WASHINGTON (CNN) – An episode of the television show "Perry Mason" influenced a young Sonia Sotomayor to become a prosecutor, she testified Wednesday at her confirmation hearing to become the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

Sotomayor, 55, said the program starring Raymond Burr as a successful defense attorney awakened her to the fundamental role of the law.

She cited one particular episode, in which the Perry Mason character — after winning yet another case — consoles beleaguered prosecutor Hamilton Burger by noting it must be hard to expend such effort only to have charges dismissed.

"No, my job as a prosecutor is to do justice, and justice is served when a guilty man is convicted and an innocent man is not," she quoted the prosecutor as saying.

"That TV character said something that motivated my choices in life," Sotomayor said.

The original television show, based on the fictional character created by Erle Stanley Gardner, ran from 1957-66. There also were films and later television shows based on the Perry Mason character.

A new ad Wednesday targets fellow Democrats and centrist Republicans.

(CNN) – President Obama’s political operation will begin running television ads Wednesday targeting fellow Democrats and centrist Republicans urging them to support the president’s call for health care reform this year.

The 30-second TV commercial will run in eight states: Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Ohio for two weeks, according to a preview of the ad provided to CNN by Obama’s Organizing for America (OFA).

The commercial, which features five people discussing health care problems, will also run on national cable television, in Washington, D.C., and online, according to OFA, which is now housed at the Democratic National Committee.

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(CNN) — The White House announced Wednesday Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit the White House later this month:

Statement by the Press Secretary on the visit of Prime Minister al-Maliki to the White House

President Obama looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq to the White House on Wednesday, July 22. The United States and Iraq enjoy a close relationship and are partners in building a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq through the responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces and the encouragement of new ties in trade, commerce, culture and education. The President looks forward to consulting with the Prime Minister on a broad agenda of issues of mutual concern.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said Wednesday that she could not respond to questions with specific circumstances of a case.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Under persistent questioning on her personal views on abortion and gun control, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor repeatedly avoided direct answers Wednesday by saying she needed the specific circumstances of a case in order to respond.

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma pushed Sotomayor to express her opinions on whether certain abortions would be legal and whether a person has a fundamental right to possess firearms and a right to self-defense. Each time, Sotomayor said would need to know the specifics of a particular case, such as applicable state statutes and other facts.

Sensing Coburn 's frustration over her responses, she offered an explanation.

"What we do is different than the conversations citizens have about what they want the law to do," Sotomayor said on the third day of her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

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(CNN) – President Obama released a statement Wednesday on a congressional committee's passing of legislation to overhaul health care.

Statement by the President on the Health Care Reform Legislation Passed Today by the Senate HELP Committee

"Today, thanks to the unyielding passion and inspiration provided by Senator Edward Kennedy, the HELP committee he chairs has produced a proposal that will finally lower health care costs, provide better care for patients, and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry.

Like the legislation produced by the House of Representatives, this proposal would offer Americans quality, affordable health care that is there when they need it. No longer will insurance companies be able to deny coverage based on a pre-existing medical condition. No longer will Americans have to worry about their health insurance if they lose their job, change their job, or open a new business.

This proposal will bring down costs, expand coverage, and increase choice. Through a health insurance exchange, families and small businesses will be able to compare prices and quality so that they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs. Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option that would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping the insurance companies honest.

This proposal would also control rising costs by investing in preventive care and wellness programs, rooting out waste and fraud in the system, and changing the incentives that automatically equate the most expensive care with the best care.
When this proposal is combined with other proposals that the Senate Finance Committee is working on, it's estimated that health reform will cover 97% of all Americans.

The HELP committee's success should give us hope, but it should not give us pause. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess. I want to commend Senator Kennedy, Senator Dodd, as well as Senators Harkin, Mikulski, Bingaman, and Murray on the leadership they've shown and the foundation they've laid to reform our health care system."

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Republicans will not attempt to filibuster the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a Republican senator said Wednesday.

"You will get that up-or-down vote on the Senate floor," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said to Sotomayor on the third day of her confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Cornyn and other Republicans on the committee have criticized Democratic filibusters of previous judicial nominees by Republican presidents. The Democratic filibusters prevented a full vote by the Senate.

Facing a filibuster-proof 60 Senate seats in the Democratic caucus, Republicans have said they expect Sotomayor to be confirmed by the full chamber.

Watch the event on CNN.com/live.

(CNN) — Day 3 of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's hearings has kicked off. Watch uninterrupted live coverage on CNN.com/live.

Sen. Kerry is defending the president's cap-and-trade energy plan against criticism by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Call it Kerry vs. Palin, Round 2.

Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, a longtime Obama ally, and Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin are sparring again, this time over climate change and energy policy.

Kerry has taken to liberal Web site The Huffington Post to respond to an op-ed by Palin published Tuesday in the Washington Post.

In her op-ed, Palin slams President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, saying she believes the plan is "an enormous threat to our economy."

In his response, Kerry takes a dig at Palin in an apparent reference to Tina Fey's "I can see Russia from my house" take-off on Palin.

"The global climate change crisis threatens our economy and our national security in profound ways," writes Kerry.

"Governor Palin need no look further than the view from her front porch in Alaska to see how destructive this crisis can be," says Kerry, pointing to a two-year-old New York Times report about a small Alaskan village facing destruction because of melting permafrost.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) — One committee down, four to go.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Wednesday morning passed a bill the revamp health care, becoming the first congressional committee to act on President Barack Obama's push to overhaul the nation's health care system.

The HELP committee voted 13 to 10, along party lines, to pass a $600 billion piece of legislation. Committee chairman Sen. Ted Kennedy, a long time proponent of health care reform, was not present for the vote. The Democrat from Massachusetts has been absent from Capitol Hill as he battles brain cancer, but his vote in favor counted by proxy.

– CNN's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Rep. Jim Gerlach, a four-term Republican from Pennsylvania, announced Tuesday that he will give up his congressional seat and run for governor in 2010.

Gerlach is the first Republican to formally jump into the race, but former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan and Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett have also formed exploratory committees. The current governor, Democrat Ed Rendell, is term-limited and cannot run again.

"I have been on the front lines for years fighting for smaller government and greater efficiency in Harrisburg and Washington," Gerlach said in a statement released Tuesday. "Our next Governor must employ those values and put them to work in Harrisburg, and make Pennsylvania a competitive place to do business so we can create jobs and put families back to work. It's that simple."

Gerlach said he has "secured" over $1 million in financial commitments and raised more than $200,000 in his bid to become governor.

"I did not want to wait any longer to make this announcement," Gerlach said in the statement. "I know our team will need plenty of time to formalize our support and organize the campaign's infrastructure. In addition, I know full well how competitive a 2010 open seat congressional race will become, and I owe it to our Party's candidates to ensure they have enough time to raise the money and support to be successful."

With Gerlach leaving his seat, GOP state Rep. Curt Schroder announced his decision to throw his hat into the ring to replace the incumbent in the state's 6th congressional district. Democrat Doug Pike, who is expected to have a significant cash advantage to start, is considered to have the edge heading into the race in this increasingly Democratic district.

(CNN) — Democrat Judy Chu is headed to Washington. The former California State Assembly member won a special election Tuesday for the U.S. House of Representatives seat left vacant when Rep. Hilda Solis resigned in February to become President Barack Obama's Secretary of Labor.

Chu, a current member of the state Board of Equalization, won around 62 percent of the vote, easily topping Republican Betty Chu, her cousin by marriage.

The battle was for California's 32nd Congressional district, which is located east of downtown Los Angeles and heavily dominated by Democrats.

The victory will give the Democrats 256 seats in the House, to the Republicans 178. Democrats are likely to win a special election in September for the vacant seat in California's 10th Congressional district. The incumbent, Ellen Tauscher, stepped down to accept a post in the State Department.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was in the hot seat on the second day of her Senate confirmation hearings. The judge faced harsh criticism from Republicans and received praise from Democrats. In today's installment of CNN=Politics Daily, watch a complete recap of today's nearly seven hours of testimony.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world.

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For the latest political news: www.CNNPolitics.com.

CNN: Kerry: Palin should check out 'the view from her front porch'
Call it Kerry vs. Palin, Round 2.

CNN: Poll: Majority of Republicans don't think Palin's qualified for prez
A majority of Americans think Sarah Palin is stepping down as Alaska's governor for political reasons, according to a new national poll, with a majority of Republicans now saying that they do not believe that Palin would be an effective president.

CNN: Hearings set on Obama plan to overhaul lending regulations
The Obama administration's plan to overhaul lending regulations — stemming from the housing and credit meltdowns, as well as the current recession — moves to Capitol Hill Wednesday with the start of three straight days of hearings. The House Financial Services Committee will get the banking community's input first.

CNN: High marks for Sotomayor after tough questioning
Sonia Sotomayor faced tough questioning Tuesday on political issues and controversial statements from her past, with both Democrats and Republicans saying she responded well and appeared certain to win confirmation as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

CNN: House Democrats unveil health care reform plan
House Democrats unveiled their revised version of health care reform Tuesday, offering a proposal that includes a government-funded health insurance option, requires both individuals and employers to participate, and taxes the wealthy to help cover costs.

CNN: Raising taxes at center of health care reform debate
Republicans and Democrats continued to spar Sunday over how to pay for health care reform.

CNN: 8 nominees who didn't go to the Supreme Court
From the moment Justice David Souter announced he'd be stepping down, Washington has been gearing up for a confirmation fight. But as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Judge Sonia Sotomayor yesterday, "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you are going to get confirmed."

CNN: Commentary: What the 'wise Latina' remark meant
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.

CNN: Surviving a political sex scandal
It's getting a bit cliché: An apologetic politician admits to the public that, yes, he too has been caught in a sex scandal.

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According to a new poll, 33 percent of Republicans believe Sarah Palin has the ability to serve effectively as president.

(CNN) — A majority of Americans think Sarah Palin is stepping down as Alaska's governor for political reasons, according to a new national poll, with a majority of Republicans now saying that they do not believe that Palin would be an effective president.

Only 33 percent of Republicans questioned in a CBS News survey released Monday night say that Palin would have the ability to serve effectively as president. Last fall, 71 percent of registered Republicans felt that way.

"It's unclear whether the change in Republicans' view of Palin is the result of her decision to step down as governor, or whether the GOP rank-and-file felt they had to defend their party's vice-presidential nominee during the campaign but don't feel the same tug of party loyalty today," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Either way, this is bad news for Palin, whose first task in 2012, if she runs for the White House, will be to convince Republican primary voters to support her."

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — While confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor are dominating the airwaves and some of the most-trafficked blogs on the Web, it seems like there's not much buzz being generated anywhere else.

Today, "#Sotomayor" — the hash tag used on Twitter to easily search for tweets about the hearings — has been rotating on and off Twitter's top "Trending Topics," while "Harry Potter," "Bruno" and even much older hot topics such as "#iranelection" have been constantly populating the site's top words to appear on Twitter.
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Harry Reid has raised more than $3.25 million over the past three months.

(CNN) — Harry Reid's campaign said Tuesday the Senate Majority Leader's raised more than $3.25 million over the past three months, leaving the Nevada Democrat with more than $7.33 million in cash on hand.

"Our campaign is strong and getting stronger by the day," Reid, who's up for re-election next year, said in a statement Tuesday. "The financial support we have already received will enable us to run a campaign that communicates with Nevadans in every corner of the state."

The campaign says Reid has brought in nearly half of the $25 million he's planning to raise before next year's election.

President Barack Obama helped Reid rake in an estimated $1-2 million at a fundraising event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in late May.

The most recent polling in Nevada suggests that only a minority of voters there think Reid deserves to be re-elected — but the GOP has yet to come up with a competitive candidate to challenge the incumbent.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Obama administration's plan to overhaul lending regulations — stemming from the housing and credit meltdowns, as well as the current recession — moves to Capitol Hill Wednesday with the start of three straight days of hearings. The House Financial Services Committee will get the banking community's input first.

Steve Bartlett, president and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry lobbying group, told CNN Radio that larger lending institutions "favor major regulatory reform. We think the time is overdue." But the administration's plan is a mixed bag, even if "generally in the right direction," according to Bartlett, who is scheduled to be one of the lead-off witnesses.

Bankers approve of some of the administration's plans to consolidate the myriad of agencies that regulate financial products. "We would like to see more consolidation. We think what America needs now is fewer regulators, but stronger regulators. Fewer agencies, but agencies that have more stick."

Where bankers split strongly with the White House is over the idea of creating a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. "We think consumer protection should be beefed up. What we don't like is … putting it into a separate, free-standing agency that will have less power to protect consumers," Bartlett said.

Current regulators, according to Bartlett, "have the full power of cease-and-desist orders, or life and death, over the financial institutions."

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