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Welcome to your Daily. Today, we look at how fast politics can change, the most overlooked and intriguing recent U.S.-Russia story, Israel grappling with a dramatic part of its history, a Kansas farmer鈥檚 reason for hope, and a poet鈥檚 wisdom for the world today.聽 聽

First, our thoughts on former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Justice Stevens was retired when the Monitor鈥檚 Henry Gass began covering the Supreme Court. But on hearing the news of Mr. Stevens鈥� passing Tuesday, I reached out to Henry to ask what he had learned about him since.

鈥淚t soon became clear to me,鈥� Henry wrote back, 鈥渢hat Mr. Stevens embodied a kind of jurist that has become exceptionally rare since he retired in 2010.鈥�

Mr. Stevens was appointed by Republican President Gerald Ford after a career as a moderate conservative antitrust lawyer. In 35 years on the court, he gradually became a liberal bastion.

In his opinion, though, he didn鈥檛 shift at all. He said he was 鈥渓earning on the job,鈥� guided by a commitment to deciding cases in a humble, restrained manner. One statement of appreciation called him 鈥渁n incredibly decent human being and a thoughtful jurist.鈥�

The court, Mr. Stevens believed, shifted around him. Indeed, there are few surprises coming from the Supreme Court these days. The justices come with clear judicial philosophies that are rigorously vetted along partisan lines. 鈥淧erhaps the only predictable thing about Justice Stevens,鈥� Henry says he learned, 鈥渨ere the snappy bow ties he wore.鈥�

For a review of Mr. Stevens鈥� memoir, please click here.