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HOUSTON (AP) – NASA employees have used government credit cards to buy items such as iPods, video games and jewelry, and they’ve sidestepped competitive bidding rules designed to save taxpayers money on large purchases, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Houston Chronicle analyzed 451,000 charges, totaling more than $265 million, made on NASA purchase cards between January 2004 and July 2007.

The NASA records provided to the Chronicle do not explain justifications for the purchases, or even the specific items bought.