Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Tuesday November 2b 2003' Q — A5 Nation af Suggestions abound after NASA releases return-to-- CAPE CANAVERAL Fla the (APl — Shrink-wra- p 'external fuel tank Insulate the tank on the inside rather than the outside to prevent chunks of foam from breaking off and striking the space shuttle as ' ' happened with Columbia Cover the edges of the shut-- " tie wings with titanium Add a '! second layer of reinforced car- ' bon skin These are just a fe w of the " hundreds of suggestions that have streamed into NASA from both inside the space '' agency and outside eversince' the first version of its return- plan came out two months ago: ' In the latest update Monday NASA summarized the sug- gcslions and estimated it will ' cost $280 million to carry put all the safety recommenda- lions put forth by Columbia ' accident investigators But the ultimate cost of getting the three remaining shuttles Hying again will almost certainly be ' '! : ht higher “This is obviously just our best estimate of return-to- -' flight costs’' said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel' NASA has yet to figure out how to patch a hole in the : Men convicted wing like the one that brought down Columbia in February and development of such a repair kit will probably drive costs up ' Some of the suggestions made by NASA employees and members of the public would also run up costs 'and could keep the shuttle fleet grounded even longer if the ' proposals require an extensive redesign Right now NASA is aiming for a launch no earlier than next fall Every suggestion no matter how Silly or outrageous is being reviewed and getting an individual response NASA V said “Even the ones you' would characterize as junk or a joke ' every one gets reviewed" Beutelsaid “They’re not just blowing them off They are reviewing every single messages are passed up the NASA chain to avoid relying on a single person's ' judgment on “what is kooky and what is hot’’Beutel said NASA's embraceof sugges- semiti© mcetil of trying to join light plan f 7 tPcmrDainieO Taliban get 18 years in prison ' PORTLAND OavlAP) -- K Two American Muslims who tried to join the Taiban were sentenced to' 8 years in prison Monday during a hearing in which they denounced the Bush admin- 1 - Istratioriand-pleaded in ' song lor free- -' dom-c:- - '' Patrice Lumumba ' Ford 32 arid Jeffrey Leon Battle 33" had pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy lb ' levy war against the United States V Both said that in trying to reach Afghanistan they were fulfilling their Islamic duty to defend fellow'Musliius ' “The attack on and killed Afghanistan tions is in stark contrast to the : maimed thousands of people attitude that prevailed during without achieving 'its-- ob jeC- Columbia’s doomed flight tiver said Ford who had when engineers’ worries about ' traveled to China in an ' wing damage were disregarded unsuccessful attempt to reach Afghanistan ' ‘T refuse io stand passive the face of such policies” :he said ' : one’-Som- ' ' ' : APphpto' 'James Britt right brother of Patrice Ford stands next to attorney Stan Cohen and speaks on the steps of the federal courthouse in Portland Ore on Monday alter his brother and Jeffrey Battle convicted of conspiring to join the Taliban were sentenced to 18 years iri federal prison ' You are ah insult to that Ford onee an intern at Portland’s City Hull said he" faith’ : ' ' Muslims do hot engage in the activities you engaged in' ' release ihc“ Battle and Ford were uthnng six people accused of ' eoiispiririg to travel to' and Afghanistan ' fight US troop's after the ' Sept J terrorist attacks A seventh: was charged w ith providing inancial support ' Four of the others pleaded guilty anil u fifth was killed' ' in shootout in Pakistan jtuiuanil i Battle a former Arniy reservist also spoke of his " obligations as- a Muslim and cpneluded by singing a 10- minute song he said he had ' written in prison The courtriMun was silent diiringthe song which' ' ended with the stanza ' ' “Free freefree fpf alf 1 I 1 AP photo Trimming Thanksgiving turkeys left Andy Cdnard' center and Kurt McDonald keep busy preparing turkeys tor smoking at Fritz’s Smoked Meats on Monday in Leawood KanThe Leawood business has live smokers that eaich can hold 150 turkeys so they are able to take the influx of ThankSgivingbusinessEachturkey is' tagged with the name arid phone number of the person who flyan Knickerbocker -- ordered it ' V briof Voters may decide whether Oregon needs tax increase SALEM Ore CAP) — Times are still tough in Oregon — and a tax increase will make them even tougher says Dana Tokars- ki a mother of four “In our family we have a budget to keep We would definite-- : Ty feel any kind of increase in our taxes It would make a differ-- encevshcsuys ' ' : - ' A mo vement is under way among Oregon voters to repeal a tax surcharge that is set to take effect in the spring The move- ment began a few months ago When the Legislature passed the but it mayhave gained momentum in recent weeks ' because of signs that Oregon’s economy is iihproving Tax opponents have until Tuesday to gather 50000 signatures' to put the repeal measure on the ballot for Feb 3 and say they will have no trouble surpassing that number Polls suggest a majority of voters are against the tax surcharge Michael Jackson launches new Web site to proclaim his innocence LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson launched a Web site Monday designed to tell his side of the story in his child- molestation case asserting that the allegations are “predicated on a big lie’’ “As you know the charges recently directed at me are terribly statement posted on serious” Jackson said in a the site “They are however predicated on a big lie- This will be shown in court arid we will be able to put this horrible time v'--- ' behind us” The entertainer’s spokesman Stuart Backerman said Jackson put the site together so he could communicate directly with the news media and fans Jackson said in his statement that the site would serve as a source for “official communications on my - " case” Dell switching tech support calls from India to Idaho elsewhere ' AUSTIN Texas (AP) — After an onslaught of complaints rt direct sales computer king Dell Inc is rerouting technical calls from corporate customers to Idaho and other centers and away from the call center in Bangalore India : Tech support for Optiplcx desktop and Latitude notebook computers will be handled from call centers in TWin Falls Texas and Tennessee Dell spokesman Jon Weisblatt said Monday “Customers weren't satisfied with the level of support they were receiving so we're moving some callrsround to make sure they don’t feel that way anymore” Weisblatt said sup-po- 'is '£' not pdrticipdk v" in anij promolioni IdqeTfluhJmd jo parliniwlJSnd j)uQ£Ui M AM P or dllefpromot ion?a"f aruj to ' |