The latest news on Sotomayor's Swearing-In, Health Care, North American Summit, Attacks Against Homeless People, Climate Change, Congo, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela-Colombia, Somalia, and Select Op-eds.

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Quote of the day. "My best guess is that increasingly in these rich countries, the benefits of greater development are flowing more to women. Women have more education, and because they have more education and skills they probably find it easier to take a year off and have a baby and pay for the additional costs, and then get back into the labor force." Shripad Tuljapurkar, a biology and population studies professor at Stanford University, on new research that economic prosperity may not be linked to an inexorable decline in fertility. (Washington Post)

Sotomayor sworn in. Sotomayor Reaches Pinnacle of Law With Historic Oath "Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in Saturday morning as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court in a brief ceremony that completed a remarkable ascent for a Puerto Rican girl from the South Bronx." Sonia Sotomayor sworn in as Supreme Court justice "Sonia Sotomayor became the 111th Supreme Court justice in the nation's history on Saturday, taking an oath to 'administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich.'"

Health care. A Primer on the Details of Health Care Reform "Each side hopes to win ground by boiling down one of the most complex policy discussions in history into digestible nuggets. For beachside viewers who might be more interested in iced-tea service than fee-for-service, here is a guide to the main fight points." Sorting out claims about healthcare legislation "There has been no shortage of misinformation, much of it advanced by critics of President Obama's overhaul effort who have made sometimes outlandish claims. Here is a look at a few of the most contentious points." Obama's grass-roots network is put to the test "To win the White House, Barack Obama and his political team built a vast grass-roots network of supporters and volunteers that came to be considered one of the most valuable assets in American politics."

North American summit. U.S., Mexico, Canada to tackle thorny issues "It is affectionately called the 'Three Amigos' summit. But the trio of North American leaders are meeting here today at a time when relations among their countries are strained by disputes over trade issues and travel restrictions that are not likely to be resolved in the short flurry of working dinners and conferences." Harper blames Canada for visa furor "Stephen Harper is trying to repair frayed relations with Mexico despite his refusal to roll back new entry restrictions for its citizens, emerging from a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Sunday night to say it's Canada's dysfunctional refugee system that made him do it."

Attacks against homeless people. Attacks on Homeless Bring Push on Hate Crime Laws "With economic troubles pushing more people onto the streets in the last few years, law enforcement officials and researchers are seeing a surge in unprovoked attacks against the homeless, and a number of states are considering legislation to treat such assaults as hate crimes."

Climate change. Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security "The changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say."

Congo. Clinton to tackle Congo conflict "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she will speak out on the country's deadly civil conflict." Clinton set for DR Congo visit "Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state, is due to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she will call for greater efforts to tackle violence against women, officials have said."

Afghanistan. U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban "Fifty Afghans believed to be drug traffickers with ties to the Taliban have been placed on a Pentagon target list to be captured or killed, reflecting a major shift in American counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan." '45,000 more US troops needed in Afghanistan' "The United States should send up to 45,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, a senior adviser to the American commander in Kabul has told The Times." Analysts Expect Long-Term, Costly U.S. Campaign in Afghanistan "As the Obama administration expands U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, military experts are warning that the United States is taking on security and political commitments that will last at least a decade and a cost that will probably eclipse that of the Iraq war." 'There is no refuge, no place to go to deal with your grief' "In the first ever unauthorized dispatch from an officer on the frontline, one young [British] Captain offers a brutally honest account of life in Afghanistan, revealing the pain of losing comrades, the frustration at the lack of equipment, and the sense that the conflict seems unending and, at times, unwinnable."

Iran. Iran admits torture of demonstrators "Iran's police chief admitted yesterday that protesters who were arrested after June's disputed presidential election had been tortured while in custody in a prison in southwest Tehran. But he denied that any of the detainees had died as a result." Iran's president purges Intelligence Ministry "Iran's president has conducted a purge of the nation's Intelligence Ministry, sweeping aside ranking officials with decades of experience in favor of loyalists, said a lawmaker, several news websites and a former intelligence chief's son."

Iraq. Scores die in Iraq bomb blasts "More than 50 people have been killed and at least 286 others wounded in a series of bombings near the northern city of Mosul and in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials have said." Bombings kill dozens in Baghdad and northern Iraq "Early morning bombings Monday in Baghdad and Mosul killed at least 49 people and injured 231, the third large-scale attack on civilians in the past 10 days. Iraqi officials say that insurgents are targeting civilians to incite violence between religious sects." Report sees recipe for civil war in Iraq "A report to be published this month by the U.S. government's prestigious National Defense University warns that the Iraqi army and police are becoming pawns of sectarian political parties -- a trend that it calls 'a recipe for civil war.'"

Venezuela-Colombia. Chavez claims Colombia 'incursion' "Venezuela's president has accused Colombia of sending soldiers across the border into his country's territory, escalating tensions between the Latin American neighbors." Colombia 'incursion' riles Chavez "Mr. Chavez said Colombian soldiers had recently been seen crossing the Orinoco river, which forms part of the border, and entering Venezuelan territory."

Somalia. Is Somalia the new Afghanistan? "The site has been traced to Al-Shabaab, a radicalized Islamist militia group led by Somalis trained in Afghanistan and aligned with Al-Qaeda. The group is fighting against Somalia's fragile transitional government, which is backed by the West and the United Nations."

Opinion. Aquino's ripple effect (James Carroll, Boston Globe) "But the decade following the People Power Revolution in the Philippines showed that nonviolent social change could no longer be dismissed as wishful thinking. A modest woman who overcame her fear to speak truth and uphold justice started something that is not finished." Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor? (Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times) "In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually been intensifying as the recession generates ever more poverty." Averting the Worst (Paul Krugman, New York Times) "So it seems that we aren't going to have a second Great Depression after all. What saved us? The answer, basically, is Big Government."