21.   New York state officials have approved a merger of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and New England Mutual Life Insurance Co., clearing the last significant hurdle facing the deal.

22.   Nobody expects this last hurdle to develop into an obstacle, for Selig has approved far greater sums in other deals.

23.   Now she was caught in a pack of commuters facing the last hurdle to the weekend.

24.   One last hurdle remains.

25.   One last hurdle almost tripped up the Democrats.

26.   One last hurdle that causes even the strongest to faint.

27.   Proponents of shutting down more bases considered the House the last major hurdle for base closures.

28.   She had the race won in Barcelona and fell coming off the last hurdle.

29.   That cleared the last significant hurdle for Iraq to export oil under an agreement it reached with the U.N. in May.

30.   The arrangement cleared the last hurdle to reorganizing the Senate after Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont handed the Democrats a majority by becoming an independent.