WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A spending bill that funds the U.S. government for the rest of the budget year passed the Senate on Tuesday despite complaints about nearly $8 billion in what critics called "pork-barrel" projects. 

The Senate passes a bill to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. 

Senators voted 62-35 to cut off debate on the $410 billion measure and passed it on a voice vote immediately afterward. 

The omnibus spending bill includes more than 8,000 congressional "earmarks," which total almost $8 billion. The earmarks have caused critics to question President Obama's pledge to end wasteful spending, but Obama administration officials said the bill is a holdover from the previous Congress. 

"It is in America's best interest to close the book on the last administration and let the new one hit the ground running," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. See where the money is going » 

But Sen. John McCain, a longtime critic of congressional spending and Obama's Republican opponent in the 2008 election, said the vote shows "business as usual" remained the order of the day. 

"If the president were serious about his pledge for change, he would veto this bill. He won't," McCain said. 

The bill funds the U.S. government through September, when the 2008 budget year ends. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, postponed the vote last week because he wasn't sure supporters had the 60 votes needed to break a potential GOP filibuster. 

Republican critics, led by House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, have urged Obama to veto the bill because of the earmarks, targeted spending provisions inserted by Democratic and Republican lawmakers.  What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. what kind of spending received criticism?
2. what is their total in dollars?
3. what is another term used by critics for these expenditures?
4. How long will this bill keep the government funded for?
5. who promised to curtail wasteful spending?
6. what is his excuse for the spending?
7. What does McCain think should be done with the bill?
8. Has anyone else recommended the bill be vetoed?
9. who?
10. who leads them?
11. where is he from?
12. who put the earmarks into the bill?'
13. were Democrats concerned about a filibuster?
14. how many votes did they need to avoid one?
15. in which year did McCain and Obama both run for president?
16. has McCain always been critical of too much spending?
17. how many earmarks were put in the bill?
Answer: 1. congressional "earmarks"
2. almost $8 billion
3. "pork-barrel" projects
4. through the end of the fiscal year
5. President Obama
6. holdover from the previous Congress
7. presidential veto
8. yes
9. Republican critics
10. House Minority Leader John Boehner
11. Ohio
12. Democratic and Republican lawmakers
13. yes
14. 60
15. 2008
16. yes
17. more than 8,000

The exact number of exonerated American prisoners is unknown. But data gathered by university law schools indicates it's more than 2,000. Fascinating details surrounding some of these exonerations set them apart from the rest. Here are five recent exonerations that made headlines. 

1. Michael Morton 

The subject of a CNN film, Michael Morton wasn't home when his wife, Christine, was beaten to death in front of their 3-year-old son at their Austin, Texas-area home in 1986. But a prosecutor said the evidence suggested otherwise. The problem was, the jury was prevented from hearing all the evidence in the case. 

Wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, a team of loyal supporters and DNA evidence helped Morton win his freedom in 2011. Last month, Morton's former prosecutor pleaded no contest to a court order to show cause regarding evidence that was not used in the trial. 

Read more about Michael Morton's story 

2. Brian Banks and the incredible twist 

At age 17, fearing a potentially long sentence, college football hopeful Brian Banks followed the advice of his attorney and pleaded no contest to assaulting a Long Beach, California, high school classmate in 2002. 

Banks maintained his innocence throughout nearly six years of imprisonment, subsequent probation and registration as a sex offender. 

But in 2011, the case took an incredible twist when the alleged victim sent Banks a Facebook friend request. 

According to the California Innocence Project, the woman later admitted that Banks had not kidnapped or raped her during a consensual encounter at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where Banks was a middle linebacker with a scholarship offer from the University of Southern California.  What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What is Michael Morton's wife's name?
2. Does he have children/|
3. When did the incident occur?
4. Where?
5. Did the jury hear everything?
6. What year was he freed?
7. How old is Brian Banks?
8. What did he plead?
9. When?
Answer: 1. Christine
2. 3-year-old son
3. 1986
4. Austin, Texas-area
5. No, the jury was prevented from hearing all the evidence
6. 2011
7. 17
8. no contest
9. unknown

The latest chapter in Amanda Knox's long legal battle began Monday in Florence, Italy, with a retrial over the 2007 killing of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. 

But Knox, 26, who has expressed concern about returning to a country where she spent four years behind bars, was not in court. 

Neither was Kercher's family, which said in a statement submitted by their lawyer in court on Monday that they would be following the new trial closely from the United Kingdom. 

Knox was convicted in 2009 of murdering Kercher, a 21-year old British exchange student who was found stabbed to death in November 2007 in the villa the two young women rented in the central Italian university town of Perugia. 

Family: Amanda Knox won't return to Italy for new trial 

The convictions of Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were overturned in 2011 for "lack of evidence." 

After her acquittal, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle, where she has been living since. 

Knox: Sometimes, I can't stop crying 

But Italy's Supreme Court decided last year to retry the case, saying the jury that acquitted Knox didn't consider all the evidence, and that discrepancies in testimony needed to be answered. 

The retrial's opening day Monday was dominated by procedural items. The presiding judge, Alessandro Nencini, read out the facts of the case, including the conviction of Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede for his role in Kercher's murder. 

The defense teams asked for several items of evidence to be retested for DNA, and Nencini agreed that a knife found in Sollecito's apartment would be re-examined. The court also agreed to hear testimony from Luciano Aviello, who served time in jail with Sollecito and claims that his brother killed Kercher.  What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Where did Knox's legal battle start?
2. what was she convicted of?
3. What is her home town?
4. When was she convicted?
5. Is she in prison now?
6. Why not?
7. Why did that happen?
8. When was Kercher found stabbed to death?
9. Will she be back in Italy for the retrial?
10. Why not?
Answer:
1. Italy
2. killing of her roommate
3. Seattle
4. 2009
5. No
6. The jury acquitted
7. They didn't consider all the evidence.
8. November 2007
9. No
10. Knox has expressed concern about returning.