Beyond the farm

For the week preceding this Saturday, December 9th, 1995, here's what happened Beyond the Farm:

President Clinton vetoed the Republican plan to balance the budget in seven years Dec 6th, citing excessive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The veto was expected, and Clinton used the same pen used by Harry Truman to create Medicare to emphasize his concern. The White House released its version of a balanced budget within seven years Dec 7th. This plan features no tax decreases and reductions in Medicare of about $145 billion more than the President's original budget, though still $300 billion less than Republican plans. Republican response was lukewarm; the two sides must reach a compromise by a Dec 15th deadline or the government may have to shut down again.

They're Talking About It:

• Entertainer Michael Jackson collapsed during a rehearsal Dec 5th. In the hospital, he was found to have dangerously low blood pressure and has been listed in critical condition ever since.

• ABC announced plans to start an all-news channel Dec 5th. The move followed a similar announcement by Rupert Murdoch the previous week, and NBC is expected to follow suit in cooperation with Microsoft by the end of the year. CNN head Ted Turner responded, "We'll crush all of them."

In Shorts:

• General Motors agreed Dec 3rd to recall 470,000 Cadillacs and fix problems with their exhaust systems, in addition to paying a $30 million fine.

• The Cerro Negro volcano in Nicaragua ceased erupting Dec 3rd, vindicating residents below the mountain who had not evacuated.

• Saudi Arabia's King Fahd suffered a stroke Dec 3rd but recovered quickly and avoided a leadership crisis with the help of American doctors.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new record high of 5132.52 Dec 4th.

• Striking Caterpillar workers, who had walked out 17 months ago, returned to work Dec 4th.

• An explosion in Grosny, Chechnya, killed 11 Dec 4th; separatists groups who wish to delay elections took responsibility.

• An explosion at the Russian Parliament Dec 5th caused no injuries.

• A chemical leak at Nitro, VA caused tens of thousands of people in surrounding areas to be evacuated briefly Dec 5th.

• Vice president Al Gore visited South Africa Dec 5th, but he and his aides caused so many traffic problems and insulted so many government workers that Gore had to issue a public apology Dec 8th.

• The Sri Lankan government offered amnesty to all Tamil Tigers who lay down their arms Dec 5th.

• East Timorese activists occupied the Russian and Dutch embassies in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec 6th, to call attention to the plight of their region.

• Fifteen people died in violence surrounding elections for local positions in Egypt Dec 6th.

• Government forces pushed all known Hutu militias out of the area around Bujumbura, Burundi Dec 6th.

• The House Ethics committee voted 10-0 Dec 6th to investigate Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA)'s telecourse which he offered through a state university until late 1994. Investigators believe the class may have been an illegal fund-raising device.

• Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreau received a tracheotomy Dec 6th. Concerns about his health have caused opposition leaders to call for Papandreau to be relieved of power; he remains in the hospital.

• An Aeroflot flight to Sakhalin Island dropped off radar screens Dec 7th; all 97 people aboard are presumed dead.

• The FDA approved the drug saquingain for the treatment of AIDS Dec 7th.

• The Galileo spacecraft successfully released a probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter Dec 7th.

• President Clinton refused to turn over the notes of aide William Kennedy to the Senate Whitewater investigation Dec 7th. The President claims attorney-client privilege; Republicans point out that Kennedy was not the Clintons' lawyer.

• The Senate approved a measure to ban so-called partial birth abortions 54-44 Dec 7th.

• A bizarre attack on an apartment building in Harlem, NY killed 8 Dec 8th.

• One case of the Ebola virus was reported in the Ivory Coast Dec 8th.

• Russia and the Russian-backed interim government of Chechnya reached an agreement Dec 8th that will lead to significant autonomy for the region following elections Dec 17th. However, Presidential candidate Ruslan Khasbulatov withdrew from the race Dec 9th, calling the Dec 17th election date unreasonable.

• The Doomsday Clock was moved to 12 minutes to midnight form 17 minutes Dec 8th because of the threat of nuclear terrorism.

• Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) was elected to head the NAACP Dec 9th. He will quit his current position in February to try to make the NAACP more politically powerful.

• The husband of Utah Rep. Enid Waldholtz (R), Joe Waldholtz, did steal money from her campaign, according to a House investigation concluded Dec 9th. Enid Waldholtz was not directly implicated.

• Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Reston died Dec 6th at the age of 86.

Finally:

And that's what happened Beyond the Farm.

Sources this week included All Things Considered (NPR), the Associated Press newswire, the BBC Newshour (BBC/PRI), the Christian Science Monitor, Marketplace (PRI), Newsday (BBC/PRI), the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (PBS), Paul Harvey News and Comment (ABC radio), and the Reuters newswire. Compiled by: Lance Gleich, Stanford CA

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