WASHINGTON

AIR FORCE SECRETARY RESIGNS; ARMY SECRETARY CONFIRMED

Air Force Secretary James Roche resigned yesterday and the Senate confirmed defense industry executive Francis Harvey as secretary of the Army, the service’s top civilian post. The roll call vote on Mr. Harvey was 85 to 12.

Mr. Roche, who was caught up in a series of controversies and conflicts with some members of Congress over Air Force contracting decisions, was widely expected to leave before President Bush began a second term. In a brief statement, the Pentagon said Mr. Roche had informed Defense Secretary Rumsfeld in early October of his intention to leave after the end of President Bush’s first term.

The statement gave no specific reason for Mr. Roche’s departure. There was no immediate word on likely successors. The Pentagon said Mr. Roche plans to leave January 20, 2005, or possibly sooner.

– Associated Press

CIA MEMO REPORTEDLY URGES AGENCY TO SUPPORT BUSH

The new director of central intelligence, Porter Goss, told agency employees that their job is to “support the administration and its policies in our work,” according to an internal memo, the Web site of the New York Times reported last night.

“As agency employees we do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies,” Mr. Goss said in the memo, which the Times said was circulated late Monday. Mr. Goss also said in the document that he desired “to clarify beyond doubt the rules of the road.” Though some might interpret his language as urging agency employees to conform with administration policies, Mr. Goss also wrote: “We provide the intelligence as we see it – and let the facts alone speak to the policymaker.”

The Web site report indicated that Mr. Goss might be foreshadowing his plan for a major overhaul at the CIA. The memo also sparked interest because in recent weeks, White House officials have complained that some CIA officials have sought to undermine President Bush and his policies.

A former intelligence official said he saw nothing wrong with Mr. Goss’s memo, saying that the agency often tries to distance itself and its employees from matters of policy. Others saw the memo as Mr. Goss leaning toward an effort to “stifle independence,” according to the Times.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WEST

NASA ‘SCRAMJET’ NEARLY REACHES MACH 10

LOS ANGELES – A tiny unmanned NASA “scramjet” soared above the Pacific Ocean yesterday at nearly 10 times the speed of sound, or almost 7,000 mph, in a successful demonstration of a radical new engine technology. The 12-foot-long X-43A supersonic combustion jet reached about Mach 9.7, said Leslie Williams, a spokeswoman at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. The exotic aircraft was designed to fly under its own power for about 10 seconds after separating from a booster rocket at 110,000 feet, then glide to a splash landing.

– Associated Press

HEALTH

RARE SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE POSES THREAT

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recently warned that a rare sexually transmitted disease, Lymphogranuloma Venereum, could already have reached American shores.

LGV outbreaks began spreading in Europe in December 2003 among gay men. The disease has recently been reported in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris, Belgium, Sweden, and Britain.

“Outbreaks of other rare diseases have started out very similar in other countries before they reached the U.S.,” Dr. Stuart Berman told The New York Sun. Dr. Berman, chief of the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch in the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, said “because there is no reporting system of identifying the disease here in the U.S., the ability to make a specific diagnosis is unavailable at this time.”

The disease is caused by specific strains of the bacteria chlamydia, which causes genital ulcers, swollen lymph glands, and flu-like symptoms. Unlike chlamydia, LGV has been known to cause gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as inflammation of the rectum and colon. If ignored, those infected with LGV can become more vulnerable to contracting hepatitis C and the HIV virus. While LGV can be cured with three weeks of antibiotics, it could be difficult to stop an American outbreak because the disease is rare and often misdiagnosed, officials said.

– Special to the Sun

NATIONWIDE

PETA PITCHES SYMPATHY FOR FISH

Touting tofu chowder and vegetarian sushi as alternatives, animal-rights activists have launched a novel campaign arguing that fish – contrary to stereotype – are intelligent, sensitive animals no more deserving of being eaten than a pet dog or cat.

Called the Fish Empathy Project, the campaign reflects a strategy shift by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as it challenges a diet component widely viewed as nutritious and uncontroversial.

“No one would ever put a hook through a dog’s or cat’s mouth,” said Bruce Friedrich, PETA’s director of vegan outreach. “Once people start to understand that fish, although they come in different packaging, are just as intelligent, they’ll stop eating them.”

The campaign is in its infancy and will face broad skepticism. Major groups such as the American Heart Association recommend fish as part of a healthy diet; some academics say it is wrong to portray the intelligence and pain sensitivity of fish as comparable to mammals. To press their argument, PETA activists plan demonstrations starting next month at selected seafood restaurants nationwide.

– Associated Press