March 28, 2000 – CBS World News Roundup – Late Edition – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
March 28,2000 – a day full of mixed signals, not the least from Mars. On this day 16 years, OPEC was meeting in Vienna, debating a production increase of oil production. If they did decided to boost production, it would not be with the support of Iran. In a terse statement to reporters, Iran’s Oil Minister said there was no shortage of fuel. After eight hours of formal negotiations, Iran said an increase in production should be left to 1 million barrels a day, hinting Iran would not be part of an agreement. Iran said it tried to reach flexibility but it could not reach unanimity. The word from OPEC was unsettling to Capitol Hill, where there was talk of cutting gasoline taxes by 4 1/2 cents by as early as the following week for the rest of the year and cut them again if the average price exceeded $2.00 a gallon. The cost would come out of the budget surplus, but opponents said it wouldn’t do enough to gas prices to be worth it.
Meanwhile on Mars – NASA was expressing embarrassment over the loss of two expensive Mars probes. Saying they were attempting to do too much with too little, NASA engineers concluded the loss of the Mars Polar Lander was probably due to false and mixed signals which caused its main engines to shut down 130 feet above the Martian surface, causing the lander to hit the ground at some 50 miles per hour, destroying it on impact. NASA said the Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter, which also failed the year before, were underfunded by at least 30%, and that JPL who was managing both projects, was being asked to do “the impossible”. Red faces at NASA.
And the saga of Elian Gonzales was slowly coming to the boil as Federal Officials were giving the relatives of the young boy until Thursday morning to sign a statement promising to hand the boy over if they lost their court fight. Otherwise, proceedings to return Elian to Cuba will get underway immediately. Residents in the Cuban community in Miami vowed to set up a human chain to prevent Federal officials from taking the boy and sending him back home.
And that’s just a small slice of what happened, this March 28th in 2000 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.
As you probably know by now – we’re right in the middle of our annual Past Daily Spring Fundraiser – one of the few times during the year where we ask for your help to keep us up and running. Unfortunately, we have no corporate sponsorship, we don’t even have corporate underwriting – it’s just what we’re doing every day to give you all this history, news, popular culture and Music in one place and to keep doing it all year long. Fortunately, we do have Non-Profit support, so you can enjoy the advantage of your contribution as Tax Deductible. But more than that, we need your help to keep us up and running and to keep the archive, where all these recordings come from, digitizing, preserving and making available to you, the thousands of hours of history and rarities you are probably not going to find anywhere else. And all we’re asking is that you chip in a little, or as much as you comfortable with, to help us continue bringing you the best of what we have every day, all day long. We aren’t charging you to download, we aren’t charging you a subscription fee – because we don’t feel history is something you have to pay for. And that’s why we’re asking for your support and your contributions. Give what you can, but please give something today – we need your help, and if you enjoy what we’ve been bringing you, then please show your support by chipping in. Click on the link in the box below and give what you can – takes about a minute. And it will make all the difference in the world.
