CUBA . . . NO THANKS, FIDEL

The U.S. categorically rejected Fidel Castro's televised appeal for talks to lift the 32-year-old embargo on the communist island, even as Castro flung open the gates for Cubans who set sail in droves for U.S. shores. "Our position is that we are not going to enter a dialogue with Castro over the pace and nature of change in Cuba," Under Secretary of State Peter Tarnoff said. "This is not a situation that has been brought on by American actions." With the rate of intercepted refugees at 3,200 a day, Department of Defense officials decided to send as many as 9,000 extra soldiers to join 3,000 now at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base to run detention camps for the boat people. The start-up cost: $100 million. Running the camp will cost the U.S. about $20 million a month - or $15 a day per Cuban refugee.