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An unidentified object crashed near a Zagreb park overnight Police in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, have confirmed the discovery of two parachutes near a park where a mysterious object crashed on Thursday night. No injuries on the ground were reported. The police said they had begun to receive reports about an incident in the Jarun neighborhood, in southwestern Zagreb, from 11pm local time. Citizens had alerted the authorities about an object falling from the air and crashing to the ground. On arriving at the scene, the police found a 3m-wide (10ft-wide) crater embedded with debris. Two parachutes were discovered...

FULL TITLE: Parachutes do NOT save the lives of people who jump from aeroplanes, claim sarcastic scientists in a study designed to reveal how flawed 'research' can be 'This largely resulted from our ability to only recruit participants jumping from stationary aircraft on the ground,' the scientists wrote. The researchers revealed the parachute did not deploy for all 12 of the volunteers because of the 'short duration and altitude of falls'. They sarcastically described their study as groundbreaking'. And they added it 'should give momentary pause to experts who advocate for routine use of parachutes for jumps from aircraft in...

A 180-pound parachute deployed in just four-tenths of a second -- twice the speed of sound -- setting a new record. The powerful parachute is needed for the heaviest payload yet to hit the surface of the red planet.

Excerpt - The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Sunday that it won't allow the companies to make "golden parachute" severance payments to the mortgage companies' ousted chief executive officers. In a statement, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said such payments wouldn't be made to Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron, despite provisions in their contracts. Mr. Mudd served as chief executive of Fannie and Mr. Syron was chairman and CEO of Freddie until last weekend, when the regulator seized control of the companies, saying they were in danger of running out of capital. ~ snip ~

Paratroopers from the Scout Platoon, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, head out on a training mission on the Euphrates River. Such training missions as this one helped the paratroopers get accustomed to water-borne operations. Photo by Sgt. Marcus ButlerISKANDARIYAH, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 5, 2007) - Paratroopers here have added another element to their arsenal of maneuver capabilities: amphibious transportation. The Scout Platoon for the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, will use the aluminum utility boat to conduct reconnaissance throughout their area of...

AL ASAD, Iraq (April 26, 2006) -- The cargo bay doors of a KC-130J Hercules opened, bringing the night air into view, as a chill wind circulated through the inside of the plane. Five Marines braced themselves against the front of the cargo bay watching the two remaining parachute systems attentively. The massive plane jumped as its airspeed slowed to half of what it had been moments before. A heavy hum vibrated through the walls of the aircraft, as the pilots powered up its engines and aimed it toward the stars. The two crates slid from the bay and disappeared...

He was known as Peter Pan - the boy who could fly - but something went fatally wrong moments after Australian Darcy Zoitsas leapt from a 1000-metre Norwegian BASE jumping site. As he hurtled down the huge cliff face of Kjerag Peak in western Norway his parachute failed to open on Monday. "I used to call him Peter Pan, the boy who can fly and refuses to grow up and are surrounded by lost boys. He would smile in recognition and call me his Wendy," wrote Lesley Assersen at an online remembrance message board. "I had hoped to live with...

United States Special forces and aircraft are engaged in a massive offensive in Southeast Afghanistan in a bid to kill or capture senior Taliban leaders.Aljazeera's Afghanistan correspondant said a United States offficer was 100% sure that Taliban leaders Mullah Omar and Mullah Qahar were both surrounded in the villiage of Sarang with about 1000 Taliban fighters.The special forces have joined a major week long operation against suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda bases in the mountains of Daychopan district of Zabul province, 300 kilometeres Southwest of Kabul. Aljazeera.net has learned that the Afghan Government infantry was order to withdraw in anticipation...

Four Parachutes An airplane was about to crash; there were 5 passengers on board, but only 4 parachutes. The first passenger said, "I am Kobe Bryant, the best NBA basketball player; the Lakers need me, I can't afford to die." So he took the first pack and left the plane. The second passenger, Hillary Clinton said, "I am the wife of the former U.S. President, a Senator from New York, and a potential future president. And I am the smartest woman in American history, so America's people don't want me to die." She took the second pack and jumped out...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The nation's largest public pension fund will lead a drive to rein in lucrative severance packages designed by and for corporate executives and that are triggered by they mergers they engineer, officials said Friday. California Treasurer Phil Angelides and other members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System board plan to recruit other pension systems and shareholder groups nationwide to fight the recent escalation by targeting selected merger proposals for defeat next year. The initiative is the latest in a series of steps by CalPERS and the nation's third-largest pension system, the California State Teachers Retirement System,...

Four parachutists said to have landed on Tip O'Neill Federal Building next door to Fleet Center in Boston. SWAT teams on the way... Developing... Drudge

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — A Marine sentenced to 20 years in military prison for cutting parachute suspension lines before a training jump will have to testify against another Marine charged in the case.Lance Cpl. Antoine D. Boykins was sentenced Thursday, a day after he pleaded guilty to nine counts of reckless endangerment, four counts of aggravated assault and one count of destruction of government property.Boykins, 21, admitted cutting suspension lines on 13 of the 22 parachutes that were to be used in the exercise Sept. 21. He said he knew someone could be killed or injured because reserve...

<p>CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Another Marine has been taken into custody, but not charged, in an ongoing investigation into the sabotage of parachutes that injured three Marines last year, officials said Friday.</p> <p>Cpl. Clayton A. Chaffin, 28, an air delivery specialist from Franklin, Ohio, was being held at the base brig, said 2nd Lt. Kate VandenBossche.</p>

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) -- A 21-year-old Marine has been charged with 13 counts of attempted murder for allegedly sabotaging parachutes before a jump last fall that left three fellow Marines wounded, the military said Wednesday. The Marines Corps formally referred Lance Cp. Antoine Boykins to a general court-martial on charges that also include 13 counts of reckless endangerment and one conspiracy to commit premeditated murder. Boykins will remain in confinement at the base, said Sgt. J.J. Connolly Jr., a spokesman for Camp Lejeune. Three Marines were injured last September when their parachutes failed to open when they jumped from...

<p>By Associated Press, 1/30/2003 10:32 CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) Two Marines have been arrested in the suspected sabotage of more than a dozen parachutes last fall, officials said. Three jumpers were slightly injured when they were forced to use their reserve chutes.</p>