In Pakistan, riots erupted as assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was buried. "The United States must increase its diplomatic efforts in working with the democratic forces in Pakistan to promote stability, democracy and peace," Senator Bernie Sanders said. In Washington, a report prepared for Sanders documented wasteful Pentagon spending. In Montpelier, the Vermont congressional delegation honored nominees to the nation's elite service academies. And in sports, the National Football League bowed to pressure from the Vermont congressional delegation and others to broadcast Saturday's season finale matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

Bhutto Assassinated Her killers had ties to Al Qaeda., the Pakistani government claimed. The former prime minister was the first female leader of a Muslim nation, "Despite the grave dangers she faced, Benazir Bhutto showed enormous courage by continuing to participate in Pakistan's democratic process. I am saddened and outraged by this cowardly assassination and I urge the Pakistani government to undertake a vigorous investigation to apprehend those responsible for this terrible deed," Sanders said. The assassination stoked fears that a January 8 election meant to return Pakistan to civilian rule could be put off amid a backlash threatening to engulf embattled President Pervez Musharraf. To read more, click here.

Service Academy Nominations Vermonters have a long history of serving their nation honorably in the armed services. An elite group of Vermont high school students took a significant step toward continuing that tradition when Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Peter Welch named nominees to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y. Said Sanders to the nominees: "There is no question that in a democracy there are political disagreements about foreign policy…but as everybody also knows in our country there is unanimous belief that we need a strong military, we need an honorable military." To read the list on Vermonters nominated by Sanders, click here.

Pentagon Waste "You've heard about soldiers in Iraq who've had to fight without the proper equipment. It turns out while they're ‘doing without,' the military has been ordering, and storing, billions of dollars in other equipment -- desks, chairs, filing cabinets, boots, Kevlar helmets and binoculars - that are paid for with your tax dollars and that it doesn't need, CBS News investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reported. The equipment often ends up being given away, sold for pennies on the dollar - or destroyed. . "Over $200 million in spare parts that has not yet come into the Air Force is already marked for disposal! They're planning to get rid of it and it hasn't even come in," Sen. Bernie Sanders, who requested the Government Accountability study told CBS News. To read or watch the report, click here.

Pats vs. Giants The NFL relented and agreed to a nationwide broadcast of the game only after Sanders and other members of Congress raised questions about the anti-trust exemption granted to the lucrative sports league. The game was to be aired only on the exclusive NFL Network, available at a premium price in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs. "I'm delighted that the NFL has listened to their fans and to many of us in Congress who thought that it was an outrage that the Patriots-Giants game was not going to be widely televised," Sanders said. "It was particularly absurd that Vermont and other areas of New England were somehow not considered to be part of the local teams' 'home market."