News In Brief
TTHE US
en White House hopefuls spent 12 hours on Saturday trying to woo Ross Perot's disgruntled followers. Each tried to echo Perot's criticism of the political status quo to the 5,000 in attendance. Of the all-GOP contenders, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan drew the loudest applause. Perot, meanwhile, has not said if he will make a third-party White House run in 1996. Separately, a US News and World Report poll published today says 46 percent of US voters think Colin Powell should run for president.
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Baseball hall-of-famer Mickey Mantle died yesterday. He attributed his slow decline in health to many years of drinking. Wearing the New York Yankees' number 7, he led the team to 12 American League pennants and seven World Series victories. His record of 18 home runs in World Series play still stands.
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Several male cadets helped Shannon Faulkner carry her footlockers across the Citadel's checkerboard courtyard Saturday as she became the first woman cadet in the state-funded school's 152-year history. Later, during a break in the first drill, the male cadets gathered in two clusters, leaving Faulkner alone in the middle. On Friday, Supreme Court Justices Rehnquist and Scalia refused the school's last-minute bid to keep Faulkner out.
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Security at the three New York-area airports was tightened this weekend. There were reports that Islamic militant groups - including Hamas or Hizbullah - may be planning an attack at Kennedy airport. On Wednesday, new airport-security precautions were put in place nationwide.
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Senator Specter met with white separatist Randy Weaver Saturday about a 1992 standoff with federal agents in which Weaver's wife and son and a US marshal were killed. Specter, a presidential hopeful, said a "considerable cloud" hangs over law enforcement's role in the incident that he described as "bizarre." Specter will chair hearings this fall on the topic. Also, on Friday the Justice Department suspended five top officials involved in the raid as it began investigating charges of a coverup.
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Microsoft Corp. is in serious discussions with Turner Broadcasting System about acquiring a $1 billion to $2 billion stake in Turner, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. And the New York Times said that Neiman-Marcus owner Harcourt General Inc is talking to Westinghouse about joining Westinghouse in its $5.4 billion CBS bid.
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The Senate joined the House in summer recess Friday. When lawmakers return in September, they will face an unusually heavy workload, including: a vote to override President Clinton's Friday veto of the bill to lift the Bosnian arms embargo; welfare reform; and budget balancing.
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Hurricane Felix, with winds of 135 m.p.h., became the most powerful storm of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters said it could reach Bermuda as early as last night.
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President Clinton sought an end to nuclear tests. He announced Friday that US negotiators in Geneva would seek a "zero yield" test ban that bars even small nuclear explosions. This, despite a belief among some of his advisers that limited testing could help ensure the reliability of US nuclear weapons.
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It's been 30 years since the Watts riots devastated the south side of Los Angeles. The riots, triggered by a traffic arrest and accusations of police brutality, went for six days in August 1965. When smoke cleared, 34 people were dead, 1,032 injured, and 4,000 others arrested.
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Tie-dye T-shirts were the expected attire of choice for Jerry Garcia's public memorial service held in San Francisco's Golden Gate park yesterday.
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THE WORLD
The US Senate put off until next month action on President Clinton's veto of legislation lifting the arms embargo on Bosnia. The Russian government met yesterday with National Security Adviser Lake on peace initiatives. Russia has invited Yugoslav leaders to a summit in Moscow; the US will send officials to Sarajevo for talks next week. Meanwhile, refugees protested at the Bosnian border against Serbia's decision to block men of fighting age from entering the country. Bosnian Army forces attacked a Serb-held town. A Croatian official apologized to Serbs refugees after Croatian troops captured the self-declared Serb republic in Krajina.
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Palestinian ministers are playing down progress in talks with Israel. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers yesterday killed a Palestinian when they fired on Arabs who stormed their West Bank campsite. Muslim militants in Gaza wounded an Israeli policeman when they set off a bomb beside an Israel-PLO jeep patrol.
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Iraq said yesterday there was no way for an official who fled to Jordan last week to topple Saddam Hussein's government. The defector heads military and civil industries and is Saddam's son-in-law. An opposition leader says he might meet with the defector to try to overthrow the government. The defector's uncle issued a thinly veiled call for his assassination. Iraq's deputy premier says Iraq will reveal information on its weapons program, which he accused the defector of withholding from the UN.
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A Kashmiri separatist group has killed 1 of its 5 Western hostages, and the remaining four are under a new death threat. A note found yesterday with the Norwegian's body demanded that India release 15 jailed rebels in 48 hours.
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South Korea resumed rice shipments to the North yesterday after Pyongyang released a southern rice-aid ship and its crew after three days of talks in Beijing. North Korea dismissed as a "farce" Seoul's announcement of an amnesty for almost 2,000 prisoners to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
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A row over Japanese Premier Murayama's feelings about Japan's World War II actions came full circle yesterday when officials revealed he had used the word "apology'' in a letter to British Prime Minister Major.
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Catholic youths trying to block a Protestant march clashed with police and attacked Protestant loyalists yesterday after some of the worst violence in Northern Ireland since the IRA cease-fire almost a year ago. Ten civilians and 12 police officers were injured. The unrest in several cities and towns was a fresh blow to hopes for reviving peace talks.
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Haiti's premier realigned his Cabinet on Saturday after four ministers resigned, three to protest chaotic June elections. The resignations came on the eve of makeup elections in 21 towns yesterday. Two of the four Cabinet members were replaced with supporters of President Aristide.
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The Kenyan government denied Saturday that its ruling party had a role in the Thursday beating of conservationist-opposition politician Richard Leakey and three others. The US has hinted the incident could affect US aid to Kenya; Britain said it was pressing for justice.
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Rescuers dug through mud yesterday in Hong Kong for four people missing in landslides triggered by rains in the wake of tropical storm Helen. It killed two people in Shenzhen, China, and injured 30 in Hong Kong.
ETCETERA
These were awkward hearings."
- Rep. Jim Leach (R) of Iowa, chairman of the House Banking Committee on C-SPAN Sunday Journal, characterizing last week's Whitewater hearings
Rainbow Bridge National Monument, the world's largest natural bridge, has been blocked off by Navajo tribespeople who say the sacred site is being misused by National Park officials and needs to be cleansed. It is located near Lake Powell in Arizona.
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Giving prison inmates knives is usually not a good idea, but William Smith does it all the time. He hands them eggbeaters, frying pans, eggs, butter, and flour, too. Smith, the White House chef to Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, teaches haute cuisine to inmates at the District of Columbia's prison in Lorton, Va.
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After nearly 400 years, actors are once again treading the boards at the Globe Theatre in London. The replica of the place where Shakespeare's plays were first performed is expected to cost $50 million by the time it opens officially next June.
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A talking pig named "Babe" is writing itself a small success story at box offices across the US this summer. Made by virtual unknowns, the fanciful tale of an upwardly mobile farmyard animal is prospering in spite of its long-shot pedigree
Top 10 Pop Singles
1. "Waterfalls," TLC (LaFace)
2. "Kiss From a Rose," Seal (ZTT-Sire)
3. "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)," Monica (Rowdy) (Platinum)
4. "Boombastic," Shaggy (Virgin)
5. "One More Chance," The Notorious B.I.G. (Bad Boy)
6. "I Can Love You Like That," All-4-One (Blitzz)
7. "Colors of the Wind," Vanessa Williams (Hollywood)
8. "Run-Around," Blues Traveler (A&M)
9. "Water Runs Dry," Boyz II Men (Motown) (Gold)
10. "He's Mine," MoKenStef (Outburst-RAL)
(Platinum signifies more than 1 million copies sold; Gold signifies more than 500,000 copies sold.)
- Billboard-Soundscan Inc.-Broadcast Data Systems
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