The announcement that Justice O'Connor is leaving the Supreme Court will undoubtedly bring one issue immediately to the forefront: abortion. Regulatory policy is also at stake in the judicial nominations process. O'Connor's announcement is a good time to look back at a previous Watcher article on the consequences for regulatory protections (written when the radical right-wing extremists previously rejected by the Senate were renominated for the appeals courts).

Today, parts of the Minnesota state government shut down for the first time in history, leaving 9,000 state employees without jobs, pay, or benefits. The shut down occured at midnight last night because lawmakers failed to to pass a stpgap plan to keep the government up and running while budget negotiators continue to work on funding details. Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, a Democrat, said ''We need to fix it today. As far as I'm concerned, a one-day partial government shutdown is enough.'' While many states often miss their budget deadlines, their governments continue to run because of laws that automatically extend spending past the end of its fiscal year if a new budget is not approved. The major services affected in Minnesota Services were the highway rest areas, which closed, and the issuing of new driver's licenses. Also significantly affected were the 9,000 employees who were locked out of their jobs. Hopefully this shut down will be temporary, and state legislators will consider passing budget process laws to avoid this in the future. New York Times article: Minnesota Government Shuts Down; 9,000 Jobless

The White House released a legislative proposal today that would enact its long-threatened sunset commission and results commission proposals.