May 30, 2001 – CBS World News Roundup: Late Edition – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
May 30, 2001 – Timothy McVeigh was scheduled to get a visit from his attorneys over recently uncovered FBI evidence in the Oklahoma City Bombing case and whether or not to seek a second delay of his execution. The Justice Department had a different view and Attorney General John Ashcroft vowed to fight all attempts to sidetrack the inevitable. Ashcroft, while in Europe, released a statement to the press, saying that the DOJ did an exhaustive research on all the disputed documents and found nothing that would warrant a stay of execution. Officials feared McVeigh’s attorneys would do exactly that and were preparing for a vigorous fight.
Amid talks about the Special Tax Refund, passed by Congress and approved by President Bush, the question on the average American’s mind was “when?” – Treasury Department officials said checks were expected to be cut and sent out starting July 23rd and should all be delivered in about 10 weeks after that. Plans were made to start by issuing checks in numerical order, based on the recipients last two digits of their Social Security Number. Treasury Department officials also said they would be sending out letters containing two important pieces of information: when the check would be cut and for how much. Estimates put the relief checks at a maximum of $300 for an individual and $600 for families. Critics derided the episode as something of a stunt, claiming $300 didn’t buy very much in the then-current economy, and it wasn’t expected to have much in the way of beneficial results – in short; a lot of nothing for a 10 week wait.
And the Bush daughters were in hot water again. This time getting busted for using someone else’s i.d. to buy drinks at a restaurant the night before. The legal drinking age in Texas is 21. The twins, Jenna and Barbara, are 19. The episode followed on the heels of a similar incident with Jenna Bush only a month earlier. The White House had no comment and mom and dad were none too thrilled.
And that’s a little of what happened, this May 30, 2001 as reported by The CBS World News Roundup: Late Edition.
