Parachute isn't hijacker Cooper's

hijacker Cooper, DB Cooper's, Parachute Found, db cooper, amboy wa, d.b cooper, db cooper parachute A tangled, torn parachute found buried last month last month is not the one used by plane hijacker D.B. Cooper when he bailed out of a plane over the Pacific Northwest, the FBI said Tuesday. Investigators reached that conclusion after speaking with parachute experts, including Earl Cossey, who packed the chutes provided to Cooper that rainy November night in 1971."From the best we could learn from the people we spoke to, it just didn't look like it was the right kind of parachute in any way," said FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs.Further digging at the site in southwestern Washington turned up no indication that it could have been Cooper's, she added.A man calling himself Dan Cooper — later mistakenly identified as D.B. Cooper — hijacked a Northwest Orient passenger jet from Portland, Ore., to Seattle on Nov. 24, 1971.At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, he released the passengers in exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes and asked to be flown to Mexico. He jumped out the back of the plane somewhere near the Oregon line.Some of the cash has been found, but his fate is unknown, and investigators doubt he survived.Children playing near a recently graded road found the parachute, and they urged their father to call the FBI because they had seen recent news stories about Cooper's case. The parachute was the right color, and the location was in the middle of what could have been Cooper's landing zone.That got the attention of FBI agent Larry Carr, who drove to the site to see the find for himself.But Cossey told Carr that Cooper's parachute was made of nylon. The one the children found was made of silk and did not feature a harness container. Cossey sold parachutes at a skydiving operation in Issaquah in the 1970s.Cossey has been through the drill before; this is the third time the FBI has asked him to examine parachutes to see whether they might have been Cooper's.One chute found long ago — he couldn't remember when — was just a "pilot chute," used to pull the main chute out of the pack. The other time, in 1988, it was a parachute found by a Columbia River diver seeking clues to Cooper's fate."They keep bringing me garbage," Cossey said. "Every time they find squat, they bring it out and open their trunk and say, 'Is that it?' and I say, 'Nope, go away.' Then a few years later they come back."Cossey, though sounding cantakerous, appeared to relish the spotlight Tuesday. He answered his cell phone with "D.B. Cooper" and said he got a kick out of telling some reporters that the parachute was, in fact, the hijacker's.One reporter called him back angrily, saying he could be fired for writing a false story, but another said the newsroom enjoyed the April Fool's joke."I'm getting mixed reviews," Cossey said. "But I'm having fun with it; what the heck."

Elliot Yamin mom passed away

Elliot Yamin, elliot yamin heartbreak, elliot yamin news, claudette yamin, elliot yamin mother, elliot yamin mom Sad news. Elliot Yamin, who finished third in season 5 of American Idol, lost his mother Claudette Yamin. She passed away last night.Claudette was 65.Condolences to Elliot and his family. The mother of American Idol finalist Elliot Yamin died overnight. The Times-Dispatch reports that Claudette Yamin died last night at Henrico Doctor's Hospital. The 65-year-old was admitted to the hospital over the weekend. Her cause of death has not been released. Elliot Yamin became a local celebrity during his 2006 run on American Idol, where he placed third. (c) 2008. WWBT, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Inside Scoop: Tonight's 'Idol' Song List for 'Dolly Parton Night'

This just in (from a pretty solid source): Though we can't confirm it's 100 percent accurate, an insider-y bird just sent us the set list for tonight's Dolly Parton episode of American Idol. Spoilerphobes, fear not: I've posted all the contestants' song choices after the jump!
Update: Sorry, guys! We went 0 for 9, and clearly (as some of you pointed out) the April Fools' joke was on us. As penance, I will watch Ramiele's performance three extra times tomorrow morning!

addCredit("Dolly Parton": Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage")
David Cook: "You Know I Love You"Kristy Lee Cook: "Two Doors Down"Michael Johns: "Islands in the Stream"Carly Smithson: "Jolene" David Archuleta: "Travelin Thru"Ramiele Malubay: "9 to 5 " Brooke White: "Coat of Many Colors"Syesha Mercado: "Eagle When She Flies"Jason Castro: "I Will Always Love You"