Reno Air Races plans to change course this fall - Yahoo! News

 

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Organizers of the national air racing championships in Reno plan to change the race course for the fastest planes to keep them farther from spectators after last year's mass casualty crash near a grandstand. Reno Air Racing Association Director Mike Houghton said Tuesday they will ask federal regulators for permission to soften some curves and move the largest course away from the crowd. He made the announcement as a blue ribbon panel unveiled its list of safety recommendations, including formalizing plane inspection procedures. The panel also advised further study of possible age limits for pilots. Jimmy Leeward was 74 when his World War II-era airplane crashed Sept. 16, killing himself and 10 spectators and injuring more than 70 others. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. A blue ribbon panel of experts reviewing the deadly crash at last year's National Championship Air Races in Reno is making a number of recommendations to make the event safer but none would prevent the competition from continuing as scheduled in September, officials told The Associated Press. Several of the recommendations call for changes that the Reno Air Racing Association already has initiated, including appointing a safety director with the independent authority to halt the competition if necessary in the case of a safety concern, according to two officials who have seen the panel's final report. None of the recommendations run contrary to earlier preliminary suggestions from the National Transportation Safety Board in April, said the officials who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity late Monday because they were not authorized to speak publicly prior to a formal announcement scheduled for Tuesday. Four or five of the recommendations are similar to the NTSB's recommendations ideas, they said, including developing formal protocols to ensure the engineering integrity of planes that have been modified for the races, like the World War II-era P-51 Mustang that plunged into the box seats in front of the grandstand, killing pilot Jimmy Leeward and 10 spectators, and injuring more than 70 others on Sept. 16. NTSB officials said earlier that Leeward's plane, the "Galloping Ghost," was heavily modified and had never been flown as fast as he was racing it that day on that course. To ramp up the aircraft's speed, the plane's wingspan had been shortened from about 37 feet to about 29 feet, and flight controls were changed. The Reno Air Racing Association announced the appointment of the four-member panel in January to provide a review of the crash and the event's safety independent of the one being conducted by the NTSB, which may or may not complete its formal probe before this year's championships begin Sept. 12. The panel's other members were Jim Hall, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; Nick Sabatini, former associate administrator of aviation safety for the Federal Aviation Administration; Jon Sharp, an aeronautical engineer and the winningest pilot in the event's history; and Steven Hinton, a champion pilot and top stunt pilot in the film industry. The blue ribbon panel's report being released Tuesday may be notable for what it does not do. It does not directly address mechanics of the plane that crashed or the cause of the crash. It also did not address the proper distance between competing planes and spectators, or the possibility of requiring pilots to wear special flight suits intended to reduce the impacts of gravitational force at extremely high speeds, the officials said. The association's event at Reno Stead Airport is the only event of its kind, where planes fly wing-tip-to-wing-tip around an oval, aerial pylon track, sometimes just 50 feet off the ground and at speeds that can top 500 mph. The association's board of directors created the position of safety director in February and filled the job with Michael Stollings, a former supervisor of flying for the U.S. Air Force with nearly 40 years of aviation experience. Last week, the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority's board of trustees voted unanimously to renew the necessary special use permit for at least another year as long as organizers follow all federal safety rules and secure $100 million in insurance. Organizers said they expect to secure the insurance this

Obama to push clean energy technologies in Iowa - Yahoo! News

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anxious to show voters he's working to create jobs, President Barack Obama is putting tax credits to boost clean energy in the spotlight this week as he heads to the political battleground state of Iowa. The president will visit TPI Composites, a wind manufacturer in Newton, on Thursday to highlight his push for tax credits to encourage investments in clean energy technologies. The trip is part of Obama's ongoing effort to prod Congress to act on a "to-do list" he says is necessary to make sure the economy doesn't lose steam. Specifically, Obama wants Congress to renew the federal Production Tax Credit for the wind industry, which is set to expire at the end of the year, and expand the 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, which supports American-made clean energy manufacturing. The president's "to-do list" includes a series of economic initiatives he has been pushing for months, none of which have gained traction in Congress. Obama has been trying to blame congressional Republicans for blocking his ideas for creating jobs. And, by extension, he argues that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney could be expected to follow their approach if elected. Polls show the economy is the top issue for voters, and Americans are split over which candidate can best handle it. Advocates say renewal of the production tax credit could save thousands of jobs and bring financial certainty to the wind industry, which has been vulnerable to boom-and-bust cycles. A study commissioned by the American Wind Energy Association, an industry group, said failure to extend the tax credit could mean the loss of as many as 37,000 U.S. jobs. Iowa is the second-leading state in the U.S. for wind power, after Texas.

Pa. ex-rep freed on bail returns to state prison - Yahoo! News

 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former longtime Pennsylvania House Democratic leader convicted on corruption charges has returned to state prison after nearly four days of court-ordered freedom. A Camp Hill State Prison spokeswoman says Bill DeWeese turned himself in early Tuesday afternoon, following a judge's decision that he shouldn't be out on bail while he pursues appeals. He was four days into a 2½- to 5-year sentence Friday when the state Superior Court freed him because the county trial judge hadn't ruled on his motion for bail pending appeal. After the judge ruled against DeWeese on Tuesday, he returned to the prison. His lawyers are asking the state Superior Court to reverse that ruling. DeWeese is convicted of five felonies for using his state-paid staff and public resources for campaign purposes.

Canadian regulator charges Sino-Forest with fraud - Yahoo! News

 

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Ontario Securities Commission charged Sino-Forest Corp and some of the Chinese forestry company's former executives with fraud on Tuesday, nearly a year after the allegations surfaced and its stock imploded. The OSC, Canada's most powerful securities regulator, said Sino-Forest and former members of its overseas management engaged in numerous "deceitful and dishonest" actions connected with its purported purchase and sale of timber in China. It also said some former company executives attempted to mislead its investigation into Sino-Forest, whose shares were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange earlier this month. Sino was the most prominent of a series of North American-listed companies with Chinese operations whose accounting or disclosure practices came under suspicion over the past year. The scandals have hurt investor confidence and led to a sharp declines in the equity valuations of many Chinese companies listed in the United States and Canada. The OSC on Tuesday charged Sino-Forest's founder Allen Chan, along with former executives Albert Ip, Alfred Hung, George Ho and Simon Yeung, with fraud. It also said Sino's former CFO, David Horsley, failed to comply with Ontario securities law and acted contrary to the public interest. "Sino-Forest falsified the evidence of ownership for the vast majority of its timber holdings by engaging in a deceitful documentation process," the regulator said in its statement of allegations. "This is an important first step and our investigation is continuing into this matter, including an examination of the role of the gatekeepers," Tom Atkinson, the OSC's director of enforcement, said in a statement. The OSC did not provide details on which gatekeepers it is investigating. In a recent report, the regulator said that underwriters, auditors and exchanges were not adequately reviewing emerging market companies that were listing in Canada. The OSC initiated the review last year after short-seller Carson Block and his firm Muddy Waters accused Sino-Forest of exaggerating its assets. Short-sellers such as Block borrow stocks and then sell them in the hope they can buy them back later at a lower price and pocket the difference. His allegations, in the report issued by Muddy Waters last June, triggered a collapse of Sino-Forest's share price, along with a rash of lawsuits and probes, including one conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Sino initiated own internal probe but said it was unable to address of all of the allegations. (Reporting by Euan Rocha and Jennifer Kwan; Editing by Frank McGurty)

Former labor board member returns to AFL-CIO - Yahoo! News

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former member of the National Labor Relations Board is returning to work at the AFL-CIO, where he will serve as co-general counsel. Craig Becker spent nearly two years on the board after President Barack Obama bypassed the Senate to make him a recess appointee in 2010. Republicans had blocked Becker's confirmation for months, saying he had had a radical, pro-union agenda that was hostile to business interests. In the days before Becker's term expired last year, the board issued new rules to speed the pace of union elections. The new rules were suspended after a court found a flaw in how they were adopted. Becker had worked as a lawyer for both the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union before being named to the labor board.

Alberto prompts tropical storm watch for coastal South Carolina - CNN.com

 

(CNN) -- A large swath of coastal South Carolina is under a tropical storm watch due to Alberto, the first named tropical storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. As of 11 p.m. ET Saturday, Alberto was about 110 miles (180 kilometers) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 155 miles (250 kilometers) east Savannah, Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph (85 kph). The tropical storm watch area stretches from the Savannah River, which separates Georgia from South Carolina, to the South Santee River in South Carolina. Alberto was moving southwest at about 6 mph (9 kph), and "a decrease in forward speed is expected through Sunday," the weather agency said. It is expected to turn west-northwest and then north and northeast by Monday. How to prepare for a hurricane "Dangerous surf conditions are possible along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina through Monday," the hurricane center said. Despite being over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, Alberto is not expected to intensify much over the next couple of days. That is due, in part, to the presence of a cool and dry air mass to the north and west of the tropical storm, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said. This year marks the first time in recorded history that a tropical storm has formed in both the east Pacific basin and Atlantic basin before the official start of hurricane season, the hurricane center said. The Pacific storm was called Aletta. The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1.

Police: 3 terror suspects at NATO summit were plotting to hit Obama's campaign HQs - CNN.com

 

Chicago (CNN) -- Three men charged with conspiring to commit domestic terrorism during the NATO summit were plotting to attack President Obama's Chicago campaign headquarters, the Chicago mayor's home and police stations, authorities said Saturday. A police investigation that began early this month revealed that the three suspects are "self-proclaimed anarchists" and members of the "Black Bloc" group who traveled together from Florida to Chicago to commit violence as a protest against the NATO summit, authorities said in a statement. Diplomatic marathon: G8 focusing on Greece; NATO, on Afghanistan "Black Bloc" was the group blamed for violence that occurred in recent "Occupy" protests, such as in Rome last year when anarchists in ski masks torched cars and clashed with police and even other Occupy protesters. The three men were planning to destroy police cars and attack four Chicago police district stations with destructive devices as a way to undermine police response to other planned actions at the NATO summit, according to a statement by Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. Downtown Chicago financial institutions were also among the proposed targets, authorities said. An Illinois judge set bail at $1.5 million for each of the three suspects: Brian Church, 22, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Jared Chase, 27, of Keene, New Hampshire; and Brent Betterly, 24, who told police he resides in Massachusetts, authorities said. Photos: Protests preceeding 2012 NATO Summit The three men were charged with material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and possession of explosives or incendiary devices, authorities said. The three men were arrested Wednesday, and charges were announced Saturday, according to authorities. "The individuals that we have charged in this investigation are not peaceful protesters. They are domestic terrorists who came to Chicago with an anarchist agenda to harm our police officers, intimidate our citizens and to attack their politically motivated targets," said Alvarez. According to authorities, Church said he wanted to recruit four groups of four co-conspirators -- or 16 people -- and that reconnaissance had already been done on the Chicago Police Department headquarters. The three men also possessed or built improvised exposive or incendiary devices, a mortar gun, swords, a hunting bow, throwing stars, and knives with brass-knuckle handles, authorities said. In court, prosecutors accused the three men of preparing for "violence and destruction," such as stockpiling Molotov cocktails. But a defense attorney called those accusations "propaganda" and contended authorities "infiltrated" a peaceful group and set up the three men. The three defendants stood expressionless in court, each handcuffed behind the back. A couple dozen of their supporters in the courtroom could be heard faintly scoffing at prosecutor Matthew Thrun as he called the defendants "self-proclaimed anarchists ... making preparations for violence and destruction." Thrun said one of the defendants could be heard planning an attack and quoted him as saying, "this city does not know what it is in for, and it will never be the same." According to Thrun, the defendants bought gasoline at a BP station, cut bandanas for fuses, and had four empty beer bottles to be used as Molotov cocktails. Thrun told the court that Church made a remark while assembling the Molotov cocktails: "Ever seen a cop on fire?" Defense attorney Michael Deutsch accused authorities of "police misconduct," saying undercover agents infiltrated a "peaceful" group. "They even bought the makings of Molotov cocktails and gave it to them," Deutsch said in court. Outside of court, he called the case a set-up and an example of "entrapment to the highest degree." "It is sensationalism by the police and the state to discredit the protesters that have come here to nonviolently protest," the attorney said. The National Lawyers Guild, which says it's representing the three defendants, said Chicago police arrested a total of nine activists Wednesday at a house in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood and then released six of them. The guild described the three defendants as "Occupy activists" and said police provided no evidence of criminal intent or wrongdoing. "It's outrageous for the city to apply terrorism charges when it's the police who have been terrorizing activists and threatening their right to protest," attorney Sarah Gelsomino with the lawyers guild and the People's Law Office, said in a statement. Judge Edward Harmening set the three defendants' next court date for Tuesday. On Sunday, NATO kicks off its two-day summit in Chicago, and the war in Afghanistan is expected to dominate discussions. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Zardari are both expected to attend the meeting. A user's guide to the NATO summit NATO leaders are currently on a timetable to withdraw all of the alliance's combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014. CNN's Paul Vercammen reported from Chicago and Michael Martinez from Los