Branson vows to find why spacecraft failed
MOJAVE, Calif. – Billionaire Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, saluting the bravery of test pilots, vowed Saturday to find out what caused the crash of his prototype space tourism rocket, killing one crew member and injuring another.
In grim remarks at the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the craft was under development, Branson gave no details about Friday’s accident and deferred to the National Transportation Safety Board, whose team had just arrived.
“We are determined to find out what went wrong,” he said, asserting that safety always has been the top priority of the program that envisions taking wealthy tourists to the edge of space for a brief experience of weightlessness and a view of Earth below.
Report: 60,000 vets get triple benefits
WASHINGTON – Nearly 60,000 veterans were triple dippers last year, drawing a total of $3.5 billion in military retirement pay plus veterans and Social Security disability benefits at the same time, congressional auditors report.
It’s all legal. The average payment was about $59,000, but about 2,300 veterans, or 4 percent of the total, received concurrent payments of $100,000 or more, the Government Accountability Office said.
Some lawmakers say the report shows the need for better coordination among government programs that are facing severe financial constraints.
Associated Press
