Copyright 2000 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
January 20, 2000, THURSDAY, FINAL
MARKETS
SECTION: NEWS; NEWS; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 585 words
BODY:
9
Russians ordered out of Poland
Poland today ordered the expulsion of
nine Russian diplomats accused of spying. Government spokesman Krzysztof Luft
said Poland's counterintelligence agency "had investigated and provided evidence
of active espionage activities against Poland's interest in 1999 by a group of
Russian diplomats." He wouldn't elaborate, and the Russian Foreign Ministry had
nothing to say.
FCC approves low-power FM stations
The Federal Communications Commission today approved at least 1,000
low-power FM stations to be run by community groups, churches
and schools. The plan will let groups obtain noncommercial licenses for 10-watt
and 100-watt stations and tailor their broadcasts to the interests of people in
their listening areas. The power of current FM stations ranges from 6,000 watts
to 100,000 watts. A 100-watt station, using a 100-foot antenna, could serve a
7-mile area, according to FCC officials. Smaller stations of 10 watts would
cover a 4-mile area.
Kerrey to retire from Senate
U.S. Sen. Bob
Kerrey (D-Neb.) said today he will not run for re-election this year. Kerrey,
who has been in the Senate since 1989 and once sought the Democratic
presidential nomination, said it was time to return to private life. The Senate
has a 55-45 Republican majority, and Kerrey's seat was considered a safe one in
a state that traditionally votes Republican.
Kohl party official kills
himself
A senior official of the Christian Democrats committed suicide
today in the midst of a campaign funding scandal. Wolfgang Huellen, a senior
accountant for the party's parliamentary group since 1984, was found dead at his
Berlin apartment with a suicide note, party officials said. It was not known
whether the suicide had anything to do with the crisis facing the party.
Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee subpoenaed former Chancellor Helmut Kohl in
its investigation of anonymous donations to the Christian Democrats, which Kohl
has acknowledged. However, he refuses to identify the donors.
Pope plans
trip to Egypt next month
Pope John Paul II will visit Egypt for three
days next month. He will stop in Cairo and then visit a monastery at the foot of
Mt. Sinai on the Feb. 24-26 trip, the Vatican said. The trip, the first by a
pope to Egypt, will include meetings with President Hosni Mubarak and Coptic
Christian and Muslim leaders. The pope plans to visit Jordan, Israel and the
Palestinian territories in March.
Nothing ruled out yet in N.J. dorm
fire
Investigators in New Jersey said today they have not come to any
conclusions about the cause of a dormitory fire that killed three Seton Hall
University students Wednesday morning. Essex County Prosecutor Donald Campolo
disputed the report in today's Newark Star-Ledger that investigators have ruled
out careless smoking or an electrical problem as possible causes of the fire. He
refused to discuss a report in the newspaper that investigators were looking for
three young men who had been asked to leave the building less than an hour
before the fire broke out.
Clear sky expected for lunar eclipse
A total eclipse of the moon will occur tonight. The sky in the Chicago
area is expected to be clear for the eclipse, during which the moon will appear
a dark red hue. The spectacle will begin around 9 p.m. with totality to begin a
little over an hour later. Much of the Northeast and Northwest probably will be
cloudy, robbing people there of seeing the first total lunar eclipse since
September 1997.
LOAD-DATE: January 20, 2000
