and, by the way, he turns 90, in about 11 days and this announcement, ten or 11 days short of his 90th birthday, working out in the court, age 89. john paul stevens... martha: it has been rumored for some time and obviously he's the oldest member of the court. a lot of speculation of when he'd announce and it is not expected to create any big change in the supreme court because the thinking is the president's next election would be along the same lines in terms of judicial thinking. as justice stevens, he has been, you know, a fixture for most of our lives on the supreme court and he's announced this morning, that he will retire. bill: and apparently he wrote the president saying, dear mr. president, having concluded that would it be in the best interest of the court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the court's next term as we said there. i shall retire from regular active service as an associate justice under the provisions of the law, effective the next day