Microsoft has now released Bing, its newest version of its own Internet search engine.  PC World Magazine has weighed in on the new search engine and compares many of its features to similar features offered by Google and Yahoo.  Even Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, has offered some praise for Bing.

Check out some other reviews for Bing:

Wired Magazine
Cnet
The Technology Cafe Review

Try out Bing and let us know what you think.

Our Supreme Court Nominations Research Guide has been undated to provide links to background material on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated to the Supreme Court today by President Obama.We link to previous key decisions of Sotomayor on SCOTUSBlog, as well as many biographical resources and her previous confirmation hearings when nominated to the Circuit Court and District Court.

Additionally, we link to the Supreme Court records and briefs for her recent opinion, Ricci v. DeStefano, which is currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. As her confirmation process proceeds, we will continue to update this guide on a regular basis.

As posted by Emily Feldman to the AALL Washington Blawg, THOMAS, a product of the Law Library of Congress, has launched its first RSS feeds. Information on how to subscribe to these feeds, including the Daily Digest, is available at: http://www.loc.gov/law/news/rss.php.

The U.S. Treasury Department has unveiled a new website designed to detail the impact of President Obama's plan for financial stability and recovery. Interactive maps indicate the local impact of the Capital Purchase Program and fact sheets outline borrower's information for refinancing and mortgage modification.

Speeches and testimony made by Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner are made available here, as are TARP transaction reports.

Those who are following the prosecution of Bernard Madoff may want to take a look at this page, provided by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The page provides links to PDF versions of case documents, including the complaint, bill of information, briefs, and a transcript of Madoff's guilty plea.

    This week is Sunshine Week, a week designed to open up a national dialogue about "the importance of open government and freedom of information."  The sponsors of Sunshine Week have put together a website that includes a blog of weekly events and news releases, the 2009 Survey of State Government Information Online, Transparency Recommendations for the Obama Administration and additional information.  Visit the website and learn how you can participate in the call for open government!

The Law Librarian's Society of Washington, D.C. maintains an invaluable resource for legal researchers on their website. The Legislative Source Book, which is updated by law librarians throughout the local community, includes such material as legislative history documents, guides to administrative law research, as well as a Current Status Table on Selected Legislation from the 111th Congress.

A recent addition to the Legislative Source Book is the publication, Drafting Federal Law, by Donald Hirsch. In this exemplary publication, the author outlines an approach to equip the legislative drafter with techniques for effectively drafting bills for submission to Congress. While the library has numerous copies in print, this addition now provides online availability.

Further guidance to the legislative drafter is available in the House Legislative Counsel's Manual on Drafting Style which was recently added online also.

Earlier this month, Westlaw released the Obama Presidential Documents database (PRES-OBAMA).  It contains a series of documents issued by (or otherwise related to) the Obama White House since Barack Obama's election on November 4th, including executive orders, the inaugural address, and other statements.  In the coming months, Westlaw plans to add additional documents reflecting the policies of the Obama administration, such as bills, regulations, and laws.

For more information on accessing presidential documents from both the the current and prior administrations, see the Georgetown Law Library's Presidential Documents Research Guide.

   The State Department has released their 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.  These Reports are excellent starting points in research in human rights conditions in particular countries.  The reports offer details of reported alleged human rights violations and are reported in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended.  They are initially prepared by the overseas missions of the State Department and include information from government officials, jurists, the armed forces, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, and labor activists.  They are then sent to Washington DC where they are reviewed by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in cooperation with other Department of State offices before they are published.  The reports are useful for a variety of research, but in particular are useful when compiling country conditions research for asylum applicants. 

A New Era of Responsibility is the title of President Obama's newly released budget for Fiscal Year 2010. While it will make for interesting reading, don't forget that the Constitution grants Congress the task of appropriating money for the Federal government.

For a detailed explanation of the Budget process, check out LLRX.com's guide.