CNN20001211.1400.0015.summaryM.txt Of course that disputed florida recount issue the us supreme court is weighing what it herd heard today from attorneys for al gore and george w bush the issue whether the supreme court in tallahassee overstepped its bounds when it ordered a hand recount of 42000 vote throughout the state Attorneys on the republican side argued that florida's certified results giving bush the win should stand They also said the democrats are putting too broad an interpretation on determining the intent of the voters based on the look of the ballots As to the yun votes and as to the undervotes in which there is arguably some expression of intent on the ballot that the machine didn't mick up the majority of the florida supreme court says you're wrong Are you saying here that their interpretation was so far unreasonable in defining legal vote as not to be a judicial act entitled in effect to the presumption of reasonable interpretation under article 2 gore's team has said the vice president will end his contest of florida's election if the court rules against him His attorneys did all they could to convince the justices that the recount is both legal and right Justice anthony kennedy questions gore's counsel closely on whether florida's supreme court went too far Lawyers filed written briefs with the florida state supreme court on whether to throw out 25000 ballots Democratic voters are appealing two rulings friday in which circuit court judges found that while republican election supervisors had not acted properly there was no reason to discard the votes Florida state lawmakers are also holding election hearings today Republicans say the move is necessary to ensure florida is represented at the electoral college if the legal challenges continue The full house is likely to vote on it tomorrow But republican senate leadership may delay a vote there until the supreme court CNN20001211.1400.0346.summaryM.txt Lawyers for george w bush are trying to overturn a florida supreme court decision which allowed hand recounts On friday two circuit court judges ruled 25000 ballots should not be thrown out despite misconduct by republican election workers And florida state legislators are holding a hearing in advance or tomorrow's special session CNN20001211.1400.0433.summaryM.txt Meanwhile a cold snap in the pacific northwest is putting an added strain on power supplies Set your thermostat at 68 degrees when you're home 55 degrees when you're away Try to use electrical appliances before pm and after pm and turn off computers copiers and lights when they're not being CNN20001211.1400.0558.summaryM.txt An appeals court in chile has thrown out the charges that led to the arrest of former military ruler augusto pinochet Pinochet returned to chile from britain last march after british judges ruled he was physically and mentally unfit to stand trial CNN20001211.1400.0612.summaryM.txt Florida's weather looks good for the return of space shuttle endeavour Endeavour is returning from an 11 day mission to the international space station to install a pair of solar wings CNN20001211.1400.0970.summaryM.txt It sees sluggish growth in its next fiscal year They blame weak sales and a slowdown in the retail market CNN20001211.1400.1247.summaryM.txt The 67 year old said he will coach the 6 5 cavaliers in the oahu bowl on christmas eve against CNN20001211.1400.1459.summaryM.txt Seuss' how the grinch stole christmas earned an estimated $185 million New release vertical limit finished second at the box office Proof of life brought in $104 million CNN20001211.1400.1485.summaryM.txt Some french butchers are giving away meat in an attempt to regain public confidence in their products They're hoping locals will cast aside mounting fears in france over bse the deadly brain wasting disease in cattle and its human equivalent variant creutzfeldt jakob disease When asked if she was afraid of bse or as it's commonly known mad cow disease michele nicolas said it didn't scare her at all music to the ears of today's sponsors The bse panic broke out in france in october when it was revealed that potentially contaminated meat from a herd in which one bse case had been identified had been put on sale in supermarkets France's agriculture ministry announced four new cases of bse in cattle last friday bringing this year's total to over 120 cases more than four times the figure for 1999 Cases have also been reported in britain ireland and belgium and most recently in germany European union ministers reacting to europe wide concerns last week announced a six month ban on the use of meat and bone meal in all animal fodder CNN20001212.1400.0015.summaryM.txt As deadlines loom for electors to be selected in florida the attention of the nation is focused on washington and the decision still pending from the nine justices of the us supreme court As usual there's no indication when the high court will issue its ruling but with the presidency at stake and time running out many expect a quick decision Lawyers for governor george w bush want the court to strike down a florida supreme court decision that allowed manual recounts of disputed ballots across the state Meanwhile the republican controlled florida house of representatives is likely to vote tuesday on a resolution approving its own slate of electors to the electoral college one that will be pledged to governor bush As the debate continued in tallahassee state lawmakers were waiting for the supreme court in washington Also in tallahassee the florida supreme court has yet to rule on appeals of two cases involving absentee ballots The state justices are being asked to overturn lower court rulings that allow up to 25000 absentee ballots be included in the state count those ballots from seminole and martin counties Tuesday is also the day states certify their election results and the slates of electors who will meet and cost ballots when the electoral college meets on the electors can be certified after tuesday but they'll be open to challenge by the congress if the election is still in dispute The next date certain in this contest saturday january that's when congress meets to validate the decision of the electoral college or challenge the results and begin a procedure whereby the lawmakers themselves could choose the next president of the united states A decision could come at any time from the us supreme court on those disputed florida ballots Stay glued to headline news for continuing coverage of the florida recount and election CNN20001212.1400.0300.summaryM.txt That broke a record for most snow on a december day Drivers around missouri struggled with icy roads which hampered their commutes Some parts of texas saw the chilliest conditions in years yesterday below zero windchill factors and the possibility of winter storms exist in the plains Cedar rapids iowa has reported 85 inches of snow yesterday whereas chicago midway airport saw 139 inches and 106 inches was recorded at detroit's CNN20001212.1400.0390.summaryM.txt A federal report released today says the country has a shortage of pharmacists The us department of health and human services says there are now close to 7000 open pharmacist positions Not enough people are entering the field to keep up with high demand CNN20001212.1400.0576.summaryM.txt The marine corps is grounding its remaining mv 22 osprey tilt rotor aircraft Four marines died in the crash of an osprey in north carolina It's the second crash involving the plane this year CNN20001212.1400.0629.summaryM.txt The jackal gained international notoriety during the cold war for staging a string of deadly bombings assassinations and hostage seizures he was linked to the assassination of israeli athletes during the 1972 munich olympics the 1975 seizure of opec ministers in vienna and the 1976 hijacking of an air france jet to uganda Ilich ramirez sanchez was captured in sudan by french agents in 1994 he was taken to paris to stand trial for the 1975 murder of two investigators and a lebanese national Last year austria tried unsuccessfully to extradite him to stand trial for his alleged role in the raid on the opec meeting 25 years ago CNN20001212.1400.0840.summaryM.txt Their decision on whether or not to allow a florida recount to go forward could be the last word on who becomes president President clinton is in ireland hoping to convince protestants and catholics to resume peace efforts in northern ireland And the weather is clearing in the midwest but there is still plenty of snow clogging highways and snarling air travel CNN20001212.1400.1262.summaryM.txt Finally the rangers' petr nedved has been suspended for three games and will not play tonight thursday or friday for high sticking joe thornton of the bruins last week