Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who died this week at the age of 84, was a complicated figure in the global geopolitics of the late 20th century. History judges these efforts in different lights. Her support for NATO intervention in Kosovo saved many lives, and she championed an international response to climate change when this was still a quixotic quest. Albright was also instrumental in enacting Iraqi sanctions that the UN found led to the death of many children, later saying that “the price is worth it.” And she would correctly come to regret failing to intervene in the Rwandan genocide.

Americans who followed the four-day confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson last week were treated to a rare display of brilliance, principle and unflappability that demonstrate her fitness, to say the very least, to sit on the nation’s high court. The next step should be obvious and simple. Jackson should be confirmed without delay.

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was, first and foremost, a crime — indeed, the war crimes continue as you read this. But it was also a blunder. In less than five weeks, Putin has destroyed Russia’s military reputation, battered his nation’s economy and strengthened the democratic alliances he hoped to undermine. How could he have made such a catastrophic mistake?