Steady Steering for Cadillac

ARLINGTON – The turmoil in General Motors’ executive ranks won’t hurt the launch or lifespan of the all-new, Arlington-made Cadillac Fleetwood, the general manager of GM’s luxury division said yesterday.

George Banke's bikes are being ridden by some of the top cyclists in Texas and elsewhere, including several female riders who compete with Natalie Banke.

Wheels of Fortune

FORT WORTH – George Banke and wife, Betty, founded Banke Racing Works, a little Fort Worth company that is quickly building one of the biggest names in custom-made bicycles in Texas and the Southwest. Their clients have included enthusiasts to competitive world class athletes.

The prospect of Supreme Court vacancies is worrying some conservatives, legal experts say, because Republican presidents appointed the three jurists who are considered most likely to retire - Rehnquist, 72; Stevens, 76; and O'Connor, 66.

Election Will Steer Nation’s Judicial Direction

WASHINGTON – The outcome of tomorrow’s presidential election could affect the nation’s judicial system well into the next century. Legal experts believe that as many as three Supreme Court justices could retire in the next four years, allowing the next president to give an ideological tilt to the nation’s highest court.

During his trial, Arthur Brown's attorneys, Tom Moran of Houston and Patricia Nasworthy of Menard, had asked the judge to let them inform the jury that a life sentence would keep Brown behind bars for at least 35 years. They also wanted to show evidence that convicted murderers, after such an extensive prison term, are unlikely to kill again.

4 Supreme Court Dissenters Pan Texas Death Sentencing Law

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court let stand a Texas death sentencing law, but four dissenting justices said it “unquestionably tips the scales” against defendants.

The bureau's plan for 2000 calls for a traditional counting of about 90 percent of the population, conducted by mailing questionnaires to households and surveying door-to-door. The sampling would be used to estimate the remaining 10 percent, often minorities and inner-city residents who traditionally have supported Democrats.

Census Case Awaits Action by High Court

WASHINGTON – With billions of dollars in federal money at stake, including as much as $1 billion in Texas, the Supreme Court may soon settle a heated partisan debate over how the Census Bureau counts Americans.

Under customs law, an importer is entitled to tariff exemption for products assembled abroad from U.S.-made parts, but only if significant improvements are not made in assembly.

Justices Side with Agency in Haggar Case

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court yesterday took the steam out of efforts by Haggar Corp. to produce pants tariff-free in Mexico. The court said the Customs Service has wide latitude to determine whether U.S. firms violate import regulations.

The Census Bureau estimates that 4 million people were overlooked in the 1990 Census, primarily city dwellers, children, recently arrived immigrants, poor people, renters and members of minority groups. The estimated undercount represents about 2 percent of the overall population, including 4.8 percent of African-Americans and 5.2 percent of Hispanics.

Census Sampling is Ruled Illegal for Seating Congress

WASHINGTON – The Census Bureau cannot use statistical sampling to enhance the accuracy of the 2000 Census for allocating congressional seats, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The MiG-31 is a long-range interceptor designed to cruise over Soviet airspace and knock down enemy aircraft and cruise missiles. Dubbed "Foxhound" by NATO officials, it is the first Soviet plane to have a radar enabling it to shoot down aircraft outside the pilot's visual range.

Soviet MiG Expert Not Impressed by F-117A

PARIS – To one of the Soviet Union’s top warplane designers, America’s F-117A stealth fighter-bomber is no big deal.He doesn’t think the aircraft’s accomplishments in the Persian Gulf War were all that impressive, and he’s confident that one of his own fighters could detect the F-117A and shoot it down.

Improvements on the field, in the front office and at the stadium have helped the Cowboys sell 46,000 season tickets so far this year - a 12 percent increase from the 41,200 the team sold last year.

A Team For All Seasons: Cowboys Recruit Ex-Player to Score on Ticket Sales

IRVING – For 11 seasons Robert Newhouse pounded the lines of the opposition at Texas Stadium. Today, Newhouse is back on offense with the Cowboys. But this time, as a representative in ticket sales and promotions.

House Bill’s Critics Fear Pension Raids

WASHINGTON – For years, pension funds have been among the more sacrosanct of the sacred cows grazing on Capitol Hill. But in the 104th Congress, sacred cows, including pension funds, are being herded toward change.

Part-Time Jobs Hang in Balance in UPS Strike

WASHINGTON — United Parcel Service is a model of corporate success its profitability anchored on the use of part-time workers. But now that strategy is under attack in a strike where a key Teamsters demand is that UPS make more workers full-time.

U.S. Seeks Partners for $250 Billion Fighter Jet

PARIS – Europeans have an affinity for things American. They wear Levis, eat Big Macs, idolize Hollywood stars, and, fortunately for the Pentagon, fly U.S.-made jet fighters.With that in mind, the Defense Department is at full throttle trying to sign up European and other allies to share the staggering $250 billion cost of its Joint Strike Fighter program.

Congress Kills Funding for B-2 Stealth Bomber

WASHINGTON — After 17 controversial years of the B-2 stealth bomber, congressional negotiators effectively sealed the fate yesterday of the last Cold War bomber program, deciding against making any more.

The Air Force has begun to give all its personnel more time off after lengthy assignments abroad. For example, a 90-day stay in Bosnia will now earn a two-week vacation upon return. A 45-day deployment will result in a week off.

In November 1989, GD acknowledged that F-16 production had fallen as many as 20 planes behind schedule because of production problems. The problems cost GD millions of dollars in delayed government payments, contract adjustments and overtime pay. Photo: U.S. Air Force

Acme Brick Co.

Even the youngest of the U-2s is expected to have reached the end of its structural lifespan around 2020.

The prospect of Supreme Court vacancies is worrying some conservatives, legal experts say, because Republican presidents appointed the three jurists who are considered most likely to retire – Rehnquist, 72; Stevens, 76; and O’Connor, 66.

While Ford, Chevy and GMC once ruled in full-size trucks, entries from Dodge and Toyota will fuel competition and maybe even force other companies to enter the battle. Photo: Chrysler/FCA

Yesterday’s event in Texas Stadium drew more than 140 dealers from the Southwest region, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico. Photo: General Motors Corp.

The controversy is rooted in part in the high cost of launching multimillion-dollar satellites.

If GD sells all the assets it has put on the block, it will go from an $8.75 billion company (by 1991 sales) to a $6 billion company – if its remaining businesses continue at their current sales rate, which is unlikely in today’s defense spending climate.

Satellite service providers such as DirecTV and EchoStar, the biggest satellite broadcasters, have tens of millions of subscribers across America.

The two defense companies said the Justice Department had informed them that it was “fundamentally opposed” to the merger.

To equal or surpass the F-22, the Russians would have had to have made significant advances in their fighter technology.

Lawmakers have been searching for ways to deal with the bills the Pentagon will face just after 2000 when it will attempt to produce three fighters at the same time, the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-22 stealth fighter and the F/A-18E/F. The combined cost of producing the Joint Strike Fighter and the other two planes has been estimated at $400 billion.

Chevy Volt

Joint Strike Fighter. Photo: U.S. Air Force

Texans bought more than 621,000 light trucks in 1997, tops in the nation. Photo: Ford Motor Co.

Emmitt Smith

The Arlington and Willow Run plants, GM sources and analysts say, are the subject of an internal review at GM to find out which facility could end up producing the company’s full-size, rear-wheel-drive cars. Photo: General Motors Corp.

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