The week's big news, and how's it's being spun.
Aug. 24 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.

The Middle East meltdown accelerated: 1) Yasser Arafat hugged a Hamas leader and consulted with militant groups (whom Israel regards as terrorists), warning that "all options are open," including a resumption of violence. 2) The Palestinian Authority began enforcing a boycott of Israeli products. 3) Israel, pro-Israel militiamen, and Hezbollah resumed fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border. "The cycle of action and reaction, affront and retaliation, appears only to be deepening," regretted the New York Times. (See also Slate's "Gist" on the Palestinian Authority.) (8/22)

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Tobacco news: 1) The chairman of Philip Morris admitted in a deposition that 100,000 Americans "might have" died from smoking. The press treated this as a major breakthrough. 2) State attorneys general urged the White House to exempt the nation's smallest major tobacco company, Liggett, from the financial penalties in the $368 billion tobacco settlement. This is a payback to Liggett for turning state's evidence against its colleagues. 3) Newt Gingrich denied that a budget provision allowing cigarette companies to deduct new cigarette-tax payments from the $368 billion they've agreed to pay amounts to "cutting a break for the tobacco folks."(8/22)

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UPS and the Teamsters settled their strike and went back to work. UPS agreed to 1) convert 10,000 part timers to full timers; 2) raise the average part-time hourly wage from $11 to $15; and 3) continue funding the Teamsters' multi-employer pension system. In exchange, UPS got a five-year contract, which means it won't have to go through this again for a while. Pundits conceded that the Teamsters won this battle but doubted that organized labor would win the war. That's because 1) UPS's $600-million loss from the strike will force it to lay off workers; 2) the extra labor costs will force UPS to raise prices and lose more business to non-unionized competitors; 3) other industries are less dominated by unionized companies; and 4) management won't let itself be whipped again at public relations. A day after the rest of the media rejected the conclusion that unions are on the rise, the Wall Street Journal assailed the media for concluding that unions are on the rise. (8/22)

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Hudson Foods, the meat processor whose hamburgers reportedly have sickened 17 people with fecal bacteria, recalled 25 million pounds of beef. Hudson also agreed to shut down its Nebraska processing plant until the Agriculture Department certifies it has met higher safety standards. The recalled beef is in fast-food restaurants and grocery stores all over the country, although reports of illness are confined to Colorado. Hudson also holds the previous record for a meat recall: 3 million pounds of ground turkey--complete with tiny bone shards--in 1995. Some reports pointed out that meat will always pose risks, and that the only way to be safe is to heat your meat. (8/22)

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More conflicts abroad: 1) NATO troops dismantled a police force (i.e., henchmen) loyal to Bosnian Serb villain Radovan Karadzic. Pundits cheered wildly and speculated that NATO might try to grab Karadzic once he's been stripped of his defenses. 2) Bloodshed continued across Africa (Kenya, Algeria, and Sierra Leone). 3) The British began evacuating the Caribbean island of Montserrat, as the local volcano threatens to wipe out the island. 4) Russia is ignoring U.S. pressure to stop Russian scientists from assisting Iran's missile program. On the bright side, the Iranian Parliament approved new Cabinet ministers who support dialogue with the United States, raising hopes that President Mohammad Khatami will do to Iran's domestic tyranny and foreign belligerence what Mikhail Gorbachev did to the Soviet Union's. (8/22)

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The American Medical Association asked Sunbeam to release it from an endorsement deal. Under the deal, the AMA had agreed to endorse Sunbeam health products--and not to endorse its rivals' products--in exchange for royalties. The AMA wants out because the deal has called its credibility into question. Editorialists are applauding, but Sunbeam Chairman "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap, the legendary downsizer, is threatening to go to court to enforce the deal. (8/22)

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Police brutality became the top issue in New York City's mayoral race. The latest furor is over an episode in which two Brooklyn cops allegedly shoved a toilet plunger up the rectum of a Haitian immigrant and then rammed it in his mouth, breaking his teeth, while explaining, "This is Giuliani time, not Dinkins time." Mayor Rudy Giuliani responded by having four officers indicted and ordering sensitivity training for the entire force. Ten weeks before the election, challenger Ruth Messinger began to criticize Giuliani for failing to criticize police brutality until 10 weeks before the election. (Click here for Slate's assessment of Messinger.) Fellow-challenger the Rev. Al Sharpton compared the incident to the Rodney King beating. The Los Angeles Times chided New York for its wayward cops. The Wall Street Journal accused everyone of hysterical overreaction. (8/22)

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The Dow Jones industrial average recovered completely from its 247-point dive of Aug. 15. The one-day drop is the Dow's biggest in percentage terms since 1991. The consensus is that although this correction is over, it won't be the last. Analysts simultaneously argued that 1) the rally was fueled in part by the Federal Reserve's decision not to raise interest rates and 2) no one was surprised by the Fed's decision. Investors celebrated the invincible bull market. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that the oversupply of desperate crack whores in New York has driven the price of a blow job below $5. (8/20)

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Miscellany: Davis Love III, one of the best golfers never to have won a major tournament, captured the PGA Championship. Sportswriters celebrated with predictable puns. ValuJet claims to have evidence that a contractor deliberately mislabeled the oxygen canisters that caused its notorious plane crash last year. A new law in Louisiana allows motorists to shoot and kill carjackers. The two cosmonauts who presided over a series of accidents aboard the Mir space station returned to Russia to begin taking the blame. (8/18)

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Billionaire George Soros will donate $1 million to buy clean needles for drug addicts. Soros cited evidence that needle-exchange programs reduce HIV transmission. The latest donation adds to the $1 million Soros spent last year on state ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana. Drug warriors resumed their criticism of Soros but confessed pleasant surprise at his assertion that he opposes general legalization of drugs, including marijuana. Legalization may be bad, conceded Soros, but aggressive criminalization is worse. (8/18)

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Slow news week: 1) All media outlets reported that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who had shown no remorse two months ago when a jury recommended he be sentenced to death, showed no remorse this week when he was sentenced to death. 2) Front-page stories: the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, and the 50th anniversaries of the independence of India and Pakistan. 3) The White House announced that the year 2000 is approaching, and that President Clinton will respond by launching a project to assess "what that will mean, both symbolically and historically," and to "figure out a way to celebrate" it. 4) Among AP's top weekend stories: "Indonesia Marks Independence Day." 5) Top political story in the Aug. 18 New York Times and Washington Post: Clinton vacations on Martha's Vineyard. (8/18)