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Legendary rock music producer Phil Spector was found guilty Monday of second-degree murder. Spector was on trial in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson — a woman he picked-up at a Los Angeles nightclub. He could be sentenced to spend at least 18 years in prison.

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that the Medicare program is running out of money faster than projected. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that news should make lawmakers redouble their efforts on a full health system overhaul. On Capitol Hill, senators are struggling to come up with ways to pay for that overhaul.

American journalist Roxana Saberi was released Monday from an Iranian prison, where she had been held since January. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, where Saberi grew up, says the Iranian government has rectified a "terrible miscarriage of justice," and officials said she is now free to leave the country.

In a major setback for President Obama, Senate Democrats have removed funding to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba from the emergency war spending bill. They said no money will be considered until the president sends Congress a detailed plan on where the prison's 240 detainees would go.

The Labor Department reported Friday that the pace of layoffs slowed in April. Employers cut 539,000 jobs — the fewest in six months. However, the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent.

The pianist, who died last week, was an inspiration to a generation of Black and brown musicians who followed in his pioneering footsteps.

Dave Bing was sworn in as mayor of Detroit earlier this month. The NBA star-turned-businessman-turned-politician will have to draw from all of his years of experience to help this city, which is failing financially and is adrift politically.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor's road to a U.S. Supreme Court nomination began in a Bronx, N.Y., housing project. President Obama nominated her for the seat of retiring Justice David Souter on Tuesday. Obama said her early life in the housing project was part of the "wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life's journey."

As President Obama introduced his Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, Tuesday at the White House, he said, "Walking in the door, she would bring more experience on the bench ... than anyone currently serving on the United States Supreme Court had when they were appointed."

President Obama's first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court is Sonia Sotomayor. She's a federal appeals court judge. And if confirmed, she'll be the third woman to serve on the high court and the first Hispanic. Lawmakers in the Senate will have to vote on her confirmation. Some have said her nomination is bullet proof.