USA
The White House unveiled a list of 22 "most wanted terrorists" as the US broadened its hunt beyond Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. President Bush's announcement at FBI headquarters targeted "known terrorists," including bin Laden, his two top deputies, and others in his Al Qaeda network implicated in earlier bombing attacks against American interests overseas. (Related story, page 1; editorial, page 8.)
New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) said the city could lose 100,000 jobs and $1 billion in revenue this budget year because of the Sept. 11 attacks. Tax revenues will be lost from hotels, restaurants, and retail sales, where business dropped by up to 70 percent right after the attacks. Giuliani ordered a 15 percent cut in spending by city departments, except for police, fire, and education. (Related story, page 3.)
The FBI said the strain of anthrax that killed a tabloid newspaper editor in Boca Raton, Fla., was manmade, possibly originating in an Iowa laboratory, suggesting criminal activity may be involved. But investigators so far have found no evidence linking the Florida incident to terrorism.
Bush formally notified Congress of his plan to deploy US forces for combat operations in Afghanistan. He wouldn't comment on the scope or duration of operations and refused to characterize what role, if any, ground troops might play. Meanwhile, as Pentagon officials announced the Taliban's air defenses had largely been wiped out, special forces units were poised for what is likely to be a prominent role in the next phase of attacks. Small groups of soldiers could be sent on missions such as training rebel forces to fight the Taliban militia and seeking to kidnap or kill bin Laden and other terrorist leaders.
The House Ways and Means Committee, voting largely along party lines, approved 26 to 13 a measure to give Bush added authority to negotiate new trade deals. The legislation faces an uncertain fate when it moves to the House floor as early as next week. The mainly GOP-backed bill would give the president trade promotion, or "fast track," authority. With such authority, withheld by Congress since it expired in 1994, he can negotiate trade agreements that lawmakers can approve or reject, but cannot amend.
House Democrats elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California to be their No. 2 leader, elevating her to the highest post yet held by a woman in Congress. Pelosi prevailed in a 118-to-95 vote over rival Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, in a closed-door, secret ballot. She officially steps into the job of Democratic whip Jan. 15, when David Bonior relinquishes the post to run for governor in Michigan.
William Knowles of St. Louis and Barry Sharpless of the Scripps Research Institute in California were both named winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry along with Ryoji Noyori of Japan's Nagoya University for their molecular research used in making medicines. Meanwhile, the Nobel Prize for economics was awarded to George Akerlof of the University of California, Michael Spence of Stanford University, and Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University for their theories on financial markets that can be applied to developing and advanced economies.
