WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Sen. Chuck Grassley issued the following news release:

The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the following nominations:

* Robert Cekada, to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, by a vote of 14-8; * Andrew B. Davis, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas, by a vote of 12-10; * John Thomas Shepherd, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, by a vote of 12-10; * Anna St. John, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, by a vote of 12-10; * Christopher R. Wolfe, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas, by a vote of 12-10; * Robert Rotter, to be United State...