When I was growing up, we always had a big family dinner at around noon on Sunday. I still love that whenever it is possible to gather the family together.

In southern Italy, where my grandparents had lived, there were few opportunities. The society was static, with rigid social classes. Poor people, like my grandparents, had little chance to improve their lives, no matter their talents or willingness to work.

When I entered college, I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer, but by the time I was set to graduate, I was not too sure of that.

I think that the legitimacy of the court would be undermined in any case if the court made a decision based on its perception of public opinion.

In an era where the White House is abusing power, is excusing and authorizing torture and is spying on American citizens, I find Judge [Samuel] Alito's support for an all-powerful executive branch to be genuinely troubling.

When I was growing up, we always had a big family dinner at around noon on Sunday. I still love that whenever it is possible to gather the family together.

My mother is a first generation American. Her father worked in the Roebling Steel Mill in Trenton, New Jersey.And yet my mother became the first person in her family to get a college degree.