National briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 30, 2000

Tanker oil spill shuts down Mississippi River

NEW ORLEANS -- A tanker spilled a half-million gallons of crude oil into the Mississippi River on Wednesday, closing a busy shipping route for 26 miles and threatening wildlife.

No injuries were reported, but some pelicans and other animals were found covered with oil, said Roland Guidry, a state oil spill coordinator.

The 800-foot tanker Westchester lost power Tuesday evening and ran aground about 60 miles southeast of New Orleans.

A cargo tank holding more than 2.2-million gallons of Nigerian crude oil lost about 567,400 gallons, said Virginia Miller, spokeswoman for the ship's owner and operator.

The river bottom apparently plugged most of the hole and kept the rest from escaping, Miller said. She said divers were trying to assess the damage while five skimmers and a vacuum unit pulled up the spilled oil.

By Wednesday evening, patches of oil from the spill floated from just south of Buras, which is 15 miles southeast of the accident site, to Boothville, about 8 miles downriver, Miller said. The worst was along a 3-mile river stretch from Fort Jackson to Boothville.

The area is home to pelicans, shorebirds, seabirds, crabs, shrimp and sport fish, as well as more than 100,000 wintering waterfowl.

Some Columbine families are offered settlement

LITTLETON, Colo. -- The families of the Columbine gunmen and one of the young gun suppliers have offered dozens of victims a blanket $1.6-million settlement.

The money, apparently coming from homeowners insurance policies, could be divided among as many as 37 families of those killed and injured in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

The settlement offer was laid out in a Nov. 20 settlement letter on behalf of the families of killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and gun supplier Mark Manes.

The settlement parties could include 13 victims' families represented by a group of attorneys led by Stephen Wahlberg, six families represented by attorney James Rouse and 18 families who haven't filed claims, according to the letter obtained by a local television station .

The offer, which has not yet been accepted, was the first formal proposal stemming from the shooting.

Task force recommends easing Cuban embargo

WASHINGTON -- The United States should ease the Cuban embargo to help the island's transition to a post-Castro era and reduce chances of U.S. military intervention, a Council on Foreign Relations panel recommended Wednesday.

The task force urged that the United States eliminate travel restrictions to Cuba, allow regular commercial flights between the two nations and permit U.S. companies whose businesses were nationalized by Cuba to resolve their claims by entering into joint ventures in Cuba.

The report made no recommendation whether the United States should lift its 38-year-old embargo, which is aimed at pressuring democratic reforms on the communist-ruled island.

Some of the recommendations may be difficult to implement because they require legislation, not just executive orders.

Elsewhere . . .

CLINTON TO VISIT NEBRASKA: President Clinton will complete his tour of all 50 states next week with a stop in Nebraska, the only state he hasn't visited during his eight years in office.

His visit to south-central Nebraska includes a speech at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Dec. 8.

The president also will tour the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, a museum commemorating the nation's historic trails that opened in June.

STAMP TO HONOR MUSLIM HOLIDAY: The U.S. Postal Service has announced that it will issue a postage stamp in October to recognize the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, or "feast of fast breaking," that ends the annual fasting month of Ramadan.

The stamp, designed by Arlington, Va., calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya, features the Arabic phrase "Eid mubarak" in gold against a blue background. The phrase translates as "blessed festival" and can be paraphrased as, "May your holidays be blessed."

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from daybreak to sunset and concentrate on God's commandments. This year, Ramadan began Monday and concludes about Dec. 27, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

EMERGENCY LANDING: An American Airlines flight carrying 66 people made an emergency landing Wednesday at Dulles International Airport after reporting smoke in the cabin, the airline said.

The MD-80 landed safely and there were no injuries. Officials have not determined what caused the smoke.

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