Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Florida county orders manual recount by Karin Meadows Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -Palm Beach County officials early Sunday or dered an extraordinary countywide re count, by hand, of the more than 425,000 votes cast in the presidential election for A1 Gore and Geotge W. Bush. Gore added 36 votes and Bush lost three in a machine recount of Palm Beach County in Florida’s disputed presiden tial balloting. A hand count of four se lected precincts turned up enough errors in the election night vote to prompt coun ty election officials to order a com l plete manual recount. “This clearly would affect the na tional vote,” said Carol Roberts, a coun ty commissioner and member of the can vassing commission. The panel’s vote was 2-1, with the two Democrats on the commission voting for the manual re count. The third member’s party affili ation was unspecified. Palm Beach County, a Democratic stronghold, has been at the center of the struggle over the presidential election. Some voters complained its so-called “butterfly” ballot was so confusing it caused them to mistakenly cast votes for Pat Buchanan instead of Gore. Republicans asked a federal judge on Saturday to block hand counting, but the judge set a hearing for Monday to con vl I 1 sider the matter. The new county figures further cut Bush’s lead over Gore in Florida, whose 25 electoral votes hold the key to who will become the nation’s 43rd president. An unofficial Associated Press can vass of the presidential vote in Florida showed Bush now has a 288-vote lead over Gore. On Friday, Florida’s Secretary of State Katherine Harris said Bush had 2,910,074 votes to Gore’s 2,909,114, a difference of 960, with one county still to be re counted — Palm Beach County where the AP showed a big gain for Gore. The totals from the AP canvass were Bush 2,910,195, Gore 2,909,907. Those numbers reflect the latest figures from Palm Beach County. The state has been unable to include updated Palm Beach County figures in its tally because a state judge issued an injunction Thursday in response to law suits filed by voters claiming confusion over the ballot design. Further complicating the picture, election officials in Polk County said a rescan of 92 of 163 precincts resulted in a gain of 104 votes for Bush and seven for Gore. These are votes that hadn’t been recorded in the previous count and recount of ballots. Election authorities stopped short of making the figures official pending a 1 1 meeting on Monday to certify the totals and report those to the state. Palm Beach County officials said their exhaustive manual recount found numerous differences from the machine count. Roberts said the errors point to potentially 1,900 errors county wide — more than the existing statewide margin between Bush and Gore. The new Palm Beach machine tab ulation, the third in this populous De mocratic-leaning county, gave Gore 269,732, or an additional 36 votes, and Bush 152,951, or minus three, in the county. County election officials will meet again Monday to discuss further action. It was not clear when the labor intensive examination of ballots in all 531 precincts would begin. The hand recount involved four precincts — one in Palm Beach Gardens, two in Boca Raton and one in Delray Beach. County Judge Charles Burton said he wanted to obtain an advisory opinion from the secretary of state before pro ceeding with a hand count. A lawyer for the Republican Party, Mark Wallace, objected to a further man ual recount. “It has been pandemonium today,” he said “Vtfe vigorously lodge our protest and plead with you not to put the county through that.” At times, the recount bordered on the ridiculous. Election officials spent hours poring over individual ballots and disagreeing over the standard used in accepting a vote. Democrats said thousands of votes in Palm Beach County and elsewhere in Florida might not have been counted by machines because the tiny piece of pa per punched out for a candidate didn’t completely dislodge. About 30,000 bal lots were rejected in Palm Beach Coun ty alone because they had two or more holes punched for president — or computers didn’t detect any holes at all. In the morning, the canvassing board said they would count a vote if any of the comers of the bits of paper punched out of the cards — called “chad”—were punched. The board then decided they would instead use the “sunlight test” — if they could see sun come though an in dentation, it would count. However, according to a lawyer for the county, there was a problem with the revised standard. Even if one comer was punched, sometimes the sun would n’t shine through. So, the standard was revised back to the comer rule, accord ing to the lawyer Leon St. John. Elsewhere in Florida on Saturday: —Volusia County postponed until Sunday a M hand recount of all the coun ty’s 184,018 ballots. Workers sifted the ^allots on Friday and Saturday for any write-in votes. The judge will hold up each ballot, show it to the Democratic abserver and the GOP observer, then to other commission members. Democrats and Republicans were bringing in more than 100 people each from around the country to witness the process. —About 26,000 votes in Duval County were disqualified and never counted when voters punched more than one candidate on their ballot or failed to vote for president. The county is solid ly Republican. —In Broward County, officials said 6,686 ballots were not counted be cause the computer didn’t recognize any selection. Broward election officials vot ed 2-1 to do a hand-recount of three precincts beginning Monday. If there is i change, they also will consider a full band-recount. The Bush campaign, in moving to stop the manual recount, argued in its application for a federal injunction there is a need to “preserve the integrity, equal ity and finality” of the vote. As the vote recount continued, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks, who was as signed the case, set a hearing for Mon Jay on the Bush campaign’s suit. i mjacKea plane lands in Israel ■ Israel claims hijacking is part of Chenchen-Russian conflict, not Israeli Palestinian conflict by Revital Levy Associated Press i UVD A, Israel — Chechen hijackers seized a Russian airliner with 58 people aboard and were allowed to land at a mil itary airfield in Israel’s southern desert after threatening to blow up the plane, officials said. Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who was on his way to a meeting with President Clinton in Washington, postponed his trip and was returning to Israel to deal with the crisis, said his adviser Danny Yatom. Israeli authorities negotiated with the hijackers after the plane landed in Uvda, in the remote Negev Desert near the Red Sea resort in Eilat. Large numbers of security forces descended on the airfield. Three hours after the aircraft arrived, the captain of the Vnukovo Airlines plane came down a stairway and handed over weapons to Israeli security forces, said army spokesman Brig. Gen. Ron Kitrey. He didn’t say whether the hijackers had additional weapons on board. One of the hijackers also came down with written demands and was met by a vehicle that took him to the terminal building at the air base, Kitrey added. He said the Israeli negotiators had developed a “fruitful dialogue” with the hijackers. Kitrey and other Israeli officials ini tially said the hijackers acted in support of the Palestinian uprising. But later he said that information was incorrect and that the hijacking was part of the ongo ing conflict between Russia and Chech nya, which is predominantly Muslim. “It’s a dispute between Chechnya and Russia,” Kitrey said. Eilat police chief Nissim Mor said Hijacking SEE PAGE 6 Partial unofficial returns released on Bosnian elections by Robert H. Reid Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnians voted Saturday in nation wide elections that will determine whether this war-ravaged country fol lows its Balkan neighbors in rejecting ethnic parties that led them into a bloody 3 1/2-year conflict. Partial unofficial returns released ear ly Sunday by major parties pointed to a ( mixed picture — a strong showing by multiethnic political groups in Muslim areas, with hard-line Bosnian Serb and Croat parties leading in areas con trolled by those two ethnic groups. Under the 1995 Dayton Peace Agree ment that ended the Bosnian war, this country is divided into a Muslim-Croat Federation and a Serb republic loosely tied together by a federal parliament, a three-member presidency and other fed eral institutions. Voters in the two ministates chose members of the federal parliament Sat urday. Additionally, those in the Muslim Croat Federation selected officials of 10 regional cantons, while Bosnian Serbs al so voted for a president and vice presi dent of their half of Bosnia Turnout among the 2.5 million vot ^ ers was “significantly over 50 percent,” said Robert Barry, chief of the Bosnian mission for the Organization for Secu rity and Cooperation in Europe. Election results from the OSCE were not expected before Monday. The multiethnic Social Democratic Party was expected to run strong in the Muslim areas, and in a statement early Sunday, the party claimed its candidates were indeed leading, with about half the votes in all races in the cities of Saraje vo, Tuzla and Zenica. Another multiethnic party led by for mer Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic was running second, followed by the Mus lim-oriented Party of Democratic Ac tion, led by former Muslim President Al ija Izetbegovic, according to Social Democrat figures. The figures, based on reports by the party’s accredited monitors at the 3,600 precincts, couldn’t be con firmed. In contrast to the Muslim areas, the Serb Democratic Party, founded by in dicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, and the hard-line Croatian Democratic Union appeared running'strong in Serb and Croat parts of the country. The Serb Democratic Party claimed early returns showed its candidate, Mirko Sarovic, with a wide lead over West ern-backed Bosnian Serb Prime Minis ter Milorad Dodik in the race for presi dent of the Bosnian Serb republic. The Croatian Democratic Union claimed it was leading in five of the 10 Elections SEE PAGE 6 Iraq says U.N. sanctions ‘fizzling,’ U.S. disagrees ■ International trade embargoes nearing collapse by George Gedda Associated Press WASHINGTON - It seemed like an unremarkable event — 11 Russ ian oil experts departing on a flight from Moscow. But this was no ordi nary flight because its destination was Baghdad, The trip two months ago appeared to flout UJN. economic sanc tions against Iraq and has emboldened other countries to follow suit, with dozens of visits since then. “The embargo has started fiz zling,” Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said recently. Robert Kagan of the Carnegie En dowment for International Peace agreed, saying, “The international sanctions regime ;s collapsing.” The State Department disputes these assertions, cautioning against overemphasizing the importance of the increased traffic at Saddam Hus sein International Airport. “The basic sanctions regime re mains in place, continues to work,” said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. He says the Iraqis can bring an end to sanctions—imposed 10 years ago in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait—by meeting the standards for weapons inspections and moni toring that are spelled out in U.N. Se curity Council resolution 1284. But there have been no weapons inspections in almost two years, and Iraq has shown no inclination to al low their resumption. UJN. Secretary General Kofi Annan plans to talk to Iraqi leaders about that at a meeting of Islamic countries starting Sunday in Qatar. The U.S.-led coalition of coun tries that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation has little force left. The Clinton administration, perhaps in fluenced by the lack of an interna tional consensus to do battle with Iraq again, rarely mentions Iraq's refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons in spectors. Although the issue received min imal attention during the U.S. presi dential election campaign, Kagan said he believes the next president will face an Iraq crisis. “During the next administration, Iraq will get a missile and mount some thing deadly on it, which will have a cataclysmic effect on an already un stable Middle East,” he said this week. But Hans Blix, who heads a re vised U.N. weapons inspection team that Iraq has spumed, says he doesn’t believe Saddam has been trying to rearm. For the time being, Saddam seems to be riding higher than at any time since the sanctions were imposed He is benefiting from high oil prices, and a recent international trade fair in Baghdad left the impression among some that he is overcoming his in ternational isolation. According to Iraqi estimates, the fair drew foreign trade officials from 12 countries and 18,000 busi nesspeople from 45 countries. Some were hoping to expand ex ports to Iraq under an exception to the sanctions that lets Iraq export oil as long as the proceeds are used to buy food, medicine and humanitari an goods for its people. Others were positioning them selves to do business with Iraq once the sanctions are lifted. More than 100 French companies took part in the fair. The Clinton administration has been fighting the increasingly wide spread view that the Iraq sanctions are hurting the Iraqi people more than the Iraqi regime, a position embraced by Russia and France, both Security Council members. Just days after the Russian flight landed in Baghdad, France gave the green light for a chartered Paris-Bagh dad flight carrying some 60 physi cians, athletes and artists. The State Department, calling it a “blatant violation” of the sanctions regime, says international flights des tined for Baghdad must legally be on Embargo SHS PAGE 6 Presidential uncertainty adds confusion to lame duck season by Alan Fram Associated Press WASHINGTON — Lame-duck ses sions of Congress are always unpre dictable, but the one starting this week could prove even more muddled be cause of the unsettled presidential elec tion. Neither party’s congressional lead ers know whether it makes sense to re solve budget fights quickly or try de laying a deal until the next administration — with either Repub lican Geoige W. Bush or Democrat A1 Gore in the White House on Jan. 20, inauguration day. Top Democrats seem ready to set tle and leave town quickly. With their ally, President Clinton, still in office, they appear eager to shake hands on a huge education, health and labor bill that was nearly completed before Con gress left town on Nov. 3 for the elec tions. “There’s an array of issues that have to be addressed. I don’t think we can leave without having addressed them,” Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Earlier, he said, “It will take give on both sides, but I think we can do that.” Five of the 13 annual spending bills for fiscal 2001, which began Oct. 1, are hanging. They cover seven Cabi net departments, dozens of smaller agencies, congressional operations and the District of Columbia’s budget. Also unresolved are a $240 billion, 10-year tax bill; an increase in the min imum wage; higher Medicare reim bursements for health care providers; disputes over immigration and work place injuries; ,'nd an intelligence agen I ties’ bill that Clinton vetoed because it would have criminalized the leaking of some government secrets. The Senate’s top Republican, Trent Lott of Mississippi, raised the possi bility on “Fox News Sunday” that law makers would “set aside those issues where we’re not going to come to agreement and pass what we can.” Last Tuesday, voters elected a new Congress that will give Republicans even narrower majorities in the House and Senate than they held this year. Af ter many months without even speak ing to House Speaker Dennis Hasten, R-Ill., House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., called Hasten after Ejection Day and tentatively arranged a meeting for this week. “I think we can get a lot of work done,” Gephardt said Sunday on ABC’s Congress SEE PAGE 6 News Briefs « ■ FCC says it needs to wait for antitrust review WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top communications regulator on Friday defended his agency’s decision to stop its review of the proposed merger between America Online and Time Whmer until antitrust authorities complete their work. The head of the Federal Communica tions Commission, in a letter to law makers, said discussions between antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commis sion and the two companies could sig nificantly change the structure of the merger still under review. “It would be inconsistent with sound administrative procedure and unfair to the parties for the FCC to rush to a decision under these circumstances,” FCC Chairman William Kennard wrote to two top antitrust law makers. On Thursday, the FTC gave the companies three more weeks to address competitive concerns—pushing off the immediate threat of a court challenge to block the $129 billion deal. ■ Mrs. Gore com ments on “princi pled democracy” WASHINGTON (AP) - Tipper Gore briefly left the vice president’s compound Saturday to thank a family and a pair of teen-age college students for their sup port in the presidential election battle, telling them, “It’s not about us. It’s about principled democracy. ” Gary Jonesi, his wife, Fran, and their two small children had gathered outside the main gate of the compound, carrying signs supporting Gore. They were joined by two college students—Marcia Desouza, 19, and Eliz abeth Panduro 18. After the group was spied by Mrs. Gore, she walked over to them and chatted for several minutes be fore returning to the compound. Des ouza told her that last Tuesday was the first time she had been eligible to vote. “Thanks for your first vote,” Mrs. Gore replied. Jonesi, who held a sign saying “Every Vote Should Count,” said he and his family came to the vice president’s compound to show support for Gore. “I just had this sinking feeling that this elec tion is going to get stolen. I had to come out. It was nice for her... to come out. ” ■ Leah Rabin, wid ow of late Israeli prime minister, dead JERUSALEM (AP)- Leah Rabin, who became an outspoken campaigner for peace after her husband, the late Is raeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was struck down by an assassin’s bullet, died Sunday of cancer. She was 72. Mrs. Ra bin had never hesitated to criticize friend or foe in the five years since her husband was shot by an ultranationalist Jew. Though she was viewed by some of her countrymen as a divisive figure, she was hailed abroad as a promoter of Israeli Arab coexistence. She counted political leaders, including President Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, among her close friends, and after her husband was killed she crisscrossed the globe to carry the torch for his peace policies. Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, a Labor party ally of Rabin’s husband, said she was “like a lioness.” ■ Prison guards on strike for better work conditions BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) — Furious prison guards in Yugoslavia’s largest jails refused to work Saturday, in sisting on better working conditions and demanding an end to prison riots that have undermined the country’s new gov ernment. Guards walked off the job at three major prisons, insisting they would only guard the perimeter of the facilities and not venture into cell blocs that in mates took over earlier in the week. The prisoners, who were demanding better treatment and shorter sentences, had agreed to end the uprising that killed one inmate after the government of Presi dent Vojislav Kostunica offered to in clude them in a proposed amnesty agree ment. Prisoners at one detention center on Saturday had begun to surrender the bats and clubs they used to take control.