Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!tamsun.tamu.edu!mtecv2!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Newsgroups: usa-today.news,americast.usa-today.news Subject: news Fri, Aug 28 1992 Message-ID: Date: 28 Aug 92 08:57:03 GMT Organization: American Cybercasting Lines: 143 Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update Aug. 28-30, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ISRAEL WAITS FOR RESPONSE: Arab diplomats said Thursday they see no sign Israel is ready to match words with actions during the Washington peace talks. But Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi didn't suggest an impasse was near. The Israeli delegation, meanwhile, is waiting for a response from the Palestinian on its plan for Palestinian self-rule in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. BUSH BOOSTS DISASTER AID: President Bush is boosting disaster aid, including sending federal troops, after a storm of complaints that the government isn't doing enough for victims of Hurricane Andrew. "Help is on the way," Bush said Thursday. Bush canceled a weekend trip to Maine and a two-day campaign trip to the West to monitor the relief effort. Andrew's death toll hit 27 Thursday. TROOPS, EXPERTS HEADING SOUTH: On the way to Florida and Louisiana are 2,000 to 5,000 troops and a team of logistical experts to decide where to send specialists. Infantry soliders will help with construction. And 4,690 Florida National Guard forces, already providing security, will stay on duty. Reports continued Thursday of high prices for supplies, including five gallons of water going for $10. U.S. AWAITS SADDAM RESPONSE: U.S. officials are watching to see if Saddam Hussein challenges allied planes patrolling a "no-fly zone" in south Iraq. The ban is identical to a protective air zone over the Kurds in northern Iraq. In Baghdad, a government statement hinted Saddam might launch a military response. Pentagon spokesman Bob Hall says none of 40 Iraqi flights Thursday near the zone crossed the line. TROOPS TO BOSNIA INCREASED: The U.N. announced Thursday it was sending more troops to safeguard aid convoys in Bosnia and European defense officials stepped up pressure on Serbia with calls for a sanction-enforcing blockade. Troops could increase from 1,600 to 8,000. Defense and foreign ministers of the nine-member Western European Union will consider a full naval blockade of Serbia at a meeting Friday. TEACHERS SALARIES BARELY RISE: Teachers' salaries grew by 3.6% to an average $34,213 for the 1991-92 school year, the American Federation of Teachers survey out Thursday says. While average salaries rose in 48 states, the national percentage increase is the lowest in 27 years, it says. Highest pay is in Connecticut, which raised salaries 7% to an average $47,510. South Dakota is lowest with a $23,291 average. SCHOOLS GET FAIR GRADES: The 24th annual Gallup Poll of Public Attitudes Toward Schools shows the attitude that "everybody's school is bad but mine" - a major obstacle to education reform. The closer people get to a school, the better they like is. Only 18% of adults polled this year give schools nationally an `A' or `B' grade. Money replaced drugs as top problem in the minds of public school parents. BUSH ATTACKS `FEARMONGER': President Bush aimed his toughest attack yet at Bill Clinton Thursday by suggesting Clinton was a "fearmonger" whose protectionist policies would risk U.S. jobs. A preview of the fall campaign, it was Bush's first speech that bore the mark of Chief of Staff James Baker. Bush called Clinton's foreign investment tax "dangerous" because it may invite retaliatory tariffs. CLINTON APPEALS TO TEXAS: Bill Clinton launched an all-out assault Thursday on Texas, a Republican stronghold state, as he accused President Bush of being "in the tank for his wealthy friends," and tried to head off criticism of his support for handgun control. Clinton got warm welcomes in Austin and San Antonio and was endorsed by the 12,000-member Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. INCOME GRAP INCREASES: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study out Friday says the income gap grew in all but a handful of states during the 1980s. The disparity between rich and poor increased as did that between rich and middle class. The poorest families lost an average of $350 in income in the '80s, while families in the middle of the income distribution gained $140 and those at the top gained $7,200. TAX RELIEF AVAILABLE: Immediate tax relief is available to people harmed by Hurricane Andrew. If you live in one of the federally declared disaster areas and have an uninsured casualty loss, you can deduct it by filing an amended 1991 federal tax return and get a refund now - instead of waiting until next year to file a 1992 return. To get the refund, you need to file Form 1040X. For information, call 1-800-829-1040. ANOTHER BLACK JUDGE ALLOWED: District Attorney Ira Reiner, accused of racism for removing a black judge from the racially-charged Reginald Denny beating trial, offered Thursday to allow another black judge to preside over the case. Reiner is asking defense lawyers to agree to transfer the case to Superior Court Judge Donald Pitts, who works in predominantly black Compton. CALIF. BUDGET IN WORKS: Legislators have gone behind closed doors to come up with an answer to California's budget fiasco, now in its 59th day. With the legislative session due to end Monday, both Senate Republican leader Ken Maddy and President Pro Tem David Roberti, a Democrat, are working on a secret compromise plan. That plan could come up for a Senate vote Friday. WEATHER THREATENS FIRES: An army of firefighters raced Thursday to get the upper hand on seven mammoth fires that have scorched 362,815 acres in California and Idaho. Cool weather early in the day helped. But hot, dry weekend weather threatens to rekindle blazes. In California, firefighters struggled with a fire northeast of Redding that threatened homes. Damage is estimated at $8.4 million. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Friday at 3254.64 after closing up 7.83 Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 227.73, up 0.25. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 381.00, up 1.35. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 563.27, up 4.47. COOL RELIEF FOR SOUTHEAST: Cool, dry air will sweep the Southeast this weekend, while soggy conditions plague the Northeast. The eastern Great Lakes will be cool and showery, gradually improving by Saturday. Sunshine will stretch across the Plains and Mississippi Valley. The western USA will be dry and warm, though late-day thunderstorms will dot the Rockies and Great Basin. The Pacific Northwest will be dry, mild. News Editor: Kate Coughlin. (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