THE WEEK: JUNE 18-24

NATION

NOT PAGING DR. FOSTER

Succumbing to a lethal combination of abortion politics and presidential aspirations, the nomination of Dr. Henry Foster for Surgeon General died on the Senate floor. Democrats were unable to muster the 60 votes required to force a vote on the nomination, which backers said Foster would have won. Presidential aspirants Bob Dole and Phil Gramm vied to take credit for scuttling the nomination, which became particularly controversial after Foster offered differing accounts of how many abortions he had performed. President Clinton said the vote sent the "chilling message" that the G.O.P. had aligned itself with antiabortion "extremists." As for Foster, he said he was still eager for government service; Clinton may appoint him to a post that doesn't require confirmation.

BUDGETEERS BALANCE THEIR ACT

House and Senate conferees split the differences separating the two chambers and announced they had reached a compromise for a seven-year balanced-budget plan. They agreed to recommend that both Houses adopt nearly $1 trillion in spending cuts, approve $245 billion worth of tax reductions and abolish the Commerce Department.

ZIGZAGGING ON HIGHWAYS

Tacking on a series of provisions to a $13 billion highway-construction bill, the Senate voted to scrap the national 55-m.p.h. and 65-m.p.h. speed limits for passenger cars but decided to retain the limits for heavy trucks and buses. Senators agreed to leave motorcycle-helmet rules up to the states but insisted that "zero-tolerance" alcohol policies be adopted by all states for drivers under 21 and that federal seat-belt rules be retained. The bill now goes to the House.

WHO CAN MARCH, WHO CAN'T

In a decision involving the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that organizers of privately sponsored parades have a First Amendment right to keep out marchers they do not want to include--in this case a group of gay activists. "One important manifestation of the principle of free speech," wrote Justice David Souter, "is that one who chooses to speak may also decide what not to say." The court also upheld a Florida rule that bars lawyers from soliciting accident victims through the mails for 30 days after a tragedy.

"FRIENDLY FIRE" ACQUITTAL

The only court-martial to follow from the 1994 "friendly fire" downing of two U.S. helicopters patrolling the "no fly" zone over northern Iraq ended in the acquittal of the sole person charged: Air Force Captain Jim Wang, the senior director aboard the awacs plane monitoring the region. Wang claimed that his radarscope did not identify the choppers as friendly and that he was being pursued as a scapegoat; his acquittal means that no one involved in the attack--including the two F-15 pilots who fired on the helicopters--will be held criminally accountable for the snafu's 26 deaths.

OUCH! MORE BASE CLOSINGS

The special panel charged with recommending to the President and Congress which military bases should be closed announced its final painful round of cuts. Hardest hit state: California, which stands to lose McClellan Air Force Base and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, among other facilities.

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS REPENT