2A -- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 31, 2002 NATION/WORLD GAO suing for energy records -.. NEWS IN BRIEF HEADLIN S.O AONDTE O WASHINGTON (AP) - The Gen- eral Accounting Office has decided to sue the White House for access to documents from President Bush's energy task force, a congressional source told The Associated Press yes- terday. The GAO's plan to take the White House to court sets up a political battle over executive privilege. Bush on Monday flatly refused to hand over the documents, saying to do so would encroach on his ability to freely seek outside views. Fed leav( A decision had been expected all week from Comptroller General David Walker, leader.,of GAO, Con- gress' investigative arm. The GAO wants to force Vice President Dick Cheney, who ran the task force, to turn over documents on the meet- ings held last year with business executives as the Bush administra- tion crafted a national energy poli- cy. Some of the meetings included offi- cials from the now-collapsed Enron Corp., a Houston-based energy trader with deep ties to Bush. "We have been notified that they will be announcing their decision today and that their decision is that they will be moving forward," said the Senate source, speaking on con- dition on anonymity. It would be the, first time in the GAO's 80-year existence that it sued the executive branch. The lawsuit would be filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington. The White House said it had not received notification of the GAO law- suit. "The president will stand on prin- ciple and for the right of presidents and this president to receive candid advice without it being turned into a news release," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. White House officials, fearing polit- ical fallout from the legal action, scrambled to raise questions about the GAO's actions. GAO officials were calling congres- sional leaders yesterday to tell them of the decision. An official announce- ment was expected later in the day. i s interest rates unchanged WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid signs meeting. the worst of the recession may be over, "Signs that weakness in demand is the Federal Reserve left a key interest abating and economic activity is begin- rate unchanged yesterday, ending a year- ning to firm have become more preva-, long stretch of uninterrupted credit eas- lent," the Fed said in a statement ing. explaining its decision. "With the forces After 11 consecutive rate reductions restraining the economy starting to last year, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan diminish ... the outlook for economic and his colleagues opted to keep the recovery has become more promising." federal funds rate - the interest that On Wall Street, stocks rallied. The banks charge each other on overnight Dow Jones industrial average, based on loans -at 1.75 percent, the lowest level preliminary calculations, closed up in 40 years. The decision was 144.62 points at 9,762.86, with the announced after a two-day closed-door index gaining back part of Tuesday's big U.S. s Iuppli1es mon WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department In the meantime, the in reached a stopgap agreement yesterday to give $2.4 the Congress' accounti million over three months to the leading Iraqi group Greenberg said. working against President Saddam Hussein. The Iraqis had been sc The agreement was based on "a good-faith cial support today unles effort" by the Iraqi National Congress to deal with State Department that th weaknesses found by the department's inspector tracking its funds adequ geheral in an audit of the INC's accounting system help the London-based for money it has received from the United States, activities. said State Department spokeswoman Brenda The aid program for t Greenberg. suspended in early Janua The opposition group shares a longtime and unful- tem to account for its spen filled U.S. hope to weaken Saddam's rule. The agree- Leaders of the oppos ment, reached at the end of daylong negotiations, with Undersecretary of S also specifies new negotiations for U.S. money for ward, Iraqi National Con next year. told reporters: "We de loss. Commercial banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of con- sumer and business loans, has dropped in lockstep with the Fed moves and con- tinues at 4.75 percent, a level last seen in November 1965. The Fed began cutting rates on Jan. 3, 2001, and ordered its last rate reduction on Dec. 11, its final meeting of the year..j Those rate reductions were designed tol revive the economy, which was ailing even before it slid into recession in March. iey to Iraq. "There's no use tossing more coal onto a fire that has been exhibiting a warmer glow," said economist Richard Yamarone of Argus Research Corp. Even though the Fed opted to hold rates steady yesterday, it left the door open to further rate reductions if neces- sary. "The degree of any strength in busi- ness capital and household spending, however, is still uncertain," the Fed said. Still, many economists, believing the economy is on the mend, are not fore- casting additional rate reductions. i faction' ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Kidnappers threaten to kill reporter An e-mail purportedly sent yesterday by kidnappers holding Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl threatened to kill him within 24 hours. It also warned American journalists to leave the country within three days. There was no way to authenticate the e-mail, which was sent to both Western and Pakistani news organizations. The e-mail claimed that Pearl, the Journal's South Asian bureau chief who disappeared a week ago in Karachi, was an agent for the Israeli intel- ligence service, the Mossad. "Therefore we will execute him within 24 hours unless Amreeka (America) fulfills our demands," said the e-mail. The message also criti- cized the United States for not providing lawyers and trials for Pakistanis detained on terrorism-related charges. The e-mail accused U.S. journalists of working for intelligence agencies and warned "all Amreekan journalists" working in Pakistan to leave the country within three days. "Anyone remaining after that will be targeted," it said. The message was unsigned, but had similar phrases as e-mails sent over the weekend by the group claiming to hold Pearl. SAN FRANCISCO Airport evacuated after passenger flees Thousands of passengers were evacuated from San Francisco Interna- tional Airport for more than two hours yesterday after security guards detected explosives residue on the shoes of a man who then disappeared into the crowd. A search of the United Airlines terminal failed to find the man, and the terminal was reopened mid-morning, with all passengers being rescreened, said airport spokesman Ron Wilson. "We've searched the terminal. It's safe and secure," Wilson said. "It's unfortunate that one individual can cause this madness." About a quarter of the airport was evacuated around 7 a.m., the peak of the morning travel rush, after the residue was detected on the man's shoes at a checkpoint, said airport spokesman Mike McCarron. "When they went to stop him, he didn't stop," McCarron said. The explosive material could be anything from fireworks residue to nitro- glycerin tablets, McCarron said. It was detected after a gauze-like material was wiped across the man's shoes, then put through a machine. - 0 nspector general's review of ng system will continue, heduled to -lose their finan- s they could convince the heir accounting system was ately. The payments are to group in its anti-Saddam he anti-Saddam group was ary in a dispute over a sys- .nding. ition group met yesterday tate Marc Grossman. After- gress spokesman Sharif Ali veloped some very good ideas." Additional meetings were planned with Assistant Secretary of State William Burns. Organization leaders also met yesterday with offi- cials at the Pentagon. Asked by reporters whether the session indicated an acceleration of military plan- ning' against Saddam, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was not involved in the meeting, and it carried no special meaning. At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher said: "The inspector general raised several questions that needed to be addressed." He said care was necessary when "dealing with taxpayers' money." Ali said his session with Grossman "was a very fruitful meeting." ROCHESTER, N.Y. Reno 'doing very well' after collapse Former Attorney General Janet Reno collapsed yesterday night during a speech and was taken to a hospital. Reno, 63, was conscious when taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, according to the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester. Darrell Grigg, a spokesman for Rural/Metro Medical Services, told the newspaper Reno's signs were "very stable." "She is doing very well right now," Grigg said. Messages left by The Associated Press with a hospital representative were not immediately returned. Reno had been speaking for about 45 minutes at the University of Rochester when she told the audience, "You're going to have to excuse me for a minute. I'm going to have to sit down," the newspaper said. She then collapsed. WASHINGTON Post office seeks to ease mail concerns The Postal Service sought to reas- sure the public - and mailroom work- ers - that irradiated mail is not dangerous. "We have had the mail tested by a number of agencies and they have determined that there is not a level of carbon monoxide or any other toxic substances that should cause anyone to become ill," postal executive Deborah Wilhite said yesterday. In an effort to negate any future anthrax attack, the post office is radiating mail addressed to Wash- ington ZIP codes where federal agencies are located. It is treating about 350,000 items a day addressed to ZIP codes 20200 through 20599. There have been complaints of fumes, and people have reported feel- ing ill after opening the radiated mail, and experiencing skin reactions. NEW YORK NYU grad students allowed to unionize New York University and the union representing its graduate students have agreed on a contract believed to be the first of its kind involving a pri- vate university. The agreement was reached Mon- day and the students were scheduled to vote on it yesterday. The four-year deal would increase health benefits and wages. "We were really pleased with the outcome, that we were able to resolve this in an amicable fashion," said Maida Rosenstein, president of UAW Local 2110. NYU's graduate students were the first to unionize at a private U.S. school after they received the go-ahead from the National Labor Relations Board in 2000. The local represents more than 1,000 gradu- ate students, many of them teaching assistants. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 1O0 13 13" PETE YORN STEREOPHONICS Musicforthemorningafter Just Enough Education To Perform 11"~ IV 13" SCOREKEEPERS Mon-Home Games OLq B 0 CALL M CAF AK D L FRIDAY- I I I ,iUM 27 Taps! Full Menu! 75 cent BOTTLES SATURDAY 310 MAYNARD.990%10 (21 &OVER WITH PROPER ID) STUDENTS WITH CROHN'S PAEASE OR ULCERATIVE COLITIS Please join Dr. Ellen Zimmerman Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology, Uof M For an informal' discussion of topics including: eNutrition *New Therapies 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 $105. 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