Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!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 19 1992 Date: Tue, 19 May 92 05:21:11 EDT Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: News USA TODAY Update May 19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ARCHIVIST SAYS AMENDMENT PASSED: A Constitutional amendment proposed in 1789 was certified Monday by Archivist Don Wilson as having been ratified by three-fourths of the states. Congress says it must approve a resolution before it's final. The 27th Amendment: "No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." JURY FINDS WAR DEATHS UNLAWFUL: A British coroner's jury Monday ruled that nine British soldiers mistakenly rocketed by U.S. pilots were "unlawfully" killed in one of the Persian Gulf War's worst "friendly fire" incidents. The jury assigned no blame for the 1991 incident in which two A-10 pilots mistook two British armored vehicles for enemy tanks in Iraq. The Pentagon said testifying would add to U.S. pilots' grief. HALCION RECOMMENDATIONS MADE: The sleeping pill Halcion should remain on the market but with stronger warnings about high doses and extended use, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said Monday. The FDA usually follows such recommendations. Evidence suggested that Halcion is more likely than similar drugs to produce anxiety or memory lapses, but data on more serious side effects was inconclusive. MORE LOOK TO GUNS, NRA: The recent riots in Los Angeles have sparked a widespread increase in gun sales and renewed interest in the National Rifle Association. The group says it is signing up more than 1,500 new members a day, a trend that began last fall. Since the riots, 1 in 10 callers to the NRA have cited the riots as their top concern. Gun control advocates are pleading for restraint. COLEMAN SUPPORTERS PLEAD: Supporters of Virginia death row inmate Roger Keith Coleman, 33, are making a last-minute plea for information that might prove his innocence and halt Wednesday's execution. The plea comes after Gov. Douglas Wilder denied clemency Monday despite a flurry of publicity that cast doubt on whether Coleman killed sister-in-law Wanda McCoy 11 years ago in Grundy. BILL OK'S GAYS IN MILITARY: House members introduce a bill Tuesday to stop the Pentagon from discharging homosexual men and women. The Pentagon says being gay is "incompatible with military service." But gay activists say that stand is not fair. Reps. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., and Barney Frank, D-Mass. - both acknowledged gays - join Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., in introducing a bill to forbid such discrimination. BUSH, NAZARBAYEV TALK MISSILES: President Bush and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev Tuesday meet for lunch at the White House to discuss Kazak participation in the strategic arms reduction treaty. Kazakhstan was one of the four nuclear powers that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union last year. Monday, Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan is ready to turn over its nuclear missiles to Russia. DOCUMENTS TO BE FLOWN OUT: U.S. military planes are about to fly an estimated 30 tons of documents out of northern Iraq that Kurdish leaders say prove Iraq tortured and executed tens of thousands of Kurds, human rights official Kenneth Roth said Monday. The documents were seized from Iraqi secret police. "I don't have a lot of specifics for you," the State Department's Margaret Tutwiler said when questioned. BUSH OFFICIALS NEEDED WAIVERS: Secretary of State James Baker, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and then-chief of staff John Sununu had to get conflict-of-interest waivers in 1990 to discuss the Persian Gulf war. The White House said Monday the waivers were needed so President Bush could consult advisers who held financial interests in potentially affected industries. BIRTH RATE AT SCHOOL SOARS: Progressive Adams City High in Commerce City, Colo., three years ago adopted a controversial teen parenting program that included handing out condoms. Since then, the birth rate has soared to 31% above the national average. This year, more than 100 births are expected. That's left people at this school, recognized throughout Colorado as cutting edge, searching for explanations. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3376.03 after closing up 22.94 points Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 227.59, up 1.28. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 391.52, up 1.15. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 576.54, up 2.10. COOL WEATHER IN THE ROCKIES: A Pacific cold front will whip through the Rockies, ending its unseasonably warm weather. Showers will dampen the Northwest. Cooler air will cover California, with a few storms in the northern parts of the state. Sun is on tap for the northern and central Plains eastward through the Midwest and Great Lakes. Record high temperatures are expected in the Midwest. News Editor: Michele Coleman. (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