Military Closing Web Sites For Y2K...12/29/99

WASHINGTON (AP) - Taking last-minute precautions, the Pentagon and the federal personnel agency are shutting down some of their public Internet sites this weekend to keep them safe from computer hackers as the calendar rolls over to 2000. And the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to mail January benefit checks to more than 2.5 million veterans Dec. 30, a day early, to avoid potential delays related to the Y2K computer bug, officials disclosed Tuesday.  The early mailings "will mitigate unexpected year 2000 interruptions of benefit payments arising from anything outside our control," said VA spokesman Terry Jemison. The Social Security administration announced last week that checks and electronic deposits for 44 million elderly and disabled Americans also would be dispatched for delivery a day early.