WWII-era plane crashes in Hudson River; body found
WWII-era plane crashes in Hudson River; body found
NEW YORK
A small World War II vintage plane celebrating its 75th anniversary flew a partial loop while smoke spewed from it and then crashed in the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey on Friday, and divers recovered a body from its sunken wreckage, police and witnesses said.
The single-seat plane, a P-47 Thunderbolt, crashed on a part of the river near where a US Airways commercial jet carrying 155 people splash-landed safely in 2009 in what became known as the Miracle on the Hudson.
The American Airpower Museum is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the P-47 Thunderbolt this weekend. Museum spokesman Gary Lewi said the plane was kept at the museum and was taking part in an air show at nearby Jones Beach this weekend.
UNC system says it won’t enforce restroom rules
RALEIGH, N.C.
The University of North Carolina system told a federal court Friday that it won’t enforce a law requiring transgender students to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.
The declaration came in a motion asking a federal court to halt civil legal proceedings against the university system while a higher court decides a separate case on transgender rights from Virginia.
University system President Margaret Spellings wrote in an affidavit that, pending the outcome of the North Carolina case: “I have no intent to exercise my authority to promulgate any guidelines or regulations that require transgender students to use the restrooms consistent with their biological sex.”
Feds OK fracking off California coast
SAN DIEGO
An environmental assessment from two federal agencies released Friday determined that fracking off the coast of California causes no significant impact, thus lifting a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing that was instituted earlier this year.
“The comprehensive analysis shows that these practices, conducted according to permit requirements, have minimal impact,” Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said in a statement.
SpaceX lands another rocket after satellite delivery
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
SpaceX pulled off another rocket landing Friday, the third in just under two months.
The first-stage booster of the unmanned Falcon rocket settled vertically onto a barge 400 miles off Florida’s east coast, eight minutes after the late afternoon liftoff. Cameras on the barge provided stunning, real-time video.
“Falcon 9 has landed!” said a SpaceX flight commentator.
N. Korea threatens South’s ships after sea border chase
SEOUL, South Korea
North Korea today threatened to fire at South Korean warships if they cross a disputed western sea border, a day after the South’s navy fired warning shots to chase away two North Korean ships that briefly crossed the boundary.
In a statement released through state media, the General Staff of North Korea’s Korean People’s Army called the South’s action a “reckless military provocation” meant to kill the chances for dialogue between the countries.
Combined dispatches