Winchester rifle plant set to close; leaders seek buyer
New Haven, Conn. – U.S. Repeating Arms Co. Inc. said Tuesday that it will close its Winchester firearms factory, threatening the future of a rifle that was once deemed “the gun that won the West.”
The announcement touched off a lobbying effort by city officials and union leaders who hoped to find a buyer for the plant before it closes March 31. If no buyer comes forward, it could spell the end for nearly all commercially produced Winchesters, said a union spokesman.
“Winchester would be pretty much defunct,” he said. “They’re not going to produce them, other than a couple of custom-type models.”
More than 19,000 people worked there during World War II, but the plant now employs fewer than 200.
The Winchester Model 1873 lever-action rifle was popular among American frontiersmen at the end of the 19th century for its reliability. More than 6 million copies of the Winchester Model 94, the company’s most popular rifle, have been produced.
Since the plant opened in 1866, tens of millions of Winchester rifles have been produced, the bulk of them between the late 1800s and the end of World War II. U.S. Repeating Arms, which is owned by Belgium-based Herstal Group, has said for years that it was on the brink of closing the plant.
WASHINGTON
White House mum on Abramoff’s visits
The White House is refusing to reveal details of tainted lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s visits with President Bush’s staff.
Abramoff had “a few staff-level meetings” at the Bush White House, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday. But he would not say with whom Abramoff met, which interests he was representing or how he got access to the White House.
Since Abramoff pleaded guilty two weeks ago to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion charges in an influence-peddling scandal, McClellan has told reporters he was checking into Abramoff’s meetings.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
Clinton’s law-license suspension ends
The five-year suspension of Bill Clinton’s Arkansas law license in connection with the Monica Lewinsky affair ends this week, but an aide declined Tuesday to say whether the former president is seeking reinstatement.
Spokesman Jay Carson instead emphasized Clinton’s commitment to treating AIDS patients around the world, fighting childhood obesity in this country and helping tsunami and hurricane victims – work that doesn’t require a law license.
Clinton agreed to the suspension on his last full day as president, Jan. 19, 2001. The agreement came on the condition that Whitewater prosecutors not pursue criminal charges against him after he lied under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky, a White House intern.
WASHINGTON
After criticizing Alito, Kennedy quits club
Sen. Edward Kennedy, who criticized Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s past membership in a controversial Princeton University alumni club, severed his ties Tuesday with a former Harvard college social club that bans female members.
“He has decided to be taken off their rolls, believing that it is a mistake to continue to be affiliated,” Kennedy spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner said.
A report about Kennedy’s Owl Club ties in his student days last week sparked criticism from Republicans who branded Ken nedy a hypocrite.
Though not an active member since college, he donated about $100 to the club in October.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
2 U.N. peacekeepers killed at checkpoint
Gunmen killed two Jordanian U.N. peacekeepers and seriously wounded a third Tuesday at a checkpoint in a slum in Haiti’s capital that is a stronghold for supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The shootings in the Cite Soleil slum in Port-au-Prince occurred three weeks before long- postponed presidential and legislative elections to replace the interim government imposed after Aristide fled the country.
The three peacekeepers were working at the checkpoint when they came under fire.
Haiti’s elections have been repeatedly postponed. They are now set for Feb. 7.
JERUSALEM
Condition unchanged for comatose Sharon
A spokesman at Hadassah Hospital said Tuesday that there has been no change in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s condition, and he remains in serious but stable condition in a coma.
Sharon briefly opened his eyes Monday in response to a recording of his grandson’s voice, relatives told doctors.
Hospital officials warned that the movement may have been involuntary and said there were no signs that he was any closer to regaining consciousness.
BEIJING
U.S. to pledge millions for battling bird flu
The United States intends to pledge $334 million at the bird flu donors’ conference in Beijing, according to an official statement shown to The Associated Press.
The total amount, in grants and technical assistance, includes $56 million for animal and human health supplies, said the statement.
Top health officials from around the world said Tuesday that governments will have to spend heavily for years to prevent bird flu from spreading widely among humans.
