Command

Device to scare birds causes Guard base lockdown

By HOLBROOK MOHRAssociated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - After a report of gunfire, Air National Guard officials locked down a Mississippi base on Wednesday, but the noise thought to be shots turned out to be a device used to scare birds away from an airport runway, authorities said. The lockdown of

911 audio released from fugitive ex-LA cop manhunt

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities on Tuesday released audio of a February 911 call from a California couple bound in their condo by fugitive ex-police officer Christopher Dorner, who fled in their SUV and would die during a shootout with deputies just hours later. "We were tied up by Dorner

Federal budget cuts ground Air Force aircraft

By BROCK VERGAKISAssociated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A third of the U.S. Air Force's active-duty force of combat planes including fighters and bombers will be grounded due to federal budget cuts, and only the units preparing to deploy to major operations, such as the war in Afghanistan, will

Seasoned combat leader takes over Africa Command

By ROBERT BURNSAP National Security Writer STUTTGART, Germany (AP) - One of the American military's most seasoned combat leaders took charge Friday of U.S. Africa Command, whose No. 1 mission is to work with allies to neutralize the continent's widening web of Islamic extremist groups,