June 25, 1999 – CBS World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
June 25, 1999 – Maybe a slow news day, but still. It was National Take Your Dog To Work Day, and for that brief moment most employees and employers were deluged with fur people and the avalanche of cuteness enveloped the country like a warm puppy.
And that was a good thing, because the flip-side revealed a new high in Road-Rage incidents popping up everywhere in the country, particularly on Friday afternoons. Seems studies also revealed that the mere presence of a dog could lower blood pressure a few notches may have fallen on deaf ears. Still, not everybody does the same thing at the same time – and driving in traffic could provoke a lot of people anyway.
More dangerous was the revelation that many American Airlines pilots were flying exhausted – struggling to keep eyes open and dangerously lapsing into somnambula at 30,000 feet. Not good. The Pilots Union filed a complaint against the company, saying they were aware of the situation but weren’t doing anything about it anyway. Documents indicated American Airlines shrugged off numerous warnings that pilots had indeed fallen asleep at the stick, but officials insisted it the Airline wasn’t the only one, and that it was common knowledge. Comforting thought.
A snafu in the FBI’s Instant Background Checks for gun purchasers; The Washington Post said some 1700 convicted felons and others barred from owning firearms were still able to buy weapons. The FBI said the background checks didn’t link them to their criminal records until after they were sold guns. Timing is everything sometimes.
And President Clinton was busy trying to overcome the Lame-Duck Presidency image (elections were a year away, but . . .) by pushing his domestic agenda. Using a Washington speech and a news conference, the President planned to challenge the Republican Controlled Congress to move on Medicare reform, Social Security, gun control and other issues. Despite the early push on 2000 elections, the President repeatedly vowed to concentrate on the domestic agenda and to keep everyone focused on the issues at hand. Good luck.
And that’s just a taste of what went on, this June 25, 1999 as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.
