News In Brief
THE US
Presidential hopeful Bob Dole proposed an across-the-board tax cut of 15 percent, cutting the capital-gains tax rate in half, and adding $500-per-child tax deductions. His campaign released the details of his campaign centerpiece shortly before a midday speech in Chicago.
President Clinton signed a bill requiring sanctions against foreign companies doing substantial energy business with Iran and Libya, two nations the US says back terrorists. Also, Clinton planned to meet with family members of the victims of the 1988 Pan Am terrorist bombing at the White House and deliver a speech at George Washington University on international terrorism.
Singing, dancing, and enough fireworks to fill three 18-wheel trucks enlivened Olympic stadium during closing ceremonies. Tributes were given to victims of a bomb attack in Atlanta's Centennial Park and athletes slain in Munich in 1972. An Afghan boxer and his coach missed the ceremonies: They were granted asylum in Canada. Also, a Bulgarian triple jumper and a Russian hurdler tested positive for steroids, but an arbitration panel reinstated five other athletes disqualified earlier for using bromantan. It was decided there's no scientific proof it is a stimulant.
The Index of Leading Economic Indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, rose 0.5 percent in June - reaching the highest level ever. But the increase only slightly exceeded market forecasts. The advance followed a revised 0.2 percent increase in May and was the fifth gain in a row.
Richard Jewell, a security guard who became both a hero and suspect in the Centennial Park bombing, asked for help from prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney Jack Martin, according to news reports. Jewell gave hair and fingerprint samples to the FBI, but refused to give a voice sample at the advice of his lawyer, Watson Bryant. Investigators have a recording of the unidentified man who called 911 with a bomb warning.
The Church of Scientology and Netcom On-Line Communication Services settled a copyright dispute out of court. The dispute started when a vocal church critic posted church writings on a private bulletin board Netcom provides to subscribers. Netcom posted a warning telling subscribers not to use the service to "unlawfully distribute the intellectual property of others."
US farms are disappearing, and the ones left are getting bigger, a Census Bureau report says. The number of large farms increased from about 60,000 in 1969 to about 334,000 in 1992, according to "Large Farms are Thriving in the United States." During the same period, the total number of farms declined from 2.7 million to 1.9 million.
Two white teenagers were charged with arson for destroying a predominantly black church in Dillon, S. C. Their motive is unknown. More than 70 suspicious fires have occurred at properties owned by predominantly black congregations in the South since 1995. Evidence of racism was found at at least 18 of the fires, authorities say.
Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin reportedly agreed to pay $60 million to 13,000 residents of Burbank, Calif., who claimed their health and property values suffered from factory pollutants near Los Angeles. The deal is novel because it settled residents' claims in a private mediation process, not a lawsuit, The Los Angeles Daily News reported.
State drug agents raided the Cannabis Buyer's Club in San Francisco, where patients purchased marijuana with a doctor's note. The raid on the 11,000-member club targeted members who aren't using the drug for medicinal purposes, according to the state Justice Department.
Eight hunger strikers joined about 300 demonstrators in Los Angeles to protest proposed changes in the welfare system.
THE WORLD
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Amman, Jordan, that Israel is ready for peace with Syria. He said the way to get the stalled peace process moving is for the two countries to come to terms on their conflict in south Lebanon. Also, in his strongest opening to Syria, Netanyahu said he considers all issues open for negotiations - including the Golan Heights captured by Israel in 1967. Netanyahu said his government had submitted an unspecified peace proposal to Syria via the US and was awaiting an answer. He also announced he had decided to ease the ban on people from Palestinian-controlled areas working in Israel.
The EU met with Bosnian Croats and Muslims in the divided city of Mostar for make-or-break talks to end an election dispute. In previous talks, Bosnian Croats refused to accept election results that gave Muslims control of the city government. The EU, which has threatened to pull out of the city, was expected to make a decision on whether to withdraw. Also, NATO's new regional commander warned factional military leaders that future violations of the Dayton accord would be dealt with firmly.
South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for former President Chun Doo Hwan. They are also asking that former president and military leader Roh Tae Woo be sentenced to life in prison. Chun is being tried for treason and mutiny for a 1979 coup that brought him to power, and Roh is accused of helping him seize the presidency. While a guilty verdict is expected, it is unlikely the sentence will be carried out.
Sri Lanka's Army engaged Tamil Tiger rebels in a major battle as they advanced on the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi in the north. Nearly 203 rebels were killed in a fight that aid workers say left about 200,000 people homeless. The rebels and the defense ministry differed wildly on Army casualties: The Tigers claim to have killed 100 troops, while the Army says only 14 troops were killed.
France warned the US that the EU would retaliate against a new US law imposing sanctions on foreign companies that invest in Libya and Iran.
Somalia's top militia leader Mohamed Farrah Aideed, was succeeded by his son. Hussein Aideed was also named the country's interim president - a position his father claimed. His appointment ends speculation that Gen. Aideed's death might lead to peace among Somalia's warring factions.
Germany is seeking the extradition of former SS officer Karl Hass from Italy. Hass testified in the military trial of ex-Nazi captain Erich Priebke that he and Priebke took part in the massacre of 335 Italians near Rome in 1944. Germany is charging him for his role in the killings.
A Cairo court supported Islamic fundamentalists by throwing out an appeal by a happily married couple who must divorce because the husband was found to have renounced Islam. They have moved to the Netherlands, but must separate if they return to Egypt. Human rights groups attacked the original ruling, saying it posed a threat to Egypt's intellectual freedom.
The Philippines expects to sign a final peace agreement in Jakarta, Indonesia, within two weeks ending a 24-year fight for self-rule in the south by Muslims.
A powerful earthquake shook the Pacific around the Tonga Islands. The quake had a magnitude of 6.7, but hit the ocean floor rather than the islands. No damage was reported.
ETCETERAS
"No act of terrorism has ever destroyed the Olympic movement, and none ever will."
- International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch, speaking to a cheering crowd at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Japan's Kenichi Horie made the first solo trans-Pacific voyage in a solar-powered boat to try to boost environmental awareness. Made of recycled cans, the boat took four-months to reach Tokyo Bay from Ecuador.
A woman who couldn't turn on her computer called a technician saying, "I pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happened." Her "foot pedal" turned out to be the computer's mouse, says Woodside Asset Management of Menlo Park, Calif..
Olympic Results
Croatia won its first-ever gold medal - in team handball. Germany's Birgit Fischer won her eighth medal, tying an Olympic record for the most canoe and kayak medals. Ekaterina Serebryanskaya of Ukraine earned four perfect fives for her composition in rhythmic gymnastics to win the individual all-around gold medal. And these world records were set at Atlanta's Games:
Track and Field
Donovan Bailey (Canada), men's 100 meters, 9.84 seconds
Michael Johnson (US), men's 200 meters, 19.32 seconds
Shooting
Christian Klees (Germany), 50-meter free rifle prone, 704.8 points
Swimming
Denis Pankratov, Russia, men's 100-meter butterfly, 1:56.51
Jeff Rouse, Jeremy Linn, Mark Henderson, Gary Hall Jr. (US), men's 4x100-meter relay, 3:34.84
Weightlifting
Tang Ningsheng (China), 130-pound class, 678 lbs. (for two lifts: snatch and clean-and-jerk)
Naim Suleymanoglu (Turkey), 141-pound class, 738 lbs.
Zhan Xugung (China), 154-pound class, 788 lbs.
Pyrros Dimas (Greece), 183-pound class, 865.25 lbs.
Akakios Kakiasvilis (Greece), 218-pound class, 924 lbs.
Andrei Chemerkin (Russia), over 238-pound class, 1,008.5 lbs.
- Compiled by Ross Atkin