Sotomayor confirmed as first Hispanic Supreme Court justice in historic Senate vote

WASHINGTON — Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation Thursday as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a history-making Senate vote that capped a summer-long debate heavy with ethnic politics and hints of high court fights to come.

On eve of debate, GOP’s McCain opposes Sotomayor, who wins support of moderate Democrat Nelson

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John McCain, his party’s failed 2008 presidential contender, announced Monday he’d join the vast majority of the GOP to vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who’s on track to be confirmed this week as the first Hispanic justice.

Cancer survivor Specter talks chemo, kicks off speculation about health; aide says all well

WASHINGTON — Sen. Arlen Specter ignited a new round of speculation about his health when he remarked that his eyes and nose were running as a side effect of chemotherapy.

Senate Judiciary Committee approves Sonia Sotomayor to be first Hispanic Supreme Court justice

WASHINGTON — Pushing toward a historic Supreme Court confirmation vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice, over nearly solid Republican opposition.

Ala. Sen. Jeff Sessions reaches decision on Sotomayor, but not ready to make choice public

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he has made up his mind on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, but he’s not ready to make his decision public.

Fireman at Sotomayor hearing embodies struggle to right racial wrongs without harm to whites

WASHINGTON — He spoke, this 35-year-old firefighter, to frustrations that still ripple in an undercurrent across the nation.

Conn. white firefighter says Sotomayor’s ruling ‘divides people’ along racial lines

WASHINGTON — Frank Ricci, the white firefighter who recently won his reverse discrimination case at the Supreme Court, said Thursday that an unfavorable ruling by Sonia Sotomayor and other judges “divides people who don’t wish to be divided along racial lines.” Ricci and his firefighting colleague from New Haven, Conn., Lt. Ben Vargas, denounced the appeals court ruling by Sotomayor and two other judges on the federal appeals court in New York. But in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, neither man voiced opposition to Sotomayor’s confirmation as a Supreme Court justice.

Sotomayor speeds to confirmation as nation’s first Hispanic justice as GOP promises quick vote

WASHINGTON — Sonia Sotomayor sped toward confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic justice Thursday, encouraged by Republican promises of a quick vote and cheered on by a Democratic senator’s challenge to take on the Supreme Court’s conservative wing when she arrives. “Battle out the ideas that you believe in, because I have a strong hunch that they are closer to the ones that I would like to see adopted by the court,” Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican turned Democrat, told Sotomayor.

Sotomayor assured of confirmation; Republicans promise quick vote on Supreme Court nomination

WASHINGTON — Sonia Sotomayor sped toward confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic justice Thursday, encouraged by Republican promises of a quick vote and cheered on by a Democratic senator’s challenge to take on the Supreme Court’s conservative wing when she arrives.

Some quotes from witnesses in the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor

Some quotes from witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court:

White firefighter whom Sotomayor ruled against says her decision sows racial division

WASHINGTON — Frank Ricci, the white firefighter who recently won his reverse discrimination case at the Supreme Court, said Thursday that an unfavorable ruling by Sonia Sotomayor and other judges “divides people who don’t wish to be divided along racial lines.”

Firefighter says appeals court ruling deprived him of his rights

WASHINGTON — A Connecticut firefighter who lost an appeals court ruling by Sonia Sotomayor has told a Senate panel that in his line of work, advancement has to be determined by skill and qualifications.

NY district attorney Morgenthau says Sotomayor ‘uniquely qualified’ for Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — Veteran New York district attorney Robert Morgenthau is praising one of his former assistants, Sonia Sotomayor, as someone who can be an “outstanding” member of the Supreme Court.

Senate panel completes questioning of court nominee Sotomayor, vote expected by August

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has completed three days of answering questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Graham tells nominee the Supreme Court should recognize nature of al-Qaida

WASHINGTON — A Republican senator is appealing to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to recognize the nature of the enemy as the country considers how to prosecute detainees from the war on terror.

Republicans see August Senate vote on Sotomayor; judge seems headed for Supreme Court approval

WASHINGTON — Republicans cleared the way Thursday for a Senate vote next month to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, placing her firmly in line to become the first Hispanic justice.

Sotomayor says pay a ‘difficult’ issue for many judges, but she can live on high court salary

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor says she’s lived on a judge’s salary for 17 years, and she can, in her words, “suffer through more of it.”

Sotomayor says she won’t say how she’d rule on right to bear arms without hearing a case

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor bluntly told a Republican senator there was no way she would say in the setting of a congressional hearing just how she’d rule on an important constitutional question.

Nearing end of confirmation questioning, Sotomayor signals support for Supreme Court TV

WASHINGTON — Judge Sonia Sotomayor signaled an openness to television coverage of Supreme Court proceedings Thursday as she neared the end of three grueling days of questioning, all but assured of confirmation.

Chairman: Senate panel to vote on Sotomayor for Supreme Court on Tuesday unless GOP delays

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman says he’ll set a vote in his panel next week on confirming Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Specter tells Sotomayor ‘conventional wisdom’ is that she’s in as next Supreme Court justice

WASHINGTON — Sen. Arlen Specter has told Judge Sonia Sotomayor he thinks it’s pretty certain she’ll be confirmed for a seat on the Supreme Court.

GOP senators repeatedly interrogate Sotomayor on ruling in reverse discrimination case

WASHINGTON — Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee aren’t letting go of the issue involving white firefighters from Connecticut who last month won a reverse discrimination case at the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor reassures Republicans on last day of questioning, with likely confirmation ahead

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor drew praise from GOP skeptics as well as Democratic supporters Thursday on the final day of Senate questioning that’s expected to lead to her confirmation.

Republican Sen. Graham tells Sotomayor he’s feeling better about her going to high court

WASHINGTON — A Republican critic of Sonia Sotomayor says he’s feeling more comfortable about her going to the Supreme Court, saying he hopes she won’t let personal opinions drive her rulings.

How Sotomayor’s comments at her confirmation hearing compare with Roberts, Alito

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominees rarely take risky or controversial positions when in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sonia Sotomayor is no exception.

Police shoot and kill man near US Capitol after he brandished weapon during traffic stop

WASHINGTON — A chaotic scene unfolded near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed man in what authorities described as a routine rush hour traffic stop that turned deadly.

Police shot and kill armed man near US Capitol, building briefly sealed off

WASHINGTON — A chaotic scene unfolded near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed man in what authorities described as a routine rush hour traffic stop that turned deadly.

Police say they shot and killed man near US Capitol after he brandished weapon

WASHINGTON — A chaotic scene unfolded near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed man in what authorities described as a routine rush hour traffic stop that turned deadly.

Gunfire erupts near Capitol, 1 man shot

WASHINGTON — A chaotic scene unfolded at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed man in what authorities described as a routine rush hour traffic stop that turned deadly.

Sotomayor hearing has winners, losers; some both won and lost

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is likely headed to the Supreme Court, but not unscathed. A Republican inquisitor at her confirmation hearings, Sen. Jeff Sessions, took advantage of the national spotlight but got singed by it, too. There are political winners and losers in every nomination fight, and some people, like Sotomayor and Sessions, know both gain and pain.