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. U.S. kidnapping victim found dead I by Carlos Cisternas Associated Press QUITO, Ecuador — A U.S. oil worker who was kidnapped last year with seven other foreigners in Ecuador’s jungles was found dead, shot in the back. An emblazoned message on the white sheet covering his body said he was killed because the oil company refused to pay a ransom, authorities said Thursday. Police identified the victim as Ronald Sander, a technician for Helmerich & Payne Inc., based in Tulsa, Okla. He and the others were kidnapped in October. According to a police report, Sander was found with five gunshot wounds to the back Wednesday in an isolated jungle region known as El Condor, about 110 miles northeast of the capital, Quito. Sander, 54, worked as a toolpusher on a Helmerich & Payne drilling rig when he was abducted, the company said. Officials said the company had been working for four months to win the re lease of Sander and the other hostages. Oil industry and military sources said the kidnappers are strongly suspected in deadly dynamite attacks in December against the country’s main oil pipeline. After failed negotiations with the kidnappers, another round of blasts on Dec. 12 followed, one of which killed eight passengers in a passing bus and seriously injured 19 others. • „ * t NEW GRAD REGISTERED NURSES * Open House Saturday, Feb. 3rd, 2001 9am-3pm Pitt County Memorial Hospital Cafeteria Up to $2,500 Sign-on Bonus Generous Relocation Assistance Available for Qualified Candidates and Immediate ' Health and Dental Insurance Options for Full-time Hires! » ■ • t ' . ’s At University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina, we know your time is valuable, and when you’re offering salaries and benefits like • outs, it pays to come and see for yourself Literally! Wfe will reimburse you UP TO $300 IN INTERVIEW TRAVEL EXPENSES when you visit us at our. New Grad RN Open House. Simply show your class schedule, report card, or other proof of N ursing Major, as .well as a valid ^.ID, and your travel is on us! Learn about increased RN salaries, ongoing training, and professional advancement potential.. .not to mention the warm and friendly community we call home. Spend your Saturday with us for a change. It might be just the sign you’ve been looking for. Vxi matter at University Health Systems. As a teaching hospital, our wide variety of patients and the complexity of their care provides the opportunity to expand your knowledge and the autonomy to help remind you why you are a nurse. Our team environment truly presents you with opportunities to enhance your future., js well as ours...whife the strong relationships you foster will allow you to experience many disciplines and not just nursing. In addition to an excellent compensation package, superb opportunities for professional growth and generous relocation assistance, Pitt County Memorial Hospital offers all'the benefits of Greenville, NC—a progressive community only a short drive from Carolina’s magnificent seashore, where the low cost of livingis matched by a high quality of life. For more information or directions,, call 1-800-342-5155 or send 1 your resume to: Employment Officer Pitt County Memorial Hospital, ATTN: USC, P.O. Box 6028, Greenville, NC 27835-6028; FAX: (252) 816-8225; E-mail: kbortz@pcmh.com An Equal Opportunity Employer. please visit us at: www.uhseast.com i-:—-:--11 I C^A4Ml AN HISTORIC RESIDENCE Efficiency $445 One Bedroom $505 Two Bedroom $540 Rents include all utilities and cable TV. All rates quoted are month to month. (Leases available, prices subject to change) Located across from the University of South Carolina Horseshoe and the State Capital, Cornell Arms offers the premier location for downtown living. (803) 799-1442 1230 PENDLETON STREET COLUMBIA, SC 29201 k Senate votes for Ashcroft by Libby Quaid Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ashcroft to be attorney general, giving President Bush a victory in his first battle with congressional Democrats. Eight Democrats joined all 50 Republicans in the 58-42 vote in favor of the former Missouri senator. Votes against Ashcroft, all from Democrats, represented the biggest rebuke of a one-time Senate colleague since 1989 when the Senate rejected the elder Bush’s nomination of former Texas Sen. John Tower for secretary of defense. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the last senator to vote, voted against the nomination. The roll call was kept open for more than an hour to accommodate Biden, who returned to the Capitol from a family funeral. Conceding weeks ago they couldn’t stop Ashcroft, Democratic leaders’ goal was to _ muster enougn votes to show Bush they have the ability to defeat conservative nominees in the future, particularly candidates for any Supreme Court vacancy. The chamber’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, told reporters J'WU KJ >1VU1U WUJAVAUIV UAI AAAUUVA UAV nominations. “But we’re going to be very concerned when they come from the far right, and we’ll use whatever means necessary.” Democrats who voted for Ashcroft were Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Zell Miller of Geoigia and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Ashcroft was sworn into office later Thursday by Justice Clarence Thomas in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. Ashcroft and Thomas shared an office in the 1970s as assistant state attorneys general in Missouri. Moments after the Senate vote, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush “will be very pleased to have his Cabinet in place and ready to work for the American people.” “The votes have been bipartisan, and this vote by definition, too, is bipartisan,” Fleischer said. Democrats abandoned the idea of a filibuster to kill the nomination despite having enough votes, Daschle said, because Ashcroft is a former colleague and because many believe a president deserves to choose his own Cabinet members, none of whom are lifetime appointees. Ashcroft’s successor in the Senate, Democrat Jean Carnahan of John Ashcroft Missouri, voted against her family’s longtime political rival. She said Ashcroft “was just too divisive for our country.” Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., also voted against Ashcroft. “On issues ranging from civil rights to privacy rights, Senator Ashcroft has repeatedly taken positions considerably outside the mainstream of American thinking,” said Lieberman, adding later, “It is Senator _ Ashcroft’s record, not his religion, we should judge today.” Fleischer said Congressional Black Caucus members told Bush Wednesday about their “deep passion” in opposing the nomination,'but no one asked Bush to withdraw it.' “[Bush] thinks John Ashcroft is a man of integrity,” T _ * __1__1 i i^iouiu xuu. u a guuu mail, aiiu he will enforce the civil rights laws.” Sen. Dodd, who endorsed Ashcroft, declared his intention in a less-than glowing terms late Wednesday. While there is evidence Ashcroft “can be a healer,” Dodd said, “I remain concerned that he will, as he appears to have done at times in the past, submit to the temptation to divide Americans along racial lines.” Ashcroft’s confirmation fills the Cabinet within 12 days of Bush’s taking office. By contrast, it took President Clinton until March 11,1993, to confirm his final Cabinet member, Janet Reno, as attorney general. Criticism against Ashcroft focused on battles against abortion and against a school desegregation lawsuit while serving as Missouri governor and attorney general. Critics also accused him of distorting the records of Clinton nominees James Hormel, the first openly gay U.S. ambassador, and Ronnie White, a black Missouri Supreme Court judge whose chances at a federal position were scuttled by Ashcroft. Ashcroft testified at his confirmation hearing that he opposed Hoimel because he knew the nominee and because of the “totality of the record.” He said he opposed White because the judge had a history of hostility to the death penalty. ‘[Bush] thinks John Ashcroft is a man of integrity.* Ari Fleischer White House spokesman ntn Mtnrlnmtn T71_* -I_((1 World Briefs ■ Earthquake refugees scramble % to catch trains AHMEDABAD, India (AP)- • Thousands of families, dragging possessions salvaged from the ruins of their homes, camped in Gujarat state’s. _ main railroad station Thursday, desperate to catch a train after six days of terror following an earthquake that, > killed more than 14,200 people. When a train steamed into the station, thousands rushed forward before it rolled to a halt. Men leaped onto the coaches. Others ran alongside, banging at doors that were jammed or locked. W)men and children carrying bundles of clothing in each hand ran behind, yelling at the men or at straggling children as they tried to catch up. Railroad police tried to bring some order to the chaos, fearing that people could get crushed in the stampede. Each train can carry about 1,200 , seated passengers, but about 4,000 people squeezed in, sitting on the floor or on the overhead bunks. ■ Prime minister of Israel denies switch JERUSALEM (AP) - Before a midnight Thursday deadline for changing candidates in Israel’s election, Prime Minister Ehud Barak — far behind in polls — is rejecting suggestions that he let a party rival take his place. Instead, his aides were working on a last-minute summit with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, amid reports tjiat • Israel and the Palestinians were close i to a peace agreement. Analysts have said Barak’s only chance to reverse opponent Ariel Sharon’s double-digit lead in the polls before the Feb. 6 vote is to produce an agreement or a significant sign of progress from such a summit. ■ California rejects $10 billion power-buying bill SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP> The California Assembly rejected a $ 10 billion plan Thursday to ease the energy crisis by letting the state buy power on behalf of two large cash-starved utilities. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the two utilities covered in the plan, serve nearly 9 million residential and business ratepayers. The Assembly vote was 51-28, three short of the two-thirds needed. , The bill’s supporters, mostly Democrats, plan to take another vote, hoping to win over Republican oppo nents in the meantime. -1 GRADUATION FAIR L.J OAK HALL INDUSTRIES CAROLINA VALUMNI 0»nceme« ^#Bali)ur 4. UNDERGRADUATE SPECIAL $75.50 INCLUDES 25 ANNOUNCEMENTS 25 THANK YOU NOTES 0 25 ENVELOPE SEALS |B1 60 RETURN ADDRESS LABELS i| CAP. GOWNfcTASSEL VS February 5th-9th A RT (71R V E D i N College lewelry * ,T i i j