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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2000)
^ Have you spent more time planning your vacation than your retirement? Page 12 99 Peter Lynch One-on-One Consultations Wednesday and Thursday, September 13 and 14, 2000 Wednesday and Thursday, October 18 and 19, 2000 Thursday and Friday, November 16 and 17, 2000 Fidelity® is committed to helping you achieve your retirement goals. We look forward to meeting with you. Call Today: 1-800-642-7131 to schedule your one-on-one consultation Do you know if your retirement plan is on track? InvBsiments * Your Fidelity Investments representative will be available by appointment to discuss any questions you may have related to your IfcxM ASM University Retirement Finn. Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Services Company A division of Fidelity Investments institutional Services Company, Inc. 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, MA 02109 ©2000 FMR Corp. 5i 111954 SEPTEMBER 15TH RING BELIVERY DAY BEGINS AT 3:30PM WITH CARNIVAL GAMES, FREE COTTON CANDY, COKES, AND LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Delivery of Rings will begin at 3:30pm. Festivities will continue until 6:30pm. For any questions please call 979-845-7514 SO SLEEP IN, AND WE LL SEE YOU AT THE CLAYTON W. WILLIAMS, JR. ALUMNI CENTER SPONSORED BY The Association OF FORMER STUDENTS \A/e,aA&7lt& Aggie, NeJttAJ&dc! Friday, September 15,2000 THE BATTALION Los Alamos scientist Lee released under plea deal ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Wen Ho Lee celebrated at home with family and friends after he was set free with an apology from a judge who said the former Los Alamos scientist had been “terribly wronged” by the government. Lee’s release under a plea deal Wednesday came nine months after he was put in solitary confinement and branded a threat to national security. “The last nine months were pret ty tough for me, but f survivied,” Lee said. In his tongue-lashing of govern ment officials, U.S. District Judge James Parker said he was angered over having been misled into believ ing the 60-year-old nuclear scientist was a danger to national security if released on bail. “I sincerely apologize to you. Dr. Lee, for the unfair manner in which you were held in custody by the executive branch,” said Parker, who singled out the Energy and Justice departments. “They have embarrassed our en tire nation and each of us who is a citizen of it,” he said. In a rare public rebuke of the En ergy and Justice departments, Pres ident Clinton said he was “quite troubled” by their handling of the case and expressed his regrets. “77ie last nine months were pret ty touch for me, but I survived.” — Wen Ho Lee former Los Alamos scientist “I don’t think you can justify in retrospect keeping a person in jail without bail when you're prepared to make that kind of agreement,” the president said of the plea deal Thursday. “It just can’t be justified ... So 1 too am quite troubled by it.’ His comments came just a few hours after Attorney General Janei Reno refused to accept blame, say ing Lee was at fault for not provid ing the government with information sooner. “1 think Dr. Lee, from the begin ning, had the opportunity to answer this and 1 think now he needs to lod to himself,” rather than expect an apo! ogy from the U.S. government, she said at her weekly news conference. In Washington, the Energy De partment issued a one-paragraph statement Wednesday: “Dr. lie pleaded guilty to a felony admitting that he mishandled sensitive classified information. That speaks for itself.” The judge’s stinging criticism came even as he signed off on the agreement that freed Lee, who plead ed guilty to one count of mishandfc nuclear secrets as the governmental but abandoned its crumbliniicase Nile virus scares Israel, Jordan (AP) — Anxiety in Is rael was growing Thurs day after the West Nile virus killed an eighth vic tim this summer, and hos pital emergency rooms were crowded With peo ple who feared they had contracted the mosquito- borne disease. In two dozen towns in Israel’s hardest hit coastal plain, residents closed their windows this week as machines belched forth clouds of insecticide mixed with diesel oil to wipe out the mosquitoes. In southern Israel, 3,300 geese were de stroyed at a farm after some of the birds died of the disease. There were minor outbreaks among geese at other farms but no wholesale slaughter. Most fiocks have been vaccinated against the virus, said Dr. Oded Nir, chief veterinarian at the Ministry of Agriculture. “This is not like last year's outbreak of the virus in New York where they had crows falling out of the sky,” Nir said. There was little chance the outbreaks in New York and Israel were connected, officials said. The virus was probably brought to Israel by wild birds migrating from Europe to Africa, said Dr. Alex Leventhal, the Health Ministry's director of public health. Concerned by the cas es in Israel, neighboring Jordan asked hospitals and clinics throughout the kingdom to notify the Health Ministry if any cases were detected. Eight people in Israel have died this summer, and 120 more have con tracted the disease. The latest victim was Nurit Gurwitz, 54, from Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, who was hospitalized two weeks ago and died Wednesday. Gurwitz’ family was only informed a few hours before her death that she had contracted the illnev said her husband, Shlo- mo, suggesting that to wife did not received proper treatment froratk start. The hospital denie; the allegations. In a sign of grow. 1 anxiety, hospital erne gency rooms were crawl ed w ith people with mi: influenza who thoug they had the West Nik virus, which can bedea; ly for patients with a wea immune system. “We calm them do«: and send them home,to more keep coming,” s Dr. Motte Ravid. direc of internal medicine at hospital in KfarSava. Prison programs allow fathers to interact with their children DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — At Missouri’s toughest prison, in mates run a 4-H Club program for their children. Imprisoned dads in Florida, some barely literate, send home recordings of themselves reading storybooks. Though many wardens and legis lators remain wary, fatherhood pro grams run by volunteers and non profit groups are teaching parenting skills and family values to more and more of the nearly 700,000 fathers held in state and federal prisons. Some states avoid such pro grams; others have one or two mod est pilot projects. Pennsylvania has expanded a program called Long Distance Dads throughout its prison system, and several Southern states are preparing comparable initiatives. The trend has contributed to an upbeat mood at one of the first ma jor conferences on the topic, the North American Conference on Fa thers Behind Bars and on the Streets. The three-day meeting, which ends Friday, has drawn researchers, social workers and corrections officials from across the country. “Maybe we’re coming to the point where the invisible families are starting to become visible to peo ple in policy positions,” said James Mustin, executive director of the Family and Corrections Network, a co-sponsor of the conference. Nearly 1.5 million American chil dren have a parent in prison, accord ing to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Many states already have special pro grams for mothers behind bars. But 93 percent of the imprisoned parents are men, and their role as fathers has traditionally been neglected by cor rections officials. “Most wardens see their job as, ‘Nobody gets out, nobody gets hurt,”’ Mustin said. “If they can do that, they’ve had a good day.” Over the past four years, Penn sylvania has worked with father hood groups to develop Long Dis tance Dads and now offers the 12-week program to imprisoned fathers throughout the state. With a curriculum created in part by in mates, and using inmates as group leaders, the program encourages fathers to assume responsibility for their children while in prison and after they get out. Penn State University is sched uled to complete an evaluation of the program next June. Parents in prison In 1999, an estimated 721.500 men and women in prison were parents to 1 .5 million children under 18. Here is a look at prison parenthood, based on a 1 997 survey. Percent of prisoners who were parents 55.4 63 43.8 percent of male state prisoners lived with their children prior to prison, but now their childrens' caregivers* include EoEQZIlRHHHHgHOHI ao.e |§g$ Grandparent 13.3 ^ Other relative 4.9 | Foster home/agency 1.8 Friends/other 4.9 64.3 percent of female state prisoners lived with their children prior to prison, but now their childrens’ caregivers* include. I'JlUf lil 28 303S29 52 9 ®Sf§ Other relative 25.7 Foster home/agency 9.6 Friends/other 10.4 62.4 percent of male state prisoners had contact with their children each month through ... 78.4 percent of female state prisoners had contact with their children each month through ••• 53.6 65.8 23.8 ‘Some prisoners had children in different homes. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bragging rights. The Collegiate Olympic Medal Race is on! Follow the tally with the GE College Medal Tracker, only on NBCQIympics.com. NBCOLYMPICS.COM A CO-PRODUCTION OF NBCOLYMPICS I ©. 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