and i think sonia sotomayor was the best example of it. we're not going to see a mau modification of the mantra, i'm going to apply the law to the facts. that's all we're going to hear. >> all right, so tuesday, come tuesday, the vote is to take place, run us through what we might expect. >> well, you know, again, we have the entire 100 senators who are going to take their shots. it's not going to be at all as controlled as the gnat judiciary but the truth is by the end of the debate and discussion we're probably looking at 80 to 90 senators who are going to support this nomination. why? because she's prudential, she has a record. she's the only trial judge who frankly has been a nominee who will go to the supreme court that's going to be very difficult to suggest that we're going to see anything other than a confirmation. >> interesting. so avery, let's take a look at something right here. i want you to take a walk with me, if you could. help me understand what's going to happen to this panel. because as we see it now, with the current ni

we have got that in sonia sotomayor. coming back to something that chris said, i was struck by charles schumer saying that the supreme court has more flexibility. in comparing the records of judge sonia sotomayor to justice roberts or samuel alito, conservatives will argue that her off the bench comments matter so much is because she was free to say what she wanted to say. megyn: but like chairman leahy is about to get us going -- looks like chairman leahy is about to get us going. >> what we are going to do, we will have opening statements from members. as we all know, the confirmation hearing of judge sonia sotomayor, for justice of supreme court, welcome to the senate judiciary committee, you have been before us before when you were nominated by george h. w. bush for district judge, and when president clinton nominated u.s. court of appeals judge. before we begin the opening statements of the senators i do none know if there are microphones on are not, will you introduce the members of your family? >> everyone who is

when you first met sonia sotomayor, what was your first impression? >> she impressed me somebody who would understand the problems of victims and witnesses. >> nothing her inclination to speak up for minorities, were you surprised she chose to become a prosecutor rather than a public defender tlfrjtss' a lot more discretion in prosecutor than defense lawyer. you have the discretion to do what you think it right. somebody is arrested, you think it's a bad arrest, you don't prosecute them. >> indeed sotomayor says she was reluctant to prosecute what she called low grade crimes as she felt they could be quote, a product of the environment and of poverty. when it came to violent crime, however, she had no such hesitation, as she noted in a 1983 interview with the new york times, quote, the worst victims of crimes are not general owe site ie white folks, but minorities themselves. nevertheless, her focus on race and ethnicity as an issue makes some conservatives uneasy. >> criticizing hispanic nominee the same waugh you would krut size a white nominee. >>

judge sonia sotomayor's records has been the opposite. her glib and dismissive attitude to the rights manifest and her decisions and further demonstrated by her testimony before this committee, in sonia sotomayor's america, but the peaceful citizens who possess firearms or martial arts instruments have no rights which states about respect and those citizens are not worthy of serious explanation as to why. thank you. >> thank you, did i say your name correctly? that was good. thank you. next, we have ilya somin, assistant professor at george mason university school of law. his research focuses on constitutional law, property law and the study of popular political participation and its implications for constitutional democracy. he currently serves as co-editor of the supreme court economic review, one of the country's top rated law and economic journals. after receiving his am a in political science from harvard university and his law degree from yale law school, he clerked for judge jerry e. smith of the u.s. court of appeals for the fifth

when you first met sonia sotomayor, what was your first impression? >> she impressed me somebody who would understand the problems of victims and witnesses. >> nothing her inclination to speak up for minorities, were you surprised she chose to become a prosecutor rather than a public defender tlfrjtss' a lot more discretion in prosecutor than defense lawyer. you have the discretion to do what you think it right. somebody is arrested, you think it's a bad arrest, you don't prosecute them. >> indeed sotomayor says she was reluctant to prosecute what she called low grade crimes as she felt they could be quote, a product of the environment and of poverty. when it came to violent crime, however, she had no such hesitation, as she noted in a 1983 interview with the new york times, quote, the worst victims of crimes are not general owe site ie white folks, but minorities themselves. nevertheless, her focus on race and ethnicity as an issue makes some conservatives uneasy. >> criticizing hispanic nominee the same waugh you would krut size a white nominee. >>

supreme court sonia sotomayor confirmation hearings. >>> families of the victims killed in the crash expected to file what is believed to be the first of many lawsuits. >>> manny no more. the team decides to part ways with acta. thanks for joining us. it is monday, july 13th. kim is here and she has not a be bad forecast. it is summer so it is a little warmer but -- >> but tolerable because that humidity is m.i.a. we don't care. just keep it away. great to see you. an fyi. i'm simulcasting live from my blog on my laptop. we have a nice group of chatters including patty. yesterday we hit 90. yes, that's a little warm for us but that 90 is something we . ve not done since neju thne so, yes,the re heat and humidity we normally associate with dc sumter time weather has been m.i.a. and that's been great. annapolis 73. 70 gaithersburg. 72 manassas and quantico. here's how it looks on the satellite-radar loop. plenty of sunshine. we will keep the showers to the south across north carolina today. we can thank northeasterly winds for flexing its muscle and helping to shove the humidity to the

sonia sotomayor facing big questions. in fact, some say she is offering little in return. >>> but first, new details in the killing of a prominent florida couple. police now say they are going to interview two more people shortly. investigators stress they are not suspects, but one may be tied to the crime. this comes after the arrest of an eighth suspect yesterday. police found pamela long wiggins in alabama. she is being charged as an accessory after the fact. seven men are charged in the murder of byrd and melanie billings. a safe and other item rs missing from the home. earlier, a sheriff appeared on "american morning" talking about the progress. >> we have two additional persons of interest and they are persons of interest. of the two, we think one could have a tie to the case, but again, we've got extensive interviews to conduct, both with this individual and those that had association with them. hopefully, we can conclude this quickly. we believe that this case has had so many odd twists and turns, that this may be

maybe in the fbi hearings they'll find the other sonia sotomayor. the one that sounds more like president obama. >> you know, what's really interesting, wolf, we have here summaries that we've been given by our great research staff, of all her speeches, of all her cases. what you don't hear to this point, you don't hear her saying you're an activist, you're a liberal, you proved it in this case. you know, you went beyond the reach of the law, you proved it in this case. the 17 years on the bench and they are focusing mostly on the ricci case and the gun-control case, but what you don't hear from the democrats or the republicans is much specifics about all the cases. i think there are 3,000 cases that she's been involved with over the years, and that's surprising to the sense that if they could find a thematic point to make, a connect-the-dots theory in her legal rulings, you would think you would hear it point by point. >> maria echaveste, former deputy chief of staff, weigh in. >> the research has shown that she's consistent, moderate. the only foc

that has been the crux of the matter in the case of sonia sotomayor. i am going to bring in gloria bo borger. i want to let you know there has been a shooting in new jersey where five police officers have been shot and we are now learning from our own sources that four of those officers are injured pretty badly. in fact, it is being called critical in at least a couple of cases. maybe a shot to the face. another one shot to the neck. the man who shot them apparently was wearing -- rob, if you have got some of those pictures, let's share those real quick. the man who shot them according to police was dressed as a priest. look at the pandemonium in new jersey. this is near nerscy city. this happening just a couple of hours ago. again, we are on it. we are going to be drilling down on this. i have now learned the police chief there is going to join me live to take us through this. first, let's go back to gloria. two of the 19 firefighters who were denied a promotion after passing a test and doing well on it and working so hard to prepare for that test. wh

it was nearly five hours in to the first day of judge sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearings before s was finally sworn in. judge sonia sotomayor has spent the past three months meeting 89 senators but publicly saying nothing since her nomination was announced. that changed on monday. >> the task of a judge is not to make law. it is to apply the law. >> reporter: in a short, but empassioned opening statement, judge sonia sotomayor, whose father died while she was a child and went on to a successful legal career and judgeship laid out her resume and laid the credit for it all on the woman who raised her, her mother is a lena. >> on her own minute mother raised my. she taught us the key to success in america is a good education and she set the example. studying alongside my brother and me at our kitchen table. >> much of the first day consistented of a back and forth first jab between both sides. the public laid in to sonia sotomayor early saying they want to know about her statement that her gender and latina heritage influenced past decisions. >> i will not vote for and no senator s

judge sonia sotomayor is taking a little break herself. they will resume these confirmation hearings in about ten or 15 minutes or so. meanwhile, we're waiting momentarily for president of the united states to walk out of the west wing of the white house from the oval office and go down those stairs into the rose garden where he will nominate a new surgeon general of the united states. the president will make that announcement and we expect that to be very, very shortly. while we await the president and while the judiciary committee is in recess, let's assess what we just heard so far, these opening statements from democrats and republicans. there are 19 members of the senate judiciary committee. 12 democrats, 7 republicans. we perhaps are maybe halfway through the opening statements so far. one of the most important statements came from senator jeff sessions, the republican senator from alabama. he is the top republican on the committee. and he directly addressed one of the most important issues facing this nominee. the whole issue of the

i support judge sonia sotomayor. i think that the body of her work that i've heard about in the case that she is neutral concerning the law as anyone. i hope people will get away from the mass amnesia and that it will stop pretending that the history of injustice toward minorities in this country is not pertinent. certainly the experience of the judge's such as the types that brought about the dread scott decision -- no one, and certainly not judge sonia sotomayor should back away from the fact that experience and empathy, and as much as judges are not robots, that does not pertain in decision making. host: i want to show you this chart in "the wall street journal" this morning. it is all the supreme court nominees since 1975, beginning with john paul stevens through sonia sotomayor. over here, it has both the committee vote and the full senate vote listings. you can see that some of the more controversial ones include william rehnquist in 1986, a 65-33. clarence thomas, 52-48. and then john roberts, 782-22. 58-22 fo

. >>> and live confirmation hearings for judge sonia sotomayor. our brianna keilar is live on capitol hill right in the middle of it all to tell us about what we can expect to hear today. >>> also look at this video. two tornadoes ripped through minnesota. we'll tell you where and where that severe weather bull's-eye is headed today. >>> today we begin with breaking news out of iran. a caspian airlines jet went down 90 miles northwest of the capital of tehran. iranian television there says 168 people are dead. an area commander says the plane just disintegrated. there are no known survivors. the russian-made plane was flying from tehran to armenia. it is unknown at this time what may have caused that crash. >>> it is day three today for supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor. she'll face more direct questions from the senate judiciary committee this morning. yesterday she was quizzed on hot-button issues like roe versus wade and on her word choices. cnn's congressional correspondent brianna keilar joins us now live from capitol hill this morn

sotomayor como jueces de la corte suprema. >> sonia sotomayor tiene asegurada la votaciÓn pese al rechazo republicanos. >> no serÁ bipartidista. >> al reblicano de mayor rango dijo que votarÁ en contra de la denominada del presidente obama. cuestionÓ su fidelidad a la ley. >> no creo que tenga convicciones suficientemente profundas. >> tambiÉn anunciÓ que le h@ negarÁ su apoyo, otro republicano que dice que duda de su capacidad. >> otros tres, tampoco la respaldarÁn. >> uno de ellos admitiÓ el peligro polÍtico en su estado, dijo que cedieron a presiones como las de la asociaciÓn nacional del rifle. >> es un debate como el de cualquier candidato, ojalÁ que los latinos no piensan que es una cuestiÓn racista. >> el senador graham sÍ apoyarÁ a la jueza. >> si la confirmaciÓn de sonia sotomayor como la primera hispana en la corte, pasarÁ a la historia, tambiÉn pasarÁ a la historia, el voto de cada senador.h@h@twókpédikkph@h@twóÁ a la cuestiÓn. >> uno de los hombres terminÓ arrestado diciendo que fue demorado sÓlo porque era negro. >> la mujer llamÓ a 911 y dijo que no

some republicans argued that the reversal shows that sonia sotomayor is bias in cases. despite that, she appears to have enough support to be confirmed. >>> if she is confirm, sonia sotomayor will become the first hispanic woman to serve on the supreme court. >>> inball county, police say a shootout broke out during a drug exchange in essex. two men showed up to do a drug deal and began shooting at each other. one is in stable condition and charges are pending. >>> when maryland delivers the worst disasters will master's degree -- maryland be ready? live with details on who can join up and what to do in the event of a disaster. >> reporter: to answer the question, anyone who can lend a helping hand if it's flash flooding or a major flu pandemic pandemic. they started looking for better ways after katrina. >> to make sure that they're line up and ready to go in the event of an emergency or disaster. >> reporter: some of the people met in baltimore where the governor announced the formation of a civic guard. he's not asking for volunteers to rush into burn buildings but h

>>> hearings are continuing for sonia sotomayor. right now, we'll get right back to them, but i want to check important news that is unfolding. cnn's tony harris is standing by with a news update. the world isn't stopping, tony, just because these historic hearings are under way. >> you said it, wolf. good to see you. let's get to uth stories making news. house democrats plan to release a plan to overhaul the nation's health care system. speaker nancy pelosi expects a vote by the august recess and more changes in the bill are due to likely differences. the plan could cost about $1 trillion over ten years with much of the money spent on people who cannot afford care. >>> new signals on the economy, retail sales are up, so are wholesale prices. the commerce department says last month sales rose 0.6% better than economists expected and a surge in gasoline prices credited for the gains and the government says prices at the whole sale level before goods reached store shelves in june. wholesale prices rose just 0.2% in may. a fourth suspe

>> segundo dÍa de audiencias para la confirmaciÓn de sonia sotomayor hoy negÓ cualquier prejuicio racial. pace estar mÁs cerca la reforma al sistema de salud. las reformas tratando de encontrar salidas para cubrir el enorme costo. 12 defensores de la justicia en mÉxico se convirtieron en vÍctimas de la guerra con los cÁrteles de la droga. el dermatÓlogo del rey del pop tuvo que morar a los investigadores datos personales del artista. >> bienvenidos a esta ediciÓn. en el segundo dÍa de audiencias para la confirmaciÓn de la jueza sonia sotomayor el debate sea calor como. comentarios vertidos hace ocho aÑos cuando dijo que una latinas habÍa llegaría a mejores conclusiones que un hombre blanco, aparecieron como un fantasma hace charla. [ mÚsica ] >> la jueza sonia sotomayor defendiÓ la imparcialidad de sus fallos en la primera ronda de preguntas en su audiencia de confirmaciÓn sobre su cita de que una mujer latina con sabidurÍa llegaría a una mejor conclusiÓn de un hombre blanco. >> "no creo que ningÚn grupo racial o de riesgo tiene una ventaja al remitir con juicioso bro.

sonia sotomayor. we'll look back at her childhood in new york's housing projects and how it helped prepare her for the big day. >>> meantime, president obama is back moem in washington this morning. before he left ghana over the weekend, he sat down for an exclusive interview with anderson cooper. >> he talked about the tour of the cape coast castle where african-americans were held before being sold into slavery. >> reporter: the president and his family arrived in ghana on friday. on saturday they came here to cape coast castle, ace place where enslaved africans were once held before being shipped off to the new world and shipped off to america. i had a chance to tour the castle with the president. first, we sat down and talked about the news of the day. vice president biden said you misread the economy. you said, no, no, no, we had incomplete information. nevertheless you said you would not have done anything differently. how? that seems contradictory. if you had known unemployment was going to go

de four of the confirmation hearings for judge sonia sotomayor. i will have more coming up. >>> take a look at last night's winning lottery numbers. we hope you had them. >>> the morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. >> thank you for joining us. we have a look at today's forecast. >>> the heat is on. the nights cool days -- a nice cold days are a thing of the past. 74 degrees downtown. 71 degrees at the airport. we were 59 degrees at this point yesterday. there are chances for isolated storms later today. >>> our big story this morning, baltimore county police say there may be an eye witness to the deadly incident on the light will track the claimed the lives of two teenagers. >> our reporter has more on this story. >> good morning. they are looking for a witness that was on board of the train when it hit the two teenagers. the one to talk to the man because of where he was sitting on the train. they are hoping these images from a video surveillance camera will help them find who they are looking for. it was taken on the train that ki

. >>> let the attacks begin, supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor will be in the hot seat today as questioning begins in her confirmation hearing. metro hearing. the head of metro transit goes before congress to testify about the deadly rail accident. >>> and contract controversy, dc council members open a probe in to the actions of one of their own. good morning, everyone. i'm andrea roane. thanks for joining us. today is july 14th. it is bass teal day. kim martucci is here. she has weather. that is still good. we are very happy about this. >> don't shortchange it. it is fantastic. oh, my. in the middle of july, dew points in the 40s is unusual but that's what we have and happy to report the humidity, like the last couple of days will be low. let's get moving. i hahe tve forecast ready tto go. lo albout this fr omco ni beach. th sh otthat is aubeful. this is from one of our weather watchers mark washburn. thank you, mark. check out the pollen. i have been sneezing and i think i figured it out, it is the grass. it is in the auraatmodey.teor g c snyoe areewinge e mthyou m might be allergic to g

. >>> question time for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. some republicans want answers about what she has said in the past. >>> and there it goes. baseball's biggest bats swing away in st. louis, ahead of baseball's biggest bats swing away in st. louis, ahead of tonight's all-star game. captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> we are following a developing story this morning. southwest airlines has been busy inspecting nearly 200 of its 737ed. they're trying to figure out why a football-sized hole broke up on one of the planes in mid flight. >> the passengers onboard the flight from nashville to baltimore, were remarkably calm, even though they could see the sky through the cabin. the southwest flight was about 30 minutes outside of nashville when passengers said they heard a loud pop. the 373 was flying at about 35 feet when the hole broke open. it caused the cabin to depressurize. and masks dropped from the ceiling. the 126 passengers and 5 crew members kept their cool for another 20 minutes before making an emergency landing at the parpt in ch

senators are wrapping up their questioning of judge sonia sotomayor. the woman that president obama has selected to serve on the supreme court. once the senators have finished questioning the judge, they will then hear from witnesses invited by both political parties who will give their views on whether or not she should be confirmed to the high court. among those witnesses the firefighters who are at the center of a controversial case of discrimination. joel brown reports now from captiol hill. >> supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor returned to the hot seat for the fourth day in a row. so far she's avoided any major mistakes, but republicans kept trying to knock her off of they are script during the second round of questioning. >> is there any personal judgment to be relied upon by a supreme court justice in deciding whether or not the second amendment is a fundamental right. >> you hire judges for their judgment not their personal views or what their sense of what the outcome should be. >> reporter: democrats use the session to support her. >> it i

talking now about sonia sotomayor and the hearings so far. as you know better than anyone, the senators are all in their policy lunches right now, the tuesday luncheons, so they will be back. the hearings will resume at 2:00. but what they are doing now is laying out their political points. these are the lines of division where you've got the portrait of sonia sotomayor as a judge who follows precedent, who in 17 years has rarely been overturned, coming from patrick leahy and the majority. and on the other side, they're portraying her as an activist, who would judge based on her emotions, her prejudices, her ethnicity. these are very difficult portraits to try to reconcile. >> that is the road map, as you've outlined it, andrea. and the benefit of the lunch break is that i've been able to be in touch with some of the people who have been the inside the sonia sotomayor camp. people who have been working with her through this process. and their early assessments after just one-half of one day of questioning is that they fully expected that repu

chris, you heard sonia sotomayor's opening statement. she did not address many of the issues, although she talked about the broad judicial philosophy. >> you asked me this before, and now having heard her statement, she was smart not to. this is the first time that most americans have heard her. she did not want to come off as unduly offensive with all that stuff about wise latina and gun- control, likely to come up tomorrow. she and her advisers must think that in the context of a lot of issues that will,, let's introduce ourselves to the -- will come up, let's introduce ourselves to the american people today. she skillfully wove in her, her mother, her brother, all rising together. she talked about her job as an assistant district attorney and the suffering of victims families. real-world experience. she talked about sharing ideas with her wonderful colleagues in working together. there has been criticism that she does not have a judicial temperament, that she is a bear on the bench. most important was the part at the end. it struck me

judge sonia sotomayor is tackling questions about her experience and how she would rule from the high court's bench during day two of her confirmation hearings. >> reporter: supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor wants the record to be clear. if she's confirmed to serve on the high court her personal feelings won't decide cases. >> the process of judging is a process of keeping an open mind. >> reporter: it is day two of sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearings. she will field questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. republicans are focusing on what they see as her biases but the top democrat gave her an opportunity to go on the offensive. >> you have heard all of these charges and countercharges the wise latina and on and on. here's your chance. you tell us what's going on here, judge. >> i do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. i do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge. >> reporter: democrats hold a large majority in the senate. so barring any major slipups sonia sotomayor's path t

that's when the questioning of sonia sotomayor begins. today's hearing, by the way, was interrupted by some anti-abortion protesters who shouted over members of the judiciary committee giving their statements. listen to this. >> senator -- >> get out. get out. >> the officer -- the officer will remove the person. the officer will remove the person. we will stand -- >> everybody believes judge sotomayor has the respect to be heard. the senators deserve the respect of being heard. no outbursts will be allowed. >> senator! >> get out. get out. >> the witness list for sotomayor's confirmation hearing is an interesting mix, by the way. among those scheduled to testify on the judge's behalf, the former major league baseball pitcher david cone. he was active in the players' union back in 1995 when sotomayor effectively ended the baseball strike, ruling in favor of the players. also, the former fbi director louis freeh. he and sotomayor worked together as federal trial judges. fellow new york mayor michael bloomberg also will encourage senators t

think back to when sonia sotomayor was nominated by the president. republicans said we can't possibly do this before august recess. there's no way there can be a vote. and the white house said there will be a vote. we are sticking to this. they will never have enough time or as much time as they would like. the white house knows that august recess is a potentially dangerous time if health care reform is still flailing out there, nothing is done, you have statements like from the cbo director that republicans can use to politically beat up democrats. they know that that's a dangerous political time. that's why they want to get this done before. it's why you saw the president come out today. it's why, my guess, you will see him focus heavily in his opening statement on wednesday on health care. >> they're always very worried about that long august recess when members go home and they can hear a lot of negative things from their constituents about what they've been up to lately. let's listen to more of what the president had to say today. >> i realize t

supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor has won the approval of the senate judiciary committee by a vote of 13-6. nbc's justice correspondent, pete williams, joins me now from washington. pete, no real surprise there is, except for the fact that only one republican joined her. >> right, we thought orrin hatch might, but he announced late last week that he would vote against her, largely because we think of her position on -- or his concern about her position on abortion and gun rights. but lindsey graham was the only republican who voted for and his comments were quite interesting, andrea, because he said that he was convinced that her statements and her decisions did not indicate that she decided cases with a personal bias in mind. that was the theme of most of the republicans who said they'd vote against her. and then she said, if she will inspire young women, particularly young latina women, that would be a good thing. america has changed for the better with her nomination. >> you know, you mentioned that he mentioned the latina issue. the republicans are really challenged. at this ho

judge sonia sotomayor called it a business as usual and simple negotiation. it is no negotiation when one party possesses the power through the city to take your property whether you agree or not. in a two page opinion, judge sonia sotomayor's court rejected a landowner's claim, holding the courtroom doors were closed because he brought his claim too late. the logic was of the landowner had to bring it to the extortion -- before the extortion occurred, the result was to violate the constitution, plainly states property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. the supreme court has been clear that you cannot take private property except for public use. prof. ileus allman who has talked about are the matters, said this case was the most anti property rights case since the infamous kelo decision which was decided by 5-4 court a few years ago. claim constitutional projections by an individual american citizen who is standing up for his constitutional rights. in three cases contrary to the plain text of the constitution, judge sotomayor ruled a

judge sonia sotomayor has had her day before the senate. let's bring in bay buchanan, republican strategist and president of the american cause and back with me is angela bert-murray. bay, i want to turn to you. did republicans score any points or was that unrealistic to begin with? they only have 40 votes in the senate and the best they could do was not let her have a free pass? >> the key here, carlos, is we always knew she would be confirmed. we don't have the numbers as you pointed out. but that we needed to raise some important issues so we could establish what does obama and his democratic friends stand for? and we did that through sotomayor. they clearly stand for race-based justice for affirmative action. her whole life was dedicated to demanding special privileges and special preferences based on jex sex and gender. we established that. by doing so, we let people know we don't stand for that. we are against that. we know that is harmful for white americans and we believe equal justice under the law for all and i think we scored qui

: sonia sotomayor remained cool under fire as she returned for another day of intense questioning on captiol hill. >> on all issues i follow the law. >> reporter: it is the third day of confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor but the subject remains the same. republican senators asked her what she meant when she said in a speech that a wise latina woman would reach a better conclusion than a male. >> you indicated if -- that this is really and please correct me if i am wrong, i am trying to repeat your words a rhetorical flourish that fell flat. >> it fell flat. i understand that some people have understood them in a way i never intended. >> reporter: back on the agenda today is sonia sotomayor's ruling that white new haven firefighters were not discriminated against when the results of the promotion tests they took were thrown out. the supreme court overturned that decision. but democrats dominate the committee and the senate and they were much friendlier. >> you are a hero to baltimore baseball fans. the baseball strike you allowed the season to continue so cal ripken could be th

>>> also, what have the sonia sotomayor's hearings tot us about her nomination. is it proof that affirmative action works or that it unfairly discriminates against white men? >>> and if you need proof that 60 detectives in the senate guarantees nothing, look no further than the top priority, the employee choice act. why 60 doesn't always equal 60 in the united states senate? >>> plus, the latest tweaks from sarah palin. we begin tonight with the battle over health care reform. kelly o'connell is joining us from capitol hill. also with us is washingtonpost.com's chris zolana. let's listen to what president obama had to say this afternoon. >> now we have to get over the finish line and part of this process is figuring out how to pay for it. i have said that health insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade, and i mean it. >> now, it seems to me that this was a direct response to what ceo director douglas elvandorf had to say while testifies on thursday. we'll listen to that. >> we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessa

they went into the week thinking they had a big challenge with sonia sotomayor. that went smoothly, now the storm on health care with the president coming out to address those issues. we'll have that live on msnbc. thanks for being with us. >>> after four years of relative calm, deadly explosions rocked the heart of the capital. >> at least eight are dead. authorities say security prevented a car bombing which could have been deadlier. it is believed the bombs were smuggled into the hotels by registering as guests. >>> next, a look at what "the new york times" top writers are writing. >>> and hear what she has to say about the nominee ahead. >>> plus, ross dowden says the pope is taking a little from the left and the right. this is "the new york times" special edition, only on msnbc. ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and

sotomayor and then sonia sotomayor will speak. arlen specter is speaking to al franken, the two new members, at least the new democrats on the committee, arlen specter was a long-time republican for pennsylvania, was up for re-election next year. he will be running as a democrat. al franken, the one-time comedy writer, comedian, actor, now united states senator from the state of minnesota. just sworn in the other day after a long, long battle against the former incumbent, norm coleman. we've got a great team here to assess what's going on. let me introduce everybody once again. gloria borger is here, senior political analyst. jeff toobin, senior legal analyst, author of one of the historic books on the united states supreme court, a major bestseller now out in paperback. maria teaches law at the university of california berkeley, formerly served in the bill clinton white house. alex is our republican strategist and knows a great deal about what's going on politically, and other matters as well. candy crowley is our senior politica

sonia sotomayor is most likely going to be on it. the supreme court justices rarely make public statements. this is the only chance to get to explore her judicial philosophy. she might be a little nervous. millions of people are watching this. everybody will be watching her every move, her demeanor. is she going to respond to any of these charges preemptively? and how she handles herself. >> unless she crashes, she is going on said as the winner. the question is, how does she handle this. it is the way it is framed that is so interesting. one thing that happened this morning -- her people said overwhelmingly, 80% of her rulings have been reversed that have beegone to the supreme court. the democratic senators said she has voted with republicans 95% of the time. she has voted against people look filed a discrimination complaints on women. she has voted against those seeking immigration and asylum to the numbers are pitted against each other in an intriguing way. she is not a square player when it comes to judging. democrats say, what

judge sonia sotomayor will be back on capitol hill. the second day of her supreme court nomination hearings and republicans are likely to take her to task over comments she made about race to tell us what to expect, we're talking to senate judiciary committee member orrin hatch. >>> learning about a bush-era cia program some members of congress say vice president dick cheney kept secrets, reports out this morning say for eight years the top spy agency was working to take out al qaeda leaders with specially trained assassins. authorities say the plans were vague and never executed. >> a football-sized hole rips through a jet at 31,000 feet. all people onboard are safe. making an emergency landing in west virginia. investigators are working to figure out why this happened. southwest is inspecting all 181 of the boeing 737 jets as a precaution. >>> well, with day two of judge sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearings begin in a couple of hours, senators will start questioning her on what she means when she says her goal is "fidelity to the

called to testify about sonia sotomayor. listening to what are her said, two key witnesses, firefighters from the connecticut case where the supreme court overturned a decision that some of your -- that sonia sotomayor had participated in a ruling. new york city mayor michael bloomberg will be one of the witnesses. was the confirmation hearings end, lawmakers are hoping to hold the vote on her nomination by early august. in washington, i am nikole killion. back to you. >>> general motors will be able to start putting some of the shares as they try to reorganize. they will shed 54 sponsorship deals to save money. at one point, they were the nation's largest advertisers sponsoring so many things. we do not know how much money the plan will save the automaker. >>> 69 degrees sunday the hill. you know that eating healthy can help you have a longer more enjoyable life. >> we will take a look at how some of those can help prolong your life and your memory. >>> we will tell you what is going on around the bay briú >>> 74 degrees

sonia sotomayor is returning to capitol hill for day three of these hearings. she's explained her words of the past, so senators can get a better idea of how she may judge in the future. two words kept coming up through nearly seven hours of questioning for judge sonia sotomayor. the words were wise latina. >> no words have i ever spoken or written, have received so much attention. >> reporter: her 2001 statement that a wise latina, would reach a better conclusion than a white male, was meant to be inspirational. but failed. >> you do believe that the backgrounds will affect the result in cases. >> at no point in time have i ever permitted my personal views or sympathies to influence an outcome of a case. >> reporter: sotomayor avoided sharing her views on many issues. on abortion, she says the supreme court has set a precedent on the right to privacy. on gun rights, she would not get specific. >> like you, i understand that how important the right to bear arms is to many, many americans. >> reporter: republican lindsey graham read anonymous critical evaluation

you are watching 9 news now. >>> today confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor get underway. welcome back to 9 news. i'm andrea roane. thanks for joining us this morning. traffic producer kris will have the rush hour report in just a moment but we begin with kim's forecast are you all moved and everything. >> for the most part all of my belongings were proved without too many rain drops. if you follow me on twitter you know we are working on a high of 88 today. just one of e thinside rk s. look outside. here's a check on the numbers r etty comfortable here. i like the idea of 61 in gaithersburg and martinsburg and culpeper 64. so pretty decent sleeping weather. scattered clouds this morning. no rain drops with them. building in sunshine in to the afternoon. a seasonal 88. cooler tomorrow and hot on wednesday, 90. angie is off and traffic kris has her back. >> good morning, kim. we have our first incident of the morning. it is in laurel, maryland at laurel bowie road and montpelier drive. report of an accident. we will give you details as they come in. to our cameras and check

thank you all. >> judge sonia sotomayor of the appellate court. she is, of course, the nominee by president obama to serve on the united states supreme court to replace david souter. she says many asked about my judicial philosophy, it's simple, fidelity to the law. the task of a judge is not to make the law, it's to apply the law. it's clear my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the constitution according to its terms. now the questions begin from 19 members of the senate judiciary committee headed by patrick leahy. opening statements from justice sotomayor. looks like they're going to take a quick break before the questioning begins. it's streaming live on our website. if you would like to watch it in progress go to cnn.com/live. >>> a mom and dad brutally murdered inside their florida home. three men are behind bars in connection with the case. why would someone kill a couple known for adopting kids with special needs? we could learn a lot more -- in fact we expect to learn a lot more in about an hour as the ne

we are told president obama gave sonia sotomayor a good luck call. the president expressed his confidence that judge sotomayor would be confirmed to serve as a justice on the supreme court for many years to come. democrats have the votes to confirm sonia sotomayor but she will face some tough questions in this week's hearing. >> thank you mr. president. >> reporter: a journey that began at the white house heads to capitol hill for nominee of sonia sotomayor. >> i hope the senate and the american people learn more about me. they will see i am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. >> reporter: senate democrats who have the votes to confirm sotomayor are expected to highlight her personal story to win favor. growing up poor in bronx public housing then going on to an ivy league education and now possibly the first latina supreme court justice. a smart approach for sotomayor as well says ken duberstein. >> your personal life and values and impartiality. >> reporter: conservatives have a difficult task a

sonia sotomayor is the first hispanic nominated to the supreme court. what has her nomination told us about where the country stands on affirmative action? former senator john danforth represented the state of missouri for 18 years serving on the senate finance committee. he also guided justice clarence thomas through the nomination process. senator danforth is currently a partner at the law firm bryan cave. senator danforth, there was a discussion this week about affirmative action in america. there certainly was back during the clarence thomas nomination. what similarities and what differences do you see between the clarence thomas week of discussion about that and this week's? >> every case is different. i think the point is that never again is the supreme court going to be made up exclusively of white males. that's just not going to happen. any president is going to be looking for diversity on the court. any president is going to be considering women, african-americans, hispanics on the court, and maybe others as well. that doesn't mean a reduction

. >> protesting a abortion, and sonia sotomayor. why some say a state senator's vote on the nomination should keep her from receiving communion. >> one day i was home and decided if you want to do it. >> tennessee mantra travels across sev >> opening statements scheduled monday for the confirmation hearing of sonia sotomayor. fox's jennifer davis is in washington with a closer look at how the nominee and her critics are getting ready for the big event. >> sonia sotomayor he could soon be the first hispanic on the high court. first she has to make it through the confirmation hearings, begin monday. and behind the scene preps are in high gear. >> you want her worst day to be in preparation not with the camera are on, and she is sitting in front of the real-life senate. >> democrats say they are expecting a swift and smooth confirmation for a woman that earned the highest possible ratings from the american bar association. supporters say they have impeccable credentials and life story. >> she will be confirmed. i would hope though that

today confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor get underway. good mo

judge sonia sotomayor is on the hot seat today. on the second day of her confirmation hearings, the supreme court nominee is likely to face tough questions from republican senators concerned about her sbargsity. >>> and two more american marines were killed in afghanistan. they died yesterday, part of that major offensive in southern afghanistan to try to get rid of the taliban. >>> there are growing congressional demands for an investigation into a secret cia operation to capture or kill al qaeda leaders. the plan was kept from congress, apparently on orders from then vice president dick cheney. nancy cordes reports. >> reporter: the cia never briefed congress on a sensitive counterterrorism plan because former vice president dick cheney told the cia not to. that's what democrats say cia director leon panetta told them when he met with intelligence committee members last month right after he laerpd aboearnede program and killed it. >> you can't have a president or vice president or senator that don't follow the law. >> reporter: c

confirmation hearings are set for tomorrow for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. but she could face tough questions on a few key issues. >> some of those potential hurdles, caroline in washington this morning. what can we expect tomorrow with the fireworks display? >> i think there are going to be some tough questions, guys. that's why this weekend they have been running it ahead of the hearings practicing the tough questions she's gonna face. this statement she made in 2001 will be at the heart of some of those questions. she's made similar comments in multiple speeches. >> i asked her about that. and she said -- she was very emphatic. she said ultimately and completely the law is what controls. >> and here's another contentious area. in 2005 sonia sotomayor said the court of appeals where she was a judge is where policy is made. some senators have jumped on that statement calling her an activist judge. her ruling in a reverse discrimination suit will be front and center. last year she sided with a connecticut city with firefighters saying not enough minorities p

von brunn enfrenta cargos de asesinato en pxpr gradxpxpxpxpxa jueza sonia sotomayor a la corte suprema de justicia sea un proceso rapido y justo... mas de 800- lideres comunitarios provenientes de 40 estados se reunieron en washington para presionar a los legisladores por la pronta confirmacion de sotomayor... esl proximo lunes, sotomayor llega a las audiencias de confirmacion con apoyo de varios grupos comprometidos en una campaÑa de cabildeo... "la platica, cuando se trata de hispanos a veces ha sido tan toxica que la comunidad de quien nos apoya y quien no, es posible que en esa situacion, al no apoyar a la jueza sonia sotomayor la comunidad lo va ver como un rechazo a la comunidad latina". sonia sotomayor, lleva semanas respondiendo a preguntas hostiles como parte de su preparacion para las diencias de confirmacion en el senado, donde se anticipa una recepcion poco amistosa de parte de los republicanos... sotomayor ya enfrento interrogatorios del senado en el pasado, cuando fue postulada por george bush padre, a jueza feral en 1992, y nuevam

judge sonia sotomayor fielded questions about her stand on the abortion rights case roe v. wade. she stopped sort of calling abortion sethleed law. >>> health care reform will get top billing as the president and congress and many try to lobby to put their stamp on the health insurance system. house democrats unveiled sweeping legislation on tuesday. president obama wants the house and senate to vote on health reform bills before the august recess. >>> the color-coded system designed to assess the risk of a terrorist attack could be fading away. homeland security secretary janet napolitano announced the 60-day review of the five tier system. she says she wants to be sure it is the most effective alert system for the nation. the current system uses green to signal a low danger of an attack and red is severe danger of an attack. right now it is at code yellow for elevated. >>> the only person to stand trial for the september 11th terrorist attacks will get another shot to make his case in the appeals court. the court of appeals ordered new arguments in the case after one of the jud