CNN, MSNBC and Fox News were so busy with wall-to-wall coverage of a Paris to Cairo EgyptAir jetliner that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday that news editors, including those on major newspapers coast-to-coast, overlooked another crash on the same day involving a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, observed Grumpy Editor.
Fortunately, all seven crew members on a training mission made it out safely when their vintage B-52 crashed on Guam shortly after takeoff, sending a large ball of orange flame and black smoke skyward.
The bomber, half a football field in length, was deployed to Guam from Minot, N.D., as part of the military's continuous bomber presence in the Pacific. Crew members were with the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron.
It was one of a few dozen remaining B-52s in service out of 744 built by Boeing. The first one flew in April, 1952 --- during the Korean War --- designed to be capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of weapons with a combat range of about 8,800 miles without aerial refueling.
Last B-52 was built in 1962.
But lately, as with other U.S. military aircraft --- detailed recently, by the way, in a Fox News report that also mentioned chopped military budgets --- parts have been difficult to find, so ground crews have been forced to cannibalize other aircraft to keep remaining models flying.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
Forget earthquakes: Southern California may not have enough energy to make it through the summer because of a shortage of natural gas, the Los Angeles Times reported…Good PR to attract staffers: Practichem, a Raleigh, N.C., startup scientific instruments maker, sought to attract top talent by giving prospective employees a leased new Tesla Model 3…Where your tax money goes: Not widely reported, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted $746,827 to the University of Kentucky in a program called “Smart Shopping” that is directed at “improving the shopping practices of adolescents with the ultimate goal of increasing fruit and vegetable intake”…A New York magazine article labeled Fox News as "a right-wing network" --- with no mention on which way other TV channels lean and if they are "fair and balanced"...Ninety percent of a random national sample of 504 Native Americans in a Washington Post poll said the Washington Redskins name doesn't bother them…Global warming? In northern Maine, 3.4 inches of snow were recorded last week, setting a record for the most snow in mid-May. Northern Vermont also got a dusting of the white stuff…Look for more stock market gyrations when the Federal Reserve, in connection with its June 14-15 meeting, mentions an interest rate boost is likely. If no hike occurs, there’s always the July meeting...When you gotta go: A TV reporter for a Phoenix station couldn’t wait and defecated on private property in Goodyear, Ariz. He was arrested and no longer works for the TV station...Chew on this: National Hamburger Day is May 28.
Headlines in the “gee, no kidding department”---
From Bloomberg: New York’s Chances for a Hot Summer Soar Through August
From the New York Times: Hillary Clinton Says Donald Trump Is Not Qualified to Be President
Comments