HOUSTON (AP) _ The team of rescue and medical workers formed to respond to a nuclear, biological or chemical attack plans to conduct a full-scale drill as soon as next week, the mayor said.
``We have not had any specific threat to Houston,'' said Mayor Lee Brown, but the events of Sept. 11 call for being prepared.
The drill for a chemical or biological attack against the city will be followed by weekly equipment training sessions and more full-scale quarterly drills, Brown said.
The 150-member Houston Medical Strike Team was formed in 1999. But it has not conducted a major exercise in more than 20 months.
Last week, Brown had said the city had a ``well-tested plan'' to deal with a terrorist strike, but some firefighters on the team disagreed. The city has a stockpile of equipment, they said, but most remained in storage.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ University of New Mexico President Bill Gordon said he will pursue disciplinary action against a professor who told students, ``anyone who can blow up the Pentagon has my vote.''
Richard Berthold, a professor of ancient history, has apologized for the remark made last week and said he has no intention of stepping down.
He said the comment was ``the worst attempt at an incredibly stupid joke, but I did not mean for it to be taken seriously. I don't advocate blowing up buildings and killing innocent people.''
Gordon said Tuesday that administrators have made no decisions about the nature of the disciplinary actions they will pursue. But some, including Regent Richard Tolivar and three state lawmakers, have called for Berthold's resignation.
State Rep. William Fuller said the First Amendment offers Berthold no protection because he is paid by the state and teaches at a public university.
Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, disagreed, saying Berthold's right to comment is protected by the First Amendment.
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AUBURN, Maine (AP) _ A father and son who bragged they were heroes for assisting rescuers at the World Trade Center have been accused of being anything but heroic.
Louis Senecal III, 18, and his father, Louis Senecal II, 48, allegedly swiped a New York Fire Department jacket, a police officer's cap and some of the rubble as souvenirs, police said.
``They didn't think of it technically as a theft. They said in their mind they just wanted some items to be able to prove that they went down there,'' Detective Chad Syphers said Tuesday. ``People are outraged.''
The younger Senecal was charged with receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor. Police said the father will face a similar charge next week.
The charges could be upgraded to theft, police said.
Police said the Senecals returned from New York the day after the attacks and contacted news organizations to talk about their heroic efforts. The younger Senecal had been wearing the firefighter's coat.
``This kid was wearing the jacket downtown, showing it off to everyone he met, and telling people, `I got this for being a hero,''' Syphers said.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) _ Traffic restrictions on the road that crosses Hoover Dam were eased Wednesday as trucks, buses and boat trailers were allowed across.
U.S. Highway 93, a main road between Phoenix and Las Vegas, crosses the dam. It was closed to all traffic Sept. 11 after terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
It reopened to passenger cars and small pickup trucks two days later.
Still prohibited Wednesday were long-haul tractor-trailers, motor homes, full-sized buses and large campers; shuttle buses carrying 15 or fewer passengers were being allowed to cross the dam to the visitor center.
Prohibited vehicles were being diverted about 60 miles south to cross the Colorado River. The Reclamation Bureau, which operates the dam, has begun issuing permits to established local businesses.
Bureau police were also operating checkpoints on the highway in Arizona and Nevada near the dam.
The dam about 30 miles east of Las Vegas forms Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the nation. It also supplies electricity to a wide area of the Southwest and has been identified as a possible terrorist target.
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MARION, Ind. (AP) _ City officials planned to put more than 100 one-ton boulders around City Hall to prevent any potential attackers from driving up to the building.
City Engineer Pat McCarty said no threats have been made against city employees this east-central Indiana town. Still, plans are to start putting the 3-foot wide boulders around the sides of the building, McCarty said.
``We're doing our job, which is to protect the facility from any threat,'' Mayor Bill Henry said.
Other precautions included placing four-foot, concrete-filled steel posts in sidewalks, McCarty said.
``You can't anticipate and stop everything, but you can take some steps,'' McCarty said. ``You can improve security.''
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ A gas station chain will pay $30,000 and reimburse customers to settle a lawsuit alleging that some stations doubled and tripled prices amid panic over terrorist attacks.
Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan announced the settlement with the Casey's chain of gas stations Wednesday, saying the Iowa-based company will donate $25,000 to the Red Cross and pay $5,000 to cover the state's legal expenses.
The company also agreed to repay customers who were charged $4 or even $5 a gallon after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Ryan also said he is asking 19 other companies to donate money to the Red Cross or face possible lawsuits.
Casey's General Stores Inc. _ which has 357 convenience stores in Illinois _ does not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ A millionaire whose home Christmas display was declared a public nuisance has erected a 24-by-60-foot lighted American flag in his front yard.
So far, neighbors haven't complained about Jennings Osborne's patriotic display. In 1995, their annoyance over traffic attracted to Osborne's display of 3.2 million Christmas lights led a state court to declare it a public nuisance.
Osborne on Wednesday was still sprucing up the electric Old Glory, with its lights fixed on metal scaffolding. He said he wanted to show his patriotism after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Neighbor Arleta Power said she likes the display as long as it doesn't attract crowds; she was one of many neighbors who sued Powers in the mid-1990s because of the five-mile traffic jams and litter in their yards caused by people driving by.
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