Nation briefs 11/18/04

Votes still being recounted for Washington governor

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The closest governor's race in Washington history was forced into a recount Wednesday as counties finished tallying the ballots and found only a few dozen votes separating the two candidates out of 2.8 million cast. Republican Dino Rossi, a former state senator, had a mere 92-vote lead over Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire with about 2,000 votes outstanding in two counties. A recount is required by state law when there is less than a 2,000-vote margin.

Double counting found with 27,000 Ohio ballots

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Election officials in one Ohio county found that about 2,600 ballots were double-counted, and two other counties have discovered possible cases of people voting twice in the presidential election. Prosecutors were trying to determine Wednesday whether charges should be filed against a couple in Madison County accused of voting twice. In addition, Summit County election workers investigated possible double votes found under 18 names.

Ex-inmate gets $1.4 million over faulty verdict, sentence

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A man who served 27 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned was awarded $1.4 million Wednesday, Maryland's largest award for a wrongful conviction. Michael Austin, 56, was convicted in 1974 of killing a man at a market, but his conviction was overturned and he was freed in 2001. The judge who overturned the conviction said Austin's trial lawyer was incompetent and the prosecution committed errors.

Bill helps with veterans' health care, benefits

WASHINGTON -- Congress on Tuesday sent President Bush three wartime bills to help veterans cope with injuries, jobs, homeownership and death benefits for spouses. In what is expected to be the final week of this Congress, the House gave voice approval to the benefits bills that had already moved through the Senate. Lawmakers lined up to express their support for men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

-- From wire reports

Library: Clinton scandal was 'fight for power'

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Bill Clinton's presidential library, opening today, covers Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky in a single display that portrays the White House scandals as a "fight for power" and an exercise in the "politics of persecution." "We had to show this was a systematic attempt by Republican leaders to de-legitimize Bill Clinton and the administration," said former Clinton adviser Bruce Lindsey, who worked with the ex-president through much of the exhibit-design process.

Kerry campaign holding onto $15 million

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Party leaders said Wednesday they want to know why Sen. John Kerry ended his presidential campaign with more than $15 million in the bank, money that could have helped Democratic candidates across the country. Some said he will be pressured to give the money to Democratic campaign committees rather than save it for a potential White House bid in 2008.

Biscuits and Gravy get Thanksgiving pardon

WASHINGTON -- The race was close, tough, sometimes bitter, but "now's the time for healing," President Bush said in sparing the lives of two White House turkeys. The winning running mates in Bush's satirical rendition of the presidential campaign were Biscuits and Gravy, turkeys raised in Mathias, W.Va. Their names came out on top in an online contest pitting them against the ticket of Patience and Fortitude.

Democrats blame debt boost on Bush policy

WASHINGTON -- A divided Senate approved an $800 billion increase in the federal debt limit Wednesday, a major boost in borrowing that Sen. John Kerry and other Democrats blamed on the fiscal policies of President Bush. The mostly party line, 52-44 vote was expected to be followed by House passage today. Enactment would raise the government's borrowing limit to $8.18 trillion.

Bill helps with veterans' health care, benefits

WASHINGTON -- Congress on Tuesday sent President Bush three wartime bills to help veterans cope with injuries, jobs, homeownership and death benefits for spouses. In what is expected to be the final week of this Congress, the House gave voice approval to the benefits bills that had already moved through the Senate. Lawmakers lined up to express their support for men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Food labels may no longer show country of origin

WASHINGTON -- Telling consumers where their meat, fruit and vegetables came from seemed such a good idea to U.S. ranchers and farmers in competition with imports that Congress two years ago ordered the food industry to do it. As part of the 2002 farm bill, country-of-origin labeling was supposed to have gone into effect this fall. Congress last year postponed it until 2006. Now, House Republicans are trying to wipe it off the books as part of a spending bill they plan to finish this month.

Federal prison sentences may get overhaul

WASHINGTON -- Judges and legal scholars are working on new guidelines for sentencing federal criminals, in anticipation that the Supreme Court will strike down a 17-year-old system that has been challenged as unconstitutional. About 30,000 cases have backed up since last June's high court decision raised questions about the legality of the system. The court now is considering if the guidelines must be replaced because they call for judges, not juries, to consider factors that can add years to prison sentences.

Truckers bow to EPA on diesel pollution

WASHINGTON -- After years of resistance, the U.S. trucking industry says it will not try to impede or delay a new federal rule aimed at cutting diesel pollution. The American Trucking Associations, a trade group, is satisfied by the Bush administration's attention to industry concerns, the group's officials say. The Clinton-era rule backed by President Bush's Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 requires cleaner diesel fuel beginning in 2006, and less-polluting diesel engines in tractor-trailer rigs and other heavy-duty trucks and buses starting in 2007.

-- From wire reports