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By The Associated Press Edited by Kristine Long news digest Netrraskan Tuesday, April 19, 1994 U.N. remains powerless against Serb attack oakaje. vu, rJosma-Herzcgovina —Confounded by Bosnian Serb guns they cannot silence, international mediators and U.N. officials acknowl edged Monday there was nothing they could do for the terrorized Muslim enclave of Gorazde. “The town is at their mercy,” said the U.N. commander for Bosnia, Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose. “We are on the edge of a major humanitarian catastrophe.” While Serb artillery pounded Gorazde, U.N.officials said Serb lead ers had comm i tted >ct agai n to a cease fire and the deployment ofU.N. troops in the eastern enclave, home to an estimated 65,000 people. But there was no immediate sign it would be anything different from other broken pledges in recent days. Russia’s special envoy. Vital) Churkin, lashed out at Serb leaders after a weekend of trying to negotiate a halt to the fighting at Gorazdc, saying he had never heard so many broken promises. Churkin offered little hope to the thousands of refugees huddled in the ruins of Gorazdc trying to escape ex plosions and bullets from snipers and machine guns. “In my view, there is very little way to control the situa tion,” he told reporters in Zagreb, Croatia, and predicted a bloodbath if Serb troops moved into the town. In Washington, President Clinton played down the possibility of further air attacks on Serb forces around Gorazdc. He renewed his call for an end to the U.N. ban on arms ship ments to Bosnia’s Muslim-led gov ernment. U.N. officials said there would be little gained by calling in more NATO air strikes like the limited raids over the past week that did not blunt the Serb offensive. The on ly m il itary ofTicer in Gor azdc to guide NATO planes was among seven British officers evacuated at dawn, U.N. officials said. Hampered by that muddled sense ofpurposc and lack ofwill, the United Nations could do little but express outrageat the Serb attacksonGorazdc, one of six “safe areas” declared by the Security Council a year ago. In New York, U.N. spokesman Joe Sills said U.N. workers in Gora/.de -44 The town is at their mercy. We are on the edge of a major humanitarian catastrophe. — Rose, U.N. commander for Bosnia reported heavy shelling of the town about 35 miles southeast of Sarajevo. “The defenses have collapsed. There arc intentional and indiscriminate at tacks on civilians,” he said. The few U.N. workers in Gorazdc reported artillery shells hit the town’s hospital, a refugee center and the Red Cross building. Bosnian Serb forces said they had taken over most of the Gorazdc en 77 clave, apart from the center of town and a stretch of 4 to 5 miles along the northern bank of the Drina. Aid officials said 302 people had been killed and 1,075 wounded since the Serbs began their attacks on the Gora/deenclave three wecksago. Sills said about half the dead were children and more than 100 were women and the elderly. Nixon ‘fine’ after suffering stroke NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Richard Nixon, whose accomplishments in a lifetime on the world stage were overshadowed by the Watergate scandal that forced him from office, suffered a stroke Monday. Nixon, 81, had the stroke at his Park Ridge, N.J., home and was taken by ambulance to New York Hospital-Comell Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condi tion, Nixon spokeswoman Kathy O’Connor said. “He’s fine,” she said. Nixon was conscious in inten sive care and being treating with blood-thmncrs, she said. Carolyn Migliore, a spokes woman for the hospital, confirmed N ixon was there but said she could not provide further details. O’Connor said Nixon was up stairs preparing for dinner when he suffered the stroke at 5:45 p.m. He was able to summon the house keeper, who called the ambulance, she said. In 1974, Nixon suffered a recur rence ofphlcbilis, inflammation of t he vci ns. There were resul ti ng com plications from surgery, and he nearly died. Nixon served in the White House fromJan.20, 1969, to Aug. 9,1974 as the nation’s 37th president. He was the only president to resign. His wife, Pat, died last year. Mitchell proposes less costly plan WASHINGTON—Senate Major ity Leader George Mitchell sparked fresh debate among fellow Democrats by suggesting ways to make President Clinton’s health care plan less costly. The White House said it wasn’t endorsing any compromises. Rep. Pat Williams. D-Mont., said Monday the House subcommittee he chairs would begin work Thursday on a version that did not include one of the most controversial elements of Clinton’s plan. Alliancesenvisioncd inthcClinton plan would pool large groups of people to give them purchasing clout in buy ing health insurance at better prices than they could negotiate individu ally. Clinton press secretary Dec Dee Myers welcomed Mitchell’s alterna tives to the president’s plan as “yet another sign that things arc moving along.” And Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D W.Va.,said Mitchell had “established himself as someone who’s going to ram (reform) through the United Stalcs Senate.” “Mitchell did a real fine job of outlining three different versions of employer mandates,” said Sen. John Breaux, D-La., whose plan would avoid forcing any business or indi vidual tobuy insurance. “I don’t think there’s a majority of support for man dates before we move on (other) re forms.” All of Milchcirsalternativcs would retain Clinton’s idea of making em ployers help pay for their workers’ coverage. They would I ighten the bur den by tinkeringwith thebenefit pack age, the subsidies and the employer share. Ira Magazincr, the senior White House adviser who took part in the Democrats’ discussion at a weekend retreat, said of M ilchell’s suggestions, “They were scenarios more than pro posals. He was using them to get a discussion going.” As for the House bill drafted by Williams, the Montana congressman said states would perform the func tion ofal I iances and could do soeilher by creating mandatory consumer pur chasing cooperatives, voluntary co operatives or no cooperatives. His proposal would also provide more generous subsidies for all small businesses, with the majority of assis tanec going to businesses with 25 or fewer workers. Unlike the president's plan, Will iams would exclude all such busi nesses from his cooperatives. They would run their own health coverage, but pay a 1 percent payroll tax. His proposal also would provide subsidies to low-income workers up to 200 percent of the poverty line instead of 150 percent as in Clinton’s plan. He said his subcommittee would vote not only on his draft but on a single-payer plan, like the Canadian system, in which the government pays most bills. Williams said his proposal would cost $1 5 billion to $.10 billion more than the president’s over five years but that it would be worth it. The Democrats spent much of Sat urday discussing Clinton’s plan and alternatives at a Williamsburg, Va., retreat. Clinton joined them that evening and urged them to press for ward on health reform and other is sues. The president did not lake part in the talk of possible compromise on health reform, an aide said. Arsenio Hall loses night show battle LOS ANGELES — Arsenio Hall is quitting his fading television talk show, which fell victim in ratings and prestige to late-night competitors David Letterman and Jay Leno, the show’s producer said Monday. “The Arsenio Hall Show,” will air its final broadcast on May 27, Para mount said in a statement. The syndicated show, which first aired on Jan. 3, 1989, developed a trademark audience “woop-woop” to show appreciation. It leaves at least one other indelible image: then-presi dential contender Bill Clinton wail ing away on his saxophone during the 1992 campaign. Hall has sent a letter to Kerry McCluggagc, chairman of Paramount’s television group, saying r he wants to end “The Arscnio Hall Show,” according to a Paramount executive who spoke only on condi tion of anonymity. Another source close to the nation ally syndicated show who also re quested anonymity said that Hall planned tell his staff ofhis decision to quit aflcr the taping ofMonday night’s show. Hall’s six-year contract was due to expire this December, and there had not been any active negotiations with Paramount on renewing the deal, the Paramount executive said. Paramount was considering pull ing the talk show after the May televi sion “sweeps,” the Paramount execu tive said. Hall was clearly a victim of the late-night wars: his national ratings took a direct hit after Letterman’s “Late Show” debuted on CBS last August. Hall’s show no longer seemed hip in comparison to the colorful antics of Lettcrmanand Lcno on “The Tonight Show.” I And Hollywood’s top-ranked stars I were no longer making “Arsenio Hall” s their first choice on the talk-show circuit. i In January 1993, “Arsenio Hall” posted an average 2.9 rating, accord- , ing to Nielsen Media Research. A year later, that had dipped 24 percent ‘ to 2.2 (with each ratings point repre- j senting 942,000 homes). Nebraskan FAX NUMBER 472-1761 The Daily NebraskanJUSPS 144 080) is published by ihe UNI Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34, 1400 R St , Lincoln, NE 68588 0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during summer sessions Readers are encouraged to submit story Ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m and 5 p.m Monday through Friday The public also has access to the Publications Board For information, contact Doug Fiedler, 436 6287 Subscnption price is $50 for one year Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34, 1400 R St .Lincoln, NE 68588 0448 Second class postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1994 DAILY NEBRASKAN C c c r c a P Another rate increase, another market plunge WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve nudged interest rates up for the third time this year Monday, and for the third time financial markets showed their displeasure. Long-term interest rates surged to their highest levels of the Clinton presidency while stock prices fell. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 41.05 points, to 3620.42. All the commotion was caused by another small, quarter-point increase in the federal funds rate. The Fed signaled it had pushed this key short term rate to 3.75 percent. Analysts predicted this would send a variety of consumer and business rates up as well. Many economists had expected the Fed would wait until May 17, the next scheduled meetingofthe Federal Open Market Committee, the group that sets interest rate policies. Fed officials said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan decided to act after consulting other members of the committee by telephone Monday morning. As with the moves on Feb. 4 and March 22, the decision was announced immediately in a statement from Greenspan, who said the change should result in a “small increase in short-term money rates.” The central bank has been under pressure from Congress to be more open in its con duct of monetary policy. While the Clinton administration has refused to criticize the central bank, many Democrats in Congress have complained that Greenspan is overly concerned about inflation at a time when there arc no signs that price pressures arc getting out of con trol. Laura Tyson, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Ad visers, insisted that while economic growth has been stronger than ex pected so far this year, inflation has Another interest boost The Federal Reserve Board moved short-term interest rates higher for the third time in as many months, pushing the federal funds rate to 3.75 peroent This rate is charged by banks for overnight loans to each other and is influential on consumer rates. The increases are designed to head off inflation. Federal funds rate: ■ ■ ■ . AP remained docile. “We believe that the prospects for sustained economic growth with low inflation remain belter than they have been for a very long time,” she said. She conceded that the Fed’s rate increases arc running ahead of the forecast the administration used in making its budget estimates. She said that factor will be taken into account when the administration revises that forecast in June. Most analysts said they believed the Fed would boost the federal funds once again by a quarter-point to 4 percent on May 17, but they were split on how many rate increases would follow that move. Some said the economy by then should be showing signs of slowing from its rapid pace of recent months, helping toease fears in financial mar kets that inflation was getting out of hand. Roseanne files for divorce after recent shouting match LOS ANGELES — TV star Roseanne Arnold filed for divorce Monday from her husband, Tom, a ipokeswoman said. Papers were filed Monday morn ng for Mrs. Arnold, who was out of own, publicist Jennifer Allen said. The star of the ABC comedy Roseanne” took the action three days Tier a shouting match reportedly rupted Friday between the couple on he set of her series. The argument vas reported by the trade papers Daily /ariety and the Hollywood Reporter. Tom Arnold is executive producer >1 “Roseanne” and also stars in his wn sitcom, “Tom,” on CBS. Allen, f PMK public relations, which also ^presents Arnold, said they had no omment from him. The couple were married in Janu ry 1990. According to the Hollywood Re orter, the Arnolds argued over the parameters of a three-way “marriage” to the couple’s assistant, Kim Silva. The Arnolds have described the “mar riage” as a publicity prank. Mrs. Arnold fired Silva and changed the locks to the door of the couple’s production office, the publi cations said. The Hollywood Reporter said Mrs. Arnold also posted a security guard outside the couple’s Brentwood home. “Roscannc” taped the season’s fi nal episode Thursday, and the events did not affect taping of a pilot of “Cherry Street South of Main,” a new show produced by the Arnolds, the publications said. Arnold’s scries, “Tom,” still has four episodes to tape this year. Mrs. Arnold is the show’s executive pro ducer, but the Hollywood Reporter said her involvement in the show is minimal.