U.N. weapons inspectors, including Americans, returned to Baghdad to resume their work. Saddam Hussein rescinded his expulsion of the Americans in exchange for Russia's promise to seek U.N. Security Council approval to lift sanctions against Iraq. The United States continued sending ships and planes to the Persian Gulf to ensure that Saddam stops obstructing the inspectors, and promised to veto any Russian attempt to lift the sanctions. The United States says it won because Iraq reversed itself unconditionally. Pundits declared defeat, on the grounds that whatever Saddam agrees to--and whatever makes the Russians look good--must be bad for the United States and the forces of peace and goodness. (Slate gives you "The Gist" on Iraq since the Gulf War.) (11/21)

An Iowa woman gave birth to septuplets after taking fertility drugs. The babies are on ventilators but in relatively good shape. If all survive, they'll be the first septuplets to do so. Forty specialists participated in the Caesarean delivery. The sunny spin: "It's a miracle," rewarding the couple's faith in God. (They had refused to abort some of the embryos, which would have increased the survival chances of the others.) The surly spins: 1) What the hell were these people and their doctors thinking? Carrying septuplets to term is a great way to kill them all--and maybe the mother--or to cause those who survive to be born with catastrophic defects. 2) Don't try this in your own home. 3) Fertility drugs have run amok. 4) We can't afford the expense of saving all these premature babies. 5) Fertility physicians, regulate thyselves, or Congress will do it for you. (11/21)

President Clinton endorsed an HMO"bill of rights." It calls for 1) an independent arbiter to whom patients can appeal adverse coverage decisions by their health insurers; 2) patient access to data comparing their providers with the alternatives; 3) direct patient access to specialists, instead of having them go through referrals; and 4) a right to emergency care. While urging insurers to meet these standards voluntarily, Clinton also asked Congress to mandate them. Analysts foresee a repeat of the 1994 health-care debate, with Republicans blasting the new plan as "ClintonCare II." The Washington Post called the plan less ambitious than Clinton pretends and lamented that each side will exaggerate it "to strike a heroic pose and ... milk some campaign contributions."(11/21)

President Clinton's advisory commission on race relations is under fire for excluding critics of affirmative action. Chairman John Hope Franklin declined to ask the leading critic, Ward Connerly, to testify at the panel's meeting on diversity in education, asserting that Connerly had "nothing to contribute." Nor did the panel ask other critics to testify. Newt Gingrich erupted, protesting that 1) the panel's putative "dialogue" has "become a monologue" and 2) true diversity would include Newt Gingrich's view, i.e., that we should stop obsessing about diversity. The New York Times agreed that the commission "must do more than preach to the converted." Meanwhile, National Public Radio reported, civil-rights groups are removing the ominous Piscataway, N.J., teachers affirmative-action case from the Supreme Court docket by settling with the white complainant. (11/21)

Terrorists massacred 58 foreign tourists in an Egyptian temple. None was American. The victims were shot, hacked, and mutilated. Egypt's biggest extremist faction, the "Islamic Group," claimed responsibility. Analysts suggested a further escalation of violence. The Los Angeles Times linked the massacre to similar bloodshed in Algeria and blamed it on poor security. The Chicago Tribune blamed Egypt's neglect of social and economic inequality. (11/19)

A federal regulator banned Teamsters President Ron Carey from seeking re-election, concluding that he was involved in a scam to launder union money into his 1996 campaign. Editorialists bemoaned the fall of an idol (see Slate's assessment), arguing that his legacy of reforming the Teamsters transcends his personal lapse. Left-wingers complained that right-wingers would use the ruling to tar the whole labor movement. Right-wingers, led by the Wall Street Journal, obliged them. Defenders pointed out that Carey hadn't murdered anybody (unlike past Teamsters bosses), and rationalized his scam as a "desperate" response to the threat posed by his more corrupt opponent, James P. Hoffa. Reformers consoled themselves with the hope that regulators will likewise throw Hoffa off the ballot for campaign violations. (11/19)

Texas is considering whether to replace school textbooks with laptops. Arguments for the switch: 1) With lower laptop prices plus volume discounts, it will be cheaper than new textbooks. 2) Laptops will make it easier to update the curriculum. 3) Students learn more on computers. 4) It'll give poor kids access to technology. Best argument against it: Kids will lose their laptops. Bottom line: The question is when, not whether, the switch will happen. (11/19)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the United States to plead for Jewish unity. The inside spin: Non-Orthodox Jews in the United States are furious at Netanyahu's collaboration with Orthodox Jews in Israel who are denying state recognition to non-Orthodox institutions. The conflict--in addition to anger over Netanyahu's management of peace talks with the Palestinians--is affecting American Jews' donations to Israel. Netanyahu's message: American Jews are "partners" with Israel in resolving this conflict, and there are no "second-class Jews." The outside spin: Why isn't Clinton meeting with Netanyahu during his visit? "Good for Clinton! Netanyahu has earned this snub," said the Chicago Tribune, noting that the Israeli prime minister's rocky relations with the Palestinians were screwing up the U.S.-Arab coalition against Saddam Hussein. (11/17)

Justice Department officials predict that an independent counsel will be named to investigate Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. This is likely, according to the Washington Post, because the dispute over whether Babbitt traded a decision on an Indian-casino license for Democratic-campaign money involves facts that the department can't resolve in its allotted three months. An independent probe of Babbitt would include examination of top White House and Democratic National Committee officials, particularly Harold Ickes, possibly leading to a wholesale investigation of Clinton's fund raising, as Republicans have hoped. (11/17)

Former teacher Mary Kay LeTourneau was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of treatment for having sex--and a baby--with a 13-year-old student. She had pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. She was 35 and married with four kids at the time. Controversy 1: The Los Angeles Times asks whether it was rape or, "as dozens of male respondents to local newspapers and talk radio programs suggest, the answer to every schoolboy's dream." Corollary: Should the fact that LeTourneau and the boy still "love" each other count against her (as psychologists insist) or for her? The boy's mother says: "I don't feel that this is a crime. My son does not feel victimized." Controversy 2: Did she get off lightly because she's a woman, whereas men are jailed longer for similar crimes? The respectable rejoinder: She's a first-time offender. The naughty rejoinder, offered by her lawyer: Critics just want to punish her because "she is attractive."(11/17)

Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng was released from prison and exiled to the United States. The first-day spin: It's a triumph for human rights and a vindication of Clinton's constructive-engagement policy. The second-day backspins: 1) Wei brought his punishment on himself by thumbing his nose at the Chinese government. 2) China's offer to exile him was old news. 3) China has thereby rid itself of an irksome "martyr" and his influence on the country. 4) Other Chinese dissidents are still in jail. 5) Trading nuclear technology and helicopters for him at the recent summit was a lousy deal. (11/17)