1. c
INTERNATIONAL EDITION www.usatoday.com
‘Excited Beyond
about the Hogwarts
future’ mNow adults, the
Harry Potter “kids”
mTiger has lost a forge ahead with
lot over the year, college, theater
but not his passion and film, 8B
By Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images
for golf and his AFP/Getty Images
Woods: At Chevron World Challenge.
thirst to win. 7B Grown: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson.
NO. 1 IN THE USA
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USA TODAY INTERVIEW
.
Thursday, December 2, 2010 THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
TSA Administrator John Pistole
Newsline Cover story
n News n Money n Sports n Life
Report: Gays Obama Public
won’t hurt
military risks outcry
mMost troops
say there is no
negative impact,
Defense chief
going weighed
it alone vs. risk
Gates says, 5A
By Win McNamee, Getty Images
Amtrak will allow guns
mPassengers can check unloaded As the conflict TSA chief rejected PR
firearms on trains starting Dec. 15, 3A continues to
drag on, the advice fearing threat
Browsers president faces
running a a backlash from
By Alan Levin
USA TODAY
tighter race both parties The nation’s transportation security chief says he
mMobile devices, decided to launch controversial new airport pat-
down searches without first warning travelers,
new services help against the advice of his public relations aides.
Firefox, Safari Transportation Security Administration head
shrink Internet John Pistole said in a wide-ranging interview Tues-
Explorer’s lead, 6A day that he rejected the advice for fear of highlight-
USA TODAY ing screening weaknesses terrorists could exploit.
TSA’s more intensive pat-downs of private body
By Charles Dharapak, AP
parts under clothing set off
Two holiday gift guides “We’re here because it’s where the terrorists planned 9/11”: President Obama’s goal on what’s what he called a “media
increasingly seen as his war: a stable Afghanistan that can’t be used as a base for terrorism against U.S. frenzy” leading up to the
mNow in 3-D: TVs, Thanksgiving holiday travel
cameras, games. By Susan Page er, and with newly empowered Re- week.
m Gear, accessories USA TODAY No deal yet publican critics in Congress, who op- “What it came down to
pose deadlines and timetables was I wanted to make sure
fit for the A-list. WASHINGTON — Afghanistan has
on tax cuts altogether. It guarantees the war will people are not subjected to
At usatoday.com become a lonely place for President uBut Obama, be ongoing when Obama presumably additional risk of planes be-
Obama. GOP pleased runs for re-election in 2012. ing blown out of the sky,”
One year ago today, the president with talk, 5A And if the military and political sit- Pistole told USA TODAY’s
mMoney: Cell phones could rival plastic delivered a seminal speech at West uations fail to improve in Afghanistan, editorial board. “I was
USA TODAY
Point, N.Y., announcing the deploy- the president could face a revolt in his gravely concerned that we
Wireless carriers are working on plans to allow ment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops own party and unrelenting fire from needed to do something Pistole: Searches set
customers to pay for goods with smartphones. 6A. to Afghanistan and setting a timetable to begin the GOP as he defends his leadership on what is with a sense of urgency and off “media frenzy.”
mSports: Tulowitzki lands $134M deal withdrawing them in July 2011 — a combination already America’s longest war. professionalism that did
calibrated to reassure those who saw the conflict Just one in five Americans in a new USA TODAY/ not signal to terrorists that
Seven-year extension for Colorado Rockies short- as critical to U.S. security and those uneasy with Gallup Poll agree with the 2014 timetable, one of we had a vulnerability.” Q&A: Pistole
stop marks biggest new offseason contract. 1B. an open-ended military conflict. Obama’s lowest levels of support on any policy Pistole says he wishes
Now, the administration is playing down the position. there was an “easier an- mTalks about
mLife: White rice for babies frowned on date combat troops will begin to come home and “Look, we know there are passions on every swer” to the balance be- threats, how
Experts shift long-held view, saying brown rice focusing instead on 2014 as the target for the pull- side of this,” White House press secretary Robert tween keeping the public far searches
cereals, mash and purees are more nutritious. 10B. out to be completed, conditions permitting. Gibbs says. “This is not an easy tightrope to walk.” informed and ensuring will go, 10A
The new end date leaves Obama at odds with flights are safe.
his Democratic base, which wants troops out fast- Please see COVER STORY page 2A u The need for more thor-
USA TODAY Snapshots®
S DA ough pat-downs stemmed from the attempt last
Christmas to bomb a Northwest Airlines jet by a
What age would
Riches await Saturday winners
man accused of hiding a bomb in his underwear,
and from government studies that showed physical
you like to live to? searches were inadequate, he said. Pistole said he
100 or
00 or
Average age chosen: 92
A h older
ld
lde
d thought most people assumed that the govern-
37% Oregon’s Kelly, others can guaranteed $7 million, was replaced in
September with a six-year agreement
ment had already stepped up searches.
While the government continues trying to im-
80 to 8 90 to 9
0 89 0 99
years
year years
year
reap fortune off one game that guarantees $20.5 million. prove technology to detect weapons and bombs,
25%
% 25%
% As seen at other schools with elite TSA has no plans to subject airline passengers to
18 to 79
8 7 By Steve Berkowitz athletics programs, Kelly’s pay increase any additional body searches beyond what was put
years
year USA TODAY came while the university was having in place at all airports Nov. 1, Pistole said: “I think
1
12% budget problems. Unionized employees we are at the most thorough that we will probably
Note: Doesn’t When the No. 1-ranked Oregon foot- at Oregon are in the second of two years be in terms of our physical screening.”
equal 100%
because of
ball team plays its regular-season finale of negotiated furloughs, according to Pistole said the agency is contemplating minor
rounding Saturday at Oregon State, Oregon coach school spokesman Phil Weiler. Oregon changes to be more sensitive to some groups, such
Source: Harris
rris
s Getty Images
Interactive for
or
o Chip Kelly will have a lot more at stake President Richard Lariviere voluntarily as victims of sex abuse and those with external
Genworth
Financial
than a chance to play for the Bowl Kelly: Bonuses and took a 4.6% cut in his state salary from medical devices. A Michigan man complained last
Championship Series national title. future guarantees. July 1, 2009, through Oct. 31, 2010, week that a bag that captured his urine was de-
By Anne R. Carey and Karl Gelles, USA TODAY With a victory, he would secure Weiler says. tached during an airport search.
nearly $4.3 million in bonuses and future contract Kelly’s new contract includes a provision giving The combination this year of full-body screening
guarantees, according to a USA TODAY review of his him a one-year extension if the Ducks — now 11-0 machines, which see through clothing, and the pat-
International special edition contract. He also would keep alive his chance to add — win at least 12 games in the 2010 season or par- downs created a furor on some websites and calls
This is a special edition of USA TODAY designed $250,000 for winning the national title. ticipate in this season’s BCS title game. His guaran- to protest on the day before Thanksgiving. Howev-
and edited for readers around the world. Kelly’s possible payday is illustrative of the teed compensation in that extra year would be er, widespread protests never materialized.
Additional content and late-breaking news and lengths schools go to reward and retain coaches, $4 million, the same amount he is scheduled to re- The TSA also announced Tuesday that it had im-
sports scores can always be found at even amid difficult budgetary times. ceive in 2015-16. plemented a long-time recommendation from the
usatoday.com. Other head coaches in games that will determine His guaranteed salary for this season is $2.4 mil- 9/11 Commission that studied the 2001 terrorist
¡¿H¢ApB-740245¿ (e)i
the BCS lineup have big-money incentives this lion, and he already has secured $175,000 in bo- attacks. After years in which the airlines checked
weekend and in bowl games. No. 2-ranked Au- nuses. Those earnings likely will grow by $285,000 passenger names against terrorist watch lists, the
burn’s Gene Chizik can earn $200,000 for winning if Oregon wins Saturday, as he will hit incentives TSA now performs the matches.
the Southeastern Conference championship game that include 12 wins “in regular season” and mak- The agency requires passengers to provide full
and an additional $500,000 for the national title. ing the BCS title game. names, birth dates and their gender, which leads to
Kelly is under his second contract in as many sea- fewer false matches, Pistole said. The agency also
©COPYRIGHT 2010 USA TODAY sons as Oregon’s head coach. After the Ducks went uFor a data base of major college football coaching uses up-to-the-minute information so it can react
a division of Gannett Co., Inc. 10-3 last season, his initial five-year deal, which salaries go to collegefootball.usatoday.com more quickly to ongoing security concerns.
http://hotnpapers.blogspot.com

2. 2A · THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010 · USA TODAY
Obama’s allies are dwindling as the war drags on
Continued from 1A “If it continues to be defined as 2011 he will leave the Cabinet
Americans view Afghanistan war with skepticism, anxiety it is now, which is a nation-build- post he has held since the George
Obama’s goal: a stable Afghan- ing mission — and that’s what W. Bush administration. With
istan that can’t be used as a base Percentage saying it was a mistake to send military U.S. military deaths in and we’re doing — then I think there that, Obama will lose an advocate
forces to Afghanistan near Afghanistan
for terrorism against the USA. is some segment of the conserva- with strong ties to the GOP and
“The president has said this 40% 400
455 tive caucus that isn’t going to like credibility on the war.
publicly, in Afghan meetings and that very much,” says Christo-
to commanders in the Situation 39% pher Preble, director of foreign Support in unexpected places
30% 300
Room: We’re here policy studies at the libertarian
Cover because it’s where
the terrorists
Cato Institute. “Over time, as it
looks more and more like Barack
Obama does have some un-
expected supporters on the war,
20% 200
story planned 9/11,”
9%
Obama’s war, they’ll ask, ‘What among them Howard Dean, the
Gibbs said in an in- are we trying to accomplish in Af- former Vermont governor who
10% 100 6
terview. “People understand why ghanistan?’ ” nearly claimed the 2004 Demo-
we’re there. But at the same McGovern’s letter to Obama cratic presidential nomination in
time, there’s a weariness among 0 0 was signed not only by seven a campaign fueled by opposition
the American people for how 11/8/01 1/1/04 1/1/06 1/1/08 11/19/10 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’101 Democrats but also by three Re- to the war in Iraq.
long we’ve been there.” Sources: USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,037 adults by land line and cellphone Nov. 19-21. 1 – through Nov. 29 publicans with libertarian bents. “Afghanistan is a much more
Margin of error: ±4 percentage points. Defense Department; USA TODAY research.
The public is divided: They included Texas Rep. Ron complicated situation,” Dean said
uAbout four in 10 Americans, By Julie Snider, USA TODAY Paul, a 2008 GOP presidential in an interview. “There are true
including half of Democrats, say hopeful and hero to some in the threats to American security in
troops should be withdrawn Committee, said in an interview. public says they don’t support it of the House’s 435 seats; in the Tea Party movement. Afghanistan, and the president is
sooner than he proposes. “I have a great deal of faith in and it’s not going to work? He’s new Congress, that number is Paul’s son, Rand Paul, the sena- doing the best he can to bring
uAnother four in 10, including President Obama and in (Secre- isolated, but he’s crafted a policy likely to fall to 193. tor-elect from Kentucky, says he about stability. . . . While the
61% of Republicans, say the U.S. tary of State) Hillary Clinton and I that gives him the maximum Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would have voted in favor of the odds of success are long, we have
should be prepared to keep com- want to believe that their strate- room between the extremes that and nine other House members war in Afghanistan, but that by to give the president whatever
bat forces there as long as it takes. gy is the right one for the coun- would like to press him.” sent an open letter to Obama as now Congress should have support he needs.”
The survey of 1,037 adults, tak- try. But I’m not sure 10 years For an electorate concerned he left to meet with NATO lead- passed a declaration of war for When he addresses skeptical
en by land line and cellphone from now and with all that mon- first about the economy and un- ers in Lisbon last month express- such an extended mission. “Do audiences, Dean said, he argues
Nov. 19-21, has a margin of error ey invested, things are going to be employment, the war in Afghani- ing “grave concerns that the cur- we need to be there? I want to the war is a human rights issue
of +/–4 percentage points. measurably better.” stan barely registered as an issue rent course in Afghanistan is ask these questions,” he said on tied to the treatment of women
The invasion of Afghanistan He argues war funding would in congressional elections this compromising our national secu- ABC’s This Week a few days after and girls in Afghanistan — a cause
was launched to wide approval be better used to build schools, year. In a Pew Research Center rity interests and is unsustainable his election win. “After 10 years, I worthy of progressives’ support.
after the 9/11 attacks, targeting roads and bridges at home. poll just before Election Day, 5% even in the short term.” think the Afghans need to have The fact that the war wasn’t an
al-Qaeda leaders and the Taliban On the other hand, Rep. Buck of voters cited Afghanistan as the “Amongst the Democratic stepped up to do more.” issue in this year’s elections gave
regime that had sheltered them. McKeon, a California Republican most important issue in deter- base, the war is a big issue, and uEstablishment Republi- Obama something of a political
At the time, nine of 10 Americans set to become chairman of the mining their vote, compared the opposition to this war is going can leaders want Obama to do reprieve as Petraeus pursued a
supported the combat mission. House Armed Services Commit- with 39% who named jobs, 25% to intensify,” McGovern said in an more, not less. more aggressive military strategy
Most in the USA still do, al- tee next month, says he wants to health care and 17% the deficit. interview. “Every time we hear a Arizona Sen. John McCain, the and the president extended the
though opposition has risen: hear from Gen. David Petraeus, In some ways, Republican speech — not just this president ranking Republican on the Senate timetable to withdraw.
Four in 10 now say the military the commander of allied forces, gains in Congress should make it but his predecessor — we’re told Armed Services Committee, But there are guarantees the
operation was a mistake. before any pull-out begins. “I easier for the White House to win ‘another year,’ ‘another two called the president’s promise a same will be true in the next
As of last Saturday, U.S. forces hope the focus from our leaders funding for the war. years,’ and then a year goes by year ago to begin withdrawing campaign, when Obama himself
have been fighting in Afghanistan this time is on winning, not on “The president will get what- and we hear ‘maybe another four U.S. troops next year “a very di- is likely to be on the ballot.
longer than the Soviets did in the timetables,” McKeon said at a fo- ever he asks for with regard to Af- years.’ I don’t think we should be sastrous statement” that has “I’m still assuming the econo-
debilitating conflict that ended rum this month. ghanistan,” predicts Scott there another four years.” been partly remedied by his new my will be the big issue in 2012,
with their withdrawal from that Over the past year, the public’s Wheeler, executive director of Karen Bass, a former California timetable. “It’s a significant shift but Afghanistan is going to be a
nation in 1989. As of Monday, assessment of the war’s course the National Republican Trust, a House speaker who was elected in recognition of reality and con- topic of discussion,” predicts An-
1,320 American servicemembers has improved. In November conservative political action to Congress last month from a ditions on the ground,” McCain, drew Wilder, an Afghanistan ex-
had died in the conflict, which 2009, 32% of those surveyed said committee. Whatever their view liberal Los Angeles district, sup- Obama’s 2008 opponent, said in pert at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
this year is costing taxpayers things were going well for the of Obama, congressional Repub- ports Obama but heard constitu- an interview. “It’s also a recog- “The fact is that President Obama
more than $320 million a day. USA in Afghanistan. licans “understand one thing: We ents express concerns about war nition that the July 2011 date was has made this his war.”
Despite a spike in casualties have troops in the field and they costs at a time they see big needs an invitation to failure. I hope it
Is the war worth it? since, 45% now feel that way. have to be supported.” at home. “I do want to see us get will serve to convince our allies as Contributing: Jim Michaels
Even so, a 54% majority con- But the new landscape also out of Afghanistan as soon as we well as our enemies that we are
Doubts about the ability of Af- tinue to say things are going bad- poses unpredictable challenges: possibly can,” she says. in it to succeed.”
ghan forces to assume security ly for U.S. forces. And by 2-to-1, uMore congressional Dem- uSome of the newly elected McKeon agrees.
operations, corruption accusa- Americans worry that the war’s ocrats are in revolt. Tea Party Republicans are “I like 2014 better than 2011,
tions against President Hamid costs will make it more difficult Last year, when the House con- skeptical. but I’m not sure exactly where
Karzai’s regime and the latest for the government to address sidered war funding, 32 Demo- Many new lawmakers weren’t that’s coming from right now,” he
embarrassment over peace talks domestic problems — an issue crats voted no. This year, that asked to take positions on the says, arguing that any timetable
— a purported Taliban leader that could intensify as policy- number more than tripled, to war in campaigns dominated by emboldens the enemy. “Al-Qae-
turned out to be an impostor — makers struggle to curtail the na- 102, and Democratic leaders had opposition to the health care law da gets that. The Taliban get that.
have contributed to skepticism tion’s $1.4 trillion budget deficit. to twist arms on the House floor. and warnings about the national Everybody gets it, and it just
about whether the war can be “He’s got a problem on his With the defeat of many cen- debt, but some in the Tea Party seems to me human nature. It’s
won and is worth the cost. hands,” Richard Kohn, a profes- trist “Blue Dogs” in this month’s movement have expressed op- not good to let your enemies
“I question the value of us be- sor of history, peace, war and de- elections, the House Democratic position to foreign entangle- know what your plans are.”
ing there at all,” Pennsylvania fense at the University of North caucus will be more uniformly ments generally. About 40 of the One more complication for
Gov. Ed Rendell, a former chair- Carolina, says of Obama. “How do liberal and more consistently an- 84 new House Republicans have Obama: Defense Secretary Rob-
man of the Democratic National you prosecute a war when the ti-war. Democrats now hold 255 ties to the Tea Party movement. ert Gates has announced that in
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3. USA TODAY · THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010 · 3A
Nation
Nationline
Drugs found in 33% of killed drivers
Hostage-taking teen Study looks bers are “alarmingly high” always pinpoint when the
Drug test results and called for more states to person took the drug: It could
dies after shooting self at increase in Despite a decline in driver fatalities nationwide from 2005 to
2009, an increasing percentage of the fatally injured drivers
pass laws making it a crime to
have illegal drugs in the body
have been days or weeks ago.
The lack of research pre-
A 15-year-old student who held 23 students and
a teacher hostage for several hours in a Marinette, positive tests tested were under the influence of drugs:
Percent of those testing
while driving.
Seventeen states have
sents a problem for lawmak-
ers, adds Scott Burns, exec-
Wis., high school classroom died Tuesday from a positive for drugs Percent tested some form of such laws, ac- utive director of the National
self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. By Naomi Snyder cording to the NHTSA: Arizo- District Attorneys Association
2005 13% 56%
Sophomore Samuel Hengel shot himself after po- and Brandon Gee na, Delaware, Georgia, Illi- “With respect to illegal sub-
lice stormed a classroom at Marinette High School USA TODAY nois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, stances, the answer seems
2006 15% 59%
on Monday night, Police Chief Jeff Skorik said. Hen- Minnesota, Nevada, North fairly easy, ‘You can’t drive
gel, of Porterfield, had been holding most of the Bruce Holloway was turn- Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, with cocaine on board,’ ” he
2007 16% 63%
students and their social studies teacher hostage. ing into his driveway in Rhode Island, South Dakota, says. “The tougher question
No one else was wounded. Mount Juliet, Tenn., in April Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. becomes, ‘What do you do
2008 18% 65%
“As far as what caused this, it seems to be a mys- 2009, when he was hit and Although much research with prescription drugs?’ ”
tery,” Skorik said. killed by Brian Duffey, who, has been done on alcohol’s ef- Don Egdorf of the Houston
2009 18% 63%
Skorik said the suspect fired three shots before according to police and court fects on driving, little has Police Department’s DWI
police entered the room, but he had also fired at records, was driving 80 mph Source: National Highway Transportation Safety Administration been done on the impact of task force says many people
least two or three shots before that. The shooter with alcohol and painkillers By Julie Snider, USA TODAY
drugs on driving, researchers abuse prescription drugs. “If
was carrying a 9mm semi-automatic and a .22- in his system. say. The NHTSA analysis you have tooth pain, they
caliber semi-automatic, and he had additional am- “He was already home,” Highway Transportation Safe- traffic crashes, showed a 5- doesn’t address whether the give you Vicodin. You might
munition in his pocket and a duffel bag, Skorik said. said Mary Loving, Holloway’s ty Administration (NHTSA) percentage-point increase in drugs were at levels that develop a tolerance,” he said.
Hengel never made any demands or pointed his fiancée. “It’s so unfair.” report released Tuesday, one- the number of tested drivers would impair driving. Plus, “You might end up taking two
weapons at anyone, said student Austin Biehl, 15. Duffey pleaded guilty to ag- third of all drug tests on driv- found to have drugs in their the data are reported by the instead of one.”
He said the students discussed movies and actors gravated vehicular homicide ers killed in motor vehicle ac- systems since 2005. The in- states, which vary widely in David Strickland of the
Hengel liked, plus deer hunting and fishing. “We and was sentenced to 22 cidents came back positive crease coincided with more how often they test for drugs, NHTSA recommends better
were just trying to make him calm. Just trying to years. He was one of a grow- for drugs ranging from hallu- drivers being tested for drugs, the report notes. state records of crashes in-
make him remember all the fun stuff,” Biehl said. ing number of heavily med- cinogens to prescription pain- the report shows. Jim Lavine, the president of volving prescription drugs.
icated Americans who get be- killers last year. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the National Association of
hind the wheel every day. The report, the agency’s the Office of National Drug Criminal Defense Lawyers, Snyder and Gee report for
According to a National first analysis of drug use in Control Policy, said the num- said drug tests results don’t The Tennessean in Nashville
Amtrak
to allow
By Phil Skinner, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via AP
Storm tears into Ga. town guns
Possible twister: Mike Croker’s home lies in ruins
after a severe storm struck Buford, Ga., Tuesday. New rules in
Authorities have been checking on residents in
Gwinnett County after reports that a tornado may
effect Dec. 15
have touched down in the neighborhood. By Donna Leinwand
USA TODAY
Televangelist admits past affair
Amtrak will allow passengers
Televangelist Marcus Lamb appeared before a to transport unloaded guns on
worldwide TV audience Tuesday to admit he had an trains, reversing a decade-old
affair with a woman years ago — and to allege that ban in place since the Sept. 11,
three people had tried to extort millions of dollars 2001, terrorist attacks. The ban
from him to stay quiet about his infidelity. lifts on Dec. 15.
Lamb, who created Daystar Television Network Travelers can check firearms,
with his wife, Joni, said he and his wife had healed — including handguns, starter
their marriage and had hoped to keep his adultery pistols, rifles and shotguns —
private but went public because they would not Photos by Nathan Papes, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader
and up to 11 pounds of ammu-
pay extortionists. The three people demanded School board meeting: A public forum is held in Stockton, Mo., on book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. nition at any train station that of-
$7.5 million, he said. fers checked baggage service
Those challenging books
“They’re trying to take our pain and turn it to and if the travelers’ itinerary in-
their gain,” Lamb said during a one-hour broadcast. cludes a train with a baggage car.
Daystar, based in Dallas, airs some of the highest- Most big city train stations — in-
profile evangelists in the world, including Joel Os- cluding New York, Boston, Chi-
teen, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland. cago and Washington — have
Dad charged in disappearance of 3 boys
The father of three young brothers missing since
Thanksgiving was charged with their kidnapping,
find strength in numbers checked-baggage service.
The gun prohibition “was an
overreaction” after 9/11, said
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who
hours after police said it’s unlikely the boys will be
found alive. Schools and public libraries Judith John, an English professor at Missouri State Uni-
versity, suggests book bans might have become more no-
proposed lifting the ban as part
of a 2010 appropriations bill.
John Skelton, 39, was arrested by FBI agents after
his release from a medical facility in Lucas County,
report ‘an uptick of organized ticeable these days because of an uncertain economy and
concerns about terrorism. “When people are afraid, they
“The rule was not based on
any facts or any reality and was
Ohio, where he was treated since attempting to
hang himself Friday.
efforts’ to remove books become more conservative and reject changes,” she says.
Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Fam-
frankly punitive toward sports-
men, hunters and gun owners,”
Skelton was charged in Lenawee County, Mich., By Didi Tang and Mary Beth Marklein ily, a Christian ministry in Colorado, says it’s “healthy and Wicker said. “Amtrak was un-
across the state border, with three counts of paren- USA TODAY normal for parents to want to weigh in on what their kids able to accommodate hunters
tal kidnapping, Morenci, Mich., Police Chief Larry are exposed to at taxpayer-funded schools, especially and sportsmen. They were
Weeks said. Shortly after the fall semester began this year, Wesley when we talk about materials that are sexually explicit.” forced to choose only air travel.”
The brothers — Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tan- Scroggins, a parent of three in Republic, Mo., publicly criti- Sex is not always the primary concern. A Seattle high The new rules bring train
ner, 5 — have not been seen since Thursday, when cized the local school district for carrying books that he de- school recently dropped Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World travel in line with air travel,
they were with their father in Morenci. Skelton told scribed as soft pornography. from its 10th-grade required where passengers are allowed
authorities he left the boys in the care of a female “We’ve got to have educated reading list after a parent ob- to check firearms in an air-
acquaintance, but police say he lied. kids, and we’ve got to be a mor- jected to the book’s depiction plane’s baggage compartment,
“Statements he made to investigators indicate it’s al people,” Scroggins said then. of American Indians as savages. Wicker said.
not going to be a positive outcome,” Weeks said. “I’ve been concerned for some Cushman’s group encour- The National Rifle Association
time what students in the ages concerned parents to start supports the new guidelines,
schools are being taught.” with school officials. “We trust spokesman Andrew Arulanan-
Parents have long raised con- the democratic process to dam said.
cerns about school and library weed out illegitimate com- “We think it’s a good policy,
books — children’s and young plaints,” Cushman says. and it’s reasonable to allow law-
adult books, and sometimes The American Library Asso- abiding people to have effective
dictionaries — often for inap- ciation urges schools to keep means for traveling with a fire-
propriate content. The number challenged books on the arm,” Arulanandam said.
of reported challenges in the shelves until a review commit- Gun control advocates say the
past 30 years has hovered be- tee can read the material and new rules make train travel less
tween about 400 or 500 each make a recommendation to key secure.
year, says Deborah Caldwell- decision-makers. “A baggage car is not like an
Stone, an attorney with the Those opposed: Mike Holzknecht speaks to the Sometimes the decision is airplane cargo hold,” said Daniel
American Library Association. Stockton board in September in support of the ban. questioned: Vice, senior attorney at the Bra-
By Jerry Naunheim, AP
Whereas challenges once uIn Plano, Texas, last month, dy Center to Prevent Gun Vio-
Crime scene: Police investigate a shooting Tuesday were mostly launched by a lone parent, Caldwell-Stone the school district collected a textbook, Culture and Values: lence. “Baggage cars are not as
outside Reliable Funeral Home Chapel in St. Louis. says she has noticed “an uptick in organized efforts” to re- A Survey of the Humanities, from classrooms after a parent secured. Amtrak security has a
move books from public and school libraries. A number of voiced concern, then reissued the book after former stu- lot of concerns about it.”
Two dead in Mo. funeral home shooting challenges appear to draw from information provided on dents launched a social-media campaign to object. “This To transport a gun, passengers
websites such as Parents Against Bad Books in Schools, or decision was made behind closed doors without dis- must notify Amtrak at least 24
As many as three gunmen opened fire outside a PABBIS.org, and Safelibraries.org, she says. cussion,” says Ashley Meyers, 22, a 2006 graduate who had hours before their departure.
St. Louis funeral home during services for a murder And the latest wrinkle: A wave of complaints around the used the book. The gun must be stored unload-
victim, killing two people and critically wounding nation about inappropriate material in public schools has uAfter the school board in Stockton, Mo., voted in April ed in a locked, hard-sided con-
another before fleeing the scene, police said. stirred emotional argument over just how much freedom to ban The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Eng- tainer, the guidelines say.
Witnesses told authorities that a fourth man was should be extended to students lish teachers who assign the Amtrak, which carried
apparently shot in the leg during the shootings out- in advanced courses. book said they should have 28.7 million passengers last
side Reliable Funeral Home Chapel, police Capt. Earlier this year, a California been consulted about its educa- year, spent about $2 million to
Mike Sack said. Police had not been able to find parent objected to sex-related tional value. “We expected a train staff, modify the reserva-
him. Sack said the gunfire appeared related to the terms in a collegiate dictionary more thorough, well-devel- tions system, and install secure
funeral taking place for David Davis, 27, who was placed in a fourth- and fifth- oped process before a book storage in 142 baggage cars to
gunned down Nov. 19 behind a St. Louis home. grade classroom to accommo- was banned,” English teacher accommodate the guns, spokes-
“It looks like these people have a prior history date advanced readers. And the Kim Chism Jasper said during a man Steve Kulm said.
with one another,” Sack said American Library Association public forum in September. Amtrak initially imposed the
and other groups say they have uA chapter of Glenn Beck’s ban because of post-9/11 securi-
Also . . . seen a noticeable rise in com- 9.12 Project, a conservative ty concerns, Kulm said. The ban
uSALT LAKE CITY — Brian David Mitchell, on plaints about literature used in watchdog network, was a force continued after the rail service
trial for kidnapping and assaulting Elizabeth Smart honors or college-level courses. behind the removal of Revolu- evaluated its security in the
in 2002 when she was 14, suffered an apparent sei- “This is a relatively recent tionary Voices: A Multicultural wake of the 2004 attacks on Ma-
zure in the courtroom Tuesday and was rushed to a phenomenon, and it’s spread- Queer Youth Anthology from the drid’s train system.
hospital. The judge adjourned the case for the day, ing,” says Joan Bertin, executive school library at Rancocas Val- “Passenger rail was targeted,”
but it will resume today. director of the National Coali- ley Regional High School in Kulm said. “We took a look at
uFRESNO, Calif. — A vast toxic waste dump at tion Against Censorship, a New Students support: Stockton High senior Dakota Burlington County, N.J. The the security of our system and
the center of a birth-defects controversy was fined York-based group. Freeze, 17, opposes the ban of the book. ACLU of New Jersey requested made a decision to prohibit all
more than $300,000 for allowing cancer-causing More high schools are offer- documentation from school of- weapons.”
chemicals to leach into the soil at Kettleman Hills ing Advanced Placement or similar hon- For a map of book bans ficials regarding how the decision was Unlike air travel, Amtrak does
landfill, the Environmental Protection Agency said. ors courses, in part to help students earn across the USA, visit us made. not screen all its passengers be-
The dump’s parent company, Waste Management, college credit and to give them a leg up in at www.usatoday.com Such controversies make headlines, fore they board trains. The train
said monitoring confirmed small concentrations of college admissions. Nearly 12,500 U.S. which helps the library association and service has other systems in
PCBs, a now-banned transformer fluid, but they high schools offered Advanced Placement English literature other anti-censorship groups track book bans. John, who place, including canine teams
“did not present any risk to public health.” this year, up 30% since 2000, and the number of students has been studying book bans since 1993, suggests many li- that can sniff out explosives and
taking the national exam is up 86%. brary books simply disappear from circulation. random baggage screening,
By Melanie Eversley with staff and wire reports This year, high schools in Hillsborough County, Fla., Eas- “It’s more prevalent than people think,” she says. Kulm said.
ton, Pa., and Franklin Township, Ind., were asked to review “We do have a robust security
Please recycle books being read in Advanced Placement English courses. Tang reports for the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader program,” he said.
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