Thunderbirds pilot dies in Nevada crash
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — A U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot was killed in the crash of his F-16 Fighting Falcon jet during training over the Nevada desert, the service said Thursday.
Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, 34, of Valencia, Calif., died Wednesday when his F-16, known as Thunderbird 4, went down during a routine aerial demonstration training flight over the remote Nevada Test and Training Range, according to a statement from Nellis Air Force Base, where the Thunderbirds are based.
An investigation of the crash was underway and the Thunderbirds’ appearance this weekend at March Air Reserve Base in California was canceled.
The Air Force said it was not known how the accident will affect the remainder of the 2018 Thunderbirds season.
It was the third U.S. military aircraft crash this week.
Four crew members were killed when a Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed Tuesday in California during a training mission along the U.S.-Mexico border west of El Centro. The same day, a Marine Harrier jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in the East African nation of Djibouti. The pilot ejected.
Trump: Didn’t know of $130,000 payout
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he didn’t know about the $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleges that she and the president had a fling.
Asked aboard Air Force One whether he knew about the payment, Trump responded, “no.”
Trump also said he didn’t know why his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, had made the payment or where he got the money.
“You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You’ll have to ask Michael,” he said.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, says she had a sexual encounter with the president in 2006 and was paid as part of a nondisclosure agreement she is seeking to invalidate.
Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted in response that, “We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump’s feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment as stated on Air Force One.”
“As history teaches us,” he added, “it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath.”
On Monday, Cohen filed papers in federal court in Los Angeles asking a judge to rule that Daniels’ case that seeks to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement must be heard by an arbitrator instead of a jury.
Court overturns same-sex custody ruling
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s Supreme Court has ruled that a woman has parental rights to a 6-year-old boy born to her ex-wife when the two were married, in a case watched by gay-rights activists and groups aiding in vitro fertilization.
Chris Strickland filed the appeal, challenging a lower court decision that an anonymous sperm donor still had parental rights and that Strickland did not.
Strickland argued that the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage requires same-sex couples to be treated equally. She ultimately hopes to win 50-50 custody of a boy who bears her last name.
All nine justices, citing different reasons, found the original ruling flawed. The case was ordered back to a lower court for the original judge to make a decision on custody.
Man held in California Sam’s Club blasts
LOS ANGELES — A man was taken into custody Thursday after two explosive devices detonated inside a Sam’s Club store in Southern California, police said. No injuries were reported.
Hugo Gonzalez, 49, of Fontana, was being questioned by investigators after the explosives went off inside the store in Ontario, which is about 45 miles east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
Gonzalez led officers on a short pursuit after he was seen leaving the store, but eventually pulled over, said Ontario Police Department spokesman Eliseo Guerrero.
After officers searched his car, they found additional materials “similar to those used in the devices” that were found in the store, police said.
Investigators are still trying to determine a motive, but they believe Gonzalez acted alone. He appeared to have no connection to Sam’s Club, Guerrero said.
Authorities say all of the customers and employees were accounted for, and there doesn’t appear to be any damage to the building.
Police were also searching an apartment that was connected to Gonzalez in the neighboring city of Fontana, Guerrero said.
Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to assist police with the investigation.