Friday, March 19, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
Nation/World
Administration warns the Serbs
U.S. says NATO will act if Yugoslav leader refuses accord
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Clinton administration warned that "NATO will act" against Serb targets if Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic doesn't accept the peace accord ethnic Albanians signed in Paris yesterday.
"The Serbs will be responsible for the consequences," said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Air Force chief of staff Gen Michael Ryan, meanwhile, said Milosevic's forces are well-prepared and well-equipped for such an attack.
There is a distinct possibility we
will lose aircraft." Ryan said.
Ryan and other top military commanders testified at a Senate hearing as negotiators on the Albanian side of the Kosovo dispute signed a peace agreement in Paris.
At the White House, press secretary Joe Lockhart warned that "NATO will act if President Milosevic and the Serbs, through their intransigence at the talks or through further aggression, resist finding some political settlement."
Of a Serbian buildup of troops along the Kosovo border, Lockhart said, "Any buildup is of concern. Any further aggression here we would view as a grave mistake."
And Albright, speaking with reporters as she prepared to brief senators on the latest developments, said she had a message for Milosevic: "NATO stands ready to take whatever measures are necessary."
Later in the day, the Senate was prepared to debate a move by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to sharply restrict funds for any U.S. military operation in Kosovo. But Senate leaders delayed the debate until after the briefing from Albright and other members of the president's national security team.
Albright said she had spoken to Kosovo's Albanian leaders by phone, "and I congratulated them for their courage and vision in signing the agreement negotiated in Paris."
At the same time, she said, "the Serbian negotiators have gone backwards," refusing to even discuss the possibility of a NATO peacekeeping in Kosovo.
"Obviously, there can be no agreement if the Serbs do not sign, and right now there is no sign that the Serbs will agree," Albright said.
"The situation is as clear as it could be. The Albanians have said yes to the accords and the Serbs are saying no," she added. She said if Belgrade doesn't reverse course, "the Serbs will be responsible for the consequences."
Yugoslavia's air defenses are sophisticated and heavily defended, Ryan, the Air Force chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier Thursday.
Committee to act.
"These guys are very good. So taking on these defenses with air power will not be easy," he said. "There is a distinct possibility we will lose aircraft in trying to penetrate those defenses."
Ryan said that the air-defense capability "not just in Kosovo but within the whole Yugoslav land mass" includes many surface-to-air missiles and other weapon capable of shooting down U.S. warplanes.
Special education costs grow for schools
Republicans, Democrats debate spending increase
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The school district in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, already had overspent its special education budget by $1 million when the Supreme Court ruled it had to pay for one-on-one nursing for a student — adding $30,000 a year.
Garret Frey, the 16-year-old sophomore on a ventilator because of an accident that left him paralyzed, isn't the issue, said Superintendent Lew Finch.
The case is really about the federal government creating rules requiring schools to educate children with disabilities but not sending enough money to ensure they can afford it.
glong enough money to buy a car. If schools don't get more help, they may need to raise local taxes, Finch said. "This might be the case that opens a lot of eyes."
Special education is one of the most emotional issues schools face, and one of their fastest-growing costs. States long have fought with local schools and the Education Department about costs. Now Republicans and Dem
ocrats in Congress are debating how much the federal government should help.
Nearly 6 million children receive special education instruction and services costing $60 billion, about $5 billion of that from the federal government. About $55 billion comes from states and local districts, which follow strict rules stemming from the 1975 federal law covering special education.
States get anywhere from 7 percent to 12 percent of their special education money from the federal program. The law allows the federal government to contribute up to 40 percent or about $11 billion.
or about $5 billion.
"The first obligation is to fulfill the needs demanded from the laws already on the books," said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who has proposed increasing the federal contribution to at least $5 billion.
Republicans, not usually known for increasing education spending, have criticized President Clinton's request for a 1 percent increase
In their first education debate this year, Republicans and Democrats sparred about a bill that would let schools spend money sought by the Clinton administration for new elementary school teachers on special education instead. The Senate approved the idea, but the House didn't consider it.
In 1975, there were about 4 million special-needs children, representing 8 percent of the school age population
SPECIAL EDUCATION SPENDING
Today, there are 5.8 million special-needs children, representing about 12 percent of the school age population.
The cost of educating the nations special-needs children is $60 billion. $5 billion comes from the federal government. $55 billion comes from the states and local districts, states and local districts.
in special education funding. Giving the states more special education money frees local money for other needs such as new computers, new teachers and new school buildings. Gregg says.
But Democrats want federal money spent on the teachers and other early education programs that they say could help reduce the number of children classified as learning disabled, the biggest category of special education students.
If budget restraints were gone, the administration would support more special education money, said Judith E. Heumann, who runs the Education Department's special education programs.
Witness to collision of train and truck talks to investigators
The Associated Press.
BOURBONNAIS, III. — A potential witness has come forward who claims to have seen the crash of an Amtrak passenger train that rammed a truck, killing 11 people, an investigator said today.
The motorist contacted Amtrak late Wednesday, saying he was driving behind the truck, and representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board will attempt to interview him in detail later today, the NTSB's John Goglia told a news briefing.
Investigators "believe that this witness has valuable information" and is credible, Goglia said, though he declined to elaborate.
"We believe there may be other witnesses to this accident," he said, based on the witness's report that other vehicles were in the area at the time of the crash. He encouraged any witnesses to come forward.
Authorities also discussed their re-enactment of the crash, conducted late Wednesday.
Two nights earlier at the same site and at about the same time, Amtrak's "City of New Orleans" train plowed into a tractor-trailer loaded with steel. This time, investigators — using the same truck cab — to help figure out what happened in the seconds before the nation's deadliest train wreck in three years.
Investigators have also talked again to the engineer, who remained in the hospital, and the driver of the truck, John Stokes of Manteno, Ill.
NTSB spokesman Phil Frame would not comment on what the engineer, who remained hospitalized yesterday, said.
There were reports Tuesday that the engineer said immediately after the crash that the truck driver had tried to zig-zag his semitrailer through the crossing gates after they had come down.
Goglia said authorities are analyzing two tire tracks in the mud at the crossing that "would indicate that somebody tried to go around the gates."
The re-enactment was conducted at about 9:45 p.m. almost the same time the "City of New Orleans" approached the crossing 50 miles south of Chicago on Monday. This time, a single engine moved slowly down the tracks, sounding its horn while crossing gates came down and warning lights flashed. A tractor-trailer sat marked behind the gates.
A string of freight cars was also placed on a nearby side track to see if they could have impaired the truck driver's view. The cab of the truck involved in the accident was used, with an identical trailer carrying the same amount of steel bars, Frame said.
The large truck was able to get around the gates without knocking them down, investigators said today. During the reenactment, investigators timed how many seconds it took the truck to cross the tracks at various speed limits.
Also Wednesday, an attorney for passengers David and Laura Roe of New Orleans filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Amtrak, Illinois Central Railroad, Stokes and his employer, Melco Transfer Co., seeking $300,000 in damages for their injuries.
Jury decides for Big Tobacco in union class-action lawsuit
Victory lends boost to companies' stock confidence in ads
The Associated Press
AKRON, Ohio — A federal jury handed Big Tobacco a big victory yesterday, rejecting a $2 billion lawsuit accusing cigarette makers of deliberately trying to hook less-educated blue-collar union workers.
The class-action lawsuit was brought by 114 Ohio union health funds in an attempt to recoup the costs of treating workers' smoking-related illnesses. It was the first of at least 14 such lawsuits around the country to go to trial.
After two days of deliberations, the jury ruled for the tobacco industry on all counts.
Wall Street responded by driving up tobacco stock prices.
We are delighted with the court's ruling," said Gregory Little, a lawyer for Philip Morris. "This jury sent a clear message reaffirming the health risks of smoking have been
well-known for decades, and that cigarette companies have not withheld material information regarding health effects from the public."
Patrick Coughlin, attorney for the union health funds, said, "It's hard to understand how somebody could look at all that activity and then say that's all right or that didn't impact millions and millions of people. It's tough to lose this case, but there will be more."
Around the country, several similar cases have been thrown out, with some judges saying the unions have no legal standing unless they file separate lawsuits on behalf of every smoker.
The Ohio health funds argued that the industry concealed the dangers of smoking and used promotional gimmicks and images such as Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man, "aware that people with lower incomes and less education are more susceptible to the advertising," attorney Mike Withey said.
The tobacco companies contended there was nothing illegal about their ad campaigns
Philip Morris, the world's largest cigarette maker, rose $3.25 to $41.50 a share on Wall Street. R.J. Reynolds climbed $1.68 3/4 to $30.31 1/4. British American Tobacco was up 311/4 cents at $17.68 3/4.
The health funds were led in their suit by Iron Workers Local Union No. 17 Insurance Fund, which brought the case in 1997.
and disputed the idea that blue workers were more likely to be swaved by them.
Panel studies compulsive gambling
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — More than 5 million Americans are pathological or problem gamblers and another 15 million are at risk of becoming so, according to a survey commissioned by a national panel studying the impact of gambling.
The findings of the National Opinion Research Center survey, commissioned by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, drew immediate criticism from the gambling industry, which said the report contained sensational language and material designed to put gambling in a harsh light.
Even so, the report gives some ammunition to defenders of legalized gambling by putting the annual cost of compulsive gambling at $5 billion, well below the costs of such social problems as mental illness, alcohol abuse, diabetes and traffic accidents.
The prevalence and impact of compulsive gambling have become major points of contention for the nine-member commission, which is due to complete two years of work by sending a report to Congress in June.
The report calls the economic impact of problem gambling relatively small — a phrase that troubled some members of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.
Opening a two-day meeting in Washington to work on their final report, members of the commission grappled with how to measure the negative results of gambling.
The national commission "Everybody on the commission has really struggled with this. How do you estimate the social cost? It's very difficult to do," said commission chairwoman Kay James. "At best, I think what we can say at this point is we really need more research. We need more information."
The cornerstone of their work on that issue is the National Opinion Research Center survey, done at the University of Chicago in collaboration with other researchers. It is the first widespread survey since the 1970s.
The report found that 2.5 million Americans are "pathological" gambels, a disorder codified in 1984 by the American Psychiatric Association. Another 3 million are problem gamblers, the report found.
People are about twice as likely to be problem or pathological gamblers if a dealer has a certain type of bet.
More than 5 million Americans are pathological or problem gamblers and another 15 million are at risk.
Compulsive Gambling
Combining telephone surveys with interviews at casinos, the report concluded that people are about twice as likely to be problem or pathological gamblers if a casino is within 50 miles of their home.
A separate study released yesterday by the National Research Council estimates that in a given year, 1.8 million adults and as many as 1.1 million adolescents are pathological gamblers. That study found that pathological gamblers are far more likely to commit crimes, run up large debts, damage relationships and kill themselves.
Commission member John Wilhelm, general president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, said he was pleased that most studies, including the two discussed yesterday, found similar numbers a few to several million — of people with gambling problems.
KU ON WHEELS
is currently taking applications for the following position:
STUDENT
SENATE
transportation Coordinator Pick up an application in 400 Kansas Union or call 864-4644.
Deadline for applications:
TUESDAY, MARCH 30
interviews will be held the evening of Thursday, April
- Position begins May 1, 1999 through May 2000
JOB DESCRIPTION
- 20 hours per week
- Job Duties: Responsible for daily operations of KU on Wheels.
100 Dudes. Responsible.
Liftvan, and Saferide. This includes providing
information for riders, bus pass distribution, and planning of route changes.
planning of route changes.
- Prefer graduate students in transportation or public administration, but all are encouraged to apply
EARN $1050 IN JUST 3 WEEKENDS!
**You may qualify if you:** • Are a healthy 18-45岁 old male • Take no medications
• Don't use tobacco products • Are within 15 lbs of your ideal weight
• Available for 3 consecutive weekdays
(Check-in Friday pm; Check-out Monday am)
Limited opening available...Call today! (913) 894-5533
QUINTILES Together we can make a difference!
- RAVE -
featuring performances by:
Orpheus Productions and PAQ Present: Cultural Fluidity
Nitro - Kansas City, MO
Matter-Boulder,CO
Kaoss - Omaha, NE
Radionic - Manhattan, KS
Radionic-Mantranium
Chemical, Wichita, KS
Chemical - Wichita, KS
Chemical - Wichita, KS
Coleco-Lawrence, KS
Chris - Kansas City, MO
7 DJ's to perform at the National Guard Armory on March 26,
from 9:00pm-6:00am. Cover is $12.
All students welcome! For more information call:
877-843-6454