News In Brief
By an 8-to-1 vote, the Supreme Court said a federal appellate court - and not itself - should next hear the Microsoft anti-trust case. The software giant had hoped for that ruling because the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has previously reversed decisions on Microsoft-related matters. The Justice Department had wanted to bypass the appeals court for the same reason. At issue is Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling, which orders Microsoft be split in two.
The Supreme Court agreed to review the case involving disabled pro golfer Casey Martin. He has argued the Professional Golfers' Association policy of prohibiting players on its tour from using carts during tournaments violates the Americans With Disabilities Act. The PGA has maintained the law does not apply. Lower courts have ruled in Martin's favor.
Even though official results of Yugoslavia's presidential election hadn't been released, the US joined European nations in declaring that incumbent Slobodan Milosevic had lost to challenger Vojislav Kostunica. In a move meant to pressure the authoritarian ruler, the House authorized, by a two-thirds majority voice vote, $500 million to help finance democratic forces in Yugoslavia. The Senate already has passed a similar measure. A State Department spokesman, meanwhile, pledged that economic sanctions against the country would be lifted if Milosevic conceded defeat.
United Airlines and Denver's International Airport stood to encounter problems after workers who operate the carrier's baggage system at the hub went on strike. Negotiations between the roughly 70 workers and Phelps Program Management, a subcontractor for United, broke down Monday over work conditions, wages, and benefits. The airline, which carries two-thirds of the passenger traffic at the airport, maintained the strike wasn't disrupting operations. United had other labor problems over the summer.
After passing legislation 85 to 1 in the Senate to restore the Florida Everglades, lawmakers battled to get House approval of the bill before Congress adjourns this fall. The $1.4 billion measure is part of a $7.8 billion plan to reverse water drainage that has eroded about half the Everglades. Both Republicans and Democrats support the project, which could last more than three decades. Critics, however, warned it likely would cost billions more.
The 9,000-year-old bones of a skeleton found in Kennewick, Wash., are to be given to five American Indian tribes for reburial, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced. Scientists had hoped further examination of "Kennewick Man," one of the oldest and most complete human skeletons found in North America would help them determine the origin of the first people to populate North America. But government researchers said the remains were culturally affiliated with tribal lands. Eight anthropologists, however, have filed suit in federal court for the right to study the bones.
(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society
