US & World News, Thursday 11/15

US & World Summary: Report Says Bomb Parts Get Through Airport Screening (Washington, DC) -- Just in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel season comes troubling news about airport security. According to a General Accountability Office report released yesterday, bombs and explosives are still getting past airport screeners in tests, despite the investment of billions of dollars to upgrade airport security systems. Undercover investigators were able to find instructions on the Internet for making the devices. They bought the components for less than 150-dollars and got on board airplanes passing through security, with no problems. The investigation was meant to test the effectiveness of tougher security procedures that began in 2006. --- Storms Damage Several Tennessee Communities (Kimball, TN) -- Weather experts today will try to confirm whether it was a tornado that damaged the town of Kimball, Tennessee last night. Several buildings in the town west of Chattanooga were damaged when severe weather moved through southeast portions of the state. At least three children suffered cuts and bruises when most of the Kimball Baptist Church was destroyed during evening services. High winds also caused extensive damage in Sparta, where a mobile home was blown across a road, and trees and power lines were damaged. --- O.J., Co-Defendants Ordered To Stand Trial (Las Vegas, NV) -- O.J. Simpson will be back in a Las Vegas courtroom later this month to be arraigned on criminal charges before facing a trial some time next year. After a four-day preliminary hearing that ended yesterday, Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure Junior ruled there was enough evidence to try Simpson and two co-defendants for allegedly bursting into a hotel room and taking sports memorabilia at gunpoint. Simpson, Clarence Stewart and Charles Ehrlich face a dozen counts each, including conspiracy, armed robbery, armed burglary, armed kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. --- Container Crew Hires Attorneys For Spill Investigation (Treasure Island, CA) -- The crew from the container ship that slammed into San Franciscos Bay Bridge last week has been told not to talk to National Transportation Safety Board or Coast Guard investigators. The crew got those instructions from a team of attorneys theyve hired while they stay on the damaged vessel thats parked in San Francisco Bay. According to the Coast Guard, close to 13-thousand-gallons of the 58-thousand-gallons of oil spilled has been cleaned up so far. --- Report Expected On Alleged Nooses And Whips (Gretna, LA) -- Investigators are scheduled to turn over a report today on alleged racially intimidating items found in in a Jefferson Parish, Louisiana supervisors office. One employee claims that a public works supervisor had nooses and whips in his office, but some reports question whether the ropes were indeed nooses. A defense attorney says the items werent of a racial nature. The FBI also sent a team of agents to determine if there was a violation of the federal law against hate crimes. --- Students Tell Pollsters What Their Vote Is Worth (New York, NY) -- Some New York University students apparently dont think the right to vote is priceless. Thats according to a poll published in NYUs "Washington Square News," which says one in five students at the school would exchange their vote in the next presidential election for an iPod Touch. Almost two-thirds of the students say they would exchange their vote for one years tuition, and half would give up their voting rights for life in exchange for one-million-dollars. --- Marines Step In To End Beyonce Billboard Controversy (Reno, NV) -- The Beyonce Knowles billboard controversy in Reno, Nevada is over. The billboard has been replaced after homeowners last week began complaining about the sexy shot of the former Destinys Child singer promoting a local radio station. According to the "Reno Gazette-Journal," the station decided to move the Beyonce sign to a busier part of town. The billboard that was once Beyonces Reno home has since been covered up with an ad for the U.S. Marine Corps. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-11-15-07 0843CST