NATIONAL CBC outraged over rejection of justice WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Congressional Black Caucus recent ly held a ne,ws'conference to voice its outrage over the 54-45 vote by the Senate to reject Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White's nomination. "We are here today to urge that the Senate stop playing politics with judicial appointments - stop holding minority and female can didates hostage and stop denying qualified candidates their day in court," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chair of the CBC. "It's just not fair for the Senate to hold a nomination in limbo for so long. It undermines the confirmation process. "I call upon President Clinton and the administration to continue . to nominate more qualified minorities and women to the federal bench and not be deterred by the Senate's action or lack of action." The president, in a statement, said, "I will continue to fulfill my obligation to nominate and press for the confirmation of the most qualified candidates possible for the federal bench. "By voting down the first African American judge, who was already serving - the first African American judge to serve on the Missouri State Supreme Court - the Republican-controlled Senate is adding credence to the perceptions that they treat minority and women judicial nominees unfairly and unequally." White's is just one of the many nominations that the Senate had not acted upon until the Oct. 6 rejection vote. Judge Marsha Berzon. who has been waiting 20 months, and Judge Richard Paez, who has been waiting 44 months, still have not had their nominations taken before the Senate for a vote. Shalala urges seniors to get flu shots WASHINGTON, D.C. - Each winter an influenza epidemic sweeps the country, killing an average of 20,000 people, most of them over 65 years of age, according the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While 65 percent of senior citizens receive their flu shots, millions remain unprotected. "The flu poses a serious potential hazard to older Americans, but it's a hazard we can all protect against," said Secretary Donna Sha lala. "Every senior citizen needs to know that flu and pneumonia shots are convenient, free under Medicare and sometimes life-sav ing." The flu shot miist be given every year, and it is recommended for those at-risk of developing serious complications as a result of the infection: those 65 and older; those in nursing homes; those with chronic diseases of the heart, lungs or kidneys; those with diabetes, immunosuppression or severe forms of anemia. For information about receiving a shot covered by Medicare, call 1-800-638-6833 or visit medicare.gov. For information about influen za, call the Centers for Disease Control at 1-800-232-2522 or visit cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/weekly.htm. INTERNATIONAL Cholera ravages Sierra Leone PORT LOKO, Sierra Leone (IPS) - Sierra Leone's northwestern district of Port Loko has been hit by a cholera epidemic that is taking a serious toll on the local population. Health authorities told IPS that the deaths of more than 40 women and children have been recorded as a result of the outbreak. "The death toll is expected to rise because of the lack of pure drinking water and run-down sanitary conditions in the area," said Clifford Gamanga, acting district medical and community health offi cer. "Taps and purified water sources were destroyed and the remain ing population has been forced to depend on impure water fetched from shallow wells," said Gamanga. "During the fighting earlier this year, dozens of dead people were abandoned on the streets or buried in shallow graves, and this may be another cause for the epidemic." Port Loko is situated about 115 kilometers northwest of the capi tal of Freetown and had been the scene of repeated clashes between rebel and government forces during Sierra Leone's eight-year conflict. The situation has been further worsened by the sale of palm nut oil mixed with caustic soda by unscrupulous traders. Unable to afford palm oil or ordinary cooking oil, customers have reported to buying the cheap and poisonous mixture. It could take quite a while before the situation is brought under control. The authorities have to address the burning issue of malnu trition and hunger in a community that is constantly being harassed by marauding rebels who, like the impoverished civilian population, want food and medicine. - Lansana Fofana Group appeals for journalist's release LUANDA, Angola (IPS) - An international media watchdog group has appealed to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola to release local journalist William Tonet, who was picked up by the Angolan secret police in the capital of Luanda earlier this month. According to journalists at the biweekly Folha 8, the newspaper edited by Tonet, no charges have been filed against him since he was detained on Oct. 2. "We respectfully call on you to ensure that Mr. Tonet is immedi ately and unconditionally released from jail and that the harassment of him and his colleagues is halted." said Bengt Braun of the World Association of Newspapers, which represents more than 17,000 pub lications in 93 countries. The Department of Criminal Investigations, which is holding Tonet, has not given a reason for his arrest. "However, we are concerned at reports suggesting that he is being held in connection with a recent article which appeared in Folha 8 See Mows IrWi on A5 INDEX OPINION ^ _ A6 SPORTS _ ?l RELIGION B7 CLASSIFIEDS _ _ ill HEALTH _ _ C3 ENTERTAINMENT __ C7 CALENDAR AIO Thit Week In Black Hittory... . Sept. 21, 1909- Kwame Nkrumah is born in Nkroful, Ghana. A leader in the African colonial liberation movement. Nkrumah will become the first prime minister of Ghana. Sept. 23, 1930 - Ray Charles Robinson it born in Albany, Ga. Using only his first and middle names, the singer/songwriter will become one of the preeminent musicians of the 20th cent-ury. Sept. 26, 1962 - A. Leon Higginbotham becomes the first African American member of the Federal Trade Commission. Long, expensive road ahead for Democrats I Gore not a shoe-in for presidential nod BY RON FOURNIER 'THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - The Demo cratic presidential campaign is threatening to become a long, costly battle that could leave the eventual nominee broke and polit ically weakened. Vice President A1 Gore's slide, rival Bill Bradley's advantage in fund raising and a highly competi tive primary calendar all point toward a race that could last deep into the spring. Interviews with a dozen Democrats inside and out side the campaigns suggest Gore remains the party favorite, but Bradley holds appeal in many early voting states. "Gore is likely to win, but it's not going to be an elevating expe rience," said Democratic consul tant Geoff Garin, who is not in either camp. It all starts, as it always does, in Iowa and eight days later in New Hampshire - where momentum seized by a candidate is more important than the small number of delegates awarded by state par ties In Iowa, Gore holds a double digit lead in polls over the former New Jersey senator. Though Bradley has narrowed the gap, both campaigns expect the vice president's institutional advan tages - such the AFL-CIO's endorsement - to give him the edge on Jan. 24. Then comes New Hampshire on Feb. 1 Bradley has rallied to pull even," and the vice president is running scared. He will be in the state for most of the next two weeks, preparing for a forum with Bradley at months end. For now, consultants say, the edge goes to Bradley. Who wins may not matter as much as who exceeds expectations and heads into the delegate-rich section of the calendar with momentum. The current schedule, which Democratic leaders are tinkering with, has no delegates awarded See Democrats on A5 Asaocociatod Press photo Vice President Al Gore, flanked by supporter Bill Cosby, trios on a shoo sont to him by NBA siof Shaquillo O'Nool. Despite support from Cosby and O'Neal, Gore fares a battle to win the Democratic nomination for president. \ NAACP board votes to boycott South Carolina Boycott could cost Palmetto State $280 million BY SETH HETTENA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LINTHICUM, Md. - The NAACP's national board on Saturday approved a tourism boycott of South Carolina until the state removes the Confeder ate flag from the Statehouse dome. i "The ratification officially mobilizes all of our chapters and members to not visit or spend dollars in South Carolina until the flag is removed," said NAACP spokeswoman Sheila Douglas. A spokeswoman for Gov. Jim; Hodges said the boycott deci sion will make it harder to get a compromise to resolve the issue. Nina Brook also criticized the House, and Republican Speaker David Wilkins for the failure to get a compromise. "A very real * obstacle remains,: a majority in the House who say they will not vote for a compromise, and the speaker of the House, who says he will not vote for a compromise," Brook said. The House rejected a com promise to move the flag to a Confederate monument on the Statehouse grounds several years ago. "I have not seen, a significant change or shift in the House's position on that," Wilkins said. Supporters say the flag repre sents Southern heritage and honors South Carolinians who died in the' Civil War. The NAACP says it is a symbol of racism. The South Carolina branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People proposed the tourism boycott of the state in July. It would begin Jan. 1. The NAACP's national lead ers say they are working to make sure South Carolina will feel economic pain from the national boycott. More than S280 million a year that African American travelers spend in South Caroli na could be at stake. "We know that economic sanctions work," said Lonnie Randolph Jr., chairman of the NAACP's programs and research committee. Several groups from across the nation have already canceled plans to hold meetings and con ventions in South Carolina since the NAACP called for the boy cott. Earlier thjs week, the Sev enth-day Adventist Church can celed a meeting that would have brought 7,000 people to Colum bia for four days in March. Offi cials said the event would have brought $500,000 worth of tourism business. The flag controversy has embroiled South Carolina for years. The state is the only one in the nation to fly the Confed erate flag over its Statehouse, although Georgia and Mississip pi incorporate part of the design into their state flags. 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