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Obama has begun informal talks with potential nominees for the Supreme Court

Pushing forward with one of his most consequential decisions, President Barack Obama has begun informal talks with potential nominees for the Supreme Court. And now he is reaching out to the senators who will control the confirmation fight ahead.

Within a few weeks, Obama is expected to announce a nominee to replace longtime Justice John Paul Stevens, who is retiring this summer. This is Obama's second chance in less than a year to name someone to the Supreme Court, a presidential prerogative that could put his imprint on the judicial branch for decades. Stevens announced his retirement plans on April 9, and Obama is still believed to be in the early stages of making his decision.

He ended up choosing federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter. Sotomayor's confirmation was a largely partisan summertime battle, with most Republicans objecting to her and to Obama's standards for choosing justices in general. The Senate vote was 68-31, with nine Republicans in favor.

So far, the early signs of ideological divide are the same.

Many Republican senators are wary that Obama will seek out a judicial activist who will bring a liberal agenda to the bench, and the White House already is expecting what chief of staff Rahm Emanuel called a "huge, huge battle" from Republicans over whomever Obama picks. The president says he will choose someone with the expected credentials of a strong record and dedication to the rule of law, plus an understanding of how court rulings affect people in real life.

With 59 usually reliable votes from Democrats and independents in the Senate, Obama is in a strong position to pick the person he wants. He would need 60 votes to head off a filibuster. Obama aides are confident that they can get that support and that Republicans won't go that route anyway.

The nominee will be subject to Senate confirmation.

Obama has begun conversations with potential nominees, a senior administration official said Tuesday, signaling an upswing in the president's consideration of an already coalescing list of about 10 candidates. Those discussions have not been formal interviews, the administration official emphasized, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect the privacy of Obama's deliberations. In his search last year, Obama ultimately did four face-to-face interviews with finalists.

Obama was to meet Wednesday with the top Democrat and Republican in the Senate, along with leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as he launches a period of political protocol that comes with each high court nomination. The White House says the point is for Obama to get advice from the senators on how to proceed and even ideas of people to consider, but his goal is also to show bipartisanship, even if the debate to follow is almost sure to have a divided tone.

At the White House, Obama will gather with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the committee.

Among the people Obama is considering for the court are federal appeals court judges Diane Wood, Merrick Garland and Sidney Thomas, former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Harvard Law School dean Martha Minow.

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Europe began to emerge from a volcanic cloud, allowing limited air traffic to resume

Europe began to emerge from a volcanic cloud Monday, allowing limited air traffic to resume and giving hope to millions of travelers stranded around the world when ash choked the jet age to a halt.

European Union transport ministers reached a deal during a crisis videoconference to divide northern European skies into three areas: a "no-fly" zone immediately over the ash cloud; a caution zone "with some contamination" where planes can fly subject to engine checks for damage; and an open-skies zone.

But the optimism was tempered Monday night by a statement from the British National Air Traffic Service, which said the eruption of the volcano has strengthened and a new ash cloud was spreading toward Britain.

The service said airspace over some parts of England may be reopened Tuesday afternoon but that the open zone for flights may not extend as far south as London, where the country's main airports are located. It also indicated that Scotland's airports and airspace can reopen as planned Tuesday morning but said the situation in Northern Ireland was uncertain.

Starting Tuesday morning, "we should see progressively more planes start to fly," said EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas.

The German airline Lufthansa said it would bring 50 planeloads of passengers home.

Even then, however, the eruption from the Icelandic volcano that caused the five days of aviation chaos was said to be strengthening and sending more ash toward Britain, which could make it unlikely that London airports would reopen Tuesday.

Three KLM passenger planes left Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on Monday evening during daylight under visual flight rules bound for New York, Dubai and Shanghai. An Associated Press photographer saw one jet taking off into a colorful sunset, which weather officials said was pinker than normal due to the ash.

Europe's aviation industry -- facing losses of more than $1 billion -- criticized official handling of the disruption that grounded thousands of flights to and from the continent.

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A volcanic eruption in Iceland, disrupting air traffic

A volcanic eruption in Iceland, which has thrown up a 6-km (3.7 mile) high plume of ash and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, has grown more intense, an expert said on Thursday.

Einarsson, who described the eruption as "reasonably powerful," said it was the most significant volcanic event in Iceland since a huge eruption in 1996, when an eruption under the Grimsvotn lakes led to widespread flooding.

He said scientists were still concerned the ongoing eruption could trigger Mt Katla, a more powerful volcano nearby covered by a thicker ice sheet, but had not picked up any clear signs of brewing activity.

Hot fumes had melted up to a third of the glacial ice covering the crater, causing a nearby river to burst its banks, and frequent explosions on the floor of the crater sounded like bombs going off, he said.

The floods were abating, however, and some of those living in the sparsely populated area near the volcano had returned to their homes.

Another scientist said the eruption was 10 times more powerful than one which occurred last month on the flank of the volcano, though the two were part of the same event.

The volcano under the Ejfjallajokull glacier, Iceland's fifth largest glacier, has erupted five times since Iceland was settled in the ninth century.

Iceland sits on a volcanic hotspot in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and has relatively frequent eruptions, although most occur in sparsely populated areas and pose little danger to people or property. Before March, the last eruption took place in 2004.

The cloud of ash from the eruption has hit air travel all over northern Europe, with flights grounded or diverted due to the risk of engine damage from sucking in particles of ash from the volcanic cloud.

To the east of the volcano, thousands of hectares of land are covered by a thick layer of ash while a cloud blotted out the sun in some areas along the southern coast of Iceland, local media reported.

The eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier continued to spew large amounts of ash and smoke into the air and showed no signs of abating after 40 hours of activity, said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland.

"The seismographs are showing that since this morning the intensity of the eruption seems to be growing," he said.

Scientists picked up the first signs of increased seismic activity at Eyjafjallajokull last summer and had been expecting an eruption at any moment, Einarsson said.

The eruption began in March but subsided earlier this week when a magma conduit became blocked, building up pressure which finally escaped through the volcano's main crater.

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HP announced 3 lines of laser printers and MFPs

On Tuesday, HP announced 3 lines of laser printers and MFPs that employ the company's new Smart Install easy setup technology.

We've already reviewed two of the new models, the HP LaserJet Pro P1102w and HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn. HP also announced its first portable scanner, the Scanjet Professional 1000 Portable Mobile Scanner.

“Business” notebooks typically conjure up images of ugly, stripped down machines meant to crunch numbers on the barest budget possible – and keep ticking well after being handed down from executives to grunts. HP’s EliteBook series bucks the trend. Stylish and powerful, it also adopts a series of beefed-up components meant to withstand abuse that would crack, warp and destroy feeble consumer rigs. While you’ll pay a premium for the privilege, users who expect to drive their laptops into the ground with heavy use will see it paid back in every replacement notebook they don’t buy.

The Smart Install system uses printer drivers stored in the device's memory so that the printer is ready to go after simply connecting a USB cable.

"Our customers demand easy printing and we are giving it to them. No clumsy CD-ROMs to install, no drivers to download," said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president of LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions at HP. "HP Smart Install offers the future of printing, today."

To set up the HP LaserJet Pro P1100 series, the HP LaserJet Pro M1130/M1210 Multifunction Printer series and the HP LaserJet Pro P1566/P1606dn, all you have to do is to attach the printer to your computer with a USB cable and it will automatically install, without the need for an install CD. HP touts the new models as being eco-friendly, a claim that was borne out by the P1606dn becoming the first mono laser printer to earn the PCMag GreenTech Approved seal.

The HP Scanjet Professional 1000 scanner is very portable at 2 inches by 11.3 inches by 3 inches (HWD) and 1.4 pounds. It scans either single-sided or duplex (both sides of the page at once), at up to 600 dpi. It's powered through a PC's Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port; no need for an adapter or batteries. It scans at sizes from business cards to long forms (to a maximum of 8.5 by 34 inches).

The first devices with the Smart Install system are the HP LaserJet Pro P1100 series, the HP LaserJet Pro M1130/M1210 multifunction series and the HP LaserJet Pro P1566/P1606dn series.

Microsoft has been loading popular drivers onto the Windows operating system for years, but this is believed to be the first time that printers have shipped with their own drivers rather than relying on an internet download or a driver CD-ROM.

Some of the printers are already available on HP's Web site, ranging in price from $149 to $229. Price and release date for the scanner have yet to be announced.

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The Vatican has finally made peace with the Beatles

The Vatican has finally made peace with the Beatles, saying their drug use, "dissolute" lives and even the claim that the band was bigger than Jesus are all in the past — while their music lives on.

"But, listening to their songs, all of this seems distant and meaningless," L'Osservatore said. "Their beautiful melodies, which changed forever pop music and still give us emotions, live on like precious jewels."

It is not the first time the Vatican has praised the legendary band from Liverpool.

Two years ago, Vatican media hailed the Beatles' musical legacy on the 40th anniversary of the "White Album." And last month the Vatican paper included "Revolver" in its semiserious list of top-10 albums.

Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano paid tribute to the Fab Four in its weekend editions, with two articles and a front-page cartoon reproducing the crosswalk immortalized on the cover of the band's album "Abbey Road."

The tribute marked the 40th anniversary of the band's breakup.

"It's true, they took drugs; swept up by their success, they lived dissolute and uninhibited lives," said the paper. "They even said they were more famous than Jesus," it said, recalling John Lennon's 1966 comment that outraged many Catholics and others.

Now, L'Osservatore says that the Beatles' songs have stood the test of time, and that the band remains "the longest-lasting, most consistent and representative phenomenon in the history of pop music."

Giovanni Maria Vian, the editor in chief of L'Osservatore Romano, said Monday that he loves the Beatles.

He said that at the time of Lennon's sensational statement, Osservatore "commented that in reality it wasn't that scandalous, because the fascination with Jesus was so great that it attracted these new heroes of the time."

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Polish immigrants and their descendants around the world shared the anguish of their mother country

Polish immigrants and their descendants around the world shared the anguish of their mother country on Sunday, mourning the 96 victims of a devastating plane crash as they crowded into Polish-language Masses.

"When the Polish people have any kind of a tragedy, they pray, they go to church," said Anna Szpindor, who was born in Poland and went to medical school there but lives in South Barrington, Ill.

"They feel this solidarity, this unity in a church environment," the 55-year-old said before she entered Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Chicago.

In New York, several hundred people stood outside St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, unable to squeeze into its Polish-language Mass.

There are also significant populations of Polish descendants in Argentina and southern Brazil. In Curitiba, Brazil, special Masses were celebrated Sunday morning to honor those killed in the plane crash, the Rev. Zenon Sikorski said.

The Argentine-Polish Cultural Association issued a statement saying it shares Poland's "profound pain over the tragic accident."

Millions of Poles have emigrated over nearly two centuries, establishing large communities in the United States and Britain. They coped with Saturday's death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of other military, church and government officials through vigils, prayer and writing.

The nation is in mourning after the crash, which occurred in Russia near Katyn forest. The dignitaries had been on their way to Katyn to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the massacre there of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet forces.

Weigand said the crash makes her want to go to Poland, while her 88-year-old mother hasn't been able to talk about the tragedy at all. Instead, she cries, is plagued by headaches and recounts painful memories of being captured by Nazis.

"She's reliving all of it and it hurts," Weigand said.

Families of Polish descent packed churches in Chicago, London and elsewhere. At London's St. Andrew Bobola Polish Roman Catholic Church, parishioners mourned one of their priests, Monsignor Bronislaw Gostomski, who died in the crash, along with Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president of a Polish government-in-exile based in London during World War II and the communist years.

"It was like losing a family member," said Blanche Weigand, whose mother immigrated from Poland to Chicago in 1950. "I'm from Chicago, but my heart is in Poland."

Weigand grew up speaking fluent Polish and eating her mother's pierogi, and stays in touch with her Polish cousins each week through Skype.

An estimated 300,000 Poles emigrated to Argentina between 1897 and 1950. Laborers mostly went to larger cities like Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario, while those with farming backgrounds principally settled in the northeast.

Dozens of mourners in the Chicago area, home to the largest concentration of people of Polish descent outside of Poland, came Sunday to the largely Polish St. Adalbert Cemetery in suburban Niles, Ill. They paid homage at a memorial sculpture to the 1940 Katyn massacre, which was designed by Chicago artist Wojciech Seweryn, who was also killed in the crash.

The sculpture — featuring the Virgin Mary holding a wounded officer — was covered with hundreds of candles, flowers and Polish flags. Two journals lay at the memorial sculpture, filled with hundreds of entries in Polish expressing sorrow, grief and shock.

"It is a great disappointment for Poland, this tragedy happened with Polish officers in 1940, now with the president in 2010," one read.

Another read simply, "Never Forgotten."

Maria Balcer, 65, a recent immigrant, sat in a pew at Polish National Catholic Church in Brooklyn and cried. She had been up until 2 a.m. watching television coverage of the crash, she said.

"The tragedy is terrible, a horrible feeling in my heart," she said.

Teresa Karwowska, 56, her husband, Antoni Karwowski, 56, and their family attended a Polish Mass on Sunday morning and planned to attend a memorial service that day for the crash victims.

"What happened on Saturday, it kind of opened people's eyes to what happened in the Katyn massacre," Karwowska said, in Polish translated by her son. She said the family would observe a week of mourning for the plane crash victims with no music, no sports and prayer.

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South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate at 2%

South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate at a record low Friday as new Gov. Kim Choong-soo begins deciding when to end an easy money regime implemented 18 months ago to help fight the global financial crisis.

Kim is tasked with judging when South Korea's economic recovery will be strong enough to withstand a hike in borrowing costs from the record low where they have stood for 15 months.

The BOK slashed the key rate six times from October 2008 to battle the global financial meltdown and ensuing economic downturn. The rate has been at the current level since February last year.

Under his predecessor Lee Seong-tae, the bank came under strong political pressure from the government to keep the rate low to protect the country's economic recovery.

The Bank of Korea announced that it kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent at the first monetary policy meeting chaired by Kim, a U.S.-educated economist who took office April 1 for a four-year term.

The decision to keep the rate frozen was widely expected. All economists at 15 financial institutions surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arms of Yonhap news agency, correctly forecast the decision.

At March's monthly meeting, the bank's monetary policy committee cited international sovereign debt concerns as a factor in its decision to keep rates on hold.

Asia's fourth-largest economy recorded four straight quarters of growth in 2009 after contracting amid the global downturn. The expansion, however, slowed in the fourth quarter of 2009 with gross domestic product growing just 0.2 percent. Unemployment eased to 4.9 percent in February, but was still near a nine-year high.

Still, the BOK expects the export-oriented economy to grow 4.6 percent this year. It grew 0.2 percent in 2009, the worst performance since a contraction of 5.7 percent in 1998 during the Asian economic crisis.

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Obama's vision of a world without nuclear arms moves closer to reality

President Barack Obama's vision of a world without nuclear arms moves closer to reality on Thursday when he and President Dmitry Medvedev sign a pivotal treaty aimed at sharply paring U.S. and Russian arsenals while working to repair soured relations.

The new treaty will shrink those warheads to 1,550 over seven years. That still allows for mutual destruction several times over. But it will send a strong signal that Russia and the U.S., which between them own more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, are serious about disarmament.

And it opens the way for further cuts. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that Obama has instructed his national security team to pursue another round of arms reduction talks with Russia, to follow up on the replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty being signed Thursday.

The aim would be to conduct wider talks to include for the first time short-range U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons as well as weapons held in reserve or in storage.

Beyond deeply reducing nuclear arsenals, the U.S. sees "New START" as a key part of efforts to "reset" ties with Russia, which had become badly strained under the Bush administration and engage Moscow more in dealing with global challenges. Among these is Iran's defiance of U.N. Security Council demands that it curb its nuclear program to ease fears it seeks to make nuclear arms.

Obama has not been able to deliver on all of the nuclear aspirations he outlined in Prague just a year ago — visions on disarmament that helped earn him the Nobel Peace Prize. Back then, a landmark speech to an enthusiastic crowd gathered in a Prague square included a promise to quickly seek ratification of a comprehensive nuclear test ban.

That goal remains unfulfilled. But on Thursday, the Czech capital will serve as the venue of a pledge achieved.

Other U.S. nuclear initiatives will follow the Prague signing, with the White House planning to lead calls for disarmament in May at the United Nations during an international conference on strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Before that, government leaders from more than 40 countries will gather in Washington next week to discuss boosting defenses against terrorists seeking nuclear weapons.

The deep cuts in warheads and delivery systems and a legally binding system to ensure against cheating, makes "New START" the most significant nuclear arms treaty in a generation, and Medvedev, in comments published before the signing lauded it as "an important step" in disarmament and arms control efforts.

Some Russian arms control analysts say Russia badly needed the deal to ease the burden of replacing a large number of Soviet-built missiles which need to be decommissioned for age. "This treaty is in Russia's best interests," said Sergei Rogov, the head of the USA and Canada Institute, an influential think tank that advises the Kremlin on foreign policy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the deal could "open new possibilities for developing the U.S.-Russian partnership" — but warned Moscow reserves the right to withdraw if the planned U.S. missile defense system grows into a threat.

At noon in the Spanish Hall — a lavish Renaissance chamber within the Czech's capital's ornate presidential castle complex — the U.S. and Russian presidents will sign the "New START" treaty. With that, they will commit their nations to slash the number of strategic nuclear warheads by one-third and more than halve the number of missiles, submarines and bombers carrying them, pending ratification by their legislatures.

The new pact is only part of the Obama administration's new nuclear strategy. It will be signed only days after the White House announced a fundamental shift that calls the spread of atomic weapons to terrorists or rogue states — nations, like North Korea or Iran that do not abide by nonproliferation rules — a worse menace than the Cold War threat of mutual destruction.

"For the first time, preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is now at the top of America's nuclear agenda," Obama said Tuesday in detailing key components of an in-depth nuclear strategy review.

While the formal occasion is signing the treaty, Obama is expected to use the occasion to push for Russian support for new U.N. sanctions to punish Iran's refusal to give up uranium enrichment. Chances of enlisting China, an even more stubborn opponent of Iran sanctions than Moscow, improve if the Kremlin is on board.

Lavrov argued that Russia views such weapons as just as destabilizing as nukes.

Russia hasn't tried to follow the U.S. example partly because most of its missiles lack precision for hitting pinpoint targets with conventional explosives. Its conventional military forces has steadily degraded, prompting the military to rely increasingly on nuclear weapons.

While the docile Russian parliament will do the Kremlin's bidding on the treaty, the ratification process in the U.S. Senate could be troublesome. Fearing potential trouble, Moscow has said that Russian lawmakers will synchronize their moves to ratify the deal with the U.S. legislators.

Sensitive to East European concerns, Obama is tending to other business while in Prague — hosting a dinner for leaders from 11 Central and Eastern European nations formerly in or near Moscow's orbit, who worry about the Kremlin's post-communist push for influence.

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Problems mounted for rescuers searching for survivors in a flooded China mine

Problems mounted for rescuers searching for survivors in a flooded China mine Wednesday, with officials warning of a toxic gas build-up as the death toll rose to seven.

On Wednesday, AFP reporters also were prevented from entering a hotel 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the mine, where relatives of missing workers were reportedly ordered to stay.

Some anxious relatives are demanding information about their missing loved ones.

Safety standards are widely flouted in China's mines in the rush to meet surging coal demand -- source of about 70 percent of the country's energy.

In a commentary, the state-run English-language Global Times on Wednesday said if the same effort in rescue work had been applied to safety practices, "many similar accidents might well have been avoided in the first place."

More than 2,600 miners were killed last year, according to government figures, although labour activists say the actual numbers are likely far higher.

"They wouldn't tell us anything, they wouldn't let us in," 46-year-old Xiang Qinghe, whose nephew was in the mine, told AFP.

"I just want to see if he's there -- if we see him, we can relax."

The accident occurred on March 28 when workers apparently dug into an older adjacent mine that had been shut down and filled with water, a practice used to stabilise the geology in abandoned collieries, press reports have said.

The government has blamed the accident on owner Huajin Coking Coal Company's failure to heed repeated warnings of an impending flood.

Cramped conditions and the risk of a gas explosion in the Wangjialing mine in north China's Shanxi province have complicated efforts to find 31 workers still believed trapped in the pit, with some emergency personnel falling ill.

State-run Xinhua news agency quoted a rescue official saying teams were inching towards the last two work platforms underground. One was cut off by a submerged stretch 700 metres (yards) long and the other by a 300-metre span.

The rescue on Monday of more than 100 workers -- some of whom had survived on tree bark, sawdust, paper and even coal -- buoyed hopes of finding more.

But Liu said workers were having trouble operating drainage pumps in the tight mine shaft, while Xinhua said toxic gas had reached "dangerous" levels in some areas.

AFP reporters have so far not been allowed into hospitals in the nearby city of Hejin to question survivors. Relatives were also being kept away, with doctors saying their patients need rest.

Reports said the workers were generally in stable condition but some suffered from psychological trauma.

So far, 115 workers have been pulled to safety after more than a week trapped in the mine, in what officials have described as a "miracle" for an industry plagued by deadly accidents and a poor safety record.

Seven bodies have been recovered, the rescue headquarters announced early Wednesday, but authorities say there is still hope for those trapped, even though they are believed to be in the deepest part of the state-owned mine.

"The work at the mine is continuing. We are doubling our efforts so we do not waste time," Liu Dezheng, vice-director of the Shanxi work safety administration, told reporters at a news briefing.

China's government in recent years touted a safety drive that it says has closed thousands of unsafe mines, but accidents have continued unabated.

China was hit by at least five mining accidents last week that left dozens dead or missing.

The death toll in one of those incidents -- a coal mine explosion in the central province of Hunan -- leapt to 40, with six others missing, Xinhua said late Tuesday.

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Jackson doctor began a slow process toward trial

With Michael Jackson's mother, father and three siblings looking on, Dr. Conrad Murray began a slow process toward trial Monday with the appointment of a judge and the setting of another hearing to handle pending matters in his involuntary manslaughter case.

Earlier, about 50 Jackson fans waved signs and chanted outside the courthouse.

The fans sang "We Are the World," wore T-shirts emblazoned with Jackson's picture and the slogan, "Justice 4 Michael," and carried placards demanding stronger charges against Murray.

Fans in a courthouse hallway called out "Hi Janet" as Janet Jackson arrived.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Normally, such a procedural hearing would draw few spectators.

But with Jackson's death as the backdrop, crowds of fans and media were expected, and Jackson family members have committed to attending all court proceedings against Murray.

Murray's attorneys contend the license issue is critical to his ability to pay for his defense.

Murray made quick back-to-back appearances in separate courtrooms.

As a condition of his $75,000 bail, Murray has been ordered not to administer any anesthetic.

Jackson was 50 and about to launch a series of comeback shows in London when he died last June after being rushed to a hospital from his rented mansion. Murray, who signed on in May at $150,000 a month to keep Jackson healthy through the comeback tour, told police he had been treating him for insomnia.

The pop star was found to have died from acute intoxication with the hospital anesthetic propofol and other sedatives as a contributing factor.

Chernoff has said that nothing Murray gave the singer should have killed him.

Pastor also said that 27 years ago he was appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who is now California's attorney general. Brown's office is seeking to revoke Murray's medical license pending trial.

"This will in no way affect my ability to be a fair and impartial judge in this case," Pastor said.

Lawyers have 10 days to file a challenge against Pastor if they choose.

A large contingent of Jackson family members had been expected but only five appeared. Jackson's mother, Katherine, his father, Joe, and siblings Janet, Jermaine and Randy sat quietly in the spectator section and made no comments to the press.

Trina Saunders, a representative of the attorney general's office, asked that the hearing regarding Murray's medical license be held sooner than June 14, but the judge rejected her request and said all pending matters would be handled on that date.

First, Supervising Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza assigned the matter to another judge for all further proceedings. Then, spectators, media and fans followed Murray down to a lower floor where he appeared before Judge Michael Pastor.

Abiding by ethics requirements, Pastor disclosed he had written a recommendation for Deputy District Attorney David Walgren, the prosecutor in the case who has applied for a judgeship.

Pastor said they are not personal friends, and he would not have a conflict in trying the case.

The doctor has a history of serious financial problems and his attorneys, Ed Chernoff and Joseph Low, said in a recent court filing that the effect of losing his license would be devastating to Murray.

"He is, without fear of overstatement, hanging on by a thread," the attorneys wrote. "His ability to pay for his own defense depends almost entirely on his ability to continue to treat patients."

Murray, 57, a cardiologist, has clinics in Las Vegas and Houston and also has a license to practice in California. Should his California license be lifted, his lawyers suggest there would be a "domino effect" with other states moving to do the same.

Already, Nevada authorities have filed a formal complaint against Murray saying he twice failed to mention delinquent child support payments on applications to renew his medical license. Miranda Sevcik, spokeswoman for Murray and Chernoff, says Murray's legal team hopes to resolve the complaint in a way that allows the doctor to keep his license.

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