UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.31.08

Schwarzenegger to endorse McCain.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to announce today that he'll endorse Republican White House hopeful John McCain. The governor's backing could be key to the Arizona senator winning California in next week's Super Tuesday nominating contest. McCain is also set to receive endorsements from Georgia's two Republican senators in the next few days. Georgia will also participate in Super Tuesday.

Meanwhile, John McCain and his rival Mitt Romney traded fire in last night's debate in California as they fought for their party's top spot. Romney accused McCain of using dirty tricks and misrepresenting his position on the Iraq war. McCain said the former Massachusetts governor lacked the experience and judgment to be commander in chief. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee complained about the time given to McCain and Romney, saying he didn't come to umpire a ballgame between the two.

Voters for former Senator John Edwards are up for grabs. Yesterday, Edwards dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. At the time, he didn't endorse either of his rivals, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But one of his aides says he may back one of them in the future. Political analysts say an endorsement from Edwards would have a significant impact on the race.

The Senate could debate an economic stimulus package passed by the Senate Finance Committee as early as today. The package would inject nearly $200 billion into the economy over two years to help ward off a recession. It's reportedly similar to a bill passed earlier this week by the House. But there are some differences. The Senate's eligibility caps are double those in the House version. President Bush backs the House version of the bill and has urged the Senate to abandon its efforts to pass a different measure.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.30.08

Edwards quitting presidential race.

Former senator John Edwards is reportedly bowing out of the Democratic race for president. He's expected to make the announcement in New Orleans this afternoon. Edwards has trailed former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the early primaries.

On the Republican side, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is reportedly planning to quite his presidential run. This comes after Arizona Senator John McCain won Florida's Republican primary yesterday. Giuliani came in a distant third in that race. He's expected to endorse McCain at an event later today.

Congress has passed a 15-day extension of a temporary surveillance law that was set to expire later this week. The law was passed last year when the Bush administration warned of loopholes in its ability to monitor suspected terrorists. The extension is a means to buy time to decide on a permanent fix for the measure. President Bush is expected to sign the extension.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey won't say whether the controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding is considered torture. The top U.S. law enforcement official is expected to clash with Democrats today over this issue at a Senate hearing. Mukasey did say waterboarding currently isn't being used by the CIA to interrogate suspected Al Qaeda members. But he said there are circumstances where the technique, which simulates drowning, is questionable as to whether it's illegal.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.24.08

Economic stimulus package imminent.

A deal to boost the lagging U.S. economy with a $150 billion stimulus package is reportedly imminent. Government officials say an announcement on the plan could come as early as this afternoon. Final details are still being negotiated, but officials say the current outlines of the package would give individuals a tax rebate check for about $800. Families could get up to $1600.

Two new polls show Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani is slipping in Florida. Florida is a state he once called crucial to his presidential chances. The former New York mayor reportedly registers 15 percent among Republican primary voters. He's tied with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who only has a fraction of the organization that Giuliani has in Florida. Polls indicate John McCain is at 25 percent in the state and Mitt Romney's at 23 percent.

And on the Democratic side, Barack Obama's big lead over rival Hillary Clinton has slipped slightly, but he still has the lead in South Carolina. That's according to a new poll just released two days before the state's presidential primary. The Illinois senator reportedly lost three points overnight and is now at 39 percent. Clinton stands at 24 percent. The shift apparently occurred since Monday night's angry debate between the two when they traded harsh accusations. Since then, John Edwards, who wasn't part of the argument, has climbed four points and is now at 19 percent.

People from Gaza are pouring into Egypt for a second day today. Yesterday, militants blew open the border separating Gaza and Egypt, allowing at least 400 thousand people to cross and stock up on supplies. At least 300 thousand Gazans have reportedly crossed today. Last week, Israel blocked off the territory after days of rocket attacks. That's prohibited deliveries of things like fuel and food.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.04.08

Obama, Huckabee win in Iowa.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee are now the frontrunners in the in the White House race after yesterday's caucuses in Iowa. Obama had the support of 38 percent of voters while Huckabee earned 34 percent. Falling behind Obama was John Edwards who came in second place and Senator Hillary Clinton who fell to third. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney trailed Huckabee and Fred Thompson took third place. Next week, the presidential hopefuls square off in the New Hampshire primary.

Meanwhile, two White House hopefuls are calling it quits after last night's results. Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd are abandoning their bids for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both candidates received less than one percent in the Iowa caucuses.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is defending himself against accusations that he had a role in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Musharraf says Bhutto ignored government warnings, saying the former prime minister was informed of the threat to being at the park where she was killed last week. He also says he's not satisfied with the investigation into her death. A team of Scotland Yard investigators arrived in Islamabad today to help in the probe of her death.

There are more delays in store for space shuttle Atlantis. NASA says the shuttle will be grounded until late January, or more likely, February, to replace a suspect connector in the fuel tank. The connector is believed to be responsible for a series of launch postponements last month. NASA faces a 2010 deadline for retiring its three shuttles and completing the space station.

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.