SUITLAND, Md.- One question not asked by the troubled 1990 Census: Do we really need a Census?
About 37 million USA households - more than a third - are answering "no" by not turning in their Census questionnaires. Whether because of apathy or confusion, protest or disgust, the return rate is the worst Census showing since 1970, the first year the forms were mailed, and it's fueling fears about the accuracy of the head count.
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HUD aide: Pierce played favorites
May 1, 1990
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Ex-HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce played political favorites in distributing grants, says a former aide who also linked the Reagan White House to the misuse-of-funds scandal.
Testifying before a House panel Monday, DuBois Gilliam contradicted Pierce, who testified last year he never made direct decisions about project funding. Pierce refuses to testify again, citing his right against self-incrimination.
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NASA's black hole; Setbacks jeopardize 'can-do' reputation, funding; Grounding of 2 astronauts latest blow
July 10, 1990
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NASA's reach-for-the-stars image took another hammering Monday when the agency grounded two veteran shuttle commanders for breaking flight-safety rules.
Add that to mirror trouble with the Hubble space telescope and fuel leaks in the shuttle fleet and critics wonder whether the agency that took the USA to the moon can get anything right these days.
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Senate report cites Reagan in HUD mess
Nov. 14, 1990
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A Senate report on the HUD scandal faults the Reagan administration for allowing problems to fester at the agency even after internal audits warned of trouble.
A special prosecutor is investigating reports of unsupervised spending and contract abuses that could cost taxpayers as much as $2 billion.
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Webster retires from CIA
May 9, 1991
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A sense of timing nurtured by nearly 26 years of public service told CIA Director William Webster that this was his moment to depart.
"It's a logical time," says former CIA director William Colby.
Webster, 67, whose retirement was announced Wednesday by President Bush, leaves on a high note: He helped heal the Central Intelligence Agency's scars from the Iran-contra scandal and presided over the intelligence community's big success in the Persian Gulf war.
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Navy apology due today in Iowa blast
Oct. 17, 1991
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The Navy will apologize today for claiming gunner's mate Clayton Hartwig was the possible cause of the 1989 explosion on the USS Iowa that killed 47 sailors, Hartwig's family says.
Adm. Frank Kelso, chief of naval operations, will make the announcement at a Pentagon briefing, says Hartwig's sister, Kathy Kubicina of Cleveland.
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Gates' CIA: More analysis, less action
Nov. 6, 1991
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Gaining a better understanding of foreign governments, rather than trying to topple them, is seen as the CIA's direction under Robert Gates.
The Senate Tuesday voted 64-31 to confirm Gates to become the USA's 15th CIA director, ending a six-month nomination battle over Gates' role in the Iran-contra affair and allegations that he "cooked" intelligence to please Reagan administration hard-liners.
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Coverup denied in 'friendly fire' deaths
Jan. 31, 1992
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The Army hasn't tried to "cover up" a high rate of friendly fire casualties in the Persian Gulf, Army Gen. William Reno told a House subcommittee. Reno said relative notifications were delayed while all 21 friendly fire deaths were "surgically" probed. Ten friendly fire deaths were confirmed by April 1991 but families weren't told until other cases were probed, he said. In August, the military reported 35 of 148 U.S. troops were killed by U.S. gunners. The Army withheld the names of its 21 friendly fire casualties while the Marines made public the names of their 14.
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NASA chief quits under fire
Feb. 13, 1992
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NASA Administrator Richard Truly - who led the space shuttle program back after the Challenger disaster - resigned Wednesday under White House pressure.
"Frankly it wasn't what I had planned," Truly told The Associated Press. "It's a situation where the president decided ... to make a change." He'll remain on the job until April 1.
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Scandal sets Navy adrift; Acting secretary named to navigate into '90s; 'Harassment is on the front burner'
July 8, 1992
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SAN DIEGO - Miramar Naval Air Station is "top gun" country, where flying off to war has been a man's job.
That could end soon as women may join the fighter-pilot corps, the Navy elite.
