Senate to Confirm Kagan Today

Elena Kagan is on the brink of becoming the fourth woman ever to serve as a Supreme Court justice, with the Senate expected to vote to confirm her nomination today. Her addition to the court will mark the first time three female justices have served concurrently. Nearly all Democrats, the Senate's two independents and a handful of Republicans are backing her.

The vote is to be one of the Senate's last actions before its members depart for a monthlong vacation. She's not expected to alter the ideological balance there as she succeeds retired Justice John Paul Stevens, who's regarded as a leader of the court's liberal wing. (More Elena Kagan stories.)