National Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

HEALTH


WHO COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS GENETIC ENGINEERING OF SMALLPOX


An influential World Health Organization committee is sending shock waves through the scientific community with its recommendation that researchers be permitted to conduct genetic-engineering experiments with the smallpox virus.


The idea is to be able to better combat a disease that is considered a leading bioterror threat though it was publicly eradicated 25 years ago.


The WHO had previously opposed such work for fear that a “superbug” might emerge. Because the disease is so deadly, the WHO has even at times recommended destroying the world’s two known smallpox stockpiles, located in secure labs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and in the former Soviet Union.


The recommended policy shift has reignited a debate over whether such research will help or hinder bioterrorism defenses.


The World Health Assembly – the ruling body of the 192-nation WHO – would make a final decision on whether to approve the experiments, which would include splicing a “marker” gene into the smallpox virus so its spread can be better tracked in the laboratory. The WHO committee said allowing the genetic engineering experiments would speed depletion of the remaining smallpox virus stocks.


It has been American policy to refrain from genetically engineering smallpox, but that would undoubtedly change if the WHO endorses such research.


– Associated Press


WASHINGTON


CIA OFFICER QUITS TO SPEAK FREELY ABOUT INTELLIGENCE PROBLEMS


A senior CIA officer who has become an outspoken critic of the fight on terrorism turned in his resignation this week, citing a desire to speak more freely about problems in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the debate over intelligence reform.


Current government officials are rarely as vocal as Mike Scheuer, who wrote “Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror.” But he called the decision to leave the agency after 22 years “entirely my own.”


“I have concluded that there has not been adequate national debate over the nature of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and the forces he leads and inspires, and the nature and dimensions of intelligence reform needed to address that threat,” Mr. Scheuer said in a statement sent to reporters yesterday via e-mail.


Mr. Scheuer’s CIA assignments included running the bin Laden unit from January 1996 to June 1999. He hopes his experience and views will produce a more substantive debate.


This week, Mr. Scheuer ignored agency orders and began granting interviews about shortfalls in the hunt for Mr. bin Laden, the findings and recommendations of the September 11 Commission, and the intelligence community overall.


Mr. Scheuer is also critical of how CIA resources and personnel are now being distributed to go after Al Qaeda. Spokespeople at the CIA and the FBI declined to comment.


– Associated Press


EX-POLICY ADVISER ON IRAQ REPORTEDLY HURT EMBASSY AIDE


Just days after his resignation as the White House’s top official on Iraq policy, Robert Blackwill found himself scolded by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice after Secretary of State Powell told her that Mr. Blackwill appeared to have verbally abused and physically harmed a female embassy staff member during a September visit to Kuwait, administration officials told the Washington Post last night.


In as story on the newspaper’s Web site, officials said Mr. Blackwill was rushing to return home after a Baghdad visit to join President Bush on a campaign trip. Six officials described the incident as happening at the Air France counter at Kuwait airport. Mr. Blackwill learned he was not on the flight manifest, became enraged and turned on the embassy secretary who had accompanied him to the airport, the Post’s Web site reported. Mr. Blackwill demanded he be placed on the flight, grabbing the woman’s arm at one point, officials said. The woman is married to a foreign service officer in Kuwait and did not file a formal complaint, according to the Washington Post story.


Mr. Blackwill was Ms. Rice’s mentor and boss when they served on the national security staff of President George H.W. Bush.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


BIOPSY A POSITIVE SIGN FOR ELIZABETH EDWARDS


A biopsy has shown that a lump in Elizabeth Edwards’s breast has not spread, a family spokesman said. The wife of Senator Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate, has proceeded with chemotherapy.


After a 16-week chemotherapy course, Mrs. Edwards will take a four- to six-week break. Georgetown University Medical Center doctors who are treating Mrs. Edwards will then surgically remove the lump.


A needle biopsy of Mrs. Edwards’ lymph nodes Tuesday found “no indication of cancer,” spokesman David Ginsberg said. “From what we know now, it has not spread.”


As a safety precaution, however, doctors will remove some of her healthy lymph node tissue. Mrs. Edwards will then undergo radiation.


– Associated Press


NORTHEAST


ELDERLY VETERAN KILLED IN MASSACHUSETTS PARADE


WHITMAN, Mass. – An 80-year-old veteran of World War II was killed yesterday morning when a van backed over him as he prepared to march in a Veterans Day parade.


Witnesses said William Hammond, captain of the parade’s color guard, was lining up with fellow veterans at the start of the parade route when the van struck him.


The van, owned by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, was driven by a close friend of Hammond. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for emotional distress.


“It’s devastating,” said Richard Slowey, adjutant of VFW Post 697. “Bill is a very warm and very kind person.”


The Army veteran, who served in the infantry, had fought in the Battle of the Bulge, according to Robert Wessa, the post’s junior vice commander. He was a past commander of the post and stayed active, traveling to a school with Mr. Wessa last week to talk about Veterans Day.


– Associated Press


MIDWEST


MAN GETS PRISON SENTENCE FOR MALL ASSAULTS


MADISON, Wis. – A man was sentenced to 195 years in prison yesterday for sexually assaulting female mall workers and young children over several years in Wisconsin. James D. Perry, 34, received the sentence after pleading guilty to 25 out of the 51 counts authorities filed against him. The remaining charges were dismissed. Judge Diane Nicks called Perry’s crimes horrific. “He is the man that causes us all to depend on prayer for safety because we cannot identify the predator in our midst,” she said. Perry’s guilty plea covered crimes against 19 victims, including five under age 13. Perry, in handcuffs, cried and rocked in his chair at times during yesterday’s hearing as some victims and their relatives expressed mercy and disgust toward him. Authorities had hunted for years for an assailant who targeted female mall workers, accosting them in their stores as they worked alone or in mall parking lots. Investigators connected Perry to the mall cases after he tried to abduct a 13-year-old girl at gunpoint from a hotel in February and his image was captured on a security camera. Once outside, she screamed, broke free, and ran to nearby friends.


– Associated Press


WEST


MOORE PLANS SEQUEL TO ‘FAHRENHEIT 9/11’


LOS ANGELES – Michael Moore plans a follow-up to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” his hit documentary that assails President Bush over the handling of the September 11 attacks and the war on terrorism, according to a Hollywood trade paper. Mr. Moore told Daily Variety that he and Harvey Weinstein, the Miramax boss who produced the film, hope to have “Fahrenheit 9/11 1/2” ready in two to three years. “Fifty-one per cent of the American people lacked information (in this election) and we want to educate and enlighten them,” Mr. Moore was quoted in yesterday’s edition of Variety. “They weren’t told the truth. We’re communicators and it’s up to us to start doing it now,” he added.


– Associated Press

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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