The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 12, 2001, Page 3, Image 3
STATE
BRIEFS
White powder tests
negative for anthrax
COLUMBIA, S.C. -
Preliminary tests on a white
powder found at the Strom
Thurmond Federal Building
on Wednesday were negative
for anthrax and other biolog
ical agents, FBI spokesman
Tom O’Neill said.
O’Neill didn’tt say where the
substance was found or under
what circumstances. It was sent
to the state Department of
Health and Environmental
Control for testing.
“There’s nothing to lead us
to believe that there’s any
problem with it," O’Neill said.
Authorities have responded
to several incidents in the past
few days in which suspicious
materials were found. Each
time, a sample was sent to
DHEC and the substance was
harmless, State Law
Enforcement Division Chief
Robert Stewart said.
But finding a powdery
substance in a package
shouldn’t be enough to send
anyone into a panic because,
even if the material was
dangerous, doctors would
likely have time to counteract
the threat with’ medication, said
Dan Drociuk, a bioterrorism
coordinator with DHEC.
IT HAPPENED
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
MOTHER, BOYFRIEND
SENTENCED: A judge has
sentenced Celeste Durant, 24,
and Chad Smith, 25, both of
Florence, to 20 years in prison
for killing Durant’s 20-month
old daughter through child
abuse.
SEAT BELT GARNERS REWARD:
Danny Newman of Easley was
given a $1,000 check
Wednesday as part of the
Public Safety Department’s
“Thank You Ticket” campaign
in which the department gave
tickets to motorists wearing
seatbelts.
NATION
BRIEFS
Third tabloid worker
infected with anthrax
BOCA RATON, FLA.- A third
person at a supermarket tabloid
office has been found to be
contaminated with anthrax.
Attorney General John
Ashcroft, who is leading a
federal criminal investigation,
said Thursday there was no
evidence the strain had been
stolen from a lab.
A nasal swab taken from the
35-year-old woman tested
positive for anthrax, authorities
said Wednesday. She was being
treated with antibiotics and was
not exhibiting flu-like
symptoms, said Dr. John
Agwunobi, head of the state
health department. Such
symptoms can be a sign of the
early stages of anthrax
infection.
The woman was one of more
than 1,000 people tested by
Iltrdl 111 UlUUliUS.
The bacteria has already
killed a tabloid photo editor and
was earlier detected in the nose
of a co-worker who had been
hospitalized for an unrelated
ailment. But, despite widespread
concern about bioterrorism, the
FBI said there was no evidence
linking the anthrax to a terrorist
group.
On Wednesday, a law
enforcement official said
preliminary testing on the
anthrax that killed Robert
Stevens found a possible match to
a strain connected to an Iowa lab.
The official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said
further tests were necessary to
determine a link.
IT HAPPENED:
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
HIKER FOUND, IN TROUBLE:
Mark Friedman, 46, a hiker who
set off into the snowy White
Mountains wearing shorts, was
found alive and apparently in
good shape before dawn
Thursday. Now he might be
billed for his rescue.
WORLD
BRIEFS
Ugandans struck
by bubonic plague
KAMPALA, UGANDA -
An outbreak of bubonic
plague thought to be caused
by an influx of rats into
several Ugandan villages
has killed 14 people in the
last three weeks, a
government health official
said Thursday.
The rats have entered four
villages in the northwestern
Nebbi district near the Congo
border, said Dr. Dam
Okware, who is coordinating
the government’s efforts to
halt the spread of the fatal
disease.
The rats normally live
outside the villages but
seek shelter during the
annual rainy season, he
said.
So far, 23 people have been
infected with the disease,
which affects the lymph
nodes, and 14 have died, but
nu new cases nave ueen
reported since Oct. 3, Okware
said.
IT HAPPENED
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
NOBEL PRIZE IN
LITERATURE: V.S. Naipaul, a
writer of aching humor and
grim reality, won the Nobel
Prize in literature Thursday
for his “incorruptible
scrutiny” of postcolonial
society and his critical
assessments of Muslim
fundamentalism.
SUB STILL OUT TO SEA: The
docking of the gutted wreck
of the Kursk nuclear
submarine was postponed
until next week because of
the need to more thoroughly
prepare for the delicate
process, the Russian navy
said Thursday.
BODY FOUND ON ROAD: The
dismembered body of a
suspected Islamic militant
was found Thursday in the
West Bank, Palestinian
security officials said.
3 • «m—r CSS
SB «
In Theatres
_October 12_
Columbia still shaken by attacks
BT BRIAN LUURAUUU
THE GAMECOCK
One month has passed since
the terrorist attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Attitudes at USC and Columbia
reflect those around the nation:
heightened sensitivity and grief
for those lost in the worst terror
ist attack yet on U.S. soil.
Laura Woliver, a government
and international studies profes
sor, is worried about how long it
will take the U.S. to actually bring
Osama bin Laden to justice. She
remembers the 10-year war
Russia waged with Afghanistan
and how Russia eventually gave
up the mission.
From a mother’s standpoint, she
said she grieves for the children
who lost their parents in the attacks.
It remains a constant distraction to
her throughout the day, she said. “I
am saddened by the number of peo
ple that lost their lives.”
uver me last month, students
have expressed mostly feelings
of sorrow and worry.
“I worry about an attack on my
home country,” said fourth-year
student Jenny Franzen, a
Germany native.
She said she’s anxious to re
turn home to her family in
Germany. It’s hard for her to con
centrate on school and its de
mands while her home is across
the Atlantic and still might be a
target for terrorists, she said.
“I am ready to reconcile with
my family,” she said.
Russell Haber, director of USC’s
counseling center, confirmed a
slight increase in students affect
ed indirectly by the World Trade
Center and Pentagon attacks.
“The students who were indi
rectly affected by the tragedy were
subconsciously attacked with anx
iety,” he said. Students’ ‘“dream
lives’ were being affected as well,”
he said.
He said their dreams, whic
are linked to the subconscioui
are negative, disastrous and i
some way caused by the event
students have witnessed.
Programming on WIS, a
NBC affiliate, has been sensitiv
to the public’s needs by offerin
its viewers up-to-the-minute ii
formation on the tragedy and th
subsequent war on terrorism.
Steve Wilkins, the station’
head of programming, said, “WI5
in order to keep tlje public ir
formed of what is going on, [has
expanded the news from a half a
hour to a full hour.” He said syr
dicated programs such as “Di
Phil,” a talk show based ii
Columbia, are concentrating no\
on helping people cope with th
terrorist attacks and the war itsel
Wilkins also said the statioi
makes sure all government ad
dresses are televised.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com.
Students
Sister of detained
student back home
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“It depends on the goals of the
student and what they plan to
do,” Rowe said. “Some students
continue their education else
where in the country.”
But Bergeron said students who
linger in the U.S. after completing
a program are here illegally.
“When an individual is in the
U.S. on a student visa and they
complete their studies, they’re re
quired to leave the U.S.,” he said.
Bergeron said any student who
stays on without permission
would be “subject to be taken into
custody and arrested in violation
of U.S. immigration law.”
Attorney General John Ashcroft
said on Monday that 614 people had
been arrested or detained for hav
ing possible ties to the hijackers.
In the weeks since the attacks,
The Kansas City Star and The
Boston Globe have reported oth
er students being detained, but,
in both cases, the FBI has sug
gested the men had contact with
one of the hijackers.
“[Mohammad Alghamdi’s]
family is really scared,” said a
close friend of Wafaa Alghamdi
who, fearing harassment, asked
that her name not be printed.
“They have no idea why this hai
happened,” she said.
Wafaa Aighamdi, who was als<
a previous student of the program
has returned to Saudi Arabia bu
stays in contact with friends at USC
The Saudi Arabian govemmen
has paid the airfare for national!
to return home and provided lega
support for Mohammad Alghamd
and others being detained.
His sister has told friends tha
the school in Saudi Arabia that paic
for her education in the states won’
fund her return to America.
“She is probably never comini
back,” her friend said.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockcitydesk@jiotmail.com.
GAMJCOCKDISCC^TC£yPON
Use Your Good On
1 Maurice's BBQ Bucks! Aliy Purchase,,
"And ye shall know the truth at any Of
and the truth shall make you Maurice'S
11 locations!
v. One coupon pec visit.
S\Not valid with any other offers. -i_l,
II Non redeemable for yh % JOb OppOrtUllltieS
^yiMEHPEBF kSPZf&Ji » M *1 n *1*1*1