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The Knowledge is Power Program ("KIPP") is getting a $4.6-million grant to help it meet a previously stated goal of opening ten charter schools in Philadelphia by 2016:
"As far as we know, this is the largest grant that's been given to a charter school for expansion in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/
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by KYW's Mike Dunn
Speaking one year to the day after he unveiled a new program to combat homelessness (related story), mayor Michael Nutter on Thursday said the effort has worked well, and more help from Washington is on its way.
At a press conference outside City Hall, Nutter said the overall homeless population -- in shelters and on the streets -- is down 4.4 percent compared to a year ago.
The program originally included additional overnight cafés for those who resist shelters, and 625 new PHA and city-subsidized housing units for the chronically homeless.
Currently, Nutter says, 510 of those units are occupied:
For full story go to:
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by KYW's Mark Abrams Delaware's highest court has given the green light to a sports betting lottery in that state. In a 22-page advisory opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court justices concluded that the state constitution would allow a sports betting lottery as long as chance is predominant in winning or losing -- hence the "lottery" descriptor For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/ |
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by KYW's David Madden
Bail remains at $1 million cash for the Norristown man charged with gunning down a casino shift manager at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ on Wednesday night.
Co-workers are mourning the loss of colleague Ray Kot (above) and are struggling to figure out why he was gunned down in an office just off the casino gaming floor
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| This undated handout photo provided by the White House shows Sonia Sotomayor in 2009. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice David Souter. |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One of the few things conservatives and liberals agree on when it comes to Sonia Sotomayor is that her views on abortion rights are a mystery - and one that must be solved before she can be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.
Sotomayor's nomination has reopened a politically and emotionally charged debate over abortion that's energized interest groups on the left and right - all working to draw members, money and attention by ensuring the issue features prominently in the judge's confirmation hearings.
Unlike many liberal organizations that came out swiftly and enthusiastically to back Sotomayor, abortion-rights groups are withholding their support until she answers questions on the court's 1973 legalization decision and the principles behind it.
NARAL Pro Choice America has praised her experience and background but has stopped well short of endorsing her. "We look forward to learning more about Judge Sotomayor's views on the right to privacy and the landmark Roe v. Wade decision as the Senate's hearing process moves forward," the group's president, Nancy Keenan, said Tuesday, the day the nomination was announced.
She declined through a spokesman Thursday to comment further on the subject. The group is asking supporters to urge senators to ask Sotomayor about Roe and the right to privacy.
Neither abortion rights advocates nor foes take any comfort from the abortion-related cases on which Sotomayor has ruled as a federal judge - none of which were decided based on the principles or precedents underlying Roe v. Wade.
"I don't think anybody can draw a conclusion," said Charmaine Yoest, the president of Americans United for Life, which opposes abortion rights. "Given the fact that she has been so outspoken about the view that her personal opinions and personal characteristics come into play at the bar, that's very troubling to us."
On the opposite side, Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, said: "We don't have enough information to take a position at this time. We're waiting to learn more about Judge Sotomayor's views on the constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose."
The White House edged carefully around the issue Thursday in an animated question-and-answer session in which reporters pressed to know whether President Barack Obama had ascertained Sotomayor's views before nominating her.
Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said the two discussed Sotomayor's "views on unenumerated rights in the Constitution and the theory of settled law" - both of which have been buzz-phrases for backers of the 1973 decision. In Roe, the court recognized a right to privacy even thought it's not spelled out in the Constitution. Abortion-rights backers consider the decision "settled law" - a kind of super-precedent that has survived long enough without major challenge that it shouldn't be reconsidered.
Obama was "very comfortable with her interpretation of the Constitution being similar to that of his," Gibbs said, declining to provide more specifics.
The White House says Obama didn't ask Sotomayor specifically about her view of Roe v. Wade or privacy rights, even though as a presidential candidate in 2007, he said, "I would not appoint somebody who doesn't believe in the right to privacy."
Gibbs said he had "no reason to believe" any White House aide asked Sotomayor those questions either.
Abortion is a perennial hot-button in Supreme Court confirmation hearings, drawing pointed questions from Republicans and Democrats alike. It's expected to play a prominent role in the debate over Sotomayor in part because the court has recently been closely divided on abortion questions.
In the latest such ruling - of major concern to abortion rights supporters - the court upheld a nationwide ban on a procedure its opponents call partial-birth abortion, a decision both sides said could pave the way for further restrictions. It was the first abortion ruling in which the court didn't require an exception to preserve a woman's health.
"On these sensitive high-stakes political issues, it's always a very delicate matter in the selection process - no president wants to have a litmus test," said Emma Coleman Jordan, a Georgetown University law professor and former Justice Department official who worked on Sandra Day O'Connor's 1981 nomination to the high court.
"There are ways to determine inclinations, but not through crude, direct questioning. ... The process is not as hamhandedly political as the interest groups try to make it out to be," Jordan said.
Obama's own pro-abortion rights stance has led many to assume that his chosen nominee would feel the same, but there's a history of presidents being unpleasantly surprised by their Supreme Court choices' positions. Retiring Justice David H. Souter, whom Sotomayor would replace if confirmed, was named by former President George H. W. Bush and was widely expected to support overturning Roe, but in 1992 he sided with a majority to uphold abortion rights.
Sotomayor's decisions give little clue about her views on the subject, although she has issued two rulings on unrelated legal issues whose results favored abortion rights opponents. In 2002, she dismissed a challenge by an abortion rights group to the so-called "Mexico City" policy of denying federal funding to organizations that provide or promote abortions. Two years later, she ruled that abortion rights protesters who had unsuccessfully tried to sue Hartford police officers for using excessive force against them should, in fact, get to go to court.
Neither case turned on the key questions of reproductive rights, privacy or Roe itself.
Some abortion rights supporters say they take heart in Sotomayor's reputation as a judge who respects precedent and exercises restraint in her rulings - a reputation the White House has worked hard to bolster.
"We're hoping and counting on her respect for past legal precedent as an encouraging sign, but we don't have any direct evidence," said Doug Laube of Physicians for Reproductive Rights. "Sure we're concerned, and I think most people who are on our side ... are concerned, but we're happy to take a wait-and-see attitude."
Conservatives, for their part, say there's at least a chance Sotomayor could be on their side.
"There's always the hope that she could be truly Justice Souter's opposite," said Yoest of Americans United for Life. "It gives me some consolation that they're concerned."
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| South Korean Army soldiers approach to a canon during the military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2009. South Korean and U.S. troops raised their alert Thursday to the highest level since 2006 after North Korea renounced its truce with the allied forces and threatened to strike any ships trying to intercept its vessels. |
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AP) -- While worrisome, North Korea's nuclear and missile tests have not reached a crisis level that would warrant additional U.S. troops in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
Gates, flying to Singapore to meet with Asian defense ministers, said he has not seen any moves by North Korea's military that would prompt the United States to add to the roughly 28,000 troops already in South Korea. He said any military actions would need to be decided upon, and carried out, by broad international agreement.
"I don't think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis," Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early Friday morning, still Thursday night in Washington.
"What we do have, though, are two new developments that are very provocative, that are aggressive, accompanied by very aggressive rhetoric," he said. "And I think it brings home the reality of the challenge that North Korea poses to the region and to the international community."
Gates appeared to try to tamp down some of the tough rhetoric that has flown between Washington and Pyongyang this week, since North Korea said it successfully detonated a nuclear device in its northeast on Monday and followed with a series of short-range missile launches.
Gates also cited a silver lining of the situation: an opportunity to build stronger ties with the Chinese government.
"Just based on what the Chinese government has said publicly, they're clearly pretty unhappy about the nuclear test in particular, and they weren't very happy about the missile test either," Gates said. "And my impression is they were surprised by the nuclear test. And so, as I say, I think there may be some opportunities here."
He added: "I don't want to put the burden solely on China, because the reality is that while China has more influence than anybody else on North Korea, I believe that that influence has its limits. But it is important for the Chinese to be a part of any effort to try to deal with these issues with North Korea."
Gates suggested that diplomatic talks among six countries - Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and the U.S. - to get rid of all nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula have not worked. He said that while the discussions should continue, the nations other than North Korea now need to focus on what he described as "where do we go from here?"
"I think that they clearly have not had the impact in North Korea that any of us have wanted," Gates said of the talks. "That doesn't mean they are useless by any means, and we are still committed to the six-party talks. But I think that we need to figure out a way to try and move forward with North Korea."
Gates said direct talks between the U.S. and North Korea are, for now, at least, "not the way to go."
In what the Pentagon called a first for a U.S. defense chief, Gates was to meet with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts at the two-day Singapore conference. He also was to meet briefly with the head of China's military.
Gates said North Korea would likely dominate the Singapore discussions and hinted that additional economic or military sanctions might be put on Pyongyang as punishment for the tests. But he said that any sanctions should impact the communist government and not its citizens, whom he said have already suffered "enough damage" by their leaders.
He cited North Korean exports of missile and nuclear technology as a top worry, and said the United Nations, and Russia and China in particular, need to be part of any efforts to curb them.
HoopGurlzOdyssey Sims helped DFW battle for the Midwest Showdown championship. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A little bit of the edge was gone from the DFW T-Jack squad Monday afternoon, and there was no joking around or goofing off on the sideline, but the spirits were still positive.
Not quite six hours after they started their first of three Memorial Day games, the T-Jack players were finally able to relax after a 57-53 win against Ring City gave DFW's top team the Midwest Showdown's Elite Bracket crown.
"We know what we're capable of," said Odyssey Sims, the elite bracket MVP. "We went out to win a championship."
In the 16U/17U bracket, Team Detroit finished 9-0 with a 55-48 win against the Fairfax Stars. Team Detroit also won the 15U bracket with a 72-62 win against the Ohio Lady Attack. In the 14U bracket, the DFW 2012 team beat Tennessee Pride, 74-54.
With both elite teams on their third game of the day, the Ring City versus T-Jack battle had many sloppy moments, but stayed around a five-point swing either way through the course of the game. Ring City pushed in the final minutes, but a couple of technical fouls and missed passes sealed their fate as second place to the weekend's dominant team.
However, those quick to recognize the T-Jack name should toss any past notions of previous T-Jack entities -- this summer's squad is a very different animal.
DFW's top squad ran the elite table at the Midwest Showdown, finishing 7-0, but a balanced attack is what sealed the deal. Without a Brittney Griner-esque presence inside and with a poised Sims running the point, four T-Jack players -- Sims, Kelsi Baker, Akil Simpson and Kristen Grant -- scored 12 points each.
"Knowing who we're up against, we've got to play hard every game," said Sims, who nursed an injured groin during the tournament. "No matter if we're tired, there should be no excuses."
T-Jack finished with seven players for the final game after starting with 10 in Monday morning's quarterfinal against Cincinnati's Finest. T-Jack cruised against Cincinnati, and then against the Fairfax Stars for a second encounter with Ring City, which it beat by two Saturday.
The squad was missing Alexis Jones, a 2012 guard from Irving, Texas, who didn't make the trip, and had three players, including Tiffany Moore, the No. 12 player in the 2010 Super 60, who had to leave before the end of Monday's games. With the full squad, comprised almost entirely of Dallas-Fort Worth kids this season, the girls feel they have a solid foundation that now builds from their success in Ohio.
"This builds our confidence," Baker said. "We're playing much better together, so we feel that if we continue to play together, we'll be hard to beat."
Ring City, coached by former NYC Gauchos director Walter Welsh, will be hard to beat this summer as well. The New York and New Jersey-area girls who struggled at times during April's Boo Williams tournament showed marked improvement in Ohio, finishing second to T-Jack in their elite pool and second in the tournament. The girls defeated DFW Gold Monday morning and Kayla McBride's Western PA Bruins a short time later. Ring City's two losses during the weekend both were to DFW T-Jack.
Tiffany Conner, a 2009 guard from Teaneck, N.J., led Ring City with 11 points, while Desiree Simmons added 10 and Ka-Deidre Simmons, her twin sister, scored nine.
The Simmons twins, who play at Newark, N.J.'s Shabazz High School, are two of Ring City's five 2010 standouts leading the way this summer. Also on the squad are Lauren Okafor, a 6-2 2010 from Connecticut; Leah Johnson, a 6-foot 2010 from New Jersey, and Shukurah Washington, a 2010 from New York City's Murry Bergtraum. Welsh's squad has a full July schedule planned for the East Coast.
ORLANDO, Fla.(AP) Dressed in black, the imposing 7-footer sat near the floor for Game 4 like a casual NBA fan. He was hardly one.
Around here, Shaquille O'Neal means much more.
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He represents the link to Orlando's glorious past, however brief it may be. Shaq, a basket-breaking behemoth with the power of several men, led the Magic to their only NBA finals appearance in 1995, a short visit that ended with an embarrassing sweep by Houston.
The Magic and their maniacal fans have longed for a second shot at a title.
They can almost touch it.
Orlando moved within one win of ending its 14-year finals drought on Tuesday night as Dwight Howard, the Magic's present-day Diesel, scored 27 points - 10 in overtime - in a 116-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals and shove LeBron James and his not-so-supportive cast to the edge of an early summer break.
A razor-thin series - two one-point games, and a two-pointer in OT - where the last team with the ball usually emerges victorious, could end Thursday night. Maybe.
"We're up 3-1, but we can't relax," said Rashard Lewis, whose catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left in regulation was easily Game 4's most dramatic shot. "Anything can happen. We got to go to Cleveland looking to try and close these guys out."
The Magic got more good news Wednesday when the NBA rescinded Howard's Game 4 technical foul, his sixth of the playoffs. Under league rules, Howard would've been automatically suspended for one game had he received a seventh technical during the postseason.
Orlando heads into Game 5 with no fear of the road. They finished off the defending champion Boston Celtics on their famed parquet floor in a Game 7 in the previous round and have a chance to end Cleveland's dream season on the court of King James.
The MVP, who scored 44 points in Game 4 and has done everything but drive the team bus in the series, won't go quietly.
Following Game 4, James, averaging 42.3 points, 7.3 rebound and 7.3 assists, said he's ready for his next shot at the impressive Magic.
"I'm up for the challenge," said James, who couldn't replicate his Game 2 heroics and missed a tough 3-pointer at the buzzer in Game 4. "And I think my play, my leadership has spoke for that. So I will be ready, and I think our guys will be ready also."
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy, who doesn't sleep well even when things are going great, knows if anyone can turn this series around it's the magnificent James.
"This thing is a long, long, long way from over, just like the games in this series have been," he said. "When you've got a guy as great as him on the other side, you're a long way from done."
The odds are stacked against the Cavaliers.
In the NBA's 62-year postseason history, 190 teams have taken a 3-1 lead in a series and 182 of them have won. More daunting for the Cavaliers is that the Magic have won 10 of the past 14 meetings between the teams, and were one of three teams to win at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena this season.
James and Co. are running out of time and answers.
Cleveland's matchup problems are glaring: Height, depth, speed. You name it, Orlando has it over Cleveland.
When the Cavs have concentrated on stopping Howard down low, the Magic make 3-pointers (they hit 17 of 38 in Game 4), and when Cleveland focuses its defense on guarding the perimeter, Howard destroys them near the basket.
Care for some arsenic? Or hemlock?
Orlando's bench has been a major factor, too, as Rafer Alston (26 points) and Mickael Pietrus (17) gave the Magic a huge lift.
If not for James' miraculous shot to win Game 2, this series would be over and so would the LeBron vs. Kobe finals envisioned by many, but not the guys in blue and white.
The Cavaliers can't figure out what to do next.
"We're breaking down in areas we haven't broken down all year," James said. "We got to give up something."
In this series, James has become a solo artist in a tight-knit basketball band now splitting up because of creative differences.
Cavs guard Mo Williams may soon become known as the guy who couldn't back up his guarantee. An All-Star guard who hasn't played close to one, Williams, who missed 10 of 15 shots in Game 4, stuck out his neck by promising Cleveland would rally to win the series.
It will take three straight wins over a team rolling like it hasn't since the days of Shaq, Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson.
"All the pressure's on them," said Orlando rookie guard Courtney Lee.
James lingered in the corridor outside Cleveland's locker room following his postgame press conference on Tuesday night. He chatted with friends and family, trying to explain what went wrong for the third time in this series.
James was in no rush. And then, Howard and Lewis stepped through a curtain, creating an awkward moment that there was only one way to remedy. The MVP spun, adjusted his designer sunglasses and walked off, heading toward the team charter.
The Cavs left for Ohio, looking for some magic of their own.
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The Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia wants to hear from you if you know someone who makes a difference in children's lives.
Individuals and organizations with ties to the Greater Philadelphia region dedicated to enriching the lives of children, are eligible for the 14th Annual Great Friend to Kids Award. Nancy Kolb is the president and CEO of The Please Touch Museum:
For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/
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The folks at Franklin Square have dedicated their annual sand sculpture to the world champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Amy Needle is with Historic Philadelphia, the organization that runs the park at 6th and Race Streets, just off the Ben Franklin Bridge:
“Annually we do a sand sculpture. This year is all things that people love about baseball.”
So what do the Phillies think about this tribute? Michael Harris is director of marketing and special projects with the Phillies organization:
For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/
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The City of Philadelphia on Wednesday unveiled its fifth biodiesal fueling station, the first with an above-ground tank.
For full story go to:
http://www.kyw1060.com/
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An exhibit that explores the various aspects of race and racism opens Saturday at the Franklin Institute.
The new show, "Race: Are We So Different?," explores the scientific, historical, and everyday impact of race and racism, using interactives, artifacts, and multimedia to challenge definitions and misconceptions of race.
For full story go to:
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Wednesday was National Senior Health and Fitness Day, and several area agencies that assist the elderly held a health fair in center city Philadelphia.
This fair, hosted by Independence Blue Cross and held in the courtyard of the company's corporate headquarters at 19th and Market Streets, was designed with participation in mind. Stations were set up to perform health screenings, representatives of the Philadelphia Senior Center and the Mayor's Commission on Aging were on hand, and there was a mild stretching and aerobic exercise class under way.
For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/
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| South Korean kindergarteners and a Catholic nun pass by weapons used during the Korean War at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2009. On Wednesday, North Korea warned South Korea and the United States that Seoul's decision this week to participate in a U.S.-led program to intercept ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction is equal to a declaration of war. |
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea threatened military action Wednesday against U.S. and South Korean warships plying the waters near the Koreas' disputed maritime border, raising the specter of a naval clash just days after the regime's underground nuclear test. In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned that Pyongyang faced unspecified consequences because of its "provocative and belligerent" acts.
Pyongyang, reacting angrily to Seoul's decision to join an international program to intercept ships suspected of aiding nuclear proliferation, called South Korea's decision tantamount to a declaration of war.
"Now that the South Korean puppets were so ridiculous as to join in the said racket and dare declare a war against compatriots," North Korea is "compelled to take a decisive measure," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried by state media.
The North Korean army called it a violation of the armistice the two Koreas signed in 1953 to end their three-year war, and said it would no longer honor the treaty.
South Korea's military said Wednesday it was prepared to "respond sternly" to any North Korean provocation.
Clinton said "there are consequences to such actions," referring to discussions in the United Nations meant to punish North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests.
She also underscored the firmness of the U.S. treaty commitment to defend South Korea and Japan, U.S. allies in easy reach of North Korean missiles.
North Korea's latest belligerence comes as the U.N. Security Council debates how to punish the regime for testing a nuclear bomb Monday in what President Barack Obama called a "blatant violation" of international law.
Ambassadors from the five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - as well as Japan and South Korea were working out the details of a new resolution.
The success of any new sanctions would depend on how aggressively China, one of North Korea's only allies, implements them.
"It's not going too far to say that China holds the keys on sanctions," said Kim Sung-han, an international relations professor at Seoul's Korea University.
South Korea, divided from the North by a heavily fortified border, had responded to the nuclear test by joining the Proliferation Security Initiative, a U.S.-led network of nations seeking to stop ships from transporting the materials used in nuclear bombs.
Seoul previously resisted joining the PSI in favor of seeking reconciliation with Pyongyang, but pushed those efforts aside Monday after the nuclear test in the northeast.
North Korea warned Wednesday that any attempt to stop, board or inspect its ships would constitute a "grave violation."
The regime also said it could no longer promise the safety of U.S. and South Korean warships and civilian vessels in the waters near the Korea's western maritime border.
"They should bear in mind that the (North) has tremendous military muscle and its own method of strike able to conquer any targets in its vicinity at one stroke or hit the U.S. on the raw, if necessary," the army said in a statement carried by state media.
The maritime border has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas. North Korea disputes the line unilaterally drawn by the United Nations at the end of the Koreas' three-year war in 1953, and has demanded it be redrawn further south.
The truce signed in 1953 and subsequent military agreements call for both sides to refrain from warfare, but doesn't cover the waters off the west coast.
North Korea has used the maritime border dispute to provoke two deadly naval skirmishes - in 1999 and 2002.
On Wednesday, the regime promised "unimaginable and merciless punishment" for anyone daring to challenge its ships.
Pyongyang also reportedly restarted its weapons-grade nuclear plant, South Korean media said.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper said U.S. spy satellites detected signs of steam at the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex, an indication it may have started reprocessing nuclear fuel. The report, which could not be confirmed, quoted an unidentified government official. South Korea's Yonhap news agency also carried a similar report.
The move would be a major setback for efforts aimed at getting North Korea to disarm.
North Korea had stopped reprocessing fuel rods as part of an international deal. In 2007, it agreed to disable the Yongbyon reactor in exchange for aid and demolished a cooling tower at the complex.
The North has about 8,000 spent fuel rods which, if reprocessed, could allow it to harvest 13 to 18 pounds (six to eight kilograms) of plutonium - enough to make at least one nuclear bomb, experts said. North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half dozen atomic bombs.
Further ratcheting up tensions, North Korea test-fired five short-range missiles over the past two days, South Korean officials confirmed.
Russia's foreign minister said world powers must be firm with North Korea but take care to avoid inflaming tensions further.
The world "must not rush to punish North Korea just for punishment's sake," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that Russia wants a Security Council resolution that will help restart stalled six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear programs and will not provoke Pyongyang into even more aggressive activity.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged officials to "remain calm" in the face of North Korean threats, said Lee Dong-kwan, his spokesman.
Pyongyang isn't afraid of any repercussions for its actions, a North Korean newspaper, the Minju Joson, said Wednesday.
"It is a laughable delusion for the United States to think that it can get us to kneel with sanctions," it said in an editorial. "We've been living under U.S. sanctions for decades, but have firmly safeguarded our ideology and system while moving our achievements forward. The U.S. sanctions policy toward North Korea is like striking a rock with a rotten egg."
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| President Barack Obama introduces federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, right, as his nominee for the Supreme Court, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, during a ceremony in an East Room of the White House in Washington. |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans won't try to filibuster Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, a key GOP senator conceded Wednesday, all but admitting there's little chance of blocking her confirmation as the first Hispanic justice. But senators and advocacy groups are still girding for this summer's battle - partly with an eye toward raising money and perhaps preparing for Barack Obama's next nominee.
Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he didn't foresee a filibuster - essentially the only way that his party could try to stop Sotomayor since Democrats hold a solid majority of votes. Still, he made it clear that Republicans were ready to raise pointed questions about whether she would let her personal life color her legal opinions - and whether that's appropriate for a Supreme Court justice.
"We have an absolute constitutional duty to make sure that any nominee, no matter what their background and what kind of life story they have, that we examine that so the American people can know that the person we give a lifetime appointment to ... will be faithful to the law and not allow their personal views to influence decision-making," Sessions said in an interview on NBC's "Today."
Organizations that have been preparing for a major confirmation battle - and that depend on such fights to raise money, motivate supporters and galvanize enthusiasm for their agendas - made it clear they don't intend to sit out the debate, filibuster or no. The debate over Sotomayor could also lay groundwork for fights over later high court nominations the president might make.
Conservative groups kicked off a broad effort to persuade the public that Sotomayor, now a federal appeals judge, is an activist who would impose personal views and ethnic and gender biases on her interpretation of the law and the Constitution.
"Equal justice under law - or under attack?" a Web ad by the Judicial Confirmation Network asks. "America deserves better" than Sotomayor, it concludes.
The White House and liberal groups are hitting back with their own campaign to introduce Sotomayor to the public as an experienced and fair judge whose background gives her a better understanding of how the court affects real people and their lives.
"Principled. Fair-minded. Independent," asserts a TV spot to be aired by the Center for Constitutional Values.
The dueling messages sketched the battle lines for what promise to be closely watched Senate hearings on Sotomayor's nomination, with heavy political consequences for both parties.
Democrats, signaling that they hope to score political points against Republicans in the debate over Sotomayor's nomination, e-mailed contributors telling them the GOP was "ready to obstruct." Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the head of the party's Senate campaign committee, wrote that "we have a fight on our hands."
The judge's Capitol Hill debut could come as early as next week, when top aides said she could begin making personal "courtesy calls" to Senate leaders and members of the Judiciary Committee.
For now, many of the senators who hold the judge's fate in their hands are scattered in home states across the country or destinations around the world during their weeklong congressional break. There's little public partisan debate about Sotomayor's nomination.
In private, the 54-year-old Sotomayor - a veteran of the federal bench who was reared in a Bronx housing project and attended Princeton and Yale en route to the highest echelons of the legal profession - phoned key senators as she began preparing to face them in high-stakes hearings.
Since President Barack Obama announced her nomination Tuesday, she has spoken with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as well as Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary chairman, and Sessions.
In interviews Wednesday, Sessions acknowledged that his party has to "broaden its tent" - a nod to warnings from strategists in both parties who say the GOP, struggling to draw a more diverse base, has to tread carefully in its treatment of Sotomayor, the New York-born daughter of Puerto Rican parents. But he said that won't stop Republicans from scrutinizing her record and probing her fitness for the court.
Staffers on the Judiciary panel, which will run hearings on Sotomayor's nomination, worked on researching her record and released a detailed, 10-page questionnaire the judge will have to answer in advance of the public session she will undergo with senators. It asks Sotomayor to divulge personal, financial and employment information and provide copies of all her writings, speeches, interviews and opinions. She also has to list any potential conflicts of interest and describe how she would resolve them and reveal details about her nomination, including whether she was asked by anyone how she would rule on any potential Supreme Court case or issue and how she responded.
Democratic aides on the panel were to meet Thursday with Cynthia Hogan, Vice President Joe Biden's counsel, to plot strategy.
Meanwhile, the White House kept up the campaign that was set in motion with the announcement of her selection. They arranged a conference call for reporters with six legal experts and attorneys who are Sotomayor boosters to rebut charges that she would bring a personal agenda to the court or strive to use rulings to make policy.
"Judge Sotomayor is not the kind of judge who thinks it is her job to fix every social ill in the world," said Kevin Russell, a lawyer who has argued before her.
Wendy Long, counsel for the Judicial Confirmation Network, said Republicans would oppose Sotomayor because of statements and writings that suggest she bases her decisions at least in part on her gender, ethnicity and background.
"Republicans actually believe the Constitution means something," Long said. "They don't believe demographics matter or gender matters; they believe the rule of law matters, and people who vote Republican actually believe in those principles."
Conservatives point with particular concern to a 2001 speech Sotomayor made at the University of California at Berkeley Law School in which she said that, "Our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions." She added, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs labored to answer questions about that statement, ultimately resorting to admonishing reporters not to pluck one remark out of a larger speech and an extensive record of rulings and writings.
"We can all move past YouTube snippets and half-sentences and actually look at the honest-to-God record," Gibbs said. "I think she's talking about the unique experiences that she has."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in a blog posting, said the comment suggested that Sotomayor was a "Latina woman racist" whose nomination should be withdrawn. Gibbs retorted, "I think it is probably important for anybody involved in this debate to be exceedingly careful with the way in which they've decided to describe different aspects of this impending confirmation."
The Everything Green Classroom Book is your essential guide for incorporating eco-friendly concepts into everyday lessons, activities, and field trips. With suggestions for adjusting activities for grade level, you can create fun lessons for any elementary school class. From air pollution to water woes, each chapter is organized by topic so you can easily explain concepts to your class, plan hands-on activities, and encourage students to continue thinking about issues outside of the classroom. |
Engage your students with exciting lessons and activities, including:
Make a difference in your local community, and get your kids excited about saving the world. The teacher-tested activities in this invaluable guide will help you and your students turn education into action.
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As 12 members of Heeding God's Call, a faith-based antiviolence group, stood trial for trespassing in a Spring Garden Street gun shop in January, those who weren't packing the courtroom in support set up loudspeakers on chilly Dilworth Plaza, in the shadow of City Hall.
For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/
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Cumberland County, NJ authorites are investigaing the death of a Millville man whose body was found Tuesday, buried beneath his home.
The body of Dreu Ferguson Sr., 58, was exhumed Tuesday morning from under the porch steps at the house along the 300 block of Maple Street. There was no immediate word on what led officials to the body.
County prosecutor Ron Casella calls the death "suspicious."
Ferguson was reported missing on Sunday by his brother.
For full story go to:
http://www.kyw1060.com/
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