Racial
Profiling
Incident
Draus Moose
Apology
See Page A4
Blazer Detlef
Schrempf
Retires
See Sports,
Page B2
(The
Volume XXX
Number 40
uri lattò (Obs
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Wednesday
50e
October 4,2000
■■■■■■■■■■■■
I
Pro-Choice Forces Win Battle for RU-486
French Pill Could
Make Abortion More
Accessible, Private
Death Toll at 38 in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM - Ignoring appeals from
around the world to cease fire, Israelis
and Palestinians waged fierce gun battles
throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian and Israeli leaders ex
changed recriminations, blaming each
other for the violence. Prime Minister
Ehud Barak called on Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat to order his forces to rein
in the violence.
Hurricane Strikes Yucatan
CHETUMAL, Mexico - Coastal resi
dents o f M exico’s Yucatan peninsula and
northeastern Belize fled their homes as
the dangerous core o f Hurricane Keith
brushed land, bringing strong wind and
torrential rain. Heavy rain and flooding
throughout Central America caused at
least two deaths and forced hundreds to
be evacuated.
Former Leader Trudeau Dies
MONTREAL - Former prime minis
ter Pierre Trudeau, a flamboyant and char
ismatic political giant who led the coun
try through some o f its most tumultuous
events, has died at age 80. Trudeau was
famous for dating celebrities including
Barbara Streisand and actress Margot Kid
der, as well as once doing a pirouette
behind the back o f Britain’s Queen Eliza
beth.
Danish Voters Reject Euro
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A major
ity o f voters refused to adopt the Euro
pean Union’s beleaguered currency as
their own, a result reflecting Denmark's
traditional go-slow approach toward Eu
ropean integration. With nearly 90% of
the vote counted, 53% o f those voting in
a referendum opposed making the euro
Denmark’s currency, while 47% favored
the switch.
Cruise Missile Crashes
ELY, Nevada - The Air Force is inves
tigating what caused a cruise missile with
a dummy warhead to veer off course and
crash during a test in the eastern Nevada
desert. The missile launched from a B-52
bomber carried no explosives, a military
spokesman said. No one was hurt when it
hit the ground about 50 miles south o f
Wendover, Nevada.
Ford Turns to Michelin
DETROIT - Ford Motor will rely on
Michelin to supply the majority o f ties
for the most popular versions o f the Ex
plorer sport utility vehicle, the company
says. The moves put more distance be
tw een F o rd ’s flag sh ip p ro d u ct and
Bridgestone/Firestone, which had been
the sole supplier o f Explorer tires.
Continental Faces Lawsuit
HOUSTON - Air France is suing Con
tinental Airline in connection with a July
25 crash o f an AirFrance Concorde jet in
which 113 people died. The Houston-
based airline said the lawsuit was filed in
France earlier this month. A metal strip,
17 inches by 1 inch, found on the runway
is believed to have fallen from a Conti
nental C D -10 and may have contributed
to the crash.
Greek Boat Sinking Kills 59
PAROS, Greece - A Greek ferry struck
a patch o f rocks in the Aegean Sea and sank,
killing at least 59 o f the more than 500
people aboard. Many o f the dead were
young children, who were riot required to
be counted on the passenger list, while
victims panicked and jumped o ff the boat.
I
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday
approved U.S. use o f the abortion pill RU-486, a
major victory for those who battled for 12 years to
bring the early-abortion method to this country.
Proponents say the pill, which has been used by
millions o f women in 13 countries, could transform
abortion in the United States by making it more acces
sible and more private. But it can be used only in the
earliest days o f pregnancy.
The W omen’s Health Clinic at Oregon Health Sci
ences University was one o f 17 sites across the
country to test the drug. Dr. Mark Nichols was in
volved with the tests back in 1994.
In the state o f Oregon, a woman under the age o f 15
must get a parents’ permission before using the abor
tion pill. It will be available in Oregon in four to six
weeks at a cost o f about $300 dollars.
Lois Backus o f Portland’s Planned Parenthood
said the medication will only be given in a doctor’s
office or clinic. “We knew this was a safe drug. Over
500,000 women in the rest o f the world have safely
terminated their pregnancies with this medicine,” she
said.
Gayle Attebery, head o f Oregon’s Right to Life
chapter, said she hoped that George W. Bush would
revisit the government’s decision if he were elected
Continued on Page A2
The FDA 's approval of RU-486 may encourage more doctors, who don't offer surigical abortions, to offer the abortion
pill, makjpe it easier for women entering surgical clnics like the Lovejoy Surgicenter (above) which are often staked
out by pfetesters.
Gore, Bush Spar In First Presidential Debate
BOSTON (AP) - Vice President A1 Gore
and Texas Gov. George W. Bush clashed
over tax cuts, Medicare prescription drug
benefits and campaign finance Tuesday night
in their first debate o f the fall, pivot point in
the closest White House contest in a gen
eration.
Combative from the outset. Gore charged
that his rival’s tax plan would “spend more
money on tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 per
cent than all o f the new spending he pro
poses for education, health care, prescrip
tion drugs and national defense all com
bined.”
But Bush, standing a few feet away on a
debate stage at the University o f Massachu
setts, said G ore’s economic plan would of
fer tax cuts only to the middle class. “Every
body who pays taxes ought to get relief,” he
said. At the same time, he said. Gore’s blue
print would produce "dramatically” bigger
government with 200 "new or expanded pro
grams” and 20,000 new bureaucrats.
“ It
em pow ers
Washington,” added
the governor, who
hastened to tell a na
tional viewing audi
ence he was from
West Texas - not the
nation’scapital. Over
and over, he accused
G ore o f “ fuzzy
math.”
The Texas gover
nor played aggressor
late in the debate, as
well, mentioned the
fund-raising scan
dals o f the Clinton-G ore era, the vice
president’s visit to a Buddhist Temple in
California, and his declaration that there was
“no controlling legal authority" when ques
tions were raised about fund-raising calls he
m ade from the
White House.
Gore and Bush
met for the first
o f three presiden
tial
deb ates
scheduled for the
next two weeks,
each man seeking
advantage in a race
so close that poll
after poll shows
them w ith in a
point or two o f
one another. Their
vice presidential
running mates. Democrat Joseph Lieberman
and Republican Dick Cheney, debate Thurs
day in Kentucky.
Continued on Page A2
Support for
Business
Diversity
Getting
Ready
For Cold
Corporations, Civic Leaders
maximize opportunities for
small, minority and women-
owned businesses
Fall is in the Air and
Help is Here to Save
on Your Energy Bill
Pacific Power, Portland General Elec
tric and the Community Energy Project
are teaming up to offer local residents
free home weatherization and energy con
servation workshops during the upcom
ing fall months.
Both homeowners and renters are in
vited to attend 40 Portland area work
shops in the coming weeks.
For families on a budget, home energy
conservation is a great way to trim
monthly expenses. Insulation added to
the doors and windows o f your home also
adds comfort by cutting back on irritating
cold drafts.
Portland residents with low incomes
can also receive a free kit with do-it-
yourself materials worth over $150. The
kit includes reusable vinyl storm win
dows, door weatherstripping, pipe insu
lation, a fluorescent light and more.
Jim Lehrer o f PBS was moderator, oper
ating under strict rules negotiated in ad
vance by the Gore and Bush camps. It was, he
said at the outset, the first o f three 90-
minute debates between the two major party
rivals - a format that excluded Ralph Nader
and Pat Buchanan, running as minor party
candidates.
Outside the hall, dozens o f protesters
knocked over police barricades and blocked
a road leading to the debate hall to protest
the exclusion o f Buchanan and Nader, who
was turned away at the door.
Inside the hall, the audience heeded
Lehrer's admonishment to remain silent.
In a reprise o f his acceptance speech at
this summer’s Democratic National Con
vention, Gore said it was important to stand
up to special interests, pharmaceutical com
panies among them. “Big drug companies
See Special Section C. National Minority
Business W eek, inside. _____________
Anne Lau of the Community Energy Projects shows how insulation around the
doors and windows of this Southeast Portland home*will add comfort and lower
heating bills this winter.
(Photo by M ichael Lelghton/Portland Observer)
A senior program, for people 55 years
and older, offers free installation o f vinyl
storm windows, door weatherstripping,
caulking and pipe insulation to qualifying
senior citizens, and people with disabili
ties.
For more information on the work
shops and these special services, contact
the Community Energy Project at 284-
6827.
M etro will be am ong m ore than 60
northw est corp o ratio n s and governm ent
agencies gathering this w eek to m axi
m ize op p o rtu n ities for sm all, m inority
and w om en-ow ned businesses to co m
pete for and p a rtic ip a te in M etro c o n
tracting activ ities.
Week-long activities include a trade fair,
reception and awards luncheon.
The annual Minority Enterprise Develop
ment Week awards luncheon, recognizing
outstanding minority-owned businesses in
the state is at 11:30 a m. Thursday at the
Oregon Convention Center.
Joann F ran cis, reg ional a d m in istra
tor o f the U .S. Sm all B usiness A dm in
is tr a tio n , w ill be k e y n o te sp e a k e r.
A w ards w ill be p re se n te d to the y e a r’s
o u ts ta n d in g c o n tr a c to r and v e n d o r;
business ach iev em en t; and com m unity
achievem ent.