SOROS OFFERS PLEDGE FOR NEEDLE PROGRAMS

International financier George Soros on Thursday offered $1 million in
matching funds to support needle-exchange programs.

The move comes in response to the Clinton administration's position that it
does not favor federal funding for the programs, which are credited with
helping slow the spread of the AIDS virus.

The Soros pledge "was in the works, and we decided to announce it when the
federal government decided not to fund programs," said Ty Tippet of the
Lindesmith Center, a drug policy research organization that is part of the
Soros-sponsored Open Society Institute.