Bush touts eavesdropping law
LAS VEGAS -- President Bush said Thursday that lawmakers are jeopardizing the nation's safety by failing to lock in a government eavesdropping law.
The president signed a 15-day extension of the law that allows electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists, but he said Congress should pass a permanent law to safeguard the country.
The law, adopted last August, allows eavesdropping of phone calls and e-mails. Bush and Congress are at odds over an update of the law to give legal immunity to companies that helped the government spy on customers without court warrants.
Civil rights and privacy advocates say the broadly written law allows the government to eavesdrop on innocent Americans without oversight from a court created for that purpose.
Romney, McCain talk up Super Tuesday states
LOS ANGELES -- Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain readied plans to run a high volume of television ads in California and other states that vote Tuesday.
After seven contests, Romney is down narrowly – 83 to 59 -- with 1,191 national convention delegates needed to secure the nomination and 1,023 up for grabs Tuesday.
In a debate Wednesday night in Simi Valley, Calif., Romney tried to cast himself as more conservative than McCain and argued that his rival's record too frequently deviated from the party line.
"There are a number of pieces of legislation where his views are out of the mainstream, at least in my view, of conservative Republican thought," Romney said.
McCain shot back: "I'm proud of my conservative record.”
State proposal could affect welfare benefits
RICHMOND -- People who test positive for drugs would lose some of their welfare benefits under legislation being considered in the General Assembly.
Individuals applying for the job-training program required to receive welfare would be questioned about substance abuse. The Department of Social Services could require a drug test if the screening indicates drug abuse.
Those who fail or refuse to take the drug test would be ineligible to receive federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, money for a year under one bill. The Senate version instead would allow the person to continue receiving benefits as long as he completed a drug treatment program.
Supporters say that the legislation would ensure that tax dollars aren’t diverted from diapers to drugs, but opponents say the legislation could end up hurting the children of those already struggling to get by.
"If there's someone with a substance abuse issue, let's get them help, let's not just kick them out and say, 'Good luck taking care of your kids with less money and your substance abuse problem,"' said Ty Jones, an attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center.
New I.D. rules cause no delays at U.S. borders
HIGHGATE, Vt. -- Motorists passed easily through border checkpoints Thursday as tougher identification standards for U.S. and Canadian citizens went into effect without the backups and confusion some travelers had feared.
People entering the country will no longer be allowed to simply declare to immigration officers at border crossings that they are citizens. Instead, those 19 and older will have to show proof of citizenship -- a passport, trusted traveler card or a birth certificate and government-issued ID such as a driver's license.
Customs officials said delays were minimal across the country and that most motorists had the documentation they needed. Many points were offering a grace period and handing out fliers explaining the changes.
"Very much business as usual," U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Kelly Klundt said in an e-mail. Officials and commuters reported normal conditions in Detroit, Texas, and North Dakota.
Congress approved the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in 2004, which requires verified citizenship and identification of all those entering the country from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Scientists find new ways to attack HIV
WASHINGTON -- Researchers have struggled unsuccessfully to attack what they call reservoirs of dormant HIV hidden deep in the immune system.
But University of Rochester scientists say it may be fairly straightforward to attack one of these reservoirs, blood cells called macrophages that HIV hijacks and turns into viral hideaways. Macrophages are supposed to self-destruct if they become infected, but HIV keeps them alive to spread the virus.
The scientists found that some existing drugs can block the main step and thus cause these cells to self-destruct.
"It's a very smart virus," said lead researcher Dr. Baek Kim. "They have to have a very good fence to protect their house for a long time. ... Get rid of the fence, and now their house is gone."
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