51.   In accepting the case, Bush v. Gore, the high court stopped all hand recounts of contested ballots in Florida.

52.   In fact, he argued, the hand recount was making it less accurate all the time.

53.   In Miami, a federal judge rejected a lawsuit by Republican George W. Bush, refusing to stop the hand recounts.

54.   In Atlanta, a federal appeals court refused to disallow hand recounts in three Florida counties.

55.   In the aftermath, the need for a full statewide hand recount has become increasingly obvious.

56.   In South Florida, hand recounts continued in Palm Beach and Broward counties, despite a new flurry of legal actions.

57.   In Palm Beach County, the hand recount began Thursday night after the Florida Supreme Court ruled it was permissible.

58.   In the last few days, Bush attempted and failed to block a hand recount of ballots in Florida.

59.   It refuses to say if it would accept the results of the hand recounts as final if they left the outcome unchanged.

60.   La Barga also cleared the way for the Palm Beach County hand recount to resume Wednesday.