UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.03.08

Obama takes the lead in Iowa.

Senator Barack Obama has grabbed the number one Democratic spot in Iowa as voting for the 2008 presidential election begins there today. That's according to a new poll just released. Barack Obama is in a four-point lead over John Edwards. Hillary Clinton has faded to third. In the Republican race, Mike Huckabee expanded his lead six points over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is in third place. Today's contest in Iowa kicks off a state-by-state battle to choose Republican and Democratic candidates for the November election to replace President Bush.

Meanwhile, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is denying that he'll run for president. There's been speculation recently that the mayor may jump into the race after it was announced that he would attend a forum next week. That forum is being led by a bipartisan group that believes the Republican and Democratic parties are out of touch. Bloomberg is now independent. Earlier today, he said he's going to focus on being mayor and wants to see an independent approach in the '08 elections to stop partisan bickering and special interests.

The U.S. Justice Department is launching an investigation into the CIA's destruction of those videotapes. The tapes showed harsh interrogation techniques of terrorism suspects. The CIA says it acted lawfully, but critics say the agency ignored court orders and investigators' requests that it hand over evidence in various terrorism cases.

A California congressman is retiring after being diagnosed with cancer. Democrat Tom Lantos says he will not seek re-election this year because of his disease's treatment and development. The 79-year-old, who's the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says he has esophageal cancer. Lantos is the latest of more than a dozen members to announce plans to leave the House at the end of the year.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.20.07

Giuliani hospitalized for flu-like symptoms.

Doctors say Republican Rudy Giuliani can go home today after spending the night in the hospital. The presidential candidate was admitted in St. Louis yesterday with flu-like symptoms. He'd been campaigning in Missouri, preparing for the Republican primary there in February. There's no word yet on when the former New York mayor would leave the hospital today.

White House staffers are returning to work today following a fire that broke out in their building in the White House compound. Yesterday, smoke billowed from the historic Eisenhower executive office building. The fire reportedly started in the ceremonial offices of Vice President Dick Cheney, although he was in the White House at the time. Officials the source of the fire may have been an electrical closet or telephone bank. There were no reports of any injuries.

The Democratic presidential candidates are virtually neck and neck with just two weeks until the Iowa caucuses. A new poll out shows 30 percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers support Senator Hillary Clinton as the nominee. Senator Barack Obama trails closely behind at 28 percent and Senator John Edwards comes in at 26 percent. The poll's sampling error is at plus or minus 4 percentage points, making the race nearly a tie. On the Republican side, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee leads the GOP pack at 33 percent. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney comes in second place at 25 percent.

The CIA is expected to begin turning over documents to Congress related to the destruction of terror suspect videotapes. The agency reportedly agreed to give up the material after a House committee chairman prepared subpoenas for officials and attorneys. The tapes were apparently destroyed in 2005 and showed the use of harsh interrogation techniques on two Al Qaeda suspects that year.

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 12.07.07

CIA says interrogation tapes were destroyed.

The CIA reportedly destroyed tapes of terror suspect interrogations. CIA Director Michael Hayden says the interrogations were videotaped in 2002 and then destroyed in 2005...fearing the footage would be leaked to the public. The Agency apparently wanted to protect the identities of the questioners. Senator Patrick Leahy called the destruction "troubling." Hayden says the House and Senate intelligence committee leaders knew of the tapes and knew that the CIA planned to get rid of them. He added that the interrogation practices were all legal.

President Bush has unveiled a plan to help struggling homeowners. Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said yesterday the plan will help about 1.2 million Americans facing possible foreclosures. It will reportedly freeze interest rates on many adjustable rate mortgages for many homeowners. Those who will be affected by the plan are those with loans agreed to from January 2005 through July 2007 that are expected to adjust between January of next year and July 2010.

NASA says the Atlantis space shuttle will stay grounded until at least Saturday. The crew planned on taking off yesterday afternoon but had to be delayed because of problems with the fuel gauges. Mnagers of the space mission have decided to wait until the weekend giving engineers more time to carefully fix the problem. Atlantis is set to visit the International Space Station to deliver a European lab module...used to increase research capabilities.

Shopping malls around the U.S. are expected to start looking at ways to keep shoppers safe. This comes after a man opened fire at a Nebraska mall killing 8 people and himself. A spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Malls says there are often copycats in situations like this and it's important to consider having extra security officers and securing entrances.