2A - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 9, 2001 NATION WORLD 0 Northern alliance gains ground; NEWS IN BRIEF The Washington Post JABAL-US-SARAJ, Afghanistan - The opposition Northern Alliance said yesterday that it gained ground in its battle to capture the key northern city of Mazar- e-Sharif, and a senior alliance official said rebel leaders decided to await the outcome of the battle before launching an offensive on the Afghan capital, Kabul. Alliance forces plan to launch a new round of attacks in the next few days in an effort to capture Mazar-e-Sharif, a victory that could open a supply pipeline to the alliance's positions north of Kabul, offi- cials said. "It is our goal that we first capture Mazar-e-Sharif," said Yonus Qanooni, who serves as the Northern Alliance interior minister. "Then we should move toward Kabul." Anthrax an WASHINGTON (AP) - Some 13 others. 32,000 people have been prescribed Postmas antibiotics in the anthrax crisis, asked Conk 5,000 who really needed them and set the toll thus must take the pills a full 60 said the g days, health officials said yesterday. safety equi Medical authorities said in new "They si guidelines that merely finding traces of homelar of anthrax clinging to surfaces does Senate Ap not warrant closing buildings or pre- tee. scribing antibiotics. In the m President Bush went to Atlanta how far a yesterday to tour the Centers for Dis- CDC disc] ease Control and Prevention, where cans have scientists are working around the least seve clock to deal with the anthrax that raced to te has killed four people and sickened to the gerr Qanooni said the alliance would stick with that plan barring a complete collapse of the Taliban on the front about 40 miles north of the capital. In that case, he said, "then it's our obligation to move toward Kabul." By late yesterday afternoon, Northern Alliance forces held most of the key towns and villages south of Mazar-e-Sharif, had seized the hydroelectric dam that powers the city and had recaptured a military camp that was once a headquarters of Northern Alliance Gen. Rashid Dostum, according to interviews with field commanders in Afghanistan and alliance officials in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. "Mazar-e-Sharif will fall soon. The way is open now," said Mohammed Hasham Saad, the top repre- sentative of the Northern Alliance in Tashkent. "I think it won't take a week." itib'o use Alliance officials previously had indicated they were prepared to march on the capital before the fall of Mazar-e-Sharif, a victory that appeared imminent weeks ago but has since receded from the alliance's reach. With intensive U.S. bombing in recent days, however, and a U.S. re-supply operation by helicopter, alliance forces south of the city have made gains in a week-long offensive, officials said. In an apparent indication that the U.S. bombing has been taking a heavy toll, Harakat-e-Jihad-e- Islami (Islamic Jihad Movement), a Pakistan-based militant group allied with terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden, said yesterday that recent U.S. air strikes had killed 85 of its fighters, who had been sent to the area south of Mazar-e-Sharif as reinforcements for the Taliban. I by-32,000 4 p-I hi' WASH INGTON :.. Jobless claims reach 18-year high The number of laid-off workers drawing jobless benefits reached an 18-year high last week, reflecting the nation's economic hard times, though fewer Ameri- cans filed new claims for state unemployment insurance. The Labor Department reported yesterday that for the work week ending Nov. 3, new jobless claims fell by a seasonally adjusted 46,000 to 450,000. That fol- lowed a drop of 11,000 the week before. The number of laid-off workers continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 3.72 million for the work week ending Oct. 27. That was the highest level since April 23, 1983. "It's a difficult climate for workers," said economist Clifford Waldman of Waldman Associates. "It will take more hard work and looking to find a job in this atmosphere." Companies have cut production, trimmed hours and let workers go in response to the lagging economy and the Sept. 11 attacks. The nation's unemployment rate soared from 4.9 percent in September to 5.4 percent in October and companies eliminated 415,000 jobs, the biggest one- month drop in 21 years. Economists predict the jobless rate will climb and pay- rolls continue to be trimmed. WASHINGTON Postmaster wants $5 billion to fight anthrax Postmaster General John Potter told a Senate panel yesterday that he needs $3 billion to help the U.S. Postal Service pay for new technology to fight anthrax, as well as $2 billion to cover projected lost revenue since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But lawmakers immediately signaled reluctance to approve a $5 billion bailout. "Users of the mail should not be burdened with these extra costs through the price of postage," Potter said. "This could quickly threaten the foundation of a universal postal system serving all Americans." Under pointed questioning, Potter estimated that his critical short-term need would be about $1 billion for technology and security. That was the cost lawmak- ers seemed most willing to try to accommodate. "We probably are not going to cover" lost revenue, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), the ranking Republican on the appropriations committee that covers the Postal Service, told Potter and his colleagues, noting that 1?resi- dent Bush has threatened to veto requests for additional emergency spending beyond the $40 billion Congress has already approved. ter General John Potter gress for $5 billion to off- of the attacks by mail. He oyernment should pay for pment and other recovery. &ould be considered costs nd security," Potter told a propriations subcommit- ost stunning picture yet of nthrax has reached, the dosed that 32,000 Ameri- taken antibiotics for at ral days while scientists ell who was truly exposed ms. Of them, 5,000 were found at risk for anthrax infection and told to take antibiotics for a full 60 days. Cipro, the main drug prescribed, can cause some severe side effects. But a quick study of 490 Floridians taking it and other antibiotics found 20 percent reported only minor side effects. The Food and Drug Admin- istration plans the unprecedented step of contacting all 32,000 antibi- otic recipients to better count side effects - and ensure that no one has a relapse after ending their medica- tion. In addition, 300 post offices and other buildings have been tested for Salute-ations AP PHOTO Weitzel Elementary School first-grader Mathew Diver takes a closer look at Veterans of Foreign Wars quartermaster Clory Duran as he salutes during a Veterans Da program at the school in Flagstaff, Ariz. anthrax, the CDC said. Most heavily contaminated are the Hart Senate Office Building, where an anthrax- tainted letter to Majority Leader Thomas Daschle was opened, and Washington's Brentwood central post office, which processed that letter. Officials say the majority of other, buildings have had no or very little contamination. "We will never remove every spore" in a building cleanup, Dr. James Baker Jr., a University of Michigan bioterror expert, told Con- gress. As for Hart, "you will not sterilize that building no matter what you do." Bush increases troops at airports WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will announce an expanded role for National Guard troops at airports, possibly stationing them at boarding gates, administration officials said yes- terday. An announcement is expected today at a White House ceremony honoring private-sector employers of guardsmen and reservists, said the officials, speak- ing on condition of anonymity. The plan calls for a "dramatic increase" in troops at airports, one official said. Bush's announcement, ahead of the busy holiday travel season, was intend- ed to increase confidence in air travel while Congress works to finish an air- line security bill, one source said. It will take months to put any changes into effect even once a compromise bill passes. Governors have used guard mem- bers at security checkpoints, where passengers and carry-on baggage are screened, as well as for general patrol duty at airports. One idea under review by the presi- dent would have guardsmen monitor passengers who have gone through security and are in the boarding process. Recent security lapses have shown that current measures are not fool- proof: Last week at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, a gate search by airline employees of passenger who had gone through security found seven knives, a stun gun and tear gas. The president asked governors in September to station guardsmen for as long as six months at the nation's 420 commercial airports, with the federal government to cover the cost. It was not immediately clear whether Bush would again ask the governors to call up troops or act on his own. The idea of using guardsmen to screen travelers drew a skeptical response from David Stempler, presi- dent of the Air Travelers Association, an advocacy group. "I don't know what part they have to play in the security process other than to have a show of force," he said. Also yesterday, major airlines announced they have finished installing bars, latches and other equipment to strengthen cockpit doors - steps to prevent hijackers from get- ting into cockpits, as they did Sept. 11. "This is so crucial as we go into the holiday season," said Carol Hallett, president of Air Transport Associa- tion, which represents the major air- lines that carry 97 percent of passengers. "Americans across the board can have full confidence." An annual AAA survey for Thanks- giving travel forecast 4.6 million peo- ple traveling by air, a 27 percent decline from last year's 6.3 million. That translates to 13 percent of the JERUSALEM Palestinian suicide bomber dies in raid A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up when Israeli com- mandos stormed his hide-out yester- day, while a Palestinian official said Europe is working on an initiative to stop 13 months of Mideast vio- lence. Before daybreak, the Israeli border police special anti-terror unit stormed the building where the bomber was hiding in the West Bank town of Baka al-Sharkiyeh, just across the invisible boundary with Israel. The Palestinian detonated the explo- sives, killing himself and wounding two commandos, said Lt. Col. Amos Yaakov of the border police. Police said they believed the bomber intended to blow himself up in an Israeli city. The militant group Hamas said the bomber was acting on its behalf. WASHINGTON Supreme Court to hear drug test case The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether schools may give drug tests to nearly any student involved in after-school activities, from the chess club to cheerleading, without evidence the student or the school has a drug problem. Critics -say such broad testing is unconstitutional and a step toward uni- versal screening. Supporters say it is necessary in the face of drug use by young people. "I felt they were accusing us and convicting us before they had given us a chance," said Lindsey Earls, who par- ticipated on an academic quiz team when testing began in Tecumseh, Okla. Only children involved in competitive extracurricular activities were tested on the theory that by voluntarily represent- ing the school, they had opened them- selves to greater scrutiny than other students. NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. Surgeon buys strip club for extra cash i A renowned cardiovascular surgeon has bought an all-nude club and cabaret, saying the cash from his new venture will help pay for medical research. Simon Stertzer of Stanford Univer- sity is the new owner of the Palomino Club and an adjacent cabaret along a seedy strip of Las Vegas Boulevard. "Whatever will provide cash"flow will do," Stertzer told the North Las Vegas City Council before it approved his business license application Sept. 5. Stertzer performed the first coro- nary angioplasty in the country at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital in 1978, hospital spokeswoman Ann Silverman said. He has previously used revenue from business investments to pay for research. He also owns some land in Las Vegas where a car repair business is located. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 4 I I The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fail term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated ColIe- giate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. 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