Welcome to the D.C. Circuit, new judges: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Guantanamo hearings set in Circuit Court.”

“Full Court Press: Business looks for a new ally on a bench that isn’t always friendly.” The July 18, 2005 issue of BusinessWeek will contain this news analysis.

“Out of Practice, Senate Crams for Battle Over Court Nominee”: This article will appear Friday in The New York Times.

Available online from MSNBC: “High court nominee could be hot election topic; Background in 2004 races, nomination may have big impact in 2006, 2008” and “Previewing the battle over the nominee to be; Liberal and conservative groups ready no matter who is Bush’s choice.”

Available online from The New Republic: Dana Mulhauser has an essay entitled “Person of Rank: Why Rehnquist hasn’t resigned yet.”

And Law Professor Richard L. Hasen has an essay entitled “Twice Removed: Why Rehnquist should resign now.”

“The Circus Comes to Town: If Bush nominates the right candidate for the Supreme Court, Democrats could be in trouble, again.” Hugh Hewitt has this essay online today at The Weekly Standard.

On this evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained segments entitled “War Chests Fill on News of Supreme Court Vacancy” and “Testing the First Amendment for Journalists.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

In Friday’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Tomorrow’s newspaper will contain articles headlined “How much sway interest groups will hold over court selection; They can have an effect; But despite the fury, their influence is only indirect” and “When a reporter is jailed: Judith Miller’s incarceration could affect how sources use journalists to leak information.”

Meanwhile, in commentary, Law Professor David R. Dow will have an op-ed entitled “A justice to keep America from straying.” And Daniel Schorr will have an op-ed entitled “The chilly ripple effect of a jailed reporter.”

“Melon plaintiff prevails”: The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday contained an article that begins, “The repo men came for Jackie L. Eley’s Ford F150 at 4 a.m. She wasn’t happy. When they wouldn’t let her keep the 130 watermelons in the pickup’s bed, the Hertford County woman got downright mad. She sued that very afternoon. On Tuesday, the N.C. Court of Appeals affirmed a decision finding that Greenville’s Mid-East Acceptance Corp., which hired the repo men, had committed watermelon thievery. The company must pay Eley her legal fees and three times the watermelons’ value, a total of almost $3,000, plus money spent on the appeal.”

You can access Tuesday’s ruling of the North Carolina Court of Appeals at this link.

Available online from National Public Radio: Ron Elving has a written essay entitled “Naming Two Justices Could Provide Political Balance.”

And today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained segments entitled “Filling the Supreme Court Vacancy” (featuring Nina Totenberg) and “‘New York Times’ Reporter Jailed for Contempt.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio clips.

“Parental consent: The sleeper in the abortion fight.” Columnist Peter Schrag had this op-ed yesterday in The Sacramento Bee.

“Legal Times Forum on Supreme Court Term Review”: Thanks to C-SPAN, by clicking here (RealPlayer required) you can view online a very interesting program, featuring four U.S. Supreme Court advocates, that law.com’s Tony Mauro hosted yesterday in Washington, DC.

“Retirement of Justice O’Connor Begins Fight Over Future of Country”: Voice of America News provides this report.

The Chicago Tribune today contains articles headlined “Bush to go slow on nominee; Delay could cut time foes have to gear up” and “O’Connor was balanced in business, worker cases,” along with an op-ed by columnist Steve Chapman entitled “What’s wrong with a litmus test? The nation will soon see whether President Bush has the nerve to appoint a U.S. Supreme Court justice who wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade.”

The Denver Post today contains an article headlined “Gonzales: ‘I’m not a candidate’; AG still may be nominee for court.”

The Associated Press reports that “Specter Pivotal in Supreme Court Battle.”

U.S. News & World Report has posted online an article headlined “Court fight yet another battle for Specter.” And columnist Michael Barone has an essay entitled “O’Connor departure may alter redistricting law.”

Finally, The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin today contains an editorial entitled “Picking the right justice.”

Greetings from Columbia, South Carolina: The incredible amount of rain lurking between here and Philadelphia did not manage to ruin the fulfillment of today’s travel plans.

Programming note: During the day today, I’ll be traveling to South Carolina in advance of an oral argument that I’ll be presenting there tomorrow. Additional updates will appear later today.

“Reporter Jailed After Refusing to Name Source”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. The newspaper also contains articles headlined “A Difficult Moment, Long Anticipated” and “Response From Journalists Is Not Unanimous,” along with an editorial entitled “Judith Miller Goes to Jail.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Journalist Jailed for Not Revealing Source to Court; A New York Times reporter may face four months; Time magazine writer says he’ll testify.”

Josh Gerstein of The New York Sun has an article headlined “Miller of the Times Jailed for Contempt.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Judith Miller in Jail.”

And USA Today reports that “‘Time’ reporter to testify; ‘N.Y. Times’ reporter jailed; Cooper will reveal source to grand jury.”

“Tone of Court Debate Decried; Bush objects to groups’ efforts to sway his choice for vacant seat, citing attacks on Gonzales. President promises he won’t use a ‘litmus test'”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times, along with a news analysis headlined “High Court Nomination May Prove a Deal-Breaker; The 14 Democratic and GOP senators who crafted an agreement on the use of filibusters appear to differ on when one would be allowed.”

The Houston Chronicle today contains articles headlined “Factions line up for two Texas Hispanics” and “Cornyn taking lead on issue of court confirmation process; Senator says he wants to ensure that the nominee gets a fair hearing.”

The Rocky Mountain News contains an article headlined “‘Rare opportunity,’ AG says on Denver trip.”

The St. Petersburg Times reports that “Everyone’s got advice for Bush on nominee; The president gets an earful: His Supreme Court nominee should oppose abortion; Or be pro-business; Or have moderate views.”

The Boston Globe reports that “Timing on court nominee called key; Republicans warn early Bush pick could draw attacks.”

USA Today contains a front page article headlined “Don’t listen to advocacy groups on court vacancy, Bush tells senators; Conservative attack on Gonzales brings presidential rebuke.”

The Tennessean reports that “Thompson to advise judicial nominee; Ex-senator to guide Bush’s pick through confirmation process.”

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that “Thompson to guide nominee for top court.”

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that “Senator urges moderate pick for high court.”

The Deseret Morning News reports that “Bennett doesn’t see filibuster of court nominee; It would be a ‘lose-lose game’ for Demos and they won’t play, he says.”

The Greenville News reports that “Judge Wilkins name enters high court mix.”

And The Stanford Daily reports that “O’Connor resigns from Supreme Court; Stanford alumna steps down.”

In commentary, The Denver Post contains an editorial entitled “Bush should follow own advice on court.”

In The Chicago Sun-Times, Robert Novak has an essay entitled “Bush is biggest obstacle to a conservative court.”

In The Wall Street Journal, Walter Olson has an op-ed entitled “The Next Sandra Day: Harry Reid may be willing to give up Roe v. Wade to get a trial lawyer on the Supreme Court.”

In The Los Angeles Times, Law Professor Bruce Ackerman has an op-ed entitled “Bush and the Stealth Justice,” while Margaret Carlson has an op-ed entitled “For Dems, Less Might Be More.”

In The Washington Post, columnist David S. Broder has an op-ed entitled “Bush’s Grievance,” while columnist Richard Cohen has an op-ed entitled “The Judge for Me.”

In The Detroit News, columnist George Weeks has an essay entitled “Engler has role in U.S. Supreme Court fight.”

In The Rocky Mountain News, Vincent Carroll has an essay entitled “O’Connor’s fuzziness.”

In The Washington Times, Suzanne Fields has an op-ed entitled “The vigilantes get ready to pounce.”

And yesterday in The San Diego Union-Tribune, Ruben Navarrette had an op-ed entitled “Gonzales for the Supreme Court.”

“Sandra Day O’Connor’s Retirement: A Strong Statement That It’s Acceptable to Leave An Important Job An Important Job to Care for a Spouse Who Is Very Ill.” FindLaw commentator Edward Lazarus has this essay today.