QUOTE OF THE DAY “This is where they committed the crime. We’ll get justice here. I’ll be dead before there’s a trial down there.” Retired Deputy New York Fire Chief Jim Riches, whose firefighter son died during 9/11, on the Sulaiman Abu Ghaith trial in New York, which he plans to attend Article, 1APolice arrest 372 in D.C. Keystone protest
WASHINGTON - Police on Sunday arrested hundreds of people who strapped themselves to the White House fence to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
The protesters were mostly college students who participated in a peaceful march that began at Georgetown University and ended outside the White House. They chanted “climate justice now” and carried signs with messages such as “Don’t tarnish the Earth” in their efforts to persuade President Barack Obama to reject the pipeline. Critics say the pipeline will contribute to climate change.
Protesters were passionate but orderly. Police were waiting for them with buses and vans to speed the process. The protesters cheered as U.S. Park Police warned them that blocking the sidewalk or strapping themselves to the fence would lead to their arrests. In all, 372 people were arrested, police said.
Plane in Navy accident called total loss
FALLON, Nev. - A fighter jet that crashed during a training exercise in western Nevada is a total loss and the pilot’s condition is unknown, a spokesman for the Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said Sunday.
It took rescue crews several hours to reach the site after the 3 p.m. Saturday crash because of a snowstorm and mountainous, remote terrain, Lt. Reagan Lauritzen said.
The F/A-18C, a U.S. Marine jet on loan to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, crashed on a Navy range training complex about 70 miles east of Naval Air Station Fallon, she said. The Navy reported incorrectly Saturday that the jet was one of its Hornets.
The name of the pilot will be withheld for 24 hours, Lauritzen said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation.
There were no reports of any other injuries or damage as a result of the crash, and the jet was not carrying any weapons or munitions on the training flight, the Navy said.
Disney to cut funds to Boy Scout troops
LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co. said it will cut funding to the Boy Scouts of America beginning in 2015 because of a policy that bans gay adult leaders in the organization.
The Boy Scouts organization is “disappointed” by the decision, which will affect its ability to serve children, spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement Sunday. Disney does not provide direct funding to the Boy Scouts, but it donates money to some troops in exchange for volunteer hours completed by Disney employees, Smith said.
“We believe every child deserves the opportunity to be a part of the Scouting experience and we are disappointed in this decision because it will impact our ability to serve kids,” he said.
David Jefferson, chief spokesman for Disney, did not respond to calls or emails.
Disney’s decision came to light after the president of a Boy Scout council based in Orlando, Fla., near Disney World, sent a memorandum alerting local troops to the decision.
The memorandum was posted on the website of Scouts for Equality, an organization that is critical of the Boy Scouts’ policy that bars gay adults from being troop leaders.
The Boy Scouts lifted a ban on gay youths last year.
California leader: Unsure about legal ‘pot’
SAN FRANCISCO - California Gov. Jerry Brown said he is not sure legalizing marijuana is a good idea in his state because of concerns the country will lose its competitive edge if too many people are using the drug.
If marijuana gains more legitimacy in the nation’s most-populous state, Brown, said he worries it could have negative ripple effects.
“The problem with anything, a certain amount is OK. But there is a tendency to go to extremes,” he said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press program. “And all of a sudden, if there’s advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?”
Californians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 1996.
Brown said he is watching closely to see how Colorado and Washington handle their new laws that go a step further by regulating the growth and sale of taxed recreational marijuana at state-licensed stores. Colorado’s marijuana shops opened Jan. 1.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 03/03/2014