Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.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 Wed, Oct 21 1992 Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 04:30:09 EDT Message-ID: Lines: 132 DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update Oct. 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network VOTER INTEREST IS UP: If the presidential debates - and this campaign - were TV miniseries, they'd be a hit. More than 90 million people tuned in to Monday's debate on the major networks. A record 80% of voters are giving the election "a lot of thought," reports the latest USA TODAY:CNN:Gallup poll. At this time in 1988, only 69% were that interested. Analysts predict a higher turnout than in 1988. CLINTON HAS NO `MAGIC WAND': Bill Clinton has no "magic wand" to cure the economy, according to a top aide who's trying to downplay expectations about his economic plans. Clinton economic adviser Rob Shapiro also said Tuesday he wants to reinforce Clinton's commitment to deficit reduction, and douse speculation Clinton plans to hike the deficit to boost the economy. BUSH'S NUMBERS GO LOWER: President Bush has his work cut out for him. The latest USA TODAY:CNN:Gallup tracking poll shows Bush dipping to a new low, 29%. The three-day survey was completed Monday night, with too few responses after the debate to measure accurately the event's impact. Margin of error: 3%. State polls, often more significant than national numbers, also show little movement for Bush. PRESSURE PUT ON BUSH TO SIGN: Pressure is mounting on President Bush to rethink his vow to "never, ever" raise taxes and sign the $27 billion tax bill. Conservative Republicans and hundreds of corporations and interest groups are pressing Bush to sign it, citing reductions that would benefit low- and moderate-income taxpayers and corporations. The White House is strongly leaning toward veto. BREAST CANCER, FAT UNLINKED: After nearly 10 years of warning women too much fat in the diet may cause breast cancer, doctors are now saying never mind. Results of Harvard's Nurses Health Study, involving 89,494 women, all but rule out a link between dietary fat and breast tumors. The study also finds no reduction in breast cancer from eating more fiber. MILLIONS DRINKING BAD WATER: Millions of people are being supplied with water containing unhealthy levels of poisonous lead, shows an EPA study of 130 water systems. Some of the nation's biggest water supplies exceed new federal guidelines, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Phoenix. The highest level was found in Charleston, S.C., with lead 14 times higher than allowable. EARTHQUAKE IS PREDICTED: Scientists issued a first-ever earthquake prediction Tuesday, warning residents in seven counties in central California to brave for a powerful shaker by late Thursday. "We're predicting a 6, but it could be stronger," says geophysicist David Oppenheimer of the U.S. Geological Survey. The odds: A 37% chance a quake will hit. CHICAGO TARGETS CABRINI-GREEN: Chicago began a new effort to clean up the Cabrini-Green public housing project Tuesday. Mayor Richard M. Daley directed a massive and controversial search for weapons. Police also plan to: shut first-floor apartments and move their occupants to new locations; require tenant identification cards for entry; limit access with turnstiles and metal detectors; and hire armed guards. VIETNAMESE RELEASE DOCUMENTS: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and John Vessey, President Bush's special emissary for POW-MIA affairs, returned from talks with Vietnamese officials Tuesday. McClain says they received documentation that "will go a long way in resolving many cases still listed as missing in action." The documentation is said to include 4,000 photographs of U.S. servicemen killed during the war. JAPAN CONSUL TALKS TO LA. GOV.: Japan's Consul General Yasuhiro Hamada of New Orleans met Tuesday with Gov. Edwin Edwards to discuss the shooting death of a Japanese exchange student. Yoshihiro Hattori was shot to death Sunday when he and a friend stopped at the wrong house while looking for a party and did not heed the homeowner's order to "freeze." The killing has caused outrage in Japan. NEW DRUNK DRIVING NORM WANTED: Most states should allow for a drunken driving conviction when a motorist's blood-alcohol level reaches 0.08%, a tighter standard than the .10% used in 45 states, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday. The 0.08% standard is already used in five states: California, Maine, Oregon, Utah and Vermont. CAUSE OF JET CRASHES FOUND: The FAA told Dutch officials Tuesday the probable cause of two Boeing 747 cargo jet crashes appears to be a structural failure of the system connecting the No. 3 engine pylon to the wing. The problem probably isn't confined to cargo planes, the FAA said. Airlines have been told to inspect commercial 747s for the problem. The two crashes were in Amsterdam Oct. 4 and Taiwan in December. THREE TO SPLIT MONORAIL FUNDS: Three monorail competitors - San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit System, Milwaukee County, Wis., and Montgomery County, Md. -will split about $1 million for preliminary design work on a controversial transit system, the federal government announced Tuesday. Next spring, the Federal Transit Administration will pick one of them to proceed with the experimental system. SNOW LINGERS IN THE NORTHEAST: Snow will blanket parts of the Northeast Wednesday as temperatures dip into the 30s. In the Great Lakes, sunshine and warmer temperatures will return. Clouds are expected to cover the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with temperatures ranging from the 50s to the 80s. Pleasant weather will prevail in the Gulf Coast region, although southern Florida may see a few showers. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens at 3186.02 Wednesday after closing down 2.43 Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 228.58, up 0.34. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 371.40, up 2.86. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 592.70, up 2.03. News Editor: Ed Kelleher. (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. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM