/
Sports: A&M kicks off three-game weekend series • Page 5
Aggielife: Going the distance • Page 3
ay, February 13, 2003
:Veigh
ked to
premacist
)up
y John Solomon
E ASSOCIATED PRESS
SH1NGTON— FBI
gators in the Oklahoma
Miibing gathered evidence
i Timothy McVeigh lo
nipremacists who the gov-
at had been told before the
ng were threatening to
government buildings,
gative memos show,
eral of the documents
not provided to the
r’s defense before he was
ted. And the FBI agent in
of the investigation says
^er received one teletype
lis own headquarters that
the possibility McVeigh
ded by other accomplices,
aey short-circuited the
for the truth,” McVeigh’s
tl attorney, Stephen Jones,
i an interview. “I don't
Fim’s role in the conspira-
i I think he clearly aggran-
his role, enlarged it, to
for others who were
jd.”
Veigh was executed in
001.
deuce gathered by The
ated Press includes hotel
:s, a speeding ticket, pris-
interviews, informant
; and phone records that
;t McVeigh had contact
white supremacist com-
in Oklahoma known as
i City and that members
were familiar with
n.
is suspected that members
Thim City are involved
directly or indirectly
;h conspiracy,” federal
wrote in one memo just
tier McVeigh detonated i
)omb April 19, 1995, out-
e Alfred P. Murrah fedet-
Iding in Oklahoma City
led more than 160 people,
documents also include a
e from FBI headquarters
gust 1996 that reported
gh called Elohim City
:eks before his bombing,a
a home where members
iolent Aryan Nation bank
y gang were present.
Veigh made the call April
5, moments after calling
der truck company where
ted the truck that carried
adly bomb. The govern-
had known from an
iant weeks before
gh’s call that members of
) City were threatening ai
the documents show.
mm
Ti-IF RATTATTH
inn b/ii i/vm\j
Volume 109 • Issue 96 • 10 pages
Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Friday, February 14, 2003
Board of Regents meeting
- Approved $2.5 million project for fire
and life safety modifications to MSC Hotel
and Annex
- Expected to be completed in eight months
- Parts of MSC Annex will close
SOURCE: Board of Regents
TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION
$2.5 million project approved
By Brad Bennett
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M University
System Board of Regents approved a
$2.5 million project to upgrade fire
and life safety conditions in the
Memorial Student Center Hotel and
Annex during a teleconferenced meet
ing Thursday afternoon.
During the 10-minute emergency
meeting, regents discussed modifica
tions that will include the installation
of a sprinkler system to the hotel and
annex and removal of asbestos in the
annex, said Charles Sippial, vice pres
ident of administration for A&M.
Bob Wright, director of communi
cations for the University System,
said the emergency meeting was held
because the two agenda items, which
also included unanimous approval of a
ground lease agreement for Prairie
View A&M, were not ready before the
meeting held last month and needed to
be approved before the meeting in
March.
Sippial said the modifications to
the MSC and hotel came after two
years of planning by A&M to comply
with fire marshal recommendations
made in late 2000.
The reason for the delay in
See Project on page 2
Bush asks U.N. for help
By Ron Fournier
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — On
Ik eve of a showdown over
Iraq, President Bush said
Thursday the United Nations
must help him confront
Saddam Hussein or “fade
into history as an ineffective,
iuelevant, debating society.”
As Bush issued his call
for unity, the administration
said Americans should be
prepared for “a fairly long
term commitment” in Iraq if
the United States goes to
war.
Secretary of State Colin
Powell told the House
Budget Committee he had no
estimate of the cost of war
with Iraq. But he did say he
thought Iraq should be able
to adjust quickly afterward
— in contrast to the slow
pace of recovery in
Afghanistan.
“I would hope that it
would be a short conflict and
that it would be directed at
the leadership, not the socie
ty,” he said. Iraq has an
effective bureaucracy, rich
oil resources and a developed
middle class, the secretary of
state said.
The flurry of events laid
the groundwork for Friday,
when U.N. weapons inspec
tors are to report to the
Security Council on whether
Iraq is complying with
orders to disarm. Bush is
expected to quickly follow
up with a request for a U.N.
resolution authorizing force.
However, the top U.N.
nuclear weapons inspector
said Thursday that inspec
tions should continue.
“We’re still in midcourse,
but we are moving forward,
and I see no reason for us to
bring the inspection process
to a halt,” Mohamed
ElBaradei said in an inter
view with The Associated
Press as he drafted his report
on a flight from Vienna,
Austria, to New York.
U.N. officials, speaking
on condition of anonymity,
See Help on page 2
Panel uncovers Enron’s
J2 billion IRS schemes
By Marcy Gordon
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Enron set up an array
ofdizzyingly complex schemes to hoodwink
Ihe Internal Revenue
Service, reap more than $2
billion in questionable tax
and accounting savings and
inflate its income as it paid
its executives lavishly, a con
gressional panel found in an
investigation made public
Thursday.
The now-bankrupt com
pany created a dozen tax-
sheltering transactions that
used techniques like claiming the same tax
loss twice, according to a report by the
House-Senate Joint Committee on Taxation,
which spent a year investigating Enron’s tax
practices. With names like Project Apache,
Project Renegade and Project Condor, the
transactions show a vast new arena of Enron
activity beyond the web of off-balance-sheet
schemes and partnerships that have already
been revealed.
“Money, money, money,” declared Sen.
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the
Senate Finance
Committee, at a hearing
on the tax panel’s report.
“Money above honesty
and financial accounting.”
The massive three-vol
ume report “reads like a
conspiracy novel,”
Grassley said.
The evidence of
Enron’s clever manipula
tion of the tax laws and the
fact that other big U.S. corporations do the
same are fueling a push by lawmakers to crack
down on tax shelters. Senate Democratic
See Enron on page 10
Money above
honesty and financial
accounting.
— Charles Grassley
Senator R-lowa
Tokens of love
JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION
Derek Merritt, a senior geography major, carefully friend of 5 at a local flower shop on Thursday in
chooses white and purple hybrid roses for his girl- preparation for Valentine's Day.
mspan opposes
i's tax plan
HINGTON (AP) '
:rats praised Federal
e Chairman Alan
pan on Wednesday for
ng President Bush's new
of $1.3 trillion in tax cuts
expensive in light of soar-
dget deficits. The White
meanwhile, was push-
ead with efforts to build
t in Congress,
e economy needs a little
.why wait?" Bush said,
his plan with a group of
westors in Alexandria, Va.
nspan, delivering the
twice-a-year economic
< to the House Financial
is Committee, was
ted by Democrats on the
ttee for his tough com-
before a Senate panel
sday. He told committee
ers that any future tax
lould be paid for either
ing other taxes or trim-
pending.
io/co for over 19 years!
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Cowboy boots and photos
featured at Bush Library
By Lauren Smith
THE BATTALION
The collection of cowboy
boots at the George Bush
Presidential Library Complex’s
“Legends of the West” exhibit
has never been matched by the
paraphernalia at the Dixie
Chicken on Northgate.
“The boots are wild, raucous
pieces that spice up the 100 seri
ous Western classics from artists
such as Frederic Remington,
Charles Russel, Peter Hurd,
Frank Reaugh, Tome Lea, and
Thomas Moran,” said Patricia
Burchfield, curator of the Bush
Museum.
Until July 5, the museum
exhibit hall will be adorned
with 150 pairs of boots with
carvings, beaded designs, and
paintings by some of the most
prestigious artists of the trade.
The exhibit includes bronze
and oil pieces and a vast collec
tion of black and white photos
from 19th century Native
Americans.
A vintage Native American
motorcycle from the 1940s is
also part of the exhibit, placed
next to the 2002 version of the
motorcycle, Burchfield said.
Contemporary artists are also
represented in the eclectic mix
of classic and modern pieces
from Carrie Fell and Larry
Pimie, who give their take on
the West as a state of mind, said
Brian Blake, public relations
specialist for the library and
museum.
“The West is still very much
alive in people’s psyche. It is a
state of mind, a sense of adven
ture,” Burchfield said. “It is peo
ple following their dreams.”
Students visiting the exhib
it walked away impressed
with the aesthetic quality and
elaborate designs of the boots,
Burchfield said.
“I was mesmerized by those
boots. Each of them is a little
masterpiece. They probably
took hours to make,” said Jenny
Baker, a junior industrial distri
bution major.
The whole gallery will be set
up as a western lodge for the
duration of the exhibit..
“I hope students will gain a
sense for the rich history of the
West and the wonderful and
enduring influence on our histo
ry,” Burchfield said.
Legends of The West Exhibit
Bush Museum: Feb. 15- July 5
t>Focus on the lure of the West,
art, history and culture
& Features photographs and boot art
SOURCE: Bush Library Public Relations TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION
Investigators: Tear in shuttle skin
may have caused explosion
By Ted Bridis
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The space shuttle Columbia
probably suffered a devastating breach of its skin,
allowing superheated air inside the left wing and
possibly the wheel compartment during its fiery
descent, investigators said Thursday.
In its first significant determi
nation, the accident investigation
board announced that heat damage
from a missing tile would not be
sufficient to cause the unusual
temperature increases detected
inside Columbia minutes before it
disintegrated. Sensors noticed an
unusual heat buildup of about 30
degrees inside the wheel well
before the accident.
Instead, the board determined
those increases were caused by
the presence inside Columbia of
plasma, or superheated air with
temperatures of roughly 2,000 degrees. It said
investigators were studying where a breach might
have occurred to allow plasma to seep inside the
wheel compartment or elsewhere in Columbia’s
left wing.
The board did not specify whether such a
breach could be the result of a structural tear in
Columbia’s aluminum frame or a hole from debris
striking the spacecraft. The board also did not
indicate when the breach occurred during the shut
tle’s 16-day mission.
Officials have previously focused on an unusu
ally large chunk of foam that broke off Columbia’s
external fuel tank on liftoff. Video footage showed
it struck part of the shuttle’s left wing, including
its toughened leading edge and the thermal tiles
covering the landing gear.
The announcement focused renewed attention
on possible catastrophic failures inside the wheel
compartment that may have contributed to the Feb.
1 breakup over Texas that killed seven astronauts.
Officials are not sure where a
breach might have opened in
Columbia’s skin, NASA
spokesman James Hartsfield said.
But he said the leading edge or
elsewhere on the left wing, the
fuselage or the left landing gear
door were prime candidates.
“Any of those could be poten
tial causes for the temperature
change we saw,” Hartsfield said.
“They do not and have not pin
pointed any general location as to
where that plasma flow would
have to originate.”
In an unusual plea for assistance, NASA urged
Americans on Thursday to share with them any
photographs or videotapes of Columbia’s descent
from California to eastern Texas. Some members
of the public have already handed over images,
“but more material will help the investigation of
the Columbia accident,” the agency said.
The board’s announcement didn’t surprise
those experts who have long believed that a mys
terious failure of sensors within Columbia’s left
See Shuttle on page 10
Uf
Any of those could
be potential causes for
the temperature
change we saw.
— James Hartsfield
NASA Spokesman