UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.28.08

Bush to announce earmark changes tonight.

President Bush is expected to announce big changes tonight in the way lawmakers earmark money for their own special projects. Bush will deliver his last State of the Union address as president this evening to the nation. He'll reportedly sign an executive order tomorrow that says Congress should debate spending items in the open and hold a public vote. Besides the issue of earmarks, the President is expected to talk about Iraq, the economy, permanent extensions of his tax cuts and free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

Lebanon is declaring a day of mourning today after eight people were killed overnight in anti-government rioting. Dozens of others were wounded. The violence happened in Beirut's mostly Shi'ite southern suburbs. Demonstrators reportedly took to the streets, setting fire to vehicles, to protest cuts in electricity. However, Lebanon's pro-Western government accuses protestors of deliberately trying to create violence.

Five U.S. soldiers are dead following a roadside bomb attack in Iraq. Today's incident in the northern city of Mosul was one of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in months. The U.S. military says Al Qaeda has regrouped in northern provinces after being driven away from western areas like Anbar and from around Baghdad during security crackdowns.

Senator Edward Kennedy will endorse Senator Barack Obama for president. Kennedy reportedly intends to announce his support for the Illinois senator later today. His niece, Caroline Kennedy, who's daughter of the late president, has already endorsed Obama. She wrote in the New York Times saying the first-time senator seems to be able to inspire people the way her father did a half century ago.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.21.07

Schwarzenegger suing federal government.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning to sue the federal government. That's after it decided not to allow a California plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project would have allowed the state to cut emissions faster than a new federal plan the president signed into law earlier this week. President Bush says the decision to nix the project is based on the fact that the new legislation allows for a national strategy. Schwarzenegger says he would like to set a higher standard for California.

Republican Tom Tancredo is bowing out of the presidential race. Instead, he says he'll endorse Mitt Romney's candidacy. Tancredo is a fierce opponent of illegal immigration and kept the issue active in many GOP debates he participated in. However, his campaign struggled to gain popularity. A poll released earlier this week showed the Colorado congressman registered less than one percent support nationally.

Belgium is tightening its security today amid fears of a possible terrorist attack in that country. Fourteen suspected Islamic militants have been arrested in connection with an armed plot to free an Al Qaeda suspect from jail. Authorities believe the weapons and explosives could also be used for other means. There are now increased police patrols at Brussels' international airport, on trains and in shopping centers.

At least 50 people are dead after an attack in a mosque in northern Pakistan. Dozens of others are injured. The bomb targeted a former Pakistani interior minister reportedly over his supervision of militants in the country's tribal areas. The blast left bloody clothes, shoes and pieces of flesh scattered across the mosque.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.19.07

Auto fuel efficiency standards will increase.

President Bush plans to sign a bill today that raises the fuel efficiency standards of vehicles. Congress approved the legislation yesterday by a wide margin. It's the first increase in 32 years. The bill requires automakers to boost mileage to 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. That's compared with today's 25 miles per gallon standard.

Troops in Iraq will continue to be funded thanks to a Senate bill passed yesterday. The $555 billion dollar piece of legislation also preserves thousands of earmarks for lawmakers. It no longer includes a condition that ties war funding to a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, which was what many Democrats recently pushed for in the bill. The measure now goes back to the House for approval. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she expects the bill to pass there.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reportedly took part in talks about destroying CIA videotapes that showed interrogations of two Al Qaeda suspects. That's according to the New York Times. The paper said at least four top White House lawyers were also involved. Some sources say there was quote a vigorous sentiment among White House officials to destroy the tapes while others say that no one there advocated anything either way. Justice Department lawyers are scheduled to appear in federal court Friday to discuss the matter.

Presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani are virtually tied in the Republican race. That's according to a Reuters/Zogby poll. Huckabee, who's a former governor of Arkansas has jumped in popularity recently, wiping out an 18-point deficit in one month. He now stands one point behind Giuliani at 22 percent. On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton's lead over Senator Barack Obama shrunk slightly to eight percentage points. She's now at 40 percent, compared to Obama at 32 percent.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.13.07

No fireworks in last night's Republican debate.

Last night's debate among Republican presidential candidates in Iowa lacked any brutal exchanges. That's despite previous meetings that resembled more of a street-fighting scene. The debate focused on education and economic issues while hot-button topics like illegal immigration weren't discussed. Nor was Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton mentioned, who's been a top target in most of the recent GOP debates.

For a second time in three months, President Bush vetoed a children's health bill. The bill would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years and would have boosted its enrollment to about 10 million children. Bush said he vetoed the bill for the same reasons as the previous one, saying that it raised cigarette taxes and provided coverage for children of middle-class families, instead of the working poor. This was the President's seventh veto in seven years.

Democratic lawmakers say they're closing in on a budget deal that would give President Bush as much as $70 billion in war funding. The deal would lack a key condition Democrats had attached to previous funding bills that called for most U.S. troops to come home from Iraq by the end of 2008. That omission would be a significant legislative victory for Bush. Democratic sources say the president is likely to get new money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before Congress adjourns for the year

Former Vice-President Al Gore says the U.S. is principally responsible for blocking progress at the United Nations Climate Conference. Gore made at the comment at the conference earlier today and urged delegates there to take immediate action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The U.S., Japan and several other governments don't accept a draft document that suggests industrialized nations cut emissions by 25 to 40 percent by the year 2020. They say specific targets would limit the scope of future talks.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.12.07

Obama and Clinton now tied in New Hampshire.

Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama has inched ahead in New Hampshire while the popularity of his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton has slightly dropped. That's according to a poll released today. The shift comes a month before the first presidential primary. Clinton fell 5 percentage points since a previous survey in November. Obama has gained 8 percentage points. Meanwhile, the poll shows that Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has yet to catch fire in New Hampshire despite a dramatic jump in some Iowa and national surveys.

President Bush's list of pardons doesn't include his vice-president's former top aide, Scooter Libby. Libby was convicted in the case of the leaked identity of a CIA operative. Yesterday, Bush issued pardons to 29 convicts, including carjackers and drug dealers, and reduced the prison sentence of one more. The move is an end-of-the-year presidential tradition. In July, Bush commuted Libby's 2 and a half-year sentence, sparing him from serving any prison time.

A new poll shows more Americans are worried about the economy rather than the war in Iraq. Fifty-seven percent believe the nation is in a recession. That's the first time in more than four years that a majority believes that. The economy is now the biggest issue in the presidential campaign. Following the economy, Poll respondents said health care and illegal immigration were of concern.

Rescuers are searching for survivors after two car bombs ripped through Algeria's capital yesterday. The attack leveled government and U.N. buildings. Officials say at least 26 are dead, but the actual toll is still unclear. At least 10 U.N. staffers were among those killed. Rescuers are working around the clock to try to pull people who are trapped. Al-Qaeda militant have claimed responsibility for the attack.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.10.07

Colorado police investigating links between shooting sprees.

Police are searching for clues in two deadly shooting sprees at Christian religious centers in Colorado yesterday. Five people, including a gunman, are dead. The violence began early Sunday morning when a man opened fire at the Youth with a Mission office in a Denver suburb after being denied a request to spend the night there. More than 12 hours later, a gunman entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and opened fire. Investigators reportedly believe the incidents are related, but have no evidence yet to back that up.

The party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will participate in Pakistan's parliamentary elections next month. The party made the announcement yesterday after it failed to convince rival Benazir Bhutto to join a boycott. These had been talk of general opposition boycott after President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on the country last month and dismissed independent judges. But the prospect of that has collapsed since the two largest opposition groups will now field candidates. Greater participation will make the balloting look more open, but having the opposition in the field will take away votes and seats from Musharraf's party. Musharraf has promised the elections will be "free and fair."

Nobel peace prize winner Al Gore says the U.S. presidential election campaign isn't paying attention to climate change and the environment. The former vice president made the comment when he accepted his prize earlier today. He added that if he had been president, he would have pushed climate change to the top of the agenda. Gore also called on China, who stands with the U.S. as the world's biggest carbon emitters, to make changes or stand accountable before history for failure to act.

Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has jumped from fifth place to the front of the pack in South Carolina. He comes in at 20 percent, which puts him slightly ahead of former New York Rudy Giuliani, who's at 17 percent. At a jam-packed rally in the state this weekend, Huckabee urged his audience to vote in the January 19 GOP primary, saying they need to nail something down after coming out of Iowa and New Hampshire.