USA
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is expected to announce a 10th interest-rate cut this year in an attempt to resuscitate an economy that analysts say has likely entered recession. Many analysts predicted an aggressive half-percentage point cut, the third such move since Sept. 11. But others say the Fed may opt instead for a quarter-point reduction today, since its previous nine cuts have yet to show much effect on the economy.
Eighteen states have until today to decide whether to endorse a proposed settlement in the anti-trust case brought against Microsoft by the Justice Department. Massachusetts' Attorney General Thomas Reilly said his state wouldn't sign without "major changes" to further protect competing software makers. Attorneys general in Illinois and other states, however, were more positive. The Justice Department claimed Microsoft used its Windows operating system to stifle competitors. The deal would require Microsoft to give monitors access to its plans for five years, and to provide information to help rivals make products compatible with Windows.
President Bush planned to meet eight foreign leaders at the White House this week and with 11 others at the UN next weekend to build diplomatic support for an international counterterrorism coalition. Among those he is expected to see: the heads of such Muslim nations as Algeria and Morocco, French President Jacques Chirac, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Seven private security workers at Chicago's O'Hare airport were fired for allegedly allowing a man through a checkpoint who had knives and a stun gun in his carry-on luggage. The workers did not detain Subash Gurung of Chicago after two folding knives were found in his pocket. Five other knives, the gun, and a can of mace apparently were not noticed by the workers. Gurung now is in police custody.
A videotape sent as a courtesy to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's office by NBC-TV was contaminated with traces of anthrax, but there was no evidence anyone at City Hall was infected from the package, reports said. The tape was likely contaminated by an anthrax-laced letter sent to NBC Sept. 18, health officials said. Mean-while, the Longworth House building in Washington reopened for the first time since Oct. 17, after traces of anthrax were found in the offices of three congressmen. Only those offices remained closed.
The Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series from the defending champion New York Yankees in Game 7, 3-2. The title was the Diamondbacks' first in their four years of existence, making their rise the fastest in baseball history. (Story, page 3; editorial, page 8.)
