Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service articles from May 1999

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service archives from May 1999

COLORADO SCHOOL SHOOTING INVESTIGATION CONTINUES.
May 2, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Add to News Budget for Friday, April 30, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com News desk supervisor: Nation & World Editor Sharon Buck, 202-383-6087, sbuck(AT)krtinfo.com KRT...

JESSE JACKSON MEETS WITH CAPTIVE U.S. SOLDIERS, SAYS THEY'RE OK.
May 2, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service News Budget for Friday, April 30, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com News desk supervisor: Nation & World Editor Sharon Buck, 202-383-6087, sbuck(AT)krtinfo.com KRT Photo...

NATO PREPARES FOR BIGGEST ATTACKS YET; JACKSON MEETS WITH U.S. PRISONERS.
May 2, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Add to News Budget for Friday, April 30, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com News desk supervisor: Nation & World Editor Sharon Buck, 202-383-6087, sbuck(AT)krtinfo.com KRT...

Presidential candidacies and Web sites to hand-in-hand.
May 2, 1999... WASHINGTON _ In Campaign 2000, democracy is just a mouse click away. And presidential politics will never be the same. Want to ask Vice President Al Gore about Kosovo? Volunteer for Elizabeth Dole? All without leaving your home or office?...

For Jim McKay, no place has produced as many human reactions as the winner's stand at the Kentucky Derby.
May 2, 1999... During his decades traveling the world covering sports for ABC Sports, Jim McKay has been in many memorable venues, covering such events as the Olympics, the Indianapolis 500 and major golf tournaments. No place, however, has produced as...

For a driver eager to return to victory lane, this season has been nightmare for Al Unser Jr.
May 2, 1999... PHILADELPHIA - Not long ago, Indy-car drivers continued their racing careers at high levels into their 50s. Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Johnny Rutherford all were fast 50-year-olds. Suddenly, Scott Pruett, 39, is the oldest...

Brian Hunter gives longball-happy Mariners something new: speed.
May 2, 1999... SEATTLE _ Just because the Mariners have brought Brian Hunter back to the Northwest, and to lead off in their record 22-6 crushing of Detroit, it isn't the end of the story. With their overload in the outfield and their penchant for linking...

Brief reviews of candidate Web sites _ from Gore to Quayle, from Bush to Smith.
May 2, 1999... WASHINGTON _ Cyberspace has become a user-friendly playing field for presidential candidates _ some friendlier, or at least more inviting, than others. Here are thumbnails of what you'll find on the hopefuls' home pages: DEMOCRATS ...

Ringside computer thrust into limelight after Lewis-Holyfield debacle.
May 2, 1999... CHICAGO _ Logan Hobson and Bob Canobbio are to boxing as home-plate umpires are to baseball. But while the umpires call balls and strikes for all to see and hear, the prizefight pair make their calls behind the scenes. However, after the...

His name is Juan Montoya, but go ahead and call him The Baby-Faced Assassin.
May 2, 1999... CHICAGO _ His name is Juan Montoya, but go ahead and call him The Baby-Faced Assassin. That is how nerveless and dangerous he has been in the opening three races of his first CART season. That spotlight that shined down on him as the guy...

'Ambassador Pass' opens the doors of tourism.
May 2, 1999... NEWPORT NEWS, Va. _ This week is National Tourism Week, Be Kind to Animals Week, Flexible Work Arrangements Week, National Antique Bottle Collecting Week, National Family Week, National Pet Week, National Postcard Week, National Suicide...

Trainer Nicholas Zito thinks he has a chance with his two entries, Stephen Got Even, Adonis.
May 2, 1999... LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ At Barn 33, the gawker gathering keeps growing, anxious for a glimpse of Back-to-back Bob, dark shades, white hair, off-color wit. Here, the buzz is Baffert. And yes, at Barn 44, D. Wayne has added Hall of Fame to his...

KENTUCKY DERBY.
May 2, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Sports Budget for Friday, April 30, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com Sports desk supervisor: Sports Editor Jim Goldschmidt, 202-383-6086, jgoldschmidt(AT)krtinfo.com KRT...

NATO PREPARES FOR BIGGEST ATTACKS YET; JACKSON MEETS WITH U.S. PRISONERS.
May 2, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service News Budget for Friday, April 30, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com News desk supervisor: Nation & World Editor Sharon Buck, 202-383-6087, sbuck(AT)krtinfo.com KRT Photo...

San Jose Sharks visit Columbine High; it turned out to be the hardest trip they ever will make.
May 2, 1999... LITTLETON, Colo. _ As the team bus pulled up to Columbine High School, a hush fell over the men inside, all conversation stopped by three words on a signpost. ``Library is Closed.'' The San Jose Sharks, represented by eight players and...

Florida education package nation's first statewide plan for vouchers.
May 2, 1999... TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Gov. Jeb Bush's No. 1 campaign promise and legislative priority, a sweeping education reform package including the nation's first statewide voucher plan, cleared its final hurdle on Friday, only hours before the 1999...

Palestinians grow more and more skeptical of Arafat's ability to negotiate.
May 2, 1999... GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip _ The most influential people in Palestinian leadership pushed past a swarm of media this week on their way to one of the most important meetings in Palestinian history. But for a while, a key figure was conspicuously...

NATO to take advantage of good weather, escalate bombing.
May 2, 1999... WASHINGTON _ With the first run of good weather in 38 days, NATO warplanes are set to pound Yugoslavia this weekend and early next week with the most sustained and substantial attacks yet. Building on Thursday's strikes _ the largest yet in...

GOP effort at Social Security reform falls flat.
May 2, 1999... WASHINGTON _ After berating President Clinton for months for failing to present a detailed bill to save Social Security, a small but high-profile group of House Republicans came up with its own plan last week. The ink had not dried before...

Bills in Congress would cut from budgets of Small Business Development Centers.
May 2, 1999... When Lynn Evans was struggling to meet payroll, a consultant from the Small Business Development Center showed her how to earn more money. He suggested she concentrate on the temporary-staffing side of her business. She took his advice _ it...

Late sell-off snaps Dow's record run.
May 2, 1999... NEW YORK _ A late sell-off fueled by tumbling bond prices snapped the Dow Jones industrial average's string of three straight new highs and nearly scuttled a rebound in technology stocks from a three-day slide. The Dow slid 89.34, or 0.82...

Utilities largely ready for Y2K, council says.
May 2, 1999... The arrival of Year 2000 should be a non-event for most of the nation's electric utility computer systems, the industry continues to assure the government. As of March 31, most utility computer systems have been tested for the ``millennium...

With a 19-horse field, Kentucky Derby will be like Roller Derby.
May 2, 1999... LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ Bob Baffert calls it the Roller Derby. D. Wayne Lukas says it's a war. Is this anyway to talk about America's most popular horse race, the Kentucky Derby? Actually, the two best-known trainers in America are being polite...

Arrest of man in connection with London bombings does little to ease fears.
May 2, 1999... LONDON _ A bomb explosion ripped through a crowded gay pub in Soho Friday evening, killing two people and injuring at least 40, police said. The explosion was the third here in three weeks, all apparently aimed at minorities. The blast at...

How (not) to cover a war.
May 2, 1999... In late April, with the bombing of Yugoslavia in its fifth week, many prominent American journalists gathered at a posh Manhattan hotel for the annual awards dinner of the prestigious Overseas Press Club. They heard a complimentary speech by...

Duke on lookout in South America.
May 2, 1999... CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Eleven days after bowing out of a bidding war for Chile's biggest utility, Duke Energy is looking elsewhere for South American energy assets _ even as regulatory obstacles threaten to undo its rival's winning bid in Chile. ...

Parental-notification bill rises from ashes.
May 2, 1999... TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Spurred by a fierce lobbying campaign, the House resurrected a bill in the last hours of the legislative session on Friday requiring doctors to notify parents before performing an abortion on a minor _ and salvaged the...

Remembering the day Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended, 60 years ago Sunday.
May 3, 1999... DETROIT _ Fred Rice got out of his recliner and acted out Lou Gehrig's last moments on a ball field. ``I remember it just like it was yesterday,'' Rice said of the day 60 years ago at Tiger Stadium, then known as Briggs Stadium. ...

Reaction to shootings reflects transition from private to public mourning.
May 3, 1999... LITTLETON, Colo. _ It started on the day of the shootings, with a few bouquets of flowers and a simple note tacked on a tree. Today, in Clement Park next to the sealed school, the makeshift memorials to Columbine High School's dead stretch...

Police find their response to reports of threatening behavior needs to change.
May 3, 1999... LITTLETON, Colo. _ The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Friday said it did everything possible to investigate complaints more than a year ago that Eric Harris was a threat, but found nothing to substantiate charging him with a crime. What...

Soldiers learn animal cruelty at taxpayer expense.
May 3, 1999... The first complaint came into the offices of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) from a military base called the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. It seemed too ridiculous to be true, but a phone call confirmed the tip-off. As part...

International Monetary Fund's reform plan days late and many, many dollars short.
May 3, 1999... WASHINGTON _ The latest proposals for a ``new architecture'' for the global financial system, unveiled this past week at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington, are both too little and too late for bolstering...

Divorce a tradition that dates to before the American Revolution.
May 3, 1999... We've all heard the dim statistics, the proof that the institution of marriage is in peril. But here's a little reminder: One out of every two marriages in the United States ends in divorce. Must be because of the pressures of modern...

As age impairs drivers, a debate arises on whether they should have licenses.
May 3, 1999... KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Evelyn White, 84, had driven her car for 68 years without an accident _ until one chilly day last December when she hit a pickup truck. It was only a minor fender bender. But the crash jolted her into reassessing her own...

If the end is near, we'd never know it.
May 3, 1999... Which is more significant, a shooting in a high school or the possible destruction of the world? Which has deeper ramifications, a president caught with his pants down or a nuclear weapons agency caught with its secrets stolen? Which...

Columbus physician hears dying doctor's call for help.
May 3, 1999... COLUMBUS, Ga. _ Ifekan-Shango Simon could have practiced medicine just about anywhere after finishing his residency in obstetrics at The Medical Center in Columbus. But he's choosing to go to Colquitt, a southwest Georgia town of fewer...

House distinguishes itself with Kosovo votes.
May 3, 1999... The following editorial appeared in The Orange County Register on Friday, 4-30: X X X The U.S. House of Representatives distinguished itself on Wednesday by its surprising vote, 213-213, denying support for the president's ongoing air...

Kosovo debate a sad chapter for Congress.
May 3, 1999... The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News on Friday, 4-30: X X X No matter how they felt about the use of force in the Persian Gulf in 1991, many Americans respected the congressional debate that preceded it....

Wide-bodied refers not just to planes.
May 3, 1999... Random thoughts from an airport lobby: The truth is, America's butts are getting bigger. A recent Washington Post story said the Seattle ferries have been forced to widen their seats. It seems passengers no longer fit into 18-inch...

Small town in a big role: Weimar is Europe's '99 `capital'.
May 3, 1999... WEIMAR, Germany _ Though it's only a little larger than the city of North Miami, more than 8 million visitors and some of the world's most talented people are expected to descend on this small German city this year. As 1999's Cultural...

Books for women from the simple to the sublime.
May 3, 1999... Over the years I've seen scores of personal finance books, and these six cover the basics as well as most. Where they differ is in style and delivery. If you're looking for personality, Georgette Mosbacher's provocative take on men, women...

NATO bombs mark World Press Freedom Day.
May 3, 1999... LONDON _ By bombing the studios and several transmitters of the Serbian government's radio and television service, NATO has made an original contribution to World Press Freedom Day. In the space of a few bloody minutes, it won this year's...

'Why don't you go to Albania?'.
May 3, 1999... SARAJEVO, Bosnia _ J.R., 28, was born in Belgrade. He worked for 11 years as an auto mechanic at a big industrial plant in Rakovica, the working-class district of the city. He is also Albanian. Three months ago, five men dragged him out of...

Who's conning whom? It's time to end Social Security shell game before next retirees end up shell-shocked.
May 3, 1999... DALLAS _ It's been said politics in the '90s is like cotton candy. A lot of spin, a little bit of sugar and if you eat too much you get sick. This is not true, however, when it comes to the politics of Social Security reform. It's a sugar-free...

Following the trail of gun smoke and tears.
May 3, 1999... Dead gunmen tell no tales, but their smoking guns can. Though teen-age gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were found dead after the siege last month at Columbine High School, the handguns and long guns in their possession are helping...

Let's prevent another horrible school tragedy.
May 3, 1999... It has happened again. 13 dead. Students and a teacher. Children and a teacher. 13 dead. Murdered. Slaughtered. Countless others traumatized, perhaps for life. By two other children. Who then killed themselves. Not in Kosovo. In Colorado. ...

Ally Sheedy continues her comeback with ABC movie `Our Guys'.
May 3, 1999... LOS ANGELES _ Ally Sheedy decided early on that she didn't want to be a movie star. ``I was going to have to make myself into a sex object, frankly,'' she says. ``That just goes against everything I believe in. With my mind, energy and...

Ignoring hate welcomes violence.
May 3, 1999... Indifference is a welcome mat for violence. From the dragging death of a man in Texas last year to the beating death of a gay college student in Wyoming, acts of hate are proliferating in America. In 1997, the Intelligence Project of the...

Not healthful, just trendy: Campus craze loaded with tar, nicotine.
May 3, 1999... CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ They are flavored like cherries or chocolate or root beer. They look a little like a joint. And they're cheap. Those are some of the reasons the hand-rolled East Indian cigarettes called Bidis are becoming a fad,...

Push for faster progress in Kosovo may mean more risk-taking.
May 3, 1999... WASHINGTON _ So far, the Yugoslavian air campaign has been nearly spotless: 11,000 sorties in a month with only two downed aircraft, just a few errant missiles and no American body bags. It's been what the public wants: a war without risks. ...

NATO confirms an errant missile form allied plane hit Bulgarian suburb.
May 3, 1999... BRUSSELS, Belgium _ NATO, which has stressed the precision of its weaponry, confirmed Thursday that a missile from an allied plane hit an upscale suburb of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, 30 miles from the Yugoslav border. The Bulgarian...

Party leaders blame each other for sending signal that could prolong conflict.
May 3, 1999... WASHINGTON _ The House's failure this week to back the air war against Yugoslavia ignited a partisan firestorm in Congress Thursday as party leaders angrily blamed each other for sending a garbled signal that some fear could prolong the Balkan...

Pilots turn off thoughts of home while in the air.
May 3, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Add to News Budget for Thursday, April 29, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com News desk supervisor: Nation & World Editor Sharon Buck, 202-383-6087, sbuck(AT)krtinfo.com ...

Palestinian leadership votes to delay independent statehood.
May 3, 1999... CAIRO _ After three days of debate, the Palestinian leadership voted Thursday to postpone declaring an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza until after Israel's upcoming elections. The Palestinian Central Council decided in Gaza to...

Macedonia may be on the brink of civil war.
May 3, 1999... SKOPJE, Macedonia _ When Slobodan Casule drives the streets of this obscure Balkan capital on the roads clogged with military jeeps, or listens to the helicopters churning the skies overhead, he is reminded not of his hometown but of another...

Governor orders formation of youth-violence task force.
May 3, 1999... RALEIGH, N.C. _ Troubled by the Littleton massacre and subsequent safety threats at North Carolina schools, Gov. Jim Hunt has ordered the creation of a statewide task force to examine the causes of youth violence. The task force, to...

Final victim of shooting rampage buried in graduation regalia.
May 3, 1999... DENVER _ Isaiah Shoels will not be there when his high school classmates graduate three weeks from now. But Thursday, in his coffin, he wore his cap and gown. Shoels, 18, was the last of the 13 victims of the April 20 massacre at...

Kids can be traumatized anywhere.
May 3, 1999... Littleton, Colo., Kosovo or around the corner. The place doesn't matter. Kids are being traumatized everywhere. In America, the numbers are staggering. According to CIVITAS, the child trauma programs at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor...

Experts in the treatment of traumatized children and adults.
May 3, 1999... Recognized experts in the treatment of traumatized children and adults: _Dr. James A. Chu, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, Proctor House 3, 115 Mill St., Belmont, Mass. 02478-9106. Phone: (617)-855-2761. _CIVITAS Child Trauma...

Books on trauma.
May 3, 1999... _``Rebuilding Shattered Lives: The Responsible Treatment for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress and Dissociative Disorders,'' by James A. Chu, M.D., Ph.D. (John Wiley & Sons. 1998). _``Dissociation in Children and Adolescents: A Developmental...

Consider several factors in picking sunscreen.
May 3, 1999... Q. There are so many sunscreens with different ingredients. Which is the best to protect yourself from skin cancer? A. Sunscreens can protect you from sunburn and premature aging and wrinkling of the skin, but it's debatable how much they...

NATO ties pull U.S. foreign policy down the wrong road.
May 3, 1999... It wasn't too long ago that American politicians boasted about the ``peace dividend,'' the savings in military expenses and reduction in overseas military missions that would accompany the end of the struggle between Western democracies and the...

Must religious conservatives give up on U.S. politics?
May 3, 1999... NEW YORK _ As the 2000 presidential campaign lurches toward the starting line, one of the unresolved questions is the role religious conservatives will play. The New York Times has already declared that ``the movement is struggling without...

Protectionist clouds on the horizon.
May 3, 1999... After fifty years of preaching the benefits of global trade, the United States is in the throes of a protectionist revival. Last week, no less an authority than Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of impending dangers to free...

Partition of the former Zaire may be inevitable solution to devastating war.
May 3, 1999... LONDON _ Far removed from the current NATO intervention in Kosovo, another war involving at least nine nations, 50,000 soldiers and a proliferation of U.S., Soviet, French and British weaponry is taking place. Its impact on the global...

The basics of how autos work, for men and women.
May 3, 1999... Many women don't know anything about cars and aren't afraid to admit it. This definitely isn't true of men. Most of the ones I talk to don't know much more about how a car works than their wives do, but are genetically incapable of...

Berlin makes a good capital for united, dynamic Germany.
May 3, 1999... The following editorial appeared in The Providence Journal on Wednesday, 4-28: X X X After their country was reunited in 1990, the Germans voted to move their capital from Bonn, a sleepy university town in the Rhineland, back to...

So gun control is bad, but it's okay if kids shoot each other?
May 3, 1999... Let's face it _ love is blind. Especially the love some people have for guns. I'm not talking about a lot of gun owners. Most are sensible people who use guns for protection, hunting or target practice. But there are many gun...

Lost boys: Why our sons turn violent and how we can save them.
May 3, 1999... ITHACA, N.Y. _ The morning after the school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark., in May 1998, my 16-year-old daughter sat at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. After she finished the detailed account of the attack by 13-year-old Mitchell...

To save Europe, turn up the power.
May 3, 1999... With all the people who are volunteering to pronounce the benediction over NATO's intervention in Kosovo, you might assume the Serb aggression has not only succeeded, but humiliated NATO. It would be nice, of course, if Yugoslav President...

Tomatoes aside, NAFTA is a peachy deal.
May 3, 1999... Give some of the credit to La Nina. But give most of it to La NAFTA. We're talking tomatoes here. Depending on where you live in this party to the tripartite (United States-Mexico-Canada) North American Free Trade Agreement, you may,...

Virginia teachers worry about order to report `dangerous' students to police.
May 3, 1999... NEWPORT NEWS, Va. _ Fred Atwell will never forget the teacher's words about his son, then a seventh-grader at Reservoir Middle School in Newport News. ``He told us, `Your son is a very violent kid,' `` Atwell recalled. The Atwells were so...

Hundreds of counselors tend to the ripples from Columbine.
May 3, 1999... COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. _ The drawings presented to therapists by students who attend an elementary school near Columbine High School literally speak volumes. ``Pictures of people with guns and blood dripping from things, maybe a child...

Internet ranks just under the printing press for significance, historians say .
May 3, 1999... PHILADELPHIA, Pa. _ Known mostly for its immediacy, the Internet is drawing praise for its ability to illuminate the past. ``The World Wide Web is probably the most significant development for historians since the printing press,'' said...

Sexually transmitted diseases are rampant, experts say.
May 3, 1999... Since being diagnosed with herpes in 1982, Alice has gotten used to dealing with the painful sores that erupt on her genitals. She's gotten used to the shame and stigma that surround her disease. She's even growing to accept the fact that...

Tips on protecting yourself.
May 3, 1999... What can you do to protect yourself? Plenty. Here's what you need to know: _Sexually transmitted diseases can be spread through vaginal, oral and anal sex. Some viruses, such as the human papilloma virus, also can be transmitted through...

Small class sizes in the earliest school years makes a difference, study shows.
May 3, 1999... SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Students who study in smaller classes during their early school years continue to outperform those who don't through high school, according to a ground-breaking study released Thursday. Researchers who have been studying...

Not all apparently parentless children in Kosovo are orphans.
May 3, 1999... There's the mother who was fleeing Kosovo on foot with her family. A neighbor, also a refugee, passed her on a tractor. He didn't have room for the whole family, but said ``I can take the baby.'' Now the neighbor, the tractor and the infant...

Pot, it's not _ it's a valuable resource that can help farmers.
May 3, 1999... Imagine if during Prohibition it was forbidden to grow corn because of it's capacity to make alcohol. Or barley, for that matter, or grapes. Billions of dollars would have been lost to the American farmer. Consumers would have been forced...

Kosovo: It's time for a serious peace effort.
May 4, 1999... The following editorial appeared in the Orange County Register on Tuesday, 5-4: X X X Is it time to give peace a chance in the NATO-Serbia war? That's the question now that the Rev. Jesse Jackson traveled to Belgrade to obtain the...

Wars are won on the ground.
May 4, 1999... There are two wars being fought in Yugoslavia. The first is a ground war, with objectives as old as war itself: Kill your enemy, drive the survivors from the land, and loot and destroy their property. Genghis Khan would understand it, William...

Getting a read on Mom: Books about mothers show a wide range of diversity.
May 4, 1999... As Mother's Day approaches, a new batch of books celebrating the spirit of motherhood in all its diversity is filling bookstore shelves. From a photo book that spotlights the bond between black men and their mothers to a pair of works that...

Soft bombs disrupt power supplies but not infrastructure.
May 5, 1999... WASHINGTON _ The top secret ``soft bomb'' the Pentagon used to knock out the Yugoslav electrical grid on Sunday is considered the most advanced version of a new breed of weapon designed to cause political damage to enemy leaders rather than...

Peace deal likely to mean U.N. troops, but Milosevic would keep Kosovo.
May 5, 1999... WASHINGTON _ For the first time since the war over Kosovo began six weeks ago, the makings of a peace deal are emerging. NATO and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic remain far apart on the terms of any settlement, but that may be less...