Across the Nation

Clinton dreams of 'One America'

WASHINGTON - President Clinton, who came of age during the height of the nation's civil rights struggles in the 1960s, marked Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday underscoring his own dream that racial and ethnic divides in America will someday disappear.

"Part of Martin Luther King's dream was that somehow we would learn to 'work together, pray together, struggle together, go to jail together, stand up for freedom together,"' Clinton said, quoting the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968.

"If I could leave America with one wish as I depart office, it would be that we become more the 'One America' that we know we ought to be."

Clinton marked the King holiday with a speech to about 900 people at the University of the District of Columbia. President-elect Bush spoke at a Houston elementary school where he promised blacks that he would "listen not only to the successful, but also to the suffering."

Clinton likened efforts to unite the nation's diverse citizens to life itself.

"It's a journey, not a destination, and the main thing will always be whether we're still taking the trip," he said.

Clinton also referred to a message he sent to Congress over the weekend that calls for improving the criminal justice system, restoring voting rights for people who complete their prison sentences and better educating American Indians.

In the message, he also said Election Day should be declared a national holiday and called for a national election commission, led by former Presidents Ford and Carter, that would review balloting problems that surfaced in the November presidential election.

Earlier in the day, Clinton, who signed the King Holiday and Service Act in 1994, establishing the day as a national day of service, went to a local senior center where he painted a pillar and told reporters that he hoped his successor's commitment to civil rights is not marked by partisanship.

Minority citizens in America still face problems that must be addressed by the next administration, Clinton said as he rolled pumpkin-colored paint with AmeriCorps workers at the Greenleaf Senior Center.

"I hope it will be a commitment that goes way beyond party," Clinton said.

Ashcroft condemns use of racial profiling

WASHINGTON - With 10 of President-elect Bush's 16 Cabinet nominees facing senators this week, Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft spoke out yesterday against the practice of racial profiling by police on the eve of his confirmation hearing that is expected to focus sharply on his civil rights record.

"I certainly would like to find a way to be absent that kind of practice," Ashcroft said. "It's wrong, inappropriate. It shouldn't be done." He said Bush "is sensitive to this problem."

Ashcroft and Gale Norton, as Interior secretary, are meeting opposition not seen since the 1991 Clarence Thomas hearings during the administration of Bush's father.

Ashcroft, mostly silent while liberal groups have assailed his record, confronted one controversial issue - racial profiling - in a conversation with Bush officials in the presence of reporters.

Ashcroft, who appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee beginning today, also faces questions about other hot-button issues, including: Judicial selections for the Supreme Court and other federal court seats; his unyielding anti-abortion stance; and his opposition to confirming a black Missouri judge, Ronnie White, to the federal bench.

Motorola to shut down Illinois plant

CHICAGO - Hoping to boost sagging profits, wireless giant Motorola Inc. said yesterday that it will close its only U.S. cellphone factory and lay off about 2,500 plant employees.

The jobs being cut in Harvard, Ill., represent nearly 2 percent of Motorola's work force of 130,000. About 2,500 employees will remain at the factory 60 miles northwest of Chicago, working on research, marketing and customer service.

Cell-phone production will end by June 30. The Harvard plant was Motorola's costliest.

ident of strategy for Motorola's personal communications division, said the move is part of a plan to hire contractors for more jobs, concentrate on fewer phone models and make cell-phone manufacturing more efficient.

"This is not in reaction to any recent market change nor any kind of reassessment of our situation," he said.

The Harvard plant was Motorola's costliest. The company also makes cell phones at plants in Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico and Scotland.