News In Brief
THE US
President Clinton is scheduled to go back on the campaign trail tomorrow, with another trip through Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee after watching the vice presidential debate from the White House. He toured the same region following the Democratic National Convention in August. At a campaign stop in Stamford, Conn., Clinton picked up key endorsements from corporate chief executives.
Bob Dole wound up a two-day bus tour through New Jersey and planned a similar swing through Ohio, telling voters they can count on him to deliver a 15-percent tax cut if he's elected president. The Republican nominee hinted at some of his prospective Cabinet choices. Among them: retired Gen. Colin Powell, former Secretary of State James Baker III, and former Education Secretary William Bennett.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, campaigning for reelection, told Georgia voters that GOP control of the House is threatened by organized labor's multimedia ad campaign. The AFL-CIO has vowed to spend $35 million to defeat Republicans. Republicans have begun a counterattack in 25 television markets.
A new warning from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan to the Clinton administration and Congress: Resist actions that drive up the cost of financing the $5.1 trillion national debt. Greenspan alluded to last winter's struggle in which Congress tried to limit the debt ceiling as a way of forcing White House acceptance of its seven-year balanced-budget plan. If purchasing the debt is made harder, the Fed chairman said, buyers will pull back and the cost of debt-servicing will rise.
Once again, residents of Northeastern and Midwestern states paid more in federal taxes last year than they got back in the form of benefits, a new study has found. Harvard University researchers reported that Connecticut residents led the list, paying an average of $2,099 per person more than they received. New Mexico, Virginia, and Mississippi led the states whose benefits exceed tax payments.
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. announced it will close its Ketchikan pulp mill in southeastern Alaska after negotiations failed with the Clinton administration over timber supply. The mill, which is the largest employer in the Tongass National Forest region, is to cease operations next March, idling 500 workers. The company said federal officials opposed "any compromise that would allow the mill to operate profitably."
Despite ongoing contract talks, the strike against General Motors facilities in Canada caused layoffs at two US parts plants. GM sent 1,850 workers home in Michigan and New York. Auto industry analysts said GM may announce more layoffs almost daily if the strike lasts much longer.
Tobacco-industry critics say cigarette-maker Philip Morris is showing signs of "desperation" in deciding to publish a lifestyle magazine aimed at men in their 20s. Tobacco companies face new federal restrictions on advertising and marketing their products. Philip Morris says the magazineUnlimited aims to reward customer loyalty to its Marlboro brand.
The US is sending Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord to South Korea for talks beginning tomorrow. The visit comes as tensions with North Korea were running high over the infiltration of a North Korean submarine and Pyongyang's arrest of US citizen Evan Carl Hunziker.
An African-American drew a five-year sentence for setting fire to a predominantly black church in Oregon. Antoine Jamar Dean apologized in court for the June 20 blaze, which attracted national attention because it occurred during a series of church fires, most of them in the South.
Heavy rains pushed by former tropical storm Josephine moved northward along the Eastern seaboard, leaving officials in Florida and Georgia to assess damage from flooding and tornadoes. Josephine passed out to sea over southern Georgia.
THE WORLD
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat visited with Israeli President Ezer Weizman at his villa in Caesarea. Arafat had previously only once visited Israel - at night and without notice - to offer his condolences to the widow of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. Peace talks continued in Gaza, despite a walkout by both parties that prompted US intervention.
Ousted Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani met with General Abdul Rashid Dostum at the latter's stronghold northwest of Kabul, in an effort to solidify opposition to the Taliban militia that now controls most of the country. The Afghan ambassador to India told reporters Dostum had agreed to support Rabbani.
A breakaway faction of the Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility for two car bombs that exploded inside a military base considered the most secure in Northern Ireland. A caller to Irish national broadcasters in Dublin said the IRA's so-called Continuity group had carried out the attack. The blasts injured 21 soldiers and 10 civilians.
A Turkish opposition party asked parliament to take up a censure motion against Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. He was strongly criticized in the Turkish media for a weekend press conference at which Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi criticized Turkey ties to the West and called for a Kurdish homeland. Also, Turkish troops killed 118 Kurdish guerrillas in clashes that spilled into northern Iraq, military officials said.
International mediators said they welcomed signs that Bosnian Serb leaders were ready to attend meetings of Bosnia's joint presidency and parliament after boycotting an inaugural ceremony. Bosnian Serb President Momcilo Krajisnik said he is prepared to cooperate with the newly elected government, the BBC reported. Also, the remains of 200 people were found in a mass grave in Croatia. Evidence suggests many of the victims were hospital patients, a UN spokesman said. And a US contractor opened a center in Bosnia to help upgrade the Muslim-Croat military.
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said Russia would not grant full independence to Chechnya and praised a peace deal brokered by security chief Alexander Lebed. His statements came after Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov called the peace deal a humiliating step toward Russia's disintegration and said it undermined Russia's ability to restore order to the region.
Muslim fundamentalists appeared to have lost their majority in Kuwait's 50-seat parliament, according to official election results. The fundamentalists slipped from 19 to 17 seats, and pro-government candidates, who held 15 seats in the last parliament, seemed to have gained ground. The exact breakdown of parliament won't be known until the new legislature meets Oct. 20.
Some 5,000 Khmer Rouge guerrillas and civilians defected to the Royal Cambodian Army, military officials said. The guerrillas, who had been aligned with the hard-line Pol Pot faction, were reportedly out of food and other supplies.
French Prime Minister Alain Juppe ordered increased security for "sensitive sites" in Paris and several other cities after a bomb destroyed several rooms in the Bordeaux City Hall. A Corsican separatist group claimed responsibility. It was the latest of several recent bombings.
ETCETERAS
Fur may fly in the final TV debate of the presidential campaign, hosted by John McLaughlin Oct. 17. In the ring: incumbent cat Socks vs. the Dole's dog, named Leader. At issue: Which makes a better first pet, a cat or a dog. People from Cat Magazine and Dog World will be arguing for their candidates. The National Humane Society is cosponsoring the event.
Britain's James Mirrlees and William Vickrey of Canada jointly won the Nobel Prize in economics for their work analyzing transactions with incomplete financial information.
Having a white man for a mentor may help you scale the corporate ladder faster, according to a study by Prof. Taylor Cox at the University of Michigan. He surveyed 758 graduates and found those whose mentors are white males earn about $16,800 more a year than those guided by women or minorities. The reason? White men hold the positions of power in many companies.
Most grooms look down the aisle for their bride. Stephen Foster looked up, as she came flying down from 10,000 feet. Terri Essex of Drexel, Mo., decided to really take the plunge by skydiving to the ceremony. Jump instructor Pat Ensign gave the bride away - by pushing her out of the plane.
THE DAY'S LIST
Every Parent's Dream
Some 63 percent of US parents don't want their children to grow up to be president, a Knight-Ridder poll of 1,002 people found. Those polled said the head of the country has less influence than journalists, judges, lawmakers, and lobbyists. But they'd rather see their sons and daughters in the Oval Office than on the silver screen. Fields they'd like their child to pursue:
Professor 77%
Doctor 76
Minister 70
Governor 63
Carpenter 61
Mayor 59
Lawyer 54
Professional athlete 55
Police officer 46
-- The Miami Herald
