News In Brief

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first lady, is planning to move to New York by the fall to position herself for a Senate campaign, U.S. News and World Report said. According to the magazine, Mrs. Clinton is prepared to leave the White House early - and live apart from President Clinton for a time - for the sake of a Senate bid she has not yet formally launched. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who may run for the Senate seat as a GOP candidate, is preparing for a fund-raising sortie into Arkansas.

Gun-control legislation fell victim to a political crossfire in the House, where a very modest bill was rejected on a 280-to-147 vote. Many Democrats rebelled against provisions to loosen some existing controls, and conservative Republicans opposed imposition of new ones. What the House approved was a separate bill, including an amendment that would allow schools to post the Ten Commandments.

Gov. George W. Bush (R) signed a bill preventing Texas cities from suing gunmakers. Bush, who's seeking the GOP presidential nomination, also released a statement saying it was wrong to blame gun violence on manufacturers. Approved last month, the bill requires cities or counties to obtain legislative approval before suing.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse began a slow journey inland - away from crashing breakers threatening to erode the shoreline in Buxton, N.C., where it has stood for 128 years. Propped up on rollers and nudged by seven hydraulic jacks, the nation's tallest lighthouse is being moved 2,900 feet, a trip scheduled to take four to six weeks.

Clinton overruled Congress and kept the US embassy in Israel from relocating to Jerusalem, the declared capital of the Jewish state. Under law, the shift was supposed to begin May 31, unless the president decided it would jeopardize US national security. His decision, announced in Germany, was based on that judgment, and keeps the embassy in Tel Aviv for at least six months.

A federal appeals court upheld a curfew law in Washington, rejecting arguments that it violates the rights of minors and their parents. The court, on a 9-to-2 vote, declared constitutional a 1995 statute generally barring juveniles 16 and under from being in public places late at night unaccompanied by a parent. The decision overturned rulings by a US judge and a three-judge panel of the appeals court that the law is too vague and infringes on civil liberties.

Sen. Jesse Helms said he would not block Richard Holbrooke's nomination as UN ambassador, clearing the path for his confirmation. Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had criticized Holbrooke's ethics and had given mixed signals on how he would handle the nomination. The North Carolina Republican has blocked many of the president's appointments.

Passengers stranded for hours on Northwest Airlines flights in a January snowstorm can join a class-action lawsuit against the carrier, a Michigan court ruled. Up to 8,000 people left waiting on runways for up to eight hours while toilets overflowed and food ran out Jan. 3 in Detroit are eligible to join the suit.