December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A1 1. When a floatplane doesn’t. A crew works Monday to salvage a Cessna floatplane that flipped over and sank in Hayden Lake last week. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review (Photo …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A1 “The nightmare for me has never ended,” says Karen Mathews, Stanislaus County (Calif.) clerk who was assaulted after refusing to accept “legal” documents from a right-wing group. Photo by Dan …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A1 Wet snow crashed through the auditorium roof at Sandpoint High School on Monday, leaving a 40-foot-wide hole. The metal roof, insulation and twisted wooden trusses blanketed most of the auditorium’s …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A1 The federal government conceded Monday that its proposed air bag rules could save the lives of 83 children a year - but at the cost of up to 1,200 adults’ …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A2 Ayres

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A2 After 12 years of dating, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan finally asked NBC-TV correspondent Andrea Mitchell to marry him. And she said yes. “We have a huge amount in …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A2 Monday’s Washington Triple Choice: 560. Monday’s Washington Keno: 3-4-5-15-21-30-31-33-35-37-47- 49-50-51-62-68-69-70-71-77.

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 The government will expand no-fly zones and impose morning and evening curfews on tour operators flying in established corridors of the Grand Canyon to reduce noise at the national park, …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 Paul McCartney.

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 At least one computer hacker broke into the Air Force’s main World Wide Web computer early Sunday morning, replacing the service’s home page with obscenities and anti-government slogans, an Air …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was released from a hospital Monday and transferred to a prison hospital. Ray, 68, had lapsed into …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 The Pentagon said Monday it won’t do any more business with a contractor who made bootlegged Medals of Honor. It also recommended that H.L.I. Lordship Industries Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y., …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 Authorities dodged questions Monday about their investigation into the slaying of a 6-year-old girl first reported kidnapped and later found slain in the basement of her home. But they tried …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 Forbes

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A3 Consumer protection official Mark Shiffrin holds one of the offending dolls. Photo by Associated Press

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A4 A view from inside the bomb-gutted lobby of the Valley’s Planned Parenthood office. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A7 The Central Intelligence Agency has evidence that Iranian agents secretly delivered at least $500,000 in cash to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic for his campaign before last fall’s Bosnian elections, according …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A7 Taipei will parade convicted burglars through its streets in glass-paneled vans in an attempt to curb the capital’s rising crime rate, the mayor said Monday. “A few countries have burglars’ …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A7 A man who tried to walk off with some of King Tut’s priceless treasures - and then claimed to have been in the Egyptian Museum only to fix the plumbing …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A7 A bomb exploded Monday on an express train packed with holiday travelers, blowing the train off the tracks and killing dozens of passengers and crew members. Police suspect eastern India’s …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A7 North Korea agreed Monday to join South Korea and the United States in preliminary discussions about negotiations for a formal end to the Korean War, a step welcomed by senior …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A8 China’s economy grew 9.7 percent in 1996, as inflation continued to fall and foreign trade kept on rising, according to figures released today. Last year’s growth rate, based on the …

December 31, 1996 in Nation/World on Page A8 For a second consecutive New Year’s Day, the 10 percent federal tax on commercial airline tickets is lapsing. Unlike last year, travelers won’t benefit. The carriers, led by Continental Airlines, …