FBI Swamped With Applicants Post-Sept. 11

— -- The FBI says there has been an incredible response to its plea for applicants. Two schools near Ground Zero reopen. At the Superbowl, U2 leads a tribute to America and the victims of Sept. 11.

FBI Swamped With High-Quality Applicants

L O S A N G E L E S , Feb. 4 — The FBI has been receiving numeroushigh-quality applications as it rushes to meet a nationwide goal ofhiring more than 900 agents in the next eight months. One of the toughest challenges facing the agency is sortingthrough the thousands of applications received since the terroristattacks. "It's busier than I've ever seen it," said Jan Caldwell, anFBI spokeswoman in San Diego and agent for 27 years. "And thequality of the applicants is just incredible. We are literallygetting rocket scientists applying." Several doctors, a tax lawyer and applicants with degrees inphilosophy, electrical engineering and computer science haveapplied, she said. The FBI has about 11,000 agents worldwide and typically receives25,000 applications a year, Caldwell estimated. "In the past, the spikes in people applying to be agents camefrom television or the movies," Caldwell said. "First came EfremZimbalist Jr.'s FBI series. Then there was Silence of the Lambs.In the '90s, it was X Files. This time it was Sept. 11, and thatobviously makes a difference." The agency's Los Angeles office was receiving about 100 jobapplications a day after Sept. 11, but the number has dropped offrecently, said Annette Nowak, a recruiting agent for the office. The four FBI offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diegoand Sacramento annually process about 11 percent of the FBI's totalof recruits nationwide. From 1996 to this year, the four primaryFBI offices in California tested 4,724 applicants and 466 recruitswere offered employment. When the agency announced its hiring goal last month, the FBIsaid its priorities are recruits with computer, engineering,science and foreign language skills, especially languages such asArabic, Farsi, Pashtu and Urdu. Skills in other languages,including Spanish, Russian and Japanese, remain in high demand. About one-third of the 900,000 Arab-Americans in the UnitedStates live in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The high number of applicants should help the bureau meet itsrecruiting goals, but sorting through all the applications couldslow the process down. "It cuts both ways," said San Diego's Caldwell. "But thebureau usually meets its hiring goals and we will probably meetthem this year. We need them more than ever before."

—The Associated Press

Schools Near WTC Site Reopen

N E W Y O R K, Feb. 4 — The rhythm of the 5-day-old school year broke onthe morning of Sept. 11 at P.S. 234. Students huddled in shutteredclassrooms and evacuated the school as the World Trade Centerburned and collapsed three blocks away. Today, four months and two temporary schools later,6-year-old Dashiell Lieberman leaned forward and cut a red ribbontied around the school's closed metal gates. Hundreds of students rushed into the courtyard. For parents,children, teachers and administrators, relief at their return mixedwith disturbing memories of the World Trade Center attack. "I'm not going to talk about that today," principal AnnaSwitzer said. "It's been a terrible time for the families. …It's exhilarating to be back. It's absolutely wonderful." Six hundred students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade attendthe school. The Parent Teacher Association voted in December toreturn to the school after extensive cleaning and environmentaltesting had been completed. The association appropriated $25,000for the cleaning and testing. Two blocks away, P.S. 150, with 175 students, also openedMonday, but P.S. 89 in nearby Battery Park City will not reopenuntil later. Natasjah DeFalco, 6, said she was happy to be back at P.S. 234although she clearly remembered the events of Sept. 11. "I wassafe and sound in my classroom," she said. "It wasn't scary forme but it was scary for my mommy."

—The Associated Press

U2 Honors Sept. 11 Victims in Super Bowl Halftime Show

N E W O R L E A N S , Feb. 4 — U2 had the Super Bowl halftime stage all toitself, and the Irish rockers delivered a moving tribute to Americaand the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Lead singer Bono walked onto the field with a slow swagger,singing the group's recent hit, Beautiful Day, as he climbedonto the point of a pink, heart-shaped catwalk that surrounded thestage. As the first song wound down, a giant screen scrolled the namesof victims in the attacks, and the group broke into the 1980s hit,Where the Streets Have No Name. The names reflected in overlapping patterns across the stands,which were dark save for countless camera flashes. Unlike glitzy halftime shows of the past, the effects werelimited to standard strobe lights. But all attention was on Bonoanyway, who pulled back his lapel to reveal an American flag to theroars of the crowd. Sunday's pregame lineup opened with the Boston Pops. Wearingwhite coats and black bow ties, the musicians drew enthusiasticapplause when they finished their first session with Stars andStripes Forever. The pregame lineup also featured Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow,Marc Anthony, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, James Ingram, Wynonna,Yolanda Adams and Mariah Carey. Carey, wearing a long, royal blue dress, performed the nationalanthem for the first time, and her renowned high vocal rangepeppered several verses. As she sang with the stadium lights down,fans in the Superdome's three levels held red, white and blue glowsticks. A giant American flag in the shape of the United States wasunfurled on the field. Producers said most of the musical performers prerecorded theirsound tracks to reduce the possibility of technical problems. U2played live. The pregame show also included a video of current and formerstar players reading the Declaration of Independence. In anothervideo, former presidents Carter, Clinton, Ford and Bush joinedNancy Reagan in quoting Abraham Lincoln. The videos concluded withfans chanting "U-S-A!" McCartney, who was in New York when the hijacked planes struckthe World Trade Center, sang his Sept. 11-inspired song,"Freedom." McCartney took the stage, acoustic guitar in hand, ascheerleaders with silver, glittering pompoms spelled out"freedom" across the field. Others marched with dozens of flagsfrom foreign nations. "I'm proud to be here and stand up with America," McCartneysaid in a TV interview shortly before halftime ended. Earlier, LaBelle, Ingram, Wynonna and Adams joined Manilow insinging "Let Freedom Ring," a song Manilow wrote years ago tocommemorate the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. As the group sang, servicemen marched around the perimeter ofthe field with American flags while women wearing red, white orblue statue-of-liberty outfits marched in front of the stage. The song concluded with a young boy in a camouflage militaryuniform ringing a replica of the Liberty Bell. Anthony and Blige then sang "America the Beautiful,"accompanied by the Pops and flanked by flag-bearing law officers.

—The Associated Press

Miami Veteran to Walk 8,000 Miles to Fund Sept. 11 Memorial

N E W O R L E A N S , Feb. 4 — A Vietnam veteran said he will set out Tuesday on a20-month, 8,000-mile walk across the nation to raise money for aSept. 11 memorial. Chuck Fluent, 51, said he will leave from Miami City Hall andwalk up U.S. 1 to New York state. He plans to cross the Midwest toOregon, turn south through California and come back east throughTexas, ending his trip in Georgia. Fluent said he will walk about 15 miles a day, pulling a120-pound cart with his sleeping bag and necessities, and camp outmost nights. He hopes to raise $150,000 to build a memorial. During the Vietnam War, Fluent's leg was injured by shrapnel andafter a 1995 motorcycle accident destroyed most of his rightkneecap, doctors told him he would never walk again. The next year he walked from Idaho to Connecticut raise moneyfor children of disabled veterans. He invited other veterans to join him for portions of this walk. "It's about solidarity, it's about vets showing they stillcare," Fluent said.

—The Associated Press