Washington, D.C. Bureau reporter Scott McFarlane sends these blogs from the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor: (Times listed are Pacific.)

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Day 3

Read Blogs for Day 1, 2

Blog at 6:34 a.m.
For the first time this week, Sonia Sotomayor wasn't the center of attention. A line of New Haven, Connecticut firefighters entering the room attracted a swarm of cameras and the gaze of most spectators. The firefighters - and the racially-charged discrimination case in which Sotomayor once ruled - are a focal point of Republicans here. Her ruling, eventually overturned by the Supreme Court weeks ago, is a hot-button issue. One of the firefighters, Frank Ricci, will testify here later this week against the judge.

The firefighters fill an entire row of seats here. The very back row of spectator seats. All are wearing crisp, navy blue uniform sportcoats. None is smiling or showing expression on his face.

Blog at 6:44 a.m.
The crowd of reporters arrived early. This particular round of questioning has been eagerly anticipated. The questioner: Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Cornyn, among other things, heads up the Republican Senate campaign committee. It's Cornyn's job to get more Republicans elected to the U.S. Senate. He immediately began probing Sotomayor's controversial "wise Latina" remark. It's a touchstone issue for the GOP in these proceedings.

On a completely different subject, Sotomayor, who wore blue on day one and red on day two of these proceedings, is wearing a jet black suit and pink shirt. It's a nearly identical outfit to the one worn by her mother yesterday.

Air conditioning is cranked in here today. Again. The judge has two hearty iced drinks in a pair of plastic cups in front of her. TV lights are unforgiving. The cool air and drinks prevent the judge from sweatinng on camera, beneath those lights.

Blog at 6:51 a.m.
One of the following is happening:

a) Senators are losing interest.
b) Senators who've already asked questions are totally ambivalent about what others are asking
c) Senators have severe difficulty navigating Washington, DC traffic
d) It's simply a very busy day around here on Capitol Hill

Why? Turnout among the Senators is again dreadful as this hearing begins.

Which chairs are empty? Sens. Grassley, Graham, Specter, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Feinstein, Kohl and Schumer.

Later today, Arlen Specter is gonna ask Judge Sotomayor about whether she supports having cameras in the Supreme Court. He told me last week, "The Senate has cameras", so why not the high court too?

Hard to argue with that! Though, I'm wondering if the presence of TV cameras in this hearing room is hurting Senator turnout at the hearing itself. Their staffs can watch in person. The Senators can watch from the big screen TVs in their offices. At least until it's time for *them* to talk.

Blog at 6:56 a.m.
There are more protestors outside today than there were earlier this week.

Most -- if not all -- appear to be protesting the issue of abortion. One man carried a sign reading, "How many lives have been taken since these hearings began?" Another protestor carried a microphone and speaker and detailed the process of abortion.

Another was playing a recording of a baby crying ---- over and over and over again.

They stand closest to the media entrance. And they try to hand out flyers to reporters and camera crews.

The handful of protestors who've interrupted proceedings here by shouting inside the hearing room have been shouting about the issue of abortion.

Blog at 7:04 a.m.
As Judge Sotomayor begins answering a question from Sen. John Cornyn about the New Haven firefighters case, the clicks of computer keyboards threaten to drown out her answer. (Cornyn said as a former judge, he was troubled by the case)

There are about 100 media members sitting here inside the hearing room. I'm in the middle of them. Nearly all are feverishly punching on their laptop computers. I spotted only one using a pen and paper. (She has beautiful handwriting, by the way)

Gone are the days of reporters using the old, trusty "reporter's notebook." We're all wired. Internet access. Wireless. Snazy word programs. It's an incredible day for the folks at Dell and Apple. They oughta send a promotional team over here to snap a photo and use it in an advertisement.

We reporters are in the back half of this basketball-court-length hearing room. We're sitting perpendicular to the proceedings (facing the side walls) We're sitting as you would at a crowded picnic table. Our elbows pressed againnst our ribs. Our legs crammed together. It's a tight fit. (I described it this way to a friend: We're allowed enough space to fit our laptop. Thankfully I'm not much wider than one.)

Blog at 7:16 a.m.
Even the man running these proceedings needs an occasional break. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, has stepped away from the room for awhile.

Dianne Feinstein, the veteran Democrat from California, has slipped into the Chairman's seat. She'll be running things indefinitely. She's listening as Maryland's junior Senator, Ben Cardin, has begun his questioning. The topic: voting irregularities. (long lines, fraudulent ballots) I suspect he's gonna dovetail into the issue of the Voting Rights Act. The landmark legislation of the civil rights era was recently renewed by Congress and the Bush Administration. But a ruling this year by the Supreme Court indicates the Voting Rights Act could soon be overturned by the high court.

Sotomayor just said, "Voting is a *fundamental* right" She said she recently ruled against a measure that would've limited who can vote. The judge then indicated that if the Voting Rights Act is to be changed or ended, it's up to Congress to do so. Not the court.

Those who might've been drifting off seemed to wake up for this particular dialogue. I saw a lot of heads pop up.

Blog at 7:26 a.m.
Think teenagers text message a lot?

They ain't got nothin' on members of Congress. From an overhead media vantage point, I observed a few of these Senators punching away furiously at their blackberries. A generously sized wooden panel blocks the view of Senators' hands, papers and blackberries from the main TV cameras broadcasting these proceedings.

One other thing: Congressional supporters of the judge are getting a lot of practice in the art of "rapid response." Every hour or so, staffers distribute hard copies of press releases supporting Sotomayor to the reporters gathered here in the hearing room. The latest -- distributed moments ago -- reads "Support for Judge Sonia Sotomayor", featuring a laundry list of endorsements of the judge from public figures, including the the Sheriff of Los Angeles County.

I'm not sure what good these press releases do. Most of us flip them over and use them as scrap paper. (We're here to cover the hearing itself. If we wanted to read a press release, we'd sit at our desks back at the office)

Blog at 7:32 a.m.
Sotomayor's nursing a cup of water right now. Her focus is impeccable.

She maintains remarkable eye contact with the Senators. She hasn't turned around to gaze at the crowd. (her mother is sitting about four feet directly behind her)

We've noticed a unique amount of politeness between Sotomayor and the Senators questioning her. Each time one "talks over" the other, there are apologies and offers to allow the other to complete his or her thought. That's not the case at many Congressional hearings. Members of Congress are rarely so patient. Witnesses are rarely so disciplined.

Obviously, *everyone* is aware of the power of TV cameras.

Blog at 7:39 a.m.
The biggest show in town.

So many people are popping in to get a glimpse of these hearings! U.S. House members, who are knee deep in a busy week themselves, are coming by to view this historic proceeding.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a famous Democrat from Texas, was just escorted in by a staffer. Just last week, Lee took part in the Michael Jackson funeral. Her frequent speeches on the House floor are also legendary. But today, she's in a back row sitting silently.

Rep. Nydia Valazquez, chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, has spent a lion's share of her week watching the testimony here. Valezquez represents a New York congressional district that includes regions also covered by the federal court on which Sotomayor sits. She's also one of the highest ranking hispanic members of Congress.

Blog at 7:39 a.m.
Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, the final Republican to speak in this first round of Senate questioning, just apologized to the judge for the protestors who've interrupted the hearings.

He then apologized, I believe, for the absences at the table. He blamed it on the haste with which he believes Senators are being forced to address health care legislation. Busy week, he said.

Coburn is sifting through a thick stack of paperwork in front of him. I spotted a huge white binder that would make a librarian proud.

Coburn is gonna drill into the abortion issue. He asked, "Should techonlogy have any bearing on how we look at Roe v. Wade?" Sotomayor's' response, "I can't answer that in the abstract."

Blog at 7:53 a.m.
More Senate Democrats are arrivinng. Once the current questioner, Tom Coburn, finishes, only Democrats remain for this round of Q&A.

Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse, Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar and Delware's Ted Kaufman are due up next. All are here, sifting through notes and preparing.

Coburn, incidentally, is shifting his questions to the "right to bear arms." "How do we get to the point that something spelled out in the Constitution (is not guaranteed)?"

Judge Sotomayor's response, "What we do is different than the conversation the public has about what they want the law to do." Hard to understand? Welcome to a Senate hearing. This is the language everyone here seems to speak.

Blog at 8:05 a.m.
His months-long recount and court challenge prepared Al Franken for life in the U.S. Senate.

He's been sitting here, sitting here, sitting here and sitting here. He's waiting for his opportunity to ask questions. And he's been waiting awhile.

As the newest member of the U.S. Senate, Franken must wait until all others have asked their questions first.

It's not likely to happen until the end of the day today. He's working a cup of coffee and leaning back occasionally to listen to the whisper of a staffer.

Blog at 8:25 a.m.
Just overheard:

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn telling his staffers, "I got some good follow-ups in", immediately after finishing his questioning of Judge Sotomayor. The staffers, including two woman sitting directly behind Sen. Coburn, nodded their heads feverishly as he spoke.

Coburn, like Texas Sen. John Cornyn, is sporting cowboy boots. But you can''t see them on TV.

Former Rhode Island prosecutors, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, picks up the questioning. Five minutes into Whitehouse's Q&A with Sotomayor, we overheard once Capitol police officer tell another, "I didn't think these hearings would be *so* dry!"

Blog at 8:38 a.m.
Arlen Specter's here. Just sitting and waiting for his turn to speak. But he isn't likely to get started for at least another two hours.

His nickname, "Snarlin' Arlen", should give you some insight over what to expect. He's known as a fierce, disciplined examiner. He has a "spark" that makes any event much more interesting. His critics hate it. His supporters love it. Either way, you wanna watch.

If the other Senators are the undercard, Specter's the main event.

As the hearing takes a 15 minute recess, one can't help but look forward to Specter's Q&A. So far, there's little juice to today's proceedings. That'll likely change.

Blog at 8:55 a.m.
The New Haven, CT firefighters remain the center of attention. During the 15-minute recess, a group of firefighters walked down a hallway outside the room. A posse of TV cameras and crews swarmed them and followed their every move. One firefighter speaking Spanish attracted the attention of the Spanish-language media.

Here's the story: Senator Amy Klobuchar and Delaware's Ted Kaufman will ask questions next. Then the Senate will take a lengthy lunch break.

One revelation: Amy Klobuchar said she ran into Sotomayor's mother in the ladies room. Apparently, Sotomayor's mother is enjoying the proceedings so far.

By the way, the restrooms are a 100-step walk from the hearing room. It's not surprising Klobuchar and Sotomayor's mother managed to get to the restroom without getting stopped. Everyone was following the firefighters.

Blog at 9:05 a.m.
Sonia Sotomayor just referenced Perry Mason, the famed TV series, when answering a question about her judicial philosophy.

Perry Mason was a great show. Kind of a trailblazer for the Murder, She Wrote and Matlock and Law and Order series that ruled TV in the 80s and 90s.

You can't believe how many blank stares were elicited in the press area, when Sotomayor made the Perry Mason reference! Does no one know Raymond Burr?!?!? Two of the senior broadcast reporters, next to whom I'm sitting, asked junior press members if they knew what Perry Mason was. The junior folks shook their heads "no."

That, my friends, is who you get your news from!

I loved Perry Mason.

Blog at 9:18 a.m.
Keep an eye on Sonia Sotomayor. You might see her start to sweat.

A power surge of some sort just knocked out the air conditioning. I don't believe the Senators are aware of it.

It's gonna get plenty hot in here soon, unless an immediate repair is made.

Easy to understand why there'd be power problems. I count 150 operating computers, scores of high-energy TV lights, dozens of microphones, four HUGE plasma TVs and who knows what else.

Senator Klobuchar is wrapping up her questioning now. About a dozen chairs behind Sotomayor are empty. (These are likely chairs reserved for Administration officials, guests of the judge, or Democratic party witnesses) Early start on lunch?

They have fresh pizza downstairs in the lunch room.

Blog at 9:29 a.m.
Too bad cameras are prohibited inside the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is a still photographer's dream. She's animated. She talks with her hands (as many of my New York relatives do!) Photographers crave animation and body language. Sotomayor is a great subject for their lenses. Listen for the loud clicks of cameras every time Sotomayor moves her hands.

She's maintaining a high energy level, despite the seemingly endless list of questions. Wonder if she needs caffeine to do so?

Her chair has wheels on it and swivels side-to-side. But Sotomayor is resisting any temption to do so.

Just three Republicans remain in this confirmation hearing. Their questioing is over in this round. And they aren't hanging out to hear the remaining Democrats. Sens. Hatch, Sessions and Graham are still here. All seem to be listening closely.

My colleague Leigh Patterson is setting up her camera in some of the hidden corners of this hearing room. She's putting together a fantastic slideshow of what's happening away from the TV cameras, "Behind-the-scenes" here today. Check back for it later this afternoon.

I'm gonna wrap up the blog for today. Time to start crunching the material you'll see on the air beginning at 5pm. What were the big surprises during today's testimony? What did local Members of Congress deem to be the most important nuggets?

Be sure to watch for our coverage tonight on-the-air!