As an Alabama standoff and hostage drama marked a sixth day Sunday, more details emerged about the suspect at the center, with neighbors and officials painting a picture of an isolated man estranged from his family.
It's bad enough the U.S. Navy grounded its minesweeper, the USS Guardian, in the Philippines. It's even worse the $227 million ship will have to be dismantled in order to remove it from the reef. But now, environmentalists with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization want to fine the United States for the ship's damage to the coral reef, a listed World Heritage Site.
The massive blimp-like aircraft flies but just barely, hovering only a dozen feet off a military hangar floor during flight testing south of Los Angeles.
House Republicans are beginning to discuss legislation that would prevent the Pentagon from lowering physical standards for women to ensure an ample number get accepted in the most arduous combat jobs in the infantry and special operations.
The embattled former ambassador from Pakistan cited threats from "ideologically driven maniacs" as he defied his country's highest court this week by refusing to return home for a hearing into a complex case involving accusations of treason and a shadowy figure who claims the ex-envoy was part of a political conspiracy.
The Navy's top SEAL says he fully supports the Pentagon's decision to integrate women into special operations, adding that his command will assess during the "next couple of years how we're going to do that."
The commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said Tuesday that his unit's budget would lose $1 billion this year as a result of the defense budget stalemate in Washington.
The U.S. Navy, operating with too few carriers, now has a forward-deployment dilemma. Keeping two carriers deployed to the Middle East with only nine deployable strike carriers is not sustainable, even with their deployment time increasing by 50 percent.
Pentagon officials announced Thursday that though the ban on women serving in combat has been lifted, implementing the new policy will be a gradual process that may not put women in the most physically demanding positions anytime soon and possibly not at all.
