NPR 2009-07-29

Over nearly solid Republican opposition 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to approve Judge Sonia Sotomayor the first Hispanic nominee 2 to the Supreme 3 Court. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

The vote was 13-6 with Senator Lindsey Graham, the only Republican Senator to vote for Sotomayor. He said while she would not have been his choice, he understood why President Obama named her and as the hearings were on, he became satisfied that she is a well-qualified judge in the mainstream 4 of judicial 5 and political thought.

"We're 200 and something years old as a nation. This is the first Latino woman in the history of the United States to be selected for the Supreme Court. Now that is a big deal. America has changed for the better with her selection. "

The nomination 6 now goes to the Senate floor where Sotomayor is expected to win easy confirmation 7 with support from all the Democrats 8 and probably just a handful of Republicans next week. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama continues to discuss overhauling 9 the nation's health care system. Today he hosted a question-and-answer event where people called in some of their questions. The White House says the group that co-sponsored it was the AARP. Older Americans who use Medicare are worried they'll see cuts to their medical benefits. The Q&A session comes as several Senators try to reach an agreement on a plan changing health care insurance. In the House, Democratic lawmakers are trying to incorporate proposals for moderate and conservative lawmakers to their plan.

Violence at Iraq has marred 10 a visit by US Secretary of Defense 11 Robert Gates. A bomb exploded, killing 12 at least eight people and wounding dozens in a crowded marketplace. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

A bomb mounted on a motorcycle exploded in Baghdad Jadida neighborhood in the east of the capital. Still, violence has dropped drastically in the past year which Secretary Gates noted 13 as he praised the Iraqi security forces who have taken responsibility for Iraqi cities since US combat troops formally withdrew last month. Gates is meeting Iraqi officials to discuss arms sales as well as the issue of Kurdish area tensions which American officials fear could threaten Iraqi stability after a US withdrawal 14 in 2012. Also distracting from Gates' visit, the Iraqi government raided a camp north of Baghdad that has been home to an Iranian dissenting 15 group, the People's Mujahideen. While the group’s classified as terrorists by the US government, they have been under US protection until this year. Casualty figures from the raid could not be independently verified. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Baghdad.

A private business research group says American consumers were less confident this month. The conference board released its consumer confidence index today dropped in July. More people are worried about finding and keeping their jobs.

On Wall Street at the close, the Dow Jones Industrials were down 12 points at 9,096.

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Several dozen victims and family members of Virginia Tech shooting victims are asking the State of Virginia to reopen and investigate in the 2007 shooting deaths of 32 people at Virginia Tech. Beverly Amsler reports from member station WVTF in Roanoke.

More than 60 people have signed a statement asking Governor Kaine to reconvene his Blue-Ribbon panel in light of missing mental health records of the gunman being found. The former head of the Cook Counseling Center of Virginia Tech says he mistakenly took shooter Seung-Hui Cho's file and those of several other students with him when he left his position in 2006. Cho was under a court order to have counseling at the center 16 months before he shot and killed 32 students and faculty 16 members and then himself on April 16th, 2007. Governor Kaine says he probably won't reconvene the panel; but the state will update the narrative 17 of the report to include this new information. For NPR News, I'm Beverly Amsler in Roanoke, Virginia.

The space shuttle Endeavor has undocked from the International Space Station. The shuttle is scheduled to return to Earth on Friday. The Endeavor was in space for a week and a half and the crew installed a new laboratory and several batteries in the International Space Station over the course of several spacewalks.

The government of Myanmar says it will announce a verdict this week in a case of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been charged with violating terms of her house arrest, the charge she denies. Supporters expect that she will be convicted as a way for the military government to silence her ahead of elections next year. Many believe that the military government will rig the elections. Suu Kyi is a recipient 18 of the Nobel Peace Prize.