The National Education Association voted not to merge with the American Federation of Teachers. NEA delegates who opposed the merger welcomed the vote as a reaffirmation of the NEA's dignified professionalism. Conservatives welcomed it as a reaffirmation of the feud between the NEA and the AFT, which cripples both unions' resistance to school privatization. (7/6/98) Catholic-Protestant strife flared again in Northern Ireland. British troops blocked the Orangemen, a Protestant fraternal order, from marching through a Catholic neighborhood. The Orangemen threatened to call a general strike, and authorities agreed to let them stage another march in Belfast next week. Protestants called the British blockade a violation of their right to march. Catholics called the march a violation of their right not to be marched on. Outsiders called the confrontation a test of the Northern Ireland Peace Accord. ( Slate 's "International Papers" samples local coverage of the brouhaha.) (7/6/98) Sports news: 1) Pete Sampras won his fifth Wimbledon title. This ties Bjorn Borg's record for Wimbledon championships and brings Sampras within one victory of tying the record for men's Grand Slam championships. 2) Jana Novotna won the women's championship, overcoming her history of choking in the finals. 3) Brazil, Holland, France, and Croatia reached the World Cup semifinals. Brazil is the favorite. Croatia is the soccer tournament's Cinderella, becoming the first country in 30 years to reach the semifinals in its first World Cup. (7/6/98) President Clinton said on Chinese television that China's government should continue to pursue "openness and freedom" but that the United States should not simply "tell other people what to do." Analysts noted that this equivocation echoed earlier remarks at Clinton's televised joint press conference with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in which Clinton said of the Tiananmen Square massacre, "I believe, and the American people believe, that the use of force and the tragic loss of life was wrong." ( For a roundup of spins on the China trip, click . Slate also surfs through China. Click here. Also see International Papers for reactions from around the globe.) (7/2/98) A federal judge threw out Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's tax evasion case against Webster Hubbell . Judge James Robertson ruled that 1) prosecutors unconstitutionally forced Hubbell to incriminate himself (by using documents they got from him under a grant of immunity) and 2) Starr exceeded his authority by going "six degrees of relationship" beyond the Whitewater S & L case to nail Hubbell on the far more recent tax charge. White House aides drew attention to Robertson's description of the prosecutors' tactics as "scary" and a "fishing expedition." The anti-Starr spins: This confirms Starr's public image as a reckless zealot and removes the leverage he had hoped to use to make Hubbell rat on Clinton. The pro-Starr spins: This ruling doesn't void the Lewinsky investigation and, anyway, Starr will get it overturned on appeal. (7/2/98) The Kosovo crisis is worsening . Serb forces have recaptured a region of the province (which they officially control, though its population is 90-percent Albanian) in heavy fighting with the ethnic-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army. The old spin, articulated by Bob Dole in the Los Angeles Times : Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic is up to his old brutality and, if another Bosnia is to be averted, NATO must quickly impose a no-fly zone and threaten airstrikes. The new spin, explained by the Washington Post : The United States is becoming less concerned about Milosevic and more concerned about the KLA, which is proving stronger and more dangerous than expected, particularly since it seems to be taking an ethnic nationalist interest in the Albanian populations of adjacent provinces and countries. (In Slate : Laura Kay Rozen's "Dispatches" from the scene, an "Assessment" of Milosevic, and a "Gist" on Kosovo.) (7/1/98) Alabama Gov. Fob James Jr. won a Republican gubernatorial runoff over businessman Winton Blount III. Christian conservatives called it a mandate for the Christian conservatism James has championed. The national media consoled themselves by arguing that 1) turnout was low, except among Christian conservatives; 2) James made a last-minute racial appeal by airing an ad that paired Blount with black Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington; 3) the primary exposed and exacerbated the national Republican feud between social and economic conservatives; and 4) the Democratic gubernatorial nominee will capitalize on this in November. (7/1/98) Israeli President Ezer Weizman blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for blocking the peace process and urged him to call early elections. "Bibi lives in a state of euphoria, in his own world, cut off from reality," said Weizman. Although Weizman lacks the authority to order early elections, he is sufficiently popular that his criticism undermines Netanyahu's public support. A new poll shows Israelis favoring early elections 50-to-39 percent. Netanyahu accused Weizman of siding "with the left" and "strengthening" the Arabs. Netanyahu's allies demanded Weizman's resignation. Eventually the two leaders met and agreed to keep their criticisms private. (7/1/98) Jim Fallows announced he is being ousted as editor of U.S. News & World Report . He will be replaced by National Journal Editor Stephen G. Smith. Fallows said U.S. News owner Mort Zuckerman wanted him out because they disagreed on what the magazine should cover, particularly when it came to "celebrity news" such as the murder of Gianni Versace. Cynics' translation: Zuckerman is a shallow fool. U.S. News Editorial Director Harry Evans asserted that he, not Zuckerman, made the decision. "I have not been known simply to be a lap dog," said Evans. Cynics' translation: Only a lapdog feels obliged to deny he's a lap dog. Journalists tried to enjoy Zuckerman's egomaniacal self-destruction but were restrained by contempt for Fallows' sanctimony. (7/1/98)