Memorandum

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department has issued a memorandum to a group of former military commanders and civilian analysts that offers a direct challenge to the criticisms made by retired generals about Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The one-page memorandum was sent by e-mail Friday to the group, which includes several retired generals who appear regularly on television, and came as the Bush administration stepped up its defense of Rumsfeld. On the political front, Republican strategists voiced rising anxiety yesterday that without a major change in the course of the Iraq war, Republican candidates would suffer in the November elections.

While many public school systems are gravitating toward the Web to reach audiences about programs, the Anne Arundel school system has turned to an older method to inform the public about its efforts to address purported educational disparities — prime-time television. The AACPS Educational Television channel is now airing two shows about the system's mediated agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to address disparities for African-American students as well as eliminating the achievement gap. The agreement requires the school system to inform the public twice a year about its progress on academic achievement, safe school environments and community engagement.

The Department of Energy has spent nearly $50 million over the last three years paying private law firms to defend its contractors against eight lawsuits brought by workers and civilians who asserted they were harmed by radiation from the nuclear weapons industry, according to an internal memorandum.Payments to private lawyers in the eight cases accounted for more than half of what the department spent in that time on contractors' legal fees, records show.The memorandum, prepared by a team of lawyers in the Energy Department's Office of General Counsel, was obtained by the Military Production Network, an alliance of small environmental groups from 12 states where nuclear weapons plants are situated.

The Anne Arundel County school board voted unanimously Wednesday to oppose the city of Annapolis' efforts to build a parking garage and mixed-use development on land adjacent to Annapolis Elementary School, echoing sentiments of some residents who have argued vehemently against the project. Superintendent Kevin Maxwell recommended the board vote against entering into a memorandum of understanding that would have allowed the city to move forward with the project, which calls for using a portion of the parking lot at Annapolis Elementary for a garage.

NEW YORK -- Michael Milken, who built a financial empire on high-risk bonds, asked to do penance for his multiple confessed crimes by working on the risky streets of Los Angeles with the city's Police Department."

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's top environmental adviser has sharply criticized the administration's handling of the recent Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, saying it was slow to engage crucial issues, late in assembling a delegation and unwilling to devote sufficient resources to the meeting.The criticism by William K. Reilly, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the chief of the U.S. delegation at Rio, was made in a memorandum that he circulated to 12,000 agency employees two weeks ago."

WASHINGTON - Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, intervened directly with Justice Department lawyers in 2002 to obtain a legal ruling on the extent of the president's authority to permit extreme interrogation practices in the name of national security, current and former administration officials said yesterday. Gonzales' role in seeking a legal opinion on the definition of torture and the legal limits of how much force could be used on terrorist suspects in captivity is expected to be a central issue in the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, which are scheduled to begin tomorrow on his nomination to be attorney general.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert S. Mueller III were told a few days after the Sept. 11 attacks that the FBI had received a memorandum from its Phoenix office the previous July that Osama bin Laden's followers might be training at American flight schools, government officials said yesterday. But senior Bush administration officials said yesterday that neither Ashcroft nor Mueller briefed President Bush and his national security staff until recently about a Phoenix FBI agent's fears that al-Qaida members were training at U.S. flight schools, though the two men began daily briefings of the president at the White House in the days immediately after the hijackings.

Federal prosecutors filed papers yesterday asking that Annapolis lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano receive 2 1/2 years in prison and pay a $60,000 fine when he is sentenced for mail fraud next week.In a 27-page memorandum to U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson, prosecutors characterized Bereano as remorseless, saying that in conversations with a probation officer, he continues to maintain his innocence. The lobbyist, who was convicted in November of defrauding clients of more than $16,000, abused a position of trust with his clients and engaged in a complex scheme that required more than minimal planning, prosecutors argued in the document.

WASHINGTON -- A classified White House memorandum dated Nov. 26, 1985, shows for the first time how national security aides involved George Bush in their plans to use Terry Waite, the Church of England envoy, to win the release of Americans held hostage in Lebanon.The memorandum was prepared for John M. Poindexter, then the deputy national security adviser, by Oliver L. North, a National Security Council aide. It was written to familiarize then-Vice President Bush with Mr. Waite's hostage-release activities in advance of Mr. Bush's hastily arranged meeting with the Anglican emissary on the afternoon of Nov. 26.It is not entirely certain that Mr. Bush read the memo, but if he did the contents are not in conflict with his past statements.

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department has issued a memorandum to a group of former military commanders and civilian analysts that offers a direct challenge to the criticisms made by retired generals about Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The one-page memorandum was sent by e-mail Friday to the group, which includes several retired generals who appear regularly on television, and came as the Bush administration stepped up its defense of Rumsfeld. On the political front, Republican strategists voiced rising anxiety yesterday that without a major change in the course of the Iraq war, Republican candidates would suffer in the November elections.

Kweisi Mfume denied yesterday that he was forced to resign as president of the NAACP amid allegations of nepotism and sexual harassment, saying someone is trying to derail his campaign for U.S. Senate. Speaking in Clinton at a rally of African-American Democrats last night, the former congressman insisted the claims are "unproven and unsubstantiated allegations levied against me by some person or people trying to disrupt my campaign." "My life has been an open book," he said. "I have made that a habit."

WASHINGTON - Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, intervened directly with Justice Department lawyers in 2002 to obtain a legal ruling on the extent of the president's authority to permit extreme interrogation practices in the name of national security, current and former administration officials said yesterday. Gonzales' role in seeking a legal opinion on the definition of torture and the legal limits of how much force could be used on terrorist suspects in captivity is expected to be a central issue in the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, which are scheduled to begin tomorrow on his nomination to be attorney general.

PARIS - France, Germany and Russia declared yesterday that a war against Iraq is not justified at this time and that international inspections to rid Iraq of its most dangerous weapons are working. The declaration, contained in an informal "memorandum" drafted by France, seemed intended to counter a U.S.-led resolution introduced yesterday in the United Nations Security Council stating that Iraq has not complied with demands that it cooperate fully with weapons inspectors. The memorandum will be distributed at the United Nations, senior French officials said, adding that the document also has China's support.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert S. Mueller III were told a few days after the Sept. 11 attacks that the FBI had received a memorandum from its Phoenix office the previous July that Osama bin Laden's followers might be training at American flight schools, government officials said yesterday. But senior Bush administration officials said yesterday that neither Ashcroft nor Mueller briefed President Bush and his national security staff until recently about a Phoenix FBI agent's fears that al-Qaida members were training at U.S. flight schools, though the two men began daily briefings of the president at the White House in the days immediately after the hijackings.

From: ABC News President David Westin To: Ted Koppel, Sam Donaldson, Peter Jennings Subject: Leonardo DiCaprio's interview with President Clinton for ABC News' Earth Day Special, airing April 22. Gentlemen: I understand you are all concerned about our decision to air excerpts of Mr. DiCaprio's interview at the White House with President Clinton. I need to "set the record straight" regarding our commitment to news and to the public. Mr. DiCaprio is not only the celebrity chairman of this year's Earth Day (previous distinguished recipients include Barry "Greg Brady" Williams)

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. reached a settlement this week with Clipper Industrial Park for damage caused in a 1995 blaze that killed a firefighter and destroyed an artists' community.The settlement came on the heels of a memorandum by U.S. District Senior Judge Joseph H. Young to Lexington Insurance Co., a Massachusetts-based firm that filed suit on behalf of the industrial park. In the memorandum, Young warned the insurance company that its award could be limited."The court holds that if Lexington prevails in this case it mayrecover a maximum damage award of $1,425,000 for the destroyed buildings and $198,188 for loss of rental income," Young said in the memorandum, which was issued Monday.

NEW YORK -- Prosecutors accused former "junk" bond king Michael R. Milken yesterday of committing "a range of serious white-collar crimes unmatched in the 1980s."They asked the court when it sentences Milken Monday "to demonstrate that persons who possess great wealth and prominence cannot expect their privilege or their money will insulate them from certain and serious punishment."The request was part of a 200-page sentencing memorandum released in response to requests by news organizations.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. reached a settlement this week with Clipper Industrial Park for damage caused in a 1995 blaze that killed a firefighter and destroyed an artists' community.The settlement came on the heels of a memorandum by U.S. District Senior Judge Joseph H. Young to Lexington Insurance Co., a Massachusetts-based firm that filed suit on behalf of the industrial park. In the memorandum, Young warned the insurance company that its award could be limited."The court holds that if Lexington prevails in this case it mayrecover a maximum damage award of $1,425,000 for the destroyed buildings and $198,188 for loss of rental income," Young said in the memorandum, which was issued Monday.

The beleaguered merger of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. with a Washington utility has become more uncertain, with announcements to employees of a freeze on hiring and employee training necessary for the $3 billion marriage.Friday's memorandum -- coming two days after a court decision delaying resolution of a labor union challenge to the merger of BGE and Potomac Electric Power Co. -- was the latest and one of the most significant signs that the corporate marriage might not occur.It was not the first time the companies had taken such an action or implied that the plan could be on the rocks.