Bush addresses the nation: On Tuesday night, President Bush delivered his second State of the Union address, outlining both key themes of his administration and assuring the nation that he was prepared to deal with both “economic troubles and foreign crises.” Key themes Bush addressed include tax cuts, health care, volunteerism, the weak economy, AIDS, terrorism, and the possibility of war. Bush said his first goal is to revive the economy, and he said his $670 billion tax cut plan will help this effort. Concerning Iraq, Bush said that the United States would seek, but not depend on, support from other nations in confronting Hussein. “We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him,” Bush said.
Court date set for Sniper: On Tuesday, Virginia Circuit Judge Jane Roush gave sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, 17, a Nov. 10 trial date where he may face the death
penalty. Along John Allen Muhammed, Malvo is accused of taking part in the Washington, D.C. area shootings last fall, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people and wounded six others. These shootings took place in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Virginia was selected as the jurisdiction where these two
suspects should first be tried because prosecutors have the best opportunity to get the death penalty. Muhammed’s trial is scheduled for mid-October in the nearby Prince William County.
Steps taken to prevent bioterror: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are taking steps to
prevent bioterrorism by creating a computerized network that pools data on a variety of illnesses in hopes of detecting a bioterror attack early. This data would be gathered from “visits to doctors’ offices and emergency rooms, drugstore sales and calls to poison control centers in major U.S. cities.” The data, largely organized by symptoms, would be compared with regional norms for the season, so that, hypothetically, surges in certain illnesses may lead officials to a potential bioterror attack. The new system will be located in the same cities as the new Bio-Watch air quality monitors that the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would
develop last week. “The EPA
monitors are designed to provide 24-hour notice of any release of anthrax, smallpox or other deadly germs.”
Data compiled by Paige Wassel with information from the New York Times.