NORTHWEST

TEEN SURVIVES FOR EIGHT DAYS IN CAR AT BOTTOM OF A RAVINE

SEATTLE – After eight days, Laura Hatch’s family had almost given the 17-year-old up for dead, and sheriff’s deputies had all but written her off as a runaway. Then she was found, badly hurt and severely dehydrated, but alive and conscious, in the back seat of a crumpled car, 200 feet down a ravine. A volunteer searcher who said she had had several vivid dreams of a wooded area found the wrecked car in the trees Sunday. Ms. Hatch, who remained hospitalized yesterday in serious condition, was last seen at a party on October 2. When she did not show up by the next day, her family filed a missing person’s report. The initial search was slowed because there had been underage drinking at the party, and the young people who attended would not say where it had been held, sheriff’s Sergeant John Urquhart said. On October 6, detectives learned the party had been in a neighborhood east of Lake Washington and searched along her likely route home, Sergeant Urquhart said. But prospects dimmed as the days passed.

“We had already given her up and let her be dead in our hearts,” her mother, Jean Hatch, told KOMO-TV.

Sergeant Urquhart noted that in 24 years with the department, he had never known of a person to survive eight days without food or water. He said an investigation into the accident was under way.

– Associated Press

NORTHEAST

STUDY: MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS DON’T APPLY FOR AID

A new study says hundreds of thousands of college students who may be eligible for federal financial aid don’t get it for a simple reason – they don’t apply.

The study released yesterday by the American Council on Education, which represents colleges and universities, says that half of the 8 million undergraduates enrolled in 1999-2000 at institutions participating in federal student aid programs did not complete the main federal aid application form.

Many were well off, and correctly assumed they wouldn’t get aid. But the study found 1.7 million low- and moderate-income students also failed to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Two-thirds of community college students did not apply for aid, compared to 42% at public four-year colleges and 13% at private colleges. The study concludes 850,000 of those students would have been eligible for a Pell Grant, the principal federal grant for low-income students.

The findings underscore a point often made by educators: Even as college costs rise, students often miss financial aid opportunities because they aren’t aware of how the system works.

– Associated Press

WASHINGTON

CONGRESS PASSES BILL TO MONITOR ANTI-SEMITISM

Both houses of Congress have unanimously passed a bill requiring the State Department to monitor anti-Semitism around the world.

The passage of the bill requires the State Department to produce an annual report on anti-Semitism around the world and establishes a special office focusing on the issue.

The law had faced opposition by the State Department, which had argued it would “extend exclusive status to one religious or ethnic group.” But in recent weeks, 100 prominent Americans signed a letter to Secretary of State Powell in support of the law.

The effort, organized by the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, drew support from a former national security adviser, Anthony Lake, comedian David Brenner, the leaders of four Christian seminaries, and other prominent leaders.

The letter, in part, read, “The State Department’s position on the Lantos legislation carries troubling echoes of the past…During the Holocaust, the State Department did its best to downplay the Jewish identity of Hitler’s victims – even though the Nazi regime had clearly singled out Jews for annihilation.”

The Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act was introduced by California Congressman Tom Lantos, a Democrat and the only Holocaust survivor serving in Congress.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ACTIVISTS RALLY FOR GAY MARRIAGE IN CAPITAL

The Capitol at their backs, supporters of gay marriage pleaded, demanded, and sang out for equal rights yesterday, hoping they will succeed in the long term but mindful of the hostile political environment they face today.

Opponents of gay marriage, led by President Bush, are trying to amend the Constitution to outlaw gay and lesbian marriages. Voters in 11 states will consider such amendments to state constitutions this fall, and most, if not all, are expected to pass. Even many politicians friendly to gay rights say they oppose same-sex marriage.

Washington was the final stop for the eight-day bus tour, organized by Marriage Equality California, that traveled from Oakland, Calif., stopping in 10 cities along the way. “I don’t want to be demonized anymore,” said Kati Debolt of San Diego, who traveled to Washington with her lesbian partner of nine years.

Opponents say recognizing same-sex unions would undermine traditional marriage between a man and a woman, and they contend children are better off with a mother and a father. About 200 gathered for yesterday’s rally. Many of them signed a petition asking Mr. Bush to reconsider his stance.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

INVESTIGATORS: BUS DRIVER IN CRASH WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL ALL NIGHT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A federal investigator yesterday said the driver of a tour bus involved in a deadly crash apparently had been driving all night without backup. “We need to look at hours of service,” said a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, Gary Van Etten. “What he did during the daytime hours would be of great interest to us so we could evaluate any possible fatigue that he might have had.”

The crash Saturday along Interstate 55 north of Marion, Ark., killed driver Herbert Walters and 13 Chicago-area passengers on their semiannual trek to a Tunica, Miss., casino. The wreck occurred just before dawn, in a light mist, when the bus failed to follow a left-hand curve, left the roadway, and flipped.

Sixteen survived the crash; two remained in critical condition yesterday at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Investigators are examining the mangled bus and reconstruction could take as long as three months. They are trying to determine whether Walters, 67, lost control of the vehicle or if some mechanical failure caused it to go off the road with no signs of skidding or braking.

The NTSB said the bus’s roof, which came off during the accident, also is an area of concern. Past NTSB documents have raised questions about bus integrity – with roof supports getting smaller as bus windows get larger.

– Associated Press