Reagan replacing Washington in Japan

Ronald Reagan will replace George Washington in Japan -- or specifically the naval namesakes of the 40th and first presidents.

The U.S. Navy announced Tuesday that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will be replacing the USS George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo. When the move takes place -- the specific timelines are yet to be announced -- the Washington will head to Virginia for overhaul and refueling, and the Reagan will leave its current home port in San Diego.

"The security environment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward. This posture allows the most rapid response times possible for maritime and joint forces, and brings our most capable ships with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner," the Navy said in a news release announcing the move.
The Reagan has a history in Japan, having participated in relief efforts after the March 2011 tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant. In December 2012, a group of eight sailors from the Reagan sued the Tokyo Electric Power Company, alleging that exposure to radiation that escaped from the plant sickened them.

In 2008, the Washington became the first American nuclear-powered carrier to be based in Japan when it replaced the USS Kitty Hawk. The Reagan is also nuclear-powered.

1 Missing in Navy Copter Crash That Killed 2

The search continued Thursday for a sailor who has been missing since a Navy helicopter with five crew members aboard crashed in the ocean off the Virginia coast.

Two people died in the Wednesday crash, which happened during a routine training mission, and two others were hospitalized.

The Coast Guard searched for the missing sailor by air and sea throughout the night and had crews on scene Thursday morning, said Petty Officer 1st Class Brandyn Hill. The Navy also was scheduled to send out two helicopters to assist with the search, Hill said.

The two who died were among four crew members hoisted from the 42-degree waters Wednesday by a Navy helicopter and taken to a hospital, the Navy said in a statement. The two surviving sailors were being treated at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. One is listed in serious condition, the other has been upgraded to fair, the Navy said in a news release.

"Today has definitely been a tough day on all of us," Capt. Todd Flannery, the commander of Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic, said at a Wednesday news conference. "Our heartfelt prayers go out to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured in today's crash."

The Navy identified the aircraft as an MH-53E Sea Dragon assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen based at Naval Station Norfolk. In July 2012, two crew members were killed when the same model helicopter crashed into a canyon in the Gulf nation of Oman while lifting a downed aircraft.

According to the Naval Air Systems Command website, the three-engine helicopter searches for sea mines and does onboard delivery missions. The 99-foot craft holds a crew of up to eight, including two pilots and is capable of speeds of more than 170 mph.

It was not immediately known why the chopper, which weighs up to 34 tons, went down about 20 miles from Virginia Beach, and the Navy said the crash is under investigation.

The Navy said Virginia Beach Fire Department boats located the aircraft fuselage and tail section. Coast Guard and Navy ships also responded, including the guided missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham. Navy aircraft also were involved in the search.

The Navy said the identity of the dead crewmen would be released 24 hours after their families were notified.

Those aboard the chopper were wearing survival suits designed to keep water away from the body.

An adult could survive probably one to three hours in 40- to 50-degree water and would become exhausted or unconscious between 30 and 60 minutes, according to the Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association website. Survival also varies based on body size, body fat percentage and movement in the water.

According to a Navy investigation obtained by The Virginian-Pilot in November, the July 2012 crash of the $50 million helicopter revealed a series of problems within the Navy Sea Dragon program, which is headquartered in Norfolk. In that specific crash, the report blamed the crew for skipping preflight safety checks and for failing to develop a concrete plan for how and when to abort the mission.

But Flannery told the newspaper following the investigation that the Navy has invested millions of dollars to upgrade and better maintain its remaining 29 Sea Dragon airframes since the crash, including adding more than 100 maintenance personnel to the Norfolk-based squadrons.

The Navy had planned to phase them out beginning in the mid-2000s, but kept the Sea Dragons flying because the service had no viable replacement.

At the news conference Wednesday, Flannery said he doesn't have any concerns about the safety of the aircraft.

10 travel wishes for 2014

(CNN) -- Are you preparing to squeeze into your nonrefundable middle seat with no extra legroom and no lunch included for your next flight?

As another busy travel year comes to a close, I wish for a better way to travel in 2014, even if the odds are about as good as winning the lottery. And while you think about your travel wishes for the new year, please turn off your cell phone.

Please don't talk on your cell phone. Whatevergovernment agencies decide about the safety and technical feasibility of cell phone conversations in flight, we hope the airlines will keep cell phone chatter out of the friendly skies. Can you imagine the bosses who will demand conference-call communication during flight? Or your spouse asking you to stop by the grocery store on the way home from the airport? Let it wait until you land.

The return of the empty middle seat. I often book aisle and window seats when I travel with another person, hoping that middle seat will go unclaimed. It rarely happens anymore. When the inevitable third traveler joins us, I move into the middle seat to sit next to my traveling companion (usually my child). There is a silver lining to existing conditions: The middle seat holder is often delighted to get my prime aisle seat.

Aircraft seats made for real people's rears. Is it too much to ask that we have seats that fit our bodies? It's not just that our backsides have gotten bigger (and they have). When the U.S. government measured the width of the American backside in the seated position in 1962, officials used the male hip as a seat measuring stick (that women's hips were a tad wider didn't seem to matter). But even that male hip measurement doesn't work because the widest part of your body is your shoulders and arms.

The result is that airline seats were about five inches too narrow for passengers in the 1960s. That's why your rear is squeezed into the seat and your shoulders get sideswiped by drink carts. Want enough room for your knees? That's a whole other story.

Top 10 U.S. spots to visit in 2014

Universal cords and chargers. I dream about standard chargers for the electrical gadgets that run my life. I don't mind bringing my universal adaptor along for my international trips but I'd sure like the same outlet and cord for my phone, computer, tablet and other gadgets. Even Apple, which sells itself on simplicity and modern design, has made things harder by having different cords for different gadgets. I end up carrying all these cords in Ziploc bags in my carry-on luggage and tangling them up in headsets, looking like the disorganized mom that I am.

Worldwide cellular service. I don't mind paying a bit more when I go abroad, but the American cell phone dance of confusion seems unnecessary when I'm jumping on a four-hour flight to Costa Rica for a week. Skype? Adding international calls to my existing plan for the month? On a recent trip I lived in fear of what charges might show up if I didn't read the fine print on page 43 of my existing e-contract. I'd like a clear way to make international calls without needing a business consultation or therapy session.

Mellow car rental insurance. It's the first day of my vacation or work trip, and I love my rental car company encouraging me to think about a possibly terrible traffic accident and whether my existing car insurance and credit cards cover me. Every car I've ever rented offers a barrage of insurance policies for which they charge a hefty daily fee in case of disaster, and they play up the threat of disaster.

Even a Consumer Reports expert told me it's confusing because car rental contracts can vary by state. At his recommendation, I spent about 45 minutes one night calling my car insurance and credit card companies and sorting through my policies to learn that I'm covered enough for me to sleep at night.

Send us your best winter travel pictures

Decent public transportation to the airport. Ever taken public transportation to the airport? Jumping on a train to the airport is a given in many foreign cities and a handful of American ones. In the cities where it works (think San Francisco or London), it's so civilized to get to the airport without fighting big city traffic. Creating rail links takes money, budgeting and long-range planning by politicians and transportation experts who aren't likely to be alive when the fruits of their labor are realized. But a girl can dream, right?

End the punishing fees. Before a highly anticipated trip to New York a couple of months ago, I caught that virus that stopped me in my tracks. I stayed home, for my sake and for yours. But my airline didn't care. They charged me $200 for the privilege of not infecting an entire aircraft, just about the cost of the ticket. And the flight was sold out, so I'm betting they resold my seat for a nice profit. And how about giving me the right to resell the ticket I purchased?

Faster flights. For many people living on the East Coast of the United States, it's a quicker nonstop flight to Costa Rica or Iceland than to California because of the vast size of the United States. Let's wish for faster transcontinental travel so we can all enjoy the benefits of traveling within this enormous country. And while we're at it, I'd love safe and quick travel to the moon. But I'll start with wishing for a quicker flight to California.

A change in attitude. I understand being grumpy trapped in a flying metal tube surrounded by strangers who steal the armrests, chat your ears off and burp throughout a flight. It's grumpiness that inspired this story. I hope you feel validated about your opinions about the sorry state of travel. But I'd also like celebrate what is still wondrous and amazing about travel: Isn't it amazing that humans can fly?

Since I started talking to aviation experts and airline employees over a year ago for CNN's "24 hours at the world's busiest airport" project, I've been impressed by the human effort that goes into getting my flight off the ground. Crews below and above are loading and unloading, cleaning the plane and stocking up snacks. Pilots are checking the weather and inspecting the aircraft after an overnight crew has ensured the runway is clear of debris and the light bulbs are working. An inspector has tested the arrivals runway for rubber left by landing aircraft, which gets scraped off every couple of weeks.

Special report: 24/7 at the world's busiest airport

I know it's physics but it's also magic. Despite the hassles and too-tight seats and packed flights. Here's to the magic continuing in 2014.

Four hurt as gunfire hits US military plane sent to evacuate Americans from South Sudan

Four U.S. military personnel were injured early Saturday when a plane being sent to help evacuate Americans from strife-torn South Sudan was struck by gunfire.
The Osprey CV-22 was damaged while approaching the city of Bor. The mission was aborted and the aircraft diverted to Entebbe, Uganda, a military official told NBC News. The injured servicemen were later taken to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, where they were in stable condition Saturday. None of their wounds was considered life-threatening.
The shooting came two days after three U.N. peacekeepers were killed in South Sudan. The Indian soldiers are among 500 people killed and 800 wounded in South Sudan since Sunday night, when gunbattles erupted between army factions loyal to the country's president and his former vice president, who are members of different tribes. The conflict has deepened divisions in the two-year-old nation.
South Sudan's military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, told The Associated Press that government troops were not in control of Bor, so the attack on the U.S. aircraft has to be blamed on renegade soldiers.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, said this week that an attempted coup triggered the violence now pulsing through the country. He blamed the former vice president, Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.
Some analysts fear the violence may descend into the kind of ethnic bloodbath not seen since Rwanda in the 1990s.
Roughly 34,000 people have sought refuge in U.N. camps, and the U.S. and other countries are evacuating non-essential embassy staff and citizens.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama said in a letter to Congress that 45 military personnel had been dispatched to South Sudan on Wednesday to protect U.S. citizens and property.
In a statement released Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the international community was "laser-focused on the deeply alarming violence in South Sudan."
Kerry added: "Now is the time for South Sudan's leaders to rein in armed groups under their control, immediately cease attacks on civilians, and end the chain of retributive violence between different ethnic and political groups. The violence must stop, the dialogue must intensify."

Government Airstrikes Kill at Least 32 in Syria

Syrian aircraft pummeled opposition areas in the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, killing at least 32 people and extending the government's furious aerial bombardment of the rebel-held half of the divided city to an eighth consecutive day.

Since it began on Dec. 15, the government's unusually heavy air campaign in Aleppo has killed more than 200 people, smashed residential buildings and overwhelmed the city's hospitals with casualties. The timing of the assault — a month ahead of planned peace talks in Switzerland — suggests that Syrian President Bashar Assad could be trying to strengthen his position and expose the opposition's weaknesses before sitting down at the negotiating table.

Sunday's air raids targeted several Aleppo neighborhoods, but the worse hit was Masaken Hanano, where bombs fell on a second-hand market, a two-story building and a main road, activists said.

The Aleppo Media Center activist group said at least 32 people were killed, and published a list of the names of the dead on its Facebook page. Another group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said in a later statement that at least 47 people, including seven rebels, were killed and dozens wounded.

"The medics say they are removing people in parts; they aren't sure how many there are," said Hassoun Abu Faisal, an activist with the Aleppo Media Center. He said the bombs destroyed vehicles lining a main road, destroyed a two-story building and left a crater where part of the market was.

Activists said the airstrikes were carried out by government helicopters that dropped so-called barrel bombs, crude devices filled with explosives and fuel that are wildly inaccurate but cause massive damage on impact.

Human rights groups warn that even if Syrian forces are targeting rebels with the bombs, they often explode in residential areas, killing civilians.

In an amateur video posted online, a man held up to the camera a severed foot from the air raids, while crowds scrambled among rubble, hoarsely shouting "God is Great!" as they came across corpses. Flames and dust from the smashed building and cars darkened the sky. One man rhythmically smashed a hammer against a jammed door of a vehicle containing charred bodies.

The videos appeared genuine and corresponded with other Associated Press reporting of the events depicted.

The air raids have exacted a devastating toll since they began. Over the first four days alone, the airstrikes killed at least 189 people and wounded 879, according to the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

Communities in the surrounding countryside have also been hit.

In the town of Marea north of Aleppo, a barrel bomb that exploded Sunday near a school used by Syrian fleeing fighting in other areas killed three members of the same family, according to Abu Faisal and the Observatory.

Schools decided to close Monday in opposition-held parts of Aleppo to avoid more casualties, citing the attacks in Marea, the Aleppo Media Center reported.

Syrian officials have not commented on the air raids in Aleppo, the country's largest city, and a major front in the war since the rebels launched an offensive there in mid-2012. The city has been carved into opposition- and government-held areas.

Syria's civil war, now into its third year, has killed more than 120,000 people, according to activists. Millions have fled their homes because of the fighting.

In central Syria, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a primary school in the predominantly Shiite town of Umm al-Amed in Homs province, killing at least 20 people, seven of them children, the Observatory said.

Syria's state news agency also put the death toll at 20, but said six children had died.

The bombing highlighted the sectarian overtones of the Syrian civil war, which is now in its third year.

Syria's rebels are mainly Sunni, with hard-line brigades emerging as the most powerful fighting groups. Shiites and other Syrian minority groups have either stayed neutral or sided with Assad, fearing for their future should the rebels prevail. Groups on both sides have targeted civilians.

Also Sunday, Syrian military aircraft bombed Bab al-Hawa, a border crossing to Turkey, said a private Turkish news agency, Dogan, and the Aleppo Media Center and the Local Coordinating Committees, two activist networks.

The news agency said the bombs hit the Syrian side of the crossing, killing or wounding several people, and that several ambulances from the Turkish town of Reyhanli were heading to the border gate to carry the wounded to hospitals. It was not immediately clear why the area was targeted.

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Aviation Administration Join Forces Against Aircraft Laser Strikes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

SAN JUAN—The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) San Juan Field Office and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are combining efforts with federal and local law enforcement authorities in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to raise awareness of laser strikes against aircraft in the islands.
The FBI conducts criminal investigations of aircraft laser strike incidents. Shining a laser at an aircraft or its flight path is a felony offense under Title 18, United States Code, Section 39A. If found guilty, offenders face a fine of up to $250,000 and five years’ imprisonment.
“Shining a laser at an aircraft is a senseless act which places the lives of aircrews and passengers who travel to and from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands at risk,” said Carlos Cases, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office. “Our office is committed to investigating these reports and working with federal law enforcement partners to identify and bring offenders to justice.”
The Federal Aviation Administration enforces stiff civil penalties of $11,000 per violation against persons who point lasers at aircraft. Since the FAA announced this initiative, the agency has opened 129 enforcement cases against persons who aimed laser devices at aircraft.
From January 1 to September 6, 2013, a total of 2,711 laser incidents were reported to the FAA nationwide, 95 in Puerto Rico. In 2012, a total of 3,482 strikes were reported nationwide, 75 in Puerto Rico.
Since the FAA created the reporting system in 2005, laser strike reports have sharply increased from 300 in 2005 to 1,527 in 2009; 2,836 in 2010; and 3,591 in 2011.
The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Puerto Rico Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies in the region assist the FBI with monitoring and reporting these incidents to identify, apprehend, and turn over criminals to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Lasers are inexpensive to obtain, and their ranges may extend more than two miles. Pilots affected by laser strikes regularly report temporary effects including after-image, flash blindness, and temporary loss of night vision. If a flight crew member is lased, his or her ability to safely fly the aircraft is seriously compromised, endangering passengers and the public.
If you witness an individual aiming a laser at an aircraft, send an e-mail to laserreports@faa.gov. Additional information about the FAA’s laser initiative is available at: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/
For more information, contact:

• Moises Quiñones Robles, FBI San Juan Field Office public information officer, Moises.quinones-robles@ic.fbi.gov or 787-759-1550
• Arlene Salac, FAA Public Affairs, Arlene.Salac@faa.gov or 718-553-3015
• Lymarie Llovet, U.S. Attorney District of Puerto Rico public information officer, lymarie.v.llovet@usdoj.gov or 787-340-1835
• Ricardo Castrodad, U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan public information officer, ricardo.d.castrodad@uscg.mil or 787-729-2381

Two-Count Indictment Charges Texas Man with Attempting to Open Aircraft Door While in Flight

MEMPHIS, TN—Randolph B. Robinson, 63, of Austin, Texas, was indicted today on two counts related to his actions on board an AirTran flight between Baltimore, Maryland and Austin, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III.
Robinson is charged with knowingly and willfully attempting to damage, destroy, disable, and wreck an aircraft, specifically, AirTran Airways Flight 265, by attempting to open exits while the aircraft was in flight.
Robinson is also charged with knowingly interfering with the duties of the flight crew by attempting to open the rear exit doors of the aircraft while in flight. The indictment alleges that his actions caused the flight attendants to be forced to physically remove him from the doors and that the flight crew was forced to divert the aircraft to Memphis.
If convicted, Robinson faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to five years for each count. This case was investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Godwin is representing the government.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.