News In Brief
In closed-door impeachment deliberations, the Senate was said to be edging toward final votes to acquit President Clinton on both obstruction of justice and perjury charges. Majority leader Trent Lott said he was hoping the balloting would come late this afternoon. Some Democrats were pressing for a formal Senate censure of the president after his expected acquittal, but many Republicans were opposed and prospects for censure were said to be dimming.
Only about 11 percent of eligible first-time voters aged 18 and 19 cast ballots in last November's state and congressional elections, a new study found. The Committee for the Study of the American Electorate said eligible voters age 18 to 24 took part in the election at a 15 percent rate, continuing a decline in youth participation that has not been reversed - with the exception of 1992 - since 18-to-20-year-olds first received the right to vote in 1971.
An ethics panel implicated 10 more members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in a report that detailed the extreme means Salt Lake City used to land votes for the 2002 Winter Games. The new allegations by a panel working for the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee brought to 24 - roughly one-fifth of the IOC's total membership - the number implicated in vote-buying schemes. Nine IOC members have been expelled or have resigned.
Richard Holbrooke agreed to pay $5,000 to settle allegations that he improperly contacted a US diplomat on behalf of his employer. The Justice Department said Holbrooke agreed to pay the civil penalty to settle allegations that he violated federal ethics law by contacting the US ambassador to South Korea in 1996 after he had left the State Department to join an investment-banking firm. Holbrooke did not admit to wrongdoing, and Clinton said he would move ahead soon with plans to nominate him to be US ambassador to the UN.
The Federal Aviation Administration reached an accord with the biggest US pilots union and airlines on a controversial landing procedure known as "land and hold short operations" (LAHSO), which requires landing aircraft to stop quickly before crossing the path of a take-off. All sides agreed not to try the procedure on wet runways until further data are available, that carriers must train pilots before they conduct such operations, and that LAHSO won't be authorized for runways that are not equipped with electronic- or visual-guidance systems. The procedure is used at more than 220 US airports.
Georgia passed a law barring cities and counties from filing lawsuits against gunmakers, thwarting a landmark effort by Atlanta to sue handgun manufacturers to recoup funds spent as the result of gun violence. The mayor of Atlanta called the new law "outrageous." Supporters said similar bills may be introduced in other states.
American Airlines said it would have to ground some aircraft for a fifth straight day even though talks resumed to try to settle a dispute with pilots over a low-fare airline bought by the company last year. American and the Allied Pilots Association met for the first time since late last week, when rank-and-file pilots began to call in sick and refuse overtime work.
