According to a statement from Buckingham Palace Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully on September 8, 2022 at age 96 at her Balmoral Castle, the British royal family’s estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. She was said to have been vacationing there this summer. It was reported that members of the Royal family were present by her side including her four children.

For 70 years and 214 days, the longest of any British monarch and the second-longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country, Queen Elizabeth held the throne as Queen of the United Kingdom since 1952 when she ascended the throne upon her father’s death. The Queen’s eldest on Charles, Prince of Wales with take other as King Charles III.

The Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, making her the 116th justice & the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. top court.

The final vote tally of 53-47 showed bipartisan support for Jackson, with three Republicans joining all Democrats to appoint the 51-year-old federal judge to a lifetime appointment on the high court.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made a poignant preamble speech before the Supreme Court vote. ‘This is a great moment for Judge Jackson, but it is also a great moment for America as we rise to more perfect union,’ he said.

Jackson is President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee. She will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who was confirmed to the bench in 1994.

With Vice President Kamala Harris presiding over the vote, the Senate confirmed Judge Terry H. Jackson to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by a 55-44 vote. Kamala started to cry as she read out the results. It was a brief moment, but she then faced a hugely positive reaction from those who were present.

Jackson’s appointment is welcome as the SCOTUS has become substantially more conservative with 3 Trump nominees. Her addition will maintain the size of the court’s liberal wing, which is outnumbered 6-3 by the conservative bloc.

Just five women have served on the Supreme Court – S. Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan & Amy Coney Barrett. Only two Black men, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have ever been appointed to the bench. No Black women have previously sat on the high court.

“Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation,” Biden tweeted after the vote. “We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. Her appointment is an incredible milestone, and I was honored to share this moment with her.”