Jobless Claims Up Substantially
Getting The Smoke Out
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 23) -- The Justice Department has taken steps to ensure television coverage of Sunday's Super Bowl will be tobacco-free. Justice officials say that as part of its ongoing effort to keep tobacco advertising off TV, they have acted to prevent the showing of Marlboro signs in the New Orleans Superdome during the game. A top Justice official said the Marlboro signs were visible in the recently-televised Sugar Bowl which also took place in the Superdome.
Cisneros Lands Quickly
SAN ANTONIO (AllPolitics, Jan. 23) -- It hasn't taken ex-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros long to land on his feet in the private sector. Cisneros will take over as president and chief operating officer of Univision, the Spanish-language television network. In a statement, Cisneros said he was excited about joining the communications industry and "equally gratified to be joining the private sector with a company that affords me the opportunity to return to my Hispanic roots." Cisneros, 49, said after the November election he planned to leave the Clinton Administration to seek better-paying work in private industry.
Jobless Claims Up Substantially
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 23) -- New applications for jobless benefits increased by 34,000 last week, the largest increase in 10 months, the Labor Department said today. New claims totaled a seasonally-adjusted 355,000, up from 321,000 during the week ending Jan. 11. Analysts say the economy is growing moderately, with 262,000 new jobs created last month.
South Carolina's Rep. Inglis Turns Attention To Senate
WASHINGTON (Congressional Quarterly, Jan. 23) -- Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) on Wednesday became the first member of the House to announce that he will not seek re-election in 1998. Instead, Inglis said, he will run for the GOP nomination for the Senate seat now held by Ernest F. Hollings, a Democrat who is expected to seek a sixth term next year. Inglis was elected to the House in 1992 and pledged he would not serve more than three terms in the House, but he did not rule out a bid for the Senate. Inglis said his campaign would bring "the hope of a new Senate" that would push for term limits, an overhaul in the campaign finance system and a balanced budget. Saying he shared an "appreciation" of the struggle for civil rights, Inglis reached out to black voters, declaring: "From the very first day of this campaign, I want to say 'Welcome' to black South Carolinians."
Hundreds Mourn Tsongas
LOWELL, Mass. (Jan. 23) -- Hundreds of mourners marked the passing of former Sen. Paul Tsongas, who was buried in a private ceremony here today. Tsongas, who won the New Hampshire Democratic primary in 1992, was remembered as a politician who told people what he thought they should know, not what he thought they wanted to hear. Tsongas dismissively referred to calls for a tax cut in 1992 as "Twinkie economics," saying that like the snack cake, it might taste good, but was bad for you. CNN's Bruce Morton, who covered Tsongas, said he always said what was on his mind. "He spoke to questions honestly," Morton said. "He wasn't a poll reader." Tsongas, who was 55, died last weekend from pneumonia associated with complications from a previous case of bone cancer.
Kasich To Stay Put In House
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 23) -- It looks like Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) will be riding herd on the budget from the House side of the Capitol for a while longer. Kasich, who heads up the House Budget Committee, said today he would not run against Ohio's Republican governor, George Voinovich, for Democrat John Glenn's Senate seat in 1998. Kasich said in a statement that his House budget duties precluded him from seeking other office. "Besides, Ohioans already have a great candidate in George Voinovich," his statement read. Glenn has not yet said whether he will run for a fifth term in 1998.