Knievel wants to jump Snake River Canyon

May 9, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

TWIN FALLS, Idaho

A spokesman for Robbie Knievel says the motorcycle jumper wants to follow in his daredevil father’s footsteps and attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon in southern Idaho.

Jeff Lowe says Knievel will be in Twin Falls on Monday to discuss the plan with local officials, and that the jump is tentatively set for the Fourth of July weekend in 2011.

Evel Knievel, who died in 2007, failed to clear the chasm in 1974 in a rocket-powered “Skycycle” when the parachute malfunctioned and deployed after takeoff.

Diggs salutes Amtrak

WASHINGTON

Actor Taye Diggs is vouching for Amtrak and helping to lead National Train Day events this weekend.

Diggs, a train fan, kicked off festivities Friday in New York, then boarded a train to Washington for events Saturday. Amtrak also hosted exhibits and activities in Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles on Saturday. They featured options for high-speed rail and fuel efficiency. Historic train cars were on display.

This year marks the 141st anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad.

Alaskans mourn death of former Gov. Hickel

SITKA, Alaska

Alaskans on Saturday mourned the loss of former Gov. Walter J. Hickel, 90, and remembered him as a visionary and a maverick.

Alaska Democrats, meeting for their convention in Sitka, had a moment of silence in honor of Hickel, who served as Interior secretary under President Richard Nixon until Hickel was dismissed for objecting to the treatment of Vietnam War protesters.

Hickel, a two-time Alaska governor, died Friday of natural causes at an Anchorage assisted-living facility.