Comedian Richard Pryor has died; National Public Radio notwithstanding, he was never nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit: The New York Times contains this obituary today.

Back in July 2003, NPR’s “Morning Edition” (as I noted here then) aired an audio segment (RealPlayer required) that referred to Eleventh Circuit nominee “Alabama Attorney General Richard Pryor.”

“Federal Marijuana Monopoly Challenged; Researchers Want to Grow More Plants and Find More Medicinal Uses”: This article will appear Monday in The Washington Post.

“Governor Postpones Decision on William’s Execution”: The Los Angeles Times provides this news update.

And David Kravets of The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Williams’ Supporters: Witness Has Surfaced.”

“Major lauded for 13 years of service on top court”: This article appeared yesterday in The Toronto Globe and Mail.

“Frist Cautions Senators Against Stalling Alito Vote; Democrats Don’t Plan Filibuster”: Monday’s edition of The Washington Post will contain this article.

And Reuters reports that “US Senate leader says Alito vote may need rules change.”

“For justice, jurors put lives on hold; The group hearing the Sami Al-Arian trial brought a lot to the table, and left it knowing they were part of something bigger than themselves”: This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times.

“‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Hypocrisy”: Columnist George F. Will has this op-ed today in The Washington Post.

“Alito’s classic family odyssey; Ancestors came from Italy and struggled in US”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe, which also contains an op-ed by Kenneth W. Starr and Ronald A. Cass entitled “Alito’s sticky thicket.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today reports that “Campaigns on Alito are starting to build.”

And in The St. Petersburg Times, Bill Adair has an article headlined “A shame nominees must play it safe.”

In other commentary, The Dallas Morning News contains an editorial entitled “Where Alito Stands: Ask about voting rights and Roe before recusal.”

In The Baltimore Sun, Jon Hanson and Adam Benforado have an op-ed entitled “The conservative hypocrisy.”

And in The New York Times Magazine, Noam Scheiber has an essay entitled “Republican Elitism.”

“Frist Says He’s Ready to Block Filibuster”: The Associated Press provides this report.

FOXNews.com has posted at this link a transcript of today’s “Fox News Sunday” interview with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN).

“Williams’ Lawyer Appeals to Supreme Court; Constitutional issues challenging the validity of his convictions and death sentence are raised in request for a stay of execution”: Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times, which also reports that “Glitz and Gore of Williams Case Draw Foreign Media.”

The San Francisco Chronicle today contains articles headlined “Governor in L.A., fends off queries; He has till Monday to decide on plea for clemency” and “Californians soul-searching in countdown to execution; Two-thirds in state support the death penalty, but polls haven’t asked questions about redemption.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Tookie Williams Seeks Stay of Execution.”