Rubles and Rubble
The death toll in Turkey rose past 4,000 by press time, with 17,000 reported
injured and thousands more still missing. Rescue and relief teams from all
over--the U.S., western Europe, Russia, and Israel--flocked to western Turkey
where domestic efforts were faltering or nonexistent. Only the Los Angeles Times leads
with post-quake events. The fire in Turkey's largest oil refinery continued to
blaze out of control, threatening to blow up a nearby fertilizer plant and
forcing tens of thousands of local residents to flee. The New York Times lead
reports that law enforcement investigators have discovered Russian mobsters may
have used accounts at the Bank of New York to launder some $10 billion. The
Washington
Post lead, dwarfed by the quake headline below it, carries yesterday's
warning by Maryland officials and environmentalists that a fractured response
to the drought by regional officials could impede effective conservation of
water. USA Today
goes with results of the annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Finger-pointing over western Turkey's ill preparedness for the quake began
in some places before rescue and relief efforts, the WP reports.
Survivors interviewed by the paper blamed the government for not conducting
adequate building inspections, failing to create food reserves, and failing to
equip them for emergencies. A NYT story cites residents' complaints in
Izmit that contractors slapped together many buildings with greater concern for
cutting costs than risk. Only the LAT mentions that Turkey's top-heavy
government leaves regional authorities without the resources to cultivate local
civil defense teams. Earthquake experts tell the LAT that strict
building codes make the city better prepared for a 7.4 (it's official) temblor
than Turkey, despite similarities in their fault systems.
The two-column NYT exclusive reports that investigators may have
cracked one of the largest money-laundering operations in U.S. history:
Investigators say that a notorious Russian mob figure, Semyon Yukovich
Mogilevich, may have filtered $10 billion through the Bank of New York since
early 1998. The bank suspended two women in its Eastern European division, both
of whom are married to Russian businessmen. Western investigators have been on
the lookout for suspicious Russian economic activity since the August 1998
ruble crash sent money flying out of the country even more furiously than
usual. Money sifted through the Bank of New York account may have gone to pay
contract killers and drug lords, the paper reports.
The federal survey reveals that teen use of cocaine, marijuana, and other
illegal drugs fell to 9.9 percent in 1998 from 11.4 percent the year before,
according to the USAT lead. The overall level of drug use stayed about
the same. Officials said they see the drop in use among 12-to-17-year-olds as
an indication that messages from parents, schools, and the government are
getting through. The WP, which also fronts the story, says that young
people aged 18-to-25 saw an increase in both drug use and smoking. A substance
abuse researcher told the NYT that results in the 12-to-17 group may be
flawed because parents must consent to their child's interview and tend to
stick relatively close.
The NYT runs a response from the Energy Department to charges that
Los Alamos researcher Wen Ho Lee has been a victim of unfair racial targetting.
Notra Trulock, a department intelligence officer, deflated the accusation,
saying that of 12 suspects initially brought to the FBI's attention, three were
Chinese-Americans and the rest Caucasians.
Kenneth Starr's decision to leave his post as independent counsel before his
final report is complete raises a thorny issue: Do the three judges who sit on
the panel that appointed him have the right to name a successor now that the
prosecutor statute has expired? A new appointee might face legal roadblocks
from any of a number of sources, the WP reports. An NYT editorial
on Starr's exit does not ask this question yet solves it anyway: Editors ask
that Starr stay on, dot his i's and cross his t's.
Long-awaited economic recovery in Asia and Europe may cause some strain in
the U.S., according to Wall
Street Journal and LAT front-pagers. Increased production abroad
may make resources more scarce and finally tug prices upward at home. With
other places in the world to invest, investors may pull money from U.S. stocks.
Economists expect that interest rates will head north to attract foreign
investors. The WSJ also sees a global recovery as a turning point that
would solve minor problems at home: "In order to save the world, U.S. consumers
pushed their own savings rate into negative territory."
Yes, the drug surveys were anonymous:
On the
Post op-ed page, Richard Cohen speaks with candor of his Time
magazine-inspired conversion to the belief that Gov. George W. Bush should
answer rumors that he has used illegal drugs: "I happen to think Bush is a
Fifth Amendment cokehead. If he had not used the stuff, he would certainly say
so. After all ... he has told us much about his past--his drinking, his
carousing, his lost youth, his meandering career path and how he gave up booze
and found God. This is a stirring tale, and I am moved every time I hear it."
