Originally published July 27, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 27, 2007 at 2:05 AM
Capital Watch
YouTube debate for GOP looks uncertain
Plans for a CNN/YouTube debate for the Republican presidential candidates seemed uncertain Thursday after one of the front-runners, Rudy...
WASHINGTON — Plans for a CNN/YouTube debate for the Republican presidential candidates seemed uncertain Thursday after one of the front-runners, Rudy Giuliani, said a scheduling conflict would keep him away from the Sept. 17 event.
Formal invitations went out Thursday. The GOP debate would follow Monday's forum for Democratic candidates, at which questions were asked by often-frank, sometimes-wacky online users, including a cartoon snowman worried about global warming.
Sen. John McCain, who is struggling in the polls, immediately agreed to go when the date was first floated last Friday. But rival Mitt Romney was cool to the forum's format.
"I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman," Romney told The Manchester Union Leader.
Alaska senator to sell land after criticism
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Thursday that she and her husband will sell a plot of riverfront property on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, one day after a complaint to the Senate ethics committee about the purchase.
"While Verne and I intended to make this our family home and we paid a fair price for this land, no property is worth compromising the trust of the Alaskan people," Murkowski said in a statement.
Murkowski said the vacant lot would be sold back to real-estate developer Bob Penney, the friend from whom she and her husband, Verne Martell, had bought it. Penney sold the land for $179,400; real-estate agents said it was worth as much as $350,000.
Senate OKs package of security measures
The Senate on Thursday night approved a package of security measures recommended by the Sept. 11 Commission, shifting more federal money to high-risk states and cities and requiring more stringent screening of air and sea cargo.
The measure passed by a 85-8 vote. The House was expected to pass the bill as early as today.
The White House has expressed opposition to several provisions in the bill, particularly a requirement that within five years all ship containers be scanned for nuclear devices before they leave foreign ports for the United States, but it has not issued a veto threat.
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The administration has questioned the feasibility of installing radiation monitoring equipment in more than 600 foreign ports. To soften opposition, the bill's authors gave the Homeland Security secretary authority to delay implementation in two-year increments if needed. The bill also requires the screening of all cargo on passenger aircraft within three years.
House defies Bush on spending measure
Defying a veto threat from President Bush, the House on Thursday approved legislation that would increase funding for space and science programs, local crime fighters and the FBI.
The $53.8 billion measure funding the departments of Commerce and Justice passed the House by a 281-142 vote, not enough to override a promised Bush veto. But the tally belied wide support for programs financed by the measure, including anti-crime grants for state and local governments, the administration's initiative boosting basic science research and teaching, as well as the FBI and anti-drug programs.
The differences between Bush and Congress involve $23 billion in funding added to Bush's $433 billion request for nondefense programs as well as $3.5 billion shifted by Democrats from the Pentagon to domestic programs.
Seattle Times news services
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
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2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
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shopping

events for Sunday, Jul. 5th
- Emery's Garden Pink Flamingo Sale
- Blackbird Spring Half-Yearly Sale
- REI Summer Sale and Clearance
- Pink Ginger First Anniversary Sale
editors' picks
More shopping guides- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Russell Branyan, Mariners fight off the Red Sox
- Palin takes to Web for hints of political future
- Fourth of July festivals and fireworks in Seattle, the suburbs and beyond
- The Blotter | Man pistol-whipped after argument at nightclub
- Desert-lobster dispute turns pair into sagebrush heroes
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Close-up | Prison guards intercept carrier pigeon with a cellphone
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Palin resigning as Alaska governor
767 - Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/04 game thread
244 - Reports: NKorean missile arrives at launch site
100 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
85 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
83 - Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
74 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
63 - Mariners score unlikely win over Red Sox in battle of bullpens
58 - Property taxes: Appeals shoot up is King, Snohomish Counties
50 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
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- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Merchant Marine veterans fight for recognition
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Close-up | Prison guards intercept carrier pigeon with a cellphone
- Pre-grill drill: marinate steaks
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Concert Review | Green Day blasts off 4th weekend with KeyArena show
- Lake Washington's sockeye run may hit a record low
- Amtrak cleared for 2nd daily train to Vancouver, B.C.
- Yakima teacher reprimanded for sending 5-year-old student home with bag of feces in backpack
