ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
Jury indicts Tyson Foods chief lobbyist
WASHINGTON - The chief lobbyist for Tyson Foods Inc. was indicted Tuesday on charges of lying to investigators about $2,100 worth of gifts that the poultry firm allegedly gave former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, his girlfriend and another agency official.
A federal grand jury in Washington accused Jack L. Williams of falsely telling the FBI and the Agriculture Department's inspector general office that he knew nothing about an award of a $1,200 Tyson scholarship to Espy's girlfriend or the firm's decision to host Espy and his girlfriend in a skybox at a Dallas Cowboys playoff game.
- The Washington Post
Chain gang refugee freed 44 years later
NEW YORK - Forty-four years after he fled a Florida chain gang, Eddie Brown can stop looking over his shoulder. Authorities have dropped their attempts to have the ailing, 64-year-old grandfather of 27 returned to prison.
``I feel, Lord have mercy, what a burden off my back,'' Brown said Tuesday after learning that Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles had dropped the extradition order. ``It's just tremendous to be free.''
Brown was 19 when he robbed a convenience store in 1952 of $120. He fled a work crew in Zephyrhills, Fla., after serving six months of a five-year sentence and made his way to New York in 1957, taking jobs that didn't require background checks, such as scrubbing floors and shining shoes.
He lived a law-abiding life until his past caught up with him last year after a minor traffic accident. Police checked his driver's license, found a warrant for the robbery and arrested him.
Florida dropped its pursuit after months of negotiations with the Brown's lawyers and wide publicity about the case. Brown suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.
- Associated Press
Superman at last gets to tie the knot
NEW YORK - After near 60 years of on-and-off dating, Lois Lane and Clark Kent - alias Superman - are getting married next month.
The super-wedding will follow a reconciliation between Superman and Lane, who began dating during the FDR administration (Action Comics No. 1, in 1938). Lois, tired of playing second fiddle to Superman's career, had dumped the Man of Steel on Valentine's Day.
``Since their engagement in 1990, some things have happened to postpone the wedding - like Superman's death,'' DC Comics editor Mike Carlin said Tuesday. ``We felt like it was time something good happened to Superman.''
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB