Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.news From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: news Thu, Jun 25 1992 Date: Thu, 25 Jun 92 05:35:29 EDT Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update June 25, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SCHOOL PRAYER BAN WIDENED: In a surprise ruling, the Supreme Court said officially sanctioned prayers or invocations at public school graduations are unconstitutional. The 5-4 decision may be felt immediately - graduation season at public elementary and secondary schools is well under way. The decision could reignite the campaign for a constitutional amendment allowing school prayer. COURT ALLOWS CIGARETTE SUITS: A Supreme Court ruling Wednesday clears the way for a new wave of lawsuits against cigarette makers for smoking-related death and illness. Under the 7-2 decision, victims' suits for the first time will be able to claim in state court that manufacturers used fraud and deception in marketing cigarettes as safe. But the court also foreclosed other types of lawsuits against tobacco companies. STRIKE SPARKS ECONOMIC FEARS: The nationwide rail and freight service strike Wednesday set off a flurry of warnings the economic recovery could be derailed if it continues. White House economist Michael Boskin said losses could hit $1 billion a day and "disrupt the economy." Bargaining talks continued in Washington. Congress, which halted last year's rail strike after only 19 hours, appears reluctant to intervene now. SOME THINK MONEY TALKS: Hundreds of campaign contributors seem to think that money talks. A USA TODAY:NBC News poll of 750 people who've given at least $200 to the George Bush or Bill Clinton campaign finds nearly half believe their contribution would get them top-level access. Most - 78% - said they gave for ideological reasons. But 48% thought their donation would get them a meeting with a top aide. DOCTORS VOTE TO POST PRICES: Doctors should make their prices available to patients up front, the American Medical Association said Wednesday. Doctors at the AMA's policy meeting in Chicago voted to make fees for common procedures more public. They also want pharmacies and medical device firms to follow suit. People don't order meals without seeing the prices, said AMA trustee Dr. Lonnie Bristow. FETAL RESEARCH VETO UPHELD: The House Wednesday failed to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would have allowed research use of fetal tissue from elective abortions, thus preserving the president's 30-0 veto record. The House's failure to override the veto, Bush's seventh on an abortion-related issue, raises doubts about the Democrats' ability to pass a bill guaranteeing abortion rights. BAKER HOPEFUL OF TALKS: Once-frosty relations between Washington and Jerusalem seemed warmer Wednesday, one day after Yitzhak Rabin's stunning victory over Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. Two years of tortured diplomacy ended as Secretary of State James Baker - who had pushed Shamir to the Mideast peace table after the Persian Gulf war - said he hoped talks will resume "just as soon as it is conveniently possible." SADDAM'S POSITION TENUOUS: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's position in the country is tenuous and risky, said Assistant Secretary of State Edward Djerejian. "One cannot predict when he might be toppled. Indeed, it might come suddenly," Djerejian told a House Foreign Affairs panel. He was responding to questions about a reported intelligence assessment that Saddam was now stronger than he was a year ago. LIBYA'S OFFER NOT ENOUGH: Libya's offer to turn over two Pan Am bombing suspects to the Arab League or the United Nations falls far short of U.N. Security Council demands, the State Department said Wednesday. Spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler pointed out that the council required that the two be turned over for trial either in Scotland or in the United States. KING SETTLEMENT DISCUSSED: Negotiations were continuing on a possible settlement of Los Angeles police beating victim Rodney King's lawsuit against the city. Council members discussed the case privately with their lawyer, Jim Hahn, who would say only that talks were "ongoing." News reports peg the proposed settlement at $10 million to $15 million, to be paid King over a period of years. CITIES NEED FED AID, SAY MAYORS: U.S. cities are "the orphans of the Cold War" badly in need of federal assistance, the nation's mayors said Wednesday. Ending the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Houston, the mayors urged President Bush and Congress to follow through on recent attention to urban issues. William Althaus of York, Pa., succeeded Raymond Flynn of Boston as head of the group. FLORIDA SOAKING WET: Heavy rains will again hammer parts of Florida Thursday, bringing possible flooding. Sun will grace parts of the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest. In the Plains, the north will be fair and cool, and the south hot and sticky. The desert Southwest will be steamy, with some highs topping 110 degrees. Late storms will pound the Great Basin, northern California and southern Oregon. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Thursday at 3290.70 after closing up 5.08 Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 221.81, down 0.18. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 374.20, down 2.54. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 551.40, down 1.97. News Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM