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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 2000)
. .' i • --- Candidates prepare for caucus Democrats, Republicans make last-minute appearances to sain support DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - On the eve of Iowa’s caucuses, Republican and Democratic presidential candidates canvassed churches and national talk shows Sunday, scouring this snow crusted state for last-minute support even as they began looking ahead to contests in. New Hampshire and beyond. “This is the first step in several steps of the journey,” Bill Bradley, the former New Jersey senator who trails Vice President A1 Gore in Democratic polls, said on CBS. Entering the first election contest of Campaign 2000, Republican George W. Bush and Gore held wide leads in polls of voters who planned to visit schools, civic clubs, fire stations and other sites today to support one of eight major con testants. The underdog candidates, all resigned to losing, were shooting for face-saving finishes and Iowa’s 1rue reward: Momentum for New Hampshire’s Feb. I primary. “This is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Republican Steve Forbes on NBC’s “Meet die Press.” The footrace in Iowa, a test of polit ical organization, favors the national front-runners. A Des Moines Sunday Register poll of l ,200 likely caucus goers showed Gore leading Bradley among Democrats 56 percent to 28 per cent. Bush led Forbes 43 percent to 20 percent in the Jan. 16-21 survey, which had an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Bradley is in danger of finishing worse than expected in a contest that traditionally punishes candidates who fail to meet expectations. His latest poll rating was beneath the intentionally-low threshold his advisers set as a measure of accom plishment: The 31 percent showing by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in a second-place finish behind then President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 caucuses. With the rest of the GOP field in single digits, Forbes has long said he is the conservative alternative to Bush. "The argument would carry greater weight if, after pouring millions of dol lars into Iowa since his failed 1996 bid, Forbes fares better than the new poll suggests - 23 points behind Bush. The polls show that about one in 10 voters are undecided, giving the candi dates incentive to campaign hard Sunday. ‘The only thing I know to do is to encourage our folks to get out and vote. We need as big a vote as possible,” Bush told reporters between campaign stops. In a lengthy interview with ABC, Bush struggled with his explanation for supporting a sales tax increase in Texas after making a no-tax pledge. The sec ond-term governor said he had quali U .’’The only thing I know to do is to encourage our folks to get out and vote. We need as big a vote as possible.” fied the promise by also pledging to reform education fiinding in the state, an effort that presumably led to the tax proposal. Dismissing the issue, Bush said “There’s pledges all the time” and reviewed a record as governor that included two major tax cuts. He also continued to flesh out his views on abortion, a critical issue to many GOP caucus-goers. Asked about the topic for the fourth day, he predicted that Texas would outlaw first-trimester abortions if the Supreme Court reversed itself and let states impose strict anti-abortion laws - a position Bush says the court should take. Maintaining a caucus tradition, sev eral campaigns had supporters papering churches and their parking lots with leaflets. Religious conservatives repre sent a third of likely caucus-goers and are more likely than most voters to attend the sessions. Though Forbes is expected to get a lion’s share of the conservative vote, former ambassador Alan Keyes, George W. Bush GOP presidential candidate Washington activist Gary Bauer and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah are carving up the religious base. Keyes, Bauer and Hatch are likely competing for third place; finishing lower could doom their candidacies. Addressing a congregation on the city’s industrial north side, Bauer said Christians should vote more on princi ple than on “selfish” issues such as taxes. “Do what you think God would have you do,” he said. Looking to New Hampshire, Bush pressed his case against Sen. John McCain’s tax-cutting package. The Arizona senator, who did not campaign in Iowa, is in a tight race with Bush in the New England state. Voters sized up the field for the last time. Mark Steenhoek, 32, of Ankeny, said he was leaning toward Keyes. “It’s more of him being such an underdog and trying so hard and keep ing at it that makes me like him so much,” he said. Time Warner plans for new merger . ■ Company that just joined with America Online wants to add EMI Records as well. NEW YORK (AP) - Time Warner, which only two weeks ago announced a stunning $145 billion merger with America Online, plans to shake up the music industry through a $20 billion merger with EMI Records, home of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, a source familiar with the deal said Sunday. The two companies will formally announce the deal in London today, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press. London-based EMI confirmed Sunday that it is in the final stages of negotiations and said an announce ment is forthcoming. Time Warner in New York also acknowledged the talks, but spokesman Edward Adler said, “No deal has been signed.” The deal, if it is approved by reg ulators and shareholders, would unite Time Warner’s music division with EMI’s music division. It would likely be a boost for music sales over the Internet. Both Warner and EMI have been testing ways to let customers digitally download music via their computers. The new company would have a very captive audience with America Online’s 20 million sub scribers. The merged company, to be called Warner EMI Music, would be the second-largest music company with more than $8 billion in annual sales. Only Seagram’s ^Universal Music would be bigger. EMI brings to the deal the Virgin, Priority and Capitol record labels - including names like the Spice Girls, Van Morrison and Frank Sinatra. Time Warner contributes its Atlantic, Elektra and Warner Brothers labels that include Cher, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Madonna, Metallica and REM. According to the source, the negotiations between Warner and EMI started before powerbrokers dis cussed Time Warner’s deal with America Online. Roger Ames, chair man of Warner Music Group, approached his longtime friend Ken Berry, head of EMI’s music division, in the fall. The two structured a deal in which Warner will pay EMI share holders about $1 billion, or about $ 1.65 a share, in exchange for 5.0 per cent ownership in the combined com pany, the source said. Warner also will have six seats on the new board of directors, and EMI will have five. The merger is expected to close in about a year. The announcement could draw fire from critics who worry that lack of competition will diminish diversi ty and put too much control in the hands of the four industry titans: Universal Music, Warner EMI, Sony and Bertelsmann. By linking their operations, Warner EMI will shave $400 million in costs over three years, the source said. Partly cloudy high 43, low 19 Partly cloudy high 3 3,low 15 Neljraskan Editor: Josh Funk Managing Editor: Lindsay Young Associate News Editor: Dane Stickney Associate News Editor: Diane Broderick Opinion Editor: J.J. Harder Sports Editor: Sam McKewon A&E Editor: Sarah Baker Copy Desk Co-Chief: Jen Walker Copy Desk Co-Chief: Josh Krauter Photo Chief: Mike Warren Design Co-Chief: Diane Broderick Design Co-Chief: Tim Karstens Art Director: Melanie Falk Web Editor: Gregg Steams Asst Web Editor: Jewel Mlnarik Questions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2588 or e-mail dn@unl.edu. General Manager: Daniel Shattil Publications Board Jessica Hofmann, Chairwoman: (402)477-0527 Professional Adviser: Don Walton, (402)473-7248 Advertising Manager: Nick Partsch, (402)472-2589 Asst Ad Manager: Jamie Yeager Classifield Ad Manager: Nichole Lake Fax number: (402) 472-1761 World Wide Web: www.dailyneb.com The Daily Nebraskan (USPS 144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 20,1400 R St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during the summer sessions.The public has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by callinq (402) 472-2588. Subscriptions are $60 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 20,1400 R St., Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 2000 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Russia: Military gains ground despite surprise rebel attack STARAYA SUNZHA, Russia (AP) - Despite a surprise rebel ambush Sunday against Russian troops advanc ing on the Chechen capital, Grozny, the Russian military insisted it was gaining ground in its building-by-building drive to seize the heart of the city. Fighting was fierce Sunday, with Russian troops facing heavy sniper fire during nearly every effort to advance. The military command press center said federal forces “liberated” residen tial areas, a railway depot, a hospital and a factory near central Grozny. “The federal troops are fighting their way through the streets to the cen ter of the city, rebuffing the rebels’ strong resistance,” the military said, according to the Interfax news agency. In Staraya Sunzha, a village just east of Grozny, a group of rebels attacked Russian troops early Sunday in a surprise ambush that killed eight soldiers and wounded eight others. The attack caught the Russians off guard because they believed they had control of the village and had mined all the rebel tunnels connecting the village to Grozny. “It’s a puzzle for me where they came from,” said Lt. Oleg Kotov. “We have been here for a month already, and thought we had learned all of their underground routes.” Grozny, the war’s biggest prize, has been under Russian air and artillery fire for months, and troops have been advancing on the area for several weeks. But government forces have yet to wrest control of the city’s center from the rebels. In Moscow, acting President Vladimir Putin said Sunday he would consider the war over when all “terror ist bands” have been eliminated, at which point the Russian troops will pull out and a permanent Russian force will be deployed. Putin, speaking on Russia’s RTR television, also said he had “no com plaints” about the military’s actions in Chechnya. Putin replaced the head of the Interior Ministry troops on Saturday. No explanation for the move was given, but observers suggested it reflected government frustration with the failure to seize Grozny. flWorli and Nation | ■ Ireland Police arrest possible member of IRA offshoot DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Police arrested a suspected Irish Republican Army dissident late Sunday after he tried to run away from a weapons filled car. The 40-year-old man, who was not named, fled.on foot when he encountered a police roadblock near Cahir, County Tipperary, in south west Ireland. He was found and arrested minutes later. Police said they found equipment used to make bombs, rockets and mortar shells inside the car. They said the man arrested was suspected of involvement in the Continuity IRA, a shadowy offshoot of the mainstream IRA that opposes the outlawed group’s 1997 truce. ■ New York Cuban boy’s grandmothers say they want him in Cuba NEW YORK (AP) - The grand mothers of Elian Gonzalez blew kiss es and wiped away tears as they stood before 2,000 people praying in a Manhattan church Sunday for the 6 year-old boy’s return to Cuba. The two women, Raquel Rodriguez and Mariela Quintana, did not speak as worshippers at the inter denominational Riverside Church gave them a standing ovation. The two women arrived in New York on Friday and met Saturday with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno in Washington, D.C. In an interview published in Sunday’s New York Times, Quintana, the paternal grandmother* sapid: “We’re not politicians. What we want is the well-being of the child.” ■ Washington Reagan’s daughter says his condition is deteriorating WASHINGTON (AP) - Former President Reagan’s daughter Maureen says her father cannot speak coherently and, because his motor skills are failing, no longer can join her in working simple jigsaw puzzles. Maureen Reagan said friends sometimes ask the condition of her father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. “My response is, ‘Not so good.’ But it is hard to say that, because he makes it so easy for us,” she wrote in an essay in Newsweek magazine. “In other words, it’s still him. But his motor skills are going.” Reagan she and her father began doing the puzzles - first 300-piece projects, then 100 pieces - shortly after the diagnosis more than five years ago that he had incurable brain disease. ■ Missouri Fiery, multi-car accident kills 10 on Interstate 29 PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) - A truck jackknifed on an icy stretch of interstate north of Kansas City on Sunday, causing a fiery, multicar accident that killed 10 people, authorities said. Two others were missing in the accident that involved 19 cars and five trucks, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Many of the vehicles burst into flames, perhaps because one of the trucks leaked hydrochloric acid, said Sgt. Jack McMillan of the patrol. Seven of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Interstate 29 was closed in both directions. It took rescue workers more than two hours to reach the final two victims..