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Nation in brief
Compiled from Times wires Navy, Marines ground helicoptersWASHINGTON -- Age has caught up with one of the military's most storied helicopters. A crack found in a rotor component of the Vietnam-era CH-46 Sea Knight has led the Navy and Marine Corps to temporarily ground the entire fleet, including 45 on duty overseas, officials said Wednesday. Ward Carroll, a spokesman for Naval Air Systems Command, said the grounding was a precautionary move following the discovery of a crack in a part of the rotor assembly on a Sea Knight at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. The crack was found during a routine inspection, he said. As of Wednesday, about half of the 291 Sea Knights in the fleet had been inspected for the same defect and only one more was found, Carroll said. That part will be replaced and the chopper returned to service. Those cleared by inspection are immediately returned to regular service. Florida man killed in crashFORT POLK, La. -- Investigators are trying to determine why a scout helicopter crashed during combat training at Fort Polk, killing the pilot and co-pilot. Chief Warrant Officers Milas Turney, 29, of Jacksonville and Phillip Rochlitz, 33, of Anderson, Calif., were in a normal combat training rotation, Fort Polk spokesman Ron Elliott said Wednesday They were participating in a Joint Readiness Training Center exercise when the OH-58D Kiowa, used mainly in reconnaissance, crashed about 31/2 miles east of Fort Polk's north barracks around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. It is still too early to say what caused the crash, but the helicopter did not catch on fire before it crashed, deputy public affairs officer Dan Nance said. The soldiers, stationed at Fort Polk, were members of the 4th Squadron of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Senators plan to challenge raiseWASHINGTON -- With an unsteady economy, corporate scandals and a soaring federal deficit, this could be an awkward time for Congress to be taking a $5,000 salary increase. At least that's the point opponents are making as they turn up the heat on lawmakers, most of whom will be facing the voters in a couple of months. "It just doesn't look like a year for a pay raise," said Sen. Russell Feingold, who has promised to force a vote on the issue when Congress returns after Labor Day. "It's really for everybody's own good not to make the mistake of thinking we're different from the rest of America -- which is going through a pretty tough time," said the Wisconsin Democrat. Congressional pay increases have gone through with only a minimal fuss for the past three years, but Feingold sees signs of more resistance this time. New York Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, both Democrats, have announced that they will support Feingold's effort to block the raises.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
