Morning Buzz: Dec. 19, 2007

The House will vote today on a spending bill that includes provisions for $70 billion in aid to support the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. After months of wrangling between Democrats and the president, the bill is now expected to pass, dealing a year-ending blow to antiwar Democrats.

An executive at a top private-equity firm yesterday bought one of the world's most important historical and legal documents. At a much anticipated Sotheby's auction, David Rubenstein, cofounder of the Carlyle Group, bid $21.3 million on a sealed, 710-year-old copy of the Magna Carta.

Parts of Alaska were hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake yesterday, although there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The quake's epicenter was about 125 miles west of the small town of Adak, in the notoriously volcanic Aleutian Islands.