
Mississippi judge pauses the state's ban on DEI programs in schools and universities

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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
NTSB: Heavy plane, drag from antlers contributed to crash that killed ex-Rep Mary Peltola's husband
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A small plane that crashed in 2023 while carrying moose meat for hunters in remote western Alaska, killing the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was overweight for takeoff and encountered drag from a set of antlers mounted outside, federal investigators said in a report released Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its final report on the crash that killed Eugene Peltola Jr., who was the only person on board the aircraft, listed several factors among its probable cause findings. They included decisions by Peltola to fly the plane above its maximum takeoff weight and affix a set of moose antlers on the right wing strut that caused a drag, along with turbulent flight conditions in the area. Downdrafts, 'along with the overweight airplane and the added drag and lateral weight imbalance caused by the antlers on the right wing, would likely have resulted in the airplane having insufficient power and/or control authority to maneuver above terrain,' the report states. FILE - Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr. holds the Bible during a ceremonial swearing-in for his wife, Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) The Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub crashed Sept. 12, 2023, northeast of the small western Alaska community of St. Mary's. Peltola had days earlier taken five hunters, a guide and equipment from the community of Holy Cross to an airstrip at St. Mary's. The group set up camp next to the runway, which was near hilly terrain and about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Holy Cross, the agency said. The day before the crash, the group got a moose and made plans with Peltola, via satellite messaging devices, for him to transport the meat, the NTSB said. On the day of the crash, Peltola had already picked up a load of meat and had returned for another. He did not use scales to weigh the cargo, the agency said. Two hunters were at the site when the crash occurred and provided aid to Peltola, the agency previously reported. Peltola died of his injuries within about two hours, the agency said. 'Given the remote location of the accident site, which was about 400 miles from a hospital, and accessible only by air, providing the pilot with prompt medical treatment following the accident was not possible,' Tuesday's report states. The agency said carrying antlers on the outside of a plane is a common practice in Alaska but requires formal approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, with a notation in the plane's logbooks. 'There was no evidence that such approval had been granted for the accident airplane,' the report states. Peltola was a former Alaska regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and worked for decades for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He had received his commercial pilot's license in 2004, requiring him to use corrective lenses at all distances, according to an FAA database. His death came almost exactly a year after Mary Peltola was sworn in as Alaska's lone U.S. House member, following a special election for the seat. Mary Peltola, who is Yup'ik, was the first Alaska Native in Congress. She won a full, two-year term in November 2022 but lost her reelection bid last November. She has kept a relatively low public profile since then.


Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
Mississippi judge pauses the state's ban on DEI programs in schools and universities
FILE - An American flag flies at half-staff outside the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in downtown Jackson, Miss., on May 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) RVS flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :


Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Losing an old friend': Retired fighter pilot selling replica of P-40 Warhawk
INDUS – Wayne Foster spent much of his life chasing the horizon as a fighter pilot, but he could be facing his toughest battle yet: parting with the warbird he built by hand. At 88, Foster is selling one of his planes: a smaller-scale replica of a P-40 Warhawk with the Royal Air Force's 1940 Desert colours of the 112 Squadron. The asking price is $45,000. 'It's like losing an old friend,' he said, sitting in front of the plane stored inside a Quonset hut in Indus, Alta., a hamlet southeast of Calgary. Foster, who joined the Canadian Forces in 1956, served in the navy, spent three years in France and worked at an electronic warfare unit in Montreal for another four years. It was in the navy that he earned his nickname, Butch. 'I got the name Butch from Butcher, from dogfighting, I guess,' Foster said in an interview. 'We had a couple of guys in the squadron whose name was Wayne. I got Butch and my wingman got Chopper.' During his time, he said, they did a lot of dogfighting in Europe. Dogfighting is a series of tactical manoeuvres used in close-range aerial combat. 'I learned how to dogfight fairly well … by trial and error,' he said. 'Thankfully, I could do a lot of errors when no one was shooting at me.' He also had a tour in Puerto Rico. He was transferred to the United States Air Force for three years, where he trained pilots on the art of dogfighting. 'That was a wonderful tour. I flew the T-38 Talon — it goes like hell,' he chuckled. He remembers briefly sharing the sky with Chuck Yeager, an American flying ace and record-setting test pilot who, in October 1947, became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound. Foster said he tried to 'bounce' Yeager, an unexpected attack to initiate a dogfight. 'He was coming up from Spain in a 104 and I couldn't catch him,' Foster laughed. 'He was much faster than I was, but I got the opportunity to talk to him later on in Germany.' In selling his replica, Foster admits he never got to fly a real P-40 Warhawk. 'But I've flown the P-51s and it's very similar in some ways. It doesn't have a big honking engine on it, but fortunately, this one here doesn't have a big honking engine on it either,' he said. Mechanic Pieter Terblanche has been working on the Warhawk. 'It's in very good shape for the time it's been sitting,' he said. 'Everyone that buys a plane has their own idea on what needs to be done to the plane. It can be done pretty fast.' Foster's daughter Tracy said the plan was to have it placed in a museum, but there have been several people who expressed interest in buying it. Offers have been outlandish, she added. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'We've had a couple of crazy offers, like $500 and a case of beer, and I went nope. And then it was $5,000 and a case of beer,' she said. One person offered $200, she said, but it turned out he thought it was a model he could fly using a remote control. Her father has never spoken much about his time as a fighter pilot, she said. 'Now that he's getting a little older, he's opening up a little bit more as to what he experienced.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.