. . . or click on the link here for Audio Player – CBS World News Roundup – May 15, 1997 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection
News for this May 15th in 1997 had much to do with scandals, accusations and improprieties in the Military.
Starting off with the much-publicized Adultery case against Air Force Lieutenant Kelly Flinn, accused to having an affair with a married subordinate. Flinn was offered the opportunity to resign or face court martial. The case brought widespread condemnation of an antiquated system of justice within the Military and triggered hearings in the Senate on the state of criminal justice over at The Pentagon.
Similarly, other cases of sexual impropriety in the military were going on. A Drill Sergeant, Matthew Griffin, was acquitted of having illicit sex with a female trainee at a trial at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. Meanwhile, at Hurlburt Field in Florida, Col. David Rauhecker, one of the highest ranking military officers ever courtmartialed on sexual harassment charges was convicted on a lesser charge of having “an unprofessional relationship”. Rauhecker faced up to 6 years in prison, plus fines after a sentencing hearing earlier this day.
3-Mile Island‘s Nuclear Power Plant was up for sale. The Power plant, site of the infamous 3-Mile Island disaster in 1979 and the country’s worst nuclear accident, was owned by General Utilities and the undamaged portion had been producing power.
Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched on this day, just after 4:00 am Eastern time, for a rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir. The linkup was expected to take place in a day.
And the consideration of Fraud and Perjury Charges was being discussed by a Criminal Grand Jury, over the latest set of lawsuits aimed at the Tobacco industry. A fear such charges would be placed on Tobacco company executives was a prime motivator in talks between the Tobacco Industry and State Attorneys General. Chesterfield and other brands of the Liggett Group began carrying warnings on cigarette packs saying smoking was addictive.
And that’s just a small slice of what happened this May 15th in 1997, as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.
