Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 2

NATIONWORLD TH Unco Journal Star TuMday, May 18,1999 fgrm dtaiyr. John Pervt Western Iowa- deses tip livers ilie 1 AP Surveying damage: Randy Koenig (second from right) looks over his house with neighbors and friends Monday near Logan, Iowa. TbeKoenkjs were holding a graduation party Sunday night when a tornado hit the area. MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) As western Iowa began to clean up damage from killer tornadoes, some northeastern Iowans were fleeing their homes Monday as streams and creeks topped their banks and a dam was threatened on the Maquoketa River at Manchester. The storms were blamed for at least two deaths on Sunday, a result of tornadoes that skipped across Harrison County, along the Missouri River.

On the other side of the state, Gov. Tom Vilsack on Monday signed a proclamation declaring Buchanan, Clayton and Fayette counties as disaster areas, opening the way for state cleanup assistance. Some areas near the Turkey River in Clayton County reportedly received up to 7 inches of rain Sunday, and the city of Elk-port located at the confluence of the Turkey and Volga rivers had its water supply contaminated by the flooding. The state was sending bottled water to the area, Vilsack said. About 200 people were evacuated from Manchester and power was shut off in the downtown area Monday afternoon after ris- -ing water began to eat away at earth at the sides of the Quaker Mills dam on the Maquoketa River Iowa Highway 13 was closed and traffic was rerouted through the city of 5,100 residents.

The water level in Manchester was re- The crisis County Sheriffs Sgt. John Keef said. The flooding was the result of a one-two punch. On Sunday afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled across northern Iowa, dropping golf ball-sized hail in some areas. And Sunday night into Monday, another storm wrung out the moisture-laden air.

Alliant Energy spokesman John Gilman said more than 20,000 customers in eastern Plan signals fight with Clinton ahead WASHINGTON (AP) Bills covering education, environment and other traditional Democratic priorities face billions of dollars in cuts next year under emerging Republican plans. The proposals signal bitter clashes ahead within Congress and between lawmakers and President Clinton. 1 Honoring tight spending limits agreed to in the 1997 budget-balancing deal, the House Appropriations Committee plans to decide this week how it would divide $538 billion among 13 bills covering all government agencies. That represents almost a third of the entire federal budget, including every-, thing but automatic payments like Medicare benefits and interest to bond holders. The committee's blueprint, obtained by The Associated Press, shows that the appro-priations committee plans to use $78.1 billion for the Labor, Education and Health and Human Services departments $10.7 billion less than this year.

That measure Is home to schools, job training and other programs that produce annual battles between Demo-- crats and Republicans, and the proposed cut assures a nasty partisan fight Of the other three large domestic spending bills, the committee would spend $30.5 billion for the Commerce, Justice and State departments, which is $2.8 billion less than this year; $11.3 billion for the Interior Department, or $2.7 billion less; and $68.3 billion for the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development departments, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, which is $5.8 billion below this year's level. These committee figures do not include additional billions in so-called emergency spending enacted this year money that Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois were without power at the storm's peak. II said many places would be without power until the high waters receded and it was safe to restore electricity. The storm abo packed high winds, and one gust blew more than a dozen freight cars from 6 Union Pacific train off the tracks near Lrowdea i One frequent victim of heavy rains, the leak-plagued UNI-Dome roof in Cedar Falls, held up against the storm. The roof has been under repair.

1 "We're pleased in that regard," UNI-Dome operations manager Kevin Buisman, said. "We think (the contractors) are pn the right track." Meanwhile, residents in western Iowa were clearing up from the debris caused by Sunday's tornadoes, Nine counties reported damage from the storms. Several tornadoes were confirmed on the ground Sunday afternoon in western Iowa, and there were tornado warnings in as many as four counties simultaneously. By 5:30 p.m., the National Weather Service received 19 reports of tornadoes in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, Harrison County was the hardest hit, as a tornado tore through Logan, near where a high school graduation party was being held, killing two people. Authorities have identified one of the victims as Julie Pali, IS, of Bellevue.

The other victim's name is being withheld pending notification of family; does not count against spending limits. Even with that extra money, however, the fiscal 2000 bills come up short compared to this year, and even shorter compared to the amounts Clinton would like to spend. The cuts 1 appear so deep that it is unclear LOTT whether bills at such low "levels can even pass the Congress, let alone GOP-controlled signed by Clinton. Clinton has proposed spending billions more than Republicans on domestic programs, and would pay for them, in part, by raising taxes on tobacco, and other items increases that Congress is likely to ignore. Most of the other, smaller, domestic iDendinff bills have lust minor Hiffprenrvs between GOP plans for 2000 and actual to- tab from the current year.

Several of them could become law with relatively little con troversy. i Under the budget-balancing deal an e-, calating, annual series, of savings were nlanhed in an effort to eliminate what look ed like a parade of unending federal deficits. Since the beginning of this year, many Democrats and some Republicans have said this year's spending limit will have to be breached because the required savings are too tough. -11 'y But Republican leaders have continued to insist publicly that the so-called spending caps must be obeyed. The Senate's spending plans are similar to the House's, aides say.

"I think we should stay within the caps," said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, in a brief interview. "We knew the caps would pinch." in gifts Last year, the first family reported keeping $14,988 worth of personal gifts received in 1997. They included a cashmere shawl from designer Vera Wang and a set of leather-bound books from Oprah Winfrey, The Clintons kept cashmere this year, too: a sweater coat from Mongolia valued at $395. And the president has no excuse for playing bad saxophone he received music books and two of the instruments (value: $3,000) from Thomas Ernst of Germany, as well as a collection of compact discs and a photograph ($700) from jazz saxophonist Kenny G. at the high school, two middle schools, an elementary school and one school bus.

No bombs have been found. Three 15-year-olds have been charged with making threats. Two face felony false-alarm charges; a third was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief. After the school board canceled the rest of classes on Friday, parents in the suburb of 26,000 complained to Superintendent Barbara Erwln that she had caved in to the people who were making the threats. hi 000 Tucker ordered to pay LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

Former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, whose shady financial deals got caught up in the Whitewater investigation, was ordered Monday to pay 1 million for setting up a sham bankruptcy to avoid taxes. Tucker was also placed on four years' probation for hiding the value of a cable TV business he sold in 1988. Prosecutors said that if the company's real value was known, Tucker and business partner William Marks would have been liable for an additional $2.9 million in taxes. Tucker 1 said he would appeal the sentence and order of restitution, which is to be paid to the federal government.

Marks was alio ordered to pay $1 million. End 'racial profiling' COLUMBUS, Ohio Rep. John 1 Kasich brought his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination home Monday, telling a civil rights group that police should never detain people simply because of their race. -Kasich, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the practice known as "racial profiling" should Stop. V' "I think it is an insidious action that gone on in too many parts of America," Kasich said at a news conference before delivering a speech at the Columbus Urban League's annual awards luncheon.

"Those kinds tf actions that divide this country i-have to be ended." i -V The Justice Department has been investigating complaints by blacks and Hispanics that say they are more likely to be targeted by pouce and customs inspectors for traffic stops r- and searches. Dole's contribution I WASHINGTON Talk about "marital loyalty. Former Seri. Bob Dole says he is considering giving money to Sea John 1 McCain's presidential campaign, i never mind that his wife, Elizabeth Dole, also is seeking the Republican nomination. "McCain's my friend.

And he's not raising the money that (Texas Gov.) George Bush is. I think we need to keep good people in the race," Dole said in an interview published Monday in The NeW York Times. 1 But before writing a check, the three-time presidential candidate said, "I think I'd check with Elizabeth I first." McCain, a senator from Arizona, is an announced candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000. Bush and Elizabeth Dole are exploring I whether to formally enter the race. Payday at US Ainvays I WASHINGTON Flight attendants at US Airways, who have been without a contract for 18 months, are complaining that the airline's top i two executives made a combined $70 million last year and stand to benefit even more from a cash incentive program proposed by the board of directors.

The $34.2 million paid to Stephen Wolf, chairman of US Airways Group, and the $36 million paid to Rakesh Gangwal, chief executive officer, came despite a 17 percent drop in the value of the company's stock during 1998. The total compensation, which includes salary, bonus, stock grants, stock options and add-ons such as free financial planning, dwarfs the pay received by the leaders of the country's top three airlines. L'S Airways is No. 6. Grcnd Canyon, Colo WASHINGTON The Grand Canyon has been misplaced by the 'poet office.

A newly printed batch of 60-cent International stamps carry a picture i of the canyon and, on the bottom of each stamp, the words "Grand Canyon, Colorado The Grand Canvon is located in the state of Arizona, although it was carved by the Colorado River. The agency is in discussions with the printer to determine whether the run of 100 million stamps needs to be reprinted, said postal spokesman Don Smeraldi. I i The stamps were to be put in i circulation later this year. The error was caught at the printing plant. From wire reports Nationworld index 10A 4A.

9A Corrections If you so something Incorrect In the Journal Star new columns, please call the city desk at 473-7304 or 1 5 after 9 a.m. weekday and Saturdays and afer 1 p.m. Sundays Written request for corrections may be sent to Corrections. Box 81689, Lincoln, Neb. 68501.

Good luck: Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers say so long to family and friends before leaving Kukes, Albania, Monday to Join comrades along the Kosovo-, Albania border. r. Serbs used human shields 80 times, NATO reports ported at six feet, three feet: over flood stage. In Dunkerton in nearby Black Hawk County, people were evacuating with little more than some clothes stuffed in plastic bags as Crane Creek overflowed. "The post office, city hall and police department, a church and all the businesses are in 3 to 4 feet of Black Hawk in Kosovo 1 Thi AS8OC4ATE0 PRESS news that a train carrying upwards of 2,000 refugees toward the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia has -Ti been turned back as well," Shea said at i NATO headquarters, NATO detailed three accounts of Serbs using ethnic Albanians as human shields, including mid-April in Presevo "in which 500 young Albanians were pressed into military service" and forced to wear Yugoslav army uniforms, Shea said thousands of people were forced to act as human shields in the ammunition factory at Srbica in late March, and on April 6 Serb police in Doganbvic rounded up "4,000 people and forced them to be human shields in a NATO has said there is evidence that a group of refugees who were hit in a NATO attack on a target in the village of I Korisa may have been forced to stay at the site by the Serbs.

Yugoslavia says 87 refugees were killed in the strike i Thursday. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the alliance has "now documented 80 different cases reported by the refugees of the use of human shields by the Serb forces." A senior Pentagon official, meanwhile, said two Yugoslav soldiers held in Germany could be released by Tie release of the Serb privates captured by Kosovo, Liberation Army rebels would be two weeks after three U.S. soldiers who had been seized March 1 31 along the Kosovo-Macedonia border were released to the Rev. Jesse Jackson. children back for the final two weeks of classes.

"The feeling in the community is one of outrage," said Al Burke, whose twin daughters are seniors at Allen High School. "It has been total confusion." Meanwhile, in Port Huron, classes resumed under tight security Monday at Holland Woods Middle School. Four students, ages 12 to 14, were arrested last week and charged with conspiring to massacre students and teachers with gunsand bombs. -e r-- Clinton S18 kept in 1998, disclosure form says V. WASHINGTON (AP) He may be pub- Generally, the Clintons held assets worth licly annoyed by violence in movies and on between $1.2 million and $5.5 million, the ma-television, but President Clinton apparently 'ority of which was in a blind trust owned by isn't angry enough to return some choice the first lady.

A White House official famil-gifts his show-biz friends gave him last year Jar' with the first family's finances said the Clinton's financial disclosure report for actual amount in the trust was closer to the 1998 reveals he and his family kept $18,575 lower end of a range between $1 million and worth of personal gifts, many of them from $5 1 celebrities The items included a film eel ln 1997, the Clintons reported assets of up from director Steven Spielberg 'Ammani- to and 1996e rted a acs and a collection of the top 100 movies seU ra from to $1'7 mon BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) NATO jets struck an industrial zone, a key Yugoslav highway and Kosovo- targets Monday after new allied accounts of ethnic Albanians being Used 1 as human shields. A U.N. delegation was in Belgrade preparing for the first trip to Kosovo by international authorities since some 790,000 ethnic Albanians were driven out of the southern Serb province beginning March 24, when NATO launched punitive airstnkes against Yugoslavia. During the day, bad weather put a crimp in NATO. But hours after nightfall, NATO attacks resumed, with three -powerful blasts heard in Nis, the private news agency Beta said.

Radio reports said an industrial zone there was a target. i 'j'V Badges and overpasses oh main 1 Belgrade-Nis highway were also struck, reportedly halting traffic. In Kosovo, attacks targeted the former command center of Kosovo rebels at Likovac, -which was overrun by Serb forces earlier this year, Yugoslav media said. In what UN. and NATO officials said was a troubling development, Serb forces blocked hundreds of ethnic Albanians who arrived at the Macedonian border in a packed train from leaving the province.

NATO spokesman Jamie Shea expressed concerns about reports that 150 Kosovo Albanian males "were turned back at the border while trying to cross into Albania and of other stories of young men being taken off refugee buses on route to the Albanian border." "Today also we've had the disturbing The report was released Monday just after Clinton returned from a Democratic fund-raiser in Los Angeles, during which he gently prodded a dinner audience of top Hollywood figures, including Spielberg, to try to clean up the gory scenes depicted in films and television programs, and sign onto his national campaign against youth violence. The president and his wife, Hillary, also counted as a gift the $2.6 million in legal fees paid by The Clinton Legal Expense Trust. That money went toward legal debts that, at their highest point in 1998, ranged between $2 million and $10 million. One mother, Sandy Sigman, dropped off her daughter, Amanda, and said she was "disgusted and saddened and angry that we have come to a point when our kids are scared to come to school." Michigan investigators said they did not know whether there was any link between the accused plotters and a pipe bomb found outside the school Thursday night All four boys were in custody at the time. In Allen, parents and students were on edge after schools received 12 bomb threats in about a week, requiring eight evacuations Texas school reverses course after bomb threats ALLEN, Texas (AP) Tensions ran high here Monday as students learned they would have to return to school following a rash of bomb threats that rattled parents and children.

Three days after administrators canceled the remaining two weeks of school because of the threats, the superintendent changed course by reopening classes on a staggered schedule. The decision did not sit well in the Dallas suburb. Some parents were angry about the mixed messages and might not send their.