WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations.

The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, has argued that the bureau’s ability to carry out court-approved eavesdropping on suspects is “going dark” as communications technology evolves, and since 2010 has pushed for a legal mandate requiring companies like Facebook and Google to build into their instant-messaging and other such systems a capacity to comply with wiretap orders. That proposal, however, bogged down amid concerns by other agencies, like the Commerce Department, about quashing Silicon Valley innovation.   http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/politics/obama-may-back-fbi-plan-to-wiretap-web-users.html?partner=rssnyt&;emc=rss&_r=3& 

Four female prison guards in Baltimore fell pregnant to the same inmate, according to authorities who have busted a major smuggling gang inside the jail system.  Two of the women tattooed the inmate's name on their bodies and he showered three of them with expensive gifts including cars and jewelry.  The four women are among 25 people who face federal charges, including 13 female prison guards, CBS Baltimore reports.  The scheme involved smuggling drugs and cell phones into Baltimore City Detention Center.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57581237/four-female-prison-guards-impregnated-by-same-inmate/

SUFFOLK, Va. — Two Suffolk second graders have been suspended for making shooting noises while pointing pencils at each another.  Media outlets report the 7-year-old boys were suspended for two days for a violation of the Suffolk school system’s zero-tolerance policy on weapons. They were playing with one another in class Friday at Driver Elementary.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-7-year-old-suspended-from-school-for-pointing-pencil-at-student-making-gunlike-noises/2013/05/07/ebe4a8a4-b6fb-11e2-b568-6917f6ac6d9d_story.html  

A Washington florist is being sued by both the American Civil Liberties Union and the state attorney general for refusing to provide service to a gay couple planning their wedding, a legal tangle that has pitted antidiscrimination policy against religious freedom.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington filed a lawsuit Thursday, claiming that Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene's Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Wash., discriminated against Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, who are longtime patrons of the shop. Last week, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Ms. Stutzman, the first discrimination case based on sexual orientation brought by the Attorney General's Office, reports the Seattle Times.  http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/USA/USA-Update/2013/0419/Florist-sued-again-for-refusing-to-provide-flowers-for-gay-wedding