Kathy Wood

To Latino families living in run-down buildings near the heart of downtown Los Angeles, "Sister Kathy" is a familiar figure, a soft-voiced woman who walks unafraid down long dark corridors, dispensing no-nonsense advice. Housing activists know Kathy Wood as one of only a handful of tenant organizers in Los Angeles. Her efforts have led to two lawsuits resulting in the largest payments ever made to slum tenants in Los Angeles--a total of nearly $5 million over the last three years.

Kathy Woods, mother of the 17-year-old San Clemente youth slain in a confrontation last year, Saturday endorsed Proposition 187, the controversial initiative that would deny social services, education and all but emergency health care to illegal immigrants. "If our borders were controlled, probably my son would be alive today," said Woods, a legal immigrant from England who cannot vote in Tuesday's election.

Kathy Woods, mother of the 17-year-old San Clemente youth slain in a confrontation last year, Saturday endorsed Proposition 187, the controversial initiative that would deny social services, education and all but emergency health care to illegal immigrants. "If our borders were controlled, probably my son would be alive today," said Woods, a legal immigrant from England who cannot vote in Tuesday's election.

To Latino families living in run-down buildings near the heart of downtown Los Angeles, "Sister Kathy" is a familiar figure, a soft-voiced woman who walks unafraid down long dark corridors, dispensing no-nonsense advice. Housing activists know Kathy Wood as one of only a handful of tenant organizers in Los Angeles. Her efforts have led to two lawsuits resulting in the largest payments ever made to slum tenants in Los Angeles--a total of nearly $5 million over the last three years.

An Air Force tanker plane with 19 people aboard crashed on takeoff today from Dyess Air Force Base, exploding in what witnesses called a ball of flames. Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Kathy Wood said she had no word on whether any of the 19 aboard survived the crash but witnesses told Cable News Network it was unlikely anyone could have lived through the crash and explosion. The KC-135 aircraft, laden with fuel, had taken off in mild weather on a flight to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

The State Department today publicly linked the government of Gen. Manuel Noriega to harassment and violent incidents aimed at American officials and civilians living in Panama. A Pentagon official said 1,550 of the 2,450 U.S. military families living in civilian housing in Panama in March have been moved into safer quarters on U.S. bases as of Aug. 15. The escalating tension between the United States and the Noriega government has been marked by charges and countercharges from both sides.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher telephoned the wife of Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins and lauded her for "strength and courage," a Pentagon spokeswoman said Thursday. Maj. Kathy Wood, an Army spokeswoman, said Thatcher called Robin Higgins on Wednesday morning. "She just wanted Robin to know that she is in constant contact with President Bush and that if there is anything they can do, they will. She also said she admired Robin's strength and courage in this crisis," Wood added.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher telephoned the wife of Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins and lauded her for "strength and courage," a Pentagon spokeswoman said today. "She just wanted Robin to know that she is in constant contact with President Bush and that if there is anything they can do, they will. She also said she admired Robin's strength and courage in this crisis," Maj. Kathy Wood said of the Wednesday call. The spokeswoman described Mrs.

All of the nearly 1,400 military dependents sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command and living off base in Panama have moved onto U.S. installations as ordered by President Bush, the Pentagon said Monday. Sponsored dependents are those whose expenses are paid by the Pentagon. Another 1,685 "non-sponsored" military dependents--those who paid their own way to Panama to be with their spouses--live off base. They have the option of remaining in their homes or moving onto the bases. After Panama's disputed election and violence last week, Bush ordered the military dependents to move to secure housing and dispatched nearly 1,900 Army troops and Marines to Panama to reinforce U.S. military personnel already there Most of the troops had arrived as of Sunday, said a Pentagon spokeswoman, Army Maj. Kathy Wood.

Robin Higgins called on her husband's captors Tuesday to "give us proof" of whether he is dead or alive. Higgins' wife, who remained out of the public eye for most of the day at the Pentagon, said through a spokeswoman that she had viewed the videotape of the purported execution of Lt. Col. William R. Higgins. However, she said, "It is impossible to make a definite determination on whether my husband is dead or alive." A Pentagon spokeswoman, Army Maj.

Robin Higgins called on her husband's captors today to "give us proof" of whether he is dead or alive. Robin Higgins, out of the public eye at the Pentagon, repeated through a spokeswoman that she had viewed the videotape of the purported execution of her husband, Lt. Col. William R. Higgins. However, she said, "It is impossible to make a definite determination on whether my husband is dead or alive."

A white substance found wrapped in banana leaves in a house in Panama frequented by Manuel A. Noriega was not cocaine as the Army believed, but a material used in voodoo, the Pentagon said Tuesday. "It's bonding material," said a Defense Department spokeswoman, Army Maj. Kathy Wood. "It's a substance they use in voodoo rituals."