From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Barack Obama and the highest court in the land.

Hello again, I'm Warren Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, a Hispanic woman

with 17 years of experience on the federal bench.

Supporters emphasize her legal credentials and her common touch.

Opponents call her an activist judge.

We'll hear both sides.

North Korea has followed up yesterday's nuclear test by

firing two short-range missiles. We'll get reaction in Washington and at the UN. On reporter's

notebook later on, California's Supreme Court has upheld the ban on gay marriage. At the same time, it

upheld gay and lesbian marriages performed before Prop 8 was passed by the voters. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again. Warren Alney, back with To the Point.

North Korea has followed up on yesterday's nuclear test by firing two short-range missiles today.

We'll hear about reaction at the United Nations and get some assessment of what North Korea's leaders might be thinking.

On reporter's notebook, California's state Supreme Court has upheld both a ban on same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian marriages already performed.

First, this news update. President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.

She has a total of 17 years' experience on the federal bench.

It's a measure of her qualities and her qualifications that Judge Sotomayor was nominated to

...