BREAKING NEWS

US Senator Feinstein expects to lead judiciary panel

WASHINGTON - Senator Dianne Feinstein, a champion of stronger US gun control laws, said on Tuesday she thinks she will become the next head of the Senate Judiciary Committee that would handle such legislation.
Feinstein's move would come as part of a reshuffle of committee chairs in the Democratic-controlled chamber prompted by the death on Monday of 88-year-old Senator Daniel Inouye, who led the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Democratic aides say Senator Patrick Leahy, the current chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is a strong possibility to take over Inouye's job leading the appropriations panel, a powerful post that oversees federal spending.