American Morning
Sessions: Sotomayor to get fair confirmation hearing
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/27/intv.sessions.art.jpg caption="Sen. Jeff Sessions tells CNN's Kiran Chetry that Sonia Sotomayor will get a fair confirmation hearing."]
The White House says it is essential to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the replacement for Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. The president wants it done before the next court session starts in October. Opponents say the confirmation process takes time and it is important to thoroughly examine her record.
Senator Jeff Sessions is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be leading the Republicans through the Sotomayor confirmation hearings. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: You're one of 11 sitting Republican senators who voted against Judge Sotomayor for her current position on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. What was your reasoning then and what do you need to hear from her now to give you the confidence to confirm her?
Jeff Sessions: Well, I think 29 senators voted against her last time. I think there was an unease, maybe about her background and her tendency to activism. We'll have to go back and look at the record and see what most people felt. But...I believe she's entitled to a fair slate now. A clean slate, a fresh start to examine the entire record in context and give her a chance to explain that. But there are some troubling things that are going to have to be inquired into for us to do our job so the American people can know that whoever is on the U.S. Supreme Court will be faithful to the law passed by the people of the United States.
Mom wants cyber bullies punished
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/27/intv.smiths.art.jpg caption="The mother of a girl targeted in an online video by other girls says she wants more to be done in the case."]
What would you do if your sixth grade daughter was the target of a vicious internet video? Beth Smith is living that nightmare. Her daughter’s classmates, aged 11 and 12-years-old, made the clip called the “Top Six Ways to Kill Piper,” taking cyber- bullying to a disturbing new level.
What are school officials and police doing about it? Kiran Chetry spoke with Piper Smith and her mom Beth and asked how they first found out this video was online.
Beth Smith: My daughter perceived this girl as a friend of hers at school. They were friendly. And so we had no idea… Totally side-swiped by the idea that she would be this hateful. Piper came home from school on Wednesday the 6th and told me, “You know Mom, the kids are being mean at school. And I heard there's a video like this out there about me.”
I said, “You're kidding. That can't be.” The more we looked online and... Dad came home from work. He made the phone calls. And it was the first parent, the dad who said… he was busy making dinner and he'd get back to us.
Kiran Chetry: Let me ask Piper – what was your reaction when you knew this video was made?
Piper Smith: I guess I was really shocked that someone would do that to me. ‘Cause I thought we were really good friends and then she was two-faced to me. And they did this behind my back and I just didn't know of it until I actually saw the video and then I just couldn't believe that that was happening. I felt really, really numb.
Chetry: And Piper, you've since been back to school. Have you talked to any of these girls? Did they apologize? What's the relationship now?
Piper: Well, one of them called me and she told me “sorry” and I actually listened to it. But the other two, I was either in the shower or I was going to bed by then and I didn't really want to talk to them anyways.
- See related: "How to Kill Piper"
What’s on Tap – Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today.
- Breaking now… North Korea upping the ante this morning, threatening war – after South Korea joined a U.S. effort to limit WMD trafficking. There are also reports that U.S. spy satellites have detected signs the north has restarted its main nuclear facility.
- Breaking out of Pakistan: gunmen targeting police in a ruthless attack. At least 23 people are dead after an apparent suicide blast in the northeastern city of Lahore. Officials say the attack was well-coordinated, and reduced a police building with hundreds inside to rubble. Over 250 people are also said to be wounded
- President Obama is using a west-coast fund-raising tour to sing the praises of his Supreme Court Nominee, Federal Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor. He was in Vegas last night and is heading to Los Angeles, today. The president's pushing for quick approval in the Senate, but Republicans are saying, not so fast. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is calling for a vigorous confirmation process. We’ll ask the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee what he will ask the judge – first.
- From elation to isolation in matter of months. The same-sex marriage roller coaster continues in California. The state’s highest court has upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, but the fight is far from over. Opponents of the ruling say it only makes them more determined. Protests lasted all through the night. They are promising to put “prop 8” back on the ballot next year.
California high court upholds same-sex marriage ban
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) - The California Supreme Court upheld Tuesday a ban on same-sex marriages that state voters passed in November, but it allowed about 18,000 same-sex marriages performed before the ban to remain valid.
The 6-1 ruling was met with chants of "shame on you" from a crowd of about 1,000 people who gathered outside the court building in San Francisco.
"It's nice that my marriage is still intact, but that's not the point," said Kathleen White, who married her partner in 2008.
Opponents of the ban argued that the controversial Proposition 8, which state voters passed 52 percent to 48 percent in November, improperly altered the California Constitution to restrict a fundamental right guaranteed in the state's charter.
But the court - which had allowed same-sex marriages in a 2008 decision - found the measure was narrow enough to pass legal muster.
Attorneys for the opponents also said the proposition, which removed the "marriage" label from same-sex unions, effectively deprived same-sex couples of a fundamental right guaranteed them under the equal-protection clause in the U.S. Constitution.
Cyber bully victim and her mom speak to American Morning
When I first read about this story over the weekend, it sure sounded like a case of childhood bullying taken to a new extreme. I had to know more, so I asked our producers to call on the story. They booked Piper Smith and her mom Beth for our show.
I spoke earlier today with Piper Smith and her mom Beth about a video posted on YouTube titled "6 ways to kill Piper" made by some 11 and 12-year-old girls in Piper's class. Like any parent would be, Beth is outraged and claims the school district and the local sheriff and even the girls' parents aren't taking this seriously. Piper told us she is intimidated and so shaken up by the whole thing that she doesn't feel comfortable in her classes anymore. Here's a clip:
You can hear all of what they had to say and how the school district and sheriff's department responded tomorrow on CNN's "American Morning" 6-9am ET.
As always we'd like to hear your thoughts. Talk to us on Twitter @amFIX and @kiranchetrycnn
Kiran
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