Navy

(Newser) - The Navy and environmental groups both declared victory today after the two sides settled a lawsuit over sonar and its effect on whales and other marine mammals, the Los Angeles Times reports. The settlement, reached Friday, calls for Navy ships to avoid sensitive areas and reduce or halt sonar when marine mammals are nearby. More »

(Newser) - Japanese protesters greeted a nuclear-powered American warship at its new home port near Tokyo today, Reuters reports. The USS George Washington drew criticism after reports last month than a US submarine had leaked radioactive material at Japanese ports for 2 years —underscoring the tense relationship between Japanese citizens and the American military, especially on nuclear technology. More »

(AP) - The US Navy has warned Japan that a small amount of radiation may have leaked from an American nuclear submarine during its recent visits to two southern ports. The US said the amount of radioactivity was negligible, but the news could cause a stir in Japan, where both the US military presence and its nuclear vessels are controversial. More »

(Newser) - The Navy has canned the captain and executive officer of the USS George Washington after investigations indicated that the destructive fire that broke out onboard this pring may have resulted from breaches in protocol. Flammable liquids were found in unsuitable storage areas, and crewmembers were allowed to smoke nearby. About $70 million in damage was done to the nuclear aircraft carrier. More »

(Newser) - A US B-52 bomber with six crew members crashed near the island of Guam today, AP reports. A dozen planes and ships have been deployed by the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to search for survivors. Rescuers have found at least two people, but their condition was not immediately available. The search area of floating debris and oil covers 70 square miles. More »

(AP) - Mexico's navy seized a homemade submarine carrying a drug shipment off the Pacific coast yesterday and arrested its four-man crew. The 30-foot makeshift vessel was detected heading north about 200 miles off the southern state of Oaxaca, and intercepted when it surfaced. The crew offered no resistance, and say drug lords forced them to make the journey.   More »

(Newser) - The president has the right to order the detention of enemy combatants, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday—but detainees can challenge that status. The Virginia-based court was hearing the case of an al-Qaeda suspect who's been in a Navy brig for 5 years without trial, Reuters reports, making him the only foreign national currently detained on US soil as an enemy combatant. More »

(Newser) - Worried about the appeal John McCain has for military veterans among its members, the AFL-CIO is launching an advertising campaign criticizing the Republican's economic policies, the Chicago Tribune reports. The union will spend $53.4 million on the campaign, running mainly in places like Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia— battleground states hit hard by the economic downturn. More »

(Newser) - The 2004 election cracked the once-close personal relationship between John McCain and John Kerry, the Washington Post notes, and differences over the Iraq war has left the bond between the former Navy men fractured. "The same intensity of their feelings as veterans which brought them together has pushed them apart on two big policy areas," one insider says of Iraq and national security. "They took away very different lessons." More »