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News Briefs

May 8, 1996
Web posted at: 10 p.m. EDT


Average price of gas drops slightly Wednesday

Gas

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The average retail price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline sold at self-service pumps fell slightly Wednesday, according to Department of Energy figures.

Motorists paid an average of $1.275 per gallon nationally Wednesday for unleaded regular, one-tenth of a cent lower than on Tuesday, but still two-tenths of a cent more than a week earlier, the DOE's Energy Information Administration survey said.

West Coast drivers paid the highest prices, with a gallon averaging $1.488 a gallon. The cheapest gas was in the lower Atlantic states, at $1.22 cents a gallon. The lower Atlantic states include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia.

FBI moves Unabom suspect's cabin, searches cellar

Cabin

LINCOLN, Montana (CNN) -- The FBI said Wednesday it has moved the cabin of Unabom suspect Theodore Kaczynski to a more accessible clearing down the road from the mountainside location raided by agents April 3.

The cabin eventually will be moved to a more secure location under the terms of a court order issued last Friday with the acquiescence of Kaczynski's court-appointed attorneys, who were concerned about souvenir hunters and the media.

The FBI also said its agents searched a root cellar next to the cabin in the days after Kaczynski's arrest, but would not say if anything was found.

Kaczynski, arrested last month on charges of possession of bomb components, and is in custody in a Helena jail. He has not yet been charged with any of the crimes attributed to the Unabomber.

Postal agents arrest alleged child pornographers

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service told CNN Wednesday that its undercover agents have made dozens of arrests nationwide to crack down on what he called "the largest commercial child pornography operation ever" in the United States.

Spokesman Paul Griffo said details of the sting operation would be announced in Washington on Thursday.

Griffo said the two-year investigation resulted in searches in 36 states. "The undercover operation was completely successful," he said.

Clinton creates board to avert rail strike

Clinton

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton created an emergency board Wednesday to try to avert a railroad strike. Clinton acted on advice that a dispute between a rail workers' union and a group representing 50 railroads could lead to a strike.

His three-member emergency board will make recommendations in the dispute between the Transportation Communications International Union and the National Railway Labor Conference.

Clinton formed the committee after the National Mediation Board advised the White House that the dispute is at a "critical" stage, "and a strike would have immediate and adverse effect on the public," White House spokesman Mike McCurry said in a statement. The board, effective Wednesday, May 8, will have 30 days to make recommendations for the settlement.

Truck spills the beans -- tons of them -- into creek

GOLDEN, Colorado (CNN) -- Twenty-one tons of pinto bean seeds spilled from an overturned truck into Clear Creek early Wednesday, raising concern that pesticide residue from the 50 million seeds might contaminate the Golden city water supply and poison fish in the creek.

Environmental Protection Agency experts were monitoring the creek, which feeds into the Golden water plant, for pesticides. However, city officials said they believe they closed the system's headgate valves in time to protect their reservoir, said Golden environmental manager Katie Fendel.

As of Wednesday afternoon, millions of beans were still in the creek and other communities downstream had been warned of the possible contamination, Fendel said.

New Mexicans go home as fire danger lessens

burned truck

RED RIVER, New Mexico (CNN) -- Residents of Red River, New Mexico, returned to their homes Wednesday after firefighters said wildfires were not an immediate threat.

The fires have charred more than 7,200 acres in northern New Mexico and continue to burn under hot and windy conditions. Wednesday's forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s with winds gusting between 20 mph and 30 mph.

Because of unfavorable weather conditions, firefighters warned the 450 residents who had been evacuated that they might have to leave quickly if the fire picked up.

Efforts to control the fire around Red River and Questa appeared to be working. Helicopters in the past few days have dropped some 250,000 gallons of water and fire repellent on the flames. (384K QuickTime movie)

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

GOP trio proposes gay marriage ban

gay marriage ban

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three Republican lawmakers have drafted a bill to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriages, no matter how a controversial gay rights case in Hawaii is decided.

The bill being circulated in Congress would outlaw gay marriages by defining marriage under federal law as a "legal union between one man and one woman."

Sponsored by Rep. Bob Barr, R-Georgia, the bill would let states reject the legality of same-sex marriages from other states. Rep. Steve Largent, R-Oklahoma, and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, are the other bill sponsors.

The measure stems from a gay-rights case in Hawaii. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in May 1993 that the denial of marriage licenses to three same-sex couples was discriminatory under the state's Equal Rights Amendment.

The high court remanded the case to a lower court for a trial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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