Nation in brief: Detroit City Council asks mayor to resign
A defiant Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick quickly rejected the City Council’s call Tuesday for him to resign because of accusations that he lied under oath about not having an affair.
“You take a whole day to discuss an issue like this,” he said. “My reaction is: This is over. It has no effect. It’s not binding. Let’s get back to work.”
The resolution, passed 7-1, amounted to a “no-confidence” vote because the council lacks the power to force Kilpatrick to step down.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is investigating whether the mayor and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty lied under oath when they testified in a whistle-blowers’ lawsuit that they had not had a physical relationship.
Kilpatrick has been dogged by media reports about steamy text messages the two exchanged that suggest a romantic relationship.
The mayor said he could not comment on the text messages on Beatty’s pager. Beatty resigned from her post in February.
City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. would like Kilpatrick to do the same. “The message is, it’s time to call it quits,” he said.
San Diego
Miramar gets new Osprey squadrons
Several new squadrons of the V-22 Osprey, an aircraft nearly scrapped because of its troubled past, will be permanently based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar starting in 2010, officials said Tuesday.
The Osprey, which takes off vertically like a helicopter and flies like a plane, replaces some squadrons of the CH-46 Sea Knight, a 39-year-old assault helicopter used in the Vietnam War.
The Osprey, which can travel twice as fast and three times farther than the Sea Knight, is equipped with radar, lasers and a missile defense system. Each can carry 24 Marines into combat.
There will be about 10 to 15 Ospreys per squadron based at Miramar. It was not immediately clear how many personnel would accompany the new aircraft, said Marine Maj. Jason Johnston.
The military plans to eventually operate 458 Ospreys, with 360 for the Marine Corps and the others used by the Navy and Air Force.
Irvington, N.Y.
Late wife’s voice back on voicemail
An 80-year-old man can hear his late wife’s voice again, any time he wants.
Verizon has recovered a lost message recorded by Charles Whiting’s wife, Catherine, before her death in 2005.
When Verizon upgraded the man’s telephone service, his wife’s voice disappeared from his voicemail system. The message said “Catherine Whiting,” and her husband said he listened to it every day for comfort.
Company spokesman John Bonomo said Tuesday that a contractor found the recording in an archive and restored it to the new voicemail system.
Charles Whiting says he’s very happy.