News In Brief
House prosecutors were to depose Monica Lewinsky today, attorney Vernon Jordan tomorrow, and White House aide Sidney Blumenthal Wednesday. Videotapes of depositions were to be available to senators for private viewing as early as tomorrow. Objections raised by either side during the depositions were to be resolved when the Senate reconvened, probably on Thursday. The Senate has not determined how to use the depositions, whether to show videos on the Senate floor, or whether to have witnesses testify in person.
President Clinton said he wants to spend $14 million to help close the gap between men's and women's wages. The proposal would triple the number of enforcement workers at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, provide technical assistance to employers on how to comply with equal-pay laws, and purchase public-service ads to alert women to their rights. The president's Council of Economic Advisers says women earn on average about 75 percent of what men do - up from about 58 percent in 1964.
US and British aircraft attacked two Iraqi communications facilities after an Iraqi warplane entered the country's southern "no fly" zone, the military officials reported. The eight US and British aircraft were undamaged in the incident, a statement issued by the US Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., said. An assessment of damage to the Iraqi facilities was not available.
House majority whip Tom DeLay gave conflicting statements in congressional disclosure statements and in a 1994 lawsuit filed against him, the Houston Chronicle reported. It said the Texas Republican listed himself in 1994 financial-disclosure statements as chairman of a Houston pest-control company after denying in a deposition taken three months earlier that he was an officer of the firm. A spokesman said DeLay had done nothing wrong and that the allegations were made for political purposes.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) raised more money last year than its Democratic counterpart, reports sent to the Federal Election Commission showed. The RNC said it received $69.9 million in donations in 1998 - up $5.4 million from 1994, the last year in which there were congressional elections without one for president. The Democratic National Committee said it received $53.4 million - up $14.4 million from 1994. The GOP committee said it is now debt-free. Democrats reported a debt of $6.5 million.
New England Fishery Management Council voted to slash the daily cod catch in half and set other limits on a swath of sea from Maine to Cape Cod Bay. To help replenish once-abundant cod stocks, the council decided to close sections of the coast extending 30 miles into the sea on a rotating basis - a move that would severely restrict thousands of commercial fishermen. The decision, which requires approval of the Commerce Department, would be phased in starting in May. Scientists in December released a report that the cod population was at its lowest in 30 years in the Gulf of Maine.
