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(Continued from page 31)
Working 'with hope,' rescuers continue searching rubble from NYC explosion; at least 8 dead
• NEW YORK (AP) -- Using sound devices to probe for voices and telescopic cameras to peer into small spaces, workers searching a pile of rubble from a gas explosion in New York City continued to treat it as a rescue operation, holding onto the possibility of finding survivors from a blast that brought down two apartment buildings and killed at least eight people.
• "We have to think of survivors and work in that way, with hope," said Fire Department of New York Chief Edward Kilduff.
• The search work was slow going, with 40 percent to 50 percent of the debris removed by Thursday evening. Kilduff said a fire was still burning, and the force of the explosion collapsed and pancaked layers of floors. A back wall was still freestanding and posed a collapse hazard.
• Workers planned a full day removing debris at the site on Friday, and hoped to make it down to the first floor by Saturday then move on to the basement.
• It's meticulous work. About a dozen firefighters picked through charred wood and bits of metal early Friday, seeking human remains or anything that could help the investigation. Smoke was still rising from the debris, the smell apparent even a block away.
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Extent of failings by nuclear missile launch crews masked by strong showing from cooks
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Failings last spring by nuclear missile operators at an Air Force base in North Dakota were worse than first reported, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
• Airmen responsible for missile operations at Minot Air Force Base would have failed their portion of a major inspection in March 2013 but managed a "marginal" rating because their poor marks were blended with the better performance of support staff -- like cooks and facilities managers -- and they got a boost from the base's highly rated training program. The "marginal" rating, the equivalent of a "D'' in school, was reported previously. Now, details of the low performance by the launch officers, or missileers, entrusted with the keys to missiles have been revealed.
• "Missileer technical proficiency substandard," one Air Force briefing slide says. (Continued on page 33)
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