News In Brief

Hollywood executives, under fire by lawmakers for peddling inappropriate movies to children, offered a new plan before the Senate Commerce Committee. The proposals, released by the Motion Picture Association of America, call for studio heads to ask theater owners not to show R-rated previews at the showing of G-rated movies, and not to include under-17-year-olds in research focus groups. Committee chairman John McCain (R) of Arizona welcomed the measures but said he was skeptical about how they would be implemented.

Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh defended their handling of the Wen Ho Lee case, asserting at a Senate hearing that the scientist had committed a serious crime when he mishandled what they called a portable library of US nuclear secrets. Freeh said they were convinced that if Lee's case had gone to trial, instead of plea bargain, a jury would have found him guilty on all 59 felony counts originally brought by prosecutors. Freeh argued that a trial, however, would have risked revealing classified nuclear-weapon information.

With Congress and the White House locked in budget disputes, the House OK'd a stopgap measure that would keep government agencies open through Oct. 6. The bill, which passed 415 to 2, was expected to gain Senate approval and President Clinton's signature. Simultaneously, lawmakers stepped up efforts to get the remaining 11 spending bills approved. Ted Stevens (R) of Alaska, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, said agreements were near on a measure to fund a public-land initiative and on another to fund energy and water programs. But details of the bills could draw a presidential veto.

In several cities across the US, demonstrators held rallies in sympathy with protests in the Czech Republic against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which are meeting in Prague. The American protests targeted companies for various alleged practices. Thirty-five people were arrested in Washington for blocking a street; 15 were apprehended in Portland, Ore., most of them for interfering with police. Another 20 were arrested in Hartford, Conn., which had one of the largest rallies - an estimated 300 people.

Americans won three of the most prestigious gold medals of the summer Olympics - two of them via major upsets - in Day 13 of the Games. In baseball, the US surprised defending champion Cuba, 4-0. In Greco-Roman wrestling, Rulon Gardner broke the 13-year unbeaten streak of Russian superheavyweight Alexandre Kareline, who had not even been scored upon in 10 years. In women's tennis, Venus Williams prevailed in singles competition.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society