Majority of senators back Kagan

WASHINGTON (AP) - Elena Kagan has won the support of a majority of senators on the eve of a vote to confirm her as the Supreme Court's fourth woman.

At least 51 senators have announced they will back Kagan in the vote expected Thursday. President Barack Obama named the 50-year-old solicitor general to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens.

She's drawn the support so far of all but one Democrat - Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska - plus one independent and five Republicans.

Arkansas Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor on Wednesday became the latest Democrats to announce that they, too, plan to vote "yes."

A parade of Republicans are taking to the Senate floor to denounce Kagan as a political activist who has no place on the bench.

For Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the prospect of three women on the Supreme Court is exhilarating, and she intends to stay around and enjoy it.

After the death of her husband and her own treatment for cancer, there was speculation that the 77-year-old justice would step down. But she told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she plans to remain on the court for the foreseeable future and still wants to match Justice Louis Brandeis, who retired at age 82.