December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A1 There was a time when only Scrooge would have thought of firing a worker at Christmas. But those days are gone.

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A1 George Thiele’s last wish was to be buried in Fairmount Memorial Park next to his wife of more than 45 years. Instead, the 76-year-old man was cremated last week and …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A1 Do you believe in miracles? I do. Monday, it looked as though The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund didn’t have a prayer of reaching its $380,000 goal. Christmas Bureau officials fretted about …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A1 Lance Cpl. Zachary Mayo stops to talk with two boys before his parade through Osburn Tuesday. /The Spokesman-Review

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A1 Spokane City Manager Roger Crum never got around to telling his bosses about a proposed salary hike for himself and 15 other top city managers. The increase almost slipped past …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A2 Los Angeles County will begin offering health insurance benefits to employees’ unmarried partners and their dependents, the Board of Supervisors voted. With the decision, made Tuesday in closed session on …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A2 Tuesday’s winning “Triple Choice” lottery numbers: 1-0-2. Tuesday’s winning Washington Keno numbers: 4-5-11-14-21-22-25-28-30- 33-36-42-55-59-60-63-64-67-74-77.

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A3 The capital’s influence industry will be forced more into the open under a law President Clinton signed Tuesday requiring lobbyists to register and disclose their activities for the first time. …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A3 (photo of Time magazine cover)

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A3 President Clinton, in a surprise blow to Silicon Valley allies, vetoed a bill Tuesday night that would have restricted securities fraud class actions by investors. White House spokesman David Johnson …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A3 Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole is backing away from an earlier call for quick repeal of a 1994 ban on assault weapons, according to a published report. The Boston Globe …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A3 Blowing snow and freezing rain closed schools and snarled pre-Christmas travel Tuesday from the Plains to the Northeast, stranding people in airports and sending others rushing to finish their holiday …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A4 Women trying to get pregnant may be able to improve their chances by cutting back on the coffee, a study suggests. The Johns Hopkins University study found that women who …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A5 Of the five best-selling brands of snuff, the most popular have the highest content of nicotine and cancercausing chemicals, researchers say. A study to be published today in the Journal …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A6 Their bulk came in handy. When a Northwest Airlines crew could not bring a group of 18 British tourists under control during Monday’s flight from London to Minneapolis, a group …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A7 The first U.S. combat troops on the ground here got down to business Tuesday amid warnings that their greatest test most likely will come from “slivovica shooters.” Under a soggy …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A7 You can e-mail greetings to soldiers bound for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Your message will be shared with the 20,000 troops expected to be in Bosnia: Http://www.dtic.dla.mil/bosnia/

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A8 Two weeks before Christmas, on an Arctic night fierce with howling winds, Methuen watched its economic lifeline - Malden Mills, one of the last great textile mills in New England …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A9 A gunman turned a Bronx shoe store into a point-blank shooting gallery Tuesday, killing five people and wounding three in a botched robbery before he was shot by a cop …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A11 Vladimir Zhirinovsky, relishing his party’s strong showing in parliamentary elections, declared Tuesday that he will become Russia’s next president and do away with Western-style economic and democratic reforms. Rambling and …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A11 Yigal Amir smiles in court Tuesday. Photo by Associated Press

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A12 The judge who ordered a teenager shackled to her mother for a month to keep her out of trouble has decided to make the arrangement more comfortable for both. Family …

December 20, 1995 in Nation/World on Page A12 It was to be a routine movie stunt: a runaway fishing boat jumps a ramp, goes airborne and bursts through a stand of mangrove trees. But filming for a Walt …