Jeffrey Brown talked with Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air, and author Ann Patchett about their top picks this year.

Text SIGN PLJHAQ to 50409 — I am writing to urge you to support H.J.Res. 13, the proposed constitutional amendment that would place long-overdue limits on the presidential pardon power — and to call on Senators to introduce and advance a companion resolution without delay. The pardon power was created as a tool for mercy and justice, not as a shield for corruption. Yet recent history has shown how dangerously vulnerable this power is to abuse when a president can pardon himself, family members, cabinet officials, or campaign staff for crimes connected to their own misconduct or self-interest. H.J.Res. 13 restores the basic principle that no one is above the law, including the President of the United States. By prohibiting self-pardons and barring pardons for close relatives, senior administration officials, and paid campaign employees, this amendment closes loopholes that undermine public trust and invite corruption at the highest levels of government. This is not a partisan issue. Conservatives and liberals alike should agree that the Constitution was never intended to allow a president to erase accountability for himself or his inner circle. The Founders warned explicitly against concentrated power and self-protection by those in office. A president who can pardon himself or his associates is functionally immune from the rule of law — something no republic can survive. Because this reform requires a constitutional amendment, leadership from both chambers is essential. House members should actively champion H.J.Res. 13, and Senators should introduce and support a matching Senate joint resolution so this proposal can advance through Congress and to the states for ratification. Congress has a duty not just to respond to abuses after they occur, but to prevent them. Supporting this amendment is a clear, concrete step toward restoring constitutional balance, public confidence, and the rule of law. I urge you to publicly support this effort and work to see it enacted.

Text SIGN PXCBUV to 50409 — ICE detention centres are for-profit concentration camps. Reports of brutal cruel, and even life-threatening treatment and scandalous conditions have shocked the world. The number of deaths in ICE detention is the highest ever. ICE is spreading terror and destroying communities, operating outside the law, lying, refusing to accept identity documents; agents are masked. .................This is an abomination. I do not need to catalogue more of the abuses: you should know them.. Please reply to let me know that you are aware of this shocking situation and what you intend to do about it.

A federal magistrate judge on Friday refused to order the pretrial release of a man charged with planting two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national parties on t...

Text SIGN PLJHAQ to 50409 — I am writing to urge you to support H.J.Res. 13, the proposed constitutional amendment that would place long-overdue limits on the presidential pardon power — and to call on Senators to introduce and advance a companion resolution without delay. The pardon power was created as a tool for mercy and justice, not as a shield for corruption. Yet recent history has shown how dangerously vulnerable this power is to abuse when a president can pardon himself, family members, cabinet officials, or campaign staff for crimes connected to their own misconduct or self-interest. H.J.Res. 13 restores the basic principle that no one is above the law, including the President of the United States. By prohibiting self-pardons and barring pardons for close relatives, senior administration officials, and paid campaign employees, this amendment closes loopholes that undermine public trust and invite corruption at the highest levels of government. This is not a partisan issue. Conservatives and liberals alike should agree that the Constitution was never intended to allow a president to erase accountability for himself or his inner circle. The Founders warned explicitly against concentrated power and self-protection by those in office. A president who can pardon himself or his associates is functionally immune from the rule of law — something no republic can survive. Because this reform requires a constitutional amendment, leadership from both chambers is essential. House members should actively champion H.J.Res. 13, and Senators should introduce and support a matching Senate joint resolution so this proposal can advance through Congress and to the states for ratification. Congress has a duty not just to respond to abuses after they occur, but to prevent them. Supporting this amendment is a clear, concrete step toward restoring constitutional balance, public confidence, and the rule of law. I urge you to publicly support this effort and work to see it enacted.