Lost Lake Tribune June 6th DDAY 65th Anniversary Edition

AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447 WAS A TOTAL DISASTER. Air France has told families of passengers on Flight 447 that the jetliner broke apart and they must abandon hope that anyone survived, a grief counselor said Thursday June 4th as military aircraft tried to narrow their search for the remains of the plane. Air France's CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told families in a private meeting that the plane broke apart either in the air or when it slammed into the ocean and there were no survivors, according to Guillaume Denoix de Saint-Marc. The plane, carrying 228 people, disappeared after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris on Sunday night. Investigators were relying heavily on the plane's automated messages to help reconstruct what happened to the jet as it flew through towering thunderstorms. They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation. The pilot of a Spanish airliner flying near where the Airbus is believed to have gone down reported seeing a bright flash of white light that quickly plunged to the ocean, said Angel del Rio, spokesman for the Spanish airline Air Comet. "Suddenly, off in the distance, we observed a strong and bright flash of white light that took a downward and vertical trajectory and vanished in six seconds," the pilot wrote in a report for the airline and Spanish civil aviation authorities. The Spanish plane was flying from Lima, Peru to Madrid. The pilot said he heard no emergency calls from the plane. French newspaper Le Monde quoted sources close to the investigation as saying the jet was flying too slowly ahead of the crash. According to the report, manufacturer Airbus was set to issue recommended speeds for flying the A330 aircraft during poor weather conditions. Neither Airbus nor the French air accident investigation agency would comment on the report of recommendations, known as an Aircraft Information Telex. "What is clear is that there was no landing. There's no chance the escape slides came out," said Denoix de Saint-Marc, who heads a victims' association for UTA flight 772, shot down in 1989 by Libyan terrorists. No survivors makes Flight 447 Air France's deadliest plane crash and the world's worst commercial air accident since 2001. Military rescue planes were trying to narrow the search zone Thursday as ships headed to the site to recover wreckage. The "extreme cloudiness" in the search zone has also prevented U.S. satellites scanning the area to provide any useful leads. Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said debris discovered so far was spread over a wide area, with 140 miles separating pieces of wreckage they have spotted. The overall zone is roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast, where the ocean floor drops as low as 22,950 feet below sea level. The floating debris includes a 23-foot chunk of plane, but pilots have spotted no signs of survivors, Brazilian Air Force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said. Brazilian military planes located new debris from Air France Flight 447 Wednesday, after spotting an airline seat and oil slick a day earlier. But Prazuck said Thursday that French planes had made six missions over the area and have yet to spot any wreckage. "As of today French planes have not found any debris that could have come from the Air France Airbus that disappeared. There have been radar detections made by the AWACS (radar plane) ... and each time these signals have not corresponded to debris," Prazuck said. He said, however, French teams have been searching in different places and at different times from the Brazilian search teams. Three more French overflights were planned for Thursday, Prazuck said. A U.S. Navy P-3C Orion surveillance plane has also joined Brazil's Air Force in trying to spot debris. Heavy weather delayed until next week the arrival of deep-water submersibles considered key to finding the black box voice and data recorders that will help answer the question of what happened to the airliner. The "Pourquoi Pas," a French sea research vessel carrying manned and unmanned submarines, is heading from the Azores and will be in the search zone by June 12, Prazuck said. The equipment includes the Nautile, a mini-sub used to explore the undersea wreckage of the Titanic, according to French marine institute Ifremer. "The clock is ticking on finding debris before they spread out and before they sink or disappear," Prazuck said. "That's the priority now, the next step will be to look for the black boxes." The lead French investigator has questioned whether the recorders would ever be found in such a deep and rugged part of the ocean. The plane's last automated messages detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the crash. The pilot sent a manual signal at 11 p.m. local time Sunday saying he was flying through an area of black, electrically charged cumulonimbus clouds that come with violent winds and lightning. Ten minutes later, a cascade of problems began: automatic messages indicate the autopilot had disengaged, a key computer system switched to alternative power, and controls needed to keep the plane stable had been damaged. An alarm sounded indicating the deterioration of flight systems.

Three minutes after that, more automatic messages reported the failure of systems to monitor air speed, altitude and direction. Control of the main flight computer and wing spoilers failed as well. The last automatic message, at 11:14 p.m., signaled loss of cabin pressure and complete electrical failure — catastrophic events in a plane that was likely already plunging toward the ocean. Patrick Smith, a U.S. airline pilot and aviation analyst, said the sequence of messages strongly indicated a loss of electrical power, possibly as the result of an extremely strong lightning bolt. "What jumps out at me is the reported failure of both the primary and standby instruments," Smith said. "From that point the plane basically becomes unflyable." "If they lost control and started spiraling down into a storm cell, the plane would begin disintegrating, the engines and wings would start coming off, the cabin would begin falling apart," he said. The accident investigation is being done by France, while Brazil is leading the recovery effort. On Saturday, Fox News reoprted that bodies have been found in the Atlantic that most likely died in the plane crash. Information Gained from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525297,00.html and http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525043,00.html

President Obama in France for 65th

Anniversary of D Day Europe

Note: This article contains two inappropriate words within the President's quotes that are necessary for the article to be understood

the LLT is a family friendly paper and encourages parents to proof read this article before allowing their children to read it.

PARIS - Recalling the "unimaginable hell" of D-Day suffering, President Obama paid tribute Saturday to the against-all-odds Allied landings that broke Nazi Germany's grip on France and turned the tide of history. "The sheer improbability of this victory is part of what makes D-Day so memorable," Obama said. He spoke under a sunny sky at the American Cemetery on cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach and other landings sites where American, British and Canadian soldiers established a beachhead 65 years ago under the withering fire of Nazi troops awaiting the Allies' cross-channel gamble. Obama visited an American battlefield museum with his wife, Michelle; laid a wreath in honor of the fallen; greeted U.S. military members; and mingled with uniformed World War II veterans. Normandy's cliffs, still pocked with gun emplacements and other remnants of the war, including the white headstones of thousands of buried American troops, provided sure footing for a new U.S. commander in chief. Obama noted that the site has been visited by many U.S. presidents and predicted that "Long after our time on this Earth has passed, one word will still bring forth the pride and awe of men and women who will never meet the heroes who sit before us: D-Day." He said the lessons of that pivotal effort are eternal. "Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget -- what we must not forget -- is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century," he said. Speaking at a time when he is directing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- both of which have lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in World War II -- Obama described in stark terms the harsh conditions the Allied invaders faced at Normandy. He noted that in many ways the seaborne invasion plan went awry, leaving the assaulting forces vulnerable to Nazi guns in their path. "When the ships landed here at Omaha, an unimaginable hell rained down on the men inside," he said. "Many never made it out of the boats." But the Allies prevailed, gathering strength for a breakout from Normandy in July that opened a path toward Paris and eventually took the Allies all the way to Germany and victory over the Nazis. Obama paid tribute to the Allies -- the British, the Canadian, the French as well as the Russians, "who sustained some of the war's heaviest casualties on the Eastern front." "At an hour of maximum danger, amid the bleakest of circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found it within themselves to do the extraordinary," Obama said. "They fought out of a simple sense of duty -- a duty sustained by the same ideals for which their countrymen had fought and bled for over two centuries." Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown each recalled the sacrifices of the Allies. Obama noted that his grandfather, Stanley Dunham, arrived at Normandy six weeks after D-Day and marched across France in Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's army. Attending with Obama was his great uncle, Charles Payne, who was part of the first American division to reach and liberate a Nazi concentration camp that Obama and his great uncle visited in Germany on Friday. Obama saluted the contributions of individual veterans of the Normandy landings, including one veteran, Jim Norene, who fought as a member of the 101st Airborne Division. "Last night, after visiting this cemetery for one last time, he passed away in his sleep," the president said. "Jim was gravely ill when he left his home, and he knew that he might not return. But just as he did 65 years ago, he came anyway. May he now rest in peace with the boys he once bled with, and may his family always find solace in the heroism he showed here." Before France, Obama visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Germany.

Information copied from: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/06/06/obama-pay-tribute-d-day-fallen-meet-sarkozy/

Coleman Is 'not ruling anything out'

Speaking to conservatives in St. Louis, he said he's waiting for a ruling on his appeal before deciding his next step. ASSOCIATED PRESS and STAFF REPORTS Last update: June 4, 2009 - 11:29 PM ST. LOUIS - Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman, in St. Louis to speak at a conference of Midwestern conservatives, said Thursday he's going to wait to see how the Minnesota Supreme Court rules on his appeal of DFLer Al Franken's lead in the U.S. Senate race before he decides his next step. Talking to reporters after addressing the Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference, Coleman said: "I'm still waiting to hear the court's decision. I'm focused on the Senate seat. I'm not looking past it. But I'm not ruling anything out." If he were to lose the appeal, Coleman could choose to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court or file a new lawsuit in federal district court. Another possibility presented itself this week, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced he won't seek a third term. Coleman hasn't commented on whether he might be interested in running for governor, an office he sought in 1998 in a three-way race in which he finished second to Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura. However, he would enter the race with one of the most recognized names in Minnesota politics. Meanwhile, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported Thursday that unnamed sources close to Coleman said that, should he lose his current appeal, he would be likely to accept the verdict and not pursue the case further. Coleman spokesman Tom Erickson, asked to comment on the Roll Call item, said, "We feel we're going to win. We're waiting to see what the court says, and that's all I have to say about it. "We're planning to return to Washington," he said. In his address, Coleman said the Republican brand has been hurt by failures in fiscal discipline and national security, though he said the U.S. won the war in Iraq. Republicans are seen as "scolding and intolerant," Coleman said, but can recapture the country on the issues. "It takes hard work," he said, recalling those who put their lives on hold in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses. He asked if they cared enough about ending abortion, fighting terrorism, and promoting the sanctity of marriage, private property and economic freedom to take six months out of their lives to fight for them. He said most Americans agree with conservative ideals but like President Obama, illustrating a need to "find ways to more optimistically promote our vision." He said Republicans must measure the results of Democrats' policies and point out the gaps. Among the others at the event, attended by about 200 people, were Phyllis Schlafly and David Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh's brother. Staff writers Kevin Duchschere and Pat Doyle and Associated Press reporter Cheryl Wittenauer contributed to this report.

Information Copied from http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/46999482.html?elr=KArksUUUU

Minnesota's Governor Pawlenty Announces That He Will Not Seek a Third Term

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty erased one doubt about his political future while blowing open another, passing Tuesday on a third-term bid while declining to say if he'll set his sights on the White House. Pawlenty dismissed talk of a 2012 Republican presidential campaign as premature, saying he would focus on the next 19 months to finish his term strong. But he said he wouldn't hesitate to travel the country on behalf of a party he thinks needs refreshing. He'll be in Washington on Friday to address the College Republicans. "I'm going to try to lend voice to the need to raise issues and ideas for my party here and elsewhere if I'm asked," Pawlenty said, "because I think we need new ideas and faces in the party. That's a collateral activity — something I will do as a volunteer." Pawlenty has spoken in the past of the GOP's need to remake itself to attract "Sam's Club Republicans." While Minnesota doesn't have term limits, Pawlenty said he'd impose them on himself. "Time marches on, and now it's time to give someone else a chance." At a news conference flanked by his wife, two daughters and the lieutenant governor, Pawlenty shot down suggestions that he was nervous about losing a governor's race or facing fallout from deep budget cuts he'll soon make. He repeatedly brushed aside questions about life beyond the governor's mansion, saying he had no plans beyond his current term. A conservative with blue-collar roots, Pawlenty, 48, has been considered a likely White House candidate for months. He gave his political profile a boost in 2008 when he endorsed John McCain early, then campaigned for the nominee around the country. He was seen as one of two or three finalists to be McCain's running mate until McCain upended the campaign by choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His announcement comes as he's in the middle of a prolonged dispute over one of the state's U.S. Senate seats months after the election. The governor hasn't issued an election certificate because Republican Norm Coleman, whose term expired in January, is still contesting the results that tipped the race to Democrat Al Franken by a few hundred votes. Pawlenty said he'll follow the state Supreme Court's direction on the certificate and won't "hold it up or delay it in any fashion." Pawlenty's success as a right-leaning Republican elected twice in left-leaning Minnesota marked him in national GOP circles as a young politician to watch. Despite his two victories, Pawlenty never exceeded 46 percent of the vote. Third-party candidates factored into both elections. If running for president is his goal, there are numerous advantages to vacating the governor's mansion. A 2010 gubernatorial campaign would be costly and potentially difficult. He also will be free to travel to political events and, more important, to key nominating states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. The GOP field could be crowded with former and current governors. "The Republicans are looking for leaders and his experience as governor gives him an entree," said Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University in Atlanta. "One of the things that he would be trying to do is increase his name recogition and visibility throughout the country because outside of Minnesota he isn't known at all." Pawlenty has taken a conservative's stance on taxes, most recently holding firm against attempts by legislative Democrats to increase some taxes to fill in a massive state budget deficit. Failing to reach a compromise with Democrats, Pawlenty instead invoked executive powers that allow him to trim state spending without legislative consent. Pawlenty strayed from his tax orthodoxy just once, when in 2005 he proposed and helped pass a 75-cent-a-pack "health impact fee" on cigarettes that critics said was just a creatively named tax. The governor has followed traditionally conservative stances on most social issues, favoring freer access to guns and opposing abortion and legal partnership rights for gay couples. But he's broken from party orthodoxy on a few issues, speaking out in favor of importing prescription drugs from Canada and promoting pro-environmental business initiatives. The lawyer and native of South St. Paul served on the Eagan City Council before his election to the state House where he became majority leader. Pawlenty first ran for governor in 2002, and managed to win against a veteran Democratic legislator and a prominent former congressman running for a third party. He was re-elected in 2006 in another three-way race; despite his two victories, Pawlenty has never exceeded 46 percent of the vote. Associated Press writers Henry C. Jackson and Liz Sidoti contributed to this report from Washington; Patrick Condon from Minneapolis; and Beth Fouhy from New York. http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/46726077.html?elr=KArksUUUU