reporter: michael leahy pie neared a if you use for twitter. the hash tack pound sign put in front of phrases and acronyms. he topped conservatives on twitter has become a haven for tea partyers. >> if you go to search twitter. you put in point ttot. about ten tweets every minute now is the pace at which there are tweets. ment shows there is a vibrant online conservative community. reporter: leahy ranks newt gingrich glenn beck sara palin the top three conservatives on twitter paved on number of followers. with palin more than a quarter million followers tweets she makes news. >> she can put out a tweet and generate headlines in the traditional media why would you go to the extra trouble. >> she'll have all these reporters retweeting what she tweeted a few minutes ago. >> and writing a story about it. the retweeting is how it gets out there. >> one of slick's very own wgn legend broadcasting pioneer has passed away. ward equal qualls created a dynasty. hehe brought in radio icon rally phillips laurie leonard and samuel son. a classy innovator f

. >> leahy says the pharmacy sells in limited quantities to prevent resale on the streets.ther thing. dispensaries in california pay taxes while no exact data exists, last year the state board of equalization says dispensaries generated at least $11.4 million in sales tax. the board acknowledges the actual number is probably much higher. but despite many dispensaries complying with state guidelines, buying, selling, cultivating, or being in possession of marijuana for any reason is still a federal crime. >> people need to realize there's no legal means for anyone to obtain marijuana. >> the dea says it doesn't go after patients or doctors but they do target dispensaries, which they said can be a magnet for crime and illegal drug traffickers. >> we need to look at who's supplying these individuals. where is the marijuana coming from? we're looking at dispensaries who are making huge amounts of money that may being laundered through different means. we look at all those different aspects and determine who's the most egregious of those and try to target those individuals first

senator patrick leahy at a senate hearing, he said there are others who can be implicated in murder in the case. and that implies a conspiracy. this is chairman of the judiciary committee with direct oversight over the fbi performance. the fbi performance is now widely condemned by editorial pages and in congress, the government accountability office has announced that they will be investigating the fbi performance in this case and so there's a ground swell of support for keeping this investigation alive from very powerful political and editorial sources. >> who were the accomplices? >> basically, ivan -- the powder found in the letter to senator daschle was the most sophisticated ever discovered. it was ground down and meant to be a killing machine. he didn't have the expertise, maybe he got it from somebody else. we just don't know. >> that's remarkably distressing news. we don't know who is manufacturing it. >>> how will the new acquisition reforms affect companies that supply >> last week pentagon acquisition chief ash carter joined us to explain his plan to cut the costs of the de

before the california state assembly, judiciary committee, and provided written testimony to senator leahyfor the uniting of american families act. the irc, in making their recommendations to the mayor and board of a supervisors, to improve and enhance the quality of life into the participation of all the grim immigrants in the city and county of san francisco must include the plight of same-sex couples and by-national relationships. at the four of any immigration reform discussion, particularly for this city, the current immigration law fails so many immigrants and families. yes, same-sex relationships stand on prejudicial ground when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. without specific language such as that in the united families act which seeks to have permanent partners, same-sex by dutch national couples will remain victims to the law that compels discrimination against lgbt couples, including the right to sponsor a spouse, and with no right to a k1 same-sex visa. we are advised that took schumer will introduce same-sex reform in january 2010. we are also told that passage by

hopeful leahy loses. >> it would be nice. >> basically, the candidates in that district are the devilike about the ad? he starts off with his babies. it says, before i trash this guy with lies, i'm a great dad. >> yeah. he's like, -- >> oh, you are going to remember this. >> i feel like he could have picked a better screen draft. >> paul, you mentioned the problem with these ads is people will watch them. every story about this mentioned his opponent danny webster launched a positive spot last week. focusing on reducing the nation's deficit. none of the story is linked to it. >> exactly. >> they are spending this money. they know people are watching it. if we stopwatching it, they stop making it. >> yep. gotta go. >> that's it? >> i guess. >> i like your tie. >> thank you. >> is that it? >> we are taking a break. when we return, more crud. i came up with that. >>> you know what,-- oh hi. i was just going to tell the people at home we didn't get to the last couple stories. you know what, why don't we bring andy back to briefly talk about those stories. >> go ahead and tell them. >> i j

nominees 20 vote last year and including one last night on the sixth circuit court of appeals but leahy says it's a slower process in the senate for both district and court of appeals judges. so, you know, there's certainly both parties have a role to play in this. they both say it's the others fault, but clearly they both have a role to play in this and it's the slowest it's been in a long time. >> any indication, pete, that we'll see things speed up. as i mentioned, the president renominated five candidates late yesterday. >> it doesn't seem to be a high priority to get these people confirmed. there was a confirmation last night, but i don't know there are going to be any more in this session of congress with the increasing signs that the republicans may make great gains in the senate. there's no incentive for them to start moving on president obama's nominees when they would have more leverage in the coming session. may be more difficult to get any further nominees done this year. >> nbc justice correspondent pete williams, thank you, pete are pete. >> you bet. >>> grizzly bears migr

senator leahy says at this point in the obama administration it's taking five times longer for circuites longer for district courts. co consider this, john roberts left a vacancy in 2005 and that's yet to be filled. five of the vacancies currently in the courts date to 2007. 38 nominations pending. what are the numbers? well in term of action on the president's nominees and president nominating judges, you put those two things together, this is the slowest since we've had since the nixon administration. slower than reagan, clinton, carter, both bush administrations. >> we have one in eight federal judgeships open right now vacant but let's do this so what thing. there are a lot of people who think what's the big deal? is there a crisis in the federal courts right now? why should people care about this? >> some of these are very long standing. half are what the federal courts consider to be judicial emergencies because they've been pending so long. what does it mean? it means that very often if you have a lawsuit in the federal courts you have to wait a lot longer for the lawsuit to com

it shows there's a vibrant online community. >> reporter: leahy represents palin and beck as the topitter. with palin with more than 250,000 followers tweets, she makes news. >> she can put out a tweet and generate headlines in the traditional media. why would you go to the extra trouble? >> she'll have all these reporters retweeting what she tweeted a few minutes ago. >> and writing a story about it. the retweeting is how it gets out there. >> twitter is also an effective place to raise money. candidates can announce what's called a money bomb on twitter. directing supporters to their campaign websites where a contribution can be made. think of twitter as the latest weapon in the new media, new social media arsenal that is out there on the campaign trail these days. and john and kiran, it's not just the harry reid and sharron angle campaign, just about every campaign is doing it these days. christine o'donnell announced a money bomb, raised a ton of money. all of these candidates are doing it these days. it is really sort of the next step in campaigning in this new era. >> because i

instead of having orrin hatch, chairman of the judiciary committee, you'll have a senator from vermont, leahyankly i think that's one of the big issues and we'll have a real battle on that. >> is it less likely that republicans will control that debate now? >> this is a better shot if we take mike castle. they're not the ones that decide anymore. the people out in delaware, all those good folks came out and said, look, you're not going to tell us who our nominee is going to be. >> i understand that. >> there are problems. we like this gal. joe, that kind of fire and enthusiasm -- i remember democrats have always said, look, the easiest one to beat are these conservative characters like reagan and these other folks. very often, because of the energy and fire they can generate, they might not get the liberal vote. they get a lot of these conservatives and independents. >> energy and fire, one thing. are you completely able to avoid all these other things in her past that you would bring up in someone else? >> congressman clyburn and i are about the same age. he remembers the fats domino's song

last december senator leahy praised the work and the importance of strantening the rule of law in el salvador. i agree. i believe the inspector general is taking courageous action and i encourage the state department and u.s. embassy to continue to support her in these efforts. the president is exploring the possibility of establishing an independent commission similar to the one created in guatemala under the auspicious of the united nations to investigate drug and criminal networks and key human rights crimes. this would ensure an independent investigation into many of the criminal cases and charges of official corruption that have languished in the -- for years. the president is also working with mexican president calderon, the obama administration, and central american neighbors to confront the escalating penetration of the region by major drug cartels. he is seeking coordinated strategies in action, increased assistance, stronger laws, and policies, more effective social investment. el salvador's experienced several tragic episodes of witness carried out by gang members and publ

before the house tonight was introduced in the other body by the judiciary committee chairman, senator leahy, and it was introduced here in the house by my virginia colleague, mr. forbes. it modernizes the existing law in these very necessary respects. it will reduce from 15 to 10 the number of years the law enforcement officer must serve to be eligible to carry a firearm as a retiree with full privileges under the existing law. the 15-year requirement in current law inappropriately excludes many qualified retirees who go into law enforcement as a second career, often following their first career in the armed forces. it will give retired officers more flexibility in obtaining certification to carry a firearm while still maintaining rigorous standards for retirees who apply for this benefit. our measure will clarify that a retiree can meet the qualification requirement using either the standards of the agency at which the retiree formerly served or those of the state in which the retiree currently resides. it will also allow a certified firearms instructor qualified under state law to conduct

coburn amendment regarding offset for cost of bill, feinstein amendment regarding b.p.a., leahy amendment regarding criminal penalties. upon disposition of the amendments, the yielding back of time -- of all time, the harkin-enzi substitute amendment as amended be agreed to, the committee reported substitute amendment as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and the senate then proceed to vote on passage of the bill. mr. president, before you rule on this, i should have mentioned earlier in my remarks the person that has been riding herd on this for months has been senator durbin. this is something he believes in, as he can come to believe in things so intently, and i admire and respect the work that he has done on this bill, keeping it always at the front of my attention list. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: and i will not object if the senator will make this change to the proposed agreement, that the only amendments in order other than the committee