JUVENILE CRIME BILL The Senate has passed its version of the Juvenile Crime Bill...which includes measures aimed at reducing youth crime and violence and to help schools and communities cope with its effects. Yesterday's passage came on a day when Vice President Gore had to break a tie on an amendment to the bill and news of a school shooting in Georgia drew further attention to actions on Capitol Hill. The past week saw the bill become a flashpoint for gun control issues...which were only part of its scope. Gore's tie-breaking vote allowed the Senate to pass a Democratic amendment that closed several of what the Clinton administration called gun-control loopholes in the overall bill. Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott says his message remains simple in light of the bill's passage -- he wants common sense applied to gun control issues, and he expects the Clinton administration to enforce whatever laws are enacted in the bill. What's equally important...says Lott...is that communities and lawmakers keep looking for ``innovative things in regards to school safety.'' The bill now heads to a conference committee of House and Senate members. Is gun control the only answer to reducing youth and school violence? Has Congress been using common sense when approaching gun control issues? Why or why not? If it was up to you, how would you regulate firearm ownership? ------ SENATOR HILLARY? Hillary Rodham Clinton reportedly is set to form an exploratory committee to look into a run for a U-S Senate seat from New York. The Washington Post quotes friends and close associates of the first lady say it's virtually certain she'll run for the Senate. Clinton is reportedly keeping her options open and will slowly roll out the campaign. Clinton has warned associates that she's not yet ready to make a final decision...but the newspaper's sources say she's past the question of whether she should run. There are actually no announced candidates to run for the seat being vacated by the retiring Daniel Patrick Moynihan...who's a Democrat, like Clinton. It's expected that New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will seek the Republican nomination. Polls on a race between Clinton and Giuliani show the first lady winning the election in what would be a highly watched and tough campaign. Would you like to see Mrs. Clinton run for the Senate? Do you think she'd make a good lawmaker? Why or why not? ------ ``STAR WARS'' ``Star Wars'' fans ignored the critics and turned out in numbers large enough to give ``Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace'' a new one-day box office record in its first day in release. 20th Century Fox reports the prequel to the original ``Star Wars'' trilogy grossed 28- and-a-half-million dollars Wednesday. That surpasses the previous one- day record...set in 1997 when ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' took in 26-point-one-million on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Prior to the movie's release, some box office analysts had projected an opening-day gross between 40-million and 45-million dollars. Tom Sherak...chairman of Fox's domestic film unit...tells UPI the studio's tracking service has notified him that ``Episode I'' has the highest ``want to see'' rating ever recorded in the history of tracking fan interest. Critical response to George Lucas's latest creation was largely negative. Reviewers generally found fault with the story and characters. ..but gave high marks to the special effects. Hasve you seen the new ``Star Wars'' movie yet? Why or why not? Do you plan to see it this weekend? How have the reviews influenced your decision? ------  