Senators endorsed spending $318 billion for the Defense Department on Tuesday, including a new program that would lease up to 100 Boeing 767s to be used as air tankers to replace an aging fleet. The new tankers would be assembled in Everett and modified in Wichita, Kansas. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said the main tankers now in use, KC-135s, are an average of 41 years old. The more than 500 air tankers in the Air Force fleet today were also built by the Boeing Co., which has begun massive layoffs. If the plan wins approval by the full Congress, the first four of the new tankers would be delivered in 2005.
Talks continue with Japanese partner companies on Boeing Co.’s planned Sonic Cruiser jet, but no decision on deals has been made, the U.S. aircraft maker said Tuesday. Boeing is sticking to its initial plan for the Sonic Cruiser to begin service in 2008, despite the recent plunge in air travel following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Boeing vice president John Roundhill told reporters in Tokyo. The jet, expected to carry 200 to 250 passengers, would fly faster and at higher altitudes than current jets.
Anti-virus companies scrambled to protect their customers against a new viruslike e-mail attack Tuesday that purports to be a computer screen saver program. Security company McAfee reported thousands of its clients sent in copies of the worm, called ‘Goner.’ An Internet worm has the ability to spread to other computers on its own. “It’s very harmless looking,” McAfee virus research manager April Goostree said. The e-mail has a subject line of “Hi,” and asks the user to check a screen saver program, which is attached. If the recipient runs the screen saver, the computer becomes infected. Like many e-mail attacks, it sends itself out to everyone in the victim’s address book. It can also send itself through the instant messaging program ICQ. In addition to ICQ, Goner affects only Microsoft’s Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail programs on computers running Windows.
Enron shares surged Tuesday as investors took heart in news that Enron had secured $1.5 billion in short-term financing after seeking bankruptcy protection. While shares jumped 47 cents, or 118 percent, they were still trading at just 87 cents on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. A year ago, they were worth more than $80.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.