up079801|Real Quiet wins Kentucky Derby|<STRONG>Real Quiet wins Kentucky Derby</STRONG><P>Real Quiet won the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 1998, at Churchill Downs race track in Louisville, Kentucky. </P>
up079802|Genetic structure of tuberculosis bacterium decoded|<STRONG>Genetic structure of tuberculosis bacterium decoded</STRONG><P>Researchers announced in June 1998 that they had decoded the genetic structure of <I>Mycobacterium turberculosis,</I> the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Microbiologists Stewart T. Cole of the Pasteur Institute in Paris and Bart G. Barrell of the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, England, made the discovery. The researchers said that the microbe contains about 4,000 <I>genes</I> (units of heredity) and that the discovery will likely open new approaches for developing drugs and vaccines against tuberculosis.</P>
up079803|Eddie Cheever wins the Indianapolis 500|<STRONG>Eddie Cheever wins the Indianapolis 500</STRONG><P>Eddie Cheever won the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, 1998. </P>
up079804|Chicago Bulls win sixth NBA championship|<STRONG>Chicago Bulls win sixth NBA championship</STRONG><P>The Chicago Bulls won their sixth NBA championship on June 14, 1998, with an 87-86 victory over the Utah Jazz in the sixth game of NBA finals. For the sixth time, Michael Jordan was voted the Most Valuable Player in the finals.</P>
up079805|First Hong Kong elections under Chinese control held|<STRONG>First Hong Kong elections under Chinese control held</STRONG><P>In May 1998, voters in Hong Kong elected the first legislature since the former British colony came under Chinese control. Voters chose 20 members of the 60-member Legislative Council, with three pro-democracy parties commanding a majority of the votes.</P>
up079806|Estrada elected president of the Philippines|<STRONG>Estrada elected president of the Philippines</STRONG><P>In May 1998, Joseph Estrada was elected president of the Philippines. Estrada was the country's vice president and a former actor.</P>
up079807|Jerry Brown elected mayor of Oakland, California|<STRONG>Jerry Brown elected mayor of Oakland, California</STRONG><P>In June 1998, Jerry Brown was elected mayor of Oakland, California.</P>
up079809|Pakistan tests nuclear weapons|<STRONG>Pakistan tests nuclear weapons</STRONG><P>Pakistan detonated as many as six nuclear bombs in May 1998 and declared itself capable of making nuclear weapons.</P>
up079810|Astronomers say huge gamma ray blast rivaled big bang|<STRONG>Astronomers say huge gamma ray blast rivaled big bang</STRONG><P>In May 1998, an international team of astronomers described finding evidence of a giant gamma ray explosion that was momentarily second in power only to the <I>big bang </I> (an explosion that most astronomers believe gave birth to the universe). The astronomers said that the explosion occurred about 10 billion light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance traveled in one year by a pulse of light--about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers).</P><P>The Italian/Dutch BeppoSAX satellite detected the explosion, along with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.</P>
up079811|Woman joins bullfighting's top ranks|<STRONG>Woman joins bullfighting's top ranks</STRONG><P>In May 1998, Christina Sanchez of Spain became the first woman to perform in Spain's renowned Las Ventas bullring.</P>
up079812|FDA approves new artificial sweetener|<STRONG>FDA approves new artificial sweetener</STRONG><P>In April 1998, the Food and Drug Administration approved sucralose, an artificial sweetener made from sugar but 600 times sweeter. Sucralose contained no calories.</P>
up079813|Ballard finds sunken aircraft carrier Yorktown|<STRONG>Ballard finds sunken aircraft carrier Yorktown</STRONG><P>In May 1998, Robert Ballard found the USS Yorktown in 16,650 feet (5,000 meters) of water about 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) northwest of Hawaii. The carrier sank June 7, 1942, three days after the beginning ofthe Battle of Midway.</P>
up079814|Peace agreement approved in Northern Ireland|<STRONG>Peace agreement approved in Northern Ireland</STRONG><P>On May 22, 1998, the citizens of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic voted overwhelmingly for a referendum approving the Stormont Agreement, a peace accord designed to end hundreds of years of conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. More than 70 percent of voters in Northern Ireland and 94 percent of voters in the Irish Republic supported the accord, which was completed on Good Friday, April 10, 1998, after nearly two years of negotiations between Northern Ireland political leaders and representatives of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.</P><P>The Stormont Agreement provides for a National Assembly in which Catholics and Protestants are to govern jointly. The assembly is charged with cooperating with the Irish Republic in a new lawmaking body--the North-South Council. The accord also provides for a body of representatives--the Council of the Isles--made up of members of the parliaments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the new assemblies of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The agreement also included a commitment to using democratic and peaceful means to resolve political differences. Finally, the Irish Republic is to amend its constitution to renounce territorial claims on Northern Ireland.</P>
up079815|Neutrinos discovered to have mass|<STRONG>Neutrinos discovered to have mass</STRONG><P>In June 1998, a team of Japanese and American researchers announced strong evidence that neutrinos possess mass. The researchers studied neutrinos at the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Toyko for two years.</P><P>The researchers found that at least one of the three known types of neutrinos is capable of transforming itself into one of the other types. According to theories of quantum mechanics, any particle capable of transforming itself in this manner must have mass. </P>
up079816|FDA approves new drug to fight Hepatitis C|<STRONG>FDA approves new drug to fight Hepatitis C</STRONG><P>In June 1998, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug ribavirin (sold as Rebetron) to treat Hepatitis C. Ribavirin was approved for use in patients who relapse after standard treatment with alpha interferons. </P>
up079817|New Volkswagen Beetle introduced|<STRONG>New Volkswagen Beetle introduced</STRONG><P>In March 1998, Volkswagen began selling a redesigned Beetle in North America.</P>
up079818|Nigerian leader Sani Abacha dies|<STRONG>Nigerian leader Sani Abacha dies</STRONG><P>On June 8, 1998, Nigerian leader General Sani Abacha died. Officers elected general Abdusalam Abubakar to replace Abacha. Abubakar had been Abacha's military chief of staff.</P>
