The focus of the drought plaguing much of the nation has shifted eastward , but little relief is in sight for most areas , the National Weather Service reported Thursday . The new short-range forecast through next Monday calls for hot , dry weather to expand eastward from the Rockies through the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic states . Rapidly moving weather systems are expected to drag weak fronts along the U.S.-Canadian border , possibly triggering scattered showers in the extreme northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley . The heavy rain which has hit portions of Texas is expected to diminish . Long-term drought conditions now cover a large area of the Great Lakes region and the Ohio and Tennessee valleys , the agency 's Climate Analysis Center reported . In addition , drought conditions persist over large areas of the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains . A 30-day weather forecast issued Wednesday held little hope for improvement . And a separate climate assessment added that many areas now experiencing extreme drought have less than a 4 percent chance of recovering from the drought within 3 months . At the beginning of July , 29 percent of the nation was undergoing severe or extreme drought , the agency said . On Tuesday , the Agriculture Department announced sharp reductions in the anticipated harvest of many crops because of the water shortage _ and those projections were based on the assumption of normal weather from here on , according to department officials . The new National Weather Service forecasts cast a dark cloud over that assumption . The drought region now extends well into West Virginia and includes nearly all of Ohio and Indiana and much of Kentucky and Tennessee , the weather service drought advisory said . On the other hand , western portions of the Mississippi Valley have received some relief due to recent rains . The drought has been accompanied by higher than normal temperatures over much of the nation , most notably over the western Great Lakes region . The national picture shows the current drought to be about equivalent to that of 1911 , and still somewhat less severe than in several years in the 1930s or 1956 . However , in the Midwest , the weather service reported that large areas have experienced the driest April-June period on record since 1895 . Recent rains have resulted in local flooding in Texas , but nationally streamflows are below normal , and even in Texas are expected to fall back to below average levels . Flows in many major rivers remain low and continue to restrict navigation . Reservoir levels remain close to average in much of the nation , however , the weather service noted . In addition to Thursday 's short-range forecast , the medium-range outlook through July 23 anticipates much of the nation will remain hotter than normal , particularly the Tennessee Valley , lower Midwest , central and northern Great Plains , northern Rockies and Great Basin . The only areas escaping heat in the forecast are the nation 's northwestern and northeastern corners and the Louisiana-Texas-New Mexico area . Most of the hot area is expected to be drier than normal , although some significant rain could penetrate northwestward from Texas into New Mexico , Colorado and eastern Wyoming .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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Hurricane Joan 's 80 mph winds churned across the open Caribbean today on an unusual southern path that has forecasters puzzling over its potential strength and possible landfall . There was a report that the storm left 50 people dead or missing in a town in Colombia the day before . `` Joan is one of a kind , '' said Jim Gross , a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center . `` You just do n't see many hurricanes that take this course and hug the coast . '' In Colombia , an official of the state of Bolivar in the northern part of the country said the storm triggered flooding in the town of Carmen de Bolivar , about 360 miles north of the capital of Bogota . Water roared down three gullies in the town as the storm passed Monday , Victor Leon Mendoza , a state government administrator , told the Colombian radio chain RCN . `` Preliminary reports from the mayor 's office indicate that about 50 persons are dead or missing '' in the town , he said . At noon EDT today , Joan 's center was near latitude 11.1 north and longitude 76.3 west , about 70 miles west of the Colombian coast and about 380 miles east of the island of San Andres off the coast of Nicaragua . The hurricane was moving west at 10 mph and was expected to continue that motion through today . Panama issued a hurricane watch for its north coast , and Colombia issued a hurricane watch for San Andres , which is part of Colombia even though it is located close to Nicaragua . Joan , the Atlantic season 's fifth hurricane , is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain along its path . As a tropical storm with 45 mph winds , Joan slowly built its strength as it skimmed Colombia 's coast , baffling forecasters who had predicted it to weaken . It reached hurricane force Monday night and its center began to become better defined , a sign the system could intensify over open water into the western Caribbean , forecasters said . On its present path , it would be at least 48 hours before the main part of the hurricane reached Central America , Gross said late Monday . Gross said a strong high-pressure system over the northern Caribbean is keeping Joan on its course . Normally , prevailing winds and upper-level atmospheric conditions push tropical storms northward as they move from the Atlantic , said Gross . Also , he said hurricanes are often sapped of strength in the far southern Caribbean due to trade winds that push colder deep-ocean water to the surface , said Gross . Joan became the 10th named storm of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season when top winds passed 39 mph on Oct. 11 . Hurricane strength is 74 mph . Gilbert , the most devastating hurricane in recent years , left more than 300 people dead and caused billions of dollars damage as it tore through Jamaica , the Cayman Islands and Mexico 's Yucatan peninsula last month . The six-month hurricane season ends Nov. 30 .

B I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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The Agriculture Department says it has been on top of the drought since March 1 , monitoring the situation , setting up hotlines to handle worried callers and issuing enough statements to paper a thousand bird cages , easy . One of the latest informational gimmicks is a `` USDA Backgrounder '' listing the department 's `` drought-related actions '' since the blotter-like furnaces began roaring across most of the nation . `` It was my idea , my memory is n't what it used to be , '' quipped Sally Michael , the department 's deputy director of information . `` This helps me keep track of what we 've done . '' Michael agreed during questioning by a reporter that the action list is lean on actual dollars going into the drought aid . Only two items had dollar amounts . One involved meat purchases for school cafeterias and the other a credit deal for the sale of meat to Mexico . The backgrounders will be updated every two weeks . The first lists 22 separate drought `` actions '' by USDA or its people , beginning more than four months ago . First item : `` March 1 . Secretary of Agriculture Richard E. Lyng establishes USDA Drought Task Force under the chairmanship of Deputy Secretary Peter C. Myers . Members _ agency administrators and key USDA personnel _ will constantly monitor the potential drought situation . '' The blurb also gave the number of the USDA press release that formally announced the task force creation , but not its date . In reality , though the drought panel was set up by Lyng on March 1 , the press release announcing the action was not issued until April 22 . Department officials questioned at the time said they attached no significance to keeping the task force secret for seven weeks before announcing it . Excerpts from other USDA actions cited by the report : _ May 31 . Counties found to be suffering from drought will be allowed emergency haying and grazing of Acreage Conservation Reserve -LRB- ACR -RRB- and Conservation Use Acreage -LRB- CUA -RRB- . At this time , haying and grazing do not apply to Conservation Reserve Program -LRB- CRP -RRB- acreage . _ June 9 . Standing hay on farms held in inventory -LRB- taken over -RRB- by the Farmers Home Administration can be sold at a reasonable cost to help feed livestock in drought counties where state offices of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service have authorized release of set-aside acres for haying and grazing . _ June 14 . Lyng briefs Senate and House Agriculture Committees on the drought and offers to cooperate with the Congressional Relief Task Force announced by Sen. Patrich Leahy , D-Vt. , and Rep. Kika de la Garza , D-Texas . _ June 15 . The White House announces a new Interagency Drought Policy Committee made up of USDA , Interior , the Office of the Vice President and several other agencies . Departments of State and Transportation , and the Council of Economic Advisers were subsequently added . _ June 16 . Lyng announces that farmers in designated drought counties will be authorized to harvest hay from land in the Conservation Reserve Program . Haying will be allowed for 30 days if farmers give up part of their CRP payments . Livestock grazing of CRP land was not authorized . _ June 20 . The Interagency Drought Policy Committee meets for the first time . _ June 20 . USDA begins making daily audio tapes of weather updates available to news media . _ June 21 . Lyng announces haying will be allowed on CRP land if a county has been approved for emergency haying and grazing of ACR and CUA land due to drought . _ June 22 . Lyng meets with the Congressional Drought Relief Task Force , which issues a `` statement of general agreements '' calling on the secretary to implement various forms of disaster assistance . _ June 23 . Lyng and other USDA officials meet in Chicago with the National Governors ' Association Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development . _ June 23 . While in Chicago , Lyng announces a toll-free hotline to answer questions about federal services available in drought areas . _ June 23 . Returning to Washington , Lyng briefs the president and vice president on the drought and says that there is agreement among congressmen , senators , farm groups and governors that it is too early for emergency relief measures . _ June 23 . After the White House meeting , the Interagency Drought Policy Committee meets for the second time at USDA . _ June 24 . In its first day of operation , USDA 's hotline logs more than 600 calls in 10 hours . Lyng orders another eight lines installed , raising total to 18 lines . Greatest number of calls the first day are from Iowa , Wisconsin and North Dakota . _ June 27 . USDA announces that special crop surveys in several states and other steps will be taken to update the department 's July 12 crop report and supply-and-demand projections for fall harvets , including corn and soybeans . _ June 27 . An additional $ 50 million has been set aside to buy bulk ground beef for donation to schools lunch and other feeding programs , to help cattle producers hurt by drought . _ June 27 . Lyng authorizes additional emergency provisions in drought counties , including permission for selling hay to anyone , and the harvest of ACR , CUA and CRP land as green chop for immediate feeding to livestock or silage . _ June 27 . Intragency Drought Policy Committee meets for the third time . _ June 28 . Federal and state officials set up a national hay information network , or HayNet , to assist in locating forage supplies . _ June 29 . Department will hold news conference July 12 following release of crop report and supply-demand projections . _ June 29 . Mexico can buy $ 40 million worth of meat under an amended credit arrangement . The purchases are intended to help bolster livestock markets depressed by drought liquidation of herds .

O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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With the winds of Hurricane Gilbert clocked at 175 miles per hour , U.S. weather officials called Gilbert the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere . Mark Zimmer , a meterologist at the National Hurricane Center , reported an Air Force reconnaissance plane measured the barometric pressure at Gilbert 's center at 26.13 inches at 5:52 p.m. EDT on Tuesday . Gilbert was barreling toward Mexico 's Yucatan Peninsula . `` That 's the lowest pressure ever measured in the Western Hemisphere , '' Zimmer said . The previous record low pressure of 26.35 inches was set by the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that struck the Florida Keys with winds above 150 mph , killing 408 people , he said . With tropical storm force winds extending 250 miles north and 200 miles south of the hurricane 's center , Gilbert also was one of the largest . But because the circumference of a hurricane changes so often during its course , no records are kept on their overall size , said center meterologist Jesse Moore . Hurricane Debby , which barely crossed the 74 mph threshold to hurricane strength before striking Mexico last month , was probably about half that size , Moore said . Gilbert is one of only three Category 5 storms in the hemisphere since weather officials began keeping detailed records . The others were the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille , which bulldozed the Mississippi Coast with 172 mph winds and a 28-foot wave in 1969 , leaving $ 1.4 billion in damage and 256 dead . A 1900 hurricane is responsible for the worst natural disaster in U.S. history , however . That storm hit Galveston , Texas , Sept. 8 and killed more than 6,000 people . Category 5 storms have winds greater than 155 mph , barometric pressure of less than 27.17 inches and a storm surge higher than 18 feet . The storm surge _ a great dome of water that follows the eye of the hurricane across coastlines , bulldozing everything in its path _ accounts for nine out of 10 hurricane fatalities . Camille 's storm surge was 25 feet high , but the hurricane center was forecasting a surge of only 8-12 feet for Gilbert , Zimmer said . The damage from these worst-case hurricanes is catastrophic _ shrubs and trees blown down , all street signs gone , roofs and windows blown away and shattered , and mobile homes destroyed . `` Moisture and heat are what drives the hurricane , '' Zimmer said . `` The engine itself is this tall chimney of warm , moist air in the center . If the atmospheric conditions in general allow this warm chimney to build to very high levels , 10-12 miles high , then you can have a severe hurricane . '' Category 4 storms cause extreme damage with winds from 131 to 155 mph , surge of 13-18 feet and pressure of 27.17 to 27.90 . The weakest hurricanes , Category 1 , cause minimal damage with winds of 74 to 95 mph , 4-5 foot surge and pressure at 28.94 or more .

O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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Lawmakers clashed Thursday over the question of counting illegal aliens in the 1990 Census , debating whether following the letter of the Constitution results in a system that is unfair to citizens . The forum was a Census subcommittee hearing on bills which would require the Census Bureau to figure out whether people are in the country legally and , if not , to delete them from the counts used in reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives . `` This is a fairness issue , '' said Rep. Thomas J. Ridge , R-Pa. , who contended that states with large numbers of illegal aliens benefit unfairly when their large population totals give then extra seats in the House . Because there is a 435-seat limit , when one state gains a House member another must lose one . Ridge cited the 1980 census , which estimated the number of illegal aliens at 2 million . The result , he said , was that Georgia and Indiana lost House seats to New York and California . Subcommittee Chairman Mervyn M. Dymally , D-Calif. , however , said he is unsure whether the bills backed by Ridge and others are constitutional . The U.S. Constitution requires the Census Bureau to cound all the `` persons '' in the country every 10 years for purposes of reapportionment . It does n't specify citizens . `` I am disturbed by the implication that undocumented residents of the United States are not ` persons , '' ' Dymally said . Noting that at times in the past blacks and Indians have been excluded from participation in government , he commented : `` I do not want to return to a time when some human beings are considered less than equal in the eyes of the law . '' `` Every census since the Constitution was adopted has counted all residents of the states , including both legal and illegal aliens , '' added Rep. Don Edwards , D-Calif . `` It was never the intent of the framers to include only citizens for apportionment purposes . '' And Rep. Albert G. Bustamente , D-Texas , termed the worry over counting aliens `` hysterical , '' pointing out that the movement of Americans into western and southern states has had a much larger effect on representation than the presence of aliens . The Census Bureau also opposes the bills , contending that the effort to determine who is an illegal alien could delay and complicate the count and that people would be unlikely to tell the truth anyway . But Reps. Tom Petri , R-Wis . and William F. Goodling , R-Pa. , asserted that counting illegal aliens violates citizens ' basic right to equal representation by giving greater voice in Congress to states where the aliens live . And Rep. Tim Valentine , D-N.C . , contended that counting aliens `` in effect , is granting representation in Congress to individuals who have entered this country by breaking the laws of the United States . ''

B O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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Police captured the top military leader of the Shining Path , a Maoist rebel group whose eight-year guerrilla war has taken more than 10,000 lives in Peru , officials said Monday . Officials said the capture of Osman Morote , 43 , considered the most radical leader of the movement , was the hardest blow to date for the rebels since they launched their guerrilla war in the Andean highlands in May 1980 . `` Osman Morote is considered the No. 2 of the party and its military chief , '' the independent magazine Si said recently . `` For some Shining Path experts , Morote might even be , in practice , the true leader of the organization . '' Abimael Guzman , a former professor of philosophy , founded the Shining Path movement and is generally recognized as its leader . The Shining Path is seeking to overthrow Peru 's elected government and install a peasant and worker state patterned after the ideas of Mao Tse-tung . Deputy Interior Minister Agustin Mantilla said Morote was arrested before dawn Sunday at a house in downtown Lima along with two women . Police sources said two other men also were arrested . Mantilla said Morote had fake identification papers but was identified by his fingerprints . Counterinsurgency sources said police raided the house after neighbors told them of suspicious behavior by the people living there . The sources said police discovered revolutionary propaganda , dynamite and a revolver . Col. Javier Palacios , a top official in the counterinsurgency police , presented Morote to the press Monday but did let him speak . Palacios said police had suspected Morote was in the house . He said Morote put up no resistance . The colonel said Morote arrived in Lima a week ago from the northern highlands to coordinate terrorists attacks in the capital . Palacios said the attacks were planned this week to mark the second anniversary of prison riots in which security forces killed more than 250 rebel inmates . There have been reports in recent months of a growing rivalry between Morote and Guzman , and Mantilla said he did not discount the possibility that Guzman betrayed Morote to get him out of the way . Morote , known within the rebel band as `` Comrade Remigio , '' is second in importance only to Guzman , who founded the Shining Path as a splinter group of the Peruvian Communist Party . The Shining Path devoted itself to 10 years of semi-clandestine political work with peasants in the impoverished Andean highlands before taking up arms . Guzman is the ideologist of the organization , but Morote is considered the military strategist of the guerrillas and the advocate of attacks against peasant communities in the highlands that have formed civil defense units on the orders of the military . Counterinsurgency sources said Morote 's capture will create a power vacuum within the central committee of the Shining Path and spark tension until a replacement is found . Guzman , Morote and other Shining Path leaders went underground in the late 1970s before launching their guerrilla war , which has claimed more than 10,000 lives . Guzman has not been seen for years and rumors have circulated that he may have died . But most counterinsurgency experts believe that Guzman , described as brilliant by his former professors , is still alive . Guzman has become a mythical figure for Peruvians . Various rumors say that he is living abroad , that he moves about Peru disguised as a priest , that he works as a day laborer in Lima 's crowded street markets . Since 1980 , the movement has expanded from its base in the highland state of Ayacucho and now launches attacks throughout much of this impoverished nation . Damage to the economy from sabotage is estimated at $ 5 billion .

O O O B I I O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

peru
osman morote
top military leader
maoist rebel group
counterinsurgency police
radical leader
shining path movement

morote's capture
eight-year guerrilla war


A colossal tunneling machine is boring beneath the English Channel from the white cliffs of Dover , pursuing a dream born in Napoleon 's time that is coming true at last . Another is digging from the French coast in what the tunnel builders call the largest civil engineering project now under way in the world . The 31-mile tunnel , 24 miles of it underwater , will cut the London-Paris journey from six hours to three , as fast as a scheduled airline . It will enable freight to travel on one train instead of being shifted to trucks for a cross-channel ferry trip subject to weather and shipping strikes . Tunneling speed at the Dover end is less than 15 feet an hour and the machine boring from the geologically more complex French end moves even slower , which is why the tunnel will not open until 1993 . For continental Europeans , accustomed to long-distance rail travel , the tunnel is but a small spur on a vast network stretching to Moscow and beyond . For the British , the change wrought by what many call the `` chunnel '' will be enormous . Some wonder whether Britain will be ready for it . `` People still question whether the tunnel will be complete in May 1993 and that 's ridiculous , '' says Kathy Watson , co-author of a book on the project . `` They 're still arguing about whether it will introduce rabies into this country , or let in terrorists . '' `` They discuss it in terms of their being an island race , with a channel that has kept out invaders , '' she said in an interview . State-owned British Rail will not commit itself to building a high-speed link from London to the tunnel in time to make the three-hour journey a reality in 1993 . It intends instead to improve existing tracks . Eurotunnel , the Anglo-French consortium that will own the tunnel , is urging British Rail to speed its plans . Critics say the tangle of commuter lines in southeast England , so obsolete that trains can be delayed by a sudden fall of autumn leaves , will delay tunnel traffic . The consortium forecasts 16.5 million passengers in 1993 but the railroad says that figure will not be reached before 1998 . Arriving channel trains will terminate at Waterloo station in south London , at a large customs and immigration terminal . Critics say this will waste time and Britain should follow the continental practice of handling such matters on the train during the journey . British stations , bridges and tunnels are not built for the tall loads commonly carried across the channel . That means many loads will have to be repacked or transferred to trucks unless the facilities are rebuilt . The grandiose project has been on and off the drawing boards for more than 200 years . Napoleon wanted to bore a tunnel in 1802 but Britain 's generals warned him off . Digging began in 1882 but was halted by British fears of French invasion through the tunnel . Britain 's entry into the European Economic Community engendered a spirit of unity and the digging began again in 1974 , but two years later a new British government shelved the project . With trade barriers among the 12 EEC countries set to fall in 1992 , Colin Kirkland , technical director of Eurotunnel 's on the British side , says the tunnel will be completed this time . He says the entire cost of 5.2 billion pound -LRB- $ 8.8 billion -RRB- project is privately financed and cancellation would cost the governments `` enormous penalties '' to shareholders . Also , the governments signed a tunnel treaty in February 1986 and both would have to agree to cancellation . `` There 's no way that politicians will cancel this project , '' Kirkland said in an interview . `` It 's quite difficult to get one government to agree . To get two is bloody nigh impossible . '' Money 's power to move the tunnel forward was demonstrated in August , when drilling fell behind schedule . Eurotunnel ordered a management shakeup and threatened Trans-Manche Link , the consortium of 10 British and French engineering companies building the tunnel , with penalties of $ 25 million if the diggers did not pass the three-mile mark by Nov. 1 . From a a rate of 380 feet a week , the pace quickly accelerated and recently achieved a week 's record of 480 feet , Kirkland said . The timetable calls for 650 feet a week and Kirkland is confident of reaching it . The tunnel , 80-130 feet below the seabed , was 2 miles into the channel from this end Oct. 9 , the most recent measurement available , and the French had progressed about 1,300 feet . Digging began last December . At its peak , the project will employ about 11,000 workers and 11 tunneling machines . Construction of the two one-way train tunnels begins in December . A smaller service tunnel running between them now is being dug . Tunneling machines simultaneously dig , remove rock and put up tunnel walls . With a laser beam to keep the driver on course , the 700-foot-long behemoth creeps along , pressing curved slabs of Scottish granite and pulverized ash into the newly exposed tunnel wall . In an emergency like flooding , the cylindrical head of the machine can expand to become a cork , blocking off the water and spraying concrete into the cavity to seal the leak . Once the all-clear is given , the two-story-high rotating blade with its tungsten teeth resumes chewing ahead . Because the machines are too large to be removed , when the digging is complete they will be rolled aside and walled in . The tunnels are to be completed in 1991 , then the railroad tracks will be laid . Eurotunnel will run shuttle trains once every three minutes at peak times between terminals near Folkestone and Calais , and British Rail and the Frenh state railroad will operate trains from London and Paris . Cars and trucks will drive onto the shuttle trains and be able to stay in their vehicles or stroll about during the 35-minute tunnel passage .

O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

english channel
french coast
freight
tunnel traffic
channel trains
british fears
tunnel builders
tunneling speed

31-mile tunnel
london-paris journey
cross-channel ferry trip


If the two sides trying to force changes in the 1990 census both get their way , the results would nearly balance one another , a population expert said Wednesday . The Census Bureau is under pressure to exclude illegal aliens from its national head count . Traditionally , it counts everyone living in the country . Groups which have filed suit to ignore the aliens contend large concentrations of them could result in in some states gaining seats in the House of Representatives at the expense of other states . Meanwhile , other groups want the final census totals to be increased to account for people who may be overlooked in the census _ most often blacks and Hispanics living in urban areas . At stake are the 435 seats in the House , which are distributed among the states on the basis of population . `` If both sides get their way , the only change would be a flip-flop of one seat from California to Georgia , '' said William O'Hare , director of policy studies for the independent Population Reference Bureau . O'Hare told a breakfast briefing for Northeast and Midwest members of Congress that he estimates their region will lose 14 House seats following the 1990 census . That would continue a trend evident over the last several decades , he noted . Using estimates of the number of illegal aliens and undercounted minorities , he said that deleting the one group and adding in the other would make little difference in the long run . The only change , he said , would be that California would gain five new seats instead of six , while Georgia would add two rather than just one . `` That 's easy to understand , since there are so many undocumented aliens in California , '' he commented . O'Hare 's study of potential changes in House seats _ based on 1990 projections with no adjustments _ calls for California to be the big gainer , adding six House seats , followed by Florida with a gain of four and Texas adding three . Expected to pick up one seat each are Virginia , North Carolina , Georgia , and Arizona . On the other hand New York would lose three seats . States losing two apiece would be Pennsylvania , Ohio , Illinois and Michigan . Expected to lose one house seat are Massachusetts , Wisconsin , Iowa , Kansas , West Virginia and Montana .

O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B I O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

illegal aliens
1990 census
census bureau
national head count
house seats


An official statement issued Friday confirmed that federal military commanders met in March and considered ways to quell dissent in Slovenia . The statement by Slovenia 's Information Ministry followed reports published by the Slovenian youth magazine Mladina that there had been plans for a military takeover of the republic . Slovenia is considered the most liberal of Yugoslavia 's six republics and two autonomous provinces . The ministry statement said the federal military council met on March 25 and concluded that `` dissident tendencies '' in Slovenia were part of a foreign-backed conspiracy to overthrow the country 's Communist government . But it said there was no discussion at the meeting `` about a plan for action against special warfare in Slovenia . '' The term special warfare refers to subversive actions . The statement did not identify the foreign elements and said Slovenia police later challenged the claim that there was such a conspiracy . It said the police disputed the military council 's conclusion at a later meeting between the republic 's police authorities and Ljubljana 's military command . The police said `` they had no available data which would justify such evaluations , '' according to the ministry statement . It reported the police also said there were no `` subversive forces behind '' articles carried in the Slovenian news media . Slovenia 's Communist Party presidium also `` expressed disagreement with part of the military council 's opinions , '' said the statement . Some army commanders have been increasingly critical of Slovenia 's leadership , saying it should act firmly against political dissidents . And Slovenian Communists have frequently criticized the way the federal government is dealing with the country 's economic and social problems . Mladina , the official publication of the Socialist Youth organization , wrote of possible military intervention in its current issue . It published a letter to Slovenia 's Communist Party leader Milan Kucan from two student unions that said military action had been planned earlier this year , including the arrests of `` nonconformist journalists , writers and officials . '' The letter said military units would be used to crush demonstrations that were expected to be called to protest the arrests . It also said the army did not notify Slovenia 's civilian leadership of the planned intervention . The plan was blocked by Kucan and Stane Dolanc , Slovenia 's member in Yugoslavia 's collective presidency , after they were told about it by Slovenian security organizations , the letter said . Svetozar Visnjic , commander of Ljubljana 's military command , dismissed the reports of planned military action as `` nonsense and a fabrication . '' He made the comment in an interview with the Belgrade Politika Ekspres newspaper .

O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

federal military commanders
yugoslavia
dissident tendencies
communist government
political dissidents
slovenian communists
slovenia police
ministry statement


Dealing with his first major hurricane as director of the National Hurricane Center , Bob Sheets was n't skipping a beat Tuesday as a multitude of reporters fired questions at him . Sheets , who was acting director during the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season and was named director in March , spent most of the morning on the sixth floor of hurricane headquarters beside a large monitor showing the destructive Hurricane Gilbert sprawled across much of the western Caribbean . His schedule of interviews was timed to the minute . But Sheets , rosy-cheeked and good-natured , did n't so much as flinch in his seat . After all , he noted , `` I 've flown into 200 hurricanes ... I really do n't think this is difficult . '' The transition from former Director Neil Frank , widely known for his distinctive style and flattop haircut , to Sheets , his dark blond hair carefully coiffed and wearing a bright pink shirt with a gray wool-blend jacket , has been a smooth one . `` He knows his job very well and he 's a calm personality , '' Vivian Jorge , the center 's budget analyst , said of Sheets . On days with active tropical weather , Ms. Jorge steps in to coordinate media interviews . And interest in Gilbert has been high since it started packing hurricane-force winds over the weekend and by Tuesday afternoon became a Category 5 storm with winds of 160 mph and a central pressure of 26.66 inches . A Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of strength has winds in excess of 155 mph and pressure less than 27.17 inches and has the potential for causing catastrophic damage . `` This would be considered a ` Great Hurricane , ' '' said Sheets . `` It 's certainly in the top 10 percent as far as intensity , size and destructive potential . '' Gilbert was being compared to the hurricane of 1935 , which slammed into the Florida Keys and killed 600 people , and Hurricane Camille , which devastated the Mississippi coast in 1969 , killing 256 . Those are the only Category 5 storms which have made landfall this century . The last major hurricane to make landfall was Elena in 1985 , along the Mississippi , Alabama and Florida Panhandle . The major television networks , local stations and newspapers media were on hand to monitor the hurricane , which could reach the Gulf of Mexico by Thursday , said Sheets . From there , it 's anybody 's guess where it will go , he said . `` It 's a brand new ball game as far as the continental United States is concerned , '' said Sheets . The center 's 33-member crew , including seven hurricane forecasters and specialists , are keeping a close watch of the hurricane in a large , open room of blue monitors flickering with color and non-color graphics . And while Sheets might appear to be spend most of his day with tiny microphones snaking down his back for TV interviews and fielding questions , he also writes most of the hurricane advisories issued every three hours and makes hurricane forecasts . Dealing with a major hurricane is n't much different from dealing with smaller ones or tropical storms , Sheets said , adding that Gilbert has been particularly `` well-behaved . '' `` It does what we think it 's going to do ... You feel a lot more confident about what you 're doing than with weaker systems , '' he said .

O O O O O O O O O O B I I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B I I O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

destructive hurricane gilbert
national hurricane center
bob sheets
atlantic hurricane season
western caribbean
hurricane headquarters
catastrophic damage


A hurricane expert predicts a turbulent summer in the Atlantic Ocean with more and fiercer storms swirling the seas , but says it 's impossible to know if any of the storms will threaten populated areas . William Gray , a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University , said Friday he expects about six Atlantic hurricanes this year , the average for the last 40 years , but above average for the decade . The Atlantic has formed relatively few hurricanes in five of the last six hurricane seasons . Those years brought just two to five hurricanes each , except for the seven hurricanes spotted in 1985 . The hurricane season officially begins June 1 , and its most active period usually begins Aug. 1 . Gray , who has used wind and air pressure patterns to make annual hurricane forecasts each year since 1984 , will issue his first formal 1988 forecast in late May . He issued an early `` outlook '' Friday for the 10th annual National Hurricane Conference . `` It is also anticipated that the average hurricane which does form in 1988 will likely be more intense than have the average hurricanes of the last six years , except for the 1985 season , '' Gray said in a paper presented to the conference . But Gray said his models of air pressure , winds around the equator and winds for `` El Nino '' periods , when eastern Pacific waters are warmer than usual , do not allow for predictions of when or where a hurricane might form . Gray based his early outlook on the presence of light easterly winds at the equator and the approaching end of `` El Nino '' period . Gray predicted four hurricanes last season , and three actually occurred . His prediction of four in 1986 was on the money , and he originally predicted eight hurricanes before adjusting that figure to seven , the eventual correct number , in 1985 . In 1984 , when there were five hurricanes , Gray had predicted seven . Drought in West Africa is responsible for a drop in Atlantic hurricanes in the 1970s and 1980s , Gray said . He said the drought has robbed storm systems of moisture needed to start their escalation into hurricanes . That pattern eventually will change , he said , `` but it is impossible to say when this shift will occur . '' Forecasters and emergency management officials at the conference stressed that coastal populations have increased rapidly during the lull in hurricanes ; a surge in storms , up to the levels of the 1950s and 1960s , could bring unprecedented damage , they said .

O B I O O B I O O B I O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

atlantic hurricanes
hurricane expert
william gray
atlantic ocean
storms
hurricane seasons
annual hurricane forecasts
turbulent summer


Yasser Arafat on Tuesday accused the United States of threatening to kill PLO officials if Palestinian guerrillas attack American targets . The United States denied the accusation . The State Department said in Washington that it had received reports the PLO might target Americans because of alleged U.S. involvement in the assassination of Khalil Wazir , the PLO 's second in command . Wazir was slain April 16 during a raid on his house near Tunis , Tunisia . Israeli officials who spoke on condition they not be identified said an Israeli squad carried out the assassination . There have been accusations by the PLO that the United States knew about and approved plans for slaying Wazir . Arafat , the Palestine Liberation Organization leader , claimed the threat to kill PLO officials was made in a U.S. government document the PLO obtained from an Arab government . He refused to identify the government . In Washington , Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy denied Arafat 's accusation that the United States threatened PLO officials . State Department spokesman Charles Redman said the United States has been in touch with a number of Middle Eastern countries about possible PLO attacks against American citizens and facilities . He added that Arafat 's interpretation of those contacts was `` entirely without foundation . '' Arafat spoke at a news conference in his heavily guarded villa in Baghdad , where extra security guards have been deployed . He said security also was being augmented at PLO offices around the Arab world following the alleged threat . He produced a photocopy of the alleged document . It appeared to be part of a longer document with the word `` CONFIDENTIAL '' stamped at the bottom . The document , which was typewritten in English , referred to Wazir by his code name , Abu Jihad . It read : `` You may be aware of charges in several Middle Eastern and particulary Palestinian circles that the U.S. knew of and approved Abu Jihad 's assassination . `` On April 18th -LRB- a -RRB- State Department spokesman said that the United States ` condemns this act of political assassination , ' ` had no knowledge of ' and ` was not involved in any way in this assassination . `` It has come to our attention that the PLO leader Yasser Arafat may have personally approved a series of terrorist attacks against American citizens and facilities abroad , possibly in retaliation for last month 's assassination of Abu Jihad . `` Any possible targeting of American personnel and facilities in retaliation for Abu Jihad 's assassination would be totally reprehensible and unjustified . We would hold the PLO responsible for any such attacks . '' Arafat said the document `` reveals the U.S. administration is planning , in full cooperation with the Israelis , to conduct a crusade of terrorist attacks and then to blame the PLO for them . `` These attacks will then be used to justify the assassination of PLO leaders . '' He strongly denied that the PLO planned any such attacks .

O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O B I O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

political assassination
plo leader yasser arafat
united states
plo officials
palestinian guerrillas
american targets
khalil wazir
israeli officials
accusations
possible plo attacks
terrorist attacks
israeli squad


Canadian Ben Johnson left the Olympics today `` in a complete state of shock , '' accused of cheating with drugs in the world 's fastest 100-meter dash and stripped of his gold medal . The prize went to American Carl Lewis . Many athletes accepted the accusation that Johnson used a muscle-building but dangerous and illegal anabolic steroid called stanozolol as confirmation of what they said they know has been going on in track and field . `` Everybody uses drugs , '' said sprinter Horace Dove-Edwin of Sierra Leone . `` Give me a break ... they have everything . Human blood hormone , all kinds of drugs . Steroids is nothing anymore . It is just an itty-bitty drug . You can get it anywhere . '' Red-eyed and visibly distraught , Johnson 's sister , Clare Rodney in suburban Toronto , refused to believe the accusation . `` If you could cut him into a million pieces and test him over again , my brother is not on drugs , '' she said . Two tests of Johnson 's urine sample proved positive and his denials of drug use were rejected today . Neither a spiked sarsparilla in his track bag , as his coach suggested , nor a switched sample at the lab could have accounted for the levels of steroids found in the tests , officials said . In a middle-of-the-night meeting with Olympic and Canadian officials , family members , coach and manager , Johnson , 26 , forfeited his most prized possession , the medal he 'd had in his hands for only three days . The world 's fastest human also was automatically suspended from international competition for two years and banned from Canada 's national team for life . `` He appeared to be in a complete state of shock and not comprehending the situation , '' said Canada 's chief of mission , Carol Anne Letheren . `` Ben was not able to discuss or articulate anything at that moment ... He was just not able to speak and it was a very difficult moment for all of us . '' A few hours later , he fled to the airport and boarded a plane to New York 's Kennedy International Airport . Once there , he made his way through a crush of reporters without comment as some spectators applauded . He took a limousine to LaGuardia Airport for a flight to his Toronto home . `` This is a blow for the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement , '' said International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch . In Canada , Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said the scandal was a `` personal tragedy for Ben and his family . It 's also a moment of great sorrow for all Canadians . '' James Worrall , a Canadian member of the IOC , said Johnson `` has been killed '' as an athlete . He said the sprinter 's once-favored status as a hero to many sports fans in Canada , his native Jamaica , and around the world now will be tarnished . Johnson 's name will go down in Olympic history with other athletes who lost their gold medals , such as decathlete Jim Thorpe in 1912 because he played semi-pro baseball and swimmer Rick DeMont in 1972 because he took an asthma medicine . Lewis did not gloat over his rival 's fall . `` I feel sorry for Ben and for the Canadian people , '' he said today . `` Ben is a great competitor and I hope he is able to straighten out his life and return to competition . '' He said he did not want `` to fuel this controversy '' by commenting further . After Saturday 's race , though , Lewis had said he could n't understand how Johnson could run as fast as he did after looking tired in qualifying heats . Lewis has previously alleged widespread drug use in track and field . Dr. Robert Dugal , a Canadian member of the IOC medical commission , called stanozolol `` one of the most dangerous anabolic steroids . It has the effect of leading to a number of disturbances of the liver , including cancer . ''

B I I O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

canadian ben johnson
olympics
american carl lewis
illegal anabolic steroid
drug use
gold medal
sprinter


Actress Elizabeth Taylor , hospitalized with pneumonia , was listed as stable Thursday at St. John 's Hospital and Health Center , her publicist said . `` She 's stable . She 's OK . We have nothing else , '' said Lisa Del Favaro , a Taylor spokeswoman with Chen Sam and Associates public relations in New York City . Inquiries to the hospital were referred to Chen Sam . Miss Taylor , 58 , hospitalized with a sinus infection April 9 at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital , was transferred to St. John 's on Monday because of a persistent fever and pneumonia . `` She is currently being treated intravenously with antibiotics and will remain hospitalized , '' Dr. Patricia Murray , an infectious disease specialist treating Miss Taylor , said in a statement Tuesday . Miss Taylor said in the statement : `` I have been advised by my physician to remain hospitalized and I expect to make a full recovery . '' The actress had a nearly fatal bout of pneumonia in 1961 , the year she won an Oscar for `` Butterfield 8 . '' Doctors performed a tracheotomy _ inserting an air tube in her windpipe at the neck _ to help her breathe . Miss Taylor 's health problems started with a fall from a horse when she was 13 and filming the movie `` National Velvet . '' She has had back problems ever since . In 1983 , she acknowledged a 35-year addiction to sleeping pills and pain killers prescribed for a wide range of health problems . Miss Taylor has been treated for alcohol and drug abuse at the Betty Ford Clinic in Rancho Mirage .

B I I O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

actress elizabeth taylor
miss taylor
pneumonia
sinus infection
health problems


Coast Guard Commandant Paul A. Yost on Tuesday attacked Exxon 's plan to clean up the Alaskan oil spill . Consumers , politicians and environmentalists expressed their anger in a one-day `` Boycott Exxon '' campaign . Yost , the top federal official tracking the environmental disaster , said Exxon 's plan was poorly drafted and lacking in specifics . But he stopped short of rejecting it , saying he wanted to meet with Exxon and state officials . In Washington , consumer activist Ralph Nader said Exxon `` should not be allowed to forget '' the spill and that a boycott would send the oil giant a message . He and others blasted Exxon for failing to be prepared for the spill and not rapidly responding to the accident that fouled hundreds of miles of Alaska 's coast . They also questioned subsequent increases in gas prices . `` We are beginning the war of words and actions against any oil company that does n't understand its responsibility to protect the environment , '' Massachusetts state Sen. Carol Amick told a boycott rally in Boston . In Anchorage , about 400 chanting and sign-waving protesters rallied in front of Exxon 's Alaskan headquarters to urge a consumer boycott . J. Edward Surette Jr. , executive director of the Bay State Gasoline Retailers Association in Billerica , Mass. , said it was too early to assess the boycott 's impact . Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Johnson said 10,000 credit cards out of 7 million have been cut up and returned to the company since the spill . The oil company 's cleanup strategy must gain Yost 's approval before being put into effect . Yost said he would make a decision on the proposal within a week . `` The plan is very thin , '' he told a news briefing . `` There 's not a lot of backup or substantiation . It was quite light , very thin . There must have been a lot of figures there that I have n't seen . `` We are going to be done this summer , '' Yost said . `` Some beaches are going to be sparkling , some beaches are going to be far from sparkling . '' Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner , who is to make his second trip to Alaska on Wednesday as overall coordinator for the cleanup , said he expected the size of the operation to double or triple by the end of the month . In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington , Skinner called the spill `` the most significant environmental disaster this nation has ever faced . '' However , he said the cleanup , to be paid for by the oil industry , could add $ 100 million to $ 500 million to Alaska 's economy , which he said is more than the effect of the fishing industry . Exxon released a statement that called the boycott unjust . Exxon President William D. Stevens said the company was `` turning heaven and Earth to set things right . '' Exxon 's 60-page , two-part revised strategy to cleanse some 364 miles of Alaska 's coastline of the oil spilled March 24 by the tanker Exxon Valdez was released Monday . The tanker struck a reef 25 miles from Valdez , spilling more than 10 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound . About 300 miles from the spill site , an observer saw thousands of dead birds in a wide tidal basin in the Hallo Bay area . `` We saw 2,000 to 3,000 dead birds . ... You ca n't really tell what they are . They 're one big blob of oil , '' said Ray Bane , superintendent of Katmai National Park , about 275 miles southwest of Valdez . `` We found large oil debris washing and slopping up on our shores . ... It was very bad , '' Bane said . `` We saw eagles carrying oil-covered birds . We saw one eagle so coated in oil that it could n't fly . '' State and federal officials said the focus of the cleanup is moving southwest , following the drifting oil along the Alaska Peninsula through the Shelikof Strait east of Kodiak Island . Oil has tainted the coast at least as far as Chignik , 525 miles southwest of Valdez . The tanker is undergoing preliminary repairs in the sound , and is to be moved next month to Portland , Ore. , home of the only drydock on the West Coast capable of handling the 987-foot ship . In its proposal , Exxon said it wants to burn or bury the sludge recovered in the cleanup , which may require exemptions from Alaska environmental law . But Bill Lamoreaux , the ranking state environmental officer at the spill , said the laws would not be relaxed . `` The general feeling is that we would expect that they would comply with the environmental laws , '' Lamoreaux said . Exxon 's plan also notes that 191 miles of coastline it describes as `` lightly oiled '' may be left untouched to be cleansed naturally by wind and water . Lamoreaux said , `` When we talk about ` light oiling , ' it does n't mean it wo n't have a devastating effect on wildlife . '' U.S. Sens. James Exon and Bob Kerrey , both Nebraska Democrats , called on U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh to investigate potential price gouging by the oil industry . They noted that gas prices in Nebraska rose 20 percent from the first of March until mid-April . State attorneys general in Washington , Oregon and Idaho echoed the call . Since the Exxon Valdez accident , gas prices have increased an average 10 percent nationally , while the Northwest saw surges as high as 25 percent in less than a month , said Marla Rae , executive assistant to Oregon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer . At a news conference in Houston , Exxon President Stevens said it showed `` shocking naivete '' to blame the price hikes on his company . `` As you know , '' he told reporters , `` the market for petroleum products is set by thousands of markets , thousands of independent dealers across the nation . ''

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alaskan oil spill
boycott exxon
oil company
cleanup strategy
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oil industry
fishing industry
tanker exxon valdez
exxon valdez accident
gas prices


Officials warned residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands , Puerto Rico and nearby islands to bolt down everything loose and stock up on food and water Wednesday as Hurricane Dean rumbled through the eastern Caribbean . Dean was upgraded from a tropical storm to the second hurricane of the Atlantic season Wednesday , and by nightfall the National Weather Center in Puerto Rico reported the hurricane 's winds had strengthened to 80 mph . Hurricane warnings were posted for the Leeward Islands from Antigua to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico , said forecasters at the National Hurricane Center near Miami . At midnight EDT , forecasters reported the center of the hurricane was at latitude 18.5 north and longitude 61.3 west , moving westerly at 15 mph . Its latest position was 310 miles east of Puerto Rico , 65 miles northeast of Barbuda and about 240 miles east of St. Thomas . The storm was moving over warm tropical waters at 15 mph , down slightly from the 20 mph it had sustained much of the day . But forecasters said some strengthening was possible in the next 24 hours . An advisory issued by the National Weather Service in San Juan for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico advised residents to `` secure loose objects or move them indoors , '' board or tape windows and stock up on emergency supplies such as drinking water , food that needs no refrigeration and batteries . `` This is a dangerous storm and should not be taken lightly , even though it is a minimal hurricane , '' it said . `` Do n't take chances . It could lead to injuries or even death . '' In San Juan , a city of 1.1 million people , shoppers formed long lines in supermarkets , workers boarded up windows of the governor 's mansion and stores in the tourist district of Old San Juan . A hurricane advisory said aircraft reports indicated Dean 's center was moving westward after making a temporary jog northwest . `` This increases the threat to the northern Leeward islands , '' it said . Forecasters said the storm was expected to first hit land in Barbuda , the easternmost Leeward Island and move northwest toward the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the next 24 to 36 hours . Government radio in the twin island state of Antigua and Barbuda said Dean was expected to hit Barbuda on Wednesday night , and warned residents to bar windows , latch down loose objects and stock up on water . Barbuda is a flat , 62-square-mile coral island with a population of 1,200 and little industry or tourism . A hurricane warning for Guadeloupe was dropped , as was a hurricane watch for Dominica and Martinique . In Coral Gables , Fla. , hurricane specialist Jim Gross called Dean a small hurricane , with hurricane-force winds confined to within 25 miles of its center . Rainfall of 4 to 8 inches and tides 2 to 4 feet above normal were said to be possible in the storm 's path . Authorities broadcast similar warnings in several nearby islands . Dean grew from the fifth tropical depression of the season Monday morning into a named storm by Monday night . Three other storms have formed since the season began June 1 . Tropical Storm Allison , caused widespread flooding in Texas and Louisiana in June . Barry churned up the open Atlantic last month before dissipating . Chantal became a hurricane Monday and was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday night after hitting land in Texas .

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u.s. virgin islands


A seriously ill Elizabeth Taylor battled pneumonia at her hospital , her breathing assisted by a ventilator , doctors say . Hospital officials described her condition late Monday as stabilizing after a lung biopsy to determine the cause of the pneumonia . Analysis of the tissue sample was expected to take until Thursday , said her spokeswoman , Chen Sam . The 58-year-old actress , who won best-actress Oscars for `` Butterfield 8 '' and `` Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf , '' has been hospitalized more than two weeks . She was in the intensive care unit at St. John 's Hospital and Health Center . `` She is seriously ill , '' her doctors said in a statement . `` After surgery , her breathing is now being assisted by a ventilator . Her condition is presently stabilizing and her physicians are pleased with her progress . '' Another spokewoman for the actress , Lisa Del Favaro , said Miss Taylor 's family was at her bedside . She did not identify the family members . Miss Taylor entered Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital on April 9 with a persistent fever and sinus infection , doctors said . Her condition worsened and she was transferred April 16 to St. John 's and moved into intensive care on Friday . `` It is serious , but they are really pleased with her progress . She 's not well . She 's not on her deathbed or anything , '' Ms. Sam said late Monday . While it is unusual to put a pneumonia patient on a ventilator , it does not mean that person is near death , said Dr. John G. Mohler , a University of Southern California lung disease expert who emphasized he had no direct knowledge of Miss Taylor 's condition . Doctors may put a patient on a ventilator simply to restore oxygen in the blood to proper levels if pneumonia-related breathing difficulties have reduced those levels , Mohler said . `` It may be that because she is such a prominent person , they are taking a conservative course , '' he added . Miss Taylor has been plagued with health problems for years , particularly back troubles from filming of `` National Velvet ' in 1945 , when she fell off a horse . In 1983 she acknowledged a 35-year addiction to sleeping pills and painkillers . Miss Taylor has been treated for alcohol and drug abuse at the Betty Ford Clinic . During a nearly fatal bout with pneumonia in 1961 , Miss Taylor underwent a tracheotomy , an incision into her windpipe to help her breathe . She appeared at the 1961 Academy Awards with a bandage over her scar as she accepted the `` Butterfield 8 '' Oscar .

O O O B I O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

elizabeth taylor
miss taylor
lung biopsy
sinus infection
health problems
pneumonia


A 1987 state constitutional amendment broadening the right to bear arms means that even convicted felons may own guns , a judge ruled . Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Stephen L. Perkins on Friday dismissed a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon against Edward Brown of Cumberland . Prosecutors had argued that the amendment 's backers did not intend to allow felons to own guns , but the judge said nothing in the amendment indicated such an intent . `` If Maine legislators and citizens wanted to restrict or qualify the right to keep and bear arms , they could have enacted a constitutional provision that contained the desired restrictions , '' Perkins wrote . `` Maine 's right to keep and bear arms amendment is the most broad and least restrictive of any of the 43 similar state amendments , '' he wrote . Attorney General James E. Tierney said Saturday that the case would be appealed , adding , `` With all due respect to Justice Perkins , we think he is wrong . '' The Maine constitution used to guaranteed the right to keep and bear arms `` for the common defense . '' In 1986 , the Maine Supreme Court upheld a gun violation by focusing on the `` common defense '' phrase . In response , the Legislature enacted a constitutional amendment deleting that language , and voters approved it in November 1987 . The amendment declared , `` Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms , and this right shall never be questioned . '' Brown had been accused of criminal threatening in 1988 , as well as with illegal possession of a gun . He previously had been convicted under the state 's habitual offender law for operating a motor vehicle after his driver 's license had been revoked . Perkins denied a motion to dismiss the criminal threatening charge , but threw out the gun possession charge , saying `` there is simply no rational connection '' between Brown 's previous conviction and his ownership of a firearm .

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guns
constitutional amendment
felons
right
firearm
arms
maine constitution
restrictions
gun possession charge
criminal threatening


The tanker that caused the nation 's biggest oil spill was being illegally piloted by its third mate when the vessel ran aground on a reef , Exxon Shipping Co. said Sunday . Alaska 's governor , meanwhile , declared once-pristine Prince William Sound a disaster area as the toll on the waterway 's abundant wildlife began to mount . The Coast Guard said the slick and patches of oil separated from it were spread over an area of about 100 square miles . Exxon Shipping spokesman Brian Dunphy told The Associated Press that the captain of the tanker Exxon Valdez , Joseph Hazelwood , was not on the bridge at the time of the accident and that third mate Gregory Cousins was in command . `` It 's Exxon 's policy that in the waters that the ship was located in , the captain should have been on the bridge , '' Dunphy said . `` There 's a problem there in that he was not there . It 's our policy he should have been there . '' An Exxon spokeswoman , Sharon Curran-Wescott , said she believed Cousin 's actions violated federal regulations . `` He did n't have a proper pilot 's license for that . He was n't authorized by the company , nor was it legal , '' she said . Dunphy said he did not know why Hazelwood was not on the bridge . `` I am unaware of any explanation he has made at this time . ... There is a full investigation that will occur on the incident , '' Dunphy said , adding that the captain is consulting with an attorney . As clean-up efforts continued Sunday , fishermen fearing lost income sought compensation Sunday . Exxon Shipping Co. held a meeting Sunday between fishermen and a company claims officer . `` We 're not ready to absorb any loss , '' said Riki Ott , spokeswoman for United Fishermen of Alaska . `` We expect full compensation . '' Ten supertankers remained anchored 33 miles from Valdez , unable to move toward shore because the harbor remains closed . The Coast Guard said it ordered the closure to prevent pollution from being carried to Valdez on vessels passing through the oil . Department of Interior spokeswoman Pamela Bergmann said a wildlife specialist sailed in the sound Saturday and observed 75 ducks and two otters coated with oil . They could not be captured for cleaning , she said . Gov. Steve Cowper declared Prince William Sound a disaster area , freeing state resources for cleanup and paving the way for a federal disaster declaration . `` This oil spill may well be the greatest disaster to hit Alaska since the Good Friday earthquake 25 years ago , '' Cowper said in a news release . `` It requires the most thorough response we can muster and this disaster declaration is an important part of that response . We 'll be requesting President Bush to make a similar declaration . '' The 987-foot tanker Exxon Valdez , carrying 1.2 million barrels of North Slope crude oil loaded at Valdez , ran onto a reef 25 miles from the port early Friday after swinging out of a traffic lane to avoid ice . Valdez is at the southern end of the 800-mile Alaska oil pipeline . Estimates put the spill at 240,000 barrels of oil , or about 10.1 million gallons , making it the biggest U.S. spill on record . The only larger oil-related accident in U.S. waters was the spilling and burning of up to 10.7 million gallons of oil when two ships collided in Galveston Bay in 1979 . More than four miles of floating boom had been placed in an effort to contain the oil , the Coast Guard said Sunday . An additional 3,000 feet was to be deployed at Galena Bay at the request of fishermen . Skimming boats worked to remove the oil . The Coast Guard estimated the area affected by the spill at 100 square miles . However , Exxon insisted that the area was only 10 to 12 square miles , and Coast Guard officials said they were at a loss to explain the difference in estimates . The transfer of oil remaining aboard the Exxon Valdez to the Exxon Baton Rouge resumed late Saturday . The Coast Guard said about 84,000 gallons of oil an hour was being transferred ; at that rate , the unloading could take seven days . By late Sunday , Exxon officials said a total of 37,500 barrels of oil had been transferred in the first two days of the operation , leaving more than 900,000 barrels on the ship . Tests were under way to determine if dispersal chemicals should be used despite the potential for environmental damage . The agents need wave action to help break up the thick crude oil . Weather had been calm since the accident , but the National Weather Service said the wind was expected to increase to 25 mph and stir up a 5 - to 6-foot chop on the sound . However , the wind and waves may make it more difficult to skim oil off the water , said Coast Guard Lt. Ed Wieliczkiewicz . An experiment to assess the possibility of burning off the oil was completed early Sunday and the Coast Guard said Exxon officials were `` cautiously optimistic . '' Environmentalists , the governor and other top state officials have accused Exxon and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. of responding too slowly to the spill . Alyeska operates the terminal at Valdez that loads tankers with North Slope crude . Both companies said they were satisfied with the handling of the problem . `` We 're proceeding cautiously , '' said Exxon spokesman Tom Cirigliano . `` We want to make sure we do n't make any mistakes in cleaning up the spill . '' Exxon Shipping Co. . President Frank Iarossi said Exxon has reviewed information gathered by divers and determined there are five holes in the vessel 's hull on the starboard side . The largest is 20-by-6 feet . All six tanks along the port side remain intact . Four are oil tanks ; two are ballast tanks . Investigation of the accident was turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday . The ship 's captain and two bridge crew members , including Cousins , were relieved of duty Saturday and subpoenaed by the NTSB . Iarossi said relieving the three was intended to allow them rest and was not a disciplinary measure . Hazelwood was in his cabin at the time of the accident , Iarossi said . The third member of the bridge crew was identified as helmsman Robert Kagan . The three were administered routine tests for drug and alcohol abuse , but the results were not immediately available , officials said . The spill came at a time when Prince William Sound fishermen were preparing for the herring season , which is followed by harvests of shellfish and salmon . Many are concerned they will get only minimal harvests because of the oil damage , and then will face the longer-term problem of bad publicity . `` This could ruin our reputation in Asian markets for years to come , '' said Jim Brown , a netter . The herring catch , which usually takes place in April , primarily is for the harvest of roe , a delicacy that brings up to $ 25 per pound in Japan . `` It 's possible they could avoid the oil , '' Brown said . `` Fish are not stupid . But they ca n't avoid the chemicals . '' Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska Marine Advisory Program said the beaches on which the herring spawn could be polluted . Fishermen said they have had two good years back to back , and some were spurred by that success to go into debt for new equipment this year . Ott said fishing is an economic mainstay in Cordova , more so than in Valdez , which also draws tourists and has the oil terminal . `` Half of Cordova is operating on credit , '' Ott said .

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oil spill
joseph hazelwood
federal regulations
environmental damage
captain
proper pilot
full investigation

u.s. spill
clean-up efforts
987-foot tanker exxon valdez


The tuberculosis rate in U.S. prisons may be more than three times higher than on the outside , federal health officials said Thursday , urging testing , isolation and other measures to curb TB behind bars . Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control cited a survey in 29 states , where prisons reported 31 tuberculosis cases per 100,000 inmates in 1984-85 , compared with eight cases per 100,000 reported among non-incarcerated adults in those states during the same period . `` In some large correctional systems , the incidence of TB has increased dramatically , '' the CDC said , noting that in New York state there were 106 TB cases per 100,000 inmates in 1986 _ seven times more than the average of 15 cases reported in 1976-78 . In New Jersey , inmates had a TB rate of 110 per 100,000 in 1987 , 11 times higher than the general New Jersey population . In California , the rate was nearly six times higher _ 80 per 100,000 . Tuberculosis , a contagious , bacterial lung disease , occurs in about 22,000 new cases each year in the United States ; most can be cured with drug treatment . As many as 7 percent of Americans have latent TB infections , and about 10 percent of them will someday develop a case of tuberculosis itself . `` Persons at highest risk ... are close contacts , '' the CDC said , noting that TB can pose particular problems in prisons , where there is often overcrowding and `` where the environment is often conducive to airborne transmission of infection among inmates , staff and visitors . '' The CDC 's Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis is recommending TB testing for most new prison inmates and staff members _ with the possible exception of inmates just transferring through for less than a week . The CDC committee also recommends new tests at least once a year , rapid chest X-rays for TB-infected people showing symptoms , and isolation _ off the prison property , if necessary _ for those with suspected or confirmed symptomatic TB cases . The spread of AIDS-virus infections may play a part in the spread of TB in prisons , the CDC said . AIDS weakens the immune system , making patients susceptible to infections other people might ward off , including tuberculosis . AIDS tests should be offered to all inmates with known TB infections , the CDC report said .

O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O

tuberculosis rate
airborne transmission
tuberculosis cases
cdc