And in business news, the Justice Department has approved telecom giant AT&T’s purchase of BellSouth. The seventy-eight billion dollar deal would create the nation’s largest provider of phone and internet services. The merger awaits a vote by the Federal Communications Commission before it can go into effect. Critics say the merger echoes the telecom monopolies that were broken up two decades ago. Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington, said: “Big Brother just blessed Big Telecom Oligopoly… [The Bush administration] has surrendered the rights of the public to have a competitive and democratic broadband media system.”