The nation in brief

By DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

Posted: July 31, 2009 at 5:41 a.m.

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LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY

"After this horrible, long, tortured

history, I hope the government will succeed in getting him back home." U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle, ordering the release of Mohammed Jawad 6 1 /2 years after the teenage Afghan detainee was sent to Guantanamo Bay Article, 3A

No. 3 Republican voting for Sotomayor

WASHINGTON - The Senate's No. 3 Republican announced Thursday he'd break with the rest of his party's leaders to support Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who's in line to become the first Hispanic justice.

Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said he was voting for President Barack Obama's nominee despite his differences with her, particularly on gun rights.

"Even though Judge Sotomayor's political and judicial philosophy may be different than mine, especially regarding Second Amendment rights, I will vote to confirm her because she is well qualified by experience, temperament, character and intellect to serve," Alexander said in a speech on the Senate floor.

Alexander is only the sixth Republican to line up publicly with majority Democrats to back Sotomayor, who's virtually guaranteed to be confirmed in a vote next week.

Meanwhile, Georgia's Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson both announced Thursday that they will vote no.

Nearly 100 illegals found in fruit truck

NOGALES, Ariz. - Arizona authorities stopped a refrigerated truck hauling fruit and found almost 100 illegal aliens - some as young as 9 - crammed inside the trailer in near-freezing temperatures, officials said Thursday.

A tip from federal agents led an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer to make the stop for an equipment violation Wednesday night on Interstate 19, north of the border city of Nogales.

During a search of the trailer, the officer discovered 96 illegals from Mexico and Guatemala in the trailer, which had an inside temperature of 34 degrees and was also carrying 17 pallets of mangoes, authorities said.

The aliens hadn't been in the trailer very long, and no one was injured.

Another illegal was discovered in the truck's cab. A breakdown of the number of children and adults was not immediately available. The children ranged in ages from 9 to 12.

The aliens will be sent back to their home countries, officials said.

Authorities said the driver of the trailer - Luis Antonio Mendoza, 26, of Fresno, Calif. - was arrested and charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit.

Officials: Pregnancy faked, womb raided

CONCORD, N.H. - Prosecutors in Massachusetts say a woman found with an infant who had been cut out of her friend's womb had convinced her family and friends that she was pregnant.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. says Julie Corey's boyfriend told authorities that Corey was nine months pregnant.

The body of Corey's friend, Darlene Haynes, was found Monday in her Worcester apartment by her landlord. Haynes was eight months pregnant.

Corey had the 4-pound baby girl with her when she was arrested at a shelter in Plymouth, N.H., on Wednesday.

She is charged with kidnapping but has not been charged in Haynes' death. She is being held in lieu of a $2 million bond in New Hampshire.

Early said authorities are still investigating whether anyone else was involved.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 07/31/2009

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