January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 Sen. Larry Craig may have jumped the gun in his vociferous defense of race-car champion Bobby Unser, who is being prosecuted for violating the Wilderness Act during a near-fatal snowmobile …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged victorious from the fiercest political battle of his term in office Wednesday as he found himself defending a peace process he once rejected and …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 Cold ears and broken tree limbs soon may be replaced by suntans and brown lawns as another El Nino weather pattern builds in the Pacific Ocean, a national weather forecaster …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 1. Neglected animals. A Kootenai County deputy drops a salt lick to a herd of cattle that was discovered this week near Worley without food and water. Photos by Jesse …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 Gail Mackie of SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. hugs mastiff taken from Mountain Top Kennel. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 Fatal crash. Investigators look over the scene Wednesday night after a pickup truck hit an STA bus. A passenger in the truck was killed. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A1 Gov. Gary Locke waves as he addresses a joint session of the Legislature on Wednesday. Photo by Associated Press

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A2 Wednesday’s Washington Triple Choice: 2-5-8. Wednesday’s Washington Lotto: 8-17-20-27-37-42. No winner. Next prize $6 million.

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A3 Advocates of school vouchers, one of the nation’s most contentious education issues, were dealt a legal setback Wednesday when a Wisconsin state judge struck down a plan to give poor …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A3 U.S. Attorney Genreal Janet Reno addresses a crowd at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Photo by Associated Press

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A3 Seeking to debunk a theory that he inspired, criminalist Dennis Fung on Wednesday recanted testimony he gave last week in the O.J. Simpson civil trial, insisting that no one tampered …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A3 A month after igniting a national debate by declaring black English a second language, school officials hoped to quench the flames by making it clear they will teach standard English. …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A3 Recorded in a car during a shopping trip, a tape of House Speaker Newt Gingrich discussing his ethics case made its way from Florida to the House Ethics Committee like …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Astronaut John Blaha, right, gets ready for a ride home on the shuttle Atlantis after four months aboard the Russian space station Mir. Photo by Associated Press

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Consumers should stop using some Binky newborn orthodontic pacifiers because they do not meet federal standards for safety, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday. Neither the commission nor the …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Seeking to make amends for racial discrimination, Denny’s is giving more than $1.5 million to civil rights groups and the United Negro College Fund. The restaurant chain also announced a …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Two of four priceless books stolen from the Adams National Historical Site have been recovered from a New Hampshire exercise facility. The Holy Bible, known as the Mendi Bible, and …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 President Clinton said Wednesday that Mexico has repaid all of the $12.5 billion lent by Washington to stave off a financial collapse which had threatened to ripple around the globe …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Warning of “a new isolationism” in Congress, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said Wednesday that the State Department cannot sustain more budget cuts without seriously undercutting American foreign policy around …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Exxon Corp. wants the Exxon Valdez to navigate once again in the Alaska waters it fouled with millions of gallons of crude oil in 1989. Some Alaskans are outraged. Exxon …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A4 Police arrested a photo lab worker and a former sheriff’s deputy Wednesday, accusing them of selling pictures from the JonBenet Ramsey murder scene to the Globe. Lawrence Shawn Smith, 36, …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A5 The fifth blizzard of the season socked North Dakota with fierce wind and blinding snow on Wednesday, while snow and ice storms in the Midwest shut down highways and sent …

January 16, 1997 in Nation/World on Page A5 More than 200 nursing home patients were evacuated in a freezing rain for more than three hours Wednesday, after chemicals dumped in a basement drain sent fumes through the building. …