U.S. Aid Activists Plan Baghdad Visit

A group of American activists plans to fly to Iraq today, becoming the first U.S. citizens to challenge a U.N. ban on air travel to Baghdad, the trip’s organizer said. James Jennings said the 27-member group will donate $150,000 worth of medicine, eyeglasses, school supplies and medical books to the Iraqis--all without U.S. government authorization. Jennings is the founder and president of Atlanta-based Conscience International, which is organizing the trip. The group plans to fly out of Amman, Jordan, aboard a Royal Jordanian flight.