News In Brief
The US
Prosecutors from four states were to meet in Washington to discuss how to handle the Unabomber case. Sacramento, Calif., where two of the deaths occurred, is being considered for the trial. Meanwhile, two people say they remember seeing prime suspect Theodore Kaczynski in Sacramento at the time of the bombings, and hotel records were found linking him to the dates when bombs were mailed. Also, a Chicago Tribune report cited unnamed sources who said agents have determined that Kaczynski was in Chicago at the time the first four bombs were planted or mailed from there. An attorney for Kaczynski's brother said the family went through "a great deal of anguish" over the decision to report him to federal authorities. (Story, Page 3.)
The first hearing in the Oklahoma City bombing case was to begin in Denver. Suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are charged with federal murder, conspiracy, and explosives counts. The bomb killed 168 people and injured 500 a year ago April 19. (Story, Page 1.)
Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski may plead guilty this week to two corruption charges in a plea bargain that would limit his sentence to 17 months in prison and a $100,000 fine, Newsweek magazine and WBBM TV reported. The former House Ways and Means chairman was accused in 1994 of stealing nearly $700,000 from the government and having fake employees kick back paychecks to his office. Rostenkowski pleaded innocent.
Bernhard Goetz (above) returns to trial this week in a $50 million civil law suit brought against him by one of his victims. The civil case comes almost 12 years after Goetz shot four black youths on a New York subway in 1984. Goetz was acquitted of attempted murder charges but convicted of a weapons violation. He served 8-1/2 months. The civil suit was filed by Darrell Cabey, who was paralyzed in the attack and says Goetz is a racist who overreacted and needlessly shot the youths. Goetz says he fired in self-defense when the four tried to mug him.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted over 100 points yesterday morning in a tumble reminiscent of last month's plunge triggered by a strong jobs report. Traders were unable to react to the jobs data released Friday because Wall Street was closed for the holiday.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis is meeting in Washington with President Clinton to garner support for Greece in its tense relationship with Turkey. It is Simitis's first working visit to the US since his election. Talks were to focus on US-Greek relations and Greek-Turkish disagreements over the island of Cyprus.
Baltimore is expected to receive $300 million in federal funds to tear down all its high- rise public housing. The high rises will be replaced with row houses, and families will be relocated to better neighborhoods. The money is part of a settlement in a suit filed by Maryland's ACLU alleging that authorities illegally segregated African-American public-housing tenants by placing them in poor neighborhoods. Baltimore's plan may prove a national model for future public housing.
A bundle of nuclear-fuel rods stuck at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station was dislodged after days of delays. No radiation was released, a plant spokesman said. The 1,500 pound bundle was found wedged at the bottom of the reactor during a routine refueling. The plant has been down since March 16.
The number of women and minority police officers only increased from less than 1 percent in 1987 to 2 percent in 1993, a Justice Department report says. But the report found that more departments require recruits to have some college education, while 8 percent require a degree.
More than two-thirds of Americans think television contributes to violence and erodes family values, according to a poll by US News and World Reports. Also, almost 80 percent of Hollywood executives polled in a separate survey said there's a link between TV violence and violence in real life.
The World
Israeli Prime Minister Peres said an Iranian ship intercepted March 14 in Antwerp, Belgium, was carrying large amounts of sophisticated arms and explosives intended for use against Israel. Also, Palestinian militants threw fire bombs at a bus filled with Israelis leaving a right-wing rally near Hebron in the West Bank, wounding six. And Israel and Jordan opened their first commercial air route. Above, a Palestinian child from Gaza City holds a sign reading "peace to all" during an Easter procession.
Carl Bildt, the top international civilian administrator for Bosnia, said he plans to decide by tomorrow the controversial question of whether the Bosnian Serbs will be invited to Friday's key international meeting on aid to Bosnia in Brussels. He planned to do so after assessing the Serb's progress in releasing prisoners of war. Also, Yugoslavia and its former republic of Macedonia signed a treaty in Belgrade to normalize relations and promote cooperation. The pact formalized a January accord.
A US military team was expected to arrive in Monrovia, Liberia, to determine whether some 470 Americans should be evacuated from the West African nation after its worst fighting in three years broke out. Tens of thousands of Liberians sought refuge at the US Embassy and other diplomatic compounds. Fighting started when government troops attempted to force rebel leader Roosevelt Johnson from his home. (Story, Page 7.)
Iraq and the UN resumed limited oil sales talks in New York. It was the third round on implementing the Security Council's April 1995 resolution aimed at easing trade sanctions on Iraq.
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga proclaimed a nationwide state of emergency that gives her sweeping legal and military powers. The emergency was necessary to curb guerrilla violence during June local elections, the government said. The opposition called the move an attempt to curb political activity.
Police and Protestant marchers scuffled in Belfast as Northern Ireland's season of sectarian marches got off to a tense start. And Irish Republican Army supporters rallied throughout Ireland to remember their side's dead from four generations. Easter is the most revered date on the IRA calendar.
Inmates in Argentina freed 17 hostages and ended an eight-day uprising that sparked copycat rebellions at prisons across that country. Officials agreed to let ringleaders be transferred to other prisons and promised they wouldn't take action against them, negotiators said. The hostages, including a judge and at least 12 guards, were seized March 30 when more than 1,000 inmates at Sierra Chica Prison rebelled after guards foiled an escape attempt.
Russia is set to launch a US-built telecommunications satellite for the first time today under a $1 billion program, opening a new chapter in US-Russian ventures in commercial space flight. In Chechnya, Russian troops moved on the southern village of Shali in an effort to drive out rebel forces. Residents reportedly demanded the separatists leave the town or face an attack from Russian troops.
Turkey's security forces reportedly killed 23 Kurdistan Workers Party guerrillas and lost two soldiers and a noncommissioned officer near Tunceli in an anti-rebel effort. It was some of eastern Turkey's heaviest fighting in recent months. And five PKK fighters also were killed in southeastern Siirt Province. More than 18,500 people have died in the PKK's 12-year-old campaign for autonomy.
A key conference was expected to open today in Vienna on the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that occurred 10 years ago. About 700 delegates from around the world plan to discuss its effects on people's health and the environment.
Etceteras
Olympic gold medalist Johann Olav Koss of Norway visited Zetra Stadium in Sarajevo, where he won the European speedskating title five years ago. Koss, who has helped raise money for war victims, is now a special representative for UNICEF. He is raising funds for Olympic Aid-Atlanta, which is aiding millions of war-affected children in 14 countries, one of them the former Yugoslavia.
A Brazilian agency has launched a controversial campaign to make alligator hunting legal in that country. A study shows Brazil has over 20 million alligators.
Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff hopes to make history tomorrow by piloting a four-seat Cessna across the US and back. She will become the youngest person to fly cross country.
1995 Image Awards
Here are some of the winners of the NAACP Image Awards, honoring those who positively portray African-Americans in the entertainment industry.
Entertainer of the Year: Quincy Jones (above).
Motion Picture: "Waiting to Exhale."
Actor: Denzel Washington, "Crimson Tide."
Actress: Angela Bassett, "Waiting to Exhale."
Supporting Actor: Laurence Fishburne, "Higher Learning."
Supporting Actress: Loretta Divine, "Waiting to Exhale."
TV Comedy: "Living Single."
TV Drama: "New York Undercover."
TV Movie or Miniseries: "The Tuskegee Airmen."
Recording Male Artist: Luther Vandross, "Songs."
Recording Female Artist: Whitney Houston, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)."
Duo or Group: Boyz II Men, "II."
- Associated Press
" This is a new page in cooperation between the United States and Russia."
- Krunichev Space Centre spokesman Sergei Zhiltsov on Russia's first launch of a US-built satellite.
