Obama appointed Jia Lande as Supreme Court Justice
President Obama has nominated a moderate judge Merrick Garland to the vacancy to the US Supreme Court, setting up a showdown with Republicans.
The appointment has to be ratified by the senate but its Republican majority has vowed to block any court nominee from Mr Obama. Barbara Plett-Usher has more from Washington.
President Obama chose justice Garland as the best option for a consensus candidate somebody who is a liberal but not a hard-down-the-line liberal, more of a centrist candidate in many ways.
Somebody who has been supported by both Republicans and Democrats in the past and who has a reputation for decency and fair-mindedness.
The Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has defended the appointment of her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as chief of staff.
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