General News

Clinton Defends Terrorism Bill

President Clinton is not happy with the way House Republicans changed anti-terrorism legislation that he proposed. In his weekly radio address today, the president accused GOP lawmakers of bowing to gun lobby pressure when they watered down the measure. Complaining that House Republicans ``took the teeth out of our efforts to fight terrorism,'' Clinton said it is unbelievable that lawmakers took terrorism-fighting tools away from law enforcement such as a provision to chemically mark explosives and make them easier to trace.

Canadian Tourist Killed in Fla.

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a Canadian tourist during a robbery in the popular resort of Daytona Beach, Fla. Mark Fyke, 18, from Belleville, Ontario, died last night from a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Police said Fyke, accompanied by a friend, was talking to his mother on a pay telephone when one of a group of males accosted Fyke and demanded his wallet before shooting him. Attacks on foreign visitors are a sore subject in Florida, where the tourism industry has been threatened by such assaults.

GM, Union Holding Talks

Talks to resolve the paralyzing strike at General Motors' Dayton, Ohio, brake plants resumed today under an information blackout following a 10-hour bargaining session yesterday. Labor experts the news blackout may indicate the two sides are close to settling the 12-day-old strike that has idled more than 124,700 GM workers. Members of Local 696 walked off the job March 5 to protest GM's decision to buy some parts from outside suppliers. Without brakes, GM was forced to shutdown most of its North American assembly plants.

CIA Shared Data With Cubans

Senior CIA officials shared data with Cuban intelligence officers to show that two civilian U.S. planes were shot down over international waters by Cuban MiG planes, a Clinton administration official says. The Washington Post said six Cuban military officers holding the rank of colonel or lieutenant colonel were allowed to enter United States for the briefing in New York on the Feb. 24 downing of two Cuban exile planes. The CIA considered the meeting successful because afterward Cuba's foreign minister dropped claims that he could prove the planes were over Cuban territory when they were downed.

Clinton Threatens Veto

President Clinton says he'll veto a product liability reform bill that would make it harder for consumers to sue for damages from defective products. ``This bill represents an unwarranted intrusion on state authority in the interest of protecting manufacturers and sellers of defective products,'' Clinton said in a letter to Republican and Democratic congressional leaders. The bill, which is strongly backed by manufacturers of a range of items ranging from automobiles to raw materials used in medical devices, is scheduled to come to a final vote in Congress next week.