CONCRETE POURED FOR NEW TOWER AT WTC SITE

Concrete poured fornew tower at WTC site
NEW YORK -- Seventy trucks rolled into ground zero Saturday to pour the concrete base of the signature skyscraper at the World Trade Center site, creating the first visible signs of the long-delayed tower. The concrete mixers began by dropping 520 cubic yards of concrete near thin steel bars jutting from the bottom of ground zero. The base will anchor the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower's concrete core. Next month, the first steel beams for the tower are scheduled to rise. The site has been bustling in recent months, with work on half a dozen projects under way after years of disputes about designs and authority over the redevelopment. "We've really turned this site around," said Steve Plate, director of priority capital programs for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owned the trade center. The work continued despite calls from some family members of victims to halt construction. A search for human remains is ongoing in the area after more than 200 bones were found in manholes on the site's western edge. A search on the rooftop of the Millennium Hilton continued Saturday. Gov. George Pataki's chief of staff, John Cahill, said the city needs to be sensitive to families' needs, but "it is time to build this site."
General wants restrictionslifted on troop deployment
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The NATO-led force in Afghanistan would be more effective if member countries lifted restrictions that prevent their troops from fighting insurgents in the country's restive south, a senior Canadian officer said Saturday. Many of the 37 troop-contributing nations serving with the 31,000-strong force have refused to join the fight against Taliban and other insurgents in the south, leaving the task to Canadian, American, British and Dutch soldiers. The French, German and Italian forces patrol relatively quiet sectors in the north under self-imposed limitations, known in NATO as "caveats," that keep them out of combat operations. Brig. Gen. Tim Grant, in charge of Canadian forces in Afghanistan, said that if the commander of the NATO-led force "had more flexibility in the deployment and the use of all the troops here, I think it would be better for everyone."
Kings' bodies resttogether in new crypt
ATLANTA -- Ten months after her death, Coretta Scott King is in her final resting place next to her husband, slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The single crypt that had housed Martin Luther King Jr.'s body at the grounds of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change has been replaced by a larger one, and Coretta Scott King's body has been moved to it from a temporary grave. The new grave site is slated to open Monday. Coretta Scott King, 78, died Jan. 30 of complications from a stroke and ovarian cancer. This is technically the third grave for Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. He was initially buried at South-View Cemetery in Atlanta near the graves of his parents and maternal grandparents. When Coretta Scott King built the King Center, she moved her husband's body to the grounds next to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached.
Three shot in mall
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Three people were shot Saturday in the food court of a shopping mall, and one was critically wounded, fire officials said. Two victims, including the most seriously injured, were flown to area hospitals, said Lt. Roy Phillips, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County fire department. The third was driven to a local hospital, Phillips said. Two of the victims were male, and Phillips did not know the gender of the third. The Westfield Annapolis mall is just west of the Annapolis city limits and has 270 stores including Macy's, JCPenney and Borders Books & amp; Music.
Gunman fatally shotin standoff at hospital
AURORA, Ill. -- An armed gunman died after he opened the door to his suburban Chicago hospital room at the end of a 41/2 hour standoff Saturday and pointed his gun at police, who opened fire, authorities said. The 58-year-old man died of a gunshot wound to the head. He appeared to have shot himself, but police were still investigating, Aurora Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. Authorities have not yet released his identity. It wasn't clear whether the gunman ever fired at the officers, police said, correcting earlier reports. Police also fired tear gas before entering the room and finding the man dead on the floor. The gunman had briefly held a 71-year-old patient hostage in the room at Provena Mercy Medical Center but released him unharmed after police intervened. No one else was injured. Authorities were first called to the scene on a report of an "unruly patient," Aurora Police Chief William Powell said. The first officer to reach the floor where the man had barricaded himself reported that the man said he wanted police to shoot him.
Associated Press