d 0 2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 10, 2002 NATION/WORLD United Airlines files for bankruptcy CHICAGO (AP) -^United Airlines filed the biggest bankruptcy in aviation history yesterday, vowing to keep its jets flying while it tries to straight- en out a business that is hemorrhaging as much as $22 million a day. The world's No. 2 airline is certain to cut employee wages, reduce flights and eliminate unprofitable routes during a Chapter 11 reorganization that United chief executive Glenn Tilton expects to last about 18 months. "We've made a good decision for United," Tilton said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for United to transform this company and to emerge stronger than ever." The bankruptcy filing is the sixth-largest in U.S. history, covering $22.8 billion in assets. United operates about 1,700 flights a day, or about 20 percent of all U.S. flights. It has the most exten- sive worldwide route structure of any airline, but also the industry's highest costs. . Passengers are not likely to see any immediate effect on flights or frequent-flier miles, according to both United and industry analysts. But the bankruptcy filing could set in motion a restructuring of the entire industry, with large airlines forced to become more like their low-cost rivals, with fewer and smaller planes and lower wages for its workers. United has lost $4 billion in the last two years because of the weak economy, flawed business strate- gies and fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks. The airline cut service and laid off nearly 20,000 workers after the terrorist attacks, but it has not come close to making up for revenue lost from the drop-off in business travel. United had hoped to stave off bankruptcy by obtaining a $1.8 billion federal loan guarantee. But the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, created to help the industry recover after Sept. 11, rejected United's request last week as too risky for taxpayers. United said it has lined up $1.5 billion in financ- ing from several banks to continue operating in' Chapter 11. Bush picks Snow to lead Treasury NEWS IN BRIEF HEADLINES FROMAROUND TEWO, CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuela strike causes buying panic Venezuelans waited up to four hours for gasoline and stocked up on food and water yesterday as a strike seeking President Hugo Chavez's ouster created short- ages at markets, banks, pharmacies and service stations. The growing shutdown increased pressure on Chavez to give in to opposition demands to call a referendum on his government or resign. Already, the eight-day strike has crippled the oil industry - the world's fifth-largest and Venezuela's main source of revenue. Gas, drinking water and cash at automatic teller machines were increasingly scarce in Caracas and other cities. Dozens of domestic flights were canceled. Banks closed. Motorists waited in a mile-long line for gas in the central city Valencia. Dozens of treasury and customs agents joined the opposition strike, which began Dec. 2. Harbor pilots and cargo handlers closed Venezuela's biggest port, Puerto Cabello, 90 miles west of Caracas, said Jorge Serrano, president of the National Ports Institute. Puerto Cabello handles most of Venezuela's non- oil imports and exports. Chavez ordered the military to help the Energy Ministry guarantee gas sup- plies and oil exports by all means necessary - including by temporarily seiz- ing private truck fleets. GENEVA Indonesia signs peace deal with rebel group The Indonesian government signed a peace deal with rebels from Aceh province yesterday, taking a major step toward ending a 26-year conflict that threatened to destabilize the world's most populous Muslim nation. The deal with the insurgents in Aceh, a region the size of Maryland that is rich in oil and timber, grants its 4.1 million people autonomy but not independence. It sets a cease-fire and calls for the eventual disarmament of the rebels. "There's still a great deal of work to be done before we reap the harvest of peace," said Wiryono Sastro Handoyo, the top Indonesian government negotiator. Rebel spokesman Isnander Al-Faseh said the rebels would withdraw their forces and halt all attacks against government troops. But he accused the special forces of bringing in reinforcements for a possible operation in the north of the province. "This may be the work of hardline elements within the Indonesian military who do not want this peace deal to succeed," Al-Faseh said. President Bush called the peace deal a "courageous effort" and said the United States will help provide humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Aceh. 41 WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush turned to railroad executive John Snow to be his new Treasury secretary yesterday and signaled his determina- tion to push ahead with a new round of tax cuts to jump-start the sluggish economy. Three days after shaking up his economic team by. firing Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Lawrence Lindsey, the head of his National Economic Council, Bush announced he would nominate Snow, the presi- dent of Richmond-based CSX Corp., one of the nation's largest railroad freight lines, as O'Neill's successor at Treasury. In many ways, Snow, 63, has a resume similar to O'Neill's. Both men served in the Ford administration where they worked with Dick Cheney and then both left the government to pursue business careers. However, O'Neill, the former head of Alcoa Corp., proved to be a gaffe- prone economic spokesman for Bush, infuriating Republicans in Congress and roiling financial markets with his comments. Snow is seen as a more cautious public speaker and a political- ly savvy operator who will be better able to sell the Bush program in Con- gress and on Wall Street. "I look forward to joining your economic team to advance a pro- growth, pro-jobs agenda," said Snow, who holds a Ph.D. in econom- ics from the University of Virginia and has been an active participant in public policy debates in Washington, at one time as chairman of the influ- ential Business Roundtable. Determined not to repeat his father's mistake of appearing to be insensitive to rising joblessness during economic hard times, Bush told reporters that he would soon be proposing "specific steps to increase the momentum of our economic recovery and the Treasury secretary will be at the center of this effort." Bush pledged to provide more tax relief, saying "many Americans have very, little money left over after taxes." He also said he wanted to put forward proposals to bolster investor confi- dence, which has been shaken by the loss of trillions of dollars in stock mar- ket wealth, and to help Americans save for retirement. Congressional and business lobby- ists who have been briefed by adminis- tration officials said yesterday that Bush was considering a package of tax cuts and spending measures that would cost between $250 billion and $300 billion over 10 years. These officials, who spoke on con- dition of anonymity, said that the major tax cuts the administration was consid- ering were accelerating the personal tax rate reductions scheduled to take effect in 2004 and 2006, lowering the tax on corporate stock dividends, long a Republican goal, and boosting tax breaks to encourage businesses to invest in new plants and equipment. Some congressional sources said that the administration might be will- ing to consider proposals such as cut- ting the Social Security payroll tax or extending unemployment benefits as a way to attract Democratic votes for the package. Snow, who spent part of yesterday making telephone calls to key law- makers, was expected to encounter questioning during his Senate nomi- nation hearing about government support for CSX. Court will JERUSALEM Palestinian killed by Israeli troops Israeli troops shot and killed a men- tally disabled Palestinian yesterday and arrested an alleged gunman accused of killing a 10-month-old Israeli girl last year in the West Bank city of Hebron. A Palestinian Cabinet minister, meanwhile, joined a growing chorus of Palestinian leaders questioning the use of violence in the 26-month-old upris- ing against Israel. Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said attacks on all Israeli civilians must stop, including those on Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "Stopping targeting Israeli civilians is a step that needs to be implemented," Shaath said. The Palestinian Authority has con- demned attacks on civilians in Israel, but has said settlers and soldiers remain legit- imate targets. In yesterday's violence, Israeli troops shot and killed a 28-year- old mentally disabled Palestinian, Basel al-Koa, at a military checkpoint. investigative arm of Congress, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates said only seven senators and congressmen had expressed support for the efforts to get the information. The lawsuit by Comptroller General David Walker against Cheney was an unprecedented act that raised serious sep- aration-of-powers issues. "No court has ever before granted what the comptroller general seeks," wrote Bates. "This case ... is not the set- ting for such unprecedented judicial action." POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. Gore, Kerry leading New Hampshire poll Former Vice President Al Gore and Sen. John Kerry are running about even among potential voters for the 2004 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, an independent poll reported yesterday. The poll, from Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion, had Gore, the party's unsuccessful nomi- nee in 2000, favored by 31 percent of Democrats and independents who say they may vote in the primary, traditionally the first in the nation. Kerry, from neighboring Massa- chusetts, had the support of 28 per- cent of the potential primary voters. Potential New Hampshire primary voters were split on the prospect of another Gore candidacy with 50 per- cent saying he should run again and 44 saying he should not. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 0 leonardo dicaprio tor hanks WVASHINGTON not speak U.S. judge dismisses Cheney task force suit on death row issue WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court declined yesterday to decide whether poor death row inmates can get more free legal help at the expense of taxpayers. The case, filed on behalf of three Texas men who already have been exe- cuted, questioned whether the federal government should pay for an inmate's legal bills during state clemency pro- ceedings and some last-minute court appeals. States must provide attorneys for indigent death-row inmates to file state-level appeals. The federal gov- ernment pays for some appeals in fed- eral courts. But clemency appeals, filed to gov- ernors or state clemency boards, aren't covered by taxpayers. Poor inmates often get free clemency help from legal aid groups. Defense attorneys contend a 1998 federal law requires death row inmates' lawyers to represent them through "every" stage of appeals. "Without the assistance of a lawyer, people just can't make compelling cases to courts or governors about why they shouldn't be executed, even if there are strong facts and compelling reasons why an execution should not go forward," said law Prof. Charles Weisselberg at the University of'Cali- fornia, Berkeley. The Bush administration argued it makes no sense for the federal govern- ment to assist inmates in state clemen- cy hearings. Solicitor General Theodore Olson said states may not want federal courts getting into their business by appoint- ing and paying for lawyers. Kent Scheidegaer of the nro-death A federal judge yesterday rebuffed congressional efforts to learn about, meetings that Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force held with industry executives and lobbyists while formulating the Bush administration's recent energy plan. In dismissing the lawsuit by the The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. 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