Nation
Washington — Legislators on Capitol Hill vowed Friday to resist a recommendation from the Pentagon to close unneeded military bases around the country as a way to save money, saying communities could not afford it and defense budget cuts could be made elsewhere.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said proposing domestic base closures is "dangerous." Many legislators said they wouldn't support closing any U.S. bases unless the military looks first at Europe, where the Army plans to draw down two combat brigades by 2015. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Detroit, said earlier this week that he wouldn't support closing domestic bases before U.S. bases in Europe were shuttered.
The Pentagon announced Friday its decision to take two heavy armor brigades out of Europe in 2013 and 2014.
Cargo ship takes out Ky. bridge
Louisville, Ky. — The voyage of a cargo boat that carries space rocket components to Florida's coast for NASA and the Air Force has stalled in a western Kentucky river after it slammed into an aging traffic bridge.
The bow of the Delta Mariner was covered in twisted steel and chunks of asphalt from the two-lane bridge. The boat hit the bridge Thursday night on the Tennessee River on its way to Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear promised speedy work to begin replacing the structure at U.S. 68 and Kentucky Hwy. 80. The five-story-high Delta Mariner was too tall to pass through the portion of the bridge that it struck, and the resulting collision left a 300-foot wide gap.
In other headlines
' Barefoot Bandit' sentenced to 61/2 years: A federal judge on Friday sentenced "Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore to 61/2 years in prison for his infamous two-year international crime spree of break-ins and boat and plane thefts that ended in 2010.
Conn. home invasion killer is sentenced to death: Joshua Komisarjevsky was sentenced to death Friday for the home invasion attack that left Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters dead in their Cheshire, Conn., home in the summer of 2007.
Cruise operator offers restitution
Rome — Italian consumer rights groups were divided over a decision on Friday by the owners of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia to pay about $14,550 in damages to each of the passengers on board the cruise ship when it ran aground on Jan. 13.
But many passengers are refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured.
And lawyers are backing them up, telling passengers it's far too soon to know how people's lives and livelihoods might be affected by the experience.
The deal does not cover passengers who died or suffered physical injuries. Around 3,200 passengers and some 1,030 crew members were aboard the ship on the night of the accident on Jan. 13. To date, 16 people are confirmed dead and around 20 missing.
In other headlines
Egyptian protesters press for end to military rule: Tens of thousands of protesters flooded Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday demanding a swift transfer of power from the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces to a civilian government .
From Detroit News wire services
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