BRUNSWICK, Maine — The two last planes at Maine’s Brunswick Naval Air Station lifted off Saturday in blustery winds, ending nearly 60 years of maritime patrol operations at New England’s last active-duty military air base. The P-3 Orions of the VP-26 squadron lumbered down an 8,000-foot runway before heading off to a six-month deployment in Central America. After that, they fly to their new home at Florida’s Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The planes took off without any speeches or fanfare about 50 minutes apart Saturday afternoon. The decision to shutter the base was made in the final round of closings by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission in 2005.
Arizona: McCain home sale
A former home of Arizona Sen. John McCain is scheduled to go up for auction next week. Higgenbotham Auctioneers International said bidding on the Phoenix home will start at $5.9 million. The two-acre property has been appraised at more than $12 million. The home has 13 bedrooms, 14 baths, two guest homes, a Mediterranean resort style pool and spa area, a seven-car air-conditioned garage and 10 fireplaces.
Body found at Grand Canyon
Officials at Grand Canyon National Park said a man’s body has been found 200 feet below the canyon’s South Rim. A park spokeswoman said the park’s communication center began getting calls Saturday afternoon about a man spotted over the edge in an area between Mather Point and Pipe Creek Vista, east of the South Rim Village. She said the man was visiting the park with his son, daughter-in-law and other family members. His name was not immediately released.
Florida: Space junk worries
NASA said a piece of old space junk that it’s been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station. But there’s another piece of debris in the space station’s neighborhood. Mission Control decided late Friday that the outpost would not need to dodge a 10-year-old rocket chunk. The Delta rocket was launched in 1999 with NASA’s comet-chasing spacecraft, Stardust. Experts concluded the junk would come no closer than five-and-a-half miles Saturday. On Friday, NASA spotted an old science payload from a previous shuttle mission in the vicinity of the 220-mile-high space station. It’s expected to come within nine miles on Monday.
Pennsylvania: Firework woes
Part of a fireworks display in suburban Pittsburgh misfired into a group of onlookers and exploded, slightly injuring nine people. The mishap occurred in Etna on Friday night as the town held its annual holiday celebration. The Etna fire chief said a group of 150 to 200 people were standing about 400 feet away from where the pyrotechnics were being launched. He said it appears that several launching tubes tipped over after being lit, firing rounds into the crowd.
New York: Christmas tree fire
Police said a fire has broken out among Christmas trees for sale outside a Walmart on New York’s Long Island during a busy holiday shopping weekend. Nassau County police said the blaze was reported around 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Westbury store. There are no immediate reports of injuries. A Wal-Mart spokesman it is unclear how many people were in the store at the time or how much damage was caused. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Saudi Arabia: Flood deaths
A Saudi official said the death toll from the unusually heavy rains that hit western Saudi Arabia has reached 106. The official said rescue teams were looking for possible survivors from the downpours that caused heavy flooding in the coastal city of Jiddah, the main entry point for the millions of Muslims performing the annual hajj pilgrimage. The deaths have been blamed on flooding and collapsed homes and bridges.
Sweden: Moose gets blame
Swedish police said they’ve cleared a man who was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife after deciding the culprit was most likely a moose. A police spokesman said “the improbable has become probable” in the puzzling death last year of 63-year old Agneta Westlund. She was found dead after an evening stroll in the forest. The tabloid Expressen says hairs and saliva from a moose — aka a European elk — were found on the victim’s clothes. Police would not immediately confirm that.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
