April 04, 2002
Zinni Parchutes Into Ramallah (3:48)
The situation in the Middle East worsened over night as the town of Nablus was also taken over by the Israeli military. In Bethlehem, Israeli troops blew open a metal door leading into the Nativity church courtyard and fired inside, wounding three people. The army denied soldiers made a move on the church, one of Christianity’s holiest shrines, but said troops were chasing gunmen in the area. The Israeli military prevented reporters from reaching the church to assess the rival claims. All six West Bank towns taken over by Israel in the past week have been declared closed military areas, and reporters have been ordered to leave. Earlier today Sharon agreed to permit US envoy Anthony Zinni to meet with Arafat, following a meeting between Zinni and the Israeli prime minister. We go now to Maha Sbtani who is an Arab-American living in Palestine and currently very close to the compound where Yassar Arafat is being held.
Bush Blames Arafat, Pushes Sharon (4:32)
Secretary of State Colin Powell is headed to the Middle East in search of a political solution to the latest crisis. Responding to sharp criticism from home and abroad, President Bush today pledged greater American involvement in the conflict. The President said again that Israel has a right to protect itself from terrorist suicide bombers. But for the first time, Bush asked the Israelis to pull out of the Palestinian towns they’ve occupied in recent weeks. The president also called for an end to the settlement of Palestinian lands. Joshua Chaffin reports from Washington.
US Threatens to Veto UN Resolution (2:31)
Moments before President Bush spoke, U.S. officials at the UN threatened to veto a Syrian-sponsored motion calling for Israel’s immediate withdrawal from Palestinian cities. The motion followed yesterday’s daylong debate in the Security Council, in which UN member countries, including major U.S. allies, expressed overwhelming condemnation of Israel’s military onslaught. Susan Wood reports from the United Nations.
AFL-CIO Says: “No More Enrons” (3:19)
The collapse of Enron brought devastation to thousands of the company’s employees, who saw their 401(k) plans dry up along with the value of Enron’s stock. For many in the labor movement, the Enron fiasco serves as a wake-up call to workers whose retirement savings are heavily invested in their company’s stock. Yesterday
in Milwaukee the AFL-CIO launched the first of a series of town hall meetings across the U.S., calling for Congress to ensure what happened to Enron’s workers never happens again. John Hamilton reports.
Peltier v. FBI, Again (3:04)
Lawyers for Leonard Peltier have filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C., against former FBI director Louis Freeh, and the FBI Agents Association. In 1977, Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The new lawsuit targets action that FBI agents took in December of 2000, when president Clinton was considering granting clemency to Peltier. Joshua Welsh reports from Rapid City, South Dakota near Pine Ridge:
