Expectations are high that Obama will nominate a woman. Though female jurisprudence is not much different from that of male judges, women tend to be more pro-women's rights and to tilt more toward plaintiffs in sex-discrimination cases.
With the president set to announce a civilian effort, the armed forces stepped up preparations to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare.
AP - Gingerly trying to advance Mideast peace, President Barack Obama on Thursday challenged Israel to stop settlement construction in the West Bank on the same day the Israelis rejected that demand. Obama pushed Palestinians for progress, too, deepening his personal involvement.
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.
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.
The longest-serving Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch of Utah, said Thursday that, barring any surprises, Sonia Sotomayor is headed for a Supreme Court confirmation. The panel's other top Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, has said he did not expect a filibuster. But Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas on Thursday became the first in the GOP to explicitly state his opposition.
A U.S. soldier convicted of murdering an Iraqi family issuing a public apology on Thursday for his crimes. Steven Green, who escaped the death penalty this month, told relatives of the victims that he is "truly sorry for what I did in Iraq." Green was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Kentucky of raping a 14-year-old girl and murdering her, her parents and her 6-year-old sister in the town of Yusufiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
President Obama reiterated U.S. calls for Israel to halt West Bank settlement activity, telling Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that both sides in the conflict must fulfill their obligations to create a better atmosphere for the peace process. The talks came days before Obama is to meet with Saudi King Abdullah and deliver a long-awaited speech in Egypt on relations with the Muslim world.