Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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O ' t) >' frf ♦ t State Bridge construction emphasizes safety CHARLESTON — Construction on the new $632 million Cooper River Bridge has been relatively accident free, according to safety records. Building large bridges is an in herently dangerous occupation. Construction of the existing bridges claimed 21 lives, 14 on the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge and seven on the Silas N. Pearman Bridge. So far, though, there have been no deaths during construc tion of the new bridge, which has been under work for three years. Clemson speeds up plans for sprinklers CLEMSON—Clemson University trustees have decided to speed up a plan to install sprinkler systems in all university residence halls after a fire destroyed three build ings in a nearby off-campus apart ment complex and displaced 140 students in February. The trustees voted to make fire safety a priority and complete in_ two years afive-year plan to install sprinklers. School officials are still decid ing whether to cover the expect ed $5.3 million cost with a new housing fee or the university’s budget. Nation Study says business audits in decline WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service audited fewer corporations, small businesses and partnerships last year but more in dividual taxpayers, according to a study of government data. Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse concluded that the audit rate for businesses of all sizes slid slightly last year to 2.1 audits for every 1,000 businesses. At the same time, the IRS audited 14 percent more individual tax re turns. The audit rate for individ uals increased last year to 6.5 au rT i Fo rV~»y» ntroy*tr 1 IW1 +ovnnrn**e Oil prices average $1.82 nationally CAMARILLO, CALIF. - Gas prices climbed another 2.5 cents in the past two weeks as high crude oil prices and tight capaci ty contributed to record prices at the pump, a national survey said Sunday. The nationwide average in the past two weeks, ending Friday, was $1.82 for all grades, said Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg survey, which regularly polls 8,000 sta tions across the United States. Gasoline prices are up 31.5 cents per gallon nationwide since late December World Gas explosion kills 6, destroys buildings NUEVO PROGRESO, MEXICO - Mexican soldiers and American firefighters searched through de bris Sunday, a day after a gas ex plosion killed six people and in jured more than a dozen others in this Texas border town. Mexican authorities had re ceived no reports of missing peo ple, but were exploring the wreck age With care in case survivors re mained. Mexican authorities said a gas leak Saturday triggered an explo sion mat leveieu a iwo-siory ce ment building containing a restau rant and clothing stores. The blast also flattened a neighboring three level shopping center where a den tist office, pharmacy and souvenir shops were located. Likud Party sets date to vote on Gaza plan JERUSALEM — Israel’s ruling Likud party will vote April 29 on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s hotly debated plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements. Seeking the vote is an enor mous gamble for Sharon because his hard-line party is divided over the plan and approval is far from assured. Sharon has pledged to honor the outcome and could come under growing pressure to resign if he loses. If he wins approval from Likud’s ,200,000 members, Sharon report edly will seek Cabinet and parlia mentary approval within days. BRIEFS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS Wltfl: . . 1844: Texas becomes a part of U*S. territory. 1945: Harry Truman is sworn in as the 33rd U.S. president. Extended.Forecast Today HI: 74 U LO:59 Tuesday A* \ HI: 72 U LO: 44 Wednesday ◄ ^ -r-w HI: 67 LO: 43 Thursday HI: 70 LO: 46 Friday HI: 76 l0:4s_ Today STUDY ABROAD INFORMATION SESSION: Business Administration Building, Sixth floor, 4 p.m. ISLAMIC AWARENESS WEEK, “ROLE OF WOMEN IN ISLAM”: Gambrell Hall 153,6:30-7:30 p.m. 2004 CASKEY LECTURE, “DECIPHERING LIFE AND CHANGING MEDICINE”: Leroy Hood, Law School Auditorium, 6:45-8 p.m. ROBERT SMALLS LECTURE: Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard University, Belk Auditorium, 7 p.m. JOHN WILLIAMS PIANO RECITAL: School of Music 206,7:30 p.m. “THE EX-GAY MYTH,” A FORUM WITH WAYNE BESEN: CalcottOll, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday ISLAMIC AWARENESS WEEK, DAWAH AND CALLIGRAPHY TABLES: Russell House, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. ROBERT SMALLS LECTURE: Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard University, Business Administration Building, Belk Auditorium, 7 p.m. ISLAMIC AWARENESS WEEK, QURANIC RECITATION AND IAKI ttL: Kusseli House 303, 7-8 p.m. use CHAMBER WINDS: School of Music 206,7:30 p.m. Wednesday EPIDEMIOLOGY SEMINAR, "EFFECTS OF DIABETES ON HEALTH AND LIFE EXPECTANCY: USING DYNAMIC MICRO SIMULATION TO ESTIMATE DIFFERENCES BY EDUCATION, SEX AND RACE”: Dr. Jim Laditka of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Sciences Building 103, 12:30 p.m. LAUREN MECCIA SAXOPHONE RECITAL: School of Music 206,6 p.m. ISLAMIC AWARENESS WEEK, "STEREOTYPES IN RELIGIONS MULTIFAITH PANEL”: Gambrell Hall 153,7-9p.m. LYNN KOMPASS FACULTY PIANO/VOCAL RECITAL: School of Music 206,8 p.m. Thursday ISLAMIC AWARENESS WEEK, DAWAH AND CALLIGRAPHY TABLES: Russell House, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. COLLOQUIUM, “TIME REVERSAL AND THE SECOND LAW: FORWARD INTO THE PAST II”: Physical Science Center 409, Refreshments 3:45 p.m., Colloquium 4 p.m. STUDY ABROAD INFORMATION SESSION: Business Administration Building, Sixth floor, 4 p.m. ADAM BOOTH COMPOSITION RECITAL: School of Music 206, 4:30 p.m. Hilton’s ex-boyfriend drops slander lawsuit LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton's former boyfriend, who appeared with her in a sex video that went public, has dropped his $10 million slander lawsuit against the heiress and her parents. In court papers filed Tuesday, attorneys for Richard Salomon asked to dismiss his claims against the Hiltons. No reason was given for the re quest. Salomon’s attorney, Martin Singer, did not immediately return a call seeking comment late Friday. The heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune made a homemade video with Salomon three years ago. Snippets were sent to various me dia outlets and made the rounds on the Internet. Salomon filed suit last November, alleging Hilton was an “active participant” in making the video, but she and her family have waged a “cold, calculated and ma licious campaign to portray ~ -£-~ image. Singer has said a friend of his client stole the tape. The suit will continue against Hilton publicist Sill Garber, whom Salomon claimed in court papers “orchestrated” a campaign against him. New Nelson album shows jazz influence TYLER, TEXAS - Willie Nelson’s new album carries the title “Nacogdoches,” but that’s about as Texan as it gets. The country-western star, whose hits include “Whiskey River” and “On the Road Again,” plans to release a disc of tradi tional standards on April 29. He made the recordings five years ago at Encore Studios in the historic East Texas town that bears the album’s name. Encore owner Dana Woods said the album PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCI kick Salomon dropped tne sianaer sun against rans ninon. has a “jazz flavor.” “It has a peppy old standard beat to it. There’s a jazz influence there, but it’s not heavy," he said. The disc will be available ex clusively through the Web site www.willienelson.com and at Texas Roadhouse restaurants, a chain sponsoring Nelson’s current tour as part of their longtime part nership. “This is a labor of love that a la bel probably wouldn’t be willing to release,” the 70-year-old singer said. Tarantino planning for third ‘Kill Bill’ NEW YORK - “Kill Bill-Vol. 2” isn’t even in theaters yet, but Quentin Tarantino says he’s already planning volume three. “Oh yeah, initially I was think ing this would be my ‘Dollars’ tril ogy. I was going to do a new one ev ery 10 years. But I need at least If years before I do this again,” the di rector tells Entertainment Weeklj magazine in its April 16 issue. Tarantino says Uma Thurman who plays a bride out for revenge in the series that began last year won’t be the star. “The star will be Vernite Green’s (Vlvica A. Fox’s) daughter Nikki (Ambrosia Kelley). I’ve al ready got the whole mythology Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus) will gei all of Bill’s money. She’ll raise Nikki, who’ll take on The Bride,’ he says. “Nikki deserves her re venge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might ever shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they’re this age.” “Kill Bill — Vol. 2,” co-starring David Carradine, Michael Madser and Daryl Hannah, opens April 16. Berklee to present Cosby with doctorate BOSTON - Bill Cosby will re ceive an honorary doctor of music degree from the Berklee College of Music for his contribution to the world of music. Cosby is a jazz enthusiast and has composed scores for several of his television programs, includ ing “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World” and “Little Bill.” The honor will be bestowed dur- 1 ing the school’s commencement ceremony on May 8, the college an nounced this past week. Cosby will be the keynote speaker. Visa plans new card for Trump purchases ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Donald Trump has put his name on a cred it card — in block letters across the top. Plans for the platinum Trump Rewards Visa credit card were in the works before Trump’s NBC re ality show, “The Apprentice,” scored big with viewers, Bank One Corp. spokeswoman Jessica Iben said. “We see Trump as a really strong and very versatile brand. The brand name carries a very sig nificant reputation with it,” she said Wednesday. Customers who use it for pur chases at Trump’s three Atlantic City casinos earn two points for every dollar spent, and one point for every dollar spent on everyday items elsewhere. For every 2,500 points they re ceive, cardhofders get a $25 gift certificate redeemable for nongambling purchases at the casinos, such as hotel stays, gifts or meals. BRIEFS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE USC.Briefly ‘Ex-Gay Myth’ author to hold discussion The S.C. Gay and Lesbian Community Center and USCBGLSA are sponsoring “The Ex-Gay Myth,” a forum with au thor Wayne Besen, on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. A 5 p.m. book signing at the Happy Bookseller will follow the event. Wayne Besen is the au thor of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth.” A na tionally known activist, Besen spent four years examining the phenomenon of “ex-gay” min istries and reparative therapies. The result is “Anything but Straight,” an expose of the con troversial ex-gay movement. This appearance is part of Besen’s na tional book tour. For more infor mation about Besen and the book, visit www.AnythingButStraight.com. For information about the forum, call Ed Madden at 777-2171. For in formation about Community Center programs, email SCPrideCenter@aol.com. McKissick Museum to have shorter hours McKissick Museum is tern porarily changing its hours for May and June. Beginning May 1, the museum will suspend its Thursday night hours. During May and June the hours of operation will be £ a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. New hours will be announced July 1. IB program ranked first in public schools U.S. News & World Report re cently ranked USC’s international business grad program first among public university pro grains in the country and second among all institutions. This is the 15th consecutive year that the pro gram has been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2. USC was the only public university ranked in the top five, holding its place ahead of Columbia University, Harvard University, Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University. The rank ing appears in the book, “America’s Best ' Graduate Schools” and in an upcoming edi tion of U.S. News & World Report. Rankings are available online at http://www.usnews.com. 15 students receive research fellowships Fifteen USC students received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship awards this year. The program, one of NSF’s oldest, offers support 4 for graduate study in all scientif ic disciplines. The NSF awarded approximately 900 three-year graduate research fellowships, with $115,000 for each winner for three years of support. The NSF winners are John Angelos and John Felkel, both from Aiken, Andrew Frassetto of St. Petersburg Beach, Fla., Theodor Richardson of Lexington, Joshua Spurgeon of Batavia, Ohio, Melanie Rae Timmons of Sumter, Heather Wake of Gambrills, Md., and Patrick Warren of Columbia. The NSF honorable mentions are Marion Lawrence, Brian Mayer and Joyce Stuckey, all of Columbia, Marcus Alexander of Winnsboro, Elizabeth Enlow of West Columbia, Ashley Jones of Rock Hill and Loren Edwin Rogers of La Jolla, Calif. Since the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs was established in 1994, 26 USC students have vvon NSF graduate research fellowships. Pol ice. Report These reports are taken directly from the USC Police Department. 1 ft Each number on the map stands for a crime corresponding with numbered descriptions in the list below. DAY CRIMES (6 a.m.-6 p.m.) □ Violent O Nonviolent NIGHT CRIMES (6p.m.-6a.m.) ■ Violent • Nonviolent CRIMES AT UNKNOWN HOURS H Violent @ Nonviolent Wednesday, April 7 O FTC THEFT, LARCENY OF DRIVER’S LICENSE, FTC FRAUD, COLONIAL CENTER, 801 LINCOLN ST. The victim said someone took her Visa check card without her permission and used it to purchase items. Her driver’s license was also taken. Estimated value: $246. Reporting officer: J.D. Rosier. Thursday, April 8 □ ASSAULT AND BATTERY, 600 BULL ST. Victim Nos. 1 and 2 said multiple suspects assaulted them with a lacrosse stick. Reporting officer: J.D. Rosier. # URCENY OF LICENSE PLATE, S-17 LOT, 1200 WHEAT ST. The complainant said that between April 6 and April 8, someone took the license plate from the victim’s car. Estimated value: $12. Reporting officer: M. Seger. Friday, April 9 O MALICIOUS INJURY TO REAL PROPERTY, MCBRYDE QUADRANGLE E, 618 SUMTER ST. The complainant said he saw Damian Williams punch out the window in the stairwell of the third floor. Williams had slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol about him. He had fresh abrasions on both hands across his knuckles. He was placed under arrest. Estimated damage: $150. Reporting officer: N. DeHaai.