Update on "Interncourse" (the Clinton sex-and-perjury scandal): 1) Clinton pal Vernon Jordan said that Monica Lewinsky had told him she had never had an affair with Clinton. Jordan also denied he had told Lewinsky to falsely deny having carried on such an affair. 2) Lewinsky's deposition about her relations with Clinton has been postponed. Before the delay, reports said she would take the Fifth Amendment. Now she's said to be interested in negotiating for immunity from prosecution for perjury and obstruction of justice (i.e., she still might testify against Clinton) but negotiations have stalled. 3) Circumstantial evidence may corroborate her story, e.g., messenger receipts allegedly for gifts between her and Clinton, White House logs, and records of Clinton's voice allegedly on her answering machine. 4) Prosecutors have subpoenaed Betty Currie, Clinton's personal secretary, to seek further corroboration. 5) Clinton reportedly admitted in his Paula Jones deposition (see 1/19 item, below) that he fooled around with Gennifer Flowers. Naive critics concluded that this means Clinton lied in 1992 when he denied having had an affair with Flowers. Sophisticated critics conceded he can square his various statements because he's a wizard with weasel words. 6) Paula Jones' attorneys reportedly are investigating whether Clinton had an affair with the widow of the late Ambassador Larry Lawrence, who got into Arlington Cemetery evidently because his fake military record wasn't carefully scrutinized. (For more on Lawrence, see earlier editions of "The Week/The Spin" and "Cheat Sheet." For more on how the story everyone's talking about stayed out of the papers, see Slate's "Tangled Web." Also in Slate: Jacob Weisberg's "Dispatches" take you to Washington, and "International Papers" gives you reactions from around the world.) (1/23)

Pope John Paul II arrived in Cuba. President Fidel Castro portrayed him as a fan of Cuban egalitarianism and an opponent of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. While agreeing that the United States should change the embargo policy, the pope blasted Castro's government for 1) tolerating abortions and divorces; 2) usurping parents' authority to direct their children's education; and 3) substituting "ideology" for Christianity. The U.S. media's spin: The pope's visit crowns freedom's triumph over communism and "is bound to hasten" Cuba's progress toward democracy. The Cuban spin: After the pope leaves, Castro will go back to business as usual. (1/23)

Ted Kaczynski confessed that he is the Unabomber, pleaded guilty to all charges, and renounced his right to appeal rulings in his trial in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without parole. He bought the deal because the case against him was a "slam dunk," and he might have got the death penalty. Prosecutors bought the deal because Kaczynski's schizophrenia diagnosis made a death sentence unlikely. Celebrity-trial pundits reacted with dismay to the abrupt end of the trial they had regarded as their next meal ticket. (1/23)

Abortion activists marked the 25^th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Neither side said anything new. Vice President Gore gave President Clinton credit for saving Roe. Liberal editorialists vouched for Roe's wisdom and lamented its political vulnerability. Conservative editorialists vouched for Roe's political invulnerability and lamented its unwisdom. Journalists, having planned substantial coverage of the 25-year-old Roe case, canceled that date in order to pursue 24-year-old Monica Lewinsky. (For an overview of the abortion debate since Roe, see Slate's "Frame Game.") (1/23)

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu met privately with evangelical Christian leaders, many of whom oppose President Clinton. He also attended a rally at which Jerry Falwell, whose TV show has promoted a video implicating Clinton in murders, spoke. Falwell told Netanyahu in the meeting that he would mobilize evangelical churches against those who put pressure on Israel to give the Palestinians more West Bank territory. Cynics called it a payback for either 1) Clinton's refusal to meet with Netanyahu recently or 2) Clinton's support for Netanyahu's opponent in the last Israeli election. Clinton reportedly was furious but told Netanyahu they should put past snubs behind them. Lost in the Falwell story: House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Clinton's treatment of Netanyahu "below the dignity of the United States."(1/21)

Cloning news: 1) Scientists announced that they have engineered the births of two cloned calves, George and Charlie. The spin: It's a commercial rather than a scientific advance, suggesting that the agriculture and drug industries are capitalizing quickly on cloning technology. 2) The Food and Drug Administration claimed it has the authority to regulate human cloning. This has led to a dispute between politicians who want to ban human cloning and biotechnology-industry groups, which think cloning regulation should be left to the FDA. (1/21)

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum invited Yasser Arafat to visit and to receive a special tour by the museum council's chairman. This reverses the museum's previous reversal of its offer to receive Arafat. Arafat says he's now "keen to visit this museum." Anti-Arafat pundits heaped scorn on museum officials for succumbing to the woolly headed notion that terrorists are educable. The museum's defenders argued that there's nothing to lose in trying. (For reactions from the Middle East from earlier in the week, see Slate's "International Papers.") (1/21)

Carl Perkins, who helped inspire Elvis Presley and the Beatles, died. The official, credentialist obituary spin: He wrote "Blue Suede Shoes" and three songs picked up by the Beatles. The more substantive spin: He popularized the fusion of black (rhythm-and-blues and gospel) and white (country) music. (1/21)

The Iraq crisis is lurching toward military confrontation. First, Saddam Hussein threatened to expel U.N. weapons inspectors if the United Nations does not lift sanctions within six months. In response, Republican congressional leaders called for a massive U.S. air assault on Iraq if Saddam does not stop obstructing the inspections. Then Iraq's vice president told Iraqis to report for training for a "holy war" against the sanctions. The U.S. media are now focusing on a military scenario, even as they continue to question its wisdom. (1/19)

Pope John Paul II picked 22 new cardinals. He has now picked 106 of the 123 cardinals who will elect the next pope. Analysts agreed that by stacking this electorate with conservatives--particularly on questions of sex and birth control--John Paul has guaranteed that his successor will share his views. The backspin: The United States and Canada have gained more cardinals, and to woo them, candidates for the papacy will have to be more sensitive to American Catholics' dissent from papal teachings on divorce, remarriage, and women in the priesthood. (1/19)

President Clinton gave a six-hour deposition in the Paula Jones case. With Jones "staring him in the face," he reportedly testified that he hadn't exposed himself to her and didn't recall meeting her. The media used the deposition as an opportunity to publish additional tales of Clinton's philandering. Jones' lawyers went on several TV shows, threatening to raise further allegations in court. The official Clinton spin, from attorney Bob Bennett: silence. The unofficial spin, from James Carville: Jones is a puppet of greedy right-wingers, and besides, Clinton is whipping her in the polls. The 1996 White House spin: Testifying in the Jones case would wreak havoc on the president's schedule and imperil the republic. The 1998 spin: The deposition was a minor distraction. Bottom line: This was the worst part for Clinton, so he'll scrap settlement talks and proceed to trial May 27. (1/19)