TV tower collapse kills worker; 5 hurt
FORDLAND, Mo. — A maintenance worker died Thursday when a Missouri television station tower collapsed and he became trapped under a tangle of metal and wires, officials said.
Rob Talburt, assistant fire chief for the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District, said the 1,980-foot tower near Ford-land collapsed. Missouri State University owns the tower and uses it to broadcast KOZK Ozarks Public Television and KSMU Ozarks Public Radio.
University spokesman Andrea Mostyn said the workers were contractors from Washington state.
Talburt said six men were about 105 feet off the ground when the tower tumbled. Five workers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. A seventh man working in a nearby structure was not injured.
Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole said the workers were replacing crossbeams on the tower.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation.
Gunfire at eatery fatal to two deputies
TRENTON, Fla. — Someone fired through the window of a north Florida restaurant Thursday afternoon, killing two deputies who were getting food, officials said.
Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz identified the slain deputies during a news conference as Sgt. Noel Ramirez, 30, and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, 25.
The deputies were getting food at the Ace China restaurant in Trenton when the shooter walked up to the building and fired at them through a window, Schultz said. Fellow deputies responding to the scene found the shooter dead outside the business.
Schultz wouldn’t say how the suspect died, adding that state law enforcement officials were investigating. There’s no apparent motive for the shooting.
The shooter’s name wasn’t immediately released.
Trenton is in northern Florida, about 35 miles west of Gainesville.
Senate confirms NASA administrator
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., as NASA administrator, despite deep concerns from Democrats that he lacks the scientific and management expertise to lead the space agency.
The vote was 50-49 to confirm Bridenstine, a Navy Reserve pilot, as NASA’s 13th administrator.
President Donald Trump had initially tapped Bridenstine for the post last year, but his nomination stalled amid Democratic criticisms, as well as some reticence from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who said Thursday that NASA should be led by a professional with a background in space.
But Rubio ultimately sided with all other Republicans to confirm Bridenstine as the NASA chief in spite of his hesitations, arguing that Trump deserves to have his team in place across the administration. The space agency has gone without a permanent leader for 15 months, since Charles Bolden resigned as Trump took office.
Bridenstine is a former naval aviator who ran the Tulsa Air and Space Museum before going to Congress in 2013, serving three terms.
Democrats against Bridenstine dislike his outspoken divisiveness, his past rejection of mainstream climate change science and his lack of space experience. But Republicans praised him as a war hero.
Trump to ease policy on sale of drones
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Thursday to make it easier for U.S. defense contractors to sell armed drones and other conventional weapons to foreign governments.
In policy changes aimed at boosting American firms’ ability to compete in the global arms market, the administration said it is removing restrictions that barred U.S. manufacturers from directly marketing and selling drones, including those that are armed or can be used to guide missile strikes, abroad. Previously, foreign countries had to go through the U.S. government to buy such drones. They will now be able to deal directly with the companies, although the government will retain oversight.
Despite Thursday’s changes, the government must still approve the sales by overcoming a presumption of denial contingent on human rights and proliferation considerations. Sales will also remain subject to congressional review.
A Section on 04/20/2018