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On the heels of the Simpson verdict came a disturbing report from the Sentencing Project. The nonprofit organization, which favors alternatives to prison, found that nearly a third of American black males in their 20s are behind bars, on probation or on parole--largely because of tougher sentencing laws, particularly for drug offenses.
FLORIDA TAKES ANOTHER HIT
Hurricane Opal unleashed its fury across the Florida panhandle, the second storm to pummel the region this season. Opal's unexpectedly brutal winds and rain, which also pounded neighboring states, took at least 18 lives and caused an estimated $1.8 billion in property damage along the Gulf Coast, making it the third costliest storm in U.S. history.
A NEW UNABOMBER CLUE
Publication of the Unabomber's antitechnology treatise last month by the Washington Post has helped uncover a promising lead. An unidentified professor at Northwestern University has reportedly told investigators that he recognized in the tract the philosophies of a student from the 1970s who expounded on the evils of technology in an essay. The professor recalled that the author lived in the Chicago area, that his first name was Robert and that his last name began with V.
WORLD
SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY YIELDS FRUIT
U.S. mediator Richard Holbrooke's frenzied flights between Balkan capitals produced a 60-day cease-fire for Bosnia and Serbia. Another dividend: new talks--to be held in the U.S. later this month--on a permanent settlement to the 3 1/2-year-old war. The cease-fire takes effect this Tuesday, unless gas and electricity have not been restored to the besieged capital of Sarajevo; in that case, the cease-fire will begin on the day the utilities are reconnected. In the meantime, the combatants raced to take advantage of the dwindling days remaining for battle, with the Bosnian Serbs recapturing territory the Bosnian army had only recently retaken. Keeping in mind scores of broken Bosnian cease-fires, President Clinton said, "We need to be clear-eyed about this. It matters what the parties do, not just what they say."
U.S. BLASTED FOR DEBT TO U.N.
The U.S. is nearly $1.4 billion in arrears to the United Nations, pushing the international body to the brink of bankruptcy and prompting angry rebukes by such American allies as Britain, Canada, France and Germany. British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind summed up the bitterness caused by America's delinquency: "No representation without taxation!" The U.S. Congress has been reluctant to vote funds for the U.N., alleging financial mismanagement by the international body.
BOMB HURTS MACEDONIAN LEADER
A remote-controlled car bomb gravely injured Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov and killed his driver when it detonated on a street in Skopje, the former Yugoslav Republic's capital. Parliament Speaker Stojan Andov was named interim President. At least three pieces of shrapnel struck Gligorov, who suffered head injuries and the loss of an eye. Credited with overseeing Macedonia's transition to independence in 1991, he had taken a conciliatory line toward ethnic Albanians' campaign for autonomy and in foreign relations with Greece--prompting speculation that the bombing was the work of Macedonian nationalists. Suspicion is also directed at Albanian secessionists. No group has yet claimed responsibility.