61.   The acquisition gives Newcrest sufficient voting power to block the merger.

62.   The agency originally sought a court order to block the merger, saying it could damage competition and raise cigarette prices.

63.   The agency blocked few mergers during the free-wheeling years of the Reagan administration.

64.   The City Council in Berkeley, Calif., passed a resolution supporting the effort of independent booksellers to block the merger.

65.   The conditional approval seemed to appease rival GTE Corp., which had sued to block the merger on antitrust grounds.

66.   The Center for Media Education and the United Church of Christ said they filed a petition today with the Federal Communications Commission, seeking to block the merger.

67.   The development came after the attorney general in Connecticut sought to block the merger on the grounds that it would cost customers more and harm the environment.

68.   The department filed suit to block the merger in June, arguing that it would violate antitrust laws.

69.   The department is seeking a temporary restraining order blocking the merger until an antitrust trial can be held.

70.   The Department of Justice might go to court to block the merger as early as Thursday, some industry and government officials said.