Nation digest 08/24/02

Moussaoui denied access to classified information

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A federal judge Friday denied a request by suspected Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to see classified material, saying she won't let someone who prays for destruction of the United States jeopardize national security.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said Moussaoui understood he would not have access to the material when he successfully petitioned the court last April to represent himself.

Brinkema said Moussaoui's court-appointed lawyers are reviewing the documents and will be able to protect his constitutional rights at trial. The lawyers remain in the case at Brinkema's request because she could still revoke Moussaoui's right to act as his own attorney.

Moussaou's trial is set for Jan. 6.

Dozens of airport workers arrested for phony IDs

LOS ANGELES -- Federal agents arrested 81 people who used phony identification to get jobs with high level security clearances at Southern California airports, officials said Friday.

The raid Thursday uncovered immigration violations and document fraud but no connections to terrorist groups, authorities said. The action was part of a national sweep started last fall known as "Operation Tarmac."

Most of the alleged violators were Hispanic immigrants employed as baggage handlers, janitors and maintenance workers. They were among some 40,000 Southern California airport employees investigated because of their access to restricted areas.

U.S. Attorney Debra W. Yang said the safety of the traveling public "required us to examine those with access to the most secure portions of the airports."

Utah has nation's top bankruptcy rate

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah residents are more likely to file for bankruptcy than residents of any other state, according to a financial research organization.

During the year ending March 31, roughly one of every 35 Utah households filed for bankruptcy, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, a Virginia-based research organization. That far outpaced the national average of one for every 69 households.

And the numbers aren't improving: July saw a record 1,915 filings and 2002 is on pace to set a state record with more than 20,000 filings.

Dress code violators get special T-shirts

EASLEY, S.C. -- Students who violate the dress code at Easley High School are given something new to wear: T-shirts with the words "Tomorrow I will dress for success."

The other side of the shirt reads, "Today I did not meet the SDPC dress code policy for proper attire," with the letters standing for the Pickens County school district.

Easley High principal Betty Garrison said the shirt saves time. Students who broke the code in recent years could wait up to an hour for parents to bring a change of clothes, she said. Students can still call home for a change of clothes if they don't want to wear the shirt, Garrison said.

Many dress code violations involve clothing that features profanity or items illegal for students to have, such as beer or marijuana.

Space shuttle launches delayed further by cracks

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A space shuttle flight featuring the first Israeli astronaut is off until January because of cracked equipment, NASA said Friday.

Columbia was supposed to take off in July on a scientific research mission with Israel's Ilan Ramon, but was delayed because of small cracks discovered in fuel-line pipes throughout the fleet. The launch was bumped to late November and then, on Friday, to mid-January.

On Thursday, NASA said the next shuttle launch, by Atlantis, will be no earlier than Oct. 2 because of cracked and damaged bearings in the platform needed to haul the ship to the pad. The mission, to deliver and install new pieces of the international space station, had been targeted for August and then late September.

-- From wire reports