Week In Review A Look Back At The Top Stories From The Last Week

NATION

Case against Clinton

The House managers wrapped up their three-day presentation Saturday by saying that President Clinton has so damaged the presidency and broken faith with the public that the Senate must convict him.

Calling Clinton a “presidential perjurer,” Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., warned that acquitting Clinton of charges of perjury and obstruction of justice could permanently injure the presidency and damage the nation’s reputation abroad.

“The presidency is an office of trust,” said Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which evaluated the evidence amassed against Clinton.

On the final day of presenting their case, the prosecutors focused on morality and the Senate’s duty to carry out the impeachment process.

REGION

Fairchild tragedy

Four members of the 141st Air Refueling Wing of the Washington Air National Guard, stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, were killed Wednesday night when their KC-135 refueling tanker crashed during their last flight of a two-week mission in Germany. They were scheduled to return to Spokane on Friday.

It was the first time the unit has suffered a crash of a KC-135 since it began flying the tankers in 1976, said Capt. Kay Steward, unit spokeswoman.

Killed were Maj. David W. Fite, pilot; Capt. Kenneth M. Thiele, co-pilot; Maj. Matthew F. Laiho, navigator; and Tech. Sgt. Richard D. Visintainer, boom operator. All were from Spokane except Fite, who lived in Bellevue, Wash.

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Settlement or bust

The 106-day Kaiser Aluminum strike became a lockout Thursday after company officials rejected an offer by the United Steelworkers Union to resume work while bargaining continues.

Union local presidents made an unconditional offer to return more than 3,000 workers to their posts at the five Kaiser plants, but the company said no, and escorted out all union and former-union workers who had crossed the picket lines.

“We regret having to take this step,” said Ray Milchovich, Kaiser president and chief operating officer. “We believe that the lockout is necessary to persuade the union to embrace the legitimate proposals Kaiser has made during bargaining,” he said.

The union saw it differently.

“Kaiser’s lockout has torn the mask off the company’s repeated assertions that it is worried about the welfare of its work force,” said Steelworkers chief negotiator David Foster.

Wage gap

Lured by promises of a better life in the U.S. territory of Saipan, thousands of Asian workers have been beaten, kept under armed guard in squalid quarters and forced to work in “slavelike” conditions to make clothing for America’s top retailers, according to three lawsuits filed Wednesday.

The lawsuits, seeking more than $1 billion for 50,000 past and present workers, claim women employees were forced to have abortions if they became pregnant. They also claim the foreign workers in the Saipan factories often toiled 12 hours a day, seven days a week, frequently without overtime pay, to make clothes for Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, the May Co. and 15 other American retailers.

Kristy Van Koughnet, Gap spokeswoman, said the company was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and “does not tolerate this type of conduct in the factories where we do business.” Spokesmen for most of the other retailers said they hadn’t yet seen the lawsuits and declined to comment on the specific allegations.

SPORTS

No more Air time

Michael Jordan took to the court at Chicago’s United Center for one final time Wednesday morning to announce that he’s retiring from the National Basketball Association, ending a career that for 13 seasons has thrilled fans around the world and fueled an entire sport.

“He’s our Babe Ruth,” Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Jerry West said. “That’s what he has meant to our sport.”

After leading the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, after leading the NBA in scoring a record 10 times and winning five most valuable player awards, Jordan left pro basketball without its most electric performer at a time when league officials are assessing the damage of a labor dispute that forced cancellation of more than a third of the regular season.

“Mentally, I’m exhausted. I don’t feel I have a challenge,” Jordan said. “Physically, I feel great. This is a perfect time for me to walk away from the game. I’m at peace with that.”