Shuttle Atlantis soars toward space station

Shuttle Atlantis soarstoward space station
SPACE CENTER, Houston -- Atlantis hurtled toward the international space station today after the first launch of a space shuttle since early summer, when cracked fuel lines grounded the fleet.
The shuttle is on a mission to deliver a 14-ton, $390 million girder that will continue the expansion of the orbiting outpost.
The 45-foot-long, 15-foot-wide girder, crammed with wiring, plumbing, three radiators and a railroad cart, is part of a framework that eventually will stretch longer than a football field. Three spacewalks will be done by shuttle astronauts to install the girder.
Atlantis, which launched Monday, was originally scheduled to takeoff in August, but was kept Earthbound by hairline cracks in the pipes that carry hydrogen fuel to the main engines. Similar damage was detected in all four space shuttles, and NASA ordered unprecedented welding repairs.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe called the shuttle's return to flight "a big deal" for the space agency.
"It's been awhile coming but it's one for all the right reasons we've taken our time to make sure it's done right," O'Keefe said.
Pentagon credit cardsused to pay prostitutes
WASHINGTON -- Navy personnel bought jewelry, attended ball games and even hired prostitutes at Nevada brothels with government funds, congressional investigators have found in the latest examples of abuses in the Pentagon credit card program.
Despite increased Defense Department efforts to control misuse of the travel cards, a General Accounting Office report showed the abuses continued at least through last March -- long after investigators first reported on the problem in the summer of 2001.
From October 2000 through March 2002, the new survey found 1,180 Navy transactions for personal items totaling $206,700. Lower-paid enlisted personnel earning between $12,000 and $27,000 were the biggest abusers but the Navy bears responsibility for failure to monitor the travel card program, the GAO said in the report obtained Monday.
The Pentagon has stepped up its efforts to control use of the cards. Some 400,000 inactive accounts unused during the previous year have been canceled. Those who abused the cards have had money involuntarily deducted from their paychecks.
The Navy report said there were 80 transactions totaling $13,250 at the two Nevada brothels; 199 purchases for $20,800 at two jewelry stores; 247 transactions totaling $28,700 at three adult clubs; 80 gambling transactions for $34,250; 72 cruises for $38,300; and 502 purchases of tickets, worth $71,400, to entertainment events.
Lili damage estimateset at $170 million
NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Lili's winds and floods caused an estimated $170 million in damage to insured property in Louisiana, the state Department of Insurance said Monday.
The estimate was derived from claims submitted to the state's top five homeowners' insurance companies, said Amy Whittington, a department spokeswoman. Lili hit the state's Gulf Coast Oct. 3, flooding homes and businesses across southern Louisiana.
The agency has also decreased the damage estimate for Tropical Storm Isidore, which hit Louisiana on Sept. 26, from $100 million to between $65 million and $70 million, Whittington said.
Also Monday, authorities announced the arrests of a man and his girlfriend on charges of stealing $120,000 in equipment from residents and businesses evacuated for Lili.
Naburan Cammon, 31, and Yolanda Jacobs, 36, were arrested Oct. 3 near St. Rose and face looting, burglary, theft and drug charges. They were driving a stolen pickup and hauling a stolen trailer loaded with $20,000 in lawn equipment when they were arrested, police said.
Preservation work
TOKYO -- Work began today on a project to preserve Hiroshima's A-Bomb Dome, designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations, a city official said.
The repairs will keep the former Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Hall in the same condition as when it was devastated by the world's first atomic bomb attack on Aug. 6, 1945, Hiroshima City official Hideaki Takeshima said.
Japan surrendered nine days later, ending World War II.
The dome was left partially intact after the bombing. The planned renovation, costing about $565,000, is meant to protect the dome from leaks and moisture that are damaging the ruins of the building, Takeshima said.
The national government and the city of Hiroshima will each provide half the cost of the repairs.
Associated Press