April 27, 1991

The nation's top auditor said today that many more banks were effectively bankrupt than regulators had recognized, and that therefore the program that insures depositors was "nearly insolvent." The official, Charles A. Bowsher, the Comptroller General, suggested that a quick way to fix the fund, which is financed through premiums paid by banks, would be to raise $15 billion through additional contributions from the banking industry.

A cluster of tornadoes crashed down in eastern Kansas and Oklahoma yesterday evening, killing at least 30 people, injuring about 300 and destroying hundreds of buildings and homes. What began as a system of intense thunderstorms grew suddenly into huge twisters that were described by one Wichita resident as "the scariest wall we have ever seen." Soon the tornadoes fanned out.

Kurdish refugees slowly began moving down from the mountains today as allied troops took effective control of this northern town with the final pullout of several hundred armed Iraqis. But there was a new complication in the United States' plan to resettle the Kurds in an encampment near here. Kurdish rebels re-emerged from mountain hideouts and sought to discourage refugees from returning, saying they were not convinced that the proposed safe zone in northern Iraq was free of Iraqi forces.

In a victory for the Food and Drug Administration, the Procter & Gamble Company agreed today to change the name of a popular brand of orange juice. It will drop the word "fresh," which the agency had attacked as misleading. While admitting no wrongdoing, the company said it would shorten the name of its Citrus Hill Fresh Choice brand to Citrus Hill.

Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today that the United States was wasting money on unnecessary military bases and that the Government must be "vicious" in closing installations. Appearing before the commission charged with closing bases, General Powell said consolidation was needed to make the best use of shrinking resources in post-cold war society.