A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo plane, carrying the killer whale Keiko, the whale featured in the Free Willy movies, prepares to land in Heimeay, Iceland yesterday. Keiko, captured in Icelandic waters almost 20 years ago, was flown from Oregon to be set free.

MOSCOW - Boris Yeltsin named a compromise candidate for prime minister yesterday, defusing a dangerous power struggle that had stalled efforts to tackle Russia's economic crisis. His choice: Yevgeny Primakov, Russia's tough-talking foreign minister and a former spy chief.

Primakov should win swift approval in the hostile parliament even though he has little economic experience to help him face a nation impatient for a way out of its morass.

The president's decision to put him at the head of a new government was well-received by most opposition politicians and had a calming effect on a country in turmoil.

Washington also welcomed the nomination, even though Primakov has been criticized in the West for his hard foreign policy line, including support for Iraq and other regimes at odds with the West.

Starr report alleges perjury, obstruction, abuse of power

WASHINGTON - Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's referral to Congress accuses President Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice and provides a damaging portrayal of his contacts with Monica Lewinsky and Oval Office secretary Betty Currie, legal sources say.

Starr's report accuses Clinton of lying in portions of his Aug. 17 grand jury testimony as well as his Jan. 17 sworn testimony in the Paula Jones lawsuit, the sources said, speaking only on condition of anonymity.

The referral Starr sent on Wednesday lays out evidence that prosecutors contend shows Clinton committed perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and abuse of power, the sources said.

Clinton's lawyer David Kendall said the report represents ''only the prosecutors' allegations'' and ''there is no basis for impeachment.''

The report, which lawmakers expect to make public Friday, will cite specific contacts the president had with Currie in December and January and with Lewinsky in July 1997 - both during critical periods in the Jones lawsuit - as evidence of efforts to thwart the litigation, the sources said.

Some parents upset at plan for Jewish holy days

CINCINNATI - A suburban public school district plans to suspend classes on two Jewish holy days this month, and that has some non-Jewish parents upset.

Officials at Sycamore schools say absenteeism is so high on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur that there's no point in having classes. Non-Jewish parents say the closings are unconstitutional, and they have hired a lawyer.

''It appears the closing constitutes a favoring of the Jewish faith at the expense of other faiths in violation of the First Amendment,'' said attorney Steven Stuhlbarg, who represents a group called Parents for Fairness in Sycamore.

The group wants officials to reconsider the decision to cancel classes. It has not decided whether to go to court if the request is denied, he said.

About 15 percent of Sycamore students are Jewish, and officials said nearly all of them stay home or attend synagogue on two of Judaism's most important holy days.

The Sycamore school board, acting on the recommendation of Superintendent Bruce Armstrong, voted 3-2 to suspend classes on Sept. 21 for Rosh Hashana and Sept. 30 for Yom Kippur as part of a two-year experiment.

''We average 16 percent absences on those two days, and in some schools it's as high as 21 percent,'' Armstrong said. ''It's hard to conduct a normal school day on those days.''

Armstrong said the school board may discuss the plan at its regular meeting Wednesday, but he doubted that this year's closings would be called off because the school year already has started.

But the proposal merits further study, he said.

The board is collecting data on what students and residents think about the plan.

Stuhlbarg said the group he represents probably would go along with the explanation by officials that it's too late to change plans for this year, as long as the policy is dropped in the future.

Armstrong said he disagreed with the group's contention that the district is showing favoritism toward the Jewish faith.

''The case they would have to make is that we are promoting religion in school, and it's hard to do that when all the kids are gone,'' Armstrong said.

Harrassment case sent back to Dayton court

CINCINNATI (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the government should be the defendant in a sexual harassment suit filed by a former female officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision of a lower court and returned the case to U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott in Dayton.

The suit by former Capt. Dorothy Mackey alleged that she was sexually harassed by two male superiors who, after she rejected them, gave her unfavorable job recommendations after she left the Air Force in 1994.

Judge Dlott ruled that the male officers weren't acting within the scope of their employment during the alleged harassment.

Strickland announces grant to fund solid waste

Congressman Ted Strickland yesterday announced a $43,200 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Rural Development to Re-Use Industries to fund the Solid Waste Management Grant Program, according to a press release.

Re-Use Industries will use the grant to promote the reuse of waste materials to eliminate nearly 1 million pounds of debris from the waste stream, according to the release.

The grant is designed to serve Gallia, Meigs, Jackson and Vinton counties, according to the release.

ABLE forum educates about illiteracy

Congressman Ted Strickland and Ohio Rep. Larry Householder celebrated International Literacy Day in Athens Tuesday, while attending the announcement of a new adult and family literacy program.

The Central and Southeast Ohio Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) Resource Center, which sponsored the forum at the Ohio University Inn, announced the details of an Appalachian Literacy Initiative for 29 counties in Southeast Ohio.

Rick McIntosh, director of the initiative, said the goal of the program is to improve collaboration among providers of adult and family literacy education services.

The ABLE Resource Center will work with the Ohio Department of Education, community agencies, extension services and libraries.

According to the National Institute for Literacy statistics, approximately 15 percent of the adults in Athens County do not have the reading skills to fully participate in many family, education, employment and community activities.

Senate addresses summer progress

Members of Student Senate spent their summer talking to university and city officials and preparing for the student body's arrival.

A great deal of what the senate did this summer was internal, senate president Darien Moss said during a press conference yesterday.

"We wanted to be prepared and organized so that by day one we were ready to go," Moss said.

Part of this internal organization was centered around establishing a network of contacts throughout the university, Moss said.

"We met with city leaders and university officials, so that during the school year we could spend time with the students," she said.

At the press conference, Moss discussed the senate's plans for the upcoming year, including continuing minority forums, ensuring anonymous AIDS testing and focusing on the problem of alcohol on campus.

The senate hopes to achieve this through strong communication with the administration to offer alternatives to the drinking culture, such as weekend activities funded by the Student Activities Commission, Moss said.

-Gena Kittner

OU professor named to Women's Hall of Fame

Barbara Ross-Lee, Ohio University's Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, was one of 14 women announced Tuesday who will be inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame next month.

Ross-Lee is the first African American woman in the United States to head a medical college and is the first woman dean of a college of osteopathic medicine, said Ellen Braddock, manager of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame.

Ross-Lee's four themes, which are the focus of the college of osteopathic medicine, include community, unity, visibility and continuity, Braddock said.

Ross-Lee also published more than 30 articles in different publications on a wide variety of medical and heath care issues, she said.

With the leadership and guidance of Ross-Lee, the College of Osteopathic Medicine created the Centers for Osteopathic Regional Education (CORE), which consists of 14 hospitals, 300 medical students and about 400 interns and residents, Braddock said.

George Voinovich will induct Ross-Lee into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame Oct. 21.

- Gena Kittner