wo senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have asked Chief Justice William Rehnquist to reconsider his decision to exclude television cameras from tomorrow 's Supreme Court arguments in the presidential election case. ''We believe that televising the argument would be of historic importance on issues which have captured such enormous national and international attention,'' Senators Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, and Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, wrote yesterday. There was no immediate response from the court. On Tuesday, Rehnquist denied television executives' request for what would have been the first televised Supreme Court session. Biden and Specter sponsored legislation this year to begin television coverage at the court. (AP)
NBC vows to avoid voting predictions
In the face of criticism from Capitol Hill, NBC became the third television network to promise not to project election-night winners in a state until all the state's polls are closed. NBC and Fox News Channel also said yesterday they were questioning their participation in Voter News Service, a consortium that provides exit polling and election data to news organizations. It's part of the continued fallout from Election Night. Television networks twice projected winners in Florida - once for Al Gore, once for George W. Bush - only to later take those calls back. (AP)
Gore win certified in Oregon election
Presidential results certified by the state confirm that Al Gore defeated George W. Bush to win Oregon's seven electoral votes. The final tally from the Nov. 7 election show Gore defeating Bush by 6,765 votes, well beyond the 2,868-vote margin that would have triggered an automatic recount. The state Elections Division said Gore received 720,342 votes, or 47 percent, to Bush's 713,577 votes, or 46.5 percent. Green Party contender Ralph Nader got 77,357 votes, or 5 percent of the total. The Bush campaign has until Dec. 12 to seek a recount. (AP)
Elder Bush says emotions run high
Former President George Bush says his family has been on an ''emotional rollercoaster'' since the election but he believes his son will prevail over Al Gore's challenges ''I don't like sore losers,'' he said yesterday in Florida, where he was appearing in a charity fishing tournament. He quickly added, ''I don't want to be out there criticizing.'' ''We heard our son on all national television declared the winner. We heard his opponent concede - we didn't hear it but I was in the house when it happened - and it was a moment of euphoria. There has not been a euphoric moment since,'' the elder Bush said in a taped interview aired on NBC's ''Today'' show. (AP)
GOP House hopeful concedes close vote
Republican Dick Zimmer conceded his House race to Democratic Representative Rush Holt yesterday, 22 days after the election and 12 days after Holt declared victory. Zimmer's concession came after a recount that started Monday increased his opponent's lead to 746 votes out of 291,572 votes cast. Zimmer was a three-term congressman before deciding to run for Senate in 1996; he lost to Democrat Robert Torricelli. Republican Mike Pappas won Zimmer's old seat that year, but two years later Holt ousted him. (AP)
