TheState.com: Nation

St. Lawrence Seaway, engineering marvel, turns 50

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:57 EDT

Working 90 feet above the ground, pouring buckets of concrete that would harden into a 195-foot-high dam the length of 11 football fields, a teenage Frank Wicks knew even then he wasn't on just another job.

"We had a real sense of excitement. At the time it was going on, it was the world's biggest construction project. We knew we were part of history," said Wicks, who worked on construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway after graduating from Massena High School in 1957.

"I remember growing up, people were always talking about it. Now, it's kind of been forgotten," said Wicks, now 70 and a mechanical engineering professor at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.

Hailed as one of North America's top engineering marvels and one of the most important public works of the 20th century, the $470 million project - of which Canada funded $336 million and the U.S. about $134 million - linked the Great Lakes interior industrial hubs to the Atlantic Ocean.

It was branded by some as obsolete before it was even finished and today is an obscure footnote in history for many Americans. Yet for a half century it was the defining issue in American-Canadian relations and even now is regarded as one of the country's most durable deeds of diplomacy.

Petraeus: Tough fight still ahead in Afghanistan

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:04 EDT

The head of U.S. Central Command in Afghanistan warned that months of fighting lie ahead in what will likely be the biggest military operation there since the American-led invasion of 2001.

Gen. David Petraeus said the effort will center on 10 percent of districts where about 70 percent of Afghanistan's violence occurs.

Petraeus was in San Francisco as part of a national speaking tour - he gave a talk in Seattle on Wednesday night. He was greeted warmly at the Marines' Memorial Club by a mostly male, pro-military crowd that included many veterans.

During his hourlong speech, which included a PowerPoint presentation, Petraeus warned of a tough fight as Marines have recently gone deeper into Taliban areas of southern Afghanistan to "reverse the cycle of violence" there.

He described it as, "the longest campaign."

Journalists held in North Korea ask for pardon

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:17 EDT

The sister of an American journalist sentenced with a co-worker to 12 years in a North Korean labor camp said that they're seeking a pardon as their only hope for freedom.

Lisa Ling told The Associated Press on Thursday that her sister, Laura, made the plea during a 20-minute telephone call Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a scholar who visited the North said in an interview published Friday that North Korea has delayed sending the two convicted journalists to a prison labor camp, in a possible attempt to seek talks with Washington on their release.

"I heard from North Korean officials that the American journalists were doing fine at a guest house in Pyongyang," University of Georgia political scientist Han Park told South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. Park, originally from South Korea, arrived Thursday in Seoul following a trip to Pyongyang.

Lisa Ling said her sister called to say that she and fellow journalist Euna Lee had broken the law in North Korea when they were captured in March on the China-North Korean border.

Pa. to investigate pool discrimination allegations

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:37 EDT

State officials will investigate accusations of racial discrimination against a suburban Philadelphia swim club that allegedly reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return and pulling other kids out of the water.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will immediately open an investigation into the actions of The Valley Club in the leafy suburb of Huntingdon Valley, chairman Stephen A. Glassman said. The club maintains that accusations of racial discrimination are false.

"The rule of law in Pennsylvania is equal opportunity for all, regardless of race," Glassman said Thursday in a written statement released by his office.

"Allegedly, this group was denied the use of a pool based on their race," Glassman said. "If the allegations prove to be true, this is illegal discrimination in Pennsylvania."

The Creative Steps camp in northeast Philadelphia had contracted for the 65 children at the day camp to go each Monday afternoon to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, camp director Alethea Wright said Thursday. But shortly after they arrived June 29, she said, some black and Hispanic children reported hearing racial comments.

Bay area child psychiatrist takes stand

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:19 EDT

A prominent San Francisco Bay area child psychiatrist accused of molesting several patients says he does not remember any of the alleged victims.

Dr. William Ayres, who took the stand in his defense Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court, said treatment for prostate cancer has damaged his memory.

Authorities say between 1988 and 1996 the 77-year-old Ayres molested several boys under the age of 14, at least one of them during a physical exam. Ayres has pleaded not guilty.

He said Wednesday he routinely performed physical exams on boys but never forced them to participate. He told jurors physical exams can bring patients out of their shells.

Ayres' attorney has said the patients misinterpreted or misremembered his clients' actions.

A snapshot of retail sales in June

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:40 EDT

Retail sales were weak in June for the 11th consecutive month, raising worries about how consumers will approach the back-to-school shopping season.

Here's an analysis of Thursday's same-store sales reports:

THE RESULTS: The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs same-store sales tally for June fell 5.1 percent below the tally for June 2008, worse than the latest forecast for a 4.5 percent decline. The results exclude Wal-Mart Stores Inc. which stopped reporting monthly same-store sales data after it released April figures. Same-store sales, sales at stores open at least a year, are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.

WINNERS AND LOSERS: The bright spots were discount clothing chains like TJX Cos. and Ross Stores Inc., which reported gains. The weakest merchants were mall-based apparel stores, particularly teen stalwarts like Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Even low-priced retailers like Costco Wholesale Corp., scraped by as business was compared with year-ago results that were boosted by consumers spending their federal stimulus checks.

WHAT DEPRESSED SALES: Wet weather in a broad swath of the country was a big factor dampening sales of summer goods. But escalating worries about jobs are clearly discouraging shoppers. The latest federal report, which showed wages shrinking and higher job losses than expected in June, is increasing concern over consumers' ability to spend in coming months.

Stimulus funds for tribal water projects

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:26 EDT

American Indian and Alaskan communities are set to receive $90 million in stimulus funds for water and wastewater projects. Here's a sampling of where the money is going:

Alaska - $3,918,750 for the native Village of Buckland for a lift station, sewer and forcemain, serving 105 homes.

Arizona - $1.14 million to the San Carlos Apache Tribe for regional water system improvements, serving 1,055 homes.

California - $6,371,470 to the Tule River Tribe for a wastewater treatment plant, serving 268 homes.

Kansas - $55,000 to Kickapoo Tribe to rehabilitate tanks, serving 200 homes.

Journalists held in North Korea ask for pardon

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:20 EDT

The sister of an American journalist sentenced with a co-worker to 12 years in a North Korean labor camp said Thursday that they're seeking a pardon as their only hope for freedom.

Lisa Ling told The Associated Press that her sister, Laura, made the plea during a 20-minute telephone call Tuesday.

Lisa Ling said her sister called to say that she and fellow journalist Euna Lee had broken the law in North Korea when they were captured in March on the China-North Korean border.

Woman vanishes at skyscraper near ground zero

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:17 EDT

A Manhattan skyscraper in one of the most security-conscious parts of the city has become the scene of an unlikely missing persons mystery.

Police are trying to figure out what happened to a cleaning woman who vanished midway through her shift Tuesday evening at an office tower a few hundred feet from the World Trade Center reconstruction site.

Eridania Rodriguez, 46, punched in for work at 2 Rector Street around 5 p.m. She donned her blue uniform, chatted with other after-hours employees and was last seen on security cameras around 7 p.m., according to police and her family.

Then, she disappeared.

The building's cameras never recorded her leaving the skyscraper. She didn't meet up with co-workers for her regular subway ride home to Manhattan's Washington Heights section. Her purse and street clothes remained in her locker. Her cleaning cart was found abandoned on the eighth floor, a space recently vacated by the city's transportation department.

LAPD: Michael Jackson's drug history to be probed

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:02 EDT

Detectives investigating the death of Michael Jackson are looking at his prescription drug history and trying to talk with his numerous former doctors, the Los Angeles police chief said.

Chief William Bratton told CNN that police are waiting for the coroner's report before ruling out any possibilities in their "comprehensive" investigation into the sudden death of the 50-year-old pop star two weeks ago.

The coroner's report will determine the cause of death and hinges on time-consuming toxicology tests.

"Based on those we'll have an idea of what we're dealing with," Bratton said on Thursday. "Are we dealing with homicide? Are we dealing with an accidental overdose? What are we dealing with?"

Bratton said detectives are gathering evidence, including items seized from Jackson's rented home and arranging interviews with his many physicians, but the police chief deferred to the coroner to determine the cause of death.

Frenemy, locavore among new words in Webster's

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:32 EDT

Do you use a sock puppet to secretly keep track of your frenemies?

Plan to spend your staycation watching vlogs and webisodes? Or perhaps you plan to signal a flash mob for a quick bite of shawarma.

If you're not entirely certain what all that means, turn to the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, which has added about 100 new words that largely reflect changing trends in American society.

John Morse, president and publisher of the Springfield-based dictionary publisher, said many of this year's new words are tied to changes in technology, increasing environmental awareness and aging baby boomers' concerns about their health and have become part of the general lexicon.

"These are not new words in the language, by any means," Morse said. "(But) when words like 'neuroprotective' and 'cardioprotective' show up in the Collegiate, it's because we've made the judgment that these are not just words used by specialists. ... These really are words now likely to show up in The New York Times, in The Wall Street Journal."

Border Patrol worker arrested after hatchet attack

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:18 EDT

A U.S. Border Patrol worker has been arrested in Escondido following a hatchet attack that left a couple seriously injured in their home.

Escondido police Lt. Neal Griffin says 33-year-old Gamalier Rivera was arrested Thursday after officers found him near a pay phone with blood on his clothes.

Police say an assailant wielding a hatchet broke into the home of the couple, injuring the leg of a 21-year-old woman and striking her boyfriend in the neck and torso. He is in critical condition.

The motive for the attack was not known, and police could not immediately say what Rivera was booked for.

Border Patrol spokesman Richard Smith confirmed Rivera works for the agency but would not specify his role.

NY Senate gets to work after resolving roadblock

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:07 EDT

New York's Senate stalemate ended Thursday as it started 31 days ago, with a freshman Democrat convulsing the 62-seat house by switching sides and getting a powerful leadership post in the majority.

But it took less than 30 minutes on the Senate floor for partisan fights to emerge, with Republicans initially threatening two-hour debates on each of more than 100 noncontroversial bills.

Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada's return to the Democratic conference gives Democrats a 32-30 majority for the first time since the June 8 coup. As part of the deal, Espada took the title of Senate majority leader.

Espada's move came after Democratic Gov. David Paterson's decision to appoint a lieutenant governor to preside over the Senate, giving his party the upper hand in a chamber that's been divided 31-31.

"It was never about power, but about empowerment," Espada said at a news conference.

US demand for handguns driving world gun trade

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:19 EDT

American demand for handguns has fueled a 28 percent jump this decade in world exports of pistols, rifles, shotguns and other small arms, a global report said Thursday.

The 2009 Small Arms Survey reported that the Untied States alone was responsible for about half of the worldwide increase in legal international gun sales between 2000 and 2006. The U.S. now accounts for over half of the world's imports of pistols and revolvers and 45 percent of shotguns, it said.

"No other country imports more than 4 percent of the global total," the 344-page report found.

It illustrated how U.S. purchases of hand guns - which averaged $173 million annually - have driven a sharp rise in exports from a number of countries.

Austria remained the world's largest seller of pistols and revolvers with a 25 percent jump since 2000. Seventy-five percent of its exports go to the United States. Croatian exports soared almost 24 times in value since the start of the decade. The U.S. accounted for 98 percent of its 2006 sales of $27 million.

Marion Barry says his arrest "caused great pain"

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:21 EDT

Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry says he should never have been arrested on charges he was stalking his ex-girlfriend.

Barry said Thursday that he did nothing to deserve Saturday's arrest, and it "caused great pain" to his family and the community.

The 73-year-old D.C. Council member's former girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, has denied accusing him of stalking.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against Barry. Meanwhile, Watts-Brighthaupt has denied reports that Barry gave her a $60,000 city contract because she was struggling financially. She says she received $15,000 for writing a proposal for an education program.

The D.C. attorney general said Thursday that the situation merits an investigation.

Wal-Mart in final settlement of $17.5M bias suit

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:21 EDT

A federal judge has given final approval to a $17.5 million settlement of a discrimination lawsuit that accused Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of not hiring black truck drivers.

U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson Jr. on Wednesday signed an order in Little Rock approving the settlement in the class-action case, a ruling that will also have the world's largest retailer take steps to hire more black drivers.

Attorney Morgan "Chip" Welch said Thursday that members in the class applied to drive for Wal-Mart between 2001 and 2008 and were turned away in disproportional numbers. Of the approximately 4,500 plaintiffs, those that applied earliest stand to receive the greatest settlement payments.

The settlement includes job placements for 23 of the black drivers who sued. The company will also have to notify other members of the class of future openings and establish hiring goals so that the company hires in proportion to the ethnic makeup of its applicants.

Wal-Mart also agreed to put greater effort into minority recruitment and target some of its jobs advertising to reach African-Americans.

A closer look at Palin finances as she steps down

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:01 EDT

Since Sarah Palin abruptly resigned as governor, she has repeatedly cited the bombardment of ethics complaints against her while conceding the financial burden of defending herself had taken its toll.

Palin says her family has racked up more than $500,000 in legal fees and the state has poured about $2 million of taxpayer money into investigating the complaints. Just last month, her handlers made a plea for supporters around the nation to donate money to her legal defense fund.

But just how much of a financial burden has been inflicted on the Palins and Alaska?

The governor's family is financially comfortable, but far from rich. She and her husband earned more than $200,000 last year, nowhere near enough to support a family of six and pay a mounting legal tab.

But the Palins have other assets and financial prospects: Their home is valued at $500,000 to $1 million, she has a book deal that could easily be in the millions, and Palin can make millions more with speaking tours and media opportunities.

At 84, Greeley man gets high school diploma

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:54 EDT

There's at least one guy with a new high school diploma who's not worrying about getting into college or finding a job.

After all, Takeshi Murata is 84.

He left University High School in Greeley, Colo., in 1944 when he was drafted to fight in World War II. The son of Japanese immigrants, Murata was trained as an interpreter in case of an invasion.

Murata says he barely spoke Japanese but was sent to Tokyo after the war ended. He married in Japan and returned to northeast Colorado in 1947, where he farmed and raised five children.

The high school finally granted Murata's diploma Wednesday after a teacher heard his story and found his old report cards.

Coach, teammates remember slain ex-NFL QB McNair

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:16 EDT

Steve McNair's pastor and close friend cautioned against judging the ex-NFL quarterback Thursday, reminding people who gathered for his memorial not to cast the first stone when talking about his life off the field.

McNair, who was married, was shot to death at his condo early Saturday by his 20-year-old girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself.

"Drop your stone the next time you write about Steve McNair. Drop your stone the next time you text somebody. Drop your stone the next time you twitter. Drop your stone, those of you in the barbershops, the beauty shops. Those of you walking the streets on the corner, drop your stone," Bishop Joseph W. Walker III told thousands of people, among them family members, fans and more than 50 former teammates, gathered at Mount Zion Baptist Church.

"What I do know about this man was that he loved God though he was just like us: imperfect," Walked said. "But he knew God."

Among those in the audience was McNair's wife, Mechelle, who later left wearing sunglasses. Walker called her an amazing woman.

Nationwide roundup nets more than 35,000 fugitives

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:26 EDT

Police searching for fugitive sex offenders, violent criminals and gang members made more than 35,000 arrests nationwide during an annual monthlong crackdown - the most in the roundup's 5-year history and nearly double the number from last year - authorities announced Thursday.

The U.S. Marshals Service said the latest "Operation Falcon" captured 433 murder suspects and 900 gang members. Many of the fugitives were arrested on weapons and narcotics charges. The roundup also netted nearly 5,800 violent criminals along the U.S.-Mexico border, an area that has seen a spike in violence in recent months.

"Conducted during the month of June, it (Operation Falcon) has set the record for the largest number of violent criminals to be captured during a 30-day period," U.S. Marshals Director John Clark said at a news conference in Chicago.

Officials said a major reason for the increase in arrests since the program's inception in 2005 - there were 19,000 arrests last year - is that more law enforcement agencies are participating.

William Sorukas Jr., chief of domestic investigation for the Marshals Service, said 600 additional departments were involved this year, bringing the total to 2,224 local, state and federal agencies.

Furloughs to close Calif. offices starting Friday

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:26 EDT

Starting Friday, most state government offices will begin closing three days a month to save California some money.

The shutdowns are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order to furlough state employees, effectively reducing their pay about 14 percent. The closures are intended to aid the state as it wrestles with a steep decline in tax revenue.

But the move will take a toll on convenience.

Those who want to buy state licenses, get help with payroll taxes or ask for assistance filing disability claims will have to come back another day.

Among the closures Friday will be 169 Department of Motor Vehicle offices.

Terror suspect could serve less than a year more

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:11 EDT

A man who spent 5 1/2 years in solitary confinement before pleading guilty to conspiring to help al-Qaida will spend almost another year in federal custody and then be deported to Canada.

Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 35, was sentenced Thursday to seven years and eight months in prison. U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim gave him credit for time served and for good behavior, so he will likely be released and deported in about 10 months.

Authorities say Warsame, a Canadian citizen, traveled to Afghanistan to attend al-Qaida training camps and dined with Osama bin Laden. They also say he went to the Taliban's front line.

Warsame's attorneys, who argued that he should be sentenced to time served, depicted him as a bumbling idealist whom other fighters in the camps in Afghanistan viewed as ineffective and awkward.

Prosecutors seeking a sentence of 12 1/2 years painted Warsame as a jihadist who called his time in one training camp "one of the greatest experiences" of his life. They say even after the Sept. 11 attacks, he passed along information to al-Qaida operatives about border entries and whereabouts of jihadists - and only stopped when he was arrested in December 2003.

Is this cyber war? Possible U.S responses limited

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:32 EDT

A lot of people are saying this is cyber war. But if the Internet attack on U.S. Web sites was an assault by North Korea or some other foreign government, what good responses are in America's arsenal?

"The short answer is probably 'Not a heck of a lot,'" says James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Defense and cyber analysts said Thursday that chances are high that very little eventually will be done to whoever orchestrated several days of attacks against Web sites including the White House and Pentagon as well as sites in South Korea. That's largely because the investigation is unlikely to figure out who did it.

But even if it's determined that another nation was behind the attacks, the possible responses are hardly warlike: trade sanctions, diplomatic protests or a complaint before the United Nations.

"You could eject an attache, recall your ambassador and throw out their ambassador," Lewis said. That's not possible with North Korea, he noted of a main suspect in the attacks, since Pyongyang doesn't have an embassy in the U.S.

Calif. high court: Breath test accuracy can vary

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:21 EDT

The California Supreme Court has joined a handful of other courts in the country that have said Breathalyzer results mean different things for different people and ruled that suspected drunken drivers can attack the test results in court.

Defense attorneys lauded Thursday's unanimous ruling for deferring to science, which has shown for years that the test results are highly variable. Prosecutors, however, predicted the move will undermine California drunken driving cases.

At issue is how authorities use booze breath to determine how much alcohol is in the bloodstream.

When consumed, alcohol is absorbed in the blood and carried through the brain to the liver and heart before diffusing in the lungs, where it is exhaled in breath.

Authorities now use a nationally accepted scientific formula known as "Henry's law" to convert the amount of alcohol vapor in the lungs to a blood-alcohol level.

Canadian's song about United Airlines a hit

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:01 EDT

A Canadian musician has become an Internet sensation after posting a song on YouTube about United Airlines breaking his guitar.

Dave Carroll's video for the song "United Breaks Guitars" was posted on site earlier this week and has received more than 600,000 hits by Thursday evening.

"I was thinking I'd definitely get some action on (YouTube) because the song has been resonating so well with audiences as I've been performing it, but I didn't know it would take off like this," Carroll said.

Carroll, a guitarist for the pop-rock group Sons of Maxwell, has since been fielding calls for appearances around the world, including a call from the Oprah Winfrey show Thursday.

The song recounts Carroll's yearlong struggle to get compensation for what he calls "a vicious act of malice" at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago last year.

Boston airport tests radar to avoid bird strikes

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:40 EDT

Logan International Airport is testing a specialized radar system the Air Force uses to protect its fighters and NASA uses to guard its $2 billion shuttles, as it considers stepping up its efforts at preventing collisions between birds and airplanes.

With a wildlife mitigation lineup that already includes five full-time employees, Logan has long had an aggressive bird-strike prevention program. It is an attractive landing spot, jutting into Boston Harbor and sitting along coastal migratory routes.

Yet when U.S. Airways Flight 1549 splash-landed in New York's Hudson River after striking a flock of geese, Logan's operators looked to see if there was more they could do.

Now they are evaluating the Merlin Avian Radar System, manufactured by DeTect Inc. of Panama City, Fla.

Merlin allows real-time tracking of birds as small as a starling and as far away as nearly five miles. A spinning blade of a horizontal radar provides an airport overview, while a vertical radar scans a specific runway. Birds appear as red dots, with tails indicating their flight path.

Okla. executes man convicted of killing 2 campers

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:52 EDT

A man convicted of killing two campers during a 1995 robbery of their southern Oklahoma campsite was put to death Thursday.

Michael P. DeLozier, 32, was executed by lethal injection for the shooting deaths of Orville Lewis Bullard, 60, and Paul Steven Morgan, 54. A doctor declared DeLozier dead at 6:10 p.m. CDT.

According to court documents, DeLozier and two others ambushed Morgan and Bullard at their campsite along the Glover River, firing shots from a .22-caliber rifle and a shotgun, then stealing a pickup truck, a generator and other camping equipment. Prosecutors say DeLozier also set fire to the camp, burning the victims' bodies beyond recognition.

DeLozier was the third inmate put to death in Oklahoma this year. No other executions are currently scheduled in the state.

DeLozier declined to give any last words immediately before his execution. However, his attorneys released a statement earlier in the day in which DeLozier admitted killing the two men and apologized to the victims' families.

Dole sues "Bananas!" filmmaker, alleges defamation

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:24 EDT

Dole Foods has filed a defamation lawsuit against a Swedish filmmaker for insisting on showing his documentary "Bananas!" at the Los Angeles Film Festival after learning it was based on a fraud.

Wednesday's lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction barring Fredrik Gertten from showing the film in public again. It accuses him of "actual malice" for ignoring a court ruling that the case on which the film was based had been part of a massive extortion plot against Dole by attorney Juan J. Dominguez, the star of the film.

"Bananas!" documents the alleged plight of Nicaraguan workers who say they were made sterile by a pesticide used at Dole banana plantations in the 1970s. The documentary was completed before the fraud was uncovered showing that the men were recruited by Dominguez to lie.

DOT says more flights were on time in May

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:11 EDT

U.S. airlines have cut many flights and they are getting better at staying on schedule with their remaining flights, as more trips arrived on time in May than a year earlier.

The Transportation Department also said Thursday that fewer flights were canceled and passengers reported fewer cases of mishandled baggage.

Airlines have been cutting flights since last year, first in response to rising fuel prices, then to cope with a slump in travel due to the recession. In June, capacity - mostly measured in the number of flights - was down about 6 percent from last June at the largest U.S. airlines.

That's made it easier for airlines to stay on schedule, which the Transportation Department defines as arriving within 15 minutes of the ending time listed in the airline's own computerized reservations system.

Overall, 80.5 percent of May flights arrived on time, compared with 79 percent in May 2008 and 79.1 percent in April of this year, according to the Transportation Department.

84 sick cadets isolated at Air Force Academy

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:30 EDT

The Air Force Academy says 84 cadets with flu-like symptoms have been isolated are being tested for swine flu.

Academy spokeswoman Capt. Corinna Jones told The Gazette in Colorado Springs Thursday that most of the cadets are "doolies", members of the incoming freshman class who began training June 25. She said the cadets under isolation in a dormitory began coughing and showing other upper respiratory symptoms over the past two days.

The academy has contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Air Force Surgeon General's office.

Jones says tests have been sent to a laboratory in San Antonio for analysis, and results are expected within 24 hours.