News Briefs
March 15, 1996
Web posted at: 12:45 a.m. ESTTwo Menendez jurors replaced; deliberations start over
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- After seven days of deliberations, the jury in the murder re-trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez must start the deliberations process anew after two jury members were replaced Thursday for medical reasons.
Juror number one, the foreman, was apparently too ill to continue, and juror number nine was dismissed because of her pregnancy. The nature of the foreman's illness was not disclosed.
Their replacements were a 59-year-old white female and a 34-year-old white male whose brother is a deputy sheriff.
Judge Stanley Weisberg ordered the jury to disregard the previous deliberations and start fresh with the new members.
This is the second trial of the Menendez brothers, who admitted shotgunning their wealthy parents to death August 20, 1989. The defense maintains they killed their parents out of fear for their own lives after suffering years of abuse.
- Menendez murder case goes to jury - Mar 1, 1996
- Lawyer blames judge for change in Menendez defense
- Testimony ends in Menendez retrial
Feds indict Detroit's organized crime bosses
DETROIT, Michigan (CNN) -- Federal authorities said they've "driven a stake through the heart" of the Detroit Mafia by indicting 17 people who are allegedly part of the city's organized crime family.
Those arrested during raids in Michigan and Florida Thursday included alleged Detroit mob boss Jack Tocco. All but one of the defendants posted bond and were later released.
They face charges as diverse as plotting murder, extortion, and racketeering, all over a 30-year period.
William Buffalino, Tocco's defense attorney, called the indictment "57 pages of baloney," and denied the presence of organized crime in Detroit.
McDougal's health takes an apparent turn for the worse
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (CNN) -- The health of President Clinton's one-time business partner James McDougal took an apparent turn for the worse Thursday during the fourth day of the Whitewater trial.
A defendant in the trial, McDougal slumped over the table during the final hour of testimony. When the day's proceedings ended, his former wife and codefendant Susan McDougal helped the obviously frail Jim McDougal walk from the courtroom to their hotel across the street from the federal courthouse.
McDougal, 55, has a history of health problems.
McDougal, Susan McDougal, and Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker are on trial on charges of criminal fraud and conspiracy. The McDougals were Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton's partners in the ill-fated Whitewater land development deal.
- Prosecution witness tells of calls by Tucker, Clinton - Mar. 14, 1996
- 'Trekkie' juror - Mar. 14, 1996
Senate votes to continue controversial logging plan
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Environmentalists lost their second battle on Capitol Hill this week when the Senate voted to continue a controversial plan for logging in national forests. A day earlier, the Senate rejected efforts to reopen the endangered species list
Called the timber salvage rider, the measure suspends logging rules that are designed to protect fish and wildlife.
The idea behind the measure is to allow loggers to remove dead and dying trees in areas with a great risk of fire.
But environmentalists fear loggers will go too far, using the logging law to cut so-called "green," or healthy timber which could result in the loss of wildlife habitats and cause a decline in the water quality.
Congress passes temporary spending bill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Averting another federal government shutdown, Congress Thursday approved a temporary spending measure that will keep the government open through March 22. Many federal agencies were to run out of money Friday when the current spending measure expires.
President Clinton is expected to sign the continuing resolution, which will gives budget negotiators another week to strike a budget compromise for the current fiscal year, which ends in October.
Woman missing after dam breaks
ALTON, New Hampshire (CNN) -- A woman is missing after her truck was swept off a highway by water pouring from an earthen dam that broke Wednesday night.
As the water rushed down the highway, Linda Sinclair and her truck were carried into a ravine. Rescuers found the truck, but searched for hours without finding her. The search resumed Thursday morning.
Sinclair's husband, Larry, was driving ahead of her in his tractor-trailer truck, which plunged into a sinkhole created by the rushing water. He was rescued.
The dam, which held up a pond on private property, sent ice and water storming down a hill, driving 50 people from their homes. Two people were taken to a hospital, but their injuries did not appear life-threatening, said Norm Skantze of Lakes Region Mutual Aid.
Two charged with forcing man to jump from bridge
SPRINGBORO, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Two white brothers allegedly abducted a black man from a tavern parking lot, made him strip and then forced him to jump off a bridge into a frigid stream last week.
The tavern's owner found the alleged victim, Carl Morton, 25, walking naked along a deserted road, his legs cut from the jump and his feet frostbitten, police said. Morton took three days to report the incident, which occurred March 7.
Timothy Braden, 29, of Kingsville, Ohio, and Bradley Braden, 35, of Springboro, Pennsylvania, have been charged on numerous counts, including attempted homicide, kidnapping and ethnic intimidation.
Tom Nochese, an FBI spokesman in Pittsburgh, said the agency was investigating for possible civil rights violations.
Florida Bar files papers to suspend Bailey
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- The Florida Bar Association has filed papers to suspend famed criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey from practicing law in the state, CNN learned Thursday.
The state bar has made its case to the Florida Supreme Court, which is expected to render its decision soon, according to David Barnovitz, spokesman for the state bar in Fort Lauderdale.
Bailey was recently found in contempt of court for failure to comply with a federal court order and is serving a six-month sentence.
No criminal charges have been filed against Bailey.
House approves amendment to crime bill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bipartisan House coalition passed an amendment to the crime bill Wednesday, deleting numerous provisions that they said would unconstitutionally expand federal law enforcement power.
The amendment wipes out provisions of the bill that would have made it easier for prosecutors to use illegally obtained wiretap evidence in court and to convict people for gun sales. It also deletes provisions that would have allowed the government to designate foreign groups as terrorist organizations.
To put the measure over the top, 67 Democrats, 178 Republicans and one independent voted for the amendment.
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