Free Republic

The midnight twilight turned out to be too much for a couple of out-of-state visitors who wanted to be rescued after spending a single night in the Bush this month, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday. Troopers say they got a report of an emergency locator beacon registered to Washington, D.C., resident William Calomiris, 27, that was activated near Pungokepuk Lake, 20 miles northeast of Twin Hills, about 8:30 p.m. July 1. An air taxi service had dropped him and Adam Grunstra, also 27, of Bethesda, Md., off at the lake on June 30 for a seven-day stay, troopers said. Troopers...

Flight controllers were revamping plans Wednesday for the remaining spacewalks planned during space shuttle Endeavour's visit to the international space station, after a crucial tool bag floated out to space during a repair trip. The briefcase-sized tool bag drifted away from astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper on Tuesday as she cleaned and lubed a gummed-up joint on a wing of solar panels on the space station. She and fellow astronaut Stephen Bowen were midway through the first of four spacewalks planned for the mission. The tool bag was one of the largest items ever lost by a spacewalker. As Stefanyshyn-Piper cleaned up...