Free Republic

In 1963, USS Thresher imploded at test depth killing all 129 aboard—the Navy blamed a "piping failure" and closed the case. But declassified documents from the 2000s revealed the submarine had over 800 documented defects before diving, whistleblower testimony proved inspectors were pressured to approve faulty welds, and acoustic analysis of the final moments shows the crew knew they were dying for nearly 5 minutes as water flooded in. The Navy knew Thresher wasn't safe, sent her down anyway, then spent 60 years hiding that 129 men died from institutional negligence, not accident. 26 Minute VIDEO AT LINK...............

It seems weary commuters will have to wait four more months before they can start using the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine. The lift-span bridge will now be open to traffic in mid-May, eight months after cars were supposed to start using it to cross the Piscataqua River, according to an updated construction schedule from Cianbro, the Pittsfield-based construction company hired by the state of Maine to build the bridge. Cianbro spokesman Alan Grover did not return a interview request Tuesday to explain why bridge construction has been delayed. Cianbro started construction on the $160 million...

KITTERY, Maine – Officials at Mitchell Primary School are apologizing after a book about a transgender child was read to most of the school’s K-3 students. “We have a practice of if a topic is considered sensitive, parents should be informed,” superintendent Allyn Hutton told SeaCoastOnline.com. “In this situation, that didn’t happen. The whole culture at Mitchell School is about teaching tolerance and respect. The people presenting the lesson thought (the book) was one more piece of teaching that lesson. “In retrospect, we understand that toleration is tolerating people of all opinions,” Hutton said. Criticism flooded the district after Fox...