The week's big news, and how's it's being spun.
Jan. 24 1997 3:30 AM

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The "Baby Richard" controversy is back. Originally, the boy had been put up for adoption by his mother, who told his father that the child had died. Two years ago, the father wrested the boy from his adoptive parents in a nasty court fight. Now, the father has moved out of the family home (where the boy was being raised by both parents), reportedly at the mother's request. The father says he visits the child regularly and provides financial support; the Chicago Tribune says the child seems to be getting adequate care from both biological parents. Nevertheless, the father's exit "has provoked a new round of outrage," in the words of the New York Times. Experts who opposed the original removal of the boy from his adoptive parents are crying I told you so. Ironically, the very argument that was made in favor of the adoptive parents two years ago--that the child shouldn't be uprooted--would work against them if they tried to regain custody now. (1/22)
The Ennis Cosby murder case took a bizarre turn. The best leads to the killer have dried up: Detectives have found and questioned two men who were thought to have witnessed the crime, and have determined that the men saw nothing. Meanwhile, a woman and her "manager" were arrested and charged with extortion because they allegedly threatened to disclose that the woman is Bill Cosby's illegitimate daughter unless he forked over $40 million. Cosby denies the paternity claim, and says he has the necessary evidence; the New York Times said the case "may ultimately prove to be an example of one of [Cosby's] good deeds gone awry," since the woman was among various students whose education Cosby was financing. Authorities believe the extortion plot is unrelated to the murder. The tabloid media play a role in both cases: Hours before Ennis Cosby was killed, the Globe was offering Bill Cosby's extortionist $25,000 for her story; after the killing, the Globe changed track and offered $200,000 for information leading to the shooter's conviction. (1/22)
Seinfeld cast The supporting actors in Seinfeld (who play George, Elaine, and Kramer) are demanding $1 million apiece per episode. Each would earn $22 million for the season. Since the show is expected to earn $250 million in revenue from commercials next year, NBC's profits would be about $100 million. While some analysts suspect the actors' demands are just a bargaining ploy, others note that NBC is desperate to keep the show. Many say the TV networks are now sliding into the same reckless and disastrous bidding war for "stars" that has convulsed the movie industry and professional sports. The early line, as in movies and sports, is that the stars have the upper hand. (1/22)
Straws in the wind: The Food and Drug Administration approved "Dr. Brown's Home Drug Testing System," the first nonprescription device that lets parents check their kids' urine for signs of marijuana and hard drugs. Meanwhile, a software firm has announced the first CD-ROM that will let parents test their kids' IQs at home. Starbucks has reportedly reached saturation level: Franchises in some cities are so numerous and closely packed that they're hurting each other's business. A U.N. report predicts water shortages may become a source of international conflict in the 21st century. A government report says winter storms really have gotten worse during this century. The Wall Street Journal says Bill Gates' book on the information age has become a best seller in China, not even counting the "countless more pirated copies." The hot new computer-game accessory is a joystick that jolts, vibrates, and snaps against the user's hand, heralding a new generation of sensory-feedback technology. (1/22)
Newt Gingrich The House voted overwhelmingly to reprimand Speaker Newt Gingrich and fine him $300,000. The vote affirmed the Ethics Committee's verdict that Gingrich's use of tax-deductible donations for dissemination of a partisan education program, compounded by his false denial that a GOP political-action committee he headed was involved, reflected "disregard and lack of respect for the standards of conduct" of Congress. The early political assessment was that Gingrich got off easy by avoiding formal censure (which would have cost him his speakership) and getting a fine (which he might be able to cover from campaign funds) instead. But on second thoughts, pundits concluded that the fine will impress upon voters the seriousness of Gingrich's misdeeds, and that if he tries to pay it out of campaign funds, he'll only extend and amplify the controversy. (1/22)
Bombs and bomb scares highlighted the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Earlier in the week, two bombs caused damage but no casualties at an abortion clinic in Tulsa, Okla.; on the anniversary itself, a grenade fuse assembly exploded near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington, D.C., only a block from the hotel where Hillary Clinton and Al and Tipper Gore spoke later in the day at an abortion-rights luncheon. These incidents follow explosions last week at an Atlanta clinic that gutted two rooms and injured half-a-dozen people. Investigators and politicians focused their outrage on the second Atlanta bomb, which detonated 45 minutes after the first, wounding rescue workers and reporters who had arrived in response to the first explosion. Law-enforcement authorities cited the delayed bomb as a classic terrorist technique used by the Irish Republican Army and Middle Eastern groups to kill investigators. But the vocal consensus against such violence seems to be broadening: Speaker Newt Gingrich, Operation Rescue, and the National Right to Life Committee joined President Clinton in denouncing the Atlanta attack. (1/22)
President Clinton at inauguration President Clinton was sworn into office for his second term. He called for racial and bipartisan harmony and promised a government that would do more for Americans while requiring less. "Government is not the problem, and government is not the solution," he proclaimed. While coverage of the crowd, parade, and parties was typically upbeat, analyses of the speech and Clinton's future ranged from subdued to skeptical, mindful of the lingering atmosphere of White House scandal and the lackluster-to-disastrous second terms of previous presidents. Clinton's self-advertised and exhaustively plumbed obsession with leaving his mark on history dampened hopes that he might actually do things worthy of distinction. The consensus expects that Clinton will be more conservative than in his first term, magnifying the role of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and marginalizing Hillary. Pundits still can't figure out what Clinton believes in, but they are increasingly tiring of that question and casting their eyes ahead to an Al Gore candidacy. (1/20)
The National Basketball Association suspended Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman for at least 11 games for kicking a courtside cameraman after tripping over him. The suspension, which will cost Rodman approximately $2 million in lost salary and incentives, is the second-most severe in NBA history. The NBA Players Association complained that the penalty was too harsh, but commentators generally applauded it as an overdue crackdown on the epidemic of spitting, shoving, punching, head-butting, and general anarchy that professional athletes have been inflicting on referees and fans lately. Rodman accused the cameraman of sitting too close to the court and then faking injury from the kick; sportswriters agreed, but accused Rodman of utter indifference and wished the cameraman good luck in suing for damages. (1/20)
Steve Fossett's hot-air balloon Miscellaneous: Former senator and presidential candidate Paul Tsongas died of complications of a liver ailment that was evidently brought on by past treatments for bone marrow cancer. He was 55. President Clinton awarded the Medal of Freedom to Bob Dole; Dole reduced the White House audience to guffaws by facetiously taking the oath of office ("Sorry, wrong speech ... "). The Republican National Committee picked Colorado developer Jim Nicholson as its new chairman; early reports portray him as a relative lightweight who won by process of elimination. Mexico repaid its $12.5 billion loan from the United States three years early; advocates of the loan crowed that they had been vindicated, and that the loan's isolationist critics had been discredited. NASA scientists released pictures showing further signs of a subterranean ocean (and therefore the possibility of life) on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Balloonist Steve Fossett flew from St. Louis, Mo., to India, establishing a world record; but a fuel shortfall, caused in part by Libya's initial refusal to let him fly over the country, thwarted his bid to circle the world. (1/20)
A team of astrophysicists issued a new theory on the fate of the universe. The good news: It won't collapse back into an infinitely dense speck of matter. The bad news: It will scatter into an infinitely diffuse, pitch-black expanse of nothingness. All the visible lights will go out in 100 trillion years, then all the cinders will burn out in 10 trillion trillion trillion years, then all the remaining black holes will decompose into subatomic particles in 10,000 trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years. Commentators seemed in no hurry to assess the outlook. (1/17)
Abortion-clinic bombing aftermath Just as pro-choice activists in Washington were announcing a decline in abortion-clinic violence, two bombs exploded at an Atlanta clinic, gutting two rooms and injuring seven people. Investigators and reporters focused their outrage on the second bomb, which detonated 45 minutes after the first, wounding investigators and reporters who had arrived in response to the first explosion. Law-enforcement authorities cited the delayed bomb as a classic terrorist technique used by the Irish Republican Army and Middle Eastern groups to kill investigators. The two fears are: 1) This technique may become more common in America and 2) More clinics may be attacked as the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe vs. Wade approaches. On the other hand, the vocal consensus against such violence seems to be broadening: Speaker Newt Gingrich, Operation Rescue, and the National Right to Life Committee joined President Clinton in denouncing the attack. (1/17)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat finally signed an agreement to withdraw Israeli troops from Hebron, including an Israeli commitment to turn over large rural parts of the West Bank next year. Analysts agreed that with this deal, Netanyahu has abandoned and killed right-wing dreams of a Greater Israel. Optimists who favor the agreement say he now has a firm stake in the peace process and may be able to secure the commitment to it of half of his Likud coalition--reasonable hawks and "soccer moms," who want a peace agreement with some guarantees of security. But the New York Times' Thomas Friedman warns that Netanyahu has been forced into the deal by domestic political considerations, and still has a "highly dysfunctional relationship" with Arafat. Israeli right-wingers have begun denouncing Netanyahu as a weak-kneed politician who caved in to American pressure. A majority of Likud Cabinet members supported the deal, however, lest Netanyahu end up forming a coalition with the Labor Party. The measure passed by a lopsided vote in the Israeli Parliament, clearing the way for the handover Friday morning of Hebron's military headquarters and the beginning of the withdrawal of most Israeli troops. (1/17)
Two of the four women who enrolled at the Citadel this year have quit, claiming sexual harassment and abuse. Among their allegations: Senior cadets set them on fire, filled their mouths with cleanser, and rubbed up against one of them sexually. Citadel officials, while suspending two cadets and disciplining nine others in the case, defend themselves by pointing out that male freshmen are similarly abused. (The school's defenders have often argued that pain and humiliation help cadets bond into a unit.) Critics seem increasingly persuaded that the Citadel's institutionalized sadism transcends gender--which, in their view, makes it all the more revolting. (1/15)

--Compiled by William Saletan and the editors of SLATE.

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Photograph of Seinfeld cast by Lee Celano/Reuters; photograph of Newt Gingrich by Mike Theiler/Reuters; photograph of Bill Clinton by Gary Hirschorn/Reuters; photograph of hot-air balloon "Solo Spirit" by Bill Stover/Reuters; photograph of abortion-clinic bombing aftermath by John Spink/Reuters