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Television
FCC's Martin To Alter Media Proposal Before Vote
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said late Monday that he will adjust his plan to relax media-ownership rules before the agency votes on the initiative Tuesday. USA Today reports that Martin said that regulations on mergers between broadcasters and newspapers in smaller markets would be more stringent than originally proposed. Martin said he would go forward with the vote, which would overturn a 32-year cross-ownership ban, despite outcry from members of Congress from both parties and threats that they will try to nullify the proposal through legislative action. The Los Angeles Times further reports that Commissioner Michael Copps said that if Martin does not delay the vote, "it's an open invitation for judicial problems." AP, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post also report on the vote. And Multichannel News reports that C-SPAN 3 will televise the FCC's Tuesday meeting.
Intelligence
Spying Bill Pulled From Senate Until Next Year
After a day of debate Monday on legislation to limit the Bush administration's surveillance activities without warrants, Senate leaders pulled the bill from the floor and will resume work on it when Congress reconvenes in 2008. AP, CongressDaily, The New York Times, News.com, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times report that the Senate voted 76-10 to begin debate on the bill but made little headway in resolving issues. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., delayed the bill because there were more than a dozen amendments planned and not enough time remaining on the legislative calendar. The White House expressed disappointment with the delay. Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., led the opposition to the bill. In other news, USA Today reports on a documentary about public surveillance systems. And The Washington Post reports on an intelligence spat between the CIA and FBI.
Budget
House OKs Huge Spending Bill, Senate Set To Vote
The Senate is poised to debate a $516 billion measure to fund 14 Cabinet agencies and troops in Afghanistan, with President Bush likely to sign the measure if his GOP allies can add up to $40 billion for the war in Iraq. AP, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today report that the House passed the bill without Iraq funding late Monday. GovExec.com, meanwhile, reports that the measure would increase spending on health care and homeland security but would provide less funding for several information technology efforts than requested. CongressDaily further reports that the bill seeks to increase safety at chemical plants and verify the identity of workers at U.S. ports but would ease requirements on a southwestern border fence. The Washington Times also reports on the border-fence rollback. And CongressDaily reports on negotiations over the bill.
Health
Medicare Package Still Tackles E-Prescriptions
Just about everything lawmakers have proposed to revamp Medicare this year has gone down the tubes. But CongressDaily reports that as of Monday, e-prescription requirements still were part of a narrowed Medicare bill that would delay an impending 10 percent physicians' pay cut, according to aides familiar with the package. E-prescription language eventually might be dropped from the bill, though, simply because lawmakers decide to hold off on a new policy until next year. The proposal is one of the few in Congress that has support from the administration, Republicans such as Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and Democrats such as Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
On The Hill
House Is Ready To Move Energy Bill To White House
The House on Tuesday is poised to pass energy legislation that is on a fast track to being signed by President Bush after the Senate last week dropped tax and renewable electricity provisions, CongressDaily reports. Democrats and Republicans tout the bill's 40 percent increase in fuel-efficiency standards, the first such increase in three decades. Lawmakers laud the bill's proposed efficiency standards for light bulbs, federal buildings and other conservation provisions that backers say would save U.S. consumers and businesses more than $400 billion by 2030 and reduce U.S. energy use by at least 7 percent by that year. Before the Senate passed the bill late Thursday, Democratic leaders had to drop a $21.8 billion package of tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency that mostly would have been paid for by repealing about $13 billion in incentives for oil and gas companies.
Privacy
Google, DoubleClick Deal Causes European Angst
European lawmakers plan to press antitrust regulators next month to look at privacy concerns raised by Google's intended takeover of the online advertising tracker DoubleClick, AP reports. The $3.1 billion deal has spurred rivals and consumer advocates to complain about the control they say it would give Google over Internet advertising and personal information. Both the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission are scrutinizing the sale, with the U.S. looking mainly at privacy and EU officials focusing on how the deal could affect the Internet ad market. The European Union will ask European and U.S. regulators, privacy officials, consumer groups and Internet companies to speak at a hearing on either Jan. 21 or Jan. 31. In other news, Bloomberg News reports that Facebook has sued a Canadian operator of pornographic sites for trying to illegally obtain data about Facebook users.
Privacy
British Officials Disclose Personal Data Loss
A disk drive containing personal information on 3 million British driving-test candidates has been lost in the United States, AP and BBC report. Details on the candidates, including names, addresses and e-mail addresses -- but no bank details -- were lost at an Iowa storage facility, British Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly told lawmakers. Kelly also announced steps to tighten security of personal data held by the government. The report follows the loss by tax officials of sensitive data -- including banking records -- on nearly half the population last month. The mishaps dented the hopes of Prime Minister Gordon Brown to introduce a national identity-card system. In other news, BBC reports that British censors want a judicial review to block the sale of the videogame "Manhunt 2" and that seven of the world's leading computer-chip makers are collaborating to cut development costs on chips that contain tiny transistors.
Intellectual Property
XM To Pay Universal Fees For Portable Music Player
Universal Music Group and XM Satellite said Monday they have agreed to settle a copyright-infringement lawsuit over a portable music player sold by XM that enables users to make digital copies of music. AP and Reuters report that the deal calls for XM to pay Universal Music a fee for every device sold with the ability to make digital copies of individual tracks, a person familiar with the agreement said. The companies did not disclose the terms of the settlement in their joint statement. The lawsuit claimed that XM essentially was selling music without permission because the devices let users make the digital copies. In other news, Agence France-Presse reports on a new survey on piracy in South Korea. And the Los Angeles Times, Multichannel News and The Wall Street Journal report that NBC's late-night lineup will return without striking writers.
Business
Ticketmaster To Resell Football Tickets Online
Ticketmaster plans to launch a Web site next year where people can resell tickets to professional football games, the latest push by the event-ticketing company into the lucrative secondary ticket market. AP reports that the company signed a multiyear deal with the National Football League that includes branding and promotion for the site. Financial terms were not disclosed. Ticketmaster already operates separate, so-called ticket exchange sites for 18 NFL teams, which allow ticket holders to resell their game tickets online. In other news, Reuters reports on the controversy that has erupted over a Canadian man who claims he sold one of his son's favorite videogames after he caught him smoking marijuana.
White House
Judge: Visitors To White House Must Be Revealed
White House visitor logs are public documents, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a legal strategy that the Bush administration had hoped would bypass public-records laws. AP reports that the ruling is a blow to the Bush administration, which is fighting the release of records showing visits by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and prominent religious conservatives. The records are created by the Secret Service, which is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the Bush administration has ordered the data turned over to the White House, where they are treated as presidential records outside the scope of the public-records law. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said such logs are subject to public-records request. In other news, AP reports that President Bush soon will start holding periodic videoconferences with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
E-Government
Md. Officials, Verizon Report 911 Malfunctions
Emergency telephone operators in Maryland were not able to respond to some 911 calls on Sunday because a backup system failed to work properly. The Washington Post reports that officials in Montgomery County and at Verizon Communications said 911 service there was disrupted Sunday afternoon because equipment that directs calls to a secondary system malfunctioned. County officials said they do not know how many calls went unanswered, but no one notified police of problems on Monday night. "The good part about this is it was Sunday midday, which is normally not a high-volume call time," police spokesman Lt. Paul Starks said. "The weather wasn't bad, either." In other news, AP, The Washington Post and The Washington Times report that Linda Singer announced her resignation as attorney general for the District of Columbia.
E-Government
Federal Tech Contract Goes To 62 Small Firms
The General Services Administration has awarded a contract to 62 small businesses that give the companies the right to sell the agency's primary information technology contract. GovExec.com and Federal Computer Week report that the $15 billion small-business contract is part of a $50 billion one that GSA awarded to 29 large companies in July. GSA expects billions of dollars to go through the contract in 10 years. Several companies protested the contract; a hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 4. In other news, The Washington Post reports that AOL is scaling back its philanthropic contributions in the Washington region and that Booz Allen Hamilton, a top government tech contractor, is considering splitting into two companies.
Campaigns
Ron Paul Makes Ad Plans With Online Money Haul
Underdog Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will hire more staffers and expand ground operations and advertising in early-primary states after his latest online fundraising haul. The New York Times reports that Paul also hopes the more than $6 million raised Sunday and $360,000 on Monday will help him on Super Tuesday come Feb. 5, when several states will hold primaries. In other news, Federal Computer Week details a new Federal Election Commission online to track congressional candidates' money. CongressDaily reports on a scandal surrounding a former aide to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The Washington Post reports on the role of veteran political reporter and newbie blogger David Yepsen in influencing the Iowa presidential caucuses. And Computerworld reports on the staffers to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who were banned from a New Hampshire blog for not disclosing their affiliations.
Culture
Spending On Cell Phones May Best Landlines
This year is likely to be the first calendar year in which U.S. households spend more on cellular telephone services than land lines, AP reports. The most recent government data show that households spent $524, on average, on mobil bills in 2006, compared with $542 for residential and pay-phone services. But now consumers almost certainly spend more on their cellular bills, telecommunications industry analysts and officials said. The expansion of wireless networks has made cell phones more convenient, and it's now easier for consumers to spend money via their cell phones. In other news, The Wall Street Journal reports that newspaper publishers are scrambling to change the way they sell advertisements and hiring people who specialize in the digital market to create new editorial packages to sell online. But for the first time, pure-play Web companies have the biggest share of the local, online ad market.
Culture
Teacher's Global Warming Video Is A YouTube Hit
A nine-minute, 33-second video on the perils of global warming made by high-school science teacher Greg Craven has zoomed to the top of the YouTube heap, with 4 million views worldwide. AP reports that the numbers puts it near the top of YouTube's all-time list for views in the news and politics category, despite competition from videos featuring singer Britney Spears, Satan's face in a 9/11 explosion and an Alabama leprechaun. Craven's argument is that the debate over whether humans caused global warming is pointless; instead, he says "the risk of not acting far outweighs the risk of acting." In other news, The Arizona Republic writes about the shift from traditional to digital textbooks in primary education. And USA Today reports on a user-created video site for evangelical messages.
Trade
South Korean Software Rules May Hinder U.S. Deal
South Korean rules designed in 2005 to help local software companies develop programs to run on the nation's three big cellular telephone networks are keeping out some of the world's best-selling phones, The Wall Street Journal reports. Two Canadian companies have fought unsuccessfully for two years to win approval for BlackBerry mobile devices to be used on South Korea's networks, saying the rules may interfere with the ability of the two countries to conclude a trade agreement. South Korea's Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics account for 80 percent of the local handset market. AP, meanwhile, reports that BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will put its U.S. headquarters in Irving, Texas, where it plans to employ more than 1,000 people within the next several years. And the Los Angeles Times reports on why Apple Inc. is restricting the number of iPhones that customers can buy.
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