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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2000)
Government blinks; Elian departure delayed MIAMI (AP) — Elian Gonzalez’s great-uncle defied the government Thursday and the government blinked, letting its deadline to col lect the boy pass and agreeing to a delay that averts a law-enforce ment showdown for now. In Little Havana, thousands cheered wildly at the news. Attorneys for Elian’s Miami rela tives claimed victory after a federal appeals court issued a stay block ing anyone from taking the boy out of the country. The Justice Depart ment, though, said it had agreed to a delay of “three or four days.” The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told the government to respond to the stay by 9:30 a.m. Friday, giving great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez’s family another day with Elian at the very least. Lazaro “feels relief,” family spokesman Armando Gutierrez said, “at least until tomorrow morning.” Thursday’s court action capped a fluid, electrifying day that began minutes after Lazaro Gonzalez dared the government to take Elian by force. In less than 24 hours, the Miami relatives met with Attorney General Janet Reno, publicly announced their defiance of her, allowed Elian to speak on TV and ignored a 2 p.m. deadline to deliver him to an air port for return to his father. Last body removed, aircraft’s flight recorder found MARANA, Ariz. (AP) — Inves tigators hope a flight data recorder recovered from a burned MV-22 Osprey will help unravel what caused the crash and explosion that killed 19 Marines. The so-called black box was re covered Wednesday. Investigators from the Naval Safety Center were to accompany the recorder to manufacturer Smiths Indus tries Aerospace in Grand Rapids, Mich., where the raw data will be analyzed. “I think they’re optimistic that because of the presence of an air craft flight data recorder, we may actually be further ahead than we would be in a military accident,” said Maj. Patrick Gibbons, a Ma rine Corps spokesman in Wash ington. “Most military aircraft do not carry such a device.” Agents break up Mexican Jamaican drug ring WASHINGTON (AP) — Mak ing dozens of arrests, federal drug agents on Thursday broke up a Ja maican-led narcotics ring that employed bribed FedEx drivers in a scheme to distribute 121 tons of Mexican marijuana to East Coast markets. The Drug Enforcement Admin istration said FedEx’s top officials fully cooperated with the 18 month investigation, which has led to the arrests of 101 people since it began. The latest arrests began shortly after midnight Thursday and that by late afternoon there had been 45 arrests, 22 of them FedEx employ ees, DEA agents said at a news conference. Rod Benson, assistant special agent of the DEA’s special operations branch said he expect ed an additional 10 or 15 arrests. Agents said the arresting officers also seized two tons of marijuana in West Coast warehouses, one un der control of the Mexican group and another controlled by the Ja maican traffickers. They also seized 18 firearms and more than $4 million in cash and assets. Donnie R. Marshall, acting DEA administrator, said that the operation marks the first time that marijuana smugglers have used a single, private, overnight-express delivery service as a distribution network. Series of bomb threats leave workers concerned HERMISTON (AP) — Bomb threats have stopped construction nine times in the past six weeks at an Army depot where workers are building an incinerator to destroy millions of pounds of deadly chem ical weapons stored at the base. No bombs have been found. The FBI and Army authorities have declined to comment on the investigation. Some workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot said they are mostly unfazed, worrying less about a leak of nerve agents than about the loss of pay. “I’m sure that there are some that are scared. And if they found that guy, he’d be lucky to get off that site,” electrician Joe Vande car said. “But as far as feeling threatened, no, no, not a bit.” Since Feb. 28, nine threats have been called in or been broadcast over two-way radios used at the site. Each time, construction has been halted, with workers briefly evacuated to a safe area or sent home for the day. Flag compromise passes South Carolina Senate COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — State lawmakers have taken a key step toward removing the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome, but the NAACP said today that the move won’t end a racially tinged controversy that led to a punishing tourism boycott and new scrutiny of Southern heritage. The state Senate approved a compromise bill on Wednesday, exactly 139 years after the Civil War began when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, the federal in stallation in Charleston harbor. The vote was 36-7. All oppo nents were Republicans. “This is one more hurdle that has been overcome,” said Demo cratic Gov. Jim Hodges, who sup ports flag removal. The bill would remove the ban ner from the dome and place a similar battle flag behind an exist ing monument honoring Confed erate soldiers in front of the State house. The flag would fly from a pole no taller than 20 feet — shorter than the monument in front of it — an element added to satisfy black lawmakers and others who did not want the flag in a promi nent position to passers-by. Six black lawmakers were among those voting for it. RO. Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Mon day through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates inde pendently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — (541)346-5511 Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz Managing Editor: Jack Clifford Community: Sara Lieberth,ed/for. Darren Freeman, Brian Goodell, reporters. Freelance: Eric Pfeiffer, editor. Higher Education: Ben Romano, editor. Adam |ude, Serena Mark strom, reporters. Perspectives: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas, editors. Jonathan Gruber, Beata Mostafavi, Mason West, columnists. Pulse: Jessica Blanchard, editor. Rory Carroll, Joe Walsh, reporters. Student Activities: Jeremy Lang, editor. 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