News In Brief
THE US
President Clinton signed into law a bill banning federal recognition of homosexual marriages. He said he hopes the law won't be used as an excuse to discriminate against homosexuals. The move comes as a judge begins deliberations on Hawaii's effort to legalize same-sex marriages.
The House voted 285 to 137 to override Clinton's veto of a ban on certain late-term abortions. But the Senate is unlikely to follow suit. Republicans are likely to take up so-called partial birth abortions as a campaign issue. Also, the Senate Ethics Committee cleared Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of any wrongdoing in a one-day stock trade that netted him $31,000. And House Republicans killed a Democratic resolutoin to require the House Ethics panel to release a special counsel's report on House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Virginia Military Institute retreated from its 157-year-old male-only tradition. In a close vote, the Board voted 9 to 8 to admit women by the fall of 1997. The approval came in spite of alumni pleas to make the school private to keep women out. Going private would have required the school to raise several hundred million dollars. The vote took place about three months after the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to bar women from attending the public military institute.
Clinton and Republican nominee Bob Dole will face off in two debates this fall without Ross Perot. Campaign representatives said the two men will debate Oct. 6 in Hartford and Oct. 16 in San Diego. Meanwhile, Vice President Al Gore will debate Jack Kemp Oct. 9 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Pentagon did "an abysmal job" handling the issue of US troop exposure to chemical weapons during the Gulf war, lawmakers at a House subcommittee hearing said. Earlier, the Pentagon announced it was informing about 5,000 servicemen they may have been exposed to nerve gas during the destruction of Iraqi munitions depots. The Pentagon had previously estimated that only 150 soldiers may have been exposed.
Sloppy record keeping contributed to a nine-week delay between the crash of TWA Flight 800 and the discovery that explosive chemicals had been loaded on the plane during a training exercise, authorities said. The Boeing 747 was used June 10 to train bomb-sniffing dogs, and the exercise could account for chemical traces found on some wreckage. While TWA and St. Louis airport officials say they aren't at fault, an FAA agent said the St. Louis-Lambert airport's sloppy record keeping contributed to the delay.
Theodore Kaczynski wrote detailed descriptions of the 16 bombings committed by the Unabomber in his journal, prosecutors claimed during a hearing in Sacramento, Calif. The explosions killed three people and injured 23 since 1978. Also, a federal judge agreed to delay setting a trial date for Kaczynski until November to give the defense more time to develop its strategy.
The White House database listing thousands of individuals, was much bigger than previously thought, the chairman of a House investigating panel said. Indiana Rep. David McIntosh (R) said a review of 2,000 documents showed it cost taxpayers an estimated $1.7 million, not $545,000 as White House counsel said. The documents also showed there were 300,000 individuals and 50,000 organizations in the database in April. The White House said about 200,000 names were stored in it.
The Federal Reserve meets tomorrow to consider raising interest rates for the first time in 1-1/2 years. A rate raise would be unwelcome in Wall Street and the White House, but many of the Fed's regional banks argue an increase is needed to keep inflation in check.
The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the Russian space station Mir tonight. The shuttle crew planned to take part in a farewell ceremony with two Russian cosmonauts and astronaut John Blaha. Blaha is replacing Shannon Lucid aboard Mir.
THE WORLD
South Korean troops reportedly tracked down and killed the captain of a grounded North Korean submarine in the east coast mountains. They also killed another infiltrator, wearing a South Korean uniform, and say they are zeroing in on a third suspect. An estimated 26 agents were believed aboard the submarine. Nine have been killed by South Korean troops, 11 were found shot dead, and one was captured.
The US may decide next week to remove one of its two aircraft carriers from the Persian Gulf because Iraq appears to be backing away from a confrontation, US Defense Secretary Perry said in Stockholm, during a tour of Europe. Return of the Carl Vinson to the US would leaving only the carrier Enterprise. Also, the US planned to complete deployment to Kuwait of some 3,000 soldiers today.
India's Congress Party plans to meet today to elect a new leader after former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao resigned. Rao quit after a court upheld a summons ordering him to appear as a coaccused in a $100,000 cheating case, the latest in a series of corruption scandals that has tainted his five-years in office. Rao plans to retain his seat in parliament.
Thailand's six-party government planned to select a new prime minister after Banharn Silpa-archa announced he will resign. Accused of corruption and mismanagement, and facing a censure vote in parliament, he won his coalition partners' support only on condition he announce his resignation.
About 250 demonstrators clashed with police outside Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's home in Larkana, Pakistan, after her brother, Murtaza Bhutto, was shot dead in Karachi. He was killed with seven of his followers in a clash with police. Murtaza's followers and opposition leaders have accused Mrs. Bhutto's husband, Investment Minister Asif Ali Zardari, of conspiring to kill her estranged brother, who headed a splinter faction of the Pakistan People's Party.
Baltic Sea security talks were scheduled to open in Copenhagen today. The talks are expected to focus on bringing together NATO, nonaligned, and former Warsaw Pact states to discuss the delicate issue of NATO enlargement on Russia's borders.
More than 5,000 people marched in Taipei in Taiwan's largest protest so far over Japan's control of a disputed chain of islands in the East China Sea. Three protest vessels were also set to depart for the Diaoyu Islands. The dispute erupted after ultra-rightests erected a lighthouse on one of the islands.
Afghanistan's rebel Taliban Islamic militia said it captured the last progovernment eastern province of Kunar, bordering Pakistan, after heavy fighting. Kunar was governed by the Salfis, a fundamentalist Islamic group. The militia now controls more than half of the country.
Drug-sniffing dogs in Bogota, Colombia, found nearly 9 pounds of heroin hidden in a jet President Ernesto Samper was to fly to the US. Samper's government called the incident a set-up. He changed planes and arrived in New York to present a global antinarcotics strategy to the UN General Assembly today.
A five-nation committee monitoring a cease-fire understanding in Lebanon met in Beirut, Lebanon, to consider Israeli and Lebanese complaints following clashes between Israeli troops and Hizbullah guerrillas. Also, Israel decided to increase Israeli forces in the Golan Heights in response to Syrian troop movements in Lebanon, an Israeli newspaper reported.
Typhoon Violet pounded Japan's Pacific coast, killing at least two people and wounding 35. About 700 homes were flooded, rail traffic was stymied, and more than 200 flights were canceled. Violet is the 17th typhoon to hit Japan this year.
Soldiers killed 37 Kurdish rebels in clashes in southeastern Turkey, the government said.
ETCETERAS
"This investigation has only been on the front pages for nine weeks. It is baffling why the local police department did not bring this to the attention of the FBI."
-- Investigator into the TWA crash on training bomb-sniffing dogs on the plane, which may explain trace chemicals found.
Australian archaeologists found stone tools and rock art in the northwest that date back more than 116,000 years. The find at "Australia's Stonehenge" almost doubles previous estimates of aboriginal life on the continent.
An English translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls is due to be published in November. Lay people will now be able to read a story suggesting why God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son; previously unseen psalms attributed to King David; and the last words of patriarchs Joseph, Judah, and Levi.
Thousands of volunteers made sure the coast was clear during the International Coastal Cleanup. Organizers estimate 250,000 people from 50 states and 80 countries turned out to rid the shorelines of debris.
A Denver school principal is requiring students sign a disclaimer before dropping out. "I realize that I will not have the necessary skills to survive in the 21st century," it states. It also compares the $1,077 average monthly wage of high school graduates with the $585 a dropout can expect. The week-old program has a 100 percent success rate: Two students handed the disclaimer opted to stay in school.
Cows at Israel's Kibbutz Ein Hamifratz really get to feast on the fruits of their labors. A nearby dairy plant feeds them its surplus ice cream as a way to cut down on waste. The cows aren't the only ones chowing down - farm workers report large quantities disappear before reaching the cowsheds.
THE DAY'S LIST
Rockin' Legends
Latest names to be added to rock's honor roll.They will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony next May in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Bee Gees
Joni Mitchell
Buffalo Springfield
Crosby, Stills, and Nash
The Jackson Five
Parliament-Funkadelic
Young Rascals
- Associated Press
