
AP - Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee in history, vowed loyalty to "the impartiality of our justice system" Monday, confronting Republican skeptics at Senate hearings suffused with racial politics but all but certain to lead to her confirmation.
AP - WASHINGTON The federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever and could grow to nearly $2 trillion by this fall, intensifying fears about higher interest rates, inflation and the strength of the dollar.