April 11, 1991

The Bush Administration is about to propose a sweeping new round of military base closings, Administration officials said today. Installations to be closed would include Fort Ord in California, home to 30,000 soldiers and relatives, and a naval air station in Washington State where 21,000 service people and relatives live. Officials said Defense Secretary Dick Cheney's latest plan to shrink the military, expected to be announced Friday, included proposals to close or scale down more than 30 bases.

Warning on Global Warming A science panel called for prompt action by the Government on the threat of global warming. Page B12. Sports Boycott Sought The Health Secretary asked fans to boycott sports events sponsored by tobacco companies. Health, page B13. CUNY Protests Spread Students protesting budget cuts occupied parts of six campuses of the City University of New York. Page B1. The Automat Is Closed A chrome-and-glass Automat in midtown Manhattan, the last in the nation, has gulped its last coin. Page B1.

The European Community is considering the adoption of sweeping rules for computerized information like personal medical and insurance records and airline reservation records that would restrict their use by businesses and government agencies. Many American and European companies say they are afraid the new rules could hamstring their routine use of computer data.

The Automat, whose gleaming chrome-and-glass machines brought high-tech eating to a low-tech era, has gulped down its last coin and served up its last helping of macaroni, baked beans and kaiser rolls. The last Automat in the country, in midtown Manhattan, closed on Tuesday, a victim of changing eating habits.

A Federal judge in Houston ordered the Chevron Corporation today to pay an estimated $180 million in additional pension benefits to more than 19,000 former employees of the Gulf Oil Corporation, most of whom are retired. The ruling marked the first time a Federal court had said an employer must award immediate and full pension rights to all employees of an acquired company when retirement benefits were altered from an existing plan.