Big Brother: Former President George W. Bush came out yesterday to try to save the presidential candidacy of his little brother Jeb!, who’s been getting pummeled by Donald Trump.

The former president told a crowd of 3,000, “Labels are for soup cans.” He said, “The presidency is a serious job that requires sound judgment and good ideas, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Jeb Bush has the experience and the character to be a great president.”

The younger Bush, who has said he wants to make it on his own merits, has trotted out his 90 year old mother and now his brother to try to pump up his underinflated numbers.

George W’s entry into the campaign fray opened him to immediate attack by Donald Trump, who has mocked Jeb’s claim that he kept the country safe. “The worst attack ever in this country? It was during his presidency,” Trump said. He compared the claim to saying the opposing team “scored 19 runs in the first inning, but after that, we played pretty well.”

Advice and Dissent: The White House says President Obama can be expected to name a Supreme Court nominee later this month when the Senate returns from recess.

A handful of Republican senators up for re-election have lined up with their leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, to say they will block any nominee. Sen. Rob Portman said he would follow the “common practice” of not voting on a lifetime appointment in an election year.

To the contrary, Amy Howe writes on SCOTUSblog that, “The historical record does not reveal any instances since at least 1900 of the president failing to nominate and/or the Senate failing to confirm a nominee in a presidential election year because of the impending election.”

Since 1900, the Senate has confirmed six of eight Supreme Court nominees during an election year. Most times the nominee is confirmed or rejected within 25 days, but one time it took 125 days. The day Justice Antonin Scalia died, 342 days remained in President Obama’s presidency.

Permawar: At least 50 people were killed yesterday in missile and aircraft strikes that targeted hospitals and schools in northern Syria just days before a ceasefire was expected to take hold. Russian forces are believed to be responsible.

France and Syria say the attacks are war crimes.

The Russians say they target only terrorists, but frequently the hospitals in war zones are marked on their rooftops and the warring parties are given their coordinates.

Cuba Libre: In what may be one of the first industrial deals as the US re-opens relations with Cuba, an Alabama company partly owned by a Cuban-born American has been given permission to build a tractor factory at the Port of Mariel just West of Havana. The plan is to build small, low-cost tractors for small Cuban farms. The tractor called “Oggun” after one of the gods in the religion Santeria has a rear-engine with a simple bodiless frame in front.

The Obit Page: Denise Matthews, the pop singer, model and actress known as Vanity, who toured with Prince in the 1980s before becoming a minister, died on Monday in California at age 57. Vanity was notable for performing in lingerie and by her own admission lived a wild and drug-infused youth. She and her original group of three women Vanity 6 had a hit with “Nasty Girl” in 1982.

The Beat: Rapper Kendrick Lamar swept up five Grammy awards last night and Taylor Swift’s “1989” won Album of the Year. She took a shot at her archenemy Kanye West in her acceptance speech.

The Grammys hand out 79 awards in everything from Best Rock Song to Best New Age Album and Best Liner Notes — those aren’t set to music.

Former President Jimmy Carter won his second Grammy last night, this one for reading a book into a microphone. That’s about how hip the Grammys have become.

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