CNN.com

Sotomayor was schoolgirl with focus, friends say

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:49:46 EDT

The teenage Sonia Sotomayor was easy to spot in the halls of her New York high school. Her uniform was often askew -- a once-crisp shirt protruding out and over her skirt's waistband as she carried a pile of books. "She was focused so much on learning that she didn't notice," recalled Mary Procidano, a classmate at Cardinal Spellman High School.

Jet makes landing with football-sized hole

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:34:21 EDT

A cabin depressurizes. Oxygen masks drop. And 126 passengers and a crew of five brace. The drama started with a Southwest Airlines jet at 34,000 feet in the air and ended with an emergency landing in Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday -- all with a football-sized hole in its fuselage.

2 U.S. Marines killed in Afghanistan

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:49:47 EDT

Two U.S. Marines died Monday during a "hostile incident" in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

Couple's killing called 'methodical operation'

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:15:29 EDT

A fourth suspect has been arrested in the shooting deaths of a Gulf Coast couple known for adopting special-needs children, authorities said late Monday. Police in Pensacola, Florida, believe six to eight people were involved in the killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The crime was "a very well-planned and methodical operation," said Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff David Morgan.

Commentary: Reason to worry about Sotomayor

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:18:38 EDT

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is all but certain to be confirmed as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. It is close to unimaginable that the Republicans will peel off enough Democratic votes to stop Senate confirmation.

Commentary: What "wise Latina" remark meant

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:13:56 EDT

It is likely that Judge Sotomayor will face some questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week about her 2001 "wise Latina" remark.

12 bodies found along Mexican road

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:04:33 EDT

Twelve to 15 bodies showing signs of torture were found on the side of a remote highway in the Mexican state of Michoacan, the state attorney general's office told CNN en Espa�ol.

Charles Taylor testifies at his war crimes trial

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:16:52 EDT

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor took the stand Tuesday as the first defense witness at his trial on war crimes charges at The Hague.

NASA official: 'Weather has bitten us again'

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:20:47 EDT

NASA will give the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour another try Monday, after having been repeatedly thwarted by the weather and technical malfunctions.

Ex-officials: Cheney getting 'bum rap' in CIA flap

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:05:36 EDT

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is getting a "bum rap" over reports that he ordered the CIA to withhold information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress, two former U.S. intelligence officials told CNN Monday.