Colleen Long/Associated Press

At Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, President Joe Biden says white supremacy is a “poison” and has no place in America. In a campaign speech Monday, he underscored what he wants Americans to know he believes is at stake in the November presidential election.

President Joe Biden has pardoned six people who've served out sentences after convictions on a murder charge and drug- and alcohol-related crimes. Those granted pardons include an 80-year-old Ohio woman convicted of killing her abusive husband about a half-century ago and an Arizona man who pleaded guilty to using a telephone for a cocaine transaction in the 1970s. The other people pardoned are from South Carolina, Florida and California.

The White House and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say a Republican-led proposal to ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks would endanger the health of women and have severe consequences for physicians. The measure introduced last week by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina proposes a nationwide ban that would allow rare exceptions. The legislation has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-controlled Congress. GOP leaders didn't immediately embrace it and Democrats are pointing to the proposal as an alarming signal of where Republicans would try to go if they were to win control of the Congress in November.

The whispers and chatter about top contenders for the Supreme Court are growing as President Joe Biden zeroes in on a nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. But while the president is eager for input, the White House insists he's not going to be swayed by any sniping. Biden has he said he'll have a nominee by the end of the month. The top three contenders are believed to be federal appeals court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California state Supreme Court judge Leondra Kruger and U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs. Each finalist has a long set of bona fides and powerful backers, as well as some critics.

President Joe Biden had zeroed in on a pair of finalists for his first Supreme Court pick when there were rumors last year that Justice Stephen Breyer would retire. But since the upcoming retirement was announced late last month, it has come with the rise of a third candidate, one with ready-made bipartisan support that has complicated the decision.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement gives President Joe Biden a chance to make his first nomination to the high court. It’s also a chance for Biden to fulfill a campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to the high court. The women seen as leading candidates for the post include federal court judges, a state court judge and a longtime civil rights leader.