US is said to plan plutonium production
The government is planning the first production of plutonium 238 since the Cold War, The New York Times reported today. An Energy Department official said the material, which is highly radioactive, would be produced at the Idaho National Laboratory as part of a classified national security project. He denied it would be used for nuclear arms, satellites, or weapons in space. Other specialists said the material could be used to power compact espionage equipment.
KANSAS
Proposal to limit court fails in Legislature
TOPEKA -- A proposal to rewrite the Kansas Constitution to limit the state Supreme Court's power failed in the Legislature yesterday, thwarting an effort by Republican leaders to punish the court for its order telling lawmakers to provide $143 million more for public schools. The House voted, 70 to 53, to adopt the measure, 14 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to put the issue on the state ballot in August. The Senate had already adopted it. (AP)
WYOMING
Officials widen search for missing Boy Scout
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK -- The search for a 13-year-old Boy Scout who fell into the fast-moving Yellowstone River expanded yesterday as nearly 200 park officials and volunteers scoured the river by kayak and on foot. Luke Sanburg, of Helena, Mont., was pushing logs into the river with other scouts Friday when one of the logs clipped his legs and knocked him into the river. He was last seen floating downstream with his head above water. (AP)
ARIZONA
Man fleeing scene of 6 deaths sought
YUMA -- Police searched yesterday for a man seen running from a home where six people, including four children, were killed in western Arizona. Officers responding to a call late Friday found a man with a gunshot wound in the backyard. He later died at the hospital. Inside the house, police found the bodies of a mother and her four children, ages 6 to 13. The victims have not been identified. (AP)
ILLINOIS
Man shot to death, 2 wounded at festival
CHICAGO -- Shots were fired near the crowded Taste of Chicago outdoor food festival, killing one man and wounding two others. The shooting occurred late Saturday as tens of thousands of people were leaving the festival, which had just closed for the evening. Before the shooting, a group of young men had begun verbally harassing a young woman and trying to take her money, police said. (AP)
Knife discovery sends plane back to airport
CHICAGO -- An American Airlines flight that had taken off on a flight to Rome returned to O'Hare International Airport because a passenger found a small knife onboard, an airline spokeswoman said yesterday. American Airlines Flight 110 had been in the air for more than an hour Saturday when the passenger found the knife inside an airline-provided package containing a pillow and blanket. (AP)
