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| Edward Snowden lands in Moscow - CBS News Posted: 23 Jun 2013 08:56 AM PDT Updated 11:43 a.m. ET MOSCOW A former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing highly classified surveillance programs has landed in Moscow after fleeing Hong Kong.  Feinstein: Snowden fleeing Hong Kong for Moscow "a very big surprise" Garrett: U.S. "doesn't know what happened" with Snowden extraditionReporter Kevin O'Flynn told host Bob Schieffer on CBS' "Face the Nation" that Edward Snowden landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport at around 9:15 a.m. ET. While his current whereabouts are unknown, most reports indicate he will not stay in Moscow, but will instead continue to another destination on Monday. A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was unaware of Snowden's whereabouts or travel plans. Diplomats from at least two South American nations mentioned as possible final destinations for Snowden - Ecuador and Venezuela - were seen at the Moscow airport, although it's unclear whether they had any contact with Snowden. Both Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Reuters have cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden will continue along to Cuba on Monday, and possibly travel from their to Venezuela. Snowden said in recent interviews that Iceland was also a destination he preferred. Ecuador has also been mentioned as a possible destination. WikiLeaks, the organization that has released reams of classified material online from the U.S. government and others, claims to have aided Snowden in his flight. They released a statement saying he was bound for a "democratic nation via a safe route for the purpose of asylum." An Aeroflot agent told Russia's Interfax news service that Snowden is traveling with one other person with the surname Harrison, but the agent declined to release the traveler's full name. U.K. journalist Sarah Harrison is a known close adviser to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, prompting speculation that she was with Snowden during his flight from Hong Kong. WikiLeaks tweeted out her profile Sunday morning, as well as another tweet asking followers to read about her "before the smears arrive." Early Sunday morning, Hong Kong officials said Snowden had been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with their laws. Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks since he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs. Interpol said there is no public Red Notice -- an international alert that an individual is wanted for arrest by an Interpol member country -- at the moment for Snowden. A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson, Nanda Chitre, told CBS News they had been informed Snowden had left Hong Kong. "We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel," Chindre said.  U.S. pressures Hong Kong to extradite Snowden How much damage did NSA surveillance leaks do? NSA docs show govt. can keep copies of calls, emails indefinitelyThe White House itself has not commented yet on Snowden's departure, which came a day after the United States made a formal request for his extradition and gave a pointed warning to Hong Kong against delaying the process of returning him to face trial in the U.S. The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Snowden left "on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel." It acknowledged the U.S. extradition request, but said U.S. documentation did not "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law." It said additional information was requested from Washington, but since the Hong Kong government "has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong." Russian officials have given no indication that they have any interest in detaining Snowden or any grounds to do so. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia would be willing to consider granting asylum if Snowden were to make such a request. Russia and the United States have no extradition treaty that would oblige Russia to hand over a U.S. citizen at Washington's request. WikiLeaks said it was providing legal help to Snowden at his request and that he was being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from the group. Its founder, Julian Assange, who has spent a year inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex crime allegations, told the Sydney Morning Herald that his organization is in a position to help because it has expertise in international asylum and extradition law. The Cuban government had no comment on Snowden's movements or reports he might use Havana as a transit point. Michael Ratner, Assange's lawyer, said he didn't know Snowden's final destination, but said his options were not numerous. "You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here." Ratner said a country's extradition treaty with the U.S. is "not going to be relevant" because the country he ends up going to will likely be one willing to give him a political exemption. |
| Plane With Wing Walker Crashes at Ohio Show; 2 Die - ABC News Posted: 23 Jun 2013 08:14 AM PDT An air show in southwestern Ohio reopened with a moment of silence Sunday, a day after a pilot and wing walker died in a horrifying, fiery crash in front of thousands of spectators. The Vectren Air Show near Dayton, which closed right after Saturday's crash, resumed Sunday in honor of pilot Charlie Schwenker and veteran stuntwoman Jane Wicker, both of Virginia. "As a pilot, you accept the fact that accidents do happen — it's an accepted risk we take," said John King, president of the Flying Circus Airshow, which employed Wicker. "They were both dedicated to flying and the act. They were true, ultimate professionals," King said. "I don't know of anyone who could have done any better than what they were doing." Wicker and Schwenker were killed when their plane crashed in front of spectators who screamed in shock as the aircraft became engulfed in flames. No one else was hurt. Video of the crash showed their plane gliding through the sky before abruptly rolled over, crashing and exploding into flames. Wicker, performing at the Dayton show for the first time, had been sitting atop the 450 HP Stearmans. The decision to resume the show a day after the crash was an emotional one supported by Wicker's ex-husband, said air show general manager Brenda Kerfoot. "He said, 'This is what Jane and Charlie would have wanted,'" Kerfoot said. "'They want you to have a safe show and go out there and do what you do best.'" Wicker, 44, who lived in Bristow, Va., was a mother of two boys and engaged to be married, Kerfoot said. Schwenker, 64, of Oakton, Va., was married. The cause of the crash is unclear and the conclusion of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board likely will take months. Investigators picked through the debris of the crash site Saturday. Wicker's website says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. She was a contract employee who worked as a Federal Aviation Administration budget analyst, the FAA said. In one post on Wicker's site, the stuntwoman explains what she loved most about her job. "There is nothing that feels more exhilarating or freer to me than the wind and sky rushing by me as the earth rolls around my head," the post says. "I'm alive up there. To soar like a bird and touch the sky puts me in a place where I feel I totally belong. It's the only thing I've done that I've never questioned, never hesitated about and always felt was my destiny." She also answered a question she said she got frequently: What about the risk? "I feel safer on the wing of my airplane than I do driving to the airport," she wrote. "Why? Because I'm in control of those risks and not at the mercy of those other drivers." A program for the air show touted Wicker as a performer of "heart-stopping" feats who did moves that "no other wing walker is brave enough to try." "Wing riding is not for this damsel; her wing walking style is the real thing," the program said. "With no safety line and no parachute, Jane amazes the crowd by climbing, walking, and hanging all over her beautiful ... aircraft. "Spectators are sure to gasp as this daredevil demonstrates in true form the unbelievable art of wing walking," it says. On the video of the crash, an announcer narrates as Wicker's plane glides through the air. |
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