News In Brief
THE US
President Clinton elected to allow the Helms-Burton law to tightening sanctions on Cuba to go into effect. But he imposed a moratorium until Feb. 1 on the filing of lawsuits. The compromise could help Clinton buy enough time to persuade allies not to retaliate against the US. The law allows US citizens to sue foreign companies doing business with Cuban companies trafficking in properties seized by Castro's government.
In an effort to reach out to women voters and bridge the abortion divide, presidential hopeful Bob Dole selected New York Rep. Susan Molinari to address the GOP convention next month. She is known as a moderate Republican and a supporter of abortion rights.
The stock market appeared to steady after its fourth-biggest drop ever: The Dow Jones average fell 161 points Monday. Also, the White House released revised economic forecasts predicting the budget deficit will shrink to $116.8 billion this year - $29 billion lower than the March forecast. And industrial production posted a third straight monthly advance in June while consumer prices rose 0.1 percent.
Clinton said he would accept a welfare bill ending the 60-year-old federal cash guarantee to poor children, if the bill has offsetting aspects to help indigent families. Congress is drafting a broad welfare-reform bill that it hopes to have on Clinton's desk before its August recess. Getting rid of the guarantee will give states more flexibility to require people to shift from welfare to work more quickly, Clinton said in an MSNBC interview.
Two federal agencies are taking steps to prevent a repeat of May's ValuJet crash. The Federal Aviation Association and the Research and Special Programs Administration say they plan to add more hazardous materials to the airlines' restricted list and increase the number of hazardous materials inspectors by more than 100. The RSPA plans to ban oxidizers - chemicals that can feed a fire in the absence of air - from Class D cargo compartments in commercial airliners. The ValuJet crash is believed to have been caused by a fire started by chemical oxygen generators.
Clinton adviser and close friend Bruce Lindsey was to take the witness stand in the Whitewater-related trial of two bankers. Prosecutors claim that as treasurer of Clinton's 1990 gubernatorial campaign, Lindsey urged the Little Rock, Ark., bank officials not to file reports required by the IRS when large amounts of cash were deposited or withdrawn from the campaign account. He has said publicly that he didn't encourage them to ignore currency reporting laws.
In a new MSNBC poll, Bob Dole received 30 percent of the vote - 24 points behind Clinton. While 88 percent of Democrats polled said they'd vote for Clinton, only 62 percent of Republicans said they'd support Dole. Also, during a MSNBC TV interview, Clinton called the Whitewater investigation "highly politicized." He shrugged off polls that say a majority of Americans believe he and Hillary Rodham Clinton aren't telling the truth about Whitewater.
The Air Force won't seek criminal charges against officers involved in the Croatia plane crash that killed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others, the Pentagon said. But some officers face disciplinary action. An Air Force investigation of the April crash found several causes, including pilot error.
Federal prosecutors plan to indict two executives of Archer Daniels Midland Company, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal reported. Vice Chairman Michael Andreas and Terrance Wilson, head of the corn-processing division, face charges of price-fixing in the food-additive lysine market. The Post also said the government plans to indict Mark Whitacre, former head of ADM's bioproducts division, who was an FBI informant for 2-1/2 years.
A piece of guerrilla art caused a bomb scare in Seattle that forced thousands of people to evacuate a nine-block area. Jason Sprinkle painted "bomb" on his gray pick-up truck and deflated the tires to protest reopening a street through a city park. He surrendered to police after calling a news service to report there was no bomb.
German tennis pro Steffi Graf pulled out of the Atlanta Olympics, citing a physical problem.
THE WORLD
Russian President Yeltsin met with US Vice President Al Gore at a resort near Moscow. The meeting was postponed Monday, when Yeltsin abruptly decided to go on vacation - fueling concerns about his health. Gore said Yeltsin looked great. The two reportedly discussed Yeltsin's election victory and US disapproval of recent Russian offensives in Chechnya. Also, Russia supports UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's reelection bid, Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov said, going on the record against the US position.
EU members in Brussels agreed on a list of countermeasures in response to a US law that seeks to punish foreign companies that do business with Cuba. Possible forms of retaliation include blacklisting US companies, requiring visas for US business travellers, and taking the matter to the World Trade Organization. In an effort to placate them, President Clinton offered a moratorium until Feb. 1 on filing US lawsuits against foreign companies that traffick in property seized from US citizens by Castro's government.
NATO warned Bosnian Serbs to expect reprisals if they attack UN forces. Richard Holbrooke of the US issued the warning in response to Bosnian Serb threats to take UN police officers hostage if the West tries to arrest Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Holbrooke, an architect of the Dayton accord, is back in Bosnia to negotiate Karadzic's ouster.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko survived an apparent assassination attempt. An explosion tore through Lazarenko's car in Kiev, leaving a crater 1-1/2 yards deep in the road. No one was hurt. A powerful bomb was hidden in a manhole and detonated by remote control, security sources said.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to ease a closure of the West Bank and Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian economy. He did not specify what form the lifting of restrictions would take. The move came after Palestinian President Arafat spurned a meeting with an Israeli envoy. PLO officials said Arafat rejected the meeting so Netanyahu could not exploit contact with Palestinians before talks with Egypt's President Mubarak.
Investigators are seeking clues to the cause of a Belgian Air Force plane crash. The Hercules transport crashed on landing in Eindhoven, Netherlands, killing 32 people. It was the worst peacetime military air disaster in the Netherlands.
More than 2 million people are homeless as monsoon rains continue to lash northeast India and Bangladesh. Flooding and landslides have killed about 200 people. Relief efforts in the Indian state of Assam, where 1.7 million of the homeless live, have been hampered because sections of road were washed away by the rains.
Stocks in Europe and Asia tumbled in reaction to Wall Street's 161-point drop. The Tokyo market dropped 347.07 points or 1.6 percent. Losers included high-technology stocks in a sell-off similar to the one that sparked Wall Street's tumble. The London Stock Exchange fell almost 2 points, and stocks dropped across the board in Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, Madrid, Brussels, and Oslo. But traders predict if the bear market continues, European prices won't suffer as much as US ones.
"Clean" energy technology, such as solar and wind power, could be mass-produced and made affordable, reducing the threat of global warming, industrial groups told a UN environmental conference in Geneva. Lobbying by oil and auto companies has hindered this step thus far, the groups said.
ETCETERAS
"As long as she'll let me mow the lawn at the White House when she's president, I'm happy."
-- Bill Paxton, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, referring to wife and New York Rep. Susan Molinari, who was selected by Bob Dole to give the keynote address at next month's GOP convention.
Cal Ripken's record of 2,216 consecutive games as Baltimore's starting shortstop ended when Orioles manager Davey Johnson started him at third base in a game against Toronto. Ripken holds a world record for consecutive games played.
Fast-food giant McDonald's plans to open a restaurant in Bombay, India, by year's end. But where's the beef? To capture a market that reveres the cow, the company will serve lambburgers. A revised menu will feature new vegetable, lamb, chicken, and fish products.
Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh is reportedly quitting his four-year-old TV show out of disappointment at its later broadcast time. His last show will be produced Sept. 6.
THE DAY'S LIST
Top 10 Movies by Per-location Revenue in the US and Canada, July 12-14
Per location revenue gauges movie popularity by community response to a film. Movie titles are followed by per-location revenue, the number of weeks in release, the number of locations, and total revenue.
1. "Independence Day," $12,119; two weeks; 2,908 locations; $160.3 million.
2. "Phenomenon," $6,576; two weeks; 1,973 locations; $46.3 million.
3. "Lone Star," $6,393; four weeks; 126 locations; $2.6 million.
4. "Courage Under Fire," $6,295; one week; 1,986 locations; $12.5 million.
5. "The Nutty Professor," $5,605; three weeks; 2,178 locations; $80.2 million.
6. "Harriet the Spy," $3,615; 1 1/2 weeks; 1,826 locations; $9.6 million.
7. "Cold Comfort Farm," $2,903; ten weeks; 82 locations; $3.8 million.
8. "Stealing Beauty," $2,593; five weeks; 195 locations; $2.9 million.
9. "Eraser," $2,517; four weeks; 2,506 locations; $80.9 million.
10. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," $2,406; four weeks; 2,671 locations; $77 million.
-- Exhibitor Relations/AP
