Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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STATE S.C. Republicans reach out to blacks ROCK HILL (AP) -The South Carolina Republican Party will begin running ra dio ads in the coming weeks as part of a statewide cam paign to reach out to blacks. Blacks, who make up about 30 percent of the state’s popu lation, were considered a key voting block in the election of Democrat Gov. Jim Hodges four years ago. Republicans hope to draw some of those voters away from the Democrats in this election year. Political observers debate the reasons blacks became so closely associated with the Democratic Party. After the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks voted for Republicans, the party of Abraham Lincoln. Some historians point to the John F. Kennedy admin istration in the early ‘60s and his receptiveness to the civil rights movement as the time when blacks turned Democratic and when many white Southern Democrats registered their opposition by becoming Republicans. Bankruptcies see alarming increase COLUMBIA (AP) - The number of residents across the state filing for bankruptcy and losing their homes is increas ing, due in part to easy credit and job losses. The number of South Carolina individuals filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy—often used to stop home foreclosures —jumped 53 percent from 1997 to 2001. During the same peri od nationwide, Chapter 13 bankruptcies rose 7 percent, according to court and lending -- data analyzed by The State. The average number of South Carolina home loans in foreclosure jumped 140 percent - statewide from 1997 to 2001, ac cording to the Mortgage - Bankers Association of America. Nearly 1 in 66 proper ties with a mortgage was in foreclosure during the last year. Foreclosure sales — when a court auctions property be cause of missed mortgage pay ments —jumped nearly 70 per cent in 11 of the state’s largest counties since 1997, the paper reported. More than 3,900 prop erties were sold through fore closure last year in those 11 counties. NATION Airline security had fingered hijackers WASHINGTON (AP) - Nine of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were singled out for increased scrutiny but still were al lowed to board the planes that later smashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. A government official con firmed that six hijackers were flagged by a computerized air line passenger profiling sys tem. Two others were singled out because of questions with their identification, and a third because he was travel ing with one of the passengers with questionable ID, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Under the security proce dures in place at the time, pas sengers flagged for greater scrutiny would have their checked luggage inspected for explosives, either by hand or by machine. The passengers and the bags they carry on al ready are screened for weapons. The hijackers used box cut ters and knives to take over the airplanes, but those items were allowed to be carried on board before the terrorist at tacks. Alaska on field plan dead, Daschle says WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush’s plan to drill for oil in a remote Alaska wildlife refuge is all but dead for now, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Sunday. Debate on the administra tion’s energy plan is expected to begin in the Senate this week. An amendment that would ex pand domestic production of fuel — principally by drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — is opposed by most Senate Democrats and about a half-dozen GOP senators. Republicans have acknowledged they lack the 60 votes needed to break an expected Democratic filibuster on the bill. Daschle, D-S JD., said on NBC’s "Meet the Press” that opponents still had not rounded up the re quired votes. When asked, "So it’s dead?” Daschle said, "Well, at least right now it is, correct.” Daschle and others have said raising federal mileage stan dards for automobiles would save more oil than drilling in the refuge could produce. POLICE PROTESTS: About 150 marchers gathered outside a federal courthouse in New York on Sunday to protest the overturning of the convictions of three former police officers in the torture case of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima. WORLD Sniper fire triggers raids on Palestine JERUSALEM (AP)-Taking aim from a hilltop, a sniper killed 10 soldiers and civilians at a checkpoint Sunday in the deadliest of a two-day string of Palestinian attacks that killed 21 Israelis. Israel sent tanks and heli copters on retaliatory raids that hit several Palestinian Authority security targets, killing four Palestinian police men, while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Cabinet weighed additional military action., Following the weekend bloodletting, Sharon huddled with senior government min isters and security officials and his office issued a statement just before midnight saying that the inner security Cabinet had approved military plans for ongoing attacks on Palestinian targets. “Ministers approved an op erational program presented by the army to apply constant military pressure on the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian terror organiza tions,” the statement said. “Its object is to halt Palestinian ter ror.” It gave no further details. Recent days have seen some of the worst carnage in months, and bitter comments by both sides pointed to further confrontations. Switzerland votes to join United Nations GENEVA (AP) — Swiss voters approved joining the United Nations on Sunday, finding the prospect of a greater role in to day’s interlinked world more compelling than fears that it would threaten the nation’s cen turies-old tradition of neutrality. The country will become the United Nations’ 190th member af ter sitting on the sidelines for more than five decades. Only the Vatican remains outside the world body. During the Cold War, Switzerland feared U.N. member ship would sweep it into the bat tles between East and West. More recently, opponents have feared having to submit to the political dictates of the Security Council. The Swiss have practiced forms of neutrality on and off since the 13th century, but the principle was laid down formally in the 1815 Treaty of Paris that ended the Napoleonic Wars. In that pact, European powers guaranteed the “’perpetual neutrality” of Switzerland. The Swiss them selves made it part of their 1848 constitution. NEW MOSQUE CLOSED: Israel announced a permanent halt Sunday on construction of a large mosque next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, drawing strong condemnation from Muslims there. Afghanistan CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Pentagon said. Six Americans were injured and airlifted out, a doctor at Gardez hospital said. The assault, which began with bombing raids late Friday, was be lieved to be the largest joint U.S. Afghan military operation of the 5-month-old terrorism war. Pro U.S. Afghan troops approached the hide-outs from three direc tions to isolate the fighters and prevent them from escaping. Sunday’s airstrikes repeatedly pounded targets in the Shah-e-Kot mountains 20 miles east of Surmad and the Kharwar range to the west in Logar province. The bombardments sent thick, black plumes of smoke above the snowcapped peaks and shook the ground in Surmad, where a con stant stream of bombers streaked overhead. One Afghan commander, Abdul Matin Hassan Kheil, said his men came under fire Sunday from mor tars, heavy artillery and rockets fired from al-Qaida positions where Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis were believed holed up. “You can see it is a big opera tion,” said Kheil, who led 50 fight ers at a front-line position. He said coalition forces were dug in about one mile from al-Qaida bases in the Shah-e-Kot mountains. At least three Chinook heli copters, which zoomed toward the mountains Sunday afternoon flanked by two jets, were supplying ammunition and food to American forces still in the hills, he said. Kheil estimated it would take a month to push the fighters from their mountain strongholds. Saturday’s ground attack, car ried out in snow-covered moun tains ranging from 8,300 to 11,600 feet above sea level, appeared to have made little headway in dis lodging Taliban and al-Qaida fight ers who are regrouping in the hills of eastern Afghanistan. “Firefights have been intense at times in heavy combat action,” Maj. A.C. Roper, spokesman of the 101st Army division in southern Kandahar, told reporters Sunday. A U.S.-led force of 1,500 Afghan allies, U.S. Special Forces and troops from the Army’s 101st Airborne assault troops had as sembled for the battle, a U.S. de fense official said. Central Command said that coalition partners participating in the operation include Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Australia and Canada, although it was not clear if all those countries were operating on the ground. The Afghan allies made up the bulk of the force and approached the front from three different di rections, some of them using pick up trucks rented for $200 from the Gardez bazaar, Afghans said. After the ground attack stalled, U.S. planes late Saturday dropped newly developed bombs designed to send suffocating blasts through cave complexes, military officials said. The “thermobaric” bombs were test eu ill ueutJiiiut;!, cuiu uuiuicus aciiu in January that they would be rushed to the region for the war. Fighter Raza Khan said the American was killed when a pick up truck he was riding in was hit by a mortar shell. Six injured Americans were airlifted out of the area by heli copter, said a doctor at Gardez hospital, Najibullah. Surmad res idents said helicopters had gone into the mountains amid heavy firing Saturday. Afghan officials say as many as 5,000 al-Qaida and Taliban fighters are regrouping in eastern Afghanistan and just over the bor der in Pakistan, urging the faithful to wage holy war against U.S. forces. International aid workers and Afghan sources say al-Qaida and Taliban hiding in the Kharwar dis trict targeted Sunday by airstrikes are being protected by the Taliban’s former deputy foreign minister, Abdul Rehman Zahid. Neither the former Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar nor al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is believed to be in the area. BRIEFLY Spring Fling Carnival offers prizes, games The Spring Fling Carnival will be today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Greene Street. Free food, games and prizes are available to students. The carnival is a part of Safe Spring Break Week 2002, and is sponsored by the Student Life Department. 3 finalists remain for vice provost job After a national search, three finalists are being considered for the position of vice provost and dean for libraries and instruc tional services. Joanne Eustis is a university library director at Case Western Reserve University, John Meador Jr. is a university li braries dean at the University of Mississippi and Paul Willis is university libraries director and a law professor at the University ofKentucky. The new dean will succeed George Terry, who died in October. Ex-Congressman to speak at McKissick Former U.S. Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Sanford will dis cuss the education part of his campaign at a news conference at 1:30 p.m. today on the front steps of McKissick Museum. _ “Would you like fries. *with that?” Visit us online to see a list of available courses. www.octech.edu GCtech Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College Chose from our day or evening classes, two mini-sessions, or take an Internet class. We offer very affordable tuition and fully transferable courses. Close to home so you can still work that summer dream job, too! APPLY NOW! Early registration begins April 17. Open registration for those who do not register early is May 20. Summer Classes begin May 22. start here 3250 St. Matthews Road Orangeburg, SC 29118 aa/eoe (803) 536.0311 800.813.6519' Uncertain? 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