June 27, 1993 – ABC World News This Week – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
June 27, 1993 was a reminder that the events of only a few months earlier were still fresh in peoples minds. In February of that year, bombings of The World Trade Center made it abundantly clear terrorism was no longer a concept considered the sole property of Europe or any other country but the U.S. – we could be victims too.
And so on June 24th, the Justice Department announced a sweep of suspected terrorist groups which netted bomb-making factories, accomplices and proof we had joined a very uneasy club of countries now becoming the targets of plots and threats from radical fundamentalists.
Reactions were quick, and the list of alleged targets was extensive – New York Governor Mario Cuomo blamed our lax system of doling out Refugee status and the lengthy process of determining who really were refugees and who were taking advantage of the loopholes to gain a foothold in the country to be the culprits. But the fact that we were still reeling from the affects of the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center gave us one more ingredient to sleepless nights.
There was other news, for the week ending on this June 27th – Letter bombs, mailed to Universities and high-tech companies, which began in 1978, were springing up again. The latest rash of bombings had many baffled as they didn’t appear to have a motive or common thread, but investigators were certain they were all from the same bomber.
On Capitol Hill – Bill HR 2264, President Clinton’s Budget Bill squeaked by the Senate with a 49-49 vote – the tie breaker coming by way of vice-President Gore, who cast his vote for the affirmative and the bill passed after a marathon 18 hour session.
And the prospects of Billboards in Space drew a quick rebuke from legislators. The notion that ads for Coke and Ford would permeate the horizon, beaming down on Earth were condemned as outrageous, turning the morning and evening sky into the equivalent of the side of a bus.
And that’s just a small slice of what went on this week ending June 27, 1993 – as presented by ABC Radio’s World News This Week.
