Korean War remains return
Korean War remains return
ST. LOUIS — The remains of a soldier who was captured by enemy forces during the Korean War are returning to Missouri, 58 years after he was reported missing.
The remains of Pfc. David Woodruff have been identified and will be returned for burial with full military honors, the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced Thursday.
Woodruff, of Poplar Bluff, joined the Army six months before he was taken prisoner in 1951 at age 20. Officials said he died in or near a North Korean prison camp.
Two years after his capture, the Department of Defense told his family that Woodruff was declared dead.
Extortion case nears trial
NASSAU, Bahamas — Prosecutors in the case of an alleged plot to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta after his son’s death in the Bahamas say they are ready for trial.
Director of public prosecutions Bernard Turner says the island chain’s government has collected all witness statements. The arraignment of the two defendants is scheduled for April 28.
Paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former island Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater appeared in court for the pretrial hearing Thursday. Both are free on bail.
The pair are accused of demanding money in exchange for suppressing a document related to the treatment of the celebrity’s son, Jett Travolta. The chronically ill teen died in January after he suffered a seizure at a family vacation home.
Fatal jump from plane
CAMBRIDGE BAY, Nunavut — A man aboard a small passenger plane fought to push open the aircraft’s door at 23,000 feet over northern Canada and leaped to his death, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing with the door ajar, police said Thursday.
The Adlair Aviation plane with two pilots and two passengers was flying from Yellowknife to Cambridge Bay, a community in western Nunavut, when the man jumped Wednesday night, said Staff Sgt. Harold Trupish of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Beechcraft King Air 200 twin-turboprop was about 110 miles from the Cambridge Bay airport when the man jumped, he said. Police were searching for the body of the 20-year-old, whose name was not released.
Hospital site of shootings
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A hospital worker shot and killed two employees and then killed himself at a medical center Thursday, sending panicked people fleeing, police and witnesses said.
The gunman was identified as Mario Ramirez, 50, of Alhambra, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. The victims were Hugo Bustamante, 46, of Cypress, who died at the scene, and Kelly Hales, 56, of Redondo Beach, who was taken to the hospital’s emergency room in critical condition and died several hours later.
Mystery college donations
DES MOINES, Iowa — A mystery is unfolding in the world of college fundraising: During the past few weeks, at least nine universities have received gifts totaling more than $45 million, and the schools had to promise not to try to find out the giver’s identity.
One school went so far as to check with the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security just to make sure a $1.5 million gift didn’t come from illegal sources.
The gifts ranged from $8 million at Purdue to $1.5 million donated to the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The University of Iowa received $7 million; the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Maryland University College got $6 million each; the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was given $5.5 million; Norfolk State University got $3.5 million; and Penn State-Harrisburg received $3 million.
Ball is in Cuba’s court
MEXICO CITY — President Barack Obama asked Havana to make the next move to improve U.S.-Cuba relations, saying Thursday that he needs to see signs of changes on the island before he makes any more overtures.
President Raul Castro responded hours later that his government is willing to discuss any issue with Washington, as along as it’s a conversation between equals and Washington respects “the Cuban people’s right to self-determination.”
Earlier this week, Obama lifted restrictions on visits and money sent to Cuba by Americans with families there — steps he called “extraordinarily significant” for those families, and a show of good faith by the U.S. government that it wants to recast the relationship.
Associated Press