©lfp Hath} (Tar HM
HbSe K MfflraSi pp IL F 3 ’ "^j@L
*** -m . - v "Jfc * "i ' 1 ■
■ ' msm ' fjp!
kUhUHPs . ■’J^^^S/Sm
-. ~ MK: ;
”Y~ ocal farmers held the first special pre-Thanksgiving
Carrboro Farmers’ Market on Tuesday afternoon
from 2 to 6 p.m. The market gave customers a
chance to buy locally grown produce and homemade baked
goods to add to their Thanksgiving feasts. Quilts, baskets,
Senate passes Medicare bill
Bush to sign revamped plan into law
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
Senate gave final congressional
approval Tuesday to the most
sweeping changes to Medicare
since its creation in 1965, including
anew prescription drug benefit for
40 million older and disabled
Americans. The 54-44 vote sends
the bill to President Bush, who is
eager to sign it into law.
Supporters said the $395 billion
measure, which gives private insur
ers a large new role in health care
for seniors, was an overdue change
for the 38-year-old program.
Drug coverage won’t begin until
2006, although seniors next year
will be able to purchase a drug dis
count card that officials said could
Report details
spread of AIDS
New wave affecting China, Russia
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON - The HIV/AIDS
epidemic continues its devastating
march across the globe, with more
deaths and infections this year
than ever before, according to a
U.N. report released Tuesday.
The report by UNAIDS, the U.N.
agency responsible for coordinating
global efforts to fight the disease,
said the epidemic killed more than
3 million people in 2003. About 5
million more acquired the human
immunodeficiency virus, or HIV,
bringing the number of people liv
ing with the virus to between 34
million and 46 million.
“This is an epidemic that at the
start was a white middle-class gay
man’s disease. Today, if you use a
stereotype, the face of AIDS is a
young woman from Africa,” Dr.
Peter Piot, executive director of
UNAIDS, told a news conference
in London.
The report said the epidemic is
rampant in sub-Saharan Africa
an estimated 26.6 million of the
continent’s people are living with
HIV —and anew wave of the dis
ease is threatening China,
Indonesia and Russia because of
transmissions through drug use
and unsafe sex.
There was some positive news
in the report, with several coun
tries making progress in combat
ing the spread of the disease.
Uganda was considered one suc
cess story, marking its 12th con
secutive year of reduced HIV
infections.
UNAIDS also said the global
response to the crisis had expand
ed significantly in the past two to
three years, with spending on anti
retroviral medication and educa
tion increasing in many countries.
HOMEGROWN FEAST
reduce their pharmacy bills by 15
percent to 25 percent.
Seniors “will finally have the
prescription drug coverage they
need and the choices they deserve,"
Senate Majority Bill Frist of
Tennessee said. “At the same time,
it preserves traditional Medicare.”
Democratic opponents com
plained that the bill was a giveaway
to insurers and drug companies.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-
Mass., said it will dump seniors “in
the cold arms of the HMOs.”
While Frist and others called it a
bipartisan vote, the tally fell large
ly along party lines. Forty-two
Republicans, 11 Democrats and an
independent backed the legislation.
Nine conservative Republicans
"However, it is quite clear that
our current global efforts remain
entirely inadequate for an epi
demic that is continuing to spiral
out of control,” said Piot.
The report said anti-retroviral
treatment coverage remains dis
mal in sub-Saharan Africa, and
basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS is
disturbingly low- in many coun
tries, especially among women.
Voluntary counseling and test
ing services are all but absent in
many nations, and only 1 percent
of pregnant women in heavily
affected countries have access to
services aimed at preventing
mother-to-child HIV transmis
sion, the report states.
A report by the Washington
based International Center for
Research on Women said the stig
ma of the disease continues to
impede testing, prevention and
treatment for women in Africa.
“It is now incumbent on inter
national policymakers to defini
tively address stigma and discrim
ination to alleviate the burden of
suffering it has added to the lives
of people living with HIV and
AIDS,” said Geeta Rao Gupta,
president of the center.
Take 15/501 South towards Pittsboro
Exit Main St./Southern Village
DR. SEUSS: THE CAT IN THE HAT El
t :05-3:05*(500)-7:05-9:10
ELF IKS 12:45-2:55-<5:06) 7:15-9:30
TIMELINE K351:30-(4:15)-7:00-9:40
HAUNTEDMWjSIONBtT^^
M B . a r. n s stad,^
$5.00 PIOIKI SEATING
News
cedar furniture, yarn and knit hats also were available. The
market normally is open during the summer months from
7 a.m. to noon Saturdays and from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays.
The market is located at 301 W. Main St., next to Carrboro
Town Hall at the Town Commons.
joined 35 Democrats in opposition.
The GOP-controlled House
passed the bill near dawn Saturday
on a 220-215 party-line vote.
Senate Democratic leader Tom
Daschle of South Dakota said
Republicans would pay a price in
coming elections because “seniors
by an overwhelming margin
oppose this legislation.”
Republicans relished their polit
ical triumph on an issue that
Democrats have long exploited in
political campaigns. Bush sees the
bill as fidfilling both his and many
lawmakers’ campaign promises.
“Year after year the problems in
the Medicare system were studied
and debated, and yet nothing was
done,” Bush said Tuesday at a hos
pital in Las Vegas. “Some said
Medicare reform could never be
done. For the sake of our seniors,
Insurgents targeting
Iraqis with violence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq Attacks on
U.S. troops in Iraq have declined in
the last two weeks and insurgents
increasingly are targeting Iraqis
working with the U.S.-led coalition
in an effort to intimidate them, the
top U.S. Chilian and military lead
ers here said Tuesday.
Another international humani
tarian organization announced it
was curtailing its operations in
Iraq because of the deteriorating
security situation.
After sunset Tuesday, large
explosions were heard in central
Baghdad, followed by sirens and
sporadic gunfire from the west
bank of the Tigris River. The cause
was not known immediately.
Insurgents this month have
fired mortars on the U.S. head
quarters compound in central
Baghdad, known as the “green
zone.” There has been no firing in
that area since the U.S. military
launched “Operation Iron
Hammer” to strike at guerrilla
hideouts in the city.
Chief administrator L. Paul
Bremer said the insurgents’ recent
attacks on the coalition itself were
not having the desired effect, so
they were turning to Iraqis who
help occupation forces.
( MOVIES AT TIMBERLYNE 'N
Weaver Dairy at Airport Rd.
OR. SEUSS - THE CAT IN THE HAT* B Daily 11:00,1 00,300,
5.90,7:00,9:00
THE HAUNTED MANSION* S Daily 11:00,1:00,3.95,5:15,
7:25,9:35
THE MISSING* 1 Daily 12:30,3:10,7:10,9:50
BAD SANTA* H Daily 11:10,1:10,3:20,5:25,7:30,9:40
GOTHIKA* I Daily 1195,1:10,3:15,5:25,7:35,9:45
ELFB Daily 1190,195,3:10,5:20,7:30,9:40
Eff ODltfE Jg ££
DTH/MADONNA LEE
we got something done.”
When the legislation made it
through the Senate for the first
time, in June, Daschle and Kennedy
were part of the overwhelming 76-
21 vote for the bill. But in months of
closed-door negotiations,
Republicans and two Democratic
senators forged a compromise bill
that most Democrats believed
favored private insurers at the
expense of traditional Medicare.
“It didn’t have to be this way,”
Kennedy said.
At its heart, the Medicare legis
lation was designed as a grand bar
gain, with the new drug coverage
for all Medicare beneficiaries long
sought by Democrats combined
with a Republican-backed plan to
give private insurance companies a
vast new role in health care for the
program’s beneficiaries.
“The security situation has
changed," Bremer said at a press
conference with Gen. John
Abizaid, the chief of the U.S.
Central Command.
“They have failed to intimidate
the coalition,” he said. “They have
now begun a pattern of trying to
intimidate innocent Iraqis. They
will not succeed. ... If Saddam
taught the Iraqis nothing else it
was how to endure the depreda
tions of thugs.”
Abizaid said that the number of
daily attacks on coalition forces
were down by about half during
the last two w-eeks. He gave no fig
ures, but U.S. officials have said
U.S. forces were being attacked on
average of 30 to 35 times a day.
“In the past two weeks, these
attacks have gone down, attacks
against coalition forces, but unfor
tunately we find that attacks
against Iraqis have increased,”
Abizaid said. He said the attacks
had increased not only in number
but in severity.
Abizaid said some foreigners
were fighting with the insurgents,
but their numbers were small.
P Planned Parenthood
Chapel Hill Durham
942-7762 266-2672
for appointment® for walk-in times
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2003
CHCCS wins
national award
Technology program gets accolades
BY LINDSEY USTROM
STAFF WRITER
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City
Schools has been selected for one
of the 2004 President’s Technology
Awards for its innovative and far
reaching technology initiatives.
The district is one of 18 recipi
ents of the award, which is given
annually by the American
Association of School
Administrators. The association
recognizes leadership in utilizing
technology to advance teaching,
learning and achievement.
Ray Reitz, chief technology offi
cer for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
district, said the award recognizes
the district’s attempts to revolu
tionize technology within the
school system.
“Based on several years of
strategic planning, we have devel
oped some break-the-mold solu
tions that are being noticed by pro
fessional educational organiza
tions and school districts through
out the country,” Reitz said.
Kim Hoke, CHCCS spokes
woman, said the district’s Connect
2 School program is at the fore
front of the technology initiative.
The program’s foundation rests
on providing “anytime, anywhere
access” to students, she said.
Through the Connect 2 School
campaign, the district provides
computer devices to students at
the middle school and high school
levels who otherwise would not
have computer access at home.
The devices, called thin-client
computers, enable students to have
access to the district’s server and a
home Internet connection without
buying a traditional computer, said
Bob Stocking, CHCCS director of
instructional technology and media.
“All the computing power sits in
the servers located at school,"
Economy crests
to 20-year peak
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
economy in the third quarter gal
loped ahead faster than an initial
estimate, which already was the
swiftest in almost two decades.
That burst, along with a surge in
consumer confidence, raised hopes
for the recovery’s staying power.
The broadest measure of the
economy's performance, gross
domestic product, increased at a
8.2 percent annual rate in the July
to-September quarter, even better
than the 7-2 percent rate estimated
a month ago, the Commerce
Department said Tuesday.
The new GDP reading repre
sents the strongest growth since
the first quarter of 1984, when the
economy surged at a 9 percent
pace. The new* estimate is more
than double the 3.3 percent
growth rate of the second quarter.
“I think the economy is back,”
declared an optimistic Mark
Zandi, chief economist at
Economy.com.
In other economic news, con
sumers’ confidence in the economy
climbed in November to the high
est level in more than a year as
people perceived the job market to
be turning around, The
Conference Board reported. The
private research group’s consumer
confidence index increased to 91-7
in November, up from a revised
81.7 in October.
“The surge in consumer confi
dence couldn’t come at a better
time,” said Joel Naroff, president of
Naroff Economic Advisors.
“Households are becoming more
STARTS WED., NOV. 26
Stocking said.
“Instead of needing a ‘fat’ com
puter, (students) only need a mon
itor, a keyboard, a mouse and a
device that allows them to con
nect,” he said.
Hoke added that the district
provides home technology at a rea
sonable initial cost “We use donat
ed monitors, and the district also
provides the families with three
months of free Internet access.”
This access is provided through
a combination of sponsorship and
district funding.
Hoke said the program has con
tributed to equity among students.
“It has helped provide access for
students who wouldn’t normally
have the opportunity from their
homes to operate on a level playing
field with students whose families
have a computer,” she said.
Reitz said the district’s
improved reliability through a
dependable infrastructure also
contributed to the award.
“It just means providing our
educational community with a sys
tem that is based on industry stan
dards and opens up great opportu
nities for students and teachers.”
With the proposed merger of
Orange County Schools and
CHCCS pending, officials said the
two district’s networks could be
connected if need be.
“We are working with the
Orange County government and
the town of Chapel Hill on several
collaborative efforts to create one
single network, so this is an area
that we have been working on for
several years,” Reitz said. “As far as
technology goes, we think that
there are many resources that the
city and county can share.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
confident about the labor markets
and the future in general.”
The main factors behind the
upward revision to third-quarter
GDP were stronger investment by
business on new equipment and
software, less severe cuts in com
panies’ inventories and more brisk
spending on residential projects.
GDP measures the value of all
goods and services produced with
in the United States.
“The economy is regaining the
confidence of businesses, and they
are stepping up to the plate and
spending and investing for the
future,” said economist Ken
Mayland, president of Clear View
Economics.
In October, the unemployment
rate improved fractionally to 6
percent as the economy added jobs
for a third straight month.
Steady improvements in job
creation and in capital investment
are crucial ingredients for the eco
nomic recovery to be sustained,
economists said.
Consumers, meanwhile, contin
ue to do their part to keeping the
economy going. They boosted
spending in the third quarter at a
6.4 percent rate. That was up from
a 3.8 percent pace in the second
quarter, but dow-n slightly from
the 6.6 percent rate previously
estimated.
C/mO£/NOBTf
miimjm
RUSSELL CROWE
.MASTER wr A
COMMAS PER
-*r —— SIR ~
[ 7 00. 9 3S. FRI-SAT-SUN 1:50. 4:20 |
HOLIDAY MATINEES FRI. 11 -28
f#vt.
7:10. 9 20, FRI-SAT-SUN 2 00. 4.30
LOVEACTUALLY
7 00. 9:35, FRI-SAT-SUN 1:50. 4:20
mi
"REMARKABLE. POWERFUL:
STARTS WEDS. 11 -26
7:00. 9 30. FRI-SAT-SUN 1 50. 4 25
STATION AGENT HUMAN STAIN
7:15. FRI-SAT-SUN 2:1 S 9 20. FRI-SAT-SUN 4 30
SHATTERED GLASS
7:10. 9 30. FRI-SAT-SUN 2:10. 4:40
7