Across the Nation

Suspected bombers attack prison guard

NEW YORK - Two U.S. embassy bombing suspects attacked a guard at a federal lockup, stabbing him in the eye and leaving him in critical condition, authorities said.

Two federal law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the guard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center was stabbed in the eye Wednesday with a plastic comb that had been filed to a point. The thrust was believed to be so severe that the guard lost his eye and the comb penetrated his brain, one source said.

The 43-year-old guard, whose name was not released, was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he underwent surgery for more than 12 hours, said hospital spokeswoman Lorinda Klein. He was in critical condition yesterday.

Norman Seabrook, president of the New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said he had visited the guard in the hospital. "He's in bad shape and unable to speak," Seabrook said.

Klein said she could not comment further on his condition at the family's request. Officials at the Fraternal Order of Police, the union which represents the guard, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The suspects were identified as Khalfan Khamis Mohamed and Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, both indicted in connection with the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings at embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Twelve Americans were among the 224 people killed in the attacks.

She said she had spoken to his family and understood he was expected to recover, but gave no details on his condition.

Salim has been charged in the United States with murder conspiracy and use of weapons of mass destruction in an international plot to kill Americans. He is alleged to be the finance chief for Osama bin Laden, the Saudi exile accused of sponsoring the bombings.

Salim was arrested in Germany in September 1998 on a U.S. warrant. He was extradited to the United States three months later.

Medical potential for RU-486 studied

WASHINGTON - Aside from inducing abortion, RU-486, or mifepristone, has shown promise for treating a surprising variety of medical conditions, including brain tumors, ovarian cancer and a severe form of depression, as well as fibroids and endometriosis, two common gynecological disorders that can cause pain or infertility and often lead to hysterectomies. But controversy over the drug's use for abortion has made it difficult to obtain, severely hindering research on such uses.

Now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug for abortion, however, researchers are waiting eagerly to see whether government agencies and the drug's U.S. distributor, Danco Laboratories, will smooth the path to exploring its medical potential.

"We've been calling Danco almost daily," said Steven Eisinger of the University of Rochester, an obstetrician-gynecologist who conducted the study that included Blacken.

Danco hasn't had a chance yet to address the needs of researchers, but will be willing to work with them on projects that are scientifically sound, said Richard Hausknecht, an obstetrician-gynecologist who is Danco's medical director.

"Danco is not a huge corporation and right now we're trying to get this stuff launched," said Hausknecht, also an associate professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. "There is clearly a real need for research, and Danco will either do some or we will cooperate with others doing the research and provide the drug."

Safety crash tests to increase for 2001

WASHINGTON -- Responding to consumer demand for more safety information, the federal government plans to smash a record 113 vehicles for the 2001 model year to judge how they hold up in a crash.

Congress allocated the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about twice as much money - $5.6 million - to increase the number of vehicles it puts through its New Car Assessment Program. "The prime reason that has happened is because of the test crash program," said Jack Gillis, a spokesman for the Consumer Federation of America.

who helped develop NHTSA's crash rating system in the late 1970s, called the move fabulous.

"There is no question that safety has risen dramatically in consumers' hierarchy of purchase criteria," he said yesterday. "Safety is for many of us the number one or the number two consideration.

According to a survey by DaimlerChrysler AG, 84 percent of new car buyers in 1999 said safety was an extremely or very important factor in their purchase, compared to 64 percent in 1964.

All vehicles must pass a 30-mph frontal crash test and a 33.5-mph side impact test to be sold in the United States.