The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill to make lynching a federal crime. It was sponsored by the Senate’s three African American members, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Tim Scott. Newly elected Mississippi Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith presided over the vote. Last month, Hyde-Smith came under fire after she made the campaign-stop remark, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” She was referring to a supporter.