Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.news,americast.usa-today.news From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: news Thu, Sep 24 1992 Date: Thu, 24 Sep 92 04:37:35 EDT Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update Sept. 24, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BUSH OFFERS TO HELP SMALL FIRMS: President Bush Wednesday proposed a $20 billion package of tax breaks, regulatory relief and investment incentives to benefit small businesses. His proposals include allowing 100% deductability for health insurance costs and eliminating capital gains taxes on newly-issued stock in small business. The proposals would be financed by Bush's recommended spending cuts. R.I. GOV. AVOIDS GAG RULE: Rhode Island Gov. Bruce Sundlun has told the federal government that abortion clinics in his state will give up $364,000 in federal money rather than comply with a Bush Administration "gag rule" - starting Oct. 1 - on abortion counseling. Sundlun, an abortion rights supporter, said Wednesday counselors in state clinics that receive federal funds will continue to tell clients about abortion. PANEL CALLED `PEACE ACTIVISTS': Henry Kissinger on Wednesday charged that the Senate committee investigating the fate of Vietnam War POWs is run by "peace activists ... trying to prove everything that was done was a lie." In his speech at The Freedom Forum, he called the investigation a "mud-slinging campaign of who did what to whom." It follows his clash Tuesday with the Senate Select Committee on POW-MIA Affairs. REPORT SLAMS NAVY COMMITTEE: The Naval Investigative Service, slammed in a report out Thursday on the Tailhook scandal, was already under criticism for bungling high-profile cases, including the gun turret explosion aboard the battleship Iowa. The Pentagon Inspector General's report draws attention to complaints that the NIS is inept. It was accused of bungling a security violations probe at Moscow's U.S. Embassy. DANIELLE HEADS INWARD: Coastal areas in Virginia and North Carolina could get rough weather. Whether it is Tropical Storm Danielle doing the damage should be known sometime Thursday. Danielle, with winds of about 45 mph, was centered about 125 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., early Wednesday evening. Cooler, drier air from the north could quiet the storm, though forecasters say it could survive. SENATE MOVES FOR HEALTH REFORM: The Senate took a preliminary step toward health-care reform Wednesday, voting to impose federal standards on group insurance policies and to limit increases in premiums. The amendment was added by voice vote to a $32.5 billion tax bill. The bill's fate is in doubt because President Bush has declined to tell lawmakers whether he will accept some of the measure's tax increases. SENATE CUTS SDI REQUEST: The Senate approved Wednesday a $250 billion Pentagon spending bill for the coming year that sharply cuts President Bush's request for the Strategic Defense Initiative. Endorsed on a vote of 86-10, the measure now goes to a House-Senate negotiating committee to work out differences between the two chambers' versions. FLU SHOT TARGET IS OCTOBER: Because last year's flu season arrived early and caught the nation off guard, federal health officials have now permanently changed the optimum time to begin receiving flu shots from November to mid-October. The measure is purely preventative: They expect flu will come on time in December this year, but want to be prepared for future early-bird viruses. ECONOMY STILL LOOKS WEAK: Reports from around the nation show the economy is still stuck in low gear, the Federal Reserve says in its last look at the economy before the Nov. 3 presidential election. In a Wednesday release, sales fell or lagged in Southern California, Chicago and New England. The Fed did find improving conditions around Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Richmond, Va. ALZHEIMER'S TEST NEARS: People soon may be tested for their risk of Alzheimer's disease much like people have cholesterol checked for heart disease, new research suggests. A simple early detection test for a substance called beta amyloid protein may lead to ways in the next decade of reducing the risk of Alzheimer's once it's been found, researchers say in studies in Thursday's Nature and Science magazines. STRIKE PREPARED IN PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia city workers are preparing for a potentially violent strike in response to Mayor Ed Rendell's cost cutting efforts. Rendell, trying to erase losses of $2 million a week, carried out his threat Wednesday to impose harsh cost savings measures on city workers. The plan includes a pay freeze, less time off, a new health plan and a reduction in union power. UNMARRIED COUPLES EARN RIGHTS: Unmarried couples who work for Massachusetts state government will have comparable bereavement and hospital visitation rights as married couples under an executive order signed Wednesday by Gov. William Weld. It is believed to be the first time a state has extended such benefits to same-sex partners and unmarried heterosexual couples. CAMPGROUNDS FIND BUBONIC PLAGUE: Two California campgrounds have been closed after officials found a mouse that died of bubonic plague. No visitors at the Azalea and Crystal Springs campgrounds in Kings Canyon National Park - 250 miles southeast of San Francisco - have been infected with the disease that killed millions in Europe in the 14th century. Parks might not reopen for a month. KLANSMEN FACE 10-YEAR SENTENCE: Three Alabama Ku Klux Klansmen were convicted Wednesday of federal civil rights violations for burning a cross in the yard of a black family that had moved into an all-white community. Steve Stone, 38, Christopher Daniel, 30, and Dennis Stewart, 24, face 10 years in prison for the 1991 fire at Isaah and Linda Ruffin's Albertville, Ala., home. Sentencing: Nov. 4. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens at 3278.69 Thursday after closing down 2.16 Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 229.42, down 0.06. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 379.91, down 1.08. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 582.96, down 0.04. COOL AND WET THROUGH DEEP SOUTH: Cold weather and showers will cover northern Florida and the Gulf coast Thursday. The Carolinas, Alabama and parts of northern Georgia get clouds and showers. The rest of the East has a beautiful fall day. Expect sun and brisk winds across the Plains. High temperatures are expected from eastern Colorado through western Nebraska, the Dakotas. Southern, central Rockies are warm. 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