European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes tuesday april 22, 1986 prime rate Cut to 8.5 lowest since 1978 new York a the nation s largest Banks monday began cutting their prime lending rate to 8.5 percent from 9 percent bringing the key rate to its lowest level in almost eight years. Chase Manhattan Bank the nation s third largest Bank was the first of the major new York Banks to announce a prime rate Cut. Chase was followed by mor Gan guaranty Trust co., the fifth largest . Bank. The last time the prime rate was at 8.5 percent was injure 1978. The Cut in what Banks charge on Loans to their most creditworthy customers was effective immediately and follows the Federal Reserve Board s Friday reduction of its discount rate from 7 percent to 6.5 percent. A Cut in the discount rate the rate the fed charges on Loans to commercial Banks is the most dramatic move the fed can make to signal its intention to push interest rates lower to stimulate the Economy. Banks reduced their prime lending by a half percent age Point to 9 percent the last time the fed Cut the discount rate from 7.5 percent on March 7. The interest rate cuts come despite the Commerce department s report on thursday that the Overall econ omy As measured by the Gross National product was rising at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first three months of this year substantially stronger than a 0.7 percent rate of expansion from october through Decem Ber. Economists said there were still weaknesses in areas of the Economy and noted that the Gnu report is subject to revision. Both the March and april discount rate cuts were viewed As a coordinated Effort on the part of the industrialized countries to reduce interest rates worldwide. On saturday the Bank of Japan announced it was Cut Ting its discount rate to 3.5 percent effective monday. The fed s March discount rate Cut had come Only after the Central Banks of both Japan and West Ger Many had Cut their discount rates. Decision increases Media Propec Fin against libel suits Washington a the supreme court in a Victory for the news Media ruled monday that anyone who sues for libel has the Burden of proving the defamatory statement is false. In a 5-to-4 decision in a Case involving the Philadelphia inquirer the court strengthened Protection against libel suits in cases where a so called private individual rather than a Public figure sues a news organization. Justice Sandra Day o Connor writing for the court said we hold that at least where a newspaper publishes speech of Public concern a private figure plaintiff cannot recover damages without also showing that the statement sat Issue Are  she added we recognize that requiring the plaintiff to show falsity will insulate from liability some speech that is false but unprovable so. Nonetheless the court s previous decisions on the restrictions that the first amendment places upon the common Law of defamation firmly support our conclusion Here with respect to the allocation of the Burden of  in a dissenting opinion Justice John Paul Stevens said the ruling is pernicious because the Only publishers who will Benefit from today s decision Are those who act negligently or  monday s ruling settled an Issue left unresolved by the court in 1981. For a private citizen to win a libel suit the Law has always required that the allegedly libellous statement be found false and made negligently. Truth is an absolute defense. But before monday the court had not said whether the Constitution s guarantee of free speech places the Burden of proving truth or falsity in such cases on the plaintiff or defendant. In practice the Burden of. Proof before now has rested in some cases on defendants and in some cases on plaintiffs. Pennsylvania Law creates a presumption that the defamatory statement is false in cases in which a private individual not a Public official or Public figure sues for libel. In most states the Issue of who bears the Burden of proof in such cases has remained Cloudy under state Laws. Generally Public officials and Public figures who sue for libel Bear the Burden of proving the allegedly libellous statement is false. In other action the court agreed to decide whether All recipients of Federal Aid including virtually All Public schools Are barred from discriminating against people with contagious diseases including aids. The justices said they will review a Florida Case in which an appeals court said contagious disease is a Handi Cap covered by a Federal Law Banning discrimination against handicapped people. Agreed to decide whether the government May Label As political propaganda three Canadian films on acid ram and nuclear War. The justices said they will hear a Reagan adm Nistra supreme court Roundup Tion Appeal of a ruling that the classification violates free speech rights protected by the Constitution. Agreed to decide whether states must pay unemployment benefits to women who Are not reinstated in their jobs after taking maternity leaves. The court said it will hear the Appeal of a woman re fused unemployment benefits after being denied reinstate ment As a Kansas City department store cashier. Let stand the criminal conviction of . District judge Harry e. Claiborne the first sitting Federal judge ordered to prison. Claiborne 68, has remained free pending Appeal of his 1984 conviction for filing false tax reports. But he now faces the Start of a two year prison sentence and if he does not resign a possible move to have him impeached. Let stand a Federal Law making the buyers of child pornography liable to serious criminal penalties. The court Over two dissenting votes refused to hear the Appeal of a Montgomery ala., Man convicted and sen when this strange looking vehicle comes tooling Down interstate 57 near Effingham iii., it gets second looks from other motorists. It s a pulse which has the cockpit style of an air plane and the options of a sports pulsing Down the Highway a photo car and gets the Gas mileage of a motorcycle. It runs on two wheels and has outrigger wheels for steadying. Owner Clint Stork of Effingham bought the pulse from a Michigan firm for about $10,000. Tended to 10 years in prison for receiving in the mail a Booklet depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Refused to Force the food and drug administration to hold Public hearings on the use of the artificial sweetener Nutrasweet in soft drinks. The court without comment rejected an Appeal by nutrition groups that said the additive also known As aspartame was approved by the Fra without adequate study of potential health hazards. In monday s libel Case Maurice s. Hepps principal stockholder of general programming inc., sued the Phila Delphia inquirer in 1976 Over a series of articles. The articles attempted to link Beer and beverage distributorships operating As general programming franchises to certain underworld figures. Hepps said the articles defamed him by implying that the distributorships had ties to organized crime and that Frank Mazzei a former state senator and convicted Felon used political influence to get distributors to do business i violation of state Law. After a six week trial in 1981, state judge Leonard Sugerman told jurors that Hepps and the corporations that sued the inquirer had the Burden of proving the Arti cles were false. The jury ruled for the newspaper. Sugerman later explained that he believed a 1976 Penn Sylvania Law placing the Burden of proof on lib eled defendants was unconstitutional. The Pennsylvania supreme court reversed the judge ruling and upheld the state Law in 1984. In monday s ruling o Connor noted that the plaintiffs Burden is More difficult because Pennsylvania has a shield Law that allows Media employees to refuse to divulge their sources. But o Connor said we Are unconvinced that the state s shield Law requires a different constitutional Stan Dard than would prevail in the absence of such a  she was joined by four other justices William j. Bren Nan Thurgood Marshall Harry a. Blackmun and Lewis. Powell. The dissenters along with Stevens were chief Justice Warren e. Burger and Justice Byron r. White and Justice William h. Rehnquist. Terror attack fear was simply All wet Daytona Beach Fla. A patrons of a Mcdonald s restaurant called police to report a libyan terrorist when a dark bearded Man walked in with a gun but the weapon turned out to be a sophisticated looking water gun officials say. Police Cpl. Robert Smiley who tracked the Man and two companions to a Beach on sunday said he did not realize until he got close that the Black gun was a toy and not a real Uzi machine gun. If it would have been dark i would t have been a Leto Tell Smiley said. Officers confiscated the Battery operated toy which has a removable clip and a sliding wire shoulder rest. No charges were pressed against Robert Michael Lovely 21, who had taken the toy into the Mcdonald s to fill it or against Marcus Hawthorne 21, and their unidentified female companion. But just taking the gun away was hardship enough themen said. We sit Here at the Beach and squirt water at the girls every Day said Hawthorne. The reason we got the Uzi is it shoots out 250 squirts per minute. You squirt the girls Down and they laugh and we have a Good  if the gun is sold on the Market As a water gun then there should t be any problem with it said Lovely