Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian hit with losses
The Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest research and museum complex, has suffered huge attendance and revenue losses in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and will have to cut programs and staff, Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small reported Tuesday.
Despite the shortfalls, the Smithsonian will not begin charging admission fees or close any more of its museums, Small said.
Tokyo: Afghan leader in car crash
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim prime minister, escaped injury Tuesday in a highway crash in Tokyo, where he had attended a two-day conference on rebuilding Afghanistan.
Karzai's motorcade became involved in an accident when a quickly braking vehicle caused Karzai's and four other cars to collide. Karzai and his foreign minister, Abdullah, were unhurt, but three people suffered minor injuries, Tokyo police said.
India: Calcutta, U.S. attacks linked
Yoking its own fight against extremists to Washington's war on terror, India charged Tuesday that gunmen who attacked a U.S. cultural center in Calcutta belong to a kidnapping ring that local police suspect used ransom payments to help bankroll the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
Indian officials also claimed that the people behind Tuesday's assault, which killed five Indian police guards, could have links to Pakistan's military intelligence and two Pakistan-based groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Pakistan's government dismissed the Indian allegation as "baseless."
New York: Vanity plates HONOR911
Since Sept. 11, motorists began choosing vanity license plates with numerous variations on the Sept. 11 or World Trade Center theme: 9FDNY11, WTC911, RMBRWTC.
Now, several state legislatures have begun issuing memorial license plates, with many proposing to send the proceeds to attack victims.
Michigan, Hawaii and Iowa have approved patriotic plates, while New York's legislature is considering a "World Trade Center Remembrance" license plate with an image of the twin towers, a red, white and blue ribbon and the message "Freedom Stands Tall."
Washington, D.C.: Military eases policy on garb
The U.S. military, in a policy reversal, will no longer require servicewomen in Saudi Arabia to wear Muslim-style head-to-toe robes when venturing off base.
Instead, wearing the robe, known as an abaya, "is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged."
The Air Force's highest-ranking female fighter pilot is challenging the rule in court. Lt. Col. Martha McSally's lawsuit calls the policy unconstitutional and says it improperly forces American women to conform to others' religious and social customs.
McSally's lawsuit did not inspire the policy change, Central Command spokesman Col. Rick Thomas said Tuesday. "The policy was under review before the lawsuit was filed, so the change was not a direct result of that," Thomas said.
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