Informed Sources

Military Blocks Plutonium Investigation

Washington -- The Defense Department refuses to tell Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary exactly how much plutonium is used in its weapons around the world. O'Leary has been on a campaign to make public the government's uses and abuses of radiation and radioactive material over the years. However, Pentagon officials maintain that giving her information about the exact amount of plutonium used in the military's stockpile of strategic and tactical warheads would compromise security.

McDougal's Moves

Little Rock -- Jim McDougal is under criminal investigation for his actions as former head of a failed S&L connected to the Whitewater mess. He portrays himself as an innocent victim of thrift regulators, but evidence in an unrelated case in 1988 suggests that he had something on his mind before the regulators arrived. His secretary during this period testified that McDougal "vacated the offices at the S&L building . . . He did not want to be accessible to the examiners to have to answer any questions at that time."

Chelsea, Live on Tape

Washington -- The President and the First Lady have been careful to limit public exposure of Chelsea Clinton -- she's not even in the family Christmas card. However, Chelsea does appear in a promotional video for Sidwell Friends, the private school she attends. A representative of the school says the video is not used for recruiting, though it was shown at an alumni Christmas party and an admissions event. Chelsea's screen time is brief enough that the White House isn't protesting. Says Lisa Caputo, Hillary Clinton's press secretary: "She's really not treated any differently than the other kids."