The week's big news, and how's it's being spun.
May 25 1997 3:30 AM

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William Saletan William Saletan

Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other stuff for Slate. He’s the author of Bearing Right.

Lt. Kelly Flinn agreed to a "general" rather than an "honorable" discharge from the Air Force. This will spare her a court-martial and possible jail time for allegedly committing adultery, lying about it, and disobeying orders to end that affair. However, the discharge will cost her her veterans' and other benefits. Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall refused to grant an honorable discharge, citing Flinn's alleged "lack of integrity and disobedience to order" and warning that a special exemption would discredit the military-justice system. Reports suggested Flinn cut her deal at just the right time, since 1) the media were becoming skeptical of her "carefully orchestrated publicity campaign"; 2) editorialists (e.g. the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune) were growing more sympathetic to the Air Force's case; and 3) Flinn's former lover and his ex-wife were beginning a counterattack on her character. (5/23)

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The defense opened its case in the Oklahoma City bombing trial. Its theory: The real bomber was blown up in the explosion. The key evidence: A severed leg not matched to any bodies of known victims. Highlights of the day: 1) The Oklahoma City medical examiner enumerated detached body parts collected from the scene and 2) Northern Ireland's former chief medical examiner recounted a bombing case in which an extra penis found at the site turned out to be the sole intact remnant of the man who had carried the bomb. (5/23)

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President Clinton accused the fashion industry of glamorizing heroin. After reading about a photographer who died of a heroin overdose after selling pictures of emaciated, vacant-eyed models, Clinton argued that such images have encouraged young people to take up the habit. Critics protested that 1) the heroin look faded from fashion magazines months ago; 2) heroin use is far less common than Clinton suggested; and 3) it's not fair to blame drug abuse on advertisers. Still, many magazine editors said Clinton was right. The New York Times' A.M. Rosenthal tried to say something or other about it. (5/23)

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Sportscaster Marv Albert denied charges that he had assaulted and sodomized a female acquaintance. Meanwhile, the press unearthed problems with his anonymous accuser: 1) She faces criminal charges for allegedly threatening to kill her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend and 2) a female co-worker has filed a complaint accusing her of physical harassment. NBC stood by Albert, announcing he will continue to broadcast basketball playoff games. Albert has retained the same lawyer who represented Nicole Brown Simpson's family in the O.J. Simpson civil case. (5/23)

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Miscellaneous: Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired his top two military officers for resisting budget cuts and reforms. Analysts regard this as a key victory for Russia's economic reformers over its military hawks. A New York judge dropped charges against the Danish woman who had left her baby in a stroller outside a restaurant while dining. The catch: She has to get out of the United States by next week. Mattel introduced "Share a Smile Becky," a wheelchair-bound Barbie companion doll. Millie, the "first dog" of the Bush White House, has died. Her 1990 book (reportedly ghosted by Barbara Bush) has sold more than 300,000 copies. Alexander Solzhenitsyn is in the cardiac intensive-care unit of a Moscow hospital. Roseanne has agreed to launch a daily TV talk show next year. Tiger Woods has signed an endorsement deal with American Express. The deal reportedly adds $13 million to the $60 million Woods has already secured for similar contracts with Nike and Titleist. Meanwhile, Fuzzy Zoeller lunched with Woods at a country club and has evidently patched things up. There was no word on what they ate. (5/23)

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Rebel leader Laurent Kabila assumed power in Zaire and renamed it the Democratic Republic of Congo. Casualties in the capital were surprisingly low, and reports on the rebel soldiers' conduct were generally positive. Other reports were less auspicious: Kabila named himself president, scrapped the post of prime minister (sought by the leader of the political opposition to former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko), and stacked his Cabinet with rebel allies. Elsewhere, the Associated Press found evidence of mass graves, which may belong to Rwandan Hutu refugees slaughtered by Kabila's troops. (5/23)

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The Senate passed the partial-birth-abortion ban. Sixty-four senators voted for it--seven more than last year, but three short of the 67 necessary to override the veto President Clinton has promised. Supporters got two last-minute endorsements from 1) the American Medical Association, which hasn't supported an abortion ban since Roe vs. Wade and 2) Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., whose compromise proposal would have banned post-viability abortions with exceptions for women who would otherwise suffer "grievous injury." Commentators agreed pro-lifers have all the momentum but have refused to capitalize on it (most conspicuously by rejecting Daschle's proposal) because they'd rather have a 1998 election issue than a 1997 legislative achievement. (5/21)

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House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., announced his opposition to the Clinton-GOP budget deal (which passed the House 333-99 anyway), on the grounds that it squeezes "average" Americans while offering tax cuts to the rich. Everyone agreed this is the opening play in Gephardt's campaign to marshal the liberal wing of the Democratic Party against Vice President Gore in the 2000 presidential race. Next, Gephardt is expected to challenge Clinton and Gore on 1) Most Favored Nation trade status for China and 2) "fast track" authority for a trade deal with Chile. Pundits (e.g., the Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib) expressed relief that the boring, bipartisan harmony on the budget is giving way to internecine quarreling, class warfare, and jockeying for the presidency. (5/21)

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1) Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz edged out four-time winner Michael Jordan for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award. The buzz in the sporting world is that Jordan would love to face Malone in the finals so he can remind everyone who's really the boss. 2) In the NBA draft lottery, the San Antonio Spurs beat out the Boston Celtics for the right to draft future superstar center Tim Duncan. 3) Miami Heat coach Pat Riley beat his old team, the New York Knicks, to advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. New Yorkers grumbled that the league's suspension of several Knicks had cost them the series. (5/21)

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The Federal Reserve decided not to raise interest rates. The stock market celebrated by surging back to a near-record. Analysts applauded Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan for continuing his "experiment" to see how low unemployment can fall (it's now below 5 percent) without triggering inflation. Editorialists and market watchers agreed Greenspan can indulge in this experiment without scaring the market because he has earned an aura of infallibility as an inflation fighter and seer of economic trends. If Greenspan thinks everything's OK, goes the prevailing logic, then everything must be OK. (5/21)

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Garry Kasparov challenged Deep Blue to a rematch on behalf of "all mankind." However, Deep Blue's designers at IBM refused to commit to play Kasparov next. "There are a lot of great chess players," replied one IBM scientist. "IBM Snubs Kasparov," declared the Associated Press. Meanwhile, IBM is already airing a TV ad (for its RS/6000 computer series, which Deep Blue represents) in which the computer plays a mock one-on-one basketball game against star player David Robinson. Deep Blue beat Kasparov in their match earlier this month by thrashing him in the final of a six-game match. (For the complete spin on the match, see "The Week/The Pawns.") (5/19)

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Two Palestinians accused of selling land to Israelis have been murdered. Earlier this month, the Palestinian Authority announced that it would execute any Arab who sold land to Jews. Shortly thereafter, an Arab accused of this offense was killed, and Israeli police charged a Palestinian police officer with the murder. This weekend, a second man who was reputed to have sold land to Israelis was killed after Palestinian police interrogated him about his financial dealings. Pundits cited the first of the two murders as 1) a bad sign for the future behavior of a Palestinian government and 2) the latest evidence of the region's degeneration into a cold war. (For a backgrounder, see Slate's "The Gist" on selling land to Jews.) (5/19)

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Silver Charm is one race away from becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 19 years. He won the Preakness by a nose after taking the Kentucky Derby by a similarly slim margin. A victory in the June 7 Belmont Stakes would give him the Triple Crown. (5/19)

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President Clinton called for a national crusade to perfect an AIDS vaccine. The president likened his proposal to President Kennedy's crusade to put a man on the moon; but, unlike Kennedy, he offered no new money for his quest. Critics saw in this a succinct illustration of the empty symbolism of Clinton's presidency. (5/19)

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The president also apologized to survivors of the Tuskegee experiment, in which the government allowed black men to die of syphilis while pretending to help them. The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post applauded Clinton for facing up to the nation's shame. (5/19)