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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1996)
September 21' World Friday Page 5 September 27, 1996 ustoms job cuts spark controversy nality. ustoms cuts i/er 600 investigative jobs were cut the U.S. Customs Department spite an increasing overall budget. r feature of his i callers withtlm ames. ntact the radio m air and then: .■ set to a rendii t’s “I Wanna.” id that as far as a a The Flag roou iltl expect spans iff is not scripts hey can expeti n-stop fun." nuance of hisJii he could worl::^*'' 20 years, m his radiocaig 15 at his .lined thefirstiia ited urban n tory. Iways be in the te said, “andhoj ton of affiliaies ich fun as fmli 4,326 4,196 1992 '93 •rail $1.27 1.31 1.35 1.39 1.39 (in billions) m: Customs Service WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Customs Service, which protects America’s borders from illegal drugs, money and weapons, has quietly cut 662 investigative jobs and brought thousands fewer criminal cases since President Clinton took office, records show. The cuts occurred even though Congress has increased the agency’s overall budget by $121 million since 1992, and politi cians everywhere are clamoring for tighter border controls. Big-crime cities such as Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York and Miami have taken some of the largest hits, according to doc uments obtained by The Associ ated Press. The agency says the personnel cuts were necessary to free up mon ey to modernize dilapidated equip ment and bolster Southwest border patrols — and that it is now more efficient despite less manpower. “I would say between ’92 and now, because of our sophistica tion, that we are better able to protect our borders — with the caveat that we have less people,” Customs Director of Operations Connie Fenchel said. “We are do ing very well with less, but we could do better with more.” Not everyone agrees that the borders are now better protected, and they are upset by the person nel cutbacks. “The agents are very con cerned and know it was a mis take. They’re saying it’s hamper ing the fight against the drug cartels,’’ said Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of a House Banking subcommittee that recently heard complaints from front-line agents. Statistics show Customs is se curing a larger percentage of fed eral convictions, but its overall number of cases — particularly those in federal court — has dropped by thousands over the last three years. The disclosure comes at a sen sitive time for the Clinton admin istration as Republican Bob Dole sharpens his attacks on the presi dent’s drug interdiction efforts. The picture for Customs’ field agents, however, isn’t likely.to im prove any time soon. A memo from Customs head quarters this month instructed field supervisors to freeze current investigative staffs, and leave va cant positions unfilled for the foreseeable future. alestinians attack ;wish settlements Israeli-Palestinian violence The Israeli government has ordered more troops into the West Bank and Gaza, along with tanks and helicopters. Rioting began on Tuesday after Israel’s decision to open an archaeological tunnel alongside an Islamic holy site in Jerusalem. Palestinian civil control/ Israeli security P] Total Israeli control Total Palestinian control ,nd Parker wor produce somei the radio world, h her job isun ), Parker said id amount ofw 'loped show, s a lot of preparai )ougj leads the man and a mil rogram is one portunitiesofte! ! her to a clear said, lave a dream, put lid the overallpici the radio ETZARIM, Gaza Strip (AP) — ir Arafat’s security forces battled i troops Thursday as thousands laiestinian stone-throwers at- d to two isolated Jewish settle- jts in the Gaza Strip. Two Pales- nswere reported killed and at 15 wounded. he violence marked the third day lestinian rioting set off by Is is decision to open an archaeo- [cal tunnel along the A1 Aqsa ique compound, one of Islam’s st sites. Jestinians claim the tunnel un- fmines their control over the a crazy to i al. like going town it’s like going to off-the- Stalks. salem holy sites and violates Is- assurances that no changes will nade in Jerusalem until the dis- rity’s future is determined in «s: rafat had urged Palestinians on inesday to hold protest marches strikes against Israel’s decision, as not certain Thursday, howev- whether Arafat was in control of othis 30,000 armed policemen of whom were involved in fating. it clashes marked a new stage for the Palestinians by chal- inga basic premise of their peace /ashington. )own the Wind, b on an En| 1 novel made, been tia planted 1950s Louisiana, young named played bfl ( Molloy , who finds tl father’s barn, as played thf i more times than Also in the cat riothy Nolen nerican to Broadway. 'ids: that the two sides would co operate in maintaining security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Thursday’s fighting erupted when thousands of Palestinian pro- testets marched toward the two tiny Jewish settlements of Netzarim and Kfar Darom, isolated enclaves in the heart of the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip. Palestinians threw stones, fire bombs and bottles at Israeli troops at a small outpost about a mile from Netzarim. Soon, more than 100 Palestinian policemen began trading automatic gunfire with about a dozen Israeli soldiers. Israeli troops pulled back toward Netzarim as army commanders sent in three armored personnel carriers and two helicopters. Shots were fired from one of the ar mored vehicles, as the battle spread into surrounding fields and farms. Farther south, hundreds of Pales tinians surrounded the Kfar Darom settlement and hurled stones into the small enclave. A senior Israeli army officer and five Palestinian demonstrators were wounded by gunfire, but it was not immediately clear whether Palestinian police were shooting at Israel troops. Gaza Strip D Thousands of enraged Palestinians attacked two isolated Jewish settlements of Netzarim and Kfar Darom. H Israeli troops came under fire as they tried to rescue a critically wounded TV cameraman at the checkpoint leading into the Gaza Strip. West Bank B Palestinian police and Israeli troops traded fire at an Israeli army checkpoint. H Palestinian troops ransacked a Jewish seminary and burned hundreds of religious books. B Hundreds of Palestinians marched toward the tunnel’s new exit in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter and were pushed back by Israeli troops swinging clubs. B Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowds. ucid begins long rehabilitation process APE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronaut mon Lucid, NASA’s space superwoman, re story invoW ;( | t0 on Thursday after six debilitat- nonths of weightlessness and to everyone’s zement, walked off the shuttle Atlantis, octors had met her inside the space shut- ith a stretcher, figuring the 53-year-old hemist would be too weak and wobbly to let alone walk. ut she surprised them, insisting, “I can I up.” ivo workers assisted her during the short onto an airport-style moving sidewalk into a reclining chair. ter a record-shattering 188 days in space of that time aboard the Russian space nMir — she was thrilled to be home, could hear her laughing all the way the flight deck, I’ll tell you, she was just so tickled,” said Atlantis’ commander, William Readdy. She was still laughing when she met her family a few hours later. “It was just a great mission and I just had a great time,” said Lucid, who rocketed away in March and spent a longer stretch in space than any other American and any other woman. Lucid was welcomed back to Earth with a 10-pound box of red, white and blue M&M’s from President Clinton and an offer for 188 cases of potato chips — one for every day she spent in orbit. She had craved both while liv ing aboard Mir. Clinton called from the Oval Office to con gratulate her. “I couldn’t believe you walked off the shuttle,” he said. Lucid, who traveled 75 million miles and circled the Earth 3,008 times, faces weeks of rehabilitation to recover from the effects of prolonged weightlessness, which include weak muscles, fatigue, vertigo, anemia and deteriorating bones. She could be dragging for months to come. Unaccustomed to the pull of gravity, she said she felt heavy, but noted that was normal. She also was wobbly, almost falling over when she got up from a chair at NASA’s crew quarters. She grabbed onto a table to steady herself. “It will take just a little bit to get fully adapted back to living in one-G (gravity) again,” Lucid said. 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