Nation digest 08/27/02

Gun may have gotten past airport screeners

PHILADELPHIA -- A woman charged with carrying a loaded gun into a terminal at Philadelphia International Airport may have carried the same weapon undetected past security screeners in Atlanta, the FBI said Monday.

Nancy Keller was arrested Sunday after she put a carryon bag containing a .357-caliber Magnum handgun through an X-ray machine, authorities said.

Keller, 37, of Huntersville, N.C., told an FBI agent that the gun belonged to her husband and she wasn't aware it was inside the bag. She faced a hearing on a charge of boarding an aircraft with a concealed weapon.

FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi said Keller had arrived on a flight from Atlanta and was making a flight connection that required her to leave and re-enter the airport's secure zone.

No flights were delayed, officials said.

'N Sync singer Bass starts training at NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA welcomed its first celebrity space tourist on Monday: 'N Sync singer Lance Bass, who hopes to clinch a deal with the Russians soon and fly to the international space station in two months.

The 23-year-old boy-band member began a full week of training at Johnson Space Center in Houston along with the rest of his crew, a Russian and a Belgian. All three flew in from Moscow over the weekend after training at the cosmonaut base in Star City, Russia.

Johnson's public affairs office fielded numerous calls about Bass' presence, but it was not excessive and no groupies were reported outside the center gates, said spokesman John Ira Petty.

The three men are supposed to blast off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 28. But Bass has yet to come to financial terms with the Russian Space Agency.

Ex-handyman convicted in '99 Yosemite slayings

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A former motel handyman was convicted Monday of the 1999 slayings of three Yosemite park tourists in a crime that shattered the serene image of one of America's most treasured places.

Cary Stayner, 41, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and a charge of kidnapping. He could face the death penalty because the jury found the crimes were committed during other felonies.

Defense lawyers had conceded that Stayner killed Carole Sund, 42, her daughter, Juli, 15, and Silvina Pelosso, 16, but they said he was insane and asked jurors to convict him of second-degree murder -- a verdict that would have spared him the death penalty.

Nestle reported to have bid for Hershey Foods

NEW YORK -- Hershey Foods Corp.'s shares rose Monday in the wake of a published report that Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle is offering about $11.5 billion for the biggest U.S. candymaker.

But Nestle, whose brands include Crunch candy bars, Taster's Choice coffee and Perrier water, declined to comment on the report, which appeared in Monday's editions of USA Today.

Spokesmen for the trust and the candymaker each declined to comment on Monday's newspaper report.

USA Today, citing unidentified people familiar with the deal, said Nestle had made a preliminary bid of $82 to $85 per share for the Pennsylvania-based company.

Peter Jennings thought to be close to new ABC deal

NEW YORK -- Here's one story you won't be hearing from Peter Jennings: whether or not he's agreed to a new contract to stay as top anchor at ABC News.

The 63-year-old "World News Tonight" anchor refused comment on his contractual status Monday, except to say one newspaper report that he has accepted a new long-term deal was "not entirely accurate."

Jennings already has signed an agreement to stay at ABC, according to a source close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It would make sense: Jennings will narrate a six-part series, "In Search of America," on ABC prime-time Sept. 3-7 and anchor the network's Sept. 11 anniversary coverage -- both after the expiration of his old contract.

-- From wire reports