a ruling .


thetorontostar--2020-09-18--Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death gives Trump chance to add Justice to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON—The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday gives President Donald Trump an opportunity to try to fill her seat —and potentially cement a rightward tilt of the Supreme Court for a generation —less than two months before Election Day .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has previously said the Senate would act to fill a vacancy if one occurred this year , even though he spent most of 2016 denying a confirmation hearing to President Barack Obama ’ s pick to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court .
McConnell would need to find 50 senators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Trump .
With 53 Republicans , they can afford to lose 3 senators and still confirm a pick with Vice President Mike Pence casting a tie-breaking vote .
“ We would fill it , ” McConnell told Fox News in February .
McConnell said then that the difference between 2016 was that the Senate and the White House were held by different parties .
Trump had not yet been informed of Ginsburg ’ s death , but Pence was , according to people familiar with the situation On Friday night , Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ginsburg be left for the next president .
“ The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice .
Therefore , this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president , ” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a tweet .
Days before she died , Ginsburg dictated a statement to her granddaughter , NPR reported , saying , “ My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.
” McConnell ’ s office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether he will act before the election , but members of his leadership team , including Sen. John Cornyn of Texas , have said they expect he would try to confirm someone before the elections if there is a vacancy .
Trump released a new list of potential appointees earlier this month —revisiting a tactic he used in 2016 to galvanize support among conservatives and evangelicals .
“ Apart from matters of war and peace , the nomination of a Supreme Court justice is the most important decision an American president can make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 .
In 2016 , McConnell blocked Obama from having a hearing on his nominee in 2016 —Merrick Garland —setting the stage for Trump to install Neil Gorsuch instead .
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said at a debate last year that he was opposed to adding additional justices to the court if Democrats were to win the presidency .
“ I would not get into court packing .
We had three justices .
Next time around , we lose control , they add three justices .
We begin to lose any credibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
But , if Republicans move to replace Ginsburg this year and Biden wins in November , he ’ d face strong pressure from the left to expand the court .
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham , a South Carolina Republican , issued a statement that was silent on the question of whether Ginsburg should be replaced before Election Day .
He called her “ a trailblazer who possessed tremendous passion for her causes.
” “ While I had many differences with her on legal philosophy , I appreciate her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Graham , who is up for reelection this fall in an increasingly tight race .

Steven T. Dennis - Bloomberg News,Laura Litvan