Yangon, Myanmar (AP) Help is tantalizingly close, but still being denied to hundreds of thousands of disaster survivors in Myanmar.

A cyclone ripped through their country two and a-half weeks ago, killing at least 78,000 people by the government's own count and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and in desperate need of food, water and medicine.

Today, the generals who rule the Southeast Asian nation again rejected a U.S. proposal to deliver aid by sea. Four U.S. warships loaded with supplies and the helicopters and landing craft needed to deliver that aid are parked off the coast but unable to go in.
The ruling junta slammed the door, citing rumors of a U.S. invasion to seize Myanmar's oil.

While denying direct aid to cyclone victims, the military is allowing relief flights to come in. But American officials have to hand those supplies over to the government, with no way to ensure it gets where it's needed.