[Robert A Cook PE]

Yes, they were "over CA" earlier in the morning (about 8:45 am) at 400,000 - 300,000 feet altitude.

The Shuttle DOES rotate in the same direction as the earth (from west to east!) and DOES land (usually in FL) coming in from the west.

It broke up somewhere between NM and central Texas, and spread debris from central TX through Missippi.

[bonesmccoy]

Gentlemen,

The stack lauches to the East in order to take advantage of the fact that the Earth is rotating OPPOSITE to the launch azimuth. The closer the trajectory is to the equator, the higher the payload capability.

In fact, the orbiter is flying from West to East because the launch occurs from West to East. The Earth is rotating the ground from "East" to "West" under the vehicle. That gives an extra relative velocity to the ground.