Judge Sonia Sotomayor, nominated to sit on the Supreme Court, vows to follow the law -- and not set policy -- as she faces senators at her confirmation hearing. Despite some Republican doubts about her impartiality, her confirmation as the nation's first Hispanic justice seems all but certain. Even one key GOP senator predicts that barring "a complete meltdown," she will be confirmed.
Politics Daily: Sotomayor Speaks for Herself

He's no longer on the battlefields of Iraq, but retired Florida National Guard Sgt. Ernie Rivera has another battle on his hands -- fighting the Army for a Purple Heart. "I can't see how a person can go through what I went through and still be denied a Purple Heart," he says.

One of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's bodyguards captures one of three inmates who escaped from an Indiana prison on Sunday. The convicted killer, 48-year-old Charles Smith, was captured near the mayor's vacation home.

It turns out that if you've ever felt you're being manipulated by your cat, you're not imagining things. New research shows that household cats let out a purr mixed with a high-pitched cry to get people to do what they want. "Cats learn to dramatically exaggerate it when it proves effective in generating a response from humans," a researcher says.

Amid reports that former Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA to conceal a secret program concerning al-Qaida from Congress, top Democrats call for a probe into Bush-era anti-terrorism measures. President Barack Obama has been reluctant to pursue such an investigation over fears his agenda could get bogged down in the ensuing partisanship.

Members of a Philadelphia swim club ask minority campers to return for the summer after allegedly kicking them out of the pool last week. Club president John Duesler, accused of canceling the children's memberships because of their skin color, says he will try and find a way to get the the campers to come back and swim.

Days after images of a gaunt-looking Kim John Il appeared on television, a news report says the North Korean dictator has pancreatic cancer. Citing intelligence officials in South Korea and China, Seoul's YTN television reports that the disease is threatening the 67-year-old leader's life.