2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 6, 2001 NATION/WORLD Fox presses WASHINGTON (AP) - Mexican President Vicente Fox, the first state visitor of the Bush presi- dency, challenged the United States yesterday to strike an agreement on immigration reform by the end of the year. President Bush said "there is no more important relationship" than Mexico's but did not embrace Fox's ambitious deadline. The public challenge surprised U.S. officials who have been trying to lower expectations for a deal on the complex and politically risky issue. Even some Mexican officials said they had no notice that Fox would push for quick action. TV ry " " a i ,.S. for immigration The two-day state visit, important to both Bush along with his and F and Fox, began promptly at 9 a.m. EDT when a --- amounted to a" military band struck up a Sousa march and the two States has no more presidents strolled shoulder to shoulder onto the world." White House back lawn. Military honor guards With all the page stood stone-faced as their battle ribbons, jostled Bush welcomed Fox atop flag poles by a cool wind, whipped at their Blanca" and said," faces. nations must work to Bush, hoping to court Hispanic voters for his common purpose to 2004 re-election bid, said Wednesday's formal wel- challenges on the iss coming ceremony, one-on-one Oval Office session, citizens, including rare joint Cabinet meeting and state dinner - drugs, crime, corrupt reform ox's joint trip Thursday to Ohio "recognition that the United important relationship in the antry a president can muster, to what he called the "Casa 'We understand that our two gether in a spirit of respect and seize opportunities and tackle ues that affect the lives of our migration, the environment, ion and education." NEWS IN BRIEF 'HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD I COLD PREVENTION PARTICIPANTS NEEDED 1 TO HELP EVALUATE INVESTIGATIONAL DRUG Idividuals: -Must be at least 18 or older -Must be available this Fall and Winter -Will need to have blood draws/throat cultures/pregnia1cy tests Qualified Participants Receive: -Up to &210 for 6-7 visits OR an electronic diary (your choice) For Infhrmation: Phone (734) 615-8:331 Conducted by j of 13 1School of Public Iealth Epidemiology Department Ann Arbor, .11/ WASHINGTON House GOP calls for capital gains cuts Top congressional Republicans called yesterday for new legislation to stimu- late the economy, including cuts in the capital gains tax rate despite President Bush's desire to delay such an effort. , The GOP split emerged as Republicans stepped up efforts to combat Democ- ratic claims that this year's tax cut was so costly that, unless savings are found, it could force the use of Social Security surpluses to pay for defense, education and other increases that both sides support. A day after Bush said he preferred to wait until next year to see if the $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax cut enacted this year was bolstering the flagging economy, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said he wanted to pursue a capital gains tax cut this fall anyway. He said it could be attached to a minimum wage boost that Democrats want or other legislation. And House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) emerged from a White House meet- ing with Bush to say action on a capital-gains tax reduction was still possible this year. "It's saying, 'What else can we do to keep this economy going and to grow the economy,"' Hastert told reporters. "And that's what we're interested in doing." In addition, House Majority Leader Dick Arrey (R-Texas) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) came out for a fresh effort to revive the economy. WASHINGTON Most stem cell colonies may not be viable Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson acknowledged yes- terday that almost two-thirds of the 64 stem cell colonies approved for federal funding by the Bush administration were only recently derived from embryos, and their usefulness to scientists hasn't yet been proven. Thompson, testifying before a Senate committee, stressed that the two dozen colonies ready for laboratories now are sufficient to conduct extensive basic research into the still-untested promise of stem cell science. "We're confident there are enough and we're confident the private sector will fill the voids where there are any voids," he said, predicting that more of the 64 will be ready by the time federal grants are awarded early next year. But Thompson's comments represented the first time a high-ranking adminis- tration official conceded that not all the cell colonies eligible for funding are as "robust" as initially advertised. That could give fuel to critics who say Bush has tied scientists' hands by placing too stringent restrictions on federal research. Work on stem cells is controversial because they're derived from days-old human embryos - usually left over at fertility clinics - that are destroyed in the process. 4 U BELFAST, Northern Ireland Grenade injures 2 officers near school Schoolgirls screamed and their par- ents ducked after Protestant extremists hurled a homemade grenade at them yesterday, the third day of a hate- fueled confrontation outside a Catholic elementary school in Northern Ireland. Two police officers were knocked to the ground by the blast; one suffered shrapnel wounds in his legs, authori- ties said. Three Protestant militants were arrested in connection with the blast. "It was awful that a policeman was hit, but it could have been one of those little girls. That has been my fear all along," said the Rev. Aidan Troy, gov-. ernor of the besieged school in the! north Belfast neighborhood of Ardoyne. The girls were walking with police and their parents through a Protestant neighborhood for a third day of classes at Holy Cross Primary School. OKLAHOMA CITY Terry Nichols could be sentenced to die Ending months of speculation over whether he would drop the case, the new district attorney in Oklahoma City said yesterday that he will prosecute bombing conspirator Terry Nichols on state mur- der charges that could bring the death penalty. District Attorney Wes Lane said he will pursue the 160 first-degree mur- der counts brought by his predecessor. "Accountability with the laws of Oklahoma demand that we stay the course," Lane said at the site of the - 1995 bombing that killed 168 people. Nichols was convicted in federal court of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter and is serving a life sen- 4 tence, But he has appealed, and Lane said he wants to make sure Nichols does not escape punishment. "I simply do not know what might loom out there on the legal horizon which would place Terry Nichols' fed- eral conviction in jeopardy," he said. PITTSBURGH Overworked IRS workers hid returns I Employees at an IRS processing center run by Mellon Bank hid thou- sands of tax returns or put them with papers to be shredded apparently because they couldn't keep.up with the workload, Mellon's chairman says. At least 40,000 federal tax returns and payments totaling $810 million were either lost or destroyed at the Pittsburgh center, which handled docu- ments sent by taxpayers in New Eng- land and parts of New York state. The scope of the problem was dis- closed last week by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D- Mont.), who said it could take months to. determine all the details. A federal investigation has begun. Last month, Mellon lost its contract to run the Pitts- burgh IRS Processing Unit because of what bank chairman Martin McGuinn called "gross disregard" and the failure by employees to follow company policy. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. JJ 1I4 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 fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $100. Winter term (January through April) is $105, yearlong (September through April) is $180. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. 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