world news  Florida votes decision in hands of Bush ally
Special report: the US elections Florida's controversial
secretary of state, Katherine Harris, emerged yesterday as the
official with the potential power to determine who wins the US
presidential election, after a court ordered her to use her
"discretion" in accepting late manual recounts in the tightly
contested state.  In an anxiously awaited verdict in the state
capital, Tallahassee, Judge Terry Lewis upheld a deadline laid
down by Ms Harris, a Republican activist, for all the state's 67
counties to certify their final tallies by 5pm local time
yesterday.  However, in a two pronged ruling, Judge Lewis - a
novelist in his spare time who once wrote a legal thriller
called Conflict of Interest - said Ms Harris must consider late
results arising from hand counts demanded by the Democrats in
four counties. She would have the power to reject those results
but could not do so "arbitrarily" and would have to exercise
"sound discretion".  Democrats were quic