The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, November 11, 1998, Page 2, Image 2
EBER 11, 1998__ Sniper, police officer shot, killed in St Joseph $T. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) - A sniper opened fire downtown Tuesday night, killing a police officer and wounding at least three others before authorities fatally shot the gunman. Witnesses told police the man began firing while walking up the street, shooting randomly at people as he walked toward the Calvary Baptist Church, Lt. Jim Connors said. The first officer to respond to the scene was shot as soon as he got out of his car, authorities said. The officer was pronounced dead * soon after he arrived at Heartland Regional Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Stuck said. One bystander was in stable condition, and another was in surgery Tuesday night, Stuck said. The sniper was shot and killed by police at the scene, Connors said. Connors said police shot the gun tnan after cornering him behind the churc^i. The gunman had continued firing at them, he said. Michael Boone, a grocery store night manager, said he saw the sniper walking toward his store. “We just heard all kinds ofgun ■ fire, and people were running inside * the store for cover,” Boone said. ‘*We ' tried to move them all into the back where there could be safe, but people were really scared. “There were a lot of bodies lying , in the street ” Vietnam Memorial wall to appear on Internet site WASHINGTON (AP) - The 58,196 names etched on the Vietnam Memorial wall will be posted on the Internet together with the spoken memories of their families, Vice f President A1 Gore said Tuesday. { Users will be able to visit the Web site, http://www. thevirtualwall. org, click on a deceased veteran’s name and in many cases hear audio remem brances from family members or friends. In January, Web site visitors will be able to experience a “virtual wall,” a recreation of the look of the Vietnam Memorial wall at its loca tion near the national mall. More warships sent to Persian Gulf ■ Defense Secretary Cohen warns that Iraq has been put on notice. WASHINGTON (AP) - The * Pentagon stepped up the movement of warships to the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, and the Clinton administra tion swept aside the idea of negotia tions with Iraq over U.N. weapons inspections. Defense Secretary William Cohen warned that if Saddam Hussein continues to refuse the U.N. inspections, ne usks striKes tnat would cause a “significant degrada tion” of his military strength. “Iraq is on notice,” Cohen said. “The military option is still on the table” President Clinton met for 90 minutes with his top national securi ty advisers, reviewing military and diplomatic options. He also worked the phones, conferring with leaders in Britain and Israel. State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said there were limits to diplomacy. “What is not needed, and there is no plan for it, is negotiations with Saddam Hussein,” Rubin said. “We have no doubt many governments are conveying that message.” With inspections suspended, “he will be able ta reconstitute his weapons in a matter of months, not years,” hesaid. “This cannot go on indefinitely. Saddam Hussein is not an abstract threat” The latest standoff began after Iraq announced Oct. 31 it was halt ing cooperation with the U.N. Special Commission, which is responsible for overseeing the destruction of Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles. Iraq must get rid of its weapons of mass destruction before the Security Council will lift the sanc tions that were imposed on its sale of oil following the Gulf War. uonen, speajang ai a rentagon photo session with Singapore’s defense minister, Tony Tan, said he has decided to hasten the movement of the USS Enterprise aircraft carri er and a group of Marine warships into the region in case the United States chooses military action. Asked what airstrikes might achieve, Cohen said the goal would be to make sure Iraq, in the absence of U.N. inspections, was not recon stituting its weaponry. “We’d consider the possibility of degrading his capability of manu facturing the weapons of mass destruction, or the means of deliver ing them, of posing a threat to the region.... It would be a significant degradation of his capacity,” Cohen said, adding that he hoped it would not be necessary to take such steps. At present, there are 23,500 U.S. troops, 23 ships and 173 aircraft in the Gulf region. Eight of the ships are loaded with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, believed to be a top choice for hitting poten tial Iraqi targets, should a strike be ordered. ■ _ .{ : VrX' j Iraq hopes for support from other Arab nations BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)-Iraqis reaching out for Arab support in its dispute with U.N. weapons inspec tors in hopes of leaving toe United States isolated in its campaign to rally backing for the use of force against toe Iraqis. Iraq’s foreign minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, chose an Arab television station - Qatar's Al-Jazeera - for his first interview on toe dispute. Al-Sahhaf warned that “any use of military force against Iraq would lead to destabilizing toe region.” In mobilizing support for Iraq, the country’s trade minister, Mohammed Mehdi Saleh, said Tuesday that America “will lose from any strike that takes place, and Iraq will gain.” Asked how, Saleh said “politi cally.” It reflected Iraq’s thinking that sympathy for toe Iraqis - espe cially in Arab nations - would leave the United States isolated in its campaign against the Baghdad regime. Saleh made his comments at the closing ceremony of a 10-day trade fair in Baghdad that drew del egations from 30 countries, 17 of them Arab or predominantly Muslim. There already are hints Iraq is prepared to go further in spite of U.S. and British threats of military action. i Al-Thawra, a newspaper pub lished by Saddam’s ruling Baath Party, said in an editorial Monday that “the language of threats will make it legitimate for Iraq to review everything concerning its relations with UNSCOM and the Security Council” Western diplomats said this implied that Iraq could reject long term U.N. monitoring of its weaponry or payments of war repa rations, as required under U.N. res olutions. Netanyahu prepared to ratify peace accord TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday he would convene his Cabinet to ratify the Mideast peace accord signed in Washington last month, indicating he is now satisfied with Palestinian security assurances. Netanyahu has postponed the Cabinet debate three times, saying he needed more clarifications from the Palestinians about their campaign against Islamic militants. Last Friday, the ministers had just begun their second day of debate when the militant Islamic Jihad group carried out a suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s market, killing the two bombers and wounding 21 Israelis. , In response, Netanyahu broke off the Cabinet meeting and said he would not reconvene the ministers until the Palestinian Authority out lined how it would prevent attacks against Israelis. On Tuesday he said new guaran tees led him to believe that Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority would take “practical steps” against Islamic militants. > The Cabinet was scheduled to meet in Jerusalem today. Both the United States and the Palestinians welcomed the announce ment Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had urged Netanyahu to stick to the original 12-week timetable of the accord under which Israel is to withdraw from 13 percent of the West Bank by the end of January, in exchange for a Palestinian anti-terror campaign. If the Cabinet ratifies the agree ment, Israel might still be able to meet its first commitment Nov. 16, an ini tial troop pullback from 2 percent of the West Bank. “I hope that the agreement will be ratified tomorrow and that they will begin to make up for lost time,” said senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. He said the delays have already held up, among other things, the opening of the Palestinian airport and the establishment of several com mittees stipulated in the accord. The Wye agreement, signed in Washington on Oct. 23, says the Palestine National Council and other Palestinian organizations will meet in mid-December to “reaffirm” a January letter by Arafat to President Clinton that lists the PLO charter clauses considered annulled. 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(402) 472-1761 World Wide Web: www.unl.edu/DailyNeb The Daily Nebraskan (USPS 144-080) fepubfabed by the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 6858B0448, Monday through Friday duming the academic yean weekly during the summer sessions.Thepubfc has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Da9y Nebraskan by aMng (402)472-2588. Subscriptions ate $55 tor one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daly Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodical postage raid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1996 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Storm strikes Nebraska; power out, roads blocked The Associated Press It was supposed to be a practice winter storm dnll for Nebraska weather officials Tuesday, but that was post poned. Instead, they had to deal with the real tiling. The first major storm of the fall winter season smacked Nebraska with relatively light snow totals but with bliz zard-force winds and subzero wind chills. There were reports of scattered power outages, downed trees and traffic problems so treacherous that highways woe closed or travel restricted on roads from central Nebraska into the north east Many motonsts were stranded, schools closed or class starts delayed, businesses shut down, and some resi dents woe left in the dark. Wind chills dipped to 20 below in northwest Nebraska early Tuesday in Ihe aftermath of the storm that hit the area with snow and blowing snow late Monday afternoon. Northeast and north-central Nebraska received a shot Tuesday after into ice and snow. Snowfall totals of 3 to 4 inches were reported in the Norfolk area. Three inches fell in Brewster and 2 in Anselmo, Eustis andHyannis. The problem, however, was the wind. The National Weather Service reported winds gusting over 50 mph in Omaha, Fremont, O’Neill, Ainsworth, Ogallala, Cohrmbus, Tekamah, Ord and Aurora at midmoming. O’Neill had a gust that hit 62 mph and Tekamah offi cials said gusts hit 61 mph there. That left single-digit wind chills above and below zero fiom one aid of the state to die other Workers at the Nebraska Public Power District were busy Tuesday morning repairing power lines affected by the storm. Betti Boesch, NPPD regional man ager in Norfolk, said employees started working at 2 a.m. to restore power lost by an estimated 1,000 customers in an 18-county area. “We.had crews responding from Valentine all the way tell Dakota City and Ponca,” Boesch said. The outages, she said, were due to strong winds and ice on power lines. Also having an impact were leaves still left on die trees, which made die ice laden branches heavier and caused some to snap, taking power lines with them. Les Mann of rural Wayne said he was stuck on U.S. Highway 275 for two hours on his drive to work at Norfolk before he decided to turn back home. “There was a string of cars at least two miles tong in front of me,” he said. “I never saw the front end of it” Mann said he drove by at least 50 westbound vehicles that were blocked by the incident, and he expected Highway 215 to be blocked most of Tuesday morning. ■ ~ •- .... • «-— There was a string of cars at least two miles long in front of me. I never saw the front end of it.” LesMann stranded motorist