Copyright 1995 Star Tribune
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
May 9, 1995, Metro Edition
SECTION: News; National news; Pg. 7A
LENGTH: 606 words
HEADLINE: National news
BODY:
Panel urges closing Pennsylvania Avenue
An advisory committee examining security at the White House has recommended closing Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs in front of the building, after experts determined that a truck bomb outside the gates could do enough damage to injure people inside, sources familiar with the overview said. The concern predated the April 19 Oklahoma City blast, but that bomb's power underscored the threat to the White House, sources said.
Cuban exiles protest
U.S. refugee policy
Cuban exiles angry over the new U.S. policy of sending back all Cuban boat people shut down a Miami expressway as the first group of 13 refugees awaited their forcible return. Eastbound traffic on Hwy. 836 backed up for several miles for about 45 minutes as exiles waved Cuban flags and massed in front of a tollbooth at midday.
Buchanan speaks out
on immigration
GOP presidential contender Pat Buchanan chided President Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress for failing to secure America's borders and endorsed legislation that would deny automatic citizenship to children of illegal immigrants. He also called for legislation making English the country's official language, and for at least a doubling in the size of the Border Patrol.
Delaware gets OK
for welfare overhaul
The Clinton administration gave Delaware permission to launch a statewide welfare reform plan that cuts off cash benefits after two years and requires teenage mothers to live at home. Under Delaware's experiment, adults on welfare will be required to sign a contract outlining the steps they must take to prepare for work, become self-sufficient and take responsibility for their children.
Navy investigating
captain's conduct
The Navy is investigating charges that a senior officer engaged in "an unduly personal relationship" with two female subordinates while he was director of the equal opportunity office in the Bureau of Navy Personnel, the service said. The officer, Capt. Everett L. Greene, was selected in November for promotion to one-star admiral, but the Senate is not expected to act on the nomination until the investigation is complete.
Pena opposes bill
against seat belts
Transportation Secretary Federico Pena defended laws intended to prevent death and injuries on the nation's highways. Pena and other safety advocates said laws - now under attack - requiring use of auto safety belts and motorcycle helmets and setting a national speed limit and minimum drinking age are lifesavers. A Senate subcommittee last week voted to amend the National Highway System bill to end the national speed limit, and amendments to drop the seat belt and motorcycle helmet requirements are under discussion. A House bill would also drop the federal requirement for a drinking age of 21.
$ 1 billion requested
for military housing
Calling the military's housing supply in terrible shape, Defense Secretary William Perry asked Congress for a $ 1 billion, five-year test to boost private involvement in renovating or rebuilding living quarters. He said 200,000 of the military's 350,000 housing units are in dire need of repair, given that the average age of the housing is 33 years.
FBI: Geneticist got
Unabomber letter
A letter received by a Nobel Prize-winning geneticist was sent by the Unabomber on the same day as a package bomb that killed another man, the FBI confirmed. The bomber sent four letters from Oakland, Calif., on April 20 when he mailed the most recent bomb. One letter went to Richard J. Roberts at New England Biolabs in Beverly, Mass., near Boston.