CNN - U.S. News Briefs - March 5, 1996

News Briefs

March 5, 1996
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EST

Attorney F. Lee Bailey ordered to jail

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Legal eagle F. Lee Bailey may be spending some time among some of the people he's represented: behind bars. Bailey was ordered to jail Tuesday after a three-judge panel turned down his appeal of a civil contempt of court citation.

Bailey had been ordered to put up $3 million, money that came from stocks he was holding for a convicted drug dealer he had defended. Bailey put up $700,000 cash and offered the court deeds to property he owned. But $17 million dollars worth of stock the court had ordered him to produce remains in Bailey's Swiss bank account.

Bailey can appeal to the Supreme Court, but without a stay from that panel, he will have to go to jail.

The famed defense attorney argues that he's trying to comply with the judge's order to repay the money, but the court rejected his offer to use his personal assets to make up the difference in the sum.

CNNfn - Judge denies Bailey's request for more time - Feb. 29, 1996

CNN - No jail yet for F. Lee Bailey. - Feb. 29, 1996

Roads to Florida Keys cut off by brush fire

FLORIDA CITY, Florida (CNN) -- Fire officials said a brush fire that had threatened Everglades National Park and cut off the only two roads linking the Florida Keys to the mainland was contained Tuesday.

However, fire officials say high, unpredictable winds could cause the fire to strengthen and burn out of control once again.

One of two roads which had been closed all day Tuesday re-opened, but hundreds of motorists remained stuck in traffic jams that stretched for miles. U.S. 1, the overseas highway, remained closed.

The blaze, which began Monday in an area of dry woods, has burned close to 3,000 acres in southern Dade County. There were no serious injuries and no homes were threatened.

Perry: F-14s accidents may be curbed with upgrades

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary William Perry told Congress Tuesday the Pentagon is contemplating upgrades to make the Navy's F-14 Tomcat a safer plane, and promised a quick decision.

While saying the last three years have been among the safest in naval aviation, Perry conceded to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the accident rate for the F-14 was the second-highest in the fleet, and "therefore requires some special attention."

The aircraft with the highest accident rate is the Marine Corps' vertical take-off and landing AV8B-Harrier, which was grounded last week following two crashes in two weeks.

Navy orders all F-14s to stop flying
Jet crashes in Pacific, kills two crew members
String of accidents plagues F-14
F-14 crashes into neighborhood, kills five

Confederate flags to greet Alabama visitors

MONTGOMERY, Alabama (CNN) -- Alabama Gov. Fob James has ordered state welcome centers to start flying the two official flags of the Confederacy, much to the distress of many black residents.

"That makes us 100 percent historically correct," James said on his weekly radio show Monday.

The first official flag, adopted in 1863, has a white field with the Confederate battle flag in the upper left corner. That flag was modified in 1865 when a red vertical stripe was added on the right side.

The eight welcome centers at the state line will now display all the flags that have flown over Alabama. It flew the Confederate battle flag until 1993, when then-Gov. Jim Folsom ordered it replaced with the less controversial Stars and Bars, used by the Confederacy when it was organized in 1861.

The Confederate battle flag -- white stars on a blue X with a red background -- is flown by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups.

"Fob James has proven to the black people of the state he's not a friend of theirs," said state Rep. John Rogers. "He's just showing people coming to Alabama how stupid we are -- that we're still fighting the Civil War."

Flags of the Confederate State of America

Students await much-delayed word on loans

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- About 900,000 high school students are waiting to hear how much financial aid they will receive to attend college.

The Education Department on Monday blamed the backlog on work time lost due to bad weather and the partial government shutdown.

Normally, it takes 14 days for the Education Department to process the applications, but some forms received in early January still have not been handled, said Elizabeth Hicks, deputy assistant secretary for student financial assistance programs.

The form, called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is used to calculate how much a family can contribute to a student's education. Schools use the information to determine eligibility for financial aid.

Town's residents still can't go home

WEYAUWEGA, Wisconsin -- Residents of a town in central Wisconsin were kept away from their homes for a second day Tuesday after Monday's train derailment.

When the train derailed, a tanker full of liquefied propane exploded and shot flames 200 feet into the air, threatening to ignite 10 more tankers. (179K QuickTime movie)

No injuries were reported, but all 1,650 Weyauwega residents were evacuated.

Residents evacuated after tanker explodes

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