News In Brief
The US
Rescue workers in Oklahoma City had to call off the search for survivors of the April 19 bombing when the threat of a building collapse became too great. With 60 people still missing, machinery will now be used to clear the site. Investigators found a receipt for a ton of ammonium nitrate at the home of Terry Nichols. It reportedly bore fingerprints of suspect Timothy McVeigh, who is charged with making the bomb used in the attack using ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. (Antiterrorism sales, Page 1.)
Attorney General Reno agreed to testify at more congressional hearings on the federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, two years ago. But she said the incident should be kept separate from the Oklahoma City bombing. The attack occurred two years after the Waco incident. (Waco, Page 3.)
President Clinton said he will cut off all trade and investment with Iran, citing its state-sponsored terrorism and US government efforts to stop Russia from selling nuclear-power-plant technology to Tehran. The move cuts US firms out of the lucrative Iranian oil market and will cost many US jobs.
Four-year-old Baby Richard was turned over to his biological parents, with whom he has never lived, in suburban Chicago. The father had fought the adoption in courts since the child was 57 days old. The boy's mother originally told the father that the child was born dead.
Confirmation hearings begin today on Clinton's nomination of Henry Foster as surgeon general. Controversy is expected over abortions Foster performed in Tennessee and what he has said about them.
Qubilah Shabbazz accepted a negotiated settlement with US attorneys in a case charging her in a plot to kill Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. She allegedly plotted against Farrakhan because she believed he was involved in the murder of her father, Malcolm X, 30 years ago. The trial has been deferred for two years if she participates in and completes a two-year psychiatric and chemical-dependency program, at which time charges would be dropped.
The Supreme Court let stand rulings forcing the Bloomingdale, Mich., high school to remove a portrait of Jesus from its walls. The high court also refused to reinstate a $1.2 million award to two Missouri residents who claimed that police had not protected them from domestic violence. And it agreed to decide whether Rhode Island can continue a ban on price advertising for liquor, designed to reduce consumption of alcohol.
Senators Moynihan and Dole said they agree with House Speaker Gingrich that Medicare should be uncoupled from efforts to balance the US budget by 2002. The GOP will propose separate, major reforms of Medicare, which is rapidly outrunning its trust fund.
The US public is losing respect for the criminal-justice system and the news media because of the O.J. Simpson trial, says a poll commissioned by the American Bar Association. But in a separate survey, most citizens said they believed a jury would find them innocent of a crime they had not committed.
Construction spending for housing and government projects dropped 0.4 percent in March to the lowest level in four months, the Commerce Department said. Personal income rose 0.6 percent in March, while spending climbed 0.5 percent. Mortgage rates averaged 8.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, up from 6.9 percent a year ago, a realtors' group said. A survey by the National Association of Purchasing Management said US manufacturing grew in April as well. Meanwhile, Mobil Corp. will lay off 4,700 employees in a worldwide restructuring to save $1.05 billion in yearly costs.
The World
The Bosnian government and Serb rebels prepared for more fighting as a cease-fire expired. UN envoy Akashi continued talks with both sides but with little hope of preventing all-out war. Skirmishes increased in Sarajevo; Serb troops moved in on three UN-controlled weapons-collection points, but later withdrew. France threatened again to withdraw its peacekeeping troops if the cease-fire is not extended. Heavy combat erupted in neighboring Croatia after government troops moved in on Serb-held sections of a key highway. At least three Jordanian peacekeepers were wounded by Serb shelling. (Story, Page 6.)
Israeli Prime Minister Rabin travels to the US this week to meet with President Clinton. The two hope to break a deadlock in Israel's peace talks with Syria. The Israeli general commanding the Syrian front claimed that Damascus is preparing for war if the talks collapse. Meanwhile, an Israeli secret-police interrogator was suspended after pathologists found a Palestinian activist was tortured to death.
Protesters at a May Day rally in Seoul carried antigovernment banners to protest Friday's gas explosion in Taegu. The blast, which killed more than 100 people, was the latest in a series of disastrous accidents in South Korea blamed on negligence and lax safety standards. In North Korea, May Day celebrations followed a weekend international sports festival, but the apparent new leader, Kim Jong Il, did not attend. (Sports festival, Page 7.)
Japanese authorities have located the leader of the Aum Shinri Kyo religious group and have him under surveillance, a Tokyo newspaper said. But other media said police were still looking for Shoko Asahara. He has not appeared in public since the March 20 poison-gas attack in the Tokyo subway. The newspaper said police were waiting to arrest him until they have proof the sect produced the gas used in the attack.
French rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen refused to endorse a candidate in Sunday's presidential elections. The National Front leader, who won 15 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting, criticized conservative candidate Chirac for supporting European unity and the GATT world trade talks. Chirac leads Socialist candidate Jospin, but is vulnerable to a large undecided vote and needs far-right support.
Iraqi authorities permitted two American women to visit their husbands, who are being held for entering the country illegally. Linda Barloon and Kathy Daliberti said the men are in good health and anxious to go home.
The Dutch owners of Barings Bank fired 20 top executives they said were responsible for the bank's February collapse. ING Group said it acted now because a Bank of England inquiry into the matter was taking too long, aggravating the uncertainties about Barings' future.
Rwandan government radio called for mass demonstrations to protest alleged Western interference in the country's affairs. A UN envoy suggested empowering UN peacekeepers to protect civilians. Villagers reportedly killed 18 Hutus who returned home from a refugee camp the government closed. Government troops shutting down a camp killed between 2,000 and 8,000 refugees April 22 and 23.
Sri Lanka's government canceled May Day celebrations and tightened security after new fighting with Tamil rebels. The Tamils returned 24 bodies from a military transport they shot down Saturday; it was the second warplane downed in two days. The guerrillas called off a cease-fire April 19, saying the government had not met their demands.
Etcetera
American Airlines canceled 167 flights from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport Sunday after hail damaged its fleet. And more cancelations were expected yesterday. The hailstorm reportedly lasted 20 minutes Saturday night with some hail the size of softballs. Fifty-five jets and 24 American Eagle commuter planes were battered. Estimates of damage were not immediately available.
Starting yesterday, life jackets must be worn by everyone in small boats and canoes. The US Coast Guard now requires that all boats less than 16 feet long must carry a wearable life preserver for each occupant; a seat cushion won't do.
People were shaken from sleep and buildings shook as a meteor roared over the Western Australian city of Perth early yesterday. People east and south of the city reported seeing a bright blue light and hearing an explosion. There was no indication the meteor hit the earth.
Yesterday was a big day in Atlanta's preparations for the 1996 Olympics. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games released about 36 million brochures containing ticket information and mail-order forms. It's the only way to buy tickets until next year when phone and box-office sales begin. Prices range from $6 for an early-round baseball game to $636 for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Weekly Top Video Rentals
1. ''Stargate,'' (Live)
2. ''The Specialist,'' (Warner)
3. ''The River Wild,'' (MCA-Universal)
4. ''The Shawshank Redemption,'' (Columbia TriStar)
5. ''Only You,'' (Columbia TriStar)
6. ''Angels in the Outfield,'' (Disney)
7. ''Clear and Present Danger,'' (Paramount)
8. ''Timecop,'' (MCA-Universal)
9. ''True Lies,'' (FoxVideo)
10. ''Natural Born Killers,'' (Warner)
Copyright 1995, Billboard Publications Inc.
''We're talking about preserving the system. And we're going to have to do something. Otherwise, it's going to be broke in five years.''
Sen. Bob Dole, on handling Medicare separately from balancing the budget
