News Briefs
April 11, 1996
Web posted at: 1:30 a.m. EDT
Child pilot aims for U.S. age record
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff is off and flying on a quest to become the youngest person ever to pilot a plane across the United States and back. Her single-engine Cessna Cardinal 177B took off from Half Moon Bay Airport just after dawn Wednesday morning.
Her father, Lloyd Dubroff, accompanied her and will sit in the back seat for the week-long flight. Flight instructor Joe Reid will also be flying the plane during the trip, but won't touch the controls unless there's an emergency.
Jessica, who needs aluminum extensions, shared some of her training with reporters before she took off. "You've got to make sure you're not crashing or anything," Jessica said. "You have to concentrate on the instruments, and you look out the window." She started learning to fly when she was 6.
The plane will land to refuel in several cities, and will make overnight stops in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Creator of 'The Hokey Pokey' dies
(CNN) -- Every child in America, and almost every adult, knows the Hokey Pokey. You just put your right foot in and put your right foot out to perform one of the best-known circle dances in American history.
Its popularity belies its age, and conceals its author. The man who wrote the song, Larry LaPrise, died last week at 83 in Boise, Idaho.
He wrote the tune for the Sun Valley, Idaho, ski crowd in the late 1940s, but it took a recording by big band leader Ray Anthony to make the Hokey Pokey a nationwide phenomenon. (It appeared on the B side of the "Bunny Hop" single.)
LaPrise didn't receive royalties for the song until the 1960s, when its rights were purchased by country star Roy Acuff's publishing company.
In recent years, LaPrise worked in the post office in Ketchum, Idaho. Children often wrote him notes addressed to "The Hokey Pokey Man."
Skater Tonya Harding files for divorce in Oregon
PORTLAND, Oregon (CNN) -- Disgraced skating star Tonya Harding filed for divorce Wednesday from her second husband of less than four months.
She said through a publicist that she had decided to divorce machinist Michael Smith so that she could focus on revitalizing her skating career -- dubbed "Tonya Harding II: The Comeback" by agent David Hans Schmidt -- without any distractions.
Although the U.S. Figure Skating Association said it won't reinstate her membership, no matter what, Harding said she will find a way to pursue some kind of skating career. Membership in the USFSA is required to participate in amateur competitions or professional events sanctioned by the association.
Harding married Smith December 23 on a private boat with no press allowed, except for the tabloids. It was her second marriage, and his fourth.
Abramson to remain Erik Menendez's lawyer
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Erik Menendez's longtime lawyer, Leslie Abramson, will be allowed to continue his defense despite allegations that she ordered a psychiatrist to alter his notes and testimony, a superior court judge ruled Tuesday.
Abramson's alleged misconduct interrupted the penalty phase of Erik and Lyle Menendez's trial for four days.
Dr. William Vicary said Abramson ordered him to remove from his notes any information that might cast doubt on the brothers' parental molestation claims and any comments from Erik that could be construed as premeditation.
Judge Stanley Weisberg ruled, "The issue is Dr. Vicary's credibility, not that of counsel for the defendant."
The brothers have long claimed that they killed their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in 1989 after years of psychological and sexual abuse. In this second trial, they have been convicted of their deaths. The first trial ended in deadlocked juries.
Testimony is scheduled to resume Wednesday, and the judge is to rule on whether Vicary can comment on sexual relationships between Erik and unidentified men, a topic Vicary claims Abramson considered off limits.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Government planes fly under non-FAA rules
ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- Since 1990, there have been 142 deaths in 262 crashes of aircraft that are generally exempt from Federal Aviation Administration regulations, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The paper said aircraft in the exempt category range from helicopters that drop firefighters off near forest fires to police planes that clock speeders. Military flights, like the one in which Commerce Secretary Ron Brown was killed last week, have their own rules.
Public use rules are more flexible largely to allow for emergencies like rescues and firefighting.
The report quotes Frank Jensen, president of Helicopter Association International, as saying the FAA should insist on one level of safety for almost all air travel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chief Justice: Independent judiciary essential
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States' independent judicial system is one of the crowning achievements of American government, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist said Tuesday night.
The remarks, made in an address at American University, were an implied response to the criticism by politicians leveled against federal judge Harold Baer for throwing out evidence in a New York drug case.
During the controversy, the White House said it considered asking Baer to resign, while Republican leader Bob Dole said Baer should be impeached if he did not voluntarily resign. Baer reversed his earlier ruling and allowed the evidence to be admitted.
While Rehnquist did not mention the incident by name, it was clear to audience members that he was referring to Baer.
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