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 Fri, Oct 9 1992 Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 04:40:11 EDT Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update Oct. 9-11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BUSH EXPECTED TO VETO TAX BILL: A $27 billion tax bill that challenges President Bush's anti-tax pledge Friday awaits his expected veto. The Senate, in the final act of the 102nd Congress, voted 67-22 Thursday for a package of tax breaks and increases that stands little chance of enactment. Republican opponents said that Bush is unlikely to break his latest vow to "never, ever" increase taxes. USAIR LABOR PACT SIGNED: USAir expects to return to full strength by Monday pending approval of a new labor pact with 8,300 machinists. A tentative agreement was reached Thursday after a 22-hour negotiating session to end the four-day-old strike. If the pact is approved, USAir will fly all of its jets and end delays and canceled flights by Monday. USAir is expected to lose $275 million this year. HOLIDAY SALES PREDICTED: Price cutting rescued the back-to-school season for retailers, meaning more markdowns are likely for the holidays. A Salomon Bros. index of 15 major retailers showed an average 7.5% jump in September revenue, the biggest increase since April. "Retailers will increase promotional activity as we get into the fourth quarter," says Wayne Hood of Prudential Securities. MORE WHITES BENEFIT FROM AID: Whites use government safety-net programs more than blacks or Hispanics and are twice as likely as minorities to be lifted out of poverty by help they get, says the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Washington, D.C., think tank, in a report out Friday, says that in 1991 government aid lifted 45% of poor whites out of poverty, compared to just 20% of blacks. POOR MORE LIKELY TO BE WHITE: Half of the USA's 35.7 million poor people are white, 29% of the poor are black, 18% are Hispanic, says a report out Friday. Even in urban areas, there are four poor whites for every three poor blacks and every two poor Hispanics, says the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. However, a larger percentage of minorities are poor - 32.7% of blacks, 28.7% of Hispanics, 9.4% of whites. VEHICLE CRASHES COST $137.5M: Motor vehicle crashes cost the nation $137.5 billion in 1990, says a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report. Each of 1990's 44,531 fatalities cost an average of $702,281 in lost wages, medical and other bills. Also: 5.4 million people were injured in crashes; 28 million vehicles damaged. Property damage had the largest share of costs, medical expenses were next. CANDIDATES SQUARE OFF SUNDAY: The three presidential challengers meet in St. Louis Sunday for a 7 p.m. ET debate that will be caried by all TV networks for 90 minutes. The latest USA TODAY:CNN:Gallup tracking poll has Clinton leading Bush 50%-34%, a 16-point margin with less than four weeks to go. Perot trails with 9% - virtually unchanged from a week ago when Perot returned to the race. Margin of error: 3% MORE RESERVE CUTS WANTED: Army Secretary Michael Stone criticized Congress Thursday for demanding the retention of tens of thousands of Army reserve and National Guard troops the Pentagon wanted to drop in the current spending bill. "There is no national purpose served" by keeping so many reserves, Stone said. The Pentagon asked for a reduction of 116,000. Congress approved cutting only 39,000. SENATOR SCHEDULED FOR SURGERY: Sen. Terry Sanford, D-N.C., will undergo heart surgery Friday in Durham, N.C., but intends to press ahead with his bid for a second term. Sanford, 75, had a bacterial infection of a heart valve earlier this summer and was treated with antibiotics. But the infection persisted and the heart valve must be replaced. EXXON CLEANUP CRITICIZED: One year after a $1 billion settlement for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, officials have spent about $270 million - but "not one penny" to correct environmental damage, a report says. Restoration efforts are mired "in a tar pit of bureaucracy and red tape," says David Gardiner of the Sierra Club. The report says the money went to administration and a $50 million "kickback" to Exxon. BOSTON MAYOR APPEALS FOR PEACE: Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn Thursday appealed to community leaders for calm following a bloody week that has claimed seven lives. Meanwhile, a local judge urged the National Guard be called in to control the city's most violent areas. Police say many shootings are gang-related. PREPARE FOR A RAINY DAY: A storm system continues to bring a mix of showers and thunderstorms to the upper Midwest, Great Lakes and through much of the Atlantic Seaboard this weekend. Across the Great Plains, partly cloudy skies will blanket northern and central areas with temps in the 50s and 60s. Coastal California will see another warming trend this weekend with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. DOLLAR OPENS UP OVERSEAS: The dollar opens up on Friday. It opens at 0.5951 British pounds, up from 0.5838; 5.0190 French francs, up from 4.9060; 1.4790 German marks, up from 1.4470; and 121.50 Japanese yen, up from 120.27. (As of 3 p.m. Thursday. Source: First American Bank of New York.) News Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. 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