Two die after UPS plane crashes in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A UPS cargo plane crashed into a field near the Birmingham airport Wednesday, killing two pilots and scattering wreckage over a wide rural area moments after witnesses heard the massive jet coming in at treetop level.
People living near the airfield reported seeing flames coming from the aircraft and hearing its engines struggle in the final moments before impact.
“It was on fire before it hit,” said Jerome Sanders, who lives directly across from the runway.
The plane, an A300 that had departed from Louisville, Ky., went down around daybreak about a half-mile from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport. It broke into several pieces and caught fire. The pilot and co-pilot were the only people aboard.
Weather conditions at the time were rainy with low clouds.
Pentagon set to start same-sex benefits
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says it will make health care, housing and other benefits available to same-sex spouses of military members by Sept. 3.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that it reached the decision after consulting with the Justice Department, following a Supreme Court’s ruling in June on the constitutionality of a gay-marriage law..
The benefits will be made available to same-sex spouses with valid marriage certificates.
Military personnel in a same-sex relationship who are stationed in a state that does not permit same-sex marriage will be allowed to take leave for travel to a jurisdiction where they can marry legally.
Associated Press
