Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1997)
The Battalion Monday 'July H195^ News Briefs l! B 8 11 1 McVeigh conspiracy trial gets underway OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A grand jury investigating allegations of a larg er conspiracy and government coverup in the Oklahoma City bomb ing will hear testimony from witness es who say they saw Timothy McVeigh with others the morning of the attack. Among those subpoenaed to tes tify Monday is Kyle Hunt, a banker who has said he saw a Ryder truck followed by a light-colored sedan dri ven by McVeigh near the Alfred P Mur- rah Federal Building about 30 min utes before the explosion. Hunt has said two passengers were in the car. State Rep. Charles Key and Glenn Wilburn, an Oklahoma City accountant who lost two grandsons in the blast, believe that others besides Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols participated in the April 19, 1995, bombing that killed 168 people. They also allege agents of the federal Bureau of Alco hol, Tobacco and Firearms had prior knowledge of a bombing plot. Federal officials have said they doubt a larger conspiracy and vehemently deny any foreknowledge of the attack. Team reprograms Pathfinder computer LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA scien tists trying to eliminate a software bug that briefly disconnected Pathfinder from Earth have reprogrammed the spacecraft’s computer in hopes of avoiding a similar glitch. The NASA team determined that a system overload caused the space craft’s computer to reset last week, which left the team unable to commu nicate with the craft for a short time. Over the weekend, the team re programmed Pathfinder to keep working if similar problems recur un less the problems persist. The change should prevent the team from losing contact with Pathfinder in the event of future overloads. “What we’ve done is set a parameter (telling it) don’t reset if you have prob lems, the first time,” said Brian Muirhead, project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in suburban Pasadena. I ^ ; I * 4', *JBr i igg % „ jBBpi ‘H f t<v Investigators will attempt to recreat Flight 800 events Board says chance ofanotk Boeing 747 explosion is s WASHINGTON (AP) —The chance of anotherds ly Boeing 747 explosion could be reduced evenbei test flights are completed to determine what ignited! jT] center fuel tank on TWA Flight 800, a top aviation vestigator said Sunday. "On a short term, they could take what was averts )u , situation, which is the daily flights of 747s, andelimim even this remote possibility of explosive vapors," saidj Hall, chair of the National Transportation Safety Boai The NTSB has recommended either adding cooli,, to 747s or monitoring temperatures inside fueltanksi avoid accidents like the deadly explosion of flights shortly alloi it loti Now York for I ’aris a year ago. I Pure Refreshment Force Continued from Page 1 Boykin also said Bruce encouraged recruits to attend religious services and was kind to them. “He was just a good man,” he said. Leonard received a Medal of Honor posthumously for bravery under enemy fire in a battle at Kommerscheidt, Germany in No vember 1944. Boykin said Capt. Marion C. Pugh, Leonard’s company commander and Class of’41, said that Leonard was the bravest man he ever saw. Dorm 7 is named after Leonard. Although Boykin never met Leonard, he said that Leonard is re membered as a great leader. "He (Leonard) was active, forceful and had all the leadership qualities Photograph: Rony Angkriwan Nikki Rhame, 12, takes a break from the heat at the softball state championships at Central Park in College Station Sunday afternoon. you could ever find,” he said. Joe Fenton, curator of the Sam Houston Corps of Cadets Center, said the light armor of the vehicles and their speeds of 40-60 mph made them faster than the German tanks. “They (the tanks) were very mo bile,” he said, “and they would hide in a position where they could ambush the German tanks.” The tanks used in the Force were four different half-track vehicles: the M-3, with a 75-mm gun; the M-10, with a naval 3-inch gun; the M-18, with a 76-mm gun; and the M-36, with a 90-mm gun. Fenton said that although the tanks on the Tank Destroyer Force were technologically advanced for the time, Leonard and Bruce used the weapons successfully. “[They were] very brave, coura geous, fantastic leaders and skilled in their field of being able to fight battles with unconventional types of things,” he said. On the monument at Fort Sill, the names of the eight Medal of Honor winners (including Leonard) are dis played with the names of the three men who created the Force: Lt. Gen. Bruce; Gen. George C. Marshall, the Army chief of staff; and Lt. Gen. Leslie J. McNair, the Army ground force commander. The Tank Destroyer Society was formed Nov. 8, 1995, in Georgia. Boykin and French said the Society aims to get the Force the recognition and honor it deserves. A monument at Fort Hood was erected in 1983 honoring the founders of the Tank Destroyer Force. One national monument and twenty Battalion monuments are at Fort Knox, Ky. Our agency takes very seriously our responsibility^ the eyes and ears of the American people at an accident site.” Jim Hall NTSB Chair But the agency has complained that the FederalAra tion Administration has been too slow to implementpie ventive measures. “Our agency takes very seriously our responsibility! the eyes and ears of the American people at an acciden site,” Hall said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” Though 747s have flown millions of flights, the NTSBlia investigated only two explosions in the center fuel tanks- llight 800 and a plane in the Philippines that ex] the ground. In both cases, the weather was hotandtlii plane’s engines had been operating for some time. Investigators will conduct 10 test flights thisweel from JohnF. Kennedy International Airport witha/T similar to the one used in flight 800, Hall said, will try to recreate conditions that led flight 800 toes plode in a fireball, killing all 230 people aboard. The aircraft has been set up with monitors to exa: ine six scenarios that could have led to the explosion, K' said. Four involve mechanical problems, and two oM could have been intentional. I Microsoft Corp. chair tops Forbes’ list of billionaires Weather Outlook NEWYORK (AP) — Microsoft Corp. chair Bill Gates topped Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s top bil lionaires for the third straight year, and he’s pulling away from the pack as his software empire rides the stock market’s record-setting wave. Gates’ net worth doubled to $36.4 billion over the past year. That put him nearly $9 billion ahead of the second- place Walton family, the $27.6 billion heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, Forbes said in its 11th annu al rankings, released Sunday. Gates’ personal wealth has swelled as investors more than dou- 1 bled the stock price of Microsoft, whose Windows operating system is the most popular for running per sonal computer functions. Forbes says in its July 28 issue that it limited the list of billionaires this year to the top 200 because the rapid rise of the global economy and stock markets has produced nearly 500 billionaires worldwide. There were 447 on last year’s list and just 96 when the magazine started the rankings 10 years ago. Wall Street’s bull market also helped American bil lionaires double their spots in the top 10 ranking, with six slots. Last year, Asians made up half the top 10 list but this year only two were members: Hong Kong real Gates estate magnates Lee Shau Kee, No. 4 with $14.7 billion, and the Kwok brothers, No. 8 at $12.3 billion. Of the American entries, investor Warren Buffett was No. 3 at $23.2 billion and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen stood at No. 6 with $14.1 billion. The other Americans in the top 10 were the Haas family of Levi Strauss, seventh with $12.3 billion, and the Mars candy family, at No. 9 with $12 billion. In fifth place were the Oeri, Hoffman and Sacher families of Switzerland, heirs of the Swiss pharmaceu tical group Roche, with $14.3 billion. Rounding out the top 10 was the Quandt family of Germany, which owns half of BMW and is worth $11.7 billion. Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, the Japanese real estate and transportation mogul who was once the world’s richest businessman, slid to No. 22 from seventh last year as his country’s property market continued to falter. Hong Kong, which this month returned to Chinese control after 156 years of British rule, placed seven bil lionaires on the list, including Nina Wang, the world’s second richest woman. Her net worth of $7 billion from running the Chinachem real estate empire ranks sec ond behind Liliane Bettencourt, the $8.4 billion heiress to the L’Oreal cosmetics fortune. Forbes provided a separate ranking of dictators and royalty, excluding them from the global billionaires list since they have no direct role in managing businesses. WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Partly Cloudy High: 98“ Low: 75° Partly Cloudy High: 97° Low: 75° I Partly Cloudy High: 98° Low: 75° nr . Jk.— m 'ii| Sketeh By Quatrt / V-'w—A > ( S-n i- > 7 A / / i \ y- i i ^ / \ £* 4 w* FORTUNES READ sot ^ 5oi ^ /i ' A-Jl THE 0A5TROLO&J5T ^ Tjs*' i * 4 XS... XM ■ - - . Political Ethics and Open Government A nonpartisan review- of Texas legislation on finance reform, conflict-of-interest, and open government. Suzy Woodford, Executive Director Common Cause of Texas Wednesday, July 16, 1997 4:00 p.m. 230 MSC FREE Admission 845-1515 The views expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of MSC Political Forum, the MSC. or Texas A.'S'M University i r ing That’s 34c* a day & includes all the benefits of Cable TV TCA CABLE TV VIEWERS ENJOY: • Top cable channels; local news, weather and sports • Additional outlets at no extra monthly charge • One monthly bill; no long-term contracts to sign • No expensive equipment to purchase • Local installation; guaranteed on-time service calls • Upgrade to optional channel packages at any time The Best Entertainment Value In Town! Call today! 846-2229 • Does not include applicable taxes. 4114 E. 29th St. • Bryan, IX Stew Milne, Editor in Chief Helen Clancy, Managing Editor John LeBas, City Editor April Towery, Lifestyles Editor Kristina Buffin, Sports Editor James Francis, Opinion Editor Staff Cnv- Assistant Editors: Erica Roy & Matt Weber; Reporters: Michelle Newman, Joey Schlueter & Jenara Kocks; Copy Editor: Jennifer Jones Lifestyles- Rhonda Reinhart, Keith McPhail & Jenny Vrnak Sports- Matt Mitchell & Jeremy Furtick Opinion- John Lemons, Stephen Uano, Robby Ray, Mandy Cater, Leonard Callaway, Chris Brooks, Dan Cone, Jack Harvey & General Franklin Night News- Assistant Editor: Joshua Miller Jody Holley, Night News Editor Tim Moog, Photo Editor Brad Graeber, Graphics Editor Jacqueline Salinas, Radio Editor David Friesenhahn, Web Editor Members Photo- Derek Demere, Robert McKay, W Angkriwan & Pat James Graphics- Quatro Oakley, Chad MallamS Ed Goodwin Radio- Tiffany Moore, Will Hodges, Missy Keif Amy Montgomery, Sunny Pemberton, Joey Schlueter, Michelle Snyder & Karina Trevino Web- Craig Pauli Office Staff- Stacy Labay, Christy ClowdusS Mandy Cater News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in the Division of Stu^ Publications, a unit of the Department of Journalism. News offices are in 013 Reed McDonald Building. N phone: 845-3313; Fax: 845-2647; E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu; Website: http://bat-web.tamu.edu Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For ^ pus, local, and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classified advertising, call 845-0569.Advert^ offices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2f' Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single cor The Battalion. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per full year.Tocliai£ J Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 845-2611. The Battalion (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall spring semester' Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at A&M University. Second class postage paid at College Station,IX 77840. Postmaster: Send address cf The Battalion, 015 Reed McDonald Building,Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111