USA

Despite a threatened veto by President Bush, the House voted Wednesday to restrict investigators from using the Patriot Act to examine library records and bookstore sales. The vote, which is supported by lawmakers who cite concerns about invading the privacy of library users, could be blocked by Bush, who opposes efforts that he believes weaken the Patriot Act, portions of which are up for renewal.

Findings from the autopsy of Terri Schiavo, whose feeding tube was removed in March after years of incapacitation, were released Wednesday in Largo, Fla. Medical examiners said her physical condition was as grim as her husband, Michael, had maintained - in a persistent vegetative state. Still, her parents, who battled Michael Schiavo to keep her alive, said the findings didn't change their view that Mrs. Schiavo deserved to live and may have gotten better.

The Treasury's Financial Management Service bureau has failed to call in $3.3 billion in taxes owed by 33,000 delinquent civilian contractors, the Government Accountability Office reported. A Senate panel was expected to take up the issue Thursday. The GAO does not identify the delinquents, a restriction that hampers federal agencies from knowing whether the contractors and vendors with whom they deal are among them.

Two Republicans and two Democrats in the House were expected to introduce a resolution calling for US troops to start returning from Iraq by Oct. 1, 2006. The resolution would be the first bipartisan effort urging withdrawal, which the White House says should hinge on the readiness of Iraqi security. The sponsors are Democrats Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), and Republicans Walter Jones (North Carolina) and Ron Paul (Texas).

A Marine pilot ejected safely Wednesday before his Harrier jet, which was carrying four 500-pound bombs, crashed in the backyard of a Yuma, Ariz., home while preparing to land. One person on the ground was slightly injured. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

In perhaps the largest regional roundup of its kind, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in New England arrested 187 illegal immigrants during a six-day sweep. Those caught in the undercover operation had served time in prison or jail and are to be deported.

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