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Study finds possible link between Agent Orange, leukemia

By Associated Press, 4/20/2001 06:12

Study finds possible link between Agent Orange, leukemia

WASHINGTON (AP) The dangerous aftereffects of the chemical Agent Orange used in Vietnam may have extended to the children of veterans of that war. The Institute of Medicine reported Thursday that the children of veterans exposed to herbicides such as Agent Orange seem to have a greater chance of being afflicted with a certain type of leukemia called acute myelogenous leukemia. The new analysis makes the first connection between the childhood disease and the pesticide, although it stops short of saying the link is conclusive. During Vietnam, thousands of veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a defoliant used to clear areas of jungle so the Viet Cong could be seen and attacked from the air.

Columbine prepares to mark second anniversary of attack

DENVER (AP) Relatives and friends of the Columbine High School shooting victims hoped to continue the healing process during a memorial service at a park near the school Friday, the second anniversary of the deadly attack. A moment of silence was to be observed at 11:21 a.m., the time the shooting rampage began. Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stormed Columbine High, near Littleton, on April 20, 1999, scattering gunfire and setting off pipe bombs. They killed 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded 26 before committing suicide in the school's library. The anniversary comes one day after nearly three dozen families of Columbine victims agreed to a $2.5 million settlement of their lawsuits against the gunmen's parents and the providers of a gun used in the massacre.

Democratic presidential derby off to early start

WASHINGTON (AP) In the rehearsal halls of Democratic presidential politics, a dozen or so political stars and newcomers already are auditioning for the role of the party's 2004 White House nominee. The big question is when will last year's nominee, Al Gore, clarify his plans about the presidential race. The betting is later this year. Democrats around the country say Gore would be a formidable candidate, probably the party's front-runner, if he decides to run. The list of people lining up to provide an alternative to Gore is growing steadily, though few will admit publicly they're seriously interested in running. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut are names that come up frequently in discussions with Democrats.

U.S. tech wreck spreads to Europe with wave of layoffs, earnings gloom

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) After savaging American bellwethers Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and Intel, market forces are now taking aim at Europe, as the continent's high-tech sector cracks under the pressure of plunging profits and wilting demand. Europe now appears on a collision course with an unfolding global tech wreck. The spreading gloom is sapping confidence in a regional economy that had until recently boasted immunity from the U.S. slowdown. Things unraveled this week, when Dutch electronics giant Philips posted a 90 percent drop in quarterly profits and said it would lay off up to 7,000 workers. Philips placed the blame squarely on the slower U.S. economy, saying it had to scale back production to cut inventory. That follows 2,000 job cuts by Germany's Siemens and reports that British telecom equipment maker Marconi PLC is gearing up for 3,000 layoffs of its own.

U.S. citizen detained in Chinese crackdown on espionage

BEIJING (AP) China has detained an American writer and former teacher, the U.S. embassy said Friday, the fifth Chinese-born intellectual with foreign ties to be held in a sweeping anti-espionage campaign. Wu Jianmin, a U.S. citizen, was detained April 8 and is suspected of espionage, the U.S. Embassy here said. Police informed embassy officials of Wu's detention on April 14, saying he was under investigation for spying on behalf of Taiwan. Authorities suspect that Wu was involved in the publication of ''The Tiananmen Papers,'' a book about the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, said Frank Lu, a former dissident who runs a human rights monitoring group in Hong Kong. The book, which depicts Chinese leaders at odds over how to handle the protests, is said to be based on Communist Party records smuggled out of China by a disaffected official.

Separated Siamese twin fights for her life after surgery

SINGAPORE (AP) Eleven-month-old Ganga Shrestha was fighting for her life in a Singapore hospital Friday, a doctor said, 10 days after surgeons separated her brain from that of her Siamese twin sister in a landmark operation. Ganga has a serious infection and is not doing well, said Dr. Vincent Yeow, a plastic surgeon who belonged to the team that separated the Nepalese girls born joined at the head. Ganga's more bashful sister, Jamuna, was in great shape, said Yeow, a doctor at Singapore General Hospital. Doctors were treating Ganga with antibiotics and hoping the drugs would help her fight the infection in her blood and brain. Surgeons separated the girls in a 96-hour operation that ended April 10. They opened the twins' shared skull cavity and separated hundreds of tangled blood vessels connecting their two brains.

Sixers looking for revenge against Pacers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Philadelphia 76ers got the opponent they wanted most in the playoffs. After being knocked out of the playoffs the last two years by Indiana, the Sixers open the best-of-five Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pacers on Saturday. Indiana, the defending East champions, swept the Sixers out of the conference semifinals in 1999 and needed six games to beat them in the second round last year. But these are two different teams now. The Pacers no longer have center Rik Smits, guard Mark Jackson or forwards Dale Davis, Antonio Davis and Chris Mullin. Indiana struggled to earn the last playoff spot and finally edged Boston with a seven-game winning streak.

Cannes calls on its favorite directors for 54th festival

PARIS (AP) It promises to be deja vu all over again at Cannes, as directors long favored by the festival's organizers tussle for the top prize, which many of them have won before. Organizers announced the official selection of films for this year on Thursday, calling up Cannes perennials like Joel and Ethan Coen, David Lynch and Japan's Shohei Imamura. Among the 23 selected films are four films by American directors. There were also four French films, two Italian and three Japanese as well as the first film from Bosnia: ''No Man's Land,'' by Danis Tanovic. British actress Charlotte Rampling will open the festival May 9 and present the awards when the nearly two-week extravaganza closes on May 20.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001