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| Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate as the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court. Public support is growing louder as a Texas woman's execution date looms. And Tiger Woods is off to a good start at the Masters. |
| 👋 Hey! It's Laura. It's Thursday. Here's all the news you need to know. |
| But first, defining happiness. 🌺 Most of us want to be happy, but how? A few thoughts (and a cute goat video). |
| The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here. |
Jackson's historic confirmation |
| The Senate confirmed Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, making her the 116th justice – and first Black woman – to serve on the nation's highest court. The Senate's historic vote was 53-47 with three Republicans – Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah joining every member of the Democratic caucus in voting for her confirmation. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson in February after Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced he would retire at the end of the current court term. Though confirmed, Jackson will wait months to take her seat on the bench, until Breyer officially steps down. Jackson, a 51-year-old federal appeals court judge, will be just the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman. |
 | | Jackson, a 51-year-old federal appeals court judge, would be just the third Black justice and the sixth woman on the Supreme Court. | | USA TODAY | |
Russia ousted from Human Rights Council |
| The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday approved a U.S.-initiated resolution to suspend Russia from the world organization's Human Rights Council amid mounting evidence of atrocities by the Russian military in Ukraine. The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield launched the campaign to suspend Russia from the 47-member Human Rights Council after videos and photos from the Kyiv-area town of Bucha emerged, revealing streets strewn with corpses of civilians after Russian soldiers retreated. Russia becomes the first permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to have its membership revoked from any U.N. body. Russia's deputy ambassador Gennady Kuzmin denied Russian involvement in the carnage, saying the evidence was merely "staged events and widely circulated fakes." |
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 | | Ukrainian servicemen ride on a fighting vehicle outside Kyiv, Ukraine. | | Vadim Ghirda, AP Images | |
What everyone's talking about |
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Will new evidence stop a Texas woman's execution? |
| A Texas woman on death row for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter is seeking clemency amid new evidence and recent public support from state lawmakers and jurors from her trial more than a decade ago. Melissa Lucio, who is set to be executed on April 27, was sentenced to death in 2008 after the court found her daughter, Mariah, suffered physical abuse leading to her death. But on March 22, Lucio's lawyers filed a clemency petition to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, arguing that new evidence showed Mariah's death was accidental and caused by unseen internal injuries. With just three weeks before the date of her scheduled execution, Lucio's case is increasingly drawing attention – from jurors who've reconsidered their verdict to a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have urged for clemency. |
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 | | Melissa Elizabeth Lucio wipes her eyes in a Brownsville courtroom, July 10, 2008. Lucio, 39, of Harlingen, was sentenced to death for killing her 2 1/2-year-old daughter. | | Theresa Najera, Associated Press | |
Real quick |
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All eyes on Tiger |
| Less than 14 months after a near-fatal car crash, Woods made his return to the hallowed grounds of Augusta National for the 86th Masters tournament. With spring in the air and the azaleas in full bloom, play started Thursday morning in the first of golf's four major championships with one dominant storyline. Can Woods make it up and down Augusta's famed hills on an injured leg he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to walk on not long ago? If he is able to make it through 18 holes on Day 1, will he be able to do it again on Day 2? Even if he does all that, will he be able to play at the elite level needed to make the cut and continue to the weekend? And even then, is there the slightest chance he might contend? Or possibly ... win a sixth green jacket? The world awaits the answers. For the latest, use our Tiger Tracker to follow along shot-by-shot at the 2022 Masters. |
 | | Tiger Woods plays from the fairway on the 10th hole during the first round of the Masters. | | Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports | |
Wash your fruits and veggies, please 💦🍇 |
| What are the filthiest fruits and vegetables at the grocery store? Strawberries, spinach and kale, according to a new report. The nonprofit advocacy organization Environmental Working Group released its annual "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" lists on Thursday, using data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The group found that more than 90% of strawberry, apple, cherry, spinach, nectarine and grape samples tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides. Kale, collard and mustard greens, hot peppers and bell peppers had the most pesticides. Strawberries and leafy greens have been repeat offenders at the top of the list, ranking high in the past two years. And shout out to avocados, sweet corn and pineapple, which topped the group's "Clean Fifteen" – the produce with the least amount of pesticides. Read both of this year's lists here. |
 | | Nonprofit advocacy organization Environmental Working Group named peaches No. 9 on its 2022 "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" lists using data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The Washington, D.C., group found that more than 90% of strawberry, apple, cherry, spinach, nectarine and grape samples tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides. | | Visit Mesa | |
| ⛈ Weather watch: The Major League Baseball regular season officially got started Thursday after two games were postponed due to nasty weather. Check the forecast in your neck of the woods here. |
A break from the news |
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