U.S. Hispanic
at greater risk
for diabetes
■ A new study shows a larger number of
Mexican-Americans with the disease than
Mexicans due to differences in lifestyles.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY - Mexican-Americans in San
Antonio are almost twice as likely to develop dia
betes than Mexicans living in Mexico City, appar
ently because of American lifestyles, authors of a
study released Sunday said.
Eating and exercise habits were pegged as
reasons for the difference in type-2 diabetes
rates among low-income groups in the two
cities. The San Antonio group
was also more likely to have high
blood pressure and cholesterol .
levels. TFlIS
“This really does support the realty
notion that U.S. lifestyles are j
trending in an unfavorable aoes
direction," said Dr. Michael P. Support
Stern, one of the authors and
head of the clinical epidemiolo
gy department at the University HOllOn
of Texas Health Center. that U.S.
“Mexicans were found to be lifestyles
leaner, to eat less fat and more y
carbohydrates and to exercise tire
more than their San Antonio trending
counterparts,” Stern said, thus
lowering risk factors such as u
obesity. fOVOr ^
The differences may have to able
do with San Antonians eating .. .
higher-fat flour tortillas rather tlireCC
than traditional corn-based ion.”
ones, or eating more fast foods. . .
The Texas group got slightly Dr*^1“aeI
more leisure-time exercise, but R SteJn
that was far outweighed by the study
increased physical work Mexico co-author
City residents do on their jobs.
The study adds an environ
mental factor to research into
why Mexican-Americans are about 21/2 times as
likely as non-Hispanic Americans to develop
diabetes, by comparing two groups of similar
genetic backgrounds but different environ
ments.
About 10 percent of Mexican-Americans age
20 and older are diabetic, compared to 4 percent
for non-Hispanic U.S. whites.
Findings published earlier this year indicate
one gene may play a role among Mexican
Americans, but genetics isn’t the only explana
tion, according to Stem. “Genes need an envi
ronment to be expressed,” he said.
The study, sponsored by the National
Institutes of Health, shows the gap between the
two groups is widest among older people and
more narrow among younger ones.
Experts suspect that Mexican lifestyles are
becoming more like American ones: unhealthy.
In the United States, Stem said, “we need
public health programs to convince people to
eat less fat and keep their weight under control.”
As for Mexico, he said there is “a chance to
intervene and stop this trend before it becomes
full blown.”
The study, presented at the 17th
International Diabetes Federation congress in
Mexico City, followed groups in the two cities
over periods ranging from six to eight years to
see if they developed diabetes.
It took into account pre-existing risk factors,
some of which were worse in Mexico City, while
others were worse in San Antonio.
Mexico City had lower levels of good choles
terol and higher insulin levels, for example.
Better health care in San Antonio, which may
keep diabetics alive longer and thus in study
groups, may play a “minor role” in the findings,
Stem said.
Almost 16 million people in the United States
have diabetes, the sixth-leading cause of death
in the country.
The most common and serious form is type
2; type 1 diabetes is less common, but easier to
diagnose and generally affects children.
If untreated, diabetes can lead to blindness,
kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and amputa
tions.
“I'm asking you not only for your
vote but for your enthusiasm
- A1 Gore, at a black church in
Pennsylvania
“We need to get rid of the politics
of anger... we need a fresh start,
folks, after a season of cynicism.”
_, - George W. Bush, in Miami
A battle for swing states
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the final dramatic
days of a marathon cam
paign, A1 Gore cast his duel
with George W. Bush as a
choice between "two differ
ent pathways,” with the
Supreme Court and eco
nomic progress in the bal
ance. Bidding to regain the
White House for the
Republicans, Bush bran
dished tax cuts and Social
Security reform while
accusing Gore of practicing
the "politics of scaring peo
ple.”
The candidates rallied
across a handful of battle
ground states Sunday and
intensified their appeals to
core supporters and unde
cided voters. Florida and
the Midwest were in the
political epicenter.
Pre-election surveys
suggested the battle could
be the closest in genera
tions, and the Senate and
the House were up for grabs
too, with Republicans seek
ing to retain control.
National polls gave a nar
row edge to Bush in the
presidential race, but Gore’s
support in large battle
ground states makes for an
unpredictable race to 270
electoral votes and victory.
“I'm asking you not only
for your vote but for your
enthusiasm,” Gore said
during one of two stops at
black churches in
Pennsylvania. “I want you
to go the extra mile.”
Bush’s exhortations -
“The voters are there, let’s
turn them out!” - took on
special significance in
Florida, where his brother,
Jeb, runs a state that Bush
had expected to put away
weeks ago. In a nod to
Cuban-Americans, Bush
sprinkled a Miami speech
with Spanish phrases,
including one that translat
ed to, “We're going to take
Washington, D.C.!” and
another that represented
his middle initial and his
winning hopes for Tuesday:
“W!”
Gore started the day in
hotly contested
Pennsylvania, where he
said that a woman's right to
abortion was on the line.
“The Supreme Court is
at stake because the next
president, the one you pick
Tuesday, will pick a majori
ty on the court that will
interpret our Constitution
for the next 30 to 40 years,”
he said, noting that Bush
has praised conservative
justices Clarence Thomas
and Antonin Scalia.
Gore mocked Bush's
promise to be a get-along
president, aiming his words
at the large population of
seniors citizens in both
Pennsylvania and Florida.
“The question is, will he
get along with HMOs? You'll
get along with them fine if
you kill die patients' bill of
rights. The drug compa
nies? You’ll get along with
them if you kill the pre
scription drug benefits for
seniors,” Gore said.
Absentee votes may delay results
■ As the number of late ballots
increases, election officials will need
more time to calculate the outcome.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO —A record 3.2 mil
lion Californians have requested
absentee ballots for Tuesday’s elec
tion, which could leave the results of
close races throughout the state in
doubt for days or even weeks.
More than 1 million of those
absentee ballots, or nearly 10 percent
of the 12 million votes expected in
California, will not be counted on
election night, according to county
election officials surveyed by The
Associated Press.
Alfie Charles, spokesman for
Secretary of State Bill Jones, said the
estimate sounds about right because
of the growth in absentee applica
tions.
In 1980, absentee voting counted
for 6.3 percent of the vote in
California; in 1990, it was 18.4 percent;
and in 1998, it was 24.7 percent, or
about 2.1 million ballots.
"The balance of power in Congress
may hinge on races in California, and
those California races may be deter
mined by the late absentee ballots
which will be counted in the days after
Nov. 7," Charles said.
For the closest races, he said, it
could be one to two weeks after the
election before the results may be
known.
Absentee ballots that voters mail
in or drop off at their polling places
must be processed separately because
voter signatures must be verified in
county records, election officials said.
In 1994, when 22 percent of the
voters cast absentee ballots, Sen.
Dianne Feinstein's narrow victory over
Republican Michael Huffington wasn’t
confirmed until 2Vz weeks after the
election.
The counties have until Dec. 5 to
report final results. This year, only 10
small counties expect to have 100 per
cent of their votes counted on election
night
Los Angeles County, which has
4.07 million of California’s 15.7 million
registered voters, has sent out the
most absentee ballots this year:
617,231.
In recent elections, the same coun
ty has had the highest percentage of
absentee ballots left uncounted on
election night 183,000, or 46 percent,
in the 1996 presidential election.
Los Angeles County election offi
cials this year said they also expect a
slow start on their precinct vote count
The registrar’s office advised news
organizations that its tabulation
equipment is 32 years old, so “do not
expect very many ballots to be count
ed before 11 p.m” on Tliesday night
Iraqi plane tests
U.S. no-fly zone
‘ the ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq—Iraq sent
domestic passenger flights car
rying 154 people into skies
patrolled by U.S. and British
warplanes on Sunday, the first
challenge of its kind to the no
fly zones that Iraq considers
infringements on its sovereign
ty
TWo planes left Baghdad at 1
p.m. bound for Basra in the
southern no-fly zone and Mosul
in the northern zone, the official
Iraqi News Agency reported.
They returned safely to
Baghdad about four hours later,
the agency reported.
Iraq, which says the flights
mark the resumption of regular
passenger service to the cities,
used Russian-made military
cargo planes for the flights - an
Antonov with 42 passenger to
Mosul and an Ilyushin witl .14
passengers to Basra.
The resumption of ihe
flights, which Iraq announced
on Oct. 30, came nearly a
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decade after Iraq’s fleet of 15
Boeing airliners were moved to
Jordan, Iran and Tunisia to
escape bombing during the
1991 Gulf War. They remain
abroad.
Passengers aboard the inau
gural flights included officials
and journalists who returned
with the planes to Baghdad.
Thousands of people had gath
ered to welcome the planes on
arrival in Basra and Mosul,
according to INA.
The United States says Iraqi
military planes have violated
the zones often with quick in
and-out forays since December
1998, when Iraq began chal
lenging the patrols. The new
challenges - though in military
aircraft - marked the first civil
ian flights into the zone.
The U.S.-British patrols bar
fixed-wing Iraqi aircraft or heli
copters from entering the
zones, but there was no word
Sunday on whether Iraq had
given Britain and the United
States advance notice of the
domestic flights.
“We will continue to moni
tor closely any Iraqi aviation to
determine whether it poses a
threat to our forces, Iraq’s neigh
bors or the Iraqi people,” a U.S.
State Department official said
speaking on condition of
anonymity.
TODAY
Showers
high 49, low 33
TOMORROW
Mostly cloudy
high 39, low 27
Confrontations
persist on brink
of negotiations
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM — Scattered clashes across the
Gaza Strip and West Bank Sunday left two
Palestinians dead, 17 injured and tensions high
despite an agreement of truce and plans for
upcoming meetings in Washington.
President Clinton, who has been trying to
restore peace to the region, will play host to
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday, and
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak three days
later, on Nov. 12, the White House said Sunday.
Both Palestinians killed Sunday were shot
dead in the Gaza Strip. One was Maher Mouhmad
Alsaidi, a 16-year-old boy hit in the head during a
confrontation, according to Shifa hospital direc
tor Mouawia Hassanian.
At least 10 Palestinians were wounded in
Gaza, and seven were hurt in the West Bank in a
clash outside Bethlehem, to the south of
Jerusalem, according to Palestinian security
forces.
In the West Bank, two Jewish settlers, a man
and a woman, were wounded when Palestinian
assailants ambushed their car and opened fire,
settler spokesmen said. The military command
confirmed the shooting incident.
In a plea for peace, tens of thousands of
Israelis filled a Tel Aviv square Saturday night to
pay tribute to former prime minister Yitzhak
Rabin, who was assassinated at the site five years
ago by an ultranationalist Israeli opposed to trad
ing land for peace with the Palestinians.
The current violence has hardened attitudes
on both sides and put seven years of peace nego
tiations on hold. Many dovish Israelis, including
some of those at the rally, said their faith in the
peace process has been shaken. Many
Palestinians, meanwhile, said they have little to
show for the lengthy negotiations.
Barak on Sunday told his Cabinet that the
large turnout was “an impressive and emotioned
demonstration” of the Israeli commitment to
peace.
At the Saturday rally, Barak warned Arafat that
Israel “will not surrender to violence and we will
defend our civilians and Israeli soldiers every
where."
Areifat and his aides did not appear ready to
tone down the rhetoric. The Palestinian leader
met with families of the dead Sunday and his top
aid told the families: “The uprising will continue
until we have an independent Palestinian state."
The Associated Press
■ Washington, D.C.
Nader refuses to give up,
aims for future elections
Ralph Nader defended his
presidential candidacy Sunday
and said its potential cost to
Democrat A1 Gore won’t stop
him from urging people to sup
port him.
Polls show Nader, the Green
Party nominee, drawing sup
port in some states from people
who say they otherwise would
vote for Gore over Republican
George W. Bush.
But Nader, both defiant and
unapologetic, rejected criticism
from Democrats who fear his
campaign will help Bush win
the election Tuesday.
He also maintained that
there are no major differences
between Bush and Gore.
“I would be disappointed if
either A1 Gore or George Bush
are elected," he said on NBC’s
“Meet the Press," a few hours
before his final campaign rally
at the MCI Center here.
Nader's goal next week is to
get at least 5 percent of the vote
to qualify the Green Party for
federal campaign funds in the
2004 election.
■Egypt
Runoff elections marred by
violence, leaving four dead
CAIRO — President Hosni
Mubarak’s ruling party won a
majority of seats in the second
round of Egyptian parliamen
tary elections. Results released
Sunday also showed Islamic
candidates making gains
despite police harassment and
deadly election-day clashes.
The violence, which includ
ed shootouts and fist fights
among supporters of rival can
didates as well as clashes
between police and voters,
occurred during second-round
runoffs to determine winners
for the 116 out of 134 seats that
were not won outright in the
Oct 29 voting.
At least four people died and
more than 60 were injured.
During Saturday’s runoff
elections, villagers, many of
them supporters of the out
lawed Muslim Brotherhood
Islamic group, said police
barred them from entering
polling stations and threatened
to arrest and beat them.
Policemen in the Nile Delta
village of Dakahla chased resi
dents in the streets, ordering
them to go home.
■Malaysia
Protesters demand release of
former deputy prime minister
KUALA LUMPUR — Police
fired tear gas, swung batons and
sprayed chemical-laced water
from trucks Sunday to break up
Malaysia's biggest anti-govern
ment protest in recent months.
Led by the country’s top
opposition leaders, thousands
of people blocked a major
expressway linking Kuala
Lumpur, the capital, to a neigh
boring state and shouted slo
gans against Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad, who has
ruled Malaysia for 19 years.
■Missouri
Carnahan appears for first
time, avoids interaction
JEFFERSON CITY — In a
Senate race that has remained
tight since Democrat Mel
Carnahan’s death, the
Republican incumbent and
Carnahan's widow appeared for
the first time since they became
rivals on the same political stage
- a national Sunday talk show.
But there was no interaction
between Sen. John Ashcroft and
Jean Carnahan, who
announced she would accept
appointment to the Senate if
her husband wins.
Carnahan's remarks, taped
Friday, focused on the Oct. 16
plane crash and her desire to
keep her late husband’s vision
alive.
Ashcroft, appearing live on
the show - ABC's “This Week
with Sam Donaldson and Cokie
Roberts" - repeated his asser
tion that suspending his cam
paign after his rival’s death hurt
him politically.