The story

Justice David Souter informed the White House on Friday he will retire from the Supreme Court, and President Obama said he hopes to have a replacement on the bench by the time the court reconvenes in October.

Obama interrupted the daily White House news conference to announce he had just ended a phone call with Souter, who, in a brief letter to the president, said, "When the Supreme Court rises for the summer recess this year, I intend to retire from active service as a justice."

The current term is expected to end in late June. Souter called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, a few weeks ago to tell him that he was going to retire, according to a source familiar with the conversation. Read full article »

CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this report.

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