Bush won't discuss wiretap report
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush Friday refused to confirm or deny reports that he authorized secret wiretaps without court orders.
Bush said on the PBS "News Hour" he would not discuss "ongoing intelligence operations to protect the country." But he said any orders he had given were legal.
"I will make this point," said Bush. "That whatever I do to protect the American people ... that we will uphold the law, and decisions made are made understanding we have an obligation to protect the civil liberties of the American people."
Bush refused to discuss columnist Robert Novak's assertion that Bush knows which White House official told Novak Valerie Plame was a CIA operative. The disclosure led to a federal investigation by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and the indictment of White House aide I. Lewis Libby on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
Bush also stepped back a bit from his recent assertion in an interview that Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, is innocent of charges brought against him in Texas. He said he meant that everyone is innocent until proven otherwise.
"All people are," he said. "And I feel the same way about the Fitzgerald investigation but it's an ongoing investigation."
Liberian commission upholds vote results
MONROVIA, Liberia, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Liberia's electoral commission found mistakes in the recent presidential election but no massive fraud, and has upheld Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's victory.
George Weah, the international soccer star, challenged the results, which gave him 41 percent of the vote. Before the commission's announcement, the African Union urged Weah to accept his defeat.
"The evidence adduced was grossly insufficient," said Joseph Blidi, head of the National Election Commission. "There were some errors but they were not willful or intentional acts that would constitute fraud."
Johnson-Sirleaf, who is scheduled to be inaugurated in January, is Liberia's first elected president in 14 years and the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Earlier this week, Weah gave a speech predicting that Johnson-Sirleaf would not be sworn in. His followers later clashed with police.
Google to buy 5 percent stake in AOL
NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Google has agreed to buy 5 percent of America Online from Time Warner for $1 billion, a deal that shuts out Microsoft.
Time Warner accepted Google's offer after a long night of negotiating at the Time Warner Center in New York, the New York Times reported. Teams from both Microsoft and Google were there in separate rooms.
The sale must still be approved by the Time Warner board at a meeting on Tuesday.
Time Warner agreed to the Google deal after the company agreed to give AOL preferred ranking in searches.
Microsoft's proposal included a joint venture to sell advertising on both their sites. Microsoft as a search engine ranks third behind Google, the unquestioned industry leader, and Yahoo.
Actor John Spencer dead at 58
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- "The West Wing" star John Spencer has died of a heart attack at age 58, NBC announced Friday.
The veteran actor was nominated for an Emmy for five straight years from 2000-04 for his performance as White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry. He won the Emmy in 2002.
From 1990 to 1994 he played attorney Tommy Mullaney on NBC's "L.A. Law."
"John was a wonderful actor, a pleasure to work with and a true gentleman, but most importantly, a generous and gracious friend," said "West Wing" Executive Producer John Wells.
