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Senate Begins Debate On Sotomayor's Supreme Court Confirmation

The Senate on Tuesday began its floor debate on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the Wall Street Journal reports (Bravin, Wall Street Journal, 8/4). The debate will continue for the rest of the week before a final floor vote is held Thursday or Friday (Oliphant/Savage, Los Angeles Times, 8/5). Twenty-eight Republicans have said they will oppose her nomination. As of Tuesday, six Republicans were undecided (Stern, CQ Today, 8/4). In addition, at least six Republicans plan to vote for Sotomayor"s confirmation, while none of the 60 Democrats in the Senate have come out against her.Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who has announced his opposition, said, "I have expressed the view since this process began that we are at a fork in the road," asking, "Will we continue to adhere to the classical idea of American jurisprudence? Or will we follow results-oriented judging in which judges cease to be committed to equal justice?" He also said that "certain aspects of her record troubled me, ... whether she is deeply committed to the ideal of objectivity and impartiality" (Los Angeles Times, 8/5). Sotomayor opponent Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) expressed concern about Sotomayor"s statement in a speech that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion" than a white male judge. Inhofe said, "Well, that"s pretty emphatic. There"s no other way you can interpret that," adding, "She thinks a woman with her experience can make a better conclusion than a white male," and "to me, I consider that racist" (CQ Today, 8/4).However, Sotomayor supporter Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, "Those who struggle to pin the label of judicial activist on Judge Sotomayor are met by her solid record of judging based on the law." He added, "She is a restrained, experienced and thoughtful judge who has shown no biases in her rulings." Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, "You can"t find a nominee with better experience than Judge Sotomayor. She has seen the law from all sides." Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said, "When Judge Sotomayor takes her seat at the Supreme Court, America will have come of age" (Los Angeles Times, 8/4).

Babies Born To Native High-Altitude Mothers Have Decreased Risk Of Low Birth Weight

Pregnant women who are indigenous to the Andes Mountains deliver more blood and oxygen to their fetuses at high altitude than do women of European descent. The study helps explain why babies of Andean descent born at high altitude weigh more than European babies born at altitude.