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Show 2 Friday, March 14,2008 BULLETIN www.dailyutahchronicle.com All stories and photos from The Associated Press Senate rejects moratorium on home-state pet projects WASHINGTON—Even with the backing of all three presidential candidates, Senate old-timers in both parties decisively killed a proposed one-year ban on lawmakers' home-state pet projects. The 71-29 vote Thursday night against the earmark moratorium came as Congress pressed ahead with a budget plan that would saddle millions of Americans with higher tax bills in three years by allowing some of President Bush's tax cuts . to die after he leaves office. The House passed a $3 trillion federal budget plan that would provide generous increases to domestic programs but bring the government's ledger back into the black by letting all of Bush's tax cuts expire at the end of 2010 as scheduled. The Senate endorsed extending $340 billion of Bush's tax cuts but balked continuing all of them. All three major presidential candidates interrupted their campaigns to cast votes on the budget plan, which is nonbinding but highlights the difficult choices on taxes and spending facing the next president and Congress. Binding votes on the expiring Bush tax cuts will be left to his successor and the Congress that's elected in November. The practice of inserting "earmarked" spending into legislation is seen as a birthright by lawmakers in both parties—and a right under the power of the purse awarded to Congress by the Founding Fathers. Earmarks have exploded in number and cost in recent years, accompanied by charges of abuse and public outrage over egregious examples like the proposed "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska, which would have cost more than $200 million to serve an is- Sudan, Chad sign pact to prevent support for rebels DAKAR, Senegal—The presidents of Sudan and Chad have signed a peace deal aimed at preventing armed groups operating along their shared borders from destabilizing the region. The deal, signed late Thursday by Sudan's Omar alBashir and Chad's Idriss Deby, commits both nations to implement past accords that have so far failed to help end violence in the area. If successful, the deal would only be a small step toward ending violence in Sudan's Darfur region. US sees progress in nuclear talks with North Korea GENEVA—The top U.S. nuclear negotiator on North Korea said the two sides made progress in their stalled nuclear talks on Thursday but were still short of an agreement. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters that the talks in Geneva were probably the most substantive that Washington has had with North Korea since problems developed in December over disarming Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C), center, accompanied by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., right, meets with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this June 26,2007 file photo. land with a population of about 50. "This may be the last bastion in American where they don't get it. Americans are sick and tired of the way we do business in Washington," McCain told reporters afterward. "As president, I promise the American people...the first earmarked, pork-barrel bill that comes across my desk, I'll veto it." The five-year budget plan passed the House on a 212-207 vote » with Republicans unanimously opposing it over what they argued was $683 billion in tax increases. In the Senate, McCain, R-Ariz., voted to extend the full roster of tax cuts, which he opposed seven years ago as being tilted in favor of the wealthy. Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois both voted to extend some of Bush's tax cuts. But they joined other Democrats in a 52-47 vote against extending $376 billion of them. Republicans hope to use the votes as fodder for the heated presidential campaign and for congressional races. Lawmakers in both parties also were put on record for when the tax cuts actually expire in three years. House closes doors to debate surveillance WASHINGTON—The House held a closed session Thursday for the first time in 25 years to discuss a hotly contested surveillance bill. Republicans requested privacy for what they termed "an honest debate" on the new' Democratic eavesdropping measure that is opposed by the White House and most Republicans in Congress. Lawmakers were forbidden to disclose what was said during the hour-long session. The extent to which minds were changed, if at all, should be more clear Friday, when the House was expected to openly debate WORLD and then vote on the bill. Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas said she didn't believe anyone changed positions but that the session was useful because no one would be able to complain on Friday that their views had not been heard. "We couldn't have gone more of an extra mile to make sure we're doing the best for national security," she told The Associated Press. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview that he read aloud the titles—but not details—of intelligence reports "that shows the nature of the global threat and how dynamic the situation is, and how fluid." Hoekstra said the House discussed the procedures intelligence agencies use to protect the identities of innocent Americans whose calls and e-mails are incidentally intercepted in wiretaps. Hoekstra said three Democrats spoke as did eight or nine Republicans. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said "there was nothing new, nothing that wasn't public, nothing that can't and shouldn't be debated on the floor tomorrow in open session." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he heard nothing new that would change his mind about the bill. "Tomorrow, I will urge members on both sides of the aisle to vote for this legislation," Hoyer said. The last such session in the House was in 1983 on US. support for paramilitary operations in Nicaragua. Only five closed sessions have taken place in the House since 1825. Four members declined to sign the confidentiality oath required to participate in the closed session, House staff members said. Legal cloud remains as Spitzer prepares to resign This image obtained from a MySpace page shows a woman identified as Ashley Dupre. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the source alleging that Gov. Eliot Spitzer paid more than $4,000 for prostitutes' services is Dupre. NEW YORK—As Gov. Eliot Spitzer prepares to leave office, the politician faces a tangled battle with prosecutors that will send lawyers into murky legal territory. A law enforcement official said Spitzer's high-powered defense team was believed to be negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors over his connection to a high-end prostitution ring, but attorneys were not commenting Thursday about the discussions. The legal battle occurred as Lt. Gov. David Paterson prepared to take over the state Monday following Spitzer's spectacular fall from power. He will become New York's first black governor and the nation's first legally blind chief executive. Spitzer, a married father of three teenage girls, faces a much more dubious future after he was accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes—including a tryst with a 22-year-old call girl in Washington the night before Valentine's Day. Officials said Spitzer initially drew the attention of authorities with suspicious money transfers that will be a key part of any possible criminal case. Possible charges that could be brought against Spitzer are: soliciting and paying for sex; violating the Mann Act, the 1910 federal law that makes it a crime to induce someone to cross state lines for immoral purposes; and illegally arranging cash transactions to conceal their purpose. But legal experts said bringing charges and getting a conviction would be unusual, considering federal authorities rarely charge the customers in illegal sex cases. A likely outcome could be a "deferred prosecution agreement," which could leave Spitzer on probation. Britons tax smoking, drinking and gas-guzzling cars LONDON—Many Britons were resigning themselves to more puritanical lifestyles Thursday as they faced the prospect of "sin taxes" that will increase the cost of alcohol, cigarettes, gas-guzzling cars and, potentially, plastic bags. The Labour Party government is hoping that hiking taxes on booze will help curb Britain's binge-drinking culture. But breakfast talk radio was abuzz with callers lamenting the potential death of Britain's pub scene. ; U.S. 2 suspects charged in slaying of NC student leader HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.—A man charged with murdering the University of North Carolina student body president was arrested Wednesday as detectives hunted for a second suspect. . .Police would not say which suspect they believe shot and killed Eve Carson, 22, of Athens, Ga., who was found a week ago lying on a street about a mile from campus. The biology and political science major had been shot several times, including once in the right temple. Sherriff: Blame boyfriend for woman's toilet death NESS CITY, Kan.—A man should be charged for, allowing his girlfriend to sit on their toilet so long that her body became stuck to the seat, Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said Thursday. . • "The house was cluttered but not in shambles," he said. "The smell was overpowering—a terrible smell about the house, obviously coming from where she was at." Kory McFarren told police his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, had a phobia about leaving their bathroom and may not have left in two years, although he's unsure how long she was in there. UTAH Huntsman Jr. agrees to sweeping immigration bill Gov. Jon Huntsman signed Senate Bill 81 on Thursday. The law is intended to make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to find jobs, housing and receive public benefits. The new law also makes it illegal to transport an illegal immigrant more than 100 miles for profit. But while Huntsman signed the bill, it won't take effect until 2009. Many lawmakers say they want an extra year to study immigration before the penalties kick in. Matheson proposes ban on foreign waste imports Nuclear waste would no longer be allowed in the U.S. unless it originated here, under a bill U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, US. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tena), and US. Rep. Ed Whitefield (R-Ky.), introduced Thursday that calls for a ban on importing foreign, low-level radioactive waste. EnergySolutions Inc. wants to import about 20,000 tons of waste from closed nuclear plants in Italy. About 8 ^ percent of the material, or some 1,600 tons, is expected to be left over once it has been processed for disposal at Clive, Utah, about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. This day in U history... March 14,1959: The Chronicle reported "University of Utah faculty members Thursday rejected a Faculty Council proposal to grant a minor in driver education in the College of Education." 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The Chronicle is distributed free of chargi, limit one copy perreader.Additional copies of the paper may be made available upon request. No person, without expressed permission or The Chronicle, may take more than one copy of any Chronicle issue. Partly Cloudy 54/39 •"The Heiress": 7:30 p.m. @ Pioneer Memorial Theatre •College of Law conference: ' Drugs: Addiction, therapy and crime: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m @ Sutherland Moot Courtroom •7th Annual Pete Suazo Social Justice Awards: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m @ Edgar J. Thompson Chamber Music Hall, David P. Gardner Hall •Utah demography research network seminar: Noon to 1 p.m. @ 220 Alfred Emery Building _"; ;-..V Showers 49/40 •5-For-Lrfe: 8 a.m. @ Greenwood Health Center •Charlotte's Web: 11 a.m. @ Kingsbury Hall •UMFAThird Saturday Activity: Soft Pastels: 2p.m @ Utah Museum of Fine Arts Classroom •The Heiress: 7:30 p.m. @ Pioneer Memorial Theatre •Cinderella: Masks, Magic, & Mirrors: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. @ Utah Museum of Fine Arts •America's Wildest Places: Our National Wildlife Refuges: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. @ Utah \ Museum of Fine Arts Few Showers 49/36 •Utah Energy Discovery , ,Conference: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. @ Marriot Hotel, 75 S. West Temple •College of Law Conference:. Drugs: Addiction, Therapy , and Crime: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m '. @ Sutherland Moot Courtroom" •DestressFest:10a.m.to2 p.m @ Union East Ballroom T ; : ; •Biology Seminar Series: '•'• Outer membrane biogenesis' In gram-negative bacteria: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. @ 210 Aline Skaggs Biology Building '•• ' : it @ Utah Museum of Fine A r t s ' ; \ |