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Show a DAILY MORNING BRIEFING Sunday, August 28, 2005 HERALD FAST FACT An average bolt of lightning raises the air temperature along its way to the earth to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Source: The Book of Answers Compiled from Daily Herald wire services The WORLD NATION BILL WAGNER/The Daily News Cadillac shark attack Daniel Jennings, 14, of Longview, Wash., looks over a shark head coming out of a 195 Cadillac during the Unique Tin Car Show in Longview, Saturday. Closures won't save as much as Pentagon says WASHINGTON — Savings : fromclosing orshifting the + functions of many domestic military basesare likelyto be * far below Pentagonestimates, the headofthe panel that + hammeredoutthe shifts said ~ Saturday While the Pentagon had predicted a $50 billion windfall over 20 vears, Anthony J, Principi. chairmanofthe Base Closure and Realignment Commission, said the Penta- gon would be luckyto save $37billion. % The savings could drop as low as $14 billion if questionable personnel savings aren't counted, Principi said. The commission, which wound up its work on Saturday, had challenged the Pentagon's sav- ings estimates repeatedly. 12 namedin alleged bike-pot operation PHILADELPHIA — From 1999to 2003, a gangthatdisguiseditself as a legitimate bicycle courier service delivered marijuana to residents of Philadelphia's Center City who ordered drugs by pager, authorities said. Afederal grand juryindict- mentunsealed Wednesday charged one NewJersey man and 11 Philadelphians. includ- ing a Shakespeareanactor who has taughtat Arcadia University. with conspiracy to distribute more than100 kilo- gramsof marijuana. According tothe U.S. Drug Enforcemeni Administration, the gang provided customers with a pager number and a personal identification num- ber. Dispatchers allegedlyreturnedthe pag overthe phone, andcalled couriers withinstructions. The organizationnetted about $250,000 a year, according to Barbra DEAspecial agentin charge in Philadelphia. Greenspan waris of housing ‘market JACKSON,Wyo. — Alan Greenspan, whose 18-year runat the Federal Reserve closes next year, expressed confidencehis successor as chairmanofthe central bank can handle any economic challenge. He also renewed a warning on Saturday aboutthesizzling housing market. saying home prices mayfall, slowing consumerspending, a chief ingredient for the economy's good health. Greenspan's remarks wrapped up a two-day conference, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, on the “Greenspan Era.” The 79-year-old Fed chief expects to step downin five months, giving President Bush time to consider poten- tial nominees. Looking ahead, Greenspanpredicted the Fed “will almost surely face as many uncertain- ties over the next 18 yearsas it has over the past 18.”- Homeconfinementset to end for Stewart KATONAH, N.Y. — Un- less she getsinto trouble with her probation officer again, Martha Stewart will gain her freedom this week from her “hideous” home confinement Sentence and that bothersome, unstylish electronic anklet. After five months in prison for lying abouta stock sale andfive months of court-ordered restrictions at her West- chester Countyestate — plus three weeks tacked on for misbehaving — the queen of domestic marketing should be able to movearoundlike any other convicted felon who's donehertime. If she's still under constant surveillance after Wednesday’srelease,it'll be the paparazzi, not the feds. Stewart will still be on probation,but will no longer be limited to 48 hours outof the house per week. Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia,is looking forward to having her back, “working withoutrestriction,” said a company spokes- woman,Elizabeth Estroff. Wranglerscall off search foralligator LOS ANGELES — Reptile wranglers searching for an alligatorlet loose in a southern California lake have given up the hunt — atleast for now. Thealligator was spotted Aug. 12 in HarborCity’s Lake Machado,andsince then hundredsofvisitors have flocked to the South Los Angeles park for a glimpse. However, the reptile has not beenseen since Aug.21. “Weare consideringthis halftime,” Tim Williams, a 30-year gator handler from Florida, said Friday when the search was called off. “He's wonthefirst half.” Twomen.one a Los Angeles officer, were arrested this past week for conspiring to release thealligator in the 56acrelake. Williams said the gator has plenty of food — frogs and crayfish inhabiting the lake, andtortillas and chickenlegs left byvisitors and park officials. Thousandsarrive in Texas for duelingrallies CRAWFORD,Texas — Several thousandpeople descended on President Bush's adopted hometown Saturday, mostin a cross-country caravanfor a pro-Bushrally and others to support an anti-war demonstration led by grieving mother Cindy Sheehan. Bush supporters gathered for an event marking the culmination of the “You don't speak for me, Cindy!" tour, which started last weekin California. The crowd of about 1,500 chanted, “Cindy, go home!” “Youare giving hope and encouragementto the enemies of America,” said former California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, a Republican who co-founded the group that coordinatedtherally. Meanwhile, busloads of war protesters gathered several miles away at “CampCasey,” namedfor Sheehan's 24-yearold son whodied in Iraqlast year. A bell-ringing ceremony on Saturday honored soldiers serving in Iraq. Organizersestimated the crowdat more than 2,000 but it appeared smaller. “I knowthat the Camp Casey movementis going to end the war in Iraq,” Sheehan said, adding that no other families should haveto suffer the loss ofa relative. She led the crowdin chanting “Not one more!” ACHMADIBRAHIM /AssociatedPress. AnIndonesian Muslim woman with her baby attends a polio vaccination campaign in Curugvillage, near the town of Serang, western Java, on Thursday. With Indonesia's polio caserising to 226 and the World Health Organization saying the virus could spread to other Southeast Asian countries, the country is pulling outall the steps to win overa skepticalpublicin its effort to vaccinate 24 million children younger than age 5 on Aug. 30. Indonesia vaccinations stalled by ignorance CIKEUSAL,Indonesia — Holding her2-year-old son, Sari listens intently in a ramshackle healthclinic as the medicalstaff assuresher and othervillagers aboutthe safety of the vaccine being usedto fight Indonesia's first polio outbreak in a decade. But the impoverished mother of two remains unconvinced. Shehintsshewill not partici. pate in Tuesday's nationwide immunization campaign because of unfounded rumors that a neighbor's child contracted polio after being given the oral vaccineearlier this year, Suchfears are threatening the biggest public health exercise ever mountedin Indonesia, whoserising caseload has the World Health Organization worried that the virus could . spread throughout Southeast Asia. Indonesian leadersarepulling outall stops to win over a Doctors claim heart disease breakthrough | Missing teen’s mother hopeful arrests in Aruba will produce allswers ORANJESTAD,Aruba — Natalee Hollaway’s mothersaid Saturday shebelieves “we are going to get answers”in the nearly three-month disappearance of her daughter after two brothers previously detained andreleased in the case were taken backinto custody. Satish and Deepak Kalpoe werearrested Friday on suspicion of involvement in premeditated murderandrape of the 18-year-old honorsstudent, Aruba’s prosecutor's office said, The arrest was based on new evidence,theoffice said, without elaborating. “I was pumped upat the news,” Beth Holloway Twitty told The Associated Press by telephone from her homein Birmingham,Ala. “The strongest thingI felt was that we are going to get answers.” Holloway Twittycalled thearrests a vindication for the teen's family, which was angered by a judge’sdecisionin July to release the brothers for lack of evidence. \| —_| public skeptical about the drive to vaccinate 24 million children under age 5 on Tuesday and then again on Sept. 27. The twolargest Muslim organizations in the world's inost populous Islamic nation are endorsing vaccinations in TV ads, and busloads of soap opera stars and singers are making the rounds to promote a $24 million campaign comparable in preparation to a general election. Morethan 750,000 vaccinators will be on hand Tuesday at 245,000 posts set up at health clinics, bus depots,rail stations andairports. The army andpolice will help deliver vaccine — by plane, boat, bicycle and foot — to someof Indonesia's 6,000 inhabitedislands. Paris apartmentfire revealsliving conditions PARIS — From the street, the apartmentbuilding where AlayeBalives with his wife andfour children has typical Parisian charm:a neat white facade, wooden shutters,lace curtains and a ground-floor cafe, Insideis another story. A rickety-woodenstaircase winds through mildewed corridors that separate small apartments crammed with African families sleeping four, five or more toa room. “I wakeupat night sometimes because I'm afraid for my family. This building is not John PaulIt's secretary consecrated archbishop KRAKOW,Poland — Pope John Paul II's longtimeaide, who worked with the pontiff for 40 years andcradled him in the popemobile after a 1981 assassination attempt, was in- Stalled Saturday as archbishop of Krakow,the post once held by thelate pontiff. Pope Benedict XVI, who appointed Stanislaw Dziwisz to lead the important diocesein June, described him as “the best personto holdthis position”in a papal bull read out by Rev. Jan Zajac during a ceremony in WawelCastle cathedral. “By now,the faithful have come to know your responsibility and dedication and I am sure they will be obedient to you,” the bull said. Israel urges Abbas ta disarm Hamas JERUSALEM - The governmentofIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Saturday condemned threats by a senior Hamas fugitive to fight on to destroy Israel, and urged Palestinian Authority President MahmoudAbbas to disarm the radical Islamist organization. Hamas released a videotape early Saturday in which Mohammed Deif — who masterminded manyofthe suicide bombings carried out by the group overthe past decade — described Israel's recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a victory for Palestinian militants. Deif, whose face was seen only in shadow onthe videotape, tauntedIsrael for “leaving Gazatoday in shame.” “Today you areleavinghell,”he said. “But we promise that tomorrow, God willing,all Palestine will be hell for you.” Israeli and Palestinian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they believed the tape to be genuine, based on previous recordings of Deif’s voice. Heis thought to have been maimedin anIsraeli assassinationbid in 2002, one of several attemptsto kill him. TOKYO— doctorat Saitama Medical School announced Saturday that a 61-year-old heart attack patient had been successfully treated using bone marrowcells. Dr. Shunei Kyosaid at a press conferencethat the patient was discharged by the hospital after being disconnected from an artificial heart. This could be the first case worldwidein which a patient has recovered sufficient heart function to survive without an artificial heart, according to Kyo. Blind activist challenges abusesof China's populationpolicy LINYI, China — A crowd of disheveled villagers was waiting when Chen Guangcheng stepped outof the car. More womenthan men amongthem, a mix of desperation and hope on their faces, they ushered him alonga dirt path andinto a nearbyhouse.Then,oneafter another, they told him about the city’s campaign against “unplanned births.” Since March, the farmerssaid, local authorities had been raiding the homes of families with two children and demandingatleast one parentbe sterilized. Women pregnantwitha third child were forced to have abortions. Andif peopletried to hide,theofficials Jailed their relatives and neighbors,beating them and holding them hostageuntil the fugitives turned themselvesin. For weeks, Chen has been collecting testimony about the population-control abusesin this city of 10 million, located about 400 miles southeast of Beijing, beginningin his own village in the rural suburbs, then traveling from one community to the next. Now heis preparing an unlikely challenge to the crackdown:a class-action lawsuit “Whattheseofficials are doing is completelyillegal,” Chen said. “They've committed widespreadviolations ofcitizens’ basic rights, and they should be held responsible.” safe,” said Ba, a 46-year-old Senegalese immigrant.“Ifa fire breaks out here, weare prisoners. We will die.” In a neighborhood not too far away, that is what happened Friday whena building crowded with immigrants caught fire overnight, killing 14 children and three adults. Only four months earlier, 24 people died ina similar fire at a budget hotel where African immigrants lived. The deaths triggered angry calls for action on behalf of the needy andcast light on the plight of France’s growing immigrant population — and the precarious conditions in which an estimated 2 million people live in Paris alone. JACQUES BRINON/Associated Press Alaye Ba, a 46-year-old Senegalese immigrant shows stacksof dried wood in the basement ofhis ding, filled with v building,filled African famili lies waitin,ig to beplacedin public housing,in Paris, Saturday. “This building is not safe,” said Ba. “If a fire breaks out here, we are prisoners. Wewill die.” The building is near the site where 14 children andthree adults died in a blaze on Friday. |