USA
Congress was to begin debate on an economic stimulus package this week that could pump $75 billion into the sagging US economy. House Republicans are pushing for tax breaks totaling $100 billion while President Bush calls for a smaller stimulus package of $60 billion to $75 billion that includes tax rebates for wage-earners who didn't receive refunds earlier this year. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said any package should be temporary, should immediately put money into the economy, avoid driving the budget into long-term deficits, and balance tax cuts with new government spending.
As a second week of airstrikes in Afghanistan began, President Bush declared the first phase of the military campaign against Osama bin Laden and terrorism a success, saying the bombing had disrupted his support networks. In his weekly radio address, Bush also sought to reassure Americans that the government was taking "strong precautions" to protect the public from retaliatory attacks.
Bush urged every American child to donate $1 to help Afghan children survive the impending winter. At a press conference, the president noted one in three young Afghans is an orphan and almost half suffer chronic malnutrition. Donations should be sent to: "America's Fund for Afghan Children," The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington D.C. Above, Kelsea Tackett, a second-grader from Lorain, Ohio, prepares to mail her dollar to the fund.
Authorities stepped up criminal investigations both in the US and abroad for persons who have spread anthrax to a growing number of states. In Boca Raton, Fla., five more tabloid newspaper workers tested positive for exposure to anthrax but showed no signs of infection, bringing the total number of people exposed in Florida to at least seven. A letter mailed to NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw reportedly contained the anthrax that infected the news anchor's assistant. And in Reno, Nev., a letter sent from Malaysia to a Microsoft office also tested positive for the bacteria. Malay-sian police were helping in the investigation.
US warplanes bombed a command and control system in southern Iraq as part of US-British patrols over "no fly" zones, officials said. The strikes were reportedly in response to hostile Iraqi threats against coalition pilots conducting routine monitoring of the southern zone. They are not connected to the war on terrorism.
Minnesota and its two largest unions reached tentative deals that could end a two-week strike by 23,000 civil service workers, negotiators said. The deal would end the largest work stoppage by state employees in the state's history. Leaders of the two unions planned to discuss details, none of which had yet been released.
A bus returning from a high school band competition crashed near Omaha, Neb., killing three people and injuring 29 others Saturday. The victims included two Seward, Neb., students and the mother of a band member.
