Air Force expands cancer review of nuclear missile personnel

WASHINGTON – The Air Force’s review of cancers among its nuclear missile corps will include all personnel who worked on, guarded, supported or operated the nation’s ground-based warheads, Air Force Global Strike Command announced on Feb. 22.

Nine officers who had worked as missileers – the airmen who launch the warheads from underground silos and control centers – at Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base were diagnosed with with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, Lt. Col. Daniel Sebeck of U.S. Space Force reported in January in a briefing obtained by The Associated Press.

Since that briefing, more missileers and missile support crew have come forward to the AP and other media outlets to report they, too, have been diagnosed with either non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other types of cancers.

The Air Force review will extend beyond Malmstrom to include F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Together the three bases operate 450 silos that house the nation’s arsenal of ground-based nuclear warheads carried by Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The “Missile Community Cancer Study,” to be conducted by the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, will look at all ICBM wings and all Air Force personnel who support the ICBM mission. It will review environmental factors at the missile bases and silos, and examine “the possibility of clusters of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma” among missileers and those who maintained, guarded and supported the bases, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, said in a statement.

NEW MEXICO

Court upholds ban against Cowboys for Trump co-founder

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Supreme Court rejected a final appeal for reconsideration by a New Mexico politician and Donald Trump supporter who was removed and barred from elected office for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The court on Feb. 16 closed out an appeal initiated last year by Cowboys for Trump co-founder and former County Commissioner Couy Griffin. Justices cited missed court filing deadlines by Griffin in rejecting his appeal.

With Griffin’s banishment from elected office in September 2022, a Santa Fe-based District Court became the first to remove or bar an elected official in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol building that disrupted Congress as it was trying to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Griffin was previously convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor for entering the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, without going inside the building. He was sentenced to 14 days and given credit for time served.

On Friday, Griffin accused New Mexico’s high court of endorsing a “fraud pie,” and vowed to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

At trial in Santa Fe, Griffin invoked free speech guarantees in his defense and said his banishment from public office disenfranchises his political constituents in Otero County.

“The fight is far from over,” Griffin said in a text message to The Associated Press.

Griffin was barred from office under provisions of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which holds that anyone who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution can be barred from office for engaging in insurrection or rebellion. The provisions were put in place shortly after the Civil War.

Nuclear museum gets a Soviet missile for display

ALBUQUERQUE – The National Nuclear Science and History in New Mexico now has a rare addition to its missile collection.

It’s a Soviet built SA-2 surface-to-air missile from the first built in the 1950s and used up through the 1980s by the Russians.

James Stemm, curator of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, told Albuquerque TV station KOB that the missile belongs to the New Mexico Museum of Military History in Rio Rancho and they were looking for a place to display it so more people could see it.

The 40-feet missile named “Tina” was used by Russians in defense against the United States years ago.

Stemm said the missile was built to defend the Soviet Union against American B-52 and B-47 bombers, two of which the museum already has on display.

A curator for more than 25 years, Stemm said museums are used to show all sides of history.

“As far as I know, the only one in New Mexico,” he said of the Soviet missile. “There are a few in other museums back east the Smithsonian has one, the Air Force Museum has one, but they aren’t very common in the U.S.”

MONTANA

Bent track a factor in Amtrak crash that killed 3

HELENA – Investigators probing a fatal 2021 Amtrak derailment in Montana disclosed on Feb. 21 that the railroad track was bent along a curve near the accident site, and the problem got worse as freight trains traveled over the area before the crash.

Details on the bent track were included in hundreds of pages of investigative documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board. The three passengers who died and two who were seriously injured were in, or had just been in, an observation car that ended up on its side, the investigation found.

Railroad safety practices are facing renewed scrutiny after a fiery freight train derailment released toxic chemicals in Ohio. The Feb. 3 crash of a Norfolk Southern train forced evacuations and raised public health concerns.

Investigators identified the problem with the track based on video footage, including from two BNSF freight trains that went around the accident curve within 90 minutes before the Amtrak derailment.

After each of the freight trains had passed, the bend in the track appeared to get worse, investigators reported. Neither of the freight train crews saw the problem.

They did not determine the final cause of the accident.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder derailed Sept. 25, 2021, in northern Montana while en route from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, Oregon, with 154 people on board. The track is owned by BNSF Railway.

The train was traveling just below the speed limit of 79 mph when its emergency brakes were activated, the NTSB said.

Survivors described horrific scenes of people maimed and killed as four cars toppled and skidded down the tracks. Forty-four passengers and crew were taken to area hospitals with injuries.

ARIZONA

Endangered African penguin chicks hatch at aquarium

SCOTTSDALE – An Arizona aquarium is celebrating the hatching of three endangered African penguin chicks, saying the tiny additions are genetically valuable as zoos and aquariums around the world work to ensure the species’ survival through breeding programs and conservation efforts.

Officials at OdySea Aquarium made the announcement on Feb. 17, posting video of the fuzzy birds on social media. They hatched a few weeks ago and will remain behind the scenes with their parents until they’re ready for a public appearance.

African penguins have suffered a massive population decline over the decades and are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The breeding program established by the association aims to build up a viable genetic pool for the species.

Officials say two of the three new chicks in Scottsdale are clutch-mates, born to parents Mojo and Lemieux – a power couple of sorts that was selected for pairing as part of the breeding program. The third chick was born to first-time parents Bubbles and Weasley.

The three chicks have yet to be named, and their sex has not yet been determined. For now they’re known by their numbers, 42, 43 and 44.

In all, OdySea Aquarium now has 40 African penguins and has recorded 13 successful hatchings.