BOISE, Idaho – The head of memory chip maker Micron died Friday when a small experimental plane he was piloting steeply banked, stalled and crashed near an Idaho runway.
Steve Appleton, who survived a similar crash eight years ago and had a reputation as a hard-driving daredevil, was the only person aboard the plane when witnesses said it crashed shortly after its second take-off attempt in Boise, according to safety investigators.
Appleton’s death was confirmed by Micron, and the company’s board planned to meet over the weekend to discuss its next steps.
Micron makes semiconductor chips for various devices, including computers, mobile devices, cameras, cars and industrial systems. It makes products under the Lexar and Crucial brands.
WikiLeaks suspect faces court-martial
An Army officer in Maryland ordered a court-martial Friday for a low-ranking intelligence analyst charged in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history.
Military District of Washington commander Maj. Gen. Michael Linnington referred all charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning to a general court-martial, the Army said in a statement.
The referral means Manning will stand trial for allegedly giving more than 700,000 secret U.S. documents and classified combat video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks for publication.
The 24-year-old Crescent, Okla., native faces 22 counts, including aiding the enemy. He could faces life in prison if convicted of that charge.
Puerto Rico takes aim at iguanas
Puerto Rico’s government is announcing plans to kill as many iguanas as possible and export their meat in hopes of eradicating an imported species that has long vexed residents and entertained tourists.
The U.S. Caribbean territory has roughly 4 million iguanas, which is a little more than the island’s human population, according to Daniel Galan Kercado, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources.
Puerto Rico has long struggled to eradicate the bright green reptiles that can grow up to 6 feet long and have a life span of 20 years. Iguanas are considered an endangered species throughout most of Latin America, but Puerto Rico is overrun with them, in part because they breed so quickly and have few natural predators.
World
U.N. to consider resolution on Syria
The U.N. Security Council will meet this morning to take up a resolution on Syria, according to a diplomat who sits on the council.
The movement at the U.N. came as Syrian forces used tanks and machine-guns to kill at least 200 people and wound hundreds in Homs in an offensive that appeared to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said early today.
The U.S. and its partners have ruled out military action, but they want the U.N. to endorse an Arab League plan that calls on President Bashar Assad to hand power over to Syria’s vice president.
