Ohio
Doolittle Raiders honored by thousands at tribute
DAYTON, Ohio – U.S. military leaders were among thousands who joined in a tribute to World War II’s Doolittle Raiders, the World War II airmen whose daring bombing attack on Japan helped boost American morale.
A flyover by five B-25 bombers helped cap a Saturday memorial service in which a wreath was placed at the Doolittle Raider monument outside the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton in southwest Ohio.
Three of the four surviving Raiders planned a final ceremonial toast to fallen comrades Saturday evening. The fourth couldn’t travel because of health issues.
Commander James “Jimmy” Doolittle commanded the daring mission credited with throwing the Japanese off balance after a string of military successes.
Virginia
USS Gerald Ford carrier christened by the Navy
NORFOLK, Va. – The Navy christened the USS Gerald Ford on Saturday with the traditional smashing of a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow of the ship – the most technologically advanced aircraft carrier the United States has built.
The Ford is the lead ship in the Navy’s next class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. It’s designed to get more fighter planes in the sky in less time and to be ready to incorporate unmanned aircraft into its air wing. It’s the first carrier redesign in four decades and is scheduled to join the fleet in 2016.
“She is truly a technological marvel,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said in a webcast ceremony at the Newport News, Va., shipyard where the Ford is being built. “She will carry unmanned aircraft, joint strike fighters, and she will deploy lasers.”
Saturday’s christening was one part tribute to the future of Naval warfare and one part tribute to the ship’s namesake, former President Gerald R. Ford. Ford was a lieutenant commander aboard an aircraft carrier during World War II and frequently spoke fondly of his time in the Navy.
California
Man pulls out unloaded gun, causes panic at LA airport
LOS ANGELES – An arriving passenger has been arrested on suspicion of brandishing a weapon in the baggage claim area of Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 3, causing momentary panic before authorities determined his handgun was unloaded.
Terminal 3 was the site of a deadly gun attack last week that left a Transportation Security Administration officer dead and three others wounded.
Airport police Sgt. Karla Ortiz said the man either took out the gun or a gun carrying case around 9 p.m. Friday. At least one witness who saw the act notified authorities and the bomb squad was called in to search his bag.
The man had declared his weapon and cleared security before getting on his flight to LAX. Ortiz said his offense was showing off a weapon in a public area.
Pennsylvania
2 high school players killed in car accident identified
SHARON, Pa. – Two high school football players died Friday night in a crash in western Pennsylvania that also killed a third person and injured four others, authorities said.
Sharon City School District Superintendent Mike Calla told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that players Corey Swartz and Evan Gill were killed in the two-vehicle crash on the Shenango Valley Freeway at about 10 p.m. in Sharon, about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio state line.
Calla said two other players, twins Greg and Craig Osmon, were injured and being treated at a hospital in Youngstown, Ohio.
The Sharon Herald reported two children, ages 10 and 12, were riding in the back of a pickup truck in which the driver died. One child was flown to a burn unit and the other was hospitalized.
Washington
Sea-Tac Airport: man arrested on unoccupied plane
SEATAC, Wash. – A man in his 20s who bolted through a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport security checkpoint, ran down a concourse and out onto the tarmac was arrested Friday night after police caught up with him in an empty airplane, an airport spokesman said.
“It appears to be a drug-induced situation,” spokesman Perry Cooper said, adding the man was not armed.
He was arrested inside an American Airlines plane after a short struggle. Police said he would be booked for investigation of trespass and assault of an officer.
The plane was being checked for anything suspicious before returning to service, Cooper said.
No other airport operations were affected.
Transportation Security Administration officers chased the man initially and Port of Seattle police quickly responded.
Once the man was on the tarmac, he raced up a stairway and punched through a window in a door at the end of a jetway connecting the empty plane with the terminal, Cooper said. He crawled through the broken window glass and entered the unoccupied plane.
“He had to be tackled to the ground,” the spokesman said, adding the arrested man suffered minor injuries. Cooper said officers were unhurt.
Associated Press
