Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994 TAG: 9404120141
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The most advanced radar ever sent into space by NASA peered beneath the sand of the Sahara Desert on Monday for traces of ancient river channels and lost civilizations.
Two days into the 10-day flight, the radar aboard space shuttle Endeavour had mapped about 3 million square miles of Earth's surface, an area equivalent to half the United States.
After some initial difficulty, the $366 million worth of radar equipment is providing unprecedented three-dimensional maps of deserts, mountains, oceans, rivers and cropland.
Scientists hope these images will help them better understand environmental changes and offer the world's policy-makers ways to preserve Earth.
That's the future. There's also the past: Archaeologists and historians want to see radar images of the Sahara, Arabian and Chinese deserts.
- Associated Press
Siamese twins' dad released from jail
GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The father of Siamese twins who were separated last summer was released from jail Monday after serving a six-month sentence for stabbing a cousin with a butcher knife.
Kenneth Lakeberg, 26, of Wheatfield was sentenced to a year in jail after missing a probation hearing in October. Lakeberg had been on probation after pleading guilty to slashing a cousin's hand during a brawl in 1992.
Lakeberg's daughter, Angela, remained in serious but stable condition Monday at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was separated in August from her conjoined sister, Amy.
The girls were born June 29 sharing a heart and liver tissue. Amy died during the separation surgery.
Lakeberg admitted spending about $1,300 donated to the family on cocaine around the time of the surgery. After missing the probation hearing, he admitted he had done so because of drug and alcohol abuse.
- Associated Press
Friar has blessings for Harley riders, too
VALPARAISO, Ind. - How do you bless a motorcycle club and its bikes?
That was the challenge facing Brother Damien Murkley, who had been asked by the Porter County Harley Owners' Group to thank the Lord for giving them their daily rev.
Murkley's answer: ``We ask God's blessing upon them that they will have a safe travel and enjoy themselves and be courteous to others as they travel.''
Murkley, a friar with the Seven Dolors Shrine, said Sunday's blessing was the first time he had prayed for a bike.
- Associated Press
by CNB