Stare Decicis: In one of the opening shots in what is sure to be a battle over President Trump’s next Supreme Court nominee, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said she will not support a candidate opposed to abortion.

“I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade because that would mean to me that their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law,” Collins said on CNN’s  “State of the Union.”

The tradition in the Supreme Court is to stick with precedent, except when they don’t.

Trump said during his campaign that a nominee’s opinion about the landmark decision legalizing abortion would be a “litmus” test.  Collins said that in speaking with Trump, “I emphasized that I wanted a nominee who would respect precedent, a fundamental tenet of our judicial system.”

Viva Obrador: Tired of  corruption and violence, Mexican voters yesterday elected leftist populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador president of Mexico in a landslide. His victory overturns the nation’s political establishment and threatens the rule of the financial elites.

The vote, as it did with Donald Trump in the US, rejects the globalization that many Mexicans feel has not done them any good.

Nation: The man who stabbed nine people at a Boise, Idaho apartment complex had been asked to leave an Idaho apartment complex the day before because of bad behavior, police said. The man, Timmy Kinner, showed up late Saturday and stabbed nine people, including six children, at a toddler’s birthday party. The complex houses a lot of refugees, but Kinner is not one of them. He targeted an apartment a few doors down from where he had stayed a short time, police said. The victims included the 3-year-old birthday girl.

World: A family of 11 was found dead in a home in Delhi, India, 10 of them blindfolded and hanging from the ceiling with their hands tied behind their backs. Only a 70-year-old woman was found dead on the floor. Police said they found notes in the house and evidence of “mystical practices.”

Kicked: One of the flaws of soccer — in addition to that mysterious “extra time” — is that tie games are resolved with penalty kicks. Teams line up and take shots at the opposing goalie until someone misses. It’s exciting, but a terrible way to decide a match.

Yesterday in World Cup play Russia upset Spain 4-3 with penalty kicks. Hours later, also on penalty kicks, Croatia disposed of Denmark, 3-2.

Hoop Dreams: Cleveland star Le Bron James, who returned to his hometown to win them an NBA championship four years ago, is leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers and a $154 million contract. He can carry any team to the championships.

La Grande Évasion: After a daring escapade near Paris, French authorities are on a manhunt for a notorious gangster who escaped prison and is on the run. Redoine Faid, 46, has been serving a 25-year sentence for a failed robbery in which a police officer was killed.

The escape began when several armed men created a diversion at the front of the prison. Then a helicopter landed in the yard and Faid jumped in. The abandoned helicopter was later found nearby.

It’s Faid’s second escape. In 2013, less than a half hour after he arrived at a prison in northern France, he seized four guards as human shields and blew  several doors off with dynamite. Interesting guy.

Son of Sam: In the tradition of ABC’s  Sam Donaldson, who became famous shouting questions at presidents, CNN’s Jim Acosta has become the resident shouter in the White House press corps. He’s been criticized for lack of decorum, as if there could be such a thing in the current White House. Acosta told his colleague Brian Stelter in an interview Sunday,  “If they want to send me to hell, I will still be shouting at the devil, is the way I look at it. We have a job to do.”

-30-