Archive - Jul 15, 2009

• US Supreme Court Justice nominee Sotomayor faces third day of confirmation hearings
• Legal expert Bill Quigley discusses Sotomayor´s possible impact on Supreme Court
• Congress takes one more step towards health care reform
• Supporters of deposed President protest outside US embassy in Honduras
• Economic crisis increases violence against women in El Salvador

• Niger authorities use tear gas and batons to disperse women’s protest
• Israeli soldiers admit to use of excessive force in Gaza
• Major upswing in cartel violence in Mexico following high-level arrest
• Iranian plane crashes; all aboard assumed dead
• Officials want to jam cell phone signals in prisons
• Monsanto getting back into the GM wheat business
• US won’t use evidence obtained through torture against Mohammed Jawad (web extra)

On her third day of confirmation hearings to be a Supreme Court Justice, Judge Sonia Sotomayor appeared more relaxed and animated in her responses to questions by Senators. The lengthy hearing has revealed little of Sotomayor’s personal beliefs on guns and abortion as her answers were limited to the confines of current law. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell brings us the latest from Washington, D.C.

Many political analysts say Judge Sonia Sotomayor´s appointment to the Supreme Court is likely to be confirmed by the Democratic majority in the Senate.  

So how would her confirmation influence US laws and politics?

FSRN spoke with Bill Quigley, the legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

In El Salvador, as the economic crisis deepens and social services become scarce, violence against women is increasing. Forty women were murdered in the Central American country over the past 60 days, prompting social groups to demand investigations and solutions from the government.  FSRN reporter Ricardo Martinez has more from the capital city of San Salvador.

In a party line vote, US Senators passed a proposal on Wednesday to overhaul the national health care system.  This comes a day after the House unveiled its health reform plan and moves Congress one step closer to enacting health care reforms that would guarantee health insurance for most Americans.  FSRN’s Matt Pearson reports.

In Honduras, de facto President Roberto Micheletti has said that November´s presidential elections could be moved up to defuse political tensions, but he says ousted President Manuel Zelaya will not be allowed to take office.

For the 16th straight day, Hondurans who oppose the June 28´th Coup continued to take to the streets in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. On Tuesday, some 3,500 people blocked the city´s main arteries until they arrived at the US embassy. FSRN´s Tim Russo reports.