Thirty-nine members of a California cult killed themselves. The cult, known as Heaven's Gate, believed in UFOs, predicted an imminent apocalypse, and built Web sites for a living. Evidently the members took the arrival of comet Hale-Bopp (rumored to be concealing an alien spaceship, according to Internet postings) as the sign that it was time to go. Primer: The cult believed that divine aliens traveled to Houston in the 1970s to take possession of a music professor and a nurse, who then founded the cult and renamed themselves (at various times) "Bo" and "Peep," "Tiddly" and "Wink," and "Do" and "Ti." The cult's leader was said to look and talk like Mister Rogers. The mass suicide, perhaps the worst in U.S. history, is being compared to Jonestown, Waco, and Masada. The March 28 New York Times ran nine articles on the story. The early spin is that the Internet is to blame for 1) helping cults get their mitts on isolated, middle-class nerds, 2) spreading the comet-spaceship rumor, and 3) enabling the cult to flourish in the Web-page business. (3/28)

Higher Source: higher meaning? The papers were remarkably restrained in trying to impart some higher significance to the mass suicide. An early and mild rash of traditional-values type commentary on how "American kids have lost their traditional faith" was squelched by the revelation that many cult members were middle-aged and that, despite its ultimate millennial focus, the movement, in one form or another, was a couple of decades old. USA Today pointed out that cults are far from an anomaly in American culture, and some (Mormonism) have become mainstream religions. (3/28)

The Middle East peace process is on the verge of collapse again. First, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat exploded at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for building a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. Then, Netanyahu accused Arafat of inspiring a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv by giving terrorists a "green light." A week of violence in the streets is generating talk that the bad old days of the intifada are back. U.S. special envoy Dennis Ross has met with both leaders to urge reconciliation, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright might follow suit. U.S. pressure on Netanyahu to abort the Jewish settlement is giving way to U.S. pressure on Arafat to crack down on terrorists. The latest rumored cure-all is a possible Israeli coalition government between Netanyahu and the opposition Labor Party. (3/28)

Vice President Al Gore finished his trip to China, and pundits pronounced it a failure. Their complaints: 1) Gore won no concrete concessions on human rights, nuclear proliferation, or trade barriers. 2) He failed to criticize Chinese human-rights abuses in public, or even to specify cases he had raised with them in private. 3) He left the impression that there will be no repercussions if it turns out that China funneled campaign contributions to influence U.S. policy. 4) He failed to divert the press from questioning him mercilessly about the Chinese-money allegations. 5) He neglected to visit Hong Kong. 6) One of his two putative accomplishments on the trip, a business deal between China and General Motors, is a technology giveaway. 7) He gave his political enemies useful ad footage by joining Prime Minister Li Peng, the "Butcher of Beijing," in a champagne toast. (3/28)

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in two years. The small (quarter-point) hike, designed to stop inflation before it starts, is being likened to a gentle tap on the economy's brakes. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan did such a good job of hinting at the rate hike beforehand that the stock market hardly dipped when the hike finally happened. Instead, investors and analysts quickly moved on to a new anxiety: how far and how fast the Fed would continue to raise rates. That anxiety, aggravated by signs of an overheating economy, triggered a 140-point sell-off in the Dow just before the market closed for the week. (3/28)

Canadian officials say a Saudi man they recently detained is a link between Iran-backed terrorists and last year's Saudi air-base bombing, which killed 19 American soldiers and wounded 500 others. The Canadians believe that the man, Hani Abdel Rahim Sayegh, is a Shiite Muslim connected to the terrorist group Hezbollah. U.S. officials say evidence disclosed in the Canadian report strengthens the case that Iran was behind the bombing. (3/28)

Gingrich Cannibalism Watch: 1) The Weekly Standard (previous editorial line on Gingrich: "Stand By Your Man") published an article by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., urging that Gingrich be replaced. 2) Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., said he and 10 GOP colleagues are preparing to rebel if the House leadership doesn't return to conservative principles by August. 3) Human Events, a conservative magazine, says as many as 40 GOP conservatives are considering whether to demand a no-confidence vote on Gingrich's speakership. (3/28)

Update from the college basketball tournaments: Michigan, riding the power of its 300-pound center, Robert "Tractor" Traylor, beat Florida State to win the National Invitation Tournament. The NCAA men's tournament is down to the Final Four: Arizona is the spoiler, having ousted tournament favorite Kansas and the only remaining dark horse, Providence, which was led by the memorable point guard God Shammgod. Kentucky, the defending champion, has staggered through despite injuries that have reduced its roster to eight players. Minnesota is the outsider, getting its first Final Four berth ever after having been denied an invitation to the tournament last year. And North Carolina is the comeback team, redeeming itself after having lost its first three conference games this season. In the women's tournament, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Tennessee made the Final Four. (3/28)

The National Cancer Institute joined the American Cancer Society in recommending annual mammograms for women in their 40s. This reversed an advisory board's recommendation that the benefits to women in their 40s didn't necessarily justify the cost, and that these women should decide for themselves. The prevailing wisdom now is that the "decide for yourself" advice was too confusing, and that women need to be told exactly what to do. (3/28)

A condemned man's head burst into flames during his electrocution in Florida. This is the second such episode in Florida since 1990. Death-penalty critics compared it to burning a man alive and cited it as another reason to get rid of capital punishment altogether. Florida's attorney general proposed a different lesson: "People who wish to commit murder, they better not do it in the state of Florida because we may have a problem with our electric chair."(3/26)

The English Patient cleaned up at the Academy Awards. It won nine Oscars, including the awards for best picture, best director (Anthony Minghella), and best supporting actress (Juliette Binoche). The hot topic was Binoche's victory over Lauren Bacall, who had been expected, for sentimental reasons, to make good on the first Oscar nomination of her half-century career. Binoche was so dismayed that she apologized while accepting the award. Other subjects of commentary included the sole award, for best supporting actor, to a black nominee, Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire), and the anemic performance of major studio films. (See "Summary Judgment" for reviewers' reactions.) (3/26)

O.J. Simpson's lawyers filed motions to overturn the civil judgment against him. They claim a dozen grounds for a new trial, including the allegedly improper admission into evidence of 1) a lie-detector test and 2) a phone call to a battered-women's shelter by a woman named Nicole. (3/26)

Jesse Helms and Madeleine Albright are becoming a hot political item. They toured North Carolina together March 25, declaring their mutual admiration. Reporters curious about their motives have decided that 1) she senses his power and gentility and is courting his cooperation and 2) he loves her Reaganesque patriotism, moral certitude, and tough-guy talk (e.g., challenging Cuba's cojones). The first fruit of her labors is that Helms has now indicated that he will stop blocking the chemical-weapons treaty (which he still opposes) from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. (3/26)

Former President George Bush, re-enacting an episode from his Navy career, strapped on a parachute and jumped out of an airplane. The parachute opened. (3/26)

President Clinton concluded his summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and nearly everyone declared it a success. 1) The two leaders agreed to reduce nuclear-missile warheads. 2) Yeltsin acquiesced to NATO expansion to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. 3) Clinton accepted an expanded Russian role in the G-7. The half-cynical view is that Russia hasn't made its peace with NATO expansion, but is just too weak to stop it. The completely cynical view is that there is no reason the United States should care about this distinction. (For a primer on NATO expansion, see Slate's "The Gist.") (3/24)

Webster Hubbell is back in the spotlight of the Democratic fund-raising scandal. The New York Times reported that a company owned by James Riady paid Hubbell about $100,000 within a week of Riady's having spent five days visiting the White House in 1994. The Washington Post reported that Riady had also met with Hubbell during that week. Hubbell supplants last week's scandal poster boy, Roger Tamraz, a Lebanese-American businessman and accused embezzler with past ties to BCCI. Tamraz got into four White House events after the Democratic National Committee enlisted the CIA to try to dissuade a national-security aide from keeping him out of the White House. (3/24)

Other news on the scandal: 1) The New York Times reported that documents released by Harold Ickes show that the White House set explicit fund-raising targets for coffees with President Clinton. 2) The Washington Post reported that Americans of Indian and Pakistani descent waged a proxy battle over U.S. foreign policy by funneling campaign contributions to the 1996 South Dakota Senate race between incumbent Larry Pressler, R-India, and challenger Tim Johnson, D-Pakistan. 3) House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt is returning $22,000 in campaign donations, mostly from Lippo-connected contributors. (3/24)