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SCOTUS Ruling Reversing Decision From Sotomayor's Court Not Expected To Affect Nomination
The Supreme Court"s 5-4 reversal of a decision endorsed by a three-judge appellate panel that included Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is attracting criticism from the judge"s conservative opponents but is not expected to have a significant effect on delaying her confirmation, the Washington Post reports. The appellate panel in 2008 upheld New Haven, Conn."s decision to discard a promotion test for firefighters after no blacks and only two Hispanics qualified for advancement after taking the test (Markon/Kane, Washington Post, 6/30). The panel"s ruling affirmed a lower court"s decision that the city had a right to discard the test based on a segment of civil rights law involving actions that have a "disparate impact" on minorities. A group of white and Hispanic firefighters who would have received promotions under the test sued, alleging reverse discrimination. Democrats and legal analysts said that Sotomayor was following legal precedent in the 2008 ruling and that it was the Supreme Court, which has the ability to exercise more discretion, that chose to make law by reversing the decision (Friedman, CongressDaily, 6/29). The Supreme Court typically reverses about 75% of the cases it reviews, according to legal experts. The court previously has reversed four of Sotomayor"s rulings and upheld three of her decisions, the Post reports. Tom Goldstein, a lawyer and founder of the SCOTUSblog Web site, said, "I don"t think it will persuade anybody who is inclined one way or another to change their views about Sotomayor" (Washington Post, 6/30). Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "The main charge against Sotomayor is that she will be an activist judge, but this decision clearly shows that she won"t." He said that the results of the case "won"t change things a wit," adding that "in fact, it bolsters (the claim) that she is mainstream" (CongressDaily, 6/29). Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the New Haven case "sharpens our focus on [Sotomayor"s] troubling speeches and writings" that "indicate ... that personal experiences and political views should influence a judge"s decisions." He added that the issue "will clearly be the subject of questioning" at Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to begin on Monday (Phillips, "The Caucus," New York Times, 6/29).
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Real-Time Observation Of Queensland's Drinking Water
CSIRO and a local water authority in Queensland, SEQWater, have joined forces to monitor the Lake Wivenhoe catchment, which spans an area about the size of the city of Brisbane, and supplies water to the region"s 1.5 million residents.
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Skills For Catheter Insertion Improved By Simulation Training
New technology allows student doctors to practice operations and other procedures on simulators before trying them out on real patients, just as pilots practice for emergencies on aircraft simulators. Medical educators feel that this will increase patient safety, by avoiding first-time mistakes being made on live patients. But does education by simulation actually work? Can doctors learn new skills on simulators instead of on humans?
Cardiovascular

Illinois Counties Facing Increases In STDs Among Teenagers; Bill Aims To Reduce Rates

Illinois health officials contend that images seen in the media, social influences, and a lack of "frank" discussion on STDs in schools, among other issues, might be contributing to increases in STD rates across the state, the State Journal-Register reports. "According to recently released data, new cases of chlamydia in Illinois reached an all-time high statewide in 2008 - 59,169 - while the number of gonorrhea cases outside Chicago has been rising in recent years and totaled 10,165 in 2008," the Journal-Register reports. In addition, about 35,000 state residents have HIV/AIDS, the article states. Charlie Rabins, chief of the STD program at the Illinois Department of Public Health, said a bill (SB 212) currently awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn"s (D) approval might help reduce STD rates. The bill "would allow what is called "expedited partner therapy," in which medical professionals who treat patients for gonorrhea or chlamydia can give those patients single-dose antibiotics to pass on to sexual partners without first examining the partners," according to the Journal-Register (Olsen, 7/27). This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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