Edwards withdraws presidential bid

Making the announcement from New Orleans, where he launched his campaign, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards withdrew his candidacy from the presidential race.

“It’s time for me to step aside so history can blaze its path,” Edwards said. Edwards made no mention if he is endorsing one of the other Democratic candidates, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. Edwards has amassed 26 delegates in the primary season, according to CNN.

At SF State, the SF State Democrats club reacted to the news with a table full of Edwards bumper stickers.

“A lot of free stuff we have is now worthless,” said Greg Doty, the SF State Democrats communication director. “None of the other candidates have sent us anything yet.”
—Mani Dashtizadeh

New return policy at SF State’s bookstore

Bookstore implements new textbook return policy

Students will need to provide proof of dropped classes and a sales receipt to receive a full refund on course textbooks, SF State bookstore officials said.

Students can still return textbooks without proof of dropped classes and with a receipt, but will be charged a 10 percent restocking fee.

The textbook return policy is effective this semester and prevents shortages of books by discouraging students from purchasing books before officially enrolling in classes. It also helps offset increased costs due to students buying textbooks and returning them after finding cheaper books on the internet, ultimately driving textbook prices up, said Rob Strong, general manager of the bookstore.

“This new policy is actually designed to benefit students, not penalize them,” Strong said.

Students can obtain proof of dropped classes from the Bursar window in Student Services. They can also use printouts of their schedules showing their classes before and after a course drop, Strong said. The Spring textbook return period ends Friday, Feb. 8.
—Rachelle Gines

President pushing for federal government to monitor Internet traffic

Earlier this month President George W. Bush signed a directive, whose content is classified, authorizing intelligence agencies to monitor Internet traffic in hopes of minimizing attacks on government computer systems. Citing numerous cyber-attacks on the government in 2007, the directive allows the National Security Agency to monitor domestic networks and Internet users. However, people are becoming increasingly concerned about their privacy, according to the Washington Post. Critics of the directive told the Washington Post that online traffic monitoring is not enough to protect the government against attacks, and supporters said the initiative’s objective is not to spy on Americans, but to prevent attacks from foreign adversaries and other intruders. Other agencies granted authority by the directive include Homeland Security and the Pentagon.

—Crystal Akins

Bush asks for wiretapping renewal

President George W. Bush threw down a gauntlet to Congress on Jan. 26, invoking the World Trade Center attacks in a push to renew a federal wire-tapping law.

“We need to know who our enemies are and what they are plotting,” Bush said. “And we cannot afford to wait until after an attack to put the pieces together.”

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was first put on the books in 1978 and amended in August to allow taps without warrants in some situations. The Protect America Act is set to expire Friday. Legislators have asked Bush to approve a 30-day extension of the law so they can continue refining the renewal of the law; Bush rejected this request.

“The President would veto a 30-day extension,” a senior administration official told Politico, a news Web site. “They’re just kicking the can down the road. They need the heat of the current law lapsing to get this done.”

Some legislators argued against the decision.

“There is no question that the ability to monitor communications is one of our intelligence community’s most powerful tools, as they do the hard work necessary to safeguard our nation,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) in a statement on Jan. 28. “That is why the U.S. House passed the RESTORE Act, the Reyes-Conyers FISA legislation on Nov. 15. I urge President Bush to work with Congress in a bipartisan manner as the Senate completes their work on FISA legislation, and the House and Senate go to conference and craft a final bill.”

If the bill expires with no extension and no new law, Politico reported, surveillance already under way would be allowed to continue, but no new warrantless wiretaps would be allowed.

—Sean Maher