The
Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Paula Jones can sue President Clinton while
he's still in office, as the Constitution doesn't protect the president from
civil suits unrelated to his official duties. However, the court instructed the
trial judge to take Clinton's official duties into account, which may allow him
to keep postponing the trial. Editorialists of all persuasions congratulated
the court for reaffirming that no one is above the law--"the message is right,"
said the Washington Post . Legal analysts were amused that the court's
conservative justices had suspended their usual worship of executive privilege.
Everyone agrees the decision puts a rude end to Clinton's second honeymoon,
though most accounts cited the coverage rather than the facts of Jones'
contentions as the main problem. The case "plays into a public perception of a
White House under siege," said the New York Times . Early political
wisdom is that here, as with his other scandals, Clinton should cut his losses
(by settling the suit), but his advisers seem intent on dragging it out
instead. Contrarians argued that Clinton actually won the decision, since it
comes six months after his re-election. (5/28)
The Lost World
, Steven Spielberg's sequel to Jurassic
Park , shattered box-office records by grossing $92 million over Memorial
Day weekend. Analysts estimate it could end up grossing $1 billion, including
merchandise. They also agree that its poor reviews (for a weak plot,
characters, and dialogue) were overpowered by its shrewd timing (theaters
showed it because no other big movies were out), legendary pedigree (everyone
loved Jurassic Park ), and sure-fire premise (dinosaurs, which kids can't
seem to get enough of). The New York Times called it "review-proof."
(5/28)
AT&T and SBC Communications are discussing a merger. Valued at $50
billion, the deal would double the size of the biggest merger on record. It
would also reunite one-third of the old AT&T, since SBC already comprises
two of the Baby Bells the government pried away from Ma Bell in 1984. Critics'
complaints: 1) This is what antitrust regulators get for showing their
impotence when they let Bell Atlantic merge with NYNEX. 2) The new telecom law
is a failure, since companies are merging, not competing. 3) An AT&T-SBC
behemoth would hasten the merger trend by forcing other telecom companies to
combine to compete with it. The backspin from AT&T and SBC is that the
United States needs its own giant to compete with other countries' national
phone monopolies. (5/28)
French voters rebuked the center-right government of President Jacques
Chirac. Only 30 percent supported Chirac's coalition in parliamentary
elections, raising the prospect that a leftist alliance of Socialists,
Communists, and Greens will take control in Sunday's runoffs. Handicappers put
the left's chances at even money or better. Chirac's protégé, Prime Minister
Alain Juppe, took the fall, and has said he will resign. Editorialists debated
whether the voters were punishing Chirac and Juppe for 1) daring to privatize
and cut government functions (the New York Times ); 2) failing to
privatize and cut government functions (the Wall Street Journal ); or 3)
"on-again, off-again" weaving between the two positions (the Washington
Post ). (5/28)
Congolese (formerly Zairian) rebel-turned-ruler Laurent Kabila is being
downgraded from liberator to tyrant. 1) He appointed himself president and said
he won't schedule elections for at least two years. 2) He scrapped the post of
prime minister (sought by opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi) and stacked his
Cabinet with rebel allies. 3) He banned public demonstrations to prevent
Tshisekedi from staging a protest march. 4) There are more and more reports of
mass graves that may belong to Rwandan Hutu refugees slaughtered by Kabila's
troops. 5) Analysts worry that Kabila is too beholden to foreign-backed Tutsi
military commanders, who may persecute Hutus and inflame ethnic tensions. The
New York Times reported that "euphoria" in the capital is giving way to
"disillusion and dissent." (5/28)
Update
from the Muslim world. Good news: Iranians overwhelmingly elected a new
president, Mohammed Khatami, who has promised more individual freedom. Analysts
hailed him as a "moderate" and a sign that Iranians are fed up with their
police state. Bad news: Khatami indicated he has no plans to improve relations
with the United States. Skeptics doubt that one man could reform the country,
recalling the Reagan administration's arms-for-hostages deal with "Iranian
moderates." Cynics dismiss the term as an oxymoron. Good news: The
Palestinian Authority released a Palestinian journalist who apparently
had been locked up because his reports offended Yasser Arafat. Bad news: A
Palestinian human-rights group accused the authority of widespread torture and
political oppression. Good news: Turkey 's armed forces are tightening
screws on the country's ruling Muslim religious party in order to safeguard
pluralism. Bad news: The fiercely authoritarian Taliban movement captured a key
city in Afghanistan , extending its dominion to 90 percent of the
country. Good news: The Taliban began fighting with allies. (5/28)
Miscellany: A series of twisters killed more than 30 people in central Texas,
re-devastating a tiny town hit by a tornado eight years ago. Up-and-coming Rep.
Susan Molinari , R-N.Y., will quit her job this summer to anchor a
Saturday morning CBS news show. The New York Times , pointing to George
Stephanopoulos, speculated Molinari may use the TV job to advance her political
career. Dutchman Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500 . Controversy
erupted over the final lap, in which officials sent mixed signals as to whether
drivers were supposed to slow down because of a near-accident. The runner-up,
chronic hard-luck racer Scott Goodyear, complained the mix-up had prevented him
from passing Luyendyk. The Dow Jones industrial average extended its
record-breaking run to nearly 7,400. A new report suggests that studies on the
health risks of breast implants may be skewed because women who get the
implants are (among other things) more likely to be alcoholics, more likely to
be promiscuous, and more likely to dye their hair. (5/28)
The
defense opened its case in the Oklahoma City bombing trial . Its theory:
The real bomber was blown up in the explosion. The key evidence: A severed leg
not matched to any bodies of known victims. Highlights of the day: 1) The
Oklahoma City medical examiner enumerated detached body parts collected from
the scene and 2) Northern Ireland's former chief medical examiner recounted a
bombing case in which an extra penis found at the site turned out to be the
sole intact remnant of the man who had carried the bomb. (5/23)
Lt.
Kelly Flinn agreed to a "general" rather than an "honorable" discharge from
the Air Force. This will spare her a court-martial and possible jail time for
allegedly committing adultery, lying about it, and disobeying orders to end
that affair. However, the discharge will cost her her veterans' and other
benefits. Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall refused to grant an honorable
discharge, citing Flinn's alleged "lack of integrity and disobedience to order"
and warning that a special exemption would discredit the military-justice
system. Reports suggested Flinn cut her deal at just the right time, since 1)
the media were becoming skeptical of her "carefully orchestrated publicity
campaign"; 2) editorialists (e.g. the Los Angeles Times and Chicago
Tribune ) were growing more sympathetic to the Air Force's case; and 3)
Flinn's former lover and his ex-wife were beginning a counterattack on her
character. (5/23)
President Clinton accused the fashion industry of glamorizing heroin .
After reading about a photographer who died of a heroin overdose after selling
pictures of emaciated, vacant-eyed models, Clinton argued that such images have
encouraged young people to take up the habit. Critics protested that 1) the
heroin look faded from fashion magazines months ago; 2) heroin use is far less
common than Clinton suggested; and 3) it's not fair to blame drug abuse on
advertisers. Still, many magazine editors said Clinton was right. The New
York Times ' A.M. Rosenthal tried to say something or other about it.
(5/23)
More
miscellany: Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired his top two military
officers for resisting budget cuts and reforms. Analysts regard this as a key
victory for Russia's economic reformers over its military hawks. A New York
judge dropped charges against the Danish woman who had left her baby in
a stroller outside a restaurant while dining. The catch: She has to get out of
the United States by next week. Mattel introduced "Share a Smile Becky," a
wheelchair-bound Barbie companion doll. Millie, the "first dog"
of the Bush White House, has died. Her 1990 book (reportedly ghosted by Barbara
Bush) has sold more than 300,000 copies. Alexander Solzhenitsyn is in
the cardiac intensive-care unit of a Moscow hospital. Roseanne has agreed to
launch a daily TV talk show next year. Tiger Woods has signed an
endorsement deal with American Express. The deal reportedly adds $13 million to
the $60 million Woods has already secured for similar contracts with Nike and
Titleist. Meanwhile, Fuzzy Zoeller lunched with Woods at a country club and has
evidently patched things up. There was no word on what they ate.
(5/23)
Sportscaster Marv
Albert denied charges that he had assaulted and sodomized a female
acquaintance. Meanwhile, the press unearthed problems with his anonymous
accuser: 1) She faces criminal charges for allegedly threatening to kill her
ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend and 2) a female co-worker has filed a complaint
accusing her of physical harassment. NBC stood by Albert, announcing he will
continue to broadcast basketball playoff games. Albert has retained the same
lawyer who represented Nicole Brown Simpson's family in the O.J. Simpson civil
case. (5/23)
