_News Digest By The Associated Press
Pope begins visit in Miami
MIAMI — Pope John Paul II,
prepared for dissent but claiming
*■ the support of a “silent majority” of
Catholics, launched his second U.S.
tour Thursday as “a friend of Amer
ica and all Americans.”
President Reagan, who had come
from Washington to welcome the
pontiff on a clear, 90-degree after
noon, made a pointed reference to
Central America as he portrayed
himself as a supporter of human
freedom.
Said the pontiff: “I come as a
friend — a friend of America and of
all Americans: Catholics, Orthodox,
Protestants and Jews, people of
every religion, and all men and
* women of good will.”
“I come as a friend of the poor
and the sick and dying; those who
are struggling with the problems of
each day; those who are rising and
falling and stumbling on thejoumey
of life; those who are seeking and
discovering, and those not yet find
ing, the deep meaning of ‘life, lib
erty and the pursuit of happiness. ’ ”
Reagan came to Miami with Mrs.
Reagan to head the receiving line.
The president's aides had said
privately that Reagan intended to
make an obvious reference to his
support for the Contra rebels, though
he did not mention Nicaragua
specifically.
As his Alitalia 747 headed to
Miami, the pope said he anticipated
protests in the nine cities he will
visit.
“Of course it (dissent) is a serious
problem," he added, “but the other
question is, if that is the dissent of
many, many faithful people, or if it
is a dissent of some very pronounced
theologians or publishers, writers,
perhaps journalists. ”
Michelle Miklo*/Daily Nebraskan
Posters, pope-sicles prominent
MIAMI — Pope John Paul II
didn’t have to peer far out of the
bullet-proof bubble of his popemo
bile for evidence of the peculiar
American sense of humor that adds
to the celebration of a celebrity.
Arturo Mari, the sharp eyed Vati
can photographer, is sure to have
pointed out to him the “Let Us
Spray” sprinkler in a backyard as
the motorcade from the airport
turned off the interstate toward St.
Mary s Cathedral. This example of
papal schlock features a miniature
likeness of the Holy Father that
rotates and flutters its hands as it
asperges the grass in a simulated
blessing.
Along Biscayne Boulevard, the
route of the Orange Bowl parade,
vendors offered relief from the record
September heat with frosted “pope
sides.” They also hawked “pope
com," cuddly “Popey bears," arrayed
in the tall, triangular papal hat
called the mitre and balloons
inflated into a smiling caricature of
the pilgrim from Rome.
Posters and T-shirts with all sorts
of strange devices called attention
to Miami’s first papal visit: "IS THE
POPE A CATHOLIC?" "THIS POLE
TOPS ALL POLLS."
Administration seeks
millions for contra aid
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State
George P. Shultz, arguing that the
alternative is a "communist victory” in
Nicaragua, said Thursday the adminis
tration will ask Congress for $270 mil
lion in aid to the contra rebels for an
18-month period.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Shultz said addi
tional aid to the contras is the best
insurance that Nicaragua will comply
with terms of the Central American
peace agreement it signed last month
in Guatemala.
The announcements drew immediate
criticism from a number of congres
sional Democrats and is certain to pro
duce another round of heated debate
on Capitol Hill over the administra
tion’s Central America policy.
Shultz said, "If the Guatemalan
agreement is to be implemented in a
way that secures a negotiated cease
fire, a democratic opening in Nicara
gua, and accommodation of basic
national security interests ... the
United States must continue to furnish
support to the freedom fighters."
White House spokesman Marlin Fitz
water told reporters the aid request
will “keep pressure on the sandinistas
as we go through the peace process and
let them know the president is serious
in his commitment not to desert the
resistance.”
The Guatemala agreement, among
other steps, calls on the Sandinista
government to arrange a cease fire and
implement democratic reform measures
by Nov. 7 — about five weeks after the
current Contra aid allotment expires
It also calls on the United States to
cease funding the contras.
House Speaker Jim Wright, D Texas,
who has played an increasingly influ
ential role in the Central America
issue, said it was inappropriate for the
administration to make a request for
more contra money while the peace
process was under way.
"Such a request would anticipate
the failure of the peace process. I don’t
anticipate the failure of the peace pro
cess. I anticipate success," he said.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., an
outspoken critic of administration pol
icy in Central America, told Shultz dur
ing Thursday's hearing that a contra
aid request at this time “is the worst
possible signal you could send."
Iran-contra involvement
Poindexter wasn’t scolded
WASHINGTON — After National
Security Adviser John M. Poindexter
confessed to President Reagan last
Nov. 25 of his involvement in the most
damaging incident in Reagan’s politi
cal career, there was no scolding or
reprimand, just sympathy from the
president and those around him.
According to documents and trans
cripts released Thursday by the con
gressional Iran contra committees, Poin
dexter said he was merely told by the
president and his men they were sorry
he had to resign.
In private testimony taken in four
separate sessions last May, June and
July in preparation for Poindexter’s
televised testimony in mid-July, the
Navy r^ar admiral also said he was
never particularly bothered by the idea
of swapping arms to Iran for Americans
held hostage in Lebanon.
Although Reagan has said repeat
edly he never intended to approve such
a swap. Poindexter told the commit
tees: "I frankly don’t find that distaste
ful.’’
“I think that we live in a very imper
fect world, a very dangerous world, and
sometimes you don’t have the best
options or the ideal option, and you’ve
got to do what’s necessary," Poindex
ter said.
Soviets may launch U.S. satellites
Aerospace attorney has contracts to get project off the ground
UFACUiVTnnnmT * *» . . ...... _ .
v>/\anu>uiuiN — a Houston lawyer
says he has contracts with the Soviets
to launch American satellites into space
and hopes to convince the State Depart
ment that the venture poses no risk to
U.S. security.
Aerospace attorney Arthur Dula, just
back from his third trip to Moscow to
discuss the project, said the Soviets’
ability to launch at an appealingly low
price could help Western satellite
owners get their satellites off the
ground while the United States devel
ops a private-launch industry.
It s in the interests of both coun
tries for this kind of commercial activ
ity to take place,” Dula said in a tele
phone interview Tuesday. 'They’re in
the business to earn hard currency.
They’ve got the rockets and hopefully
we've got some use for it."
The launch crunch for Western satel
lite owners began with the January
1986 explosion of the Challenger that
grounded the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration’s space shuttles.
In August 1986, President Reagan an
nounced that commercial spacecraft
would not longer fly on the shuttle, a
decision that was aimed at spurring
the private sector to develop its own
launch capacity.
Since then, three msyor U.S. com
panies have agreements to launch pri
vate satellites, but not until 1989 at the
earliest. The other mqjor western launch
service, the French-based Arianespace,
has booked its eight flights a year
through the beginning of 1991.
The Soviets, however, are flying large
rockets with the capacity to ease the
backlog, Duia said.
Dula declined to specify how many
contracts his company, Space Com
merce Corp., has with the Soviets or
what companies have signed them.
Nebraskan
Editor Mike Raiiley
472-1766
Managing Editor Jen Deselms
Assoc News Editors Jann Nylfeler
Mike Hooper
Editorial
Page Editor Jeanne Bourne
Wire Editor Linda Hartmann
Copy Desk Chief Joan Rezac
Sports Editor Jeff Apel
Arts & Entertain
ment Editor Bill Allen
Asst Arts &
Entertainment Editor Charles Lieurance
Graphics Editor Mark Davis
Asst Graphics Editor Tom Lauder
Photo Chief Paul Vonderlage
Night News Editors Curt Wagner
Scott Harrah
Art Director Brian Barber
General Manager Daniel Shattil
Production Manager Katherine Policky
Advertising
Manager Marcia Millar
Advertising Office
Manager Cindy lake
Creative Director Mike Losee
Publications Board
Chairman Don Johnson.
472 3611
Professional Adviser Don Walton. 473 7301
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ABA committee gives Bork
its highest rating forjudges
WASHINGTON — An Americn Bar
Association committee, in a divided
vote, said Wednesday that Robert H.
Bork is “well qualified” to be on the
high court, the ABA’s highest rating for
a prospective justice.
The ABA said a majority on the 15
member panel endorsed Bork as well
qualified while a minority said it is
either not opposed to Bork or said he is
“not qualified.”
The lawyers’ organization refused to
give a breakdown of the vote by the ABA
Standing Committee on the Federal
Judiciary, and the dissenters’ objec
tions to Bork were not outlined.
As an opponent’s remark, Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph
R. Biden Jr., D-Del., said, "It’s amazing.
I would have expected it would have
been unanimous. They are timid usu
ally about saying someone is not qual
ified."
The lawyer’s organization has three
rating categories in reviewing high
court nominees: well qualified, not
opposed and not qualified. In 1982, the
ABA had unanimously given Bork its
highest rating, exceptionally well qual
ified, in recommending that the Senate
confirm him to be a federal appeals
court judge.
Fewer smoking than ever
ATLANTA — The cigarette smoking
rate in the United States has reached
the lowest level ever reported, with less
than 27 percent of adult Americans
lighting up in 1086, federal health
researchers said Thursday.
That’s down nearly 4 percentage
points from a 1086 survey and down
nearly 14 points in two decades.
The first Adult Use of Tobacco Sur
vey, taken by the national Centers for
Disease Control, questioned more than
13,000 adult Americans late last year.
It found that 26.5 percent of them
smoked 29.5 percent of the men and
23.8 percent of the women.
Those numbers were down from a
National Health Interview Survey of
1985, which found that 30.4 percent of
its survey group smoked — 33.2 per
cent of the men and 27.9 percent of the
women.
In Brief
Missing penitentiary inmate turns himself in
A convicted murderer who walked away Thursday from an assignment
outside the Nebraska State Penitentiary for a suspected rendezvous
with his wife turned himself in, officials said.
C urtis Rowland, 47, was missing for less than an hour after leaving a
stat e Department of Roads maintenance building near the prison where
he had taken a state vehicle for service, said Frank Gunter, director of
the state Department of Correctional Services.
Researchers develop more accurate AIDS test
— Scientists at the Research Institute of Scripps
Clinic in La Jolla, Calif., said Thursday that they have developed an AIDS
diagnositc test that readily can be tailored to detect new strains of the
disease virus and is easier, cheaper and more accurate than existing
test.
The test appears to be superior to the so-called Western Blot test
widely used to confirm infection by the AIDS virus.
w^or drug cartel smashed, Meese says
GT*)N — Twenty-nine people have been arrested and more
i nan 10 tons of marijuana and nearly one ton of cocaine have been seized
U1. j® JreakuP of a m^jor International drug cartel, Attorney General
Edwin Meese HI said.
Meese said the year long investigation, code-named “Operation
ntruder, involved the use of Drug Enforcement Administration agents
as middlemen for distributing marijuana and cocaine to Atlanta,
Denver, Detroit, New York City and West Palm Beach, Fla.
Mysterious blood covers floor of couple’s home
Human blood found on the floors and walls of a house
0 , type 48 that of an elderly dialysis patient who lives
i don 1 know where it came from, a State Crime
Lab official said Thursday.
TumhH!*! CLyd? ^nston said she stepped out of the bathtub late
i J1 .the n°or C0Vered with blood. The blood also was in
th h 8 s,/'7 dutches in the kitchen, living room, bedroom and halls of
the home she and her husband William own
_-______/