News In Brief

Supreme Court to consider PACs' campaign spending

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to examine the impact of political-action committee spending on presidential campaigns but ignored pleas from the Democrats and the Federal Election Commission to hear the case before the November election.

The justices will consider whether independent political-action committees (PACs) can legally spend millions of dollars on presidential campaigns. The dispute centers on nearly $14 million spent by such committees to back President Reagan's 1980 campaign.

The court will hear a challenge next winter to a lower-court ruling that struck down the federal limits on the amount independent PACs can spend on behalf of a presidential candidate during the general election.