Bush meets with war council
WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met Tuesday with top defense and intelligence officials. Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Gen. Richard B. Meyers, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were seen entering the West Wing. The security perimeter around the White House was expanded as the U.S.-issued deadline approached for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to leave his country.
Ridge: Don't listen to rumors
WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge Tuesday promised Americans the government would get the facts out about any terror threat as fast as possible. "There is bound to be misinformation," he warned. "Don't react to rumors." Ridge said the latest "orange" terror alert was designed to minimize economic impact of any attack. And he indicated the federal government might "share or defray" the costs of the nation's raised terror alert with the states through a supplemental appropriations bill.
America on alert, anti-war protests set
CHICAGO, March 18 (UPI) -- As the clock ticks down to a likely U.S. invasion of Iraq, protesters Tuesday called for acts of non-violent civil disobedience to oppose a war while supporters prayed for a quick, decisive conflict. Security was tight across Chicago with the heightened "orange" terrorism alert declared after President George W. Bush's ultimatum Monday to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Police conducted random checks of vehicles outside terminals at O'Hare International and Midway airports and patrols increased vigilance at train stations, power plants and commuter facilities.
Yemeni kills U.S., Canadian oil workers
SANAA, Yemen, March 18 (UPI) -- Three people, including a U.S. and a Canadian oil-field worker, were killed Tuesday by a Yemeni gunman who killed himself after shooting several co-workers. The U.S. Embassy confirmed the incident occurred in Safer, 16 miles east of Marib, in a field drilled by the American-owned Nabors company for Hunt Oil of Dallas. The gunman was identified as Naji Ahmad al-Kumain, who was also employed at the field. Although anti-American sentiment is strong in Yemen and other Arab countries over U.S. policies, including Israel and Iraq, local observers did not rule out the killings might have been motivated by personal reasons connected with work.
Tractor standoff continues on Mall
WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- A man identified as a North Carolina farmer drove a tractor onto the National Mall and was holding off police for a second day Tuesday, claiming he had a cache of explosives with him. Authorities closed several buildings near the site of the standoff, which was between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and traffic into Washington was at a standstill in the area as commuters tired to find routes around closed streets. A man towed a tractor onto the Mall about noon Monday and then drove the first vehicle into a pond and then drove the tractor off a trailer.
Gulf War vet executed
TERRE HAUTE, Ind., March 18 (UPI) -- A decorated Gulf War veteran who claimed he suffered brain damage from nerve gas was executed by lethal injection Tuesday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. Louis Jones Jr. was convicted of raping and killing another soldier, Pvt. Tracie Joy McBride. Jones, 53, was the third federal prisoner in 40 years to be executed since Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh died by lethal injection at the same federal penitentiary in 2001. President Bush refused to commute Jones's sentence to life without possibility of parole and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the execution. Jones, the second Gulf War veteran executed by the federal government, was declared dead at 7:08 a.m.
Cruise lines fear war will hurt revenues
MIAMI, March 18 (UPI) -- The world's largest cruise line fears war in Iraq will further reduce revenue as it readies a merger proposal for its stockholders. Carnival Cruise Lines said in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the conflict with Iraq "would likely have a further negative impact" on its fiscal position. Carnival is preparing for a meeting April 14 of shareholders who will vote on a merger with P&O Princes Cruises. The merger would create a company twice the size of Royal Caribbean, currently the second largest.
Housing starts drop 11 percent
WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- The Commerce Department said Tuesday U.S. housing starts posted their largest decline in nine years during February, knocked down as winter storms hampered construction in most of the country. The government said housing starts fell 11 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.622 million units after rising 0.2 percent in January. The decline was the largest since a 17-percent plunge in January 1994. Wall Street economists were expecting housing starts to decline to an annual rate of 1.72 million units from January's originally reported 1.85-million-unit pace, which the government revised to a 1.822-million pace.
Stocks flat in cautious trading
NEW YORK, March 18 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market were little changed in cautious trading Tuesday, pressured by a weak report on the housing market. In early afternoon trading, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which surged 282.21 points Monday, was up 5.81 points at 8,147.73. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which jumped 51.94 points in the previous session, was down 4.65 points to 1,387.62.
