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Thursday November 28 4:23 AM EST

Reuters News Summary

Proposition 209 Put on Hold - A federal judge in San Francisco has issued an order temporarily blocking the enforcement of a California measure banning affirmative action programs in the state. The controversial Proposition 209 was approved by California voters on Nov. 5. It bars preferential treatment based on race or sex in public employment, education and contracting in California. Civil rights groups sued to block the measure, arguing it was unconstitutional. Judge Thelton Henderson set a hearing for Dec. 16 to decide whether to freeze the law until a trial is held on its constitutionality.

Accused Spy Enters Plea - The highest-ranking CIA officer ever accused of espionage has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to spy for Russia. Harold Nicholson, a former CIA station chief, is accused of accepting $180,000 from Russia in exchange for the identities of undercover CIA operatives and details of how the CIA does business around the world. Nicholson appeared in federal court in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday for an arraignment. Judge James Cacheris set March 10 as the trial date.

Clinton Lauds Hunziker Release - Fresh from his release by North Korea, Carl Hunziker returned to his family's home in the Seattle area Wednesday. He told reporters that he looked forward to spending Thanksgiving with relatives. The White House says President Clinton welcomes Hunziker's release. Hunziker had been held by the communist regime as an alleged spy. Hunziker's release was negotiated by U.S. Rep. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Hunziker was detained by North Korea near the border with China on Aug. 24 when he crossed the Yalu River separating the two countries. Richardson says Hunziker was trying to serve as a Christian missionary.

Shuttle Crew Prepares for Walk - The crew of the space shuttle Columbia is preparing for a Thanksgiving night space walk to practice construction of NASA's planned international space station. The astronauts spent most of Wednesday checking out their space-walking gear. The walk, to last 6 1/2 hours, is the first of two planned during the shuttle mission. The astronauts also are preparing for their Thanksgiving meal of irradiated turkey steaks.

EPA Unveils Air Pollution Rules - The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed stricter air quality standards against smog and tiny particles that lodge in lungs. EPA Administrator Carol Browner says current regulations fail to provide adequate public health protection from air pollution. She says the new standards could cut premature deaths from particulates by 50 percent, or by 20,000 deaths annually, and reduce aggravated asthma episodes by more than 250,000 annually. A business group says the proposal would create a financial burden for companies and would have a chilling effect on U.S. economic growth.

Clinton Upholds Tradition - The White House began the holiday season with two traditions. President Clinton spared a turkey from becoming dinner meat by granting a presidential pardon on Wednesday. The turkey named Carl was raised by a family in Ohio and presented to the president by the National Turkey Federation. Forty-five Million other turkeys will pay what Mr. Clinton called the "supreme sacrifice" so Americans can enjoy Thanksgiving. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the White House Christmas Tree in a separate ceremony. The Clintons are spending the holiday weekend at Camp David.

A Cold Thanksgiving on Tap - Winter-like cold has settled over parts of the eastern and midwestern United States for the holiday. Millions of Americans hit the roads and rails and took to the skies Wednesday to get to their Thanksgiving destinations. A snowstorm in Boston caused delays of up to two hours at Logan Airport. Most of the country was clear, with rain in the Pacific Northwest, a developing storm over New Mexico and Colorado and snow in parts of the Great Lakes.

Report: Serb Leader Resigns - The Bosnian Serb military leader who was charged with war crimes against humanity reportedly has agreed to resign. The independent Yugoslav news agency VIP says General Ratko Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb Army through the 1992-95 war, has turned over authority to his deputy. That would end Mladic's power struggle with his political superiors and end a battle for control of the Bosnian Serb Army. Along with former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic, Mladic is wanted at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He's been charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of 8,000 unarmed Muslims in Srebrenica

Russian Plane Crash Kills 23 - A Russian air force Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane crashed in Siberia on Wednesday night, killing all 23 people on board, official in Moscow said. The plane, which was also carrying 30 tons of commercial freight, took off from Abakan in southern Siberia on a flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula. Officials says the plane lost contact with ground control just seven minutes after takeoff. Interfax news agency says rescue workers had found wreckage and several bodies 10 miles from Abakan. An Il-76 owned by the Kazakh airline KazAir smashed into a Saudi jumbo jet near New Delhi on November 12. The mid-air collision killed 349 people.

A Development in Treating AIDS - A new medical study says AZT drug treatments can limit the spread of the AIDS virus from a mother to her newborn baby. The study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine has prompted some doctors to recommend AZT treatment for any pregnant woman with the AIDS virus, regardless of how much virus material can be detected in the blood. Doctors say they don't understand how the AIDS virus is passed to a baby. Conventional wisdom holds that 50 to 70 percent of all AIDS babies acquire the virus around the time of birth, but it's unclear whether a child becomes infected in the womb or during delivery.

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