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Washington in brief
Compiled from Times wires Safe spot set aside for kids on the NetWASHINGTON -- Congress approved legislation Friday to create a safe haven on the Internet for children, where parents can be assured Web sites are free of pornography and other material not suitable for youngsters. The measure would make a ".kids.us" Internet domain that would be available within a year and monitored by a government contractor to ensure the material is appropriate for children under 13. The bill won unanimous approval from the Senate on Wednesday and the House on Friday. It now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it. The House also sent Bush a bill Friday allowing small Internet music broadcasters to pay lower copyright royalty fees, something those businesses say is key to their survival. If they grow sufficiently, they would no longer be entitled to pay the lower fees. Web sites wishing to register in the "dot-kids" area within the United States Internet domain would have to agree to display only child-friendly material. The sites would be prohibited from linking to Internet sites outside the kids area. Instant messaging or chat rooms also would be banned unless they are certified as safe, protecting children from Web predators. FBI's discipline criticizedWASHINGTON -- The FBI has an uneven punishment system for employees, with senior managers receiving slaps on the wrist for misconduct that would bring stronger penalties for lower-level workers, the Justice Department inspector general said Friday. Among the examples cited in a report: Several FBI officials under investigation for their part in the fatal shooting at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, received promotions or bonuses, and seven senior officials who submitted false travel vouchers went unpunished. "We believe that in these cases, FBI senior managers were afforded different and more favorable treatment than less senior FBI employees would have received," Inspector General Glenn Fine said in the report. "These cases, which were well known within the FBI, fed the perception that senior managers were treated more favorably than subordinate employees." The findings track allegations made by John Roberts, unit chief of the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility. Roberts made those charges in congressional testimony and repeated them last month on CBS's 60 Minutes. Also FridayFEDERALIST SOCIETY CELEBRATES: The Federalist Society has grown from a tiny group of conservative college students to an influential power in Washington, though most people still don't recognize its name. President Bush turns to the lawyers' group for judicial candidates. Attorney General John Ashcroft fills his staff with its members. Two other Bush Cabinet members, the president's top Supreme Court lawyer and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia were involved in the group's founding. The society marked its 20th anniversary this week in Washington. JOBLESS BENEFITS MAY RUN OUT: A standoff in Congress over how long to extend unemployment benefits to laid-off workers could mean no further aid at all this year. More than 820,000 unemployed workers will run out of benefits three days after Christmas. The Senate and House agree another extension is needed to help families get through the holiday season, but neither appeared willing to budge on competing plans before the session ends next week.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
