61.   His supporters say that this is unfair and that Pickering is a leading figure in racial reconciliation efforts.

62.   Hundreds have been jailed, then released, but leading dissident figures remain imprisoned, leading many of their adherents to acts of increasing violence.

63.   If confirmed by the Senate in hearings expected to begin this month, Ashcroft would reach the highest office ever attained by a leading figure of the Christian right.

64.   In Paris, a leading Resistance figure is arrested by the Gestapo with repercussions for the organization throughout the country.

65.   In her zeal to encourage and promote modern dance, Ms. Hill combined performances by leading creative figures with the dance divisions she established at college summer schools.

66.   Kiersch, a former professor and department chairman at Cornell University, was a leading figure in engineering geology.

67.   Last night, Israel Radio said the leading Islamic Jihad figure in Gaza, Abdallah Shami, would stand trial along with another group leader in a military court.

68.   Leading figures in arts philanthropy and education are also lending support to the effort.

69.   Leading GOP figures ridiculed the call to arms as too expensive, too little too late, or as meddling in foreign affairs.

70.   Leading religious figures ranging from Pope John Paul II to conservative evangelicals such as Pat Robertson urged that Tucker be spared.