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HILL'S CAMP IS WEIGHING CLEMENCY IN POLLARD CASE By ROBERT HARDT Jr. and GREGG BIRNBAUM FIRST Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is mulling a split with her husband -- over the Jonathan Pollard spy scandal. Mrs. Clinton and her advisers are weighing backing clemency for the former U.S. Navy intelligence officer convicted of spying for Israel and now serving a life sentence, said a source who is familiar with the issue. Despite growing pressure from Jewish leaders, including Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who organized a free-Pollard rally last weekend, Mrs. Clinton has ducked the issue, saying she is waiting for federal ...

Deep impact ... divers examine the mysterious hole punched in Guyra's reservoir this week by a flying object. The concert pianist Roger Woodward looked from the four-wheel-drive at where the unidentified flying object had ploughed through reeds and into Guyra reservoir. Woodward, who was in the northern New England town yesterday looking at real estate, observed in a droll voice: ''Obviously, they are coming.'' What police divers hope to find at the bottom of a 40-centimetre-diameter tunnel in the reservoir mud today could shed more light on his prediction. An excavator will be brought in to dig to the bottom ...

CONCORD (AP) — With less than two months to go before the nation's first Presidential primary, Arizona Sen. John McCain has a narrow lead over Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the first time among likely Republican voters, according to a new poll. The American Research Group poll released Wednesday found that 37 percent of people who plan to vote in the New Hampshire Republican primary supported McCain, compared to 30 percent for Bush. "A seven-point lead for our campaign confirms that we continue to gain strength on the appeal of Sen. McCain's independent conservative message," said Peter Spaulding, ...

Y2K study: Water supplies are vulnerable By M.J. Zuckerman, USA TODAY Drinking water and sewage facilities are threatened by the looming Y2K computer glitch, according to a study by two watchdog agencies that blames government and industry with lax oversight. "There are serious doubts that the 55,000 drinking water utilities and the 16,000 publicly owned wastewater facilities in the United States will be prepared for Y2K," the report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Y2K & Society says. The report is drawn from surveys conducted by groups such as the American Water Works Association, which found ...

Hillary Rodham Clinton hopped into the Rosie-Rudy war yesterday, saying TV host O'Donnell isn't her shill -- just a concerned mom. The first lady -- Mayor Giuliani's likely Senate opponent -- insisted O'Donnell took on-air jabs at the mayor because she's worried about the effect his policies will have on kids who could be separated from homeless parents who refuse work assignments. The comments -- Clinton's first since O'Donnell blasted Giuliani on her nationally syndicated TV talk show -- came as city officials insisted they'll be able to go ahead with the jobs-for-shelter plan for homeless families after they appeal ...

Lethal Injection Considered in Fla. By JACKIE HALLIFAX The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Amid an outcry over Florida's electrocution of condemned inmates, Gov. Jeb Bush has called a special legislative session to consider changing the method of execution to lethal injection. The state has a record of botched electrocutions, and the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing whether the state's electric chair amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. The special session was scheduled to begin Jan. 5. Florida is one of four states to have the electric chair as the sole method of execution. State lawmakers have remained ...

Chinese official defends efforts to strengthen military By Gus Constantine THE WASHINGTON TIMES Liu Xiaoming, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy, Thursday justified China’s efforts to strengthen itself militarily while refusing to confirm or deny reports it is building new bases close to Taiwan and upgrading its missiles. Liu Xiaoming, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy, Thursday justified China’s efforts to strengthen itself militarily while refusing to confirm or deny reports it is building new bases close to Taiwan and upgrading its missiles. Mr. Liu also told reporters and editors of The Washington Times at a ...

---------------------------------------------------------- The Government has been warned it faces an uphill struggle to start work on the Disneyland site on time after the release of "exceptionally long" guidelines on an environmental impact study that must be carried out first. The Director of Environmental Protection has issued a 31-page study brief as financial and tourism officials prepare for a signing ceremony with Walt Disney to seal the deal on the theme park today. The signing ceremony was arranged after the Legislative Council endorsed funding for the Government's $22 billion investment in the project and the Executive Council and the Disney board ...

U.S. reverses policy on returning boy to Cuba By Tom Carter THE WASHINGTON TIMES Justice Department uses loophole to allow child back with father. The Clinton administration invoked a legal loophole Thursday that clears the way for the return of a 6-year-old boy to his father in Cuba, despite the wishes of relatives in Miami to keep him in the United States. In a reversal of policy, U.S. officials said the Justice Department rather than state courts in Florida will decide the future of Elian Gonzalez, who was rescued Thanksgiving Day after a small boat capsized killing his mother and ...

It is totally unacceptable for persons to sleep in our public spaces. The homeless people who reside in New York's parks, transportation facilities and public thoroughfares must be reached in a humane and effective way. The use of public spaces by homeless persons as residences of last resort must end." Who said that? And when? Rudy Giuliani, right before ordering the police out to sweep the homeless from the streets? Not even close. It was Andrew Cuomo, back in 1992, in response to a plea from then-Mayor David Dinkins. Cuomo, who is now secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was ...

Store where he gave out free sweets was a magnet to children &nbsp &nbsp A PAEDOPHILE shopkeeper was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for strangling a 12-year-old schoolboy he had been sexually abusing. &nbsp &nbsp Kevan Roberts, 52, a homosexual described by police as "cold and calculating", was found guilty of murdering Thomas Marshall in a unanimous verdict by a jury at Norwich Crown Court. The shopkeeper, of Eccles on Sea, Norfolk, killed Thomas, an only child who would have been 15 on Tuesday, because he feared that he was about to expose him. &nbsp &nbsp Speaking after the ...

December 8, 1999 Russia’s Breadbasket Set To Stay Red For Elections By Aleksandras Budrys There is a corner of Russia which seems forever red. Sandwiched between the Black Sea coast and the turbulent North Caucasus, Russia's southern Krasnodar region is the heartland of the country's communist "Red Belt". It is largely immune to political shifts towards the center ground in the run-up to the December 19 national parliamentary election. The region's governor, Nikolai Kondratenko, is a proponent of unreconstructed communism, seasoned with a dose of populist nationalism, espousing the cause of unpaid pensioners while using rhetoric seen by many as ...

THE Constitution, thankfully, protects Rosie O'Donnell's right to freedom of speech. The Constitution, thankfully, protects Hillary Clinton's right to praise Rosie for being her shill. But, thank God, it doesn't protect them from our contempt. Many right-thinking people are getting the distinct impression Rosie is trying to become Barbra Streisand East. The lovefest between Rosie and Hillary is not only saccharine -- it is becoming odious. Rosie loves Hillary and Hillary loves Rosie. But ladies, please leave it outside. Does a celebrity have a right to a personal political opinion? Damn right. But do they have another right? The right ...

Three U.S. soldiers die in Kuwait plane mishap KUWAIT, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Three American soldiers were killed and 16 others were slightly injured when their C-130 military cargo plane crash landed at Kuwait international airport, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported. Civil Aviation official Zuhair al-Zamal said the airport received a distress call from the aircraft, with 96 people aboard, that it had trouble with its landing gear, KUNA said. The incident occurred at about midnight GMT and all the injured were rushed to hospital. The United States has maintained a military presence in Kuwait since the ...

Don Feder Send Elian back to Cuba and he'll end up a Jose I WENT TO CUBA TWO YEARS AGO, so I know what's at stake in the international custody battle over little Elian Gonzalez. If he's returned to Castro's clutches, Elian could become the desperate young man I met my last evening in Havana. On Nov. 25, the 6-year-old was found clinging to an inner tube, floating off the coast of Florida. His mother, stepfather and nine other would-be immigrants perished when the boat in which they were fleeing the workers' paradise sank. Fidel — who wavers between whining ...

Washington - Cuteness, Japan's top cultural export, is all the rage this Christmas season. Its embodiment is Pokemon, the cloying parade of cartoon "pocket monsters" created by game-maker Nintendo. The conglomerate has already sold more than $1 billion worth of Pokemon trading cards, videos, movie tickets and trinkets in the United States. Child experts cheer Pokemon's promotion of "distinctly Japanese" traits such as responsibility, empathy, cooperation and humility. In an article titled "Latest Export Fad Celebrates Japan's Traditional Values," Stephanie Strom of The New York Times News Service writes, "There is something notably Japanese in the emphasis on team-building and ...

Don Feder Send Elian back to Cuba and he'll end up a Jose I WENT TO CUBA TWO YEARS AGO, so I know what's at stake in the international custody battle over little Elian Gonzalez. If he's returned to Castro's clutches, Elian could become the desperate young man I met my last evening in Havana. On Nov. 25, the 6-year-old was found clinging to an inner tube, floating off the coast of Florida. His mother, stepfather and nine other would-be immigrants perished when the boat in which they were fleeing the workers' paradise sank. Fidel — who wavers between whining ...

Bully-boy threat: Clinton administration far from being angels A Union-Leader Editorial No doubt, people in the Clinton administration think they are on the side of angels when they dream up something like a national lawsuit against gun manufacturers. But they are not, not unless angels endorse bully-boy tactics. Not unless angels have no respect for the Constitution. Not unless angels think the end justifies the means. The phoniness of the national intervention becomes especially apparent when you note that the class-action lawsuit would be brought by the local authorities running housing projects under the direction of the Department of Housing ...

As the pace to Y2K picks up and people lay in a supply of TP and water, we need some solid information on a more serious kind of preparation in case martial law is necessary. Would those who have a historical perspective or military background please post very specific information about what we citizens could expect if martial law is declared? Will people be stopped on the way to do errands and asked to show papers? Will the military or other law enforcement go house to house for any reason? Will there be daytime curfews? What rights are set aside ...

FOX NEWS SUNDAY ( Fox News Sunday (Fox News Network) ) Tony Snow; 12-05-1999 SNOW: Republicans in New Hampshire: They came, they saw, they said they conquered. But only one man generated real heat. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALAN KEYES, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They wanted to continue the black out, which means that you keep the black out. (END VIDEO CLIP) SNOW: He's Alan Keyes, and he joins us today. Speaking of debates, we'll get a no-prisoners analysis of the Republican field with Susan Estrich and Dick Morris. Anti-trade protesters turned Seattle into a thunderdome. Is this the beginning of a ...