House holds secret debate on surveillance bill

Hello! I'm Kristin Volk on this Friday, the 14 day of March 2008 with a UPI Headline Update. The ...  More »

Hello! I'm Kristin Volk on this Friday, the 14 day of March 2008 with a UPI Headline Update. The House is expected to vote on a surveillance bill today after debating the measure last night in a rare closed-door session. It was the first such session in 25 years and came at the request of Republicans. Most GOP members in Congress and the White House oppose the Democratic legislation. President Bush has vowed to veto the bill because it doesn't provide legal protection to telecommunications companies that help the government eavesdrop without court permission. Florida's Democratic lawmakers have rejected a plan to re-do any kind of primary election. The state lost 210 delegates when it moved its primary ahead of the approved time frame. The proposal called for a combined mail-in and in-person election to be held in June. Florida's Democratic congressional delegation said in a statement that the plan was not a realistic option. New York's next governor says it's time to get back to business. Lieutenant governor David Paterson will take the reins on Monday. That's after his boss, Governor Eliot Spitzer was accused earlier this week of being involved in a prostitution ring. Paterson will be New York's first blind African-American governor. Police have now charged two suspects with murder in connection with death of University of North Carolina student president, Eve Carson. 17-year-old Lawrence Lovette was arrested yesterday after they surrounded a home where he was hiding. Earlier this week, policed arrested 21-year-old James Atwater was after received a tip. Carson was found lying dead on a street near the Chapel Hill campus earlier this month. She had been shot several times. That's all for now. Thanks for watching and for all of us at UPI, have a nice weekend.  « Less