Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Headline Article Date: Sat, 31 Oct 92 14:00:15 EST Message-ID: \SE A;TOP OF THE NEWS;NATION \BY FROM WIRE DISPATCHES AND STAFF REPORTS S=NEW STORY Congress' leaders cite early TV calls Congressional leaders expressed concern to four major television networks yesterday that early projections of the presidential election result could reduce voter turnout while polls were still open on the West Coast. "We believe voters on both coasts should have the right to vote without having the strong suspicion that the election is 'over' and that their vote will make no difference to the outcome," they said in a letter to network chiefs. The letter was signed by two Democrats - House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell - and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole. S=NEW STORY Election tab nearing congressional record The race to reshape Congress is running up the largest tab in election history. The government reported yesterday that spending by the congressional candidates through mid-October jumped 25 percent from 1990 and easily exceeded the record pace of 1988. An expert on Congress at American University, James Thurber, predicted that turnover in Congress will set a post-World War II record. The average House incumbent has spent about $85,000 more in this election than in 1990. Spending was up $75 million from two years ago and $70.6 million from the 1988 election, the Federal Election Commission reported. The biggest spenders were from California. Republican challenger Michael Huffington, who is bankrolling his own $4 million bid, has spent the most in a House race; Democratic Rep. Barbara Boxer leads the Senate candidates with $8 million spent. S=NEW STORY GSA often splurged on bigwigs in New York Federal workers routinely provided unauthorized motorcade and security services to VIPs visiting New York and even drove officials to sporting events and Republican fund-raisers, says an investigative report released yesterday. The federal report documented 129 instances between June 1988 and December 1991 when General Services Administration employees provided transportation, communications, escort services and protection to dignitaries ranging from top Bush administration officials to a Vatican representative. The GSA manages the federal government's real estate, and the workers involved guard federal buildings. "Taxpayer money was being wasted on these trips, and GSA is primarily responsible for letting it go on as long as it did," said Sen. John Glenn, Ohio Democrat, who released the investigation by the GSA's inspector general. The practices have been stopped, Mr. Glenn said. S=NEW STORY As many as 13 dead in helicopter crash HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah - As many as 13 persons were killed in the crash of an Air Force helicopter into the Great Salt Lake, a law enforcement official said yesterday. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said searchers had recovered some of the bodies from the crash site, 13 miles west of northern Utah's Hill Air Force Base. The official couldn't say how many people were killed or how many bodies had been recovered. Some bodies were pushed by the tide and winds into deeper waters. Clusters of bodies were spotted from the air and recovered by crews in boats, the official said. The MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter from Florida crashed Thursday night about 100 yards from an island in the lake. Air Force spokesmen said they could not say how many people were aboard. The helicopter normally carries a crew of three and can carry 12 passengers. S=NEW STORY U.S. laboratory to buy Russian science SAN JOSE, Calif. - A federally funded weapons laboratory plans to sign agreements with 19 Russian research laboratories to buy the kind of information U.S. spy agencies unsuccessfully sought for years, a newspaper reported. If the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is successful, it would be the first time a U.S. weapons lab has bought information directly from the former adversary, the San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday. "We are not going to be sharing our science with them; we are going to be seeing what they are doing," said Bill DeGarmo, Lawrence Livermore's chief attorney. Russian scientists will be paid to write reports detailing their recent research, and the lab will purchase some hardware, including glass and crystals used in lasers, the newspaper reported. S=NEW STORY Astronomers observe developing galaxy PASADENA, Calif. - Astronomers believe they have seen a galaxy forming, a NASA scientist says. Scientists have searched since the 1960s for galaxies in their formative stages and have found what appears to be a protogalaxy, said Peter Eisenhardt of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The galaxy, designated B2 0902+34, is more than 10 billion light years away in the constellation Lynx. Mr. Eisenhardt and Mark Dickinson, a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, spotted the galaxy from Arizona's Kitt Peak National Observatory. A report of their study will be published in the Nov. 1 issue of Astrophysical Journal-Letters. S=NEW STORY Teen sues school over picture of Jesus BLOOMINGDALE, Mich. - A teen-ager has sued his public high school to demand the removal of a painting of Jesus that's been hanging in a hallway for about 30 years. Eric Pensinger, a 17-year-old senior, and his mother, Dott Washegesic, filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court. Kalamazoo lawyer Susan Fall, who is representing Mr. Pensinger on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the religious art in a publicly funded school is a clear violation of the state and U.S. constitutions. Schools Superintendent Thomas Hoke said the Bloomingdale Board of Education, also named in the suit, will discuss the issue at its Nov. 23 meeting. "We hang up pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and it doesn't seem that detrimental to hang a picture of Jesus Christ up," board President James Dickerson said. S=NEW STORY Firetruck hits bus, injuring 30 persons ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A firetruck crashed into a bus carrying elementary school students yesterday, injuring 30 persons, a school district official said. Twenty-four children were taken to hospitals; most had scrapes, cuts and bruises. One child appeared to have serious injuries, said Mike Robinson, a school district official. Mr. Robinson said four firefighters and two adults also were injured. Several firefighters were trapped in the damaged firetruck for some time. The accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. when the firetruck, responding to a call, apparently ran into the bus, which tipped over. Parents were told to go to the elementary school to find out if their children had been injured. About 50 children were on the bus, Mr. Robinson said. S=NEW STORY The Citadel told to admit women COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Citadel should admit women to its all-male corps of cadets to avoid a court fight the military college would lose, state Higher Education Commissioner Fred Sheheen said in a report released yesterday. He wants the commission to vote next week to urge The Citadel to admit women. But while it can recommend the action, it has no legal authority to enforce it. Three female veterans have sued the school for access to some of its classes. That trial is scheduled for February. Mr. Sheheen cited this month's 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Virginia Military Institute need not admit women, but that the state must have other opportunities for the same type of education. VMI is the only other state-run, all-male military academy. S=NEW STORY Casino worker returns $6,800 found on sink ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Doris Slakman wasn't having a good day at the blackjack tables. It got worse when she went into the ladies' room, set an envelope with $6,800 in $100 bills on the sink and forgot it. The retired secretary from New York City thought early Thursday she could kiss the cash goodbye. Instead, an hour later, she was hugging and kissing casino worker Kiu Tang, who found the bundle and turned it in. "I thanked her with all my heart for being so honest," said Miss Slakman, who gave Miss Tang a $100 reward, as did the Claridge Casino Hotel. Miss Tang said she was scared when she saw the money and didn't even want to touch it. "I didn't take it because it's not my money," Miss Tang, who is Vietnamese, said through an interpreter. "I was so scared when I saw that money, but in my heart I feel good." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM