NATION IN BRIEF : NORTH DAKOTA : President Returns Youth’s $1,000 Check

A 14-year-old Fargo, N.D., boy who sent President Clinton $1,000 to help balance the federal deficit got his check back. Clinton returned the contribution along with a letter to Larry Villella, explaining that federal law bars him from accepting such donations. But Larry said he still plans to give the money to the government. “I’m planning . . . to send a check to the Bureau of Public Debt,” he said. In his letter, Clinton suggested that option to Larry. The federal bureau, set up in 1961 to receive such gifts, gets about $1.5 million in a typical year. Contributions range from $10 to $100.