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Training camp preview: After step back, Giants ready to leap forward

The Giants of 2011 leaned on their "Finish" mantra all the way to another Super Bowl victory, but in 2012 the "Build A Bridge'' theme devised by coach Tom Coughlin crumbled, as New York went 3-5 in the second half to miss the playoffs. The …
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Award-winning journalist Michael Hastings dies in car accident at 33

Award-winning journalist and war correspondent Michael Hastings died early Tuesday in a car accident in Los Angeles, his employer and family said.

Hastings, who was 33, was described by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered. Most recently, he wrote about politics for the news website BuzzFeed, where the top editor said colleagues were devastated by the loss.

“Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians,” said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed’s editor-in-chief.

Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.

Authorities said there was a car crash early Tuesday in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that killed a man, but coroner’s officials could not confirm whether Hastings was the victim.

Hastings won a 2010 George Polk Award for magazine reporting for his Rolling Stone cover story “The Runaway General.”

His story was credited with ending Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s career after it revealed the military’s candid criticisms of the Obama administration.

Hastings quoted McChrystal and his aides mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, over their war policies.

At a Pentagon ceremony for his subsequent retirement in 2010, McChrystal made light of the episode in his farewell address. The four-star general warned his comrades in arms, “I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter.”

When he died, Hastings was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where Managing Editor Will Dana was quoted Tuesday saying Hastings exuded “a certain kind of electricity” that exists in great reporters whose stories burn to be told.

“I’m sad that I’ll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won’t be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours,” Dana said.

Hastings was also an author of books about the wars. “The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan” was published late last year and details shocking exploits of the military overseas.

In 2010, with the publication of “I Lost My Love in Baghdad,” Hastings told the story of being a young war correspondent whose girlfriend dies in Iraq.

United 787 heading to Tokyo diverted to Seattle

An indication of an oil filter problem prompted the crew of a Boeing 787 flying from Denver to Tokyo to divert to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, a United Airlines spokeswoman said.

Flight 139 landed normally and an airline maintenance team was inspecting it, United spokeswoman Mary Ryan said in an email statement.

The plane touched down in Seattle shortly after 4 p.m., a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

United just put its 787s back in the air May 20 after smoldering batteries on two 787s owned by other airlines prompted authorities to ground the planes in January.

In her statement, the United spokeswoman said the crew decided to land in Seattle because of “an indication of a problem with an oil filter.”

The airline was providing customers with motel rooms and planned to fly them to Tokyo on Wednesday, Ryan said.

The plane carried about 200 passengers.

Asked whether the latest 787 issue raised any concerns with United after the recent battery issue, the spokeswoman said she did not immediately have any additional information.

When it returned the 787s to service last month, Chicago-based United said it planned to use the jets on shorter domestic flights before resuming international flying June 10 with Denver-to-Tokyo service as well as temporary Houston-to-London flights. It’s adding flights to Tokyo, Shanghai, and Lagos, Nigeria, in August.

Those long international flights are the main reason the 787 exists. Its medium size and fuel efficiency are a good fit for long routes.

At the Paris Air Show on Tuesday, Boeing Co. won major orders from five customers, including United, for a stretched-out version of the 787.

Boeing announced the formal launch of its 787-10 program at the air show and said it already has commitments for 102 jets from the five customers. The new 787-10 lists at $290 million, making the deal worth nearly $30 billion at full price, although customers often negotiate deep discounts.

United remains the only U.S.-based airline to fly the 787, which is steadily winning customers after being beset with problems concerning lithium-ion batteries on two Japanese carriers. The plane, like its newest rival the Airbus A350, uses lightweight materials and new engine technology to cut down on fuel consumption at a time of rapidly increasing jet fuel prices.

The two battery incidents in January included an emergency landing of one plane, and a fire on another. Federal authorities lifted the grounding order on April 19.

The incidents never caused any serious injuries. But the grounding embarrassed Boeing and disrupted schedules at the affected airlines.

The 787 uses more electricity than any other jet. And it makes more use of lithium-ion batteries than other jets to provide power for things like flight controls and a backup generator when its engines are shut down. Each 787 has two of the batteries.

Boeing never did figure out the root cause of the battery incidents. Instead, it redesigned the battery and its charger. The idea was to eliminate all of the possible causes, 787 chief engineer Mike Sinnett has said.

4 US troops killed in Afghanistan

Defense officials say four U.S. troops were killed Tuesday at or near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Officials say the four were killed by indirect fire, likely a mortar or rocket, but they had no other details.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details on the deaths.

The attack comes as U.S. and allied forces formally handed over control of the country’s security to the Afghan army and police in a ceremony in Kabul. The transition to Afghan-led security means U.S. and other foreign combat troops will not be directly carrying the fight to the insurgency, but will advise and back up the Afghan forces as needed with air support and medical evacuations.

4 US troops killed in Afghanistan

Defense officials say four U.S. troops were killed Tuesday at or near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Officials say the four were killed by indirect fire, likely a mortar or rocket, but they had no other details.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details on the deaths.

The attack comes as U.S. and allied forces formally handed over control of the country’s security to the Afghan army and police in a ceremony in Kabul. The transition to Afghan-led security means U.S. and other foreign combat troops will not be directly carrying the fight to the insurgency, but will advise and back up the Afghan forces as needed with air support and medical evacuations.

Va. cabbie pursues charges after anti-Muslim rant

For the second time in as many months, a Muslim civil rights group is pursuing criminal charges on behalf of a taxicab driver who was subjected to an anti-Islamic rant caught on tape.

In the most recent case, an Ashburn, Va., woman unleashed a string of expletives and called 911 to report she was afraid for her life because she said her cabbie, Abdikar Aden of Alexandria, was “very Muslim.”

Aden says the woman also poked him repeatedly in the back.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, which is representing Aden, wrote to the Fairfax County commonwealth’s attorney on Tuesday asking him to prosecute the case as a hate crime.

The woman, identified in a police report as Jennifer Crabbe, did not return calls seeking comment.

Author, teacher of endangered Lakota language dies

The endangered Lakota language has lost one of its greatest supporters.

Albert White Hat, who was instrumental in teaching and preserving the American Indian language and translated the Hollywood film “Dances with Wolves” into Lakota for its actors, died last week surrounded by loved ones at a South Dakota hospital. The 74-year-old had been battling prostate cancer and other health issues, according to family and friends.

White Hat, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, authored several books on writing and reading Lakota, a language fluently spoken by fewer than 6,000 people. The average age of those speakers is 60, and less than 14 percent of the Lakota population in South Dakota and North Dakota — where the vast majority of Lakota speakers live — speak their native tongue.

The first native Lakota speaker to publish a Lakota textbook and glossary, White Hat was considered an activist for traditional ways of living, according to his daughter, Emily White Hat. He even created an orthography for the language, which he had taught since 1975, and was head of the Lakota Studies Department at Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

She said her father believed in sharing the Lakota way of life with both tribal members and non-Native Americans.

He believed “there was always an opportunity to educate,” Emily White Hat said. “Even though some questions may be off the wall, he believed it was better to take the opportunity than to be misled about who we are.”

One of those opportunities came with White Hat provided the translation for the Lakota dialogue in the 1990 film “Dances with Wolves.”

Wilhelm Meya, executive director of the Lakota Language Consortium, a nonprofit seeking to revitalize the Lakota language, called White Hat a “warrior” for the language. Meya said he hopes White Hat’s legacy lives on, and that more young people will decide to study the language and work to retain its importance.

“Anytime someone who cares so deeply about the language passes, it’s a blow to the language and the revitalization efforts,” Meya said.

“We are, after all, losing speakers every year,” he added. “Over 100 Lakota speakers pass on (each year). Those speakers are not being replaced by young speakers. Until we can reverse that trend, the language will continue to be very much in danger.”

White Hat was born on the outskirts of St. Francis, S.D., on the Rosebud reservation. He spoke only Lakota until his teens, when he started learning English in school. His grandfather, Chief Hollow Horn Bear, was a leading chief in many of the Plains Indians Wars against settlers in the 1800s, and was also involved in treaty negotiations with the U.S.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Cyril Scott called White Hat a great teacher, spiritual leader and friend. He noted that White Hat was known all over the powwow circuit and was awarded numerous awards in honor of his dedication to preserving the Lakota language and culture.

“He did so much research and knowledge of the Lakota language itself that those of who are young, who are learning to teach the Lakota language, he encouraged all of us,” added Tina Martinez, co-chair of the Lakota Studies Department at Sinte Gleska University. “And yet his loss is all our loss. We don’t have that source to go to anymore.”

White Hat is survived by his wife, seven children and many grandchildren.

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Follow Kristi Eaton on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kristieaton.

Former Players Join Fight Against the NCAA

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With federal student loan interest rates poised to double, are you worried? A …

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McCorkindale awarded 2013-14 social media research grant

BOONE—Tina McCorkindale, assistant professor of communication at Appalachian State University, has been awarded a grant from the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Pennsylvania State University for 2013-14. The $6,000 … See all stories on this topic »

Appalachian State University