Philippine troops rescue 4 hostages

ISABELA, Philippines - Government troops rescued four Filipino hostages early yesterday while pursuing Muslim extremist guerrillas in the jungles of southern Basilan province, military officials said.

Troops rescued hospital worker Joel Guillo and three farmers while chasing Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in Lumbang village in Basilan's coastal town of Lantawan, said Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, chief of the military's Southern Command. American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan., are still being held.

Guillo said the rebels tied Martin's hands with a nylon rope most of the time to prevent him from escaping and that his wife often cried at night. The Americans have lost considerable weight and are always tightly guarded, he said.

"We were forced to walk day and night to evade soldiers. Many of us were sick and have lost weight, including the Americans," Guillo told reporters in an army camp in Isabela, Basilan's capital.

Students say school bus swerved to miss tour bus

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. - A school bus that crashed while returning from a high school band competition, killing three people and injuring more than 30, had veered off the road to avoid a swerving tour bus, students on board told police. The driver of the tour bus denied swerving, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning said yesterday. Drivers of several other buses that were part of a convoy also said the tour bus had not swerved, Dunning said.

People aboard the tour bus may not have known there was an accident, Dunning said.

The driver of the school bus was in critical condition and had not spoken with investigators.

Police planned to interview the tour bus driver again. Dunning declined to say where the tour buses were going or originated.

The school bus crashed through a guard rail and plunged 60 feet into a creek on Saturday, killing Benjamin Prescott and Ian Koehler, both 14, and Tracy Kohlmeier, 40, the mother of another band member.

Two people were in critical condition yesterday. Eight were in serious condition, and 22 others were treated at hospitals and released.

Paul Matulka, 14, who plays the cymbals, said he was listening to his CD player when the bus began to go off the road. The next thing he knew, the bus was on the ground and filling with water.

Despite three fractured vertebrae, he climbed through an emergency exit, Matulka said.

"My foot was caught under the seat, so I freed that and stood there for five seconds, the wind was knocked out of me," Matulka said. "I climbed out myself."

The bus was pulled from the scene by a large tow truck early yesterday and hauled to the sheriff's office for inspection by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Thirty-five people were on the bus, which was the first of three taking the Seward High School band home after a competition at Burke High School. Seward is about 60 miles southwest of Omaha.

Crisis counselors were expected at the high school yesterday afternoon to help students and parents deal with the tragedy.

As economy dips, Tucson companies look in vain for a break

Associated Press

TUCSON - For some small businesses in Tucson, the trickle-down effect from an ailing economy feels more like a flood.

Competitive Engineering, an award-winning machine shop, laid off a third of its 150-member work force recently. The firm makes parts for the aerospace, defense and electronics industries.

"The electronics business took a real hard hit at the beginning of the year with the dot-com crash," said owner Don Martin.

And the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has only compounded the problem.

Martin, who started the business in 1987, said he is reacting to lean times by outsourcing more and keeping a sharp eye on expenses.

"It's a struggle, but when it all shakes out at the end of the year our sales would have grown 25 percent," he said.

While Congress is giving the ailing airline industry a massive $5 billion in grants and $10 billion in loan guarantees, small businesses are looking for any break they can get.

The federal government announced recently that is offering low-cost Small Business Administration loans to companies that have lost essential employees who are military reservists called to active duty.