Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.news From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: news Tue, May 5 1992 Date: Tue, 5 May 92 05:31:47 EDT Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update May 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network KING CASE JUROR SPEAKS: A juror in the Rodney King case broke his anguished silence Monday, saying "I couldn't have done a better job." Christopher C. Morgan described the five days of wrenching pain since he and fellow jurors freed four L.A. policemen. "At this point in time I would have rather taken the beating myself than to go through this and put my family through this," said Morgan, breaking into tears. L.A. RETURNS TO NORMAL: Children returned to schools, rush hour traffic was clogged with workers driving toward skyscrapers, and a moderate earthquake rattled nerves in Los Angeles. The USA's second largest city was near normal Monday. But the 10,500 National Guard, Army and Marine troops were still present with their armored vehicles and M-16s. Most curfews were lifted, though a few were in effect. CHECK PROBE LEADER QUITS: The House member who led the probe of the bank scandal and released the names of fellow members who bounced checks called it quits Monday. "I am grateful for having the opportunity," said Rep. Matthew McHugh, D-N.Y., who headed the House ethics committee. McHugh, 53, who wrote one overdraft himself, said he will leave this year because of the "impediments to change" blocking action. ABC TO TRY PAY-PER-VIEW: ABC will experiment next fall with a pay-per-view lineup of college football games. But the move falls far short of what experts say is the full potential for pay-per-view sports events. And Notre Dame - the biggest nationwide TV draw in college football - has its own TV deal with NBC. The pay-per-view experiment is aimed mainly at those wanting to see a different regional game. SUPPORT FOR BUSH PLUNGES: Support for President Bush has dropped sharply following the Los Angeles riots, putting him in a dead heat with Democrat Bill Clinton, according to a new Times-Mirror poll. If independent Ross Perot is in the mix, it's a tie. Bush would beat Clinton 46% to 43% - within the 3-point margin of error - in a two-way race. Adding Perot, Bush fell to 33%; Perot and Clinton tied with 30%. GATES' RESIGNATION CALLED FOR: The post-riot era began with an old refrain Monday: Demands that Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates resign immediately. "We're calling for the police commission and the City Council to suspend him for dereliction of duties," says Ramona Ripston of the American Civil Liberties Union. A decision in the Rodney King case was to have closed the chapter. But repercussions still echo. BUSH LIKELY TO ATTEND SUMMIT: The White House endorsed Monday an emerging U.N. treaty aimed at arresting global warming, virtually assuring that President Bush will attend the Earth Summit June 3-14 in Brazil. The White House endorsement came on a day when the Gallup organization released a 22-nation poll citing environmental protection as one of the world's "major concerns." REAGAN GIVES GORBACHEV AWARD: Mikhail Gorbachev, who stared down Ronald Reagan in Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday smiled as Reagan honored his old adversary with the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award for "significant contributions to freedom." Gorbachev, in the USA since Saturday, criticized Russian President Boris Yeltsin's fast-paced economic reform. Only brief mention was made of the Los Angeles riots. EXECUTION STAY ATTEMPTED: Last-minute legal efforts are under way to stop Florida from executing Nollie Lee Martin, a mentally impaired death row inmate scheduled for electrocution Wednesday morning. Lawyers filed three separate legal actions in Florida courts. A state judge late Monday denied the appeal but Martin's lawyers plan on appealing to the Supreme Court. Martin murdered a woman during a 1977 store robbery. CLINTON VISITS LOS ANGELES: Bill Clinton in Los Angeles Wednesday said his visit was motivated not by politics but because "the real issue is whether Americans can make something good come out of Los Angeles." The Democratic presidential hopeful has drawn criticism from Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp for suggesting that Republican policies had led to the rioting. CHILLY IN THE EAST: A chilly low-pressure system will send nippy weather back into the East Tuesday. Cold rain will douse the mid-Atlantic region from Washington, D.C., to New York and westward from Pennsylvania to Maryland. Afternoon thunderstorms will whip through Arizona, New Mexico and California. Morning fog will yield to afternoon sunshine along the California coast. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3378.13, after closing up 42.04 Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 229.42, up 2.22. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 391.61, up 1.83. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 583.54, up 5.40. News Editor: Beth Mann. (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