By The
Associated Press
Edited by Jennifer Mlvatsky
News Digest
Tuesday, January 10,1995 Page 2
Flooding evacuates
California residents
FORESTVILLE, Calif. — Giant
redwood trees toppled and peoj
fled resort communities Monday
the hills north of San Francisco
seven days of rain caused the region’s
worst flooding in nearly a decade.
.5 8
Pacific Gas &
Electric Co customer*
wereexpeoenctng
scattered power ot
along the coast, and 9,000 people m
Merit* Sonoma.n Mandodna and
AP
Thousands of people were evacu
ated and power was knocked out to
tens of thousands of homes as the
water washed over sections of
California’s wine country.
A garbage collector was killed
Monday in Monterey County when a
tree toppled onto his truck, crushing
the cab.
“This has the potential to be a full
blown natural disaster,” said meteo
rologist Steve Newman.
Rainfall slowed over much of the
northern half of the state as the storm
moved toward Southern California,
where flooding last week caused mil
lions in damage. However, more
storms were on the way off the Pa
cific, and forecasters said they saw
no real break in the rain all week.
It was the worst flooding in the
hilly, wooded region since the
Valentine’s Day flood of1986, which
followed nine days of rain. Some
50,000 people were driven from their
homes by that deluge.
From a rooftop in Forestville, about
55 miles north of San Francisco, 21
year-old Greg Stocker and his dog
Max ate ice cream as they watched
the Russian River rise up past the first
floor of their house.
“Been through it once in ’86,” he
said. “I guess we can do it again.”
Two helicopters were used to
evacuate dozens of people living in
the flooded areas along the Russian
River, said Jim Cook, a search and
rescue volunteer with the Sonoma
County Sheriff’s Department.
Streams also flooded around the
Napa Valley, but the region’s vine
yards are mostly on slopes away from
streams, and grapevines are dormant
at this time of year. “They’ve gone
through this before,” saidKate Jones,
spokeswoman for die Napa Valley
Vintners Association.
The Russian, Napa, Petaluma, Eel,
Smith, Van Duzen and Sacramento
rivers were all near or past flood
stage Monday.
The Russian River reached 45 feet
at Guemeville, 11 feet over flood
stage. The record at the summer va
cation community was 48.8 feet in
1986.
As a young man in shorts and a
football jersey cruised by on a motor
ized surfboard, a huge redwood
crashed into the water, snapping
power lines. Nearby, military trucks
took evacuees to shelters.
All roads into Guemeville, about
60 miles north of San Francisco, were
cut off with only emergency vehicles
allowed in and out.
The Red Cross had 14 shelters
open across the region; officials said
more than 2,650 families in six coun
ties were forced from their homes or
were in immediate danger of being
forced out. But that figure didn’t take
into account those who fled their
homes for motels or to stay with
friends and relatives.
Trial begins for Muslims
accused of terrorist acts
NEW YORK — The trial of a
blind Egyptian cleric and 11 other
Muslims accused of plotting bomb
ings and assassinations in a “war
of urban terrorism” got under way
in a heavily guarded courthouse
Monday with prospective jurors
asked about race, religion and their
feelings about Arabs.
U.S. District Judge Michael
Mukasey outlined the case to 100
potential jurors who were crammed
into the courtroom so tightly that
11 had to stand. At least a dozen
marshals lined the courtroom and
nearby hallways, andabomb-sniff
ing dog with its own photo ID
checked the courtroom.
The defendants, charged with
seditious conspiracy, are accused
of plotting the 1993 World Trade
Center blast as well as planning to
bomb the United Nations and two
tunnels and a bridge connecting
New York City to New Jersey.
They also are accused of plot
ting to assassinate Egyptian Presi
dent Hosni Mubarak and kidnap or
kill American politicians or judges.
If convicted the defendants face
life in prison.
The Trade Center bombing was
the only act of terrorism actually
carried out; the alleged plot was
broken up with die help of an in
formant. Four men were convicted
last year in the Trade Center blast,
which killed six people and in
jured more than 1,000.
Prosecutors allege Sheik Omar
Abdel-Rahman was the master
mind of what they call “a war. of
urban terrorism against the United
States.” The 56-year-old blind
cleric turned toward the would-be
jurors and smiled when introduced.
The potential jurors were not
permitted to see handcuffs on the
defendants, all of whom were wear
ing suits.
The judge summarized the in
dictment as describing a conspiracy
to commit violent acts “as away of
opposing the United States and
United States policy in the Middle
East.”
Prosecutors have videotapes and
secretly recorded conversations ob
tained with the help of an infor
mant.
The defense maintains the men
on trial were unwittingly enlisted
to perform seemingly innocent
tasks that contributed to alleged
crimes, or were entrapped by an
overzealous informant.
Potential jurors were given 19
pages of questions designed to
weed out bias in the search for 12
jurors and six alternates, who will
remain anonymous through what
is expected to be a six- to nine
month trial.
Mukasey said he wants the jury
seated by Jan. 30.
News...
in a Minute
Gingrich fires new House historian
WASHINGTON — Speaker Newt Gingrich fired his new House
historian Monday night after learning she chaired a 1986 review panel
that complained a Holocaust course failed to present Nazi and Ku Klux
Klan views.
Gingrich acted swiftly after learning about the background of Dr.
Christina Jeffrey - who successfully recommended that the Depart
ment of Education decline a federal grant for the course.
“(Gingrich) learned about the matter six years ago earlier this
evening,” Gingrich spokesman Tony Blankley said Monday night. “As
soon as he corroborated those facts, he asked for her resignation,
effective this evening. He still holds her in high esteem.”
Ailing child’s parents get car stolen
OMAHA, Neb. — Watching their 10-month-old son, Christopher,
struggle in the aftermath of transplant surgery, Carla and Ken Woolum
of Boone ville, Miss., had their car stolen Saturday night from Omaha’s
Ronald McDonald House, where the out-of-town relatives of ailing
children can stay.
Ken traveled from. Boone ville to Omaha to join his wife at their
child’s side in the intensive care unit at the Medical Center after the
child took a turn for the worse. Christopher had received a liver and
small bowel transplant at the center in November.
“We’re just in shock,” said Mrs. Woolum. “We couldn’t believe
someone would go so low.”
She said she and her husband haven’t had time to fret over their car.
“I think we can deal with the car,” Mrs. Woolum said. “It’s just our
baby we want to get better.”
Family gathers for a frigid picnic
OMAHA—An Omaha family never has to worry about pesky ants
cradling their annual picnic - although frostbite could be a concern.
An estimated 150 relatives and friends joined Jim and Patty Suiter
in 20-degree weather Sunday for their 20th annual January picnic, held
this year at Lake Manawa in Iowa.
“It just started as something fun to do, but now it’s really a
tradition,” Mrs. Suiter said.
Adding a little charity to the event, the family began to collect
clothing five years ago for the Siena and Francis House, a homeless
shelter in Omaha.
Mrs. Suiter said the picnic has never been postponed due to weather,
and that her family and friends look forward each year to eating chili,
sipping hot chocolate and playing winter games in the snow.
“It’s not very cold and the wind is kind today,” she said. “It’s just
a beautiful day for a picnic.”
Japan, U.S. officials optimistic,
conflict avoided before summit
WASHINGTON—U.S. and Japa
nese officials went out of their way
Monday to minimize serious trade
frictions as President Clinton pre
pared for a summit likely to stand in
stark contrast to his meeting with
Japan's prime minister a year ago.
Despite the fact that America’s
trade deficit with Japan hit a record
last year - an estimated $62 billion -
top administration officials played
down trade tensions and said eco
nomic issues would only be one of
the items on the agenda when Prime
Minister Tomiichi Murayama meets
with Clinton on Wednesday.
Officials said optimistically that
negotiators would be able to strike
one trade deal, involving financial
services, in time forit to be announced
when the two leaders meet.
However, that was expected to be
the only trade breakthrough and even
it was not assured.
Despite this lack of progress, the
talk leading up to this summit has
been remarkably low key compared
to U.S. rhetoric a year ago when
Clinton met with then-Prime Minis
ter Morihiro Hosokawa.
That summit ended in failure as
the Japanese refused to agree to
American demands for measurable
targets for opening Japan’s markets.
Clinton said it was better to let the
talks collapse rather than accept “an
empty agreement.”
The fight was over the so-called
framework accord reached between
the two countries in July 1993. Under
that deal, Japan was supposed to reach
market opening agreements by Feb
ruary 1994 in four priority areas -
autos and auto parts, insurance, and
government purchases of telecom
munications and medical products.
Deals were reached in October,
eight months behind schedule, in the
areas of government procurement and
insurance. But both countries remain
far apart on the biggest dispute, the
auto sector, which accounts for 60
percent of America’s deficit with Ja
pan.
That issue, however, was effec
tively removed from the agenda of
the summit meeting by adecision last
week to restart the stalled auto talks
later this month at a lower level.
U.S. officials, who last year talked
about the absolute need to pry Japan’s
markets open, were taking a much
softer approach this time around.
Walter Mondale, America’s am
bassador to Japan, told reporters
Monday that there was a concern on
the part of the United States that the
trade frictions with Japan were over
shadowing all other aspects of rela
tions between the two countries.
“These trade frictions tend to get
all the news, ’ ’ he said. “If you are not
careful, the other good, solid things
going on get lost.”
Mondale hailed the market-open
ing deals that have been reached. He
noted that U.S.-grown apples went
on sale in Japan for the first time on
Monday, ending 24 years of negotia
tions on the subject.
Takakazu Kuriyama, Japan’s am
bassador to the United States, told
reporters at a separate briefing that
this week’s summit would not have
any “divisive or contentious” issue
on the agenda, but instead would set
the stage for a state visit by Clinton to
Japan next fall.
Trade analysts said the adminis
tration had abandoned its hardline
approach with Japan because it was
not working and was upsetting global
currency markets, who pushed the
dollar to record lows last year against
the yen.
Ndbtraskan
Editor JeffZMeny
472-1766
Managing Editor Jeff Robb
Assoc. News Editors DeOra Janssen
Douo Kouma
Opinion Page Editor Mattwoody
_ Wire Editor Jennifer Miratsky
Copy Oesk Editor Kristin Armstrong
Sports Editor Tim Pearson
Arts & Entertainment Editor Rainbow Rowell
Photo Director Jeff Haller
Night News Editors RondaVluin
Jamie Karl
Damon Lee
• Pit Uaminankl
r« namDrecni
Art Director Kai Wilken
_ General Manager Dan Shattil
Production Manager Katherine Poikky
Advertising Manager Amy Struthers
Asst. Advertising Manager Sheri Krajewski
Publications Board Chairman Tim Hedegaard, <38 B268
Professional Adviser Don Walton, 473-7301
FAX NUMBER 472-1761
the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0448,
The Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-080) is published by the UNL
Monday through Friday during the academic year; weeny during
Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to me uauy raeorasKan oy pnoni
thry^hFriday.The pubftcatso has access to the Publications Board. For information, contact
Postmaster: lend addSfch^g^Tto the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.,Lineoln, NE 68588-0448. Second-class postage
p8ld 8t Lincoln, Nc.
ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1884 DAILY NEBRASKAN
472-1763 between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday
m Hedegaard, 438-9258.