QUOTATION OF THE DAY
"They can destroy our houses, our things, but not our souls."
HUDA KHUDHUR, a nun（尼） from Iraq’s largest Christian city, Qaraqosh, which was recently liberated from the Islamic State.
DECEMBER 25, 2016
（１）U.S. Transition Puts Israeli Focus Back on Palestinians
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to move past the Palestinian conflict and improve regional relations, Mr. Trump’s views may bring the issue back to the fore（前に）.
（２）Denying Conflict, Trump Family Tries to Resolve Potential Problems
Mr. Trump has agreed to shut his charity, weighed a plan for an outside monitor to oversee the Trump Organization and ended some international business projects. トランプ氏はチャリティーを止め、いくつかの国際的なビジネス・プロジェクトも終わりにした。
（３）A Joyful Bustle（活気） to Get Ready for Guests: Syrian Refugees
In Lancaster, Pa., where resettlement work dates back decades, volunteers and staff members from the Church World Service prepared a home for a family of new arrivals.
（４）Intent on Unsettling（不安にする） E.U., Russia Taps Foot Soldiers From the Fringe（周辺）
Moscow is cultivating an array（整列） of far-right extremist groups, spreading disruption and hoping that a few will develop into important and disruptive players.
（５）In American Towns, Private Profits From Public Works
アメリカの都市では、公共事業から私的な利益を引き出す
Desperate towns have turned to private equity（株式） firms to manage their waterworks. The deals bring much-needed upgrades, but can carry hefty（高額の） price tags.
絶望的な都市が水道事業で自己資本企業に変貌している。
（０）EDITORIAL By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The Stolen Supreme Court Seat 盗まれた最高裁のイス
Senate Republicans’ nine-month blockade of President Obama’s nominee was an outrageous, infuriating stunt（芸当）. And then it worked.
オバマ大統領の指名人に対する上院の共和党の9ヶ月の阻止は、常軌を逸した激怒させる芸当だが、それは効果を発揮した。
Soon after his inauguration next month, President-elect Donald Trump will nominate someone to the Supreme Court, which has been hamstrung（身動きを取れなくする） by a vacancy since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February（2016年2月にスカーリア裁判官が死亡）. There will be public debates about the nominee’s credentials（信任状）, past record, judicial philosophy and temperament（気質）. There will be Senate hearings and a vote. No matter how it plays out, Americans must remember one thing above all: The person who gets confirmed will sit in a stolen seat. It was stolen from Barack Obama, a twice-elected president who fulfilled his constitutional duty more than nine months ago by nominating Merrick Garland, a highly qualified and widely respected federal appellate（上訴） judge. It was stolen by top Senate Republicans, who broke with longstanding tradition and refused to consider any nominee Mr. Obama might send them, because they wanted to preserve the court’s conservative majority（多数派が保守であることを維持するため）. The main perpetrators（犯罪実行者） of the theft were Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Charles Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. But virtually all Republican senators were accomplices; only two supported holding hearings.（共和党員全員が共犯だ）
続く
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60-Second Civics: Episode 2745, State Constitutions
Since the first state constitutions were adopted in 1776, state constitutional conventions have resulted in new constitutions being adopted some 144 times.
Some states, such as Massachusetts regularly hold ______ to propose amendments.
a. Constitutional legislatures
b. Constitutional debates
c. Constitutional conventions
d. Constitutional hearings
Nicely done! Choice c is correct.
