News briefs

Rams on the Winston Cup circuit

NASCAR Winston Cup driver Hermie Sadler, Gov. Mark Warner and B.J. Burton, associate athletic director for marketing and promotions, unveiled VCU’s Winston Cup Car recently. The car, detailed by Susie Dee, a graduate student in the VCU Sports Center, is part of Go Team VA, a partnership between Sadler Motorsports and four Virginia universities. Cars from VCU, the University of Virginia, James Madison University and Virginia Polytechnic University will compete in a minimum of six NASCAR Winston Cup Series events in 2003 and 2004. The car is bright gold with Dee’s design touches, including the VCU Rams logo on the hood and racing stripes.

Another honor for engineering school

The engineering school at VCU has been inducted into the nation’s only honor society for engineering – Tau Beta Pi. The organization, which recognizes students of distinguished scholarship and exemplary character, has more than 410,000 members. To be eligible, undergraduate students must place in the top 12 percent of their junior class or the top 20 percent of their senior class. Graduate students are required to be in the top 20 percent of their class or have a letter of recommendation from their primary advisors and have completed at least 50 percent of their coursework including research.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Four U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division were killed Saturday morning when a suicide bomber in a taxi attacked a military checkpoint in the central Iraq. This was the first suicide bombing of the war, but it was not the first time Iraqi soldiers have posed as plain-clothed civilians. Gen. Tommy Franks said he was not surprised by the terrorist-like tactics. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said Saturday that coalition forces could expect more suicide bombers. He praised “every martyr that aims to protect their land.”
Two large fires erupted in Baghdad Sunday night. Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV network, reported that a missile hit a residential area in the capital city and that several civilians had been killed or wounded. The network said one of the fires could have been a ditch fire, which Iraqi troops set ablaze in order to disrupt precision-guided missiles. At least one command-and-control site and two surface-to-air missile sites have been hit by satellite-guided missiles in Baghdad. Gen. Tommy Franks said Sunday that a “huge” terrorist facility in northern Iraq was destroyed by coalition troops. He also said the country’s coastline is secured.
British Royal Marines said early Sunday that they captured an Iraqi general and four other high-ranking paramilitary officials in a raid. During the capture, the British troops encountered patches of resistance from the Iraqis.
Sgt. Hasan Akbar, 31, has returned to the United States after being contained in Germany for several days. Akbar is suspected of killing two fellow soldiers and wounding 14 others last week in a grenade attack. He has not been formally charged, but the case is under investigation by the Army and the FBI.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi warned the United States Sunday that the worst is yet to come in the war with Iraq. He said regardless of how oppressive a regime is, people do not want a government imposed on them by foreigners.
Thus far, 59 U.S. and British service members have been confirmed killed since the war began. Twenty-six U.S. soldiers are unaccounted for in Iraq. Iraq’s state-run television network reported Saturday that 357 Iraqi citizens have been killed and 3,650 injured after 10 days of war.

Mirjana Markovic suspected involvement in murder

Serbia authorities say that Mirjana Markovic, wife of former President Slobodan Milosevic, might have been involved in the murder of her husband’s predecessor. The “credible suspicions” are enough to order her to return from Russia for questioning. Authorities connected her to the killing of former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic during their investigation of the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. An international warrant for her arrest will be issued unless Markovic returns immediately.

Letterman returns next week

After battling a case of shingles, David Letterman will return to his CBS late-night show this week. He last appeared on his show Feb. 25 when he complained about the illness, a viral infection related to chickenpox. Bruce Willis, John McEnroe and Regis Philbin served as guests host during a portion of Letterman’s absence. In 2000, Letterman, 55, missed some shows while he was recuperating from open-heart surgery. Before his operation, Letterman never missed an appearance in his more than 20 years of late-night television.

More complications with smallpox vaccination

Federal advisors warn that people at high risk for heart trouble should avoid the smallpox vaccine. The experts recommended Friday to limit the antiterrorism program. New York, Illinois and California have already suspended their programs while the links to heart disease are being investigated. Federal officials had planned to offer the vaccine on a voluntary basis to at least 450,000 civilians in the program’s first month. Only 25,000 civilians have been vaccinated so far because many hospitals are opting out of the program. Thus far, 17 recipients of the vaccine have suffered heart problems. An official at the Pentagon announced Friday that three people have died.