11.   After imposing a news blackout at noon on Sunday, negotiators met away from the public eye with a federal mediator for several hours.

12.   After three fruitless days of discussions with a federal mediator, talks between the Boeing Co. and its striking engineers and technical workers broke down on Saturday night.

13.   Airline representatives and members of the Allied Pilots Association continued to negotiate through federal mediators in a final around-the-clock session.

14.   But an administration official who requested anonymity said that the White House had been briefed by federal mediators who have been talking to the company and the union.

15.   But federal mediators could extend the talks, pushing a strike deadline later into the spring.

16.   But Seattle-based federal mediator Ben Youtsey said Wednesday he saw no reason to schedule new talks after talking with negotiators.

17.   But their efforts have mostly ended with pleas as well as continued offers to make the federal mediators available if both sides so desired.

18.   Caterpillar Inc. and the United Auto Workers union will have a series of meetings with a federal mediator in a new attempt to end a six-year dispute.

19.   Comair pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, on Saturday overwhelmingly voted down a final contract proposal crafted by federal mediators.

20.   Company and union representatives were planning a face-to-face meeting tonight after a day in which their only contact was through federal mediators.