AP - The Senate scrapped a Democratic-led effort to renew the USA Patriot Act for just three months, increasing prospects that provisions the administration considers indispensable to the war on terrorism may soon expire.

AP - Iraqi authorities tallied millions of ballots Friday and received some complaints about the conduct of the parliamentary election, including allegations of "violent interference" with voters. The election commission said none of the complaints involved fraud.

AP - High-level administration figures, reacting to a report that the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States, asserted Friday that President Bush has respected the Constitution while striving to protect the American people.