News Digest
U.S. posts record budqet surplus in 2000
■ President Clinton
announced the surplus just
two weeks before the election.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Flush with
tax revenues from a booming
economy, the federal govern
ment posted a record $237 billion
surplus for the budget year that
ended in September, the Clinton
administration announced
TUesday.
It marked the third straight
year of surpluses, something that
hasn't happened since the late
1940s.
Social Security taxes provided
nearly $150 billion of the surplus.
“This is the third surplus in a
row - the first time our nation has
done that in 51 years, since 1949,
when Harry Truman was presi
dent,” Clinton said on the South
Lawn during an event to push his
education initiatives.
Clinton said that in 1993, the
federal deficit was $290 billion,
the national debt had quadru
pled in 12 years and economists
predicted that this year, instead
of a $237 billion surplus, we
would have a $455 billion deficit.
Then he used the new surplus
numbers to plugVice President A1
Gore’s bid for the presidency.
“Working together we turned
that around - not by chance, but
by choice,” Clinton said.
The official announcement of
the 2000 surplus comes only two
weeks before voters elect a new
president. A major point of con
tention between Gore and Texas
Gov. George W. Bush, the
Republicans’ choice, has been
what should be done with sur
pluses that are projected to total
$4.6 trillion over the next decade.
Bush has proposed a $1.3 tril
lion across-the-board tax cut,
while Gore has proposed smaller,
targeted tax cuts and more gov
ernment spending.
The government’s 2000 sur
plus surpassed the previous
record of $124.4 billion for fiscal
year 1999 and came on top of a
$69.2 billion surplus in fiscal year
1998. The 1998 surplus marked
the first time the government had
managed to finish in the black
since 1969.
The last time the government
reported three consecutive years
of surpluses was in 1947,1948
and 1949.
“This is the third surplus in a row - the first
time our nation has done that in 51 years,
since 1949, when Harry Truman was
president. ”
President Bill Clinton
The record-breaking econo
my is in its longest-ever streak of
uninterrupted growth.
Americans are enjoying plentiful
jobs, low inflation - outside of the
recent burst of energy prices -
and rising incomes. The prosper
ity also is helping to generate
more tax revenues.
Economists say one of the
cornerstones to the prosperity
has been low unemployment
The surging economy pulled
the nation’s unemployment rate
back down to a three-decade low
of 3.9 percent in September from
an already low 4.1 percent in
August.
Clinton last month had esti
mated a surplus of around $230
billion for the recently ended fis
cal year and the Congressional
Budget Office was predicting
$232 billion.
Another
oil suit
settled
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Kerr-McGee
Corp. has agreed to pay $13 mil
lion to resolve allegations it
underpaid royalties on oil it took
from leased federal and Indian
land during the period between
1988 and 1998, the Justice
Department said Tliesday.
The settlement brings to
more than $275 million the
amount the government has
recovered from 10 oil companies
as a result of a private whistle
blower lawsuit originally filed
under die False Claims Act More
cases are pending.
Mike Bradford, U.S. attorney
for the eastern district of Texas,
said, “This settlement brings us
one step closer to restoring to the
taxpayers and Indian tribes of the
United States the money due for
production of oil on public lands.”
The settlement agreement
was signed by representatives of
the Navajo Nation - the largest
Native American tribe in the
Southwest - and the Assiniboine
Sioux tribe as well as the federal
government and Kerr-McGee.
Two private whistle-blowers,
J. Benjamin Johnson Jr. and John
Martinek, who filed the original
complaint in U.S. District Court in
Lufkin, Texas, against Kerr
McGee, will share in the settle
ment
The whistle-blowers alleged
that 17 companies underpaid
royalties on oil taken from more
than 27 million acres of leased
federal and Indian land in 21
states. They alleged that together
the companies submitted more
than 500,000 false claims and
damages and penalties may
exceed $5 billion.
In their 1996 lawsuit, the
whistle-blowers accused the
companies of paying royalties
based on a posted well-head price
rather than the fair market value.
The case is scheduled for trial
in March 2001, but companies
have been negotiating settle
ments.
Ex-spy chiefs return troubles Peru
PP w
■President Alberto Fujimori
says he has control of the
military;experts have doubts.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LIMA, Peru—As their coun
try sinks deeper into political cri
sis, worried Peruvians are trying
to understand what is happen
ing.
Does the return from exile of
Peru’s feared former spy chief
mean a showdown for power
with President Alberto Fujimori?
Or are Fujimori and the ex-spy
chief working together to try to
win impunity for officials tainted
by corruption?
The answers were unclear
TUesday. But growing numbers of
Peruvians, from retired generals
to office workers, were dubious
that Fujimori was in control of
events.
Fujimori visited military
installations TUesday, seeking to
reassure Peruvians that he was in
charge of the armed forces and
there was no threat of a rebellion
by supporters of the powerful for
mer spy chief, Vladimiro
Montesinos.
His visits came a day after
Montesinos made an unexpected
return from exile in Panama,
where he fled a month ago after
the airing of a videotape showing
him apparently bribing an oppo
sition congressman.
A man identified as
Montesinos by the
Radioprogramas radio station
told the station he had coordinat
ed his return with Fujimori. In the
interview, conducted by phone
after he called the station, he said
Fujimori called him on a cell
phone when his plane stopped in
Guayaquil, Ecuador, for refuel
ing.
Montesinos said he had to
abandon Panama because his life
was in danger from Peruvian
guerrillas and drug traffickers
seeking revenge for his role in
combatting them.
But opposition leaders and
analysts say Montesinos has
returned to use his influence in a
desperate bid for laws granting
amnesty from prosecution for
himself and cronies who domi
nate Pern’s armed forces.
The government has insisted
Newsmakers
Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, center, speaks with Chief of Special Forces, Peruvian General Lub Arista, at a military base in
Lima, Peru. Peru's former spy chiefVladimiro Montesinos left Panama and returned home Monday, deepening a political crisb and
further endangering Fujimori's already shaky hold on power. First Vice President Francisco Tudela, one of Fujimori's strongest
backers, resigned in protest over Montesino's return and moved to give the military widespread amnesty.
on the amnesty law as a condi
tion for ratifying special elections
next year that would cut short
Fujimori’s third five-year term.
Fujimori, whose re-election this
year was tainted by widespread
irregularities, announced in
September that he was stepping
down over the Montesinos
bribery scandal.
Independent Congressman
Rafael Rey said that regardless of
Montesinos’ intentions, “his
presence is destabilizing."
Montesinos, whose allies
control the army, the courts, the
election board, die tax collection
agency and many media oudets,
is viewed by many Peruvians as
more powerful than Fujimori.
He was free to return to Peru
because there are no charges
pending against him. Before he
fled to Panama, a prosecutor
ruled there were insufficient
grounds to charge him in the
bribery scandal.
Fujimori emerged from the
Government Palace after mid
night Monday to defiantly
declare: “I exercise total control of
the armed forces and I absolutely
deny the possibility of a break
down of constitutional order.”
Military experts quickly
labeled Fujimori's declarations
and officer transfers as a charade
to convince Peruvians that he
was in control of the military.
TODAY TOMORROW
Thunderstorms Scattered showers
high 66, low 57 high 67, low 43
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Clemens disciplined after
bearing Piazza with bat
i nc HOOUV/iMi cu rncoo
NEW YORK — New York Yankees
pitcher Roger Clemens was fined $50,000
Tuesday for throwing the jagged barrel of
a shattered bat toward New York Mets
catcher Mike Piazza in Game 2 of the
World Series.
Clemens wasn’t suspended for throw
ing the broken bat in the first inning of
Sunday night’s game, and baseball didn’t
disclose the amount of the fine. But two
baseball officials with knowledge of the
fine, speaking on condition of anonymity,
told The Associated Press it was $50,000.
Clemens engaged in “inappropriate
conduct,” according to a statement by
Frank Robinson, baseball’s vice president
in charge of discipline. Robinson didn’t
elaborate on his conclusions.
“I have been advised of the fine,”
Clemens said in a statement issued
before Game 3.
“I want to stay focused on the task at
hand, helping my team win the World
Series, so I do not intend to consider the
question of an appeal or respond to ques
tions about the fine or the incident itself
UliUl UUO Ol/llV/J 1J WVVi.
When told of the punishment for
Clemens, Piazza responded: “It’s all irrel
evant. It doesn’t matter. I have no opin
ion.
The players’ association has seven
days to decide whether to appeal
Robinson’s decision to Paul Beeston,
baseball’s chief operating officer.
“It will all be handled after the World
Series,” said union head Donald Fehr.
Umpires during Game 2 concluded
that Clemens, who beaned Piazza on July
8, didn’t deliberately throw the broken
bat at the catcher. Clemens wasn’t ejected
and pitched eight two-hit shutout
innings in the Yankees’ 6-5 win.
“I think it was handled appropriately,”
Mets general manager Steve Phillips said.
“If they had come back and said they did
n’t want to do anything, that’s fine, too. It
wouldn’t have broken our hearts either
way.”
While pitching for Boston in 1990,
Clemens was ejected during a game
against Oakland in the AL playoffs by
umpire Terry Cooney, who said the pitch
er was cursing at him.
The Associated Press
■ Maine
Religious sect member shows
babies'bodies to investigators
BAXTER STATE PARK — A
man who stonewalled investi
gators for months about two
children missing from his assa
chusetts religious sect led a
search team Ttiesday to two tiny
bodies buried deep in the
Maine wilderness.
The remains, believed to be
those of Jeremiah Corneau, who
investigators believe was still
born or died within minutes of
his birth, and 10-month-old
Samuel Robidoux, were found
in makeshift pine coffins in a
remote part of Baxter State Park.
David Corneau, father of
Jeremiah and a member of the
sect, used a hand-drawn map to
pinpoint the site after he and
searchers were flown to the area
by float plane.
The nearest road is five
miles away.
The search in the 200,000
acre park in northern Maine
began one day after Corneau
agreed to lead authorities to the
bodies in exchange for immuni
ty from prosecution for himself
and his wife.
■ Washington, D.C.
House passes bill to provide
research chimps sanctuaries
The United States would
establish a network of chim
panzee sanctuaries under a bill
passed by the House on
Tuesday.
The sanctuaries would care
for the animals after they are no
longer needed for biomedical
research.
The measure, which passed
on a voice vote, would allow
spending up to $30 million to
set up the centers, which would
be managed by a nonprofit pri
vate entity.
Chimpanzees used by non
government researchers could
also be admitted to the pre
serves, space permitting, for an
entrance fee.
The Senate has not yet taken
up the measure.
■ Arizona
Teen takes dassroom hostage
athisofdelementarysdiool
GLENDALE - An armed
teen-ager briefly held a class
room full of children and a
teacher hostage Uiesday at his
former elementary school
before surrendering to authori
ties. No one was injured.
The former student at
Pioneer Elementary School
gave up after talking with mem
bers of a police SWAT team,
police spokesman Matt Brown
said. The standoff in the eighth
grade classroom lasted about
an hour.
“He came here with a pur
pose, but thank goodness he
didn’t carry it out,” Brown said.
Brown said the portable
classroom was full when the
student walked in with a 9mm
handgun, but he gradually let
students go.
There were still several peo
ple in the room when the stu
dent surrendered.
■ Washington, D.C.
Free-trade deal protects
Jordan workers' labor rights
WASHINGTON — The
United States and Jordan signed
a precedent-setting free trade
deal Tuesday that for the first
time would protect labor rights
and environmental standards,
long a goal of two major
Democratic constituencies.
The deal, which would
remove all trade barriers
between the two nations over
the next 10 years, is only the
fourth such pact the United
States has with other countries.
The others are with Canada,
Mexico and Israel.
Negotiators, working
around the clock, completed
final review of the document
only hours before a White
House signing ceremony
Tuesday attended by President
Clinton and Jordan’s King
Abdullah.
Clinton called the deal “a
landmark achievement"
because of its inclusion of labor
and environmental safeguards.
