News Briefs
May 9, 1996
Web posted at: 11:50 p.m. EDTChopper bound for presidential fleet crashes, 4 killed
STRATFORD, Connecticut (CNN) -- A helicopter destined for duty in the presidential fleet crashed Thursday at the Sikorsky Aircraft plant, killing all four crew members.
The CH-53E, also known as the Super Stallion, was in the early stages of several months of "acceptance testing" required before it would have been delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia, and assigned to the fleet that provides transportation for the White House, according to a Pentagon source.
Witnesses said the huge helicopter had trouble staying in the air and said they saw its propeller break off before the aircraft fell to the ground in flames. The helicopter was nearly disintegrated. (150K AIFF sound or 150K WAV sound)
The crew members killed were Sikorsky employees. The company would not speculate on the cause of the crash.
FBI tries anew to forge peaceful end to Freemen standoff
BRUSETT, Montana (CNN) -- A Montana state lawmaker who has been a key mediator in the 46-day Freemen standoff on Thursday presented the militant separatists with a possible response to their most recent demands.
Sources told CNN the FBI sent state Rep. Karl Ohs to the Freemen, holed up on a ranch near Jordan, with a response to their challenge made a couple of weeks ago to "present evidence of your alleged authority and present evidence to refute ...(a number of laws)."
Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered the release of Freemen Ebert Stanton from the Yellowstone County jail pending trial on federal mail and bank fraud charges.
- Freemen reject FBI offer, release videotape - May 2, 1996
- Gritz: No one coming out - May 1, 1996
- Mediator says FBI made Freemen an offer - May 1, 1996
- Freemen apparently running out of food - April 28, 1996
U.S. to pay North Korea for recovering MIA remains
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In a deal aimed at renewing efforts to account for Americans missing from the Korean War, the United States has agreed to pay North Korea $2 million for "its past sincere efforts" to find and recover the remains of servicemen.
U.S. and North Korean negotiators reached agreement in New York City Thursday after five days of talks.
North Korea handed over 162 sets of remains in 1993 and 1994, the period covered by the $2 million payment. In a statement announcing the deal, the U.S. Defense Department noted that the payment "will not serve as a precedent for any future compensation."
As many as 8,000 Americans are still unaccounted for from the Korean conflict.
50 years later, World War II veteran honored
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The ceremony was 50 years late, but not too late for 80-year-old Harold Cohen, who was finally awarded Thursday with a Distinguished Service Cross for his heroics during World War II.
Cohen earned his nation's second highest award for valor in combat during 1945, when he was commander of a tank battalion near Brecht, Germany. He led his men through heavy artillery fire to capture the city. (238K AIFF sound or 238K WAV sound)
Three times wounded, Cohen was honored with many medals, including the Bronze and Silver Stars and the Croix de Guerre. But Cohen said feels no bitterness for having to wait 50 years for the Service Cross. "It really was the thrill of my life," he said. "It caused my skin to tingle."
Adm. Byrd may have failed to reach North Pole
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNN) -- Adm. Richard Byrd's recently discovered diary suggests the Navy aviator-turned-Arctic explorer never actually made it to the North Pole.
Byrd's claim in 1926 to have been the first person to fly over the North Pole won him fame and a Congressional Medal of Honor. But from the beginning, skeptics doubted his account and calculations that he beat Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen over the pole by three days.
Researcher Dennis Rawlins studied the diary, which was found earlier this year by Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center. He said several entries indicate Byrd and pilot-mechanic Floyd Bennett were concerned about an engine leak and turned around about 150 miles from the top of the world.
The university, which plans to publish the notebook, officially released the findings Thursday to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Byrd's flight.
Cabin of Unabom suspect relocated
LINCOLN, Montana (CNN) -- An FBI sentry stood guard Thursday in the lumber yard lot where the cabin of Unabom suspect Theodore Kaczynski has been moved until it can be transported to a more secure location.
The 10-foot by 12-foot plywood and tarpaper shack was moved one-half mile from its remote Montana property Wednesday to ward off curiosity seekers and the news media.
One plan that has been mentioned is to move it to the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. Sources tell CNN it could be moved by flatbed truck or, less likely, by National Guard airlift. The moves were sanctioned by a federal court.
Kaczynski is charged with possession of bomb components. He has not been charged with any of the crimes attributed to the Unabomber. Those bombings killed three people.
Clinton urges Greece to resolve disputes with Turkey
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton told the president of Greece Thursday that a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Greek-Turkish conflict would have a monumental effect on the world.
"The rest of the world has a lot riding on whether Greeks and Turks can resolve their differences," Clinton said during a news conference with Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos.
Greece and Turkey have quarreled for years. The most recent dispute revolves around a tiny Aegean islet, which each country claims is theirs. The Greeks call it Imia, and the Turks, Kardak.
Stephanopoulos said Clinton's stance pleased him. But the Greek president added that the dispute is not simply the fault of Greece.
"I would like to say here that the problems that arise in the Aegean are not at all our responsibility. We always try, and we succeed in behaving according to international law and democracy," Stephanopoulos said.
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