European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday september 1, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 5court overturns Newton libel award the stars and stripes san Francisco apr a Federal appeals court on thursday overturned Wayne newtons record $5.2 million libel judgment and dismissed his lawsuit Over an Abc broadcast that suggested ties to the mob. A jury in Las vegas found that the television networks october 1980 Story created a false impression that the mafia had helped the Singer buy the Aladdin hotel Casino in Exchange for a hidden share and that Newton had deceived Nevada gaming officials. The 9th . Circuit court of appeals did not say whether the Story As a whole was false but said any false impressions were not the result of the kind of journalistic misconduct required for libel suits by Public figures. Under . Supreme court standards Public figures must prove that defamatory statements were either deliberate falsehoods or reckless made in disregard of the truth. The court said the evidence failed to support the jury a finding that the Abc broadcast met that Standard. The 3-0 ruling said most of the broadcasts factual statements were True a Newton had a Friend with purported mob ties who had done him a favor and had then talked with an associate about the possibility of profiting from newtons ownership of the Aladdin. A a Federal grand jury had investigated that subject. A Newton had testified falsely to the Nevada gaming Board. Although the broadcast did not specify the favor that had been done for Newton a according to Newton getting a criminal organization to Stop threatening him and his daughter a the court said the omission was not libellous. The reporters had reason to doubt the Story of the threats which had been denied by newtons lawyer in newtons presence the court said. The jury awarded Newton $19.3 Mil lion. . District judge Myron Crocker reduced the damages to $5.2 million mostly in punitive damages after finding that newtons income and reputation had not suffered it was still the largest libel judgment up to that time. Among the reasons Abc gave for challenging the verdict was crockery a refusal to Transfer the trial out of Las vegas where an annual Wayne Newton Day is celebrated and a Street is named after him. The court did not Rule on that Issue but said the location of the trial was a reason to scrutinize the jury verdict closely. A Wayne newtons Case poses the danger that first amendment values will be subverted by a local jury biased in favor of a prominent local Public figure against an alien speaker who criticizes that local hero a said the opinion written by judge William Norris. A i done to think this decision would have been rendered any place in the country other than in Las vegas a Floyd Abrams a prominent libel lawyer representing Abc said thursday. A i done to think the jury was As much biased against Abc As it was prone to support Wayne  Illinois Tornado survivors count their blessings Plainfield. Til. Tapi a Rin nov Plainfield 111. Apr biology teacher Stephen Hunt died when a Tornado grabbed a truck in front of Plainfield High school and dropped it onto the second floor of the science department where he worked. Only rooms away business teacher Linda Kinnikin survived unscathed. _ behind the school which was demolished the twister levelled Shirley and Gene fassiotto a Home plucking their car from a now nonexistent garage and depositing it upside Down where the living room once stood. Across the Street Lois Moffitte a Brick ranch style House still stands. The capriciousness of the tornadoes that spun across Northern Illinois on tuesday is painfully obvious to the survivors of the storms. A they say tornadoes touch Down and jump All Over the place a Kinnikin said shaking her head wednesday As she examined the rubble that killed her colleague. A in a matter of a minutes time it All changed a she said. The death toll climbed to 27 thursday when a 3-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy died of injuries they suffered in the storms. More than 300 people were Hurt. Hunt had been talking with Kinnikin Only minutes before the Tornado hit. A the was a dedicated teacher a Kinnikin said her eyes brimming with tears. Asked How she survived she Shook her head. A i heard so much debris hitting the windows of the building a she recalled. A there was no visibility because the rain was coming Down so hard. A and when the window blew i took off running for the menus bathroom. My department chair and i huddled together in the menus bathroom. I said a of my god three times and it was  when she climbed out of the rubble she saw the Walls in ruins the roof blown off and smashed cars in the parking lot thrown Dianna Biernat of Plainfield 111., searches for belongings on wednesday in the area where her Home was destroyed by tornadoes into a Heap. The twisters left More than 1,000 Homes uninhabitable and caused Over $100 million in damage in Joliet Crest Hill and Plainfield about 35 Miles Southwest of Chicago. The Region has been declared a state and Federal disaster area. And the random misfortunes did no to necessarily Stop when the storms left. On authorities said a propane tank overflowed while being loaded and the fuel was ignited by a flame from a stove. Three people died on the Plainfield school grounds during the storm including Hunt. Bruch Reed 15, said Hunt had been like a second father to him. A a in be done so much thinking about the people who died a said Reed who was at a rpm a . Pvt a in to the u1vu Tolu inc cd w11u web <11 d thursday a Nick serving As a Mobile Park a few blocks away when the storm hit Kitchen Tor Relief workers exploded and and who was unhurt. La Irnen for reuer workers exploded and and who was unhurt. Home she added a you wonder Che a Svitok mjunn8 pe0p, Eisses iut a a Ehlt a ath of a a a Wiste who was untouched a Reed said. A you always think it does no to happen and wont happen to you a he said. A it does no to matter who you Are or where you Are it can  Shirley fassiotto knows. Her Home was reduced to boards bricks and plaster strewn about the lot. A we had just gotten to the basement when the Walls came Down a she said. Glancing across the Street at Moffitte a Home she added a you wonder. She r r t a a a �7 5 Jum jul ill jowl because i survived but because my House knows  Sands of time $5.6 million award made in �?T86 California air crash  40 years ago today. Angeles apr a Federal judge awarded $5.6 million to the family a Najman and to teen agers who were u in an Aero Mexico jetliner Cerritos House in iyo6, an attorney said thursday. The award wednesday by . District judge David v. Kenyon was the first judgment involving victims of the disaster who were killed on the ground said Joseph Cook the family a attorney. Eighty two people including 15 on the ground died when the Aero Mexico dc-9 collided with a Small plane and smashed ii Lossl dental neighbourhood on aug. A a 1986. It was the worst air disaster in los Angeles area history. Frank Estrada sr., 43, his son Javier 16, and daughter Angelica 14, were killed in their  another teen Ager inside the House survived. A jury in 1989 divided blame for the crash equally Between the United states and the Small planets Pilot. The jurors found an air traffic controller failed to warn the pilots they were on a collision course. The family widow Theresa Estrada and two children will receive $2.8 million to $3 million because Money already received in a settlement with Aero Mexico will be deducted Cook said. Justice department spokesman Michael w. Robinson said the government was weighing an Appeal of the award. Russ Emja eople were k,1ied when a trans world airlines constellations crashed and skidded on a narrow gauge Railroad twisting through the desert in the Nile River Valley near Cairo. 30 years ago today. L ,.rie three Western allies protested to the soviet Union on obstacles to free travel in Berlin set up by East Germany. The ., British and French commandants issued a Stem note about the sudden travel ban to the soviet commandant. 20 years ago today. Sept. 1, 1970 a Black Panther Lonnie Mclucas was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the 1969 torture slaying of former Panther Alex Rackley. 10 years ago today. Sept. 1, 1980 a polish strikers and government negotiators signed a historic agreement signalling a peaceful end to Poland a 7-week labor crisis