A continuing chronicle of the moves and countermoves Wednesday and Thursday
 in the Elian Gonzalez custody standoff:

 WEDNESDAY:

 9:30 p.m.: Attorney General Janet Reno leaves the Miami Beach home of Sister
 Jeanne O'Laughlin after a 2 1/2-hour meeting with the Miami relatives, without a
 deal to turn Elian over to his father.

 11:45 p.m.: Lazaro Gonzalez, Elian's great uncle, tells the crowds outside
 O'Laughlin's house that he will defy an order by the INS to hand over the boy at
 Opa-locka Airport the following day. ``Not in Opa-locka, not in any `locka,' '' he
 says, vowing that the government ``will have to take this child from me by force.''

 Midnight: A grim Reno holds a news conference in Miami with INS
 Commissioner Doris Meissner. Reno says the government plans to enforce a 2
 p.m. deadline for the hand-off ``in a fair, prompt way.''

 THURSDAY:

 12:36 a.m.: Elian and his Miami relatives return to their Little Havana home.

 1:30 a.m.: More than 200 protesters at the Miami relatives' home sing out ``Elian
 no se va!'' with renewed passion when they learn the deadline has been set.
 Democracy Movement leader Ramon Saul Sanchez tells the crowd to fetch
 sleeping bags and bottled water so they can prepare for an extended stay at the
 house.

 2:40 a.m.: Birds fly over the house in a ``V'' formation. Some in the crowd
 interpret the birds as a sign of hope from God.

 4:40 a.m.: About 200 Miami-Dade Police officers conduct roaming patrols of
 Opa-locka Airport.

 5:15 a.m.: A demonstrator overcome with emotion rushes the barriers at Elian's
 home. Five officers arrest him. The crowd begins singing the Cuban anthem.

 6 a.m.: A home video of Elian -- shot by his Miami relatives between midnight and
 2 a.m. -- is shown on Univision, the Spanish network. The boy is seen telling his
 father in Spanish that he wants to stay in the United States.

 6:50 a.m.: The crowd outside the Little Havana home mistakes a news helicopter
 for the National Guard coming to take Elian from the home. They rush to surround
 the house.

 8:30 a.m.: Reno meets with local law enforcement and U.S. Attorney Tom Scott
 in Miami to talk about the stalemate.

 9 a.m.: Family spokesman Armando Gutierrez says the Miami relatives still want
 to meet with the father face-to-face because they believe his phone calls were
 monitored by the Cuban government.

 11 a.m.: Elian plays in the yard of his Miami relatives' home. Dressed in jeans,
 he plays on a slide. Meanwhile, police reinforced the barricades outside the home
 with chains.

 11:20 a.m.: Lazaro Gonzalez makes a statement thanking the crowds for their
 support and asking for calm. He tells them, ``We have God on our side.''

 Midday: The number of demonstrators outside the Little Havana home swells into
 the thousands. Some in the crowd shout ``War! War!'' In Washington, President
 Clinton weighs in, saying the government has an obligation to uphold the law.
 Reno holds another news conference, saying the government would act in a
 ``reasonable, measured way'' and not try to seize the boy immediately after the
 deadline.

 1 p.m.: In family court, a judge today rejects the family's request to intercede and
 prevent the INS from taking the boy.

 1:30 p.m.: Marisleysis and others from the Gonzalez home pour cups of water for
 the crowd of demonstrators outside.

 1:50 p.m.: Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas and Miami Mayor Joe Carollo ask for
 calm in what Penelas calls ``a pivotal moment'' in Miami's history.

 2 p.m.: As the deadline ticks past, Cuban-American singer and Miami Beach
 resident Gloria Estefan addresses the crowd, asking for peace while maintaining
 Elian has not had his day in court. Actor Andy Garcia and musicians Willie
 Chirino and Albita Rodriguez are in the crowd.

 3 p.m.: A federal appeals court issues a temporary stay that keeps Elian in the
 United States while the Miami relatives continue their fight to keep the boy. The
 government has until 9:30 a.m. the following day to respond in court. Protesters
 shout ``victory!''

 3:30 p.m.: Gregory Craig, the attorney representing Juan Miguel Gonzalez, holds
 a news conference in Washington blasting Lazaro, calling him a law-breaker and
 exploiter of Elian.

 5:10 p.m.: Reno boards a plane in Fort Lauderdale to return to Washington,
 without reuniting the boy and his father. Demonstrators continue their vigil outside
 the Little Havana home.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald