February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 With the Clinton administration and Congress at odds over another round of base closings, the acting Secretary of the Air Force threatened Friday to close bases on his own if …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 The Washington Education Association will pay the largest assessment in state history to settle charges of violating campaign finance laws. Friday’s settlement, with fines and reimbursements totaling $430,000, was labeled …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 The Bloomsday runner statue sits in the back of a Riverfront Park security cart after it was recovered Friday. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 1. George Freije built his single-engine, four-seat Lancair IV from a kit. He was photographed before he assembled the wings. Freije family photo 2. George Freije

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Joan Cramer stands in front of the smokejumpers exhibit featuring her husband, Albert, at the Bonner County Museum. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Suzanne Coyne looks up information at the Spokane Business Information Center to help her start her own business. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 Ten years ago: The 15th Olympic Winter Games held its closing ceremony in Calgary, Canada. Ethnic unrest broke out between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the city of Sumgait. Five years …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 Carlos Ascanio, known as “The Earthquake” in his baseball days, rests in a Caracas, Venezuela, hospital. He died Friday. Photo by Associated Press

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 (Photo of eclipse)

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 In 1844: A 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others. In 1849: The ship California …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 Friday’s Washington Triple Choice: 302. Friday’s Washington Keno: 7-10-13-17-25-26-27-28-34-35-37-44-53-55-58-66-67-69-70-74.

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 Acting speedily to get a major constitutional issue settled by this summer, the Supreme Court agreed Friday to rule this term on the challenge to the president’s new power to …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 A day after the Senate blocked action on a campaign-finance overhaul, President Clinton tried to do it another way, calling on two U.S. agencies to put features of the stalled …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 The original Superman is coming back. Photo by Associated Press

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 A scorpion that had stowed away on a flight from Mexico stung a woman as she passed through customs at Kennedy Airport. Rafaela Sanchez, 26, of New York was in …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 Vice President Al Gore gestures toward Jessica Goh of Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday while annoucing an ad campaign aimed at underage smoking. Photo by Associated Press

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 James Howell, an investigator for the district attorney of Canon City, Colo., climbs off a military surplus front-end loader while investigator Jim Anderden of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation carries …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 The teenage leader of a vampire cult was sentenced to death Friday for killing a couple with a crow-bar after traveling to Florida with cult members to help the couple’s …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A7 One year after a fire on Mir, a valve in an air purifier overheated and spread a small amount of smoke aboard the Russian space station, NASA said Friday. American …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A7 A mourner pays her respects at the Lockerbie Memorial at Drylsdale cemetery on the outskirts of Lockerbie, Scotland on Friday. Photo by Associated Press

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A7 A former Somali army officer believed to have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of his countrymen in the early 1990s was arrested in suburban Virginia on Friday, the …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A7 The surviving Dionne quintuplets and their lawyer face reporters on Thursday after rejecting the government’s pension offer. From left, Annette Dionne, lawyer Clayton Ruby, Cecile Dionne and Yvonne Dionne. Photo …

February 28, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A8 A year after the announcement that Dr. Ian Wilmut had cloned Dolly the sheep from the adult cell of another sheep, no other scientist has succeeded in repeating the experiment, …