WASHINGTON — Anti-missile systems will be installed this spring on three passenger planes flying in and out of New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to test how they function on busy commercial routes.
The devices, which cost between $500,000 to $1 million each, protect planes from shoulder-fired missiles by sending out light beams to redirect a missile’s path.
The new tests, on three planes owned by American Airlines, will look at whether the devices increase fuel use and how they withstand the wear and tear of daily use, said Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.
Prescription drug spending up
Spending on prescription drugs rose briskly in 2006 as the Medicare drug benefit kicked in and the government’s share of expenditures for medicines surged, according to a federal study to be released today. Prescription drug purchases in the U.S. rose to $216.7 billion, up 8.5 percent from 2005. Overall, health-care spending rose 6.7 percent in 2006 to reach $2.1 trillion, or $7,026 per person.
Violent crime down, FBI says
Crime dipped slightly for the first half of 2007, the FBI reported Monday, signaling a stop to a two-year increase in violence nationwide. Violent crime — including murders, rapes and robberies — dropped by 1.8 percent between January and June last year, the FBI’s preliminary data show. Property crimes also decreased, including a 7.4 percent drop in car thefts and arsons by nearly 10 percent. Smaller cities and rural areas, however, saw a 1.1 percent increase in violence.
Georgia: Hiker found dead
Authorities found the body of a missing hiker Meredith Emerson, 24, on Monday, hours after a judge denied bond to Gary Michael Hilton, 61, who is accused of kidnapping her in the mountains of northern Georgia. Three bloody fleece tops and a bloodstained piece of a car’s seat belt were found in a trash bin beside a convenience store where Hilton had used a pay phone, the warrant stated. Hilton, who also tried to use the woman’s credit card, had tried to vacuum and wash portions of his 2001 Chevrolet Astro van, which was found without the rear seat belt, according to the document.
Colorado: Snowmobilers found
Six snowmobilers missing in the mountains for 2½ days while a howling blizzard swirled around them were rescued Monday — hungry and cold but unhurt — after taking shelter in a cozy cabin and calling 911 on a cell phone when the storm eased up. The group, consisting of two couples and two teenagers, broke into the cabin, where they huddled around a gas grill and dined on popcorn and chicken bouillon they found inside.
Penn.: Sex charges for teacher
A high school gym teacher accused of sending nude photos of herself to a 14-year-old freshman at her school, Moon Area High School in suburban Pittsburgh, has admitted to having sex with the boy, police said Monday. The boy told police he fell in love with the married teacher, Beth Ann Chester, 26, during a three-month relationship, according to court papers. He denied having physical contact with Chester, except for a hug the last day of school before winter break, police said.
Alabama: Church arson arrests
Two men who authorities said dabbled in satanism have been arrested in connection with a arson and vandalism last week at four rural churches. Satanic graffiti was scrawled at or near some of the east Alabama churches, including “Teach children to worship Satan!!” which was painted on a Sunday school classroom wall. Geoffrey Parquette and James Clark, both 21 and of the Smiths community in Lee County, were arrested Sunday and pleaded not guilty Monday.
Texas: Man allegedly cooked body
A man who told a 911 operator he killed his girlfriend and cooked parts of her body later described his actions as being compelled by God, police said Monday. Christopher Lee McCuin, 25, was arrested Saturday after police said they found an ear boiling in a pot on a stovetop and a hunk of flesh impaled on a fork on a plate at the kitchen table at his mother’s house in Tyler. Authorities said it is unclear whether McCuin consumed any part of the woman’s body.
Afghanistan: Marine investigation
The Marine Corps launched a rare tribunal Monday to publicly investigate disputed allegations that a special forces unit killed as many as 19 Afghan civilians after the military convoy was rammed by a car bomb March 4. The court of inquiry in the U.S. will focus on the actions of Maj. Fred C. Galvin and platoon leader Capt. Vincent J. Noble. Witnesses said the Marines fired indiscriminately at pedestrians and people in cars, buses and taxis along a 10-mile stretch of the road.
From Herald news services
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