Reading List: Thursday 5/28

Here's the top hits from the news so far today:

• Judge Sotomayor's nomination continues to dominate the news cycle, as it probably will for some time. The Washington Post writes about the analysis and critique of Sotomayor that is starting to build from both sides of the judicial-political spectrum, focusing in on abortion, ideology, and ethnicity, but also covers how Sotomayor has come through tough grilling from the Judiciary Committee before.
• On "The Fix," Chris Cillizza has a list of five senators to watch during this confirmation process: Coryn, DeMint, Ensign, Gillibrand, and McCain. Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" focuses on the White House's response to former Speaker Newt Gingrich's suggestion that Sotomayor is a racist (based on the controversial 32 words in her Berkeley lecture) and needs to withdraw.
  
• The New York Times tells the backstory of the Sotomayor nomination, and how it was the product of lessons learned from past nomination processes, such as those that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel went through when he was in the Clinton White House. Other articles discuss the beginning of preparations by Sotomayor's opponents and allies, and how the Republicans are now in a position of having to seriously discuss the pros and cons of vocally opposing Sotomayor.
• Politico also holds that Republicans are unlikely to put up too much of a fight against Sotomayor because of various political considerations, and has formed a list of which senators have the most to gain or lose from the confirmation process.
• In other news (finally), the US is reportedly considering the creation of a single agency to regulate the banking industry. Regulation is currently divided among three agencies (the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp) so bringing it all into one place would hopefully create more unity of oversight.
• North Korea continues to be a major foreign policy concern. Continuing to warn that the truce that ended the Korean War is dead and that they are ready to attack, analysts suggest that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il could be aiming to strengthen and consolidate his power after a stroke raised questions about his capacity to govern much longer. Regardless, these kind of provocations haven't been seen in many years, and the US and South Korea have raised their military alert levels on the peninsula.
• The Washington Post has an article today on Ted Olson and David Boies' decision to join forces and file suit against Prop 8 in California on the basis of being a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Apparently not all gay activists are totally thrilled-- thinking Olson and Boies are going to steal the limelight from their cause-- but the case is pushing forward in hopes of providing equal marriage rights for all gay couples.
• Controversial from the start, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) continues to face issues relating to his relationship with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and is under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee for failing to disclose his role as chair of Blagojevich's campaign fund and other issues relating to the former governor.
• And for fun: NYT columnist Nicholas D. Kristof has an op-ed out today on the psychological differences between liberals and conservatives, and how we can bridge the divide.