The U.S.S. New York made its triumphant New York City debut today…. and what a sight to behold it was.  Many 9-11 first responders and 9-11 family members lined the banks of the Hudson River today to be a part of history — to watch the ship made with the salvaged remains of the World Trade Center return to the site where twin towers came down 8 years ago.

Watching the transformation of the twisted and charred steel turn into a massive hulking warship was powerful for shipbuilders, who have said  this ship is a bold reminder that America will “never forget”, which is also the ship’s motto.

The U.S.S. New York arrived with a large escort of firefighting, police and coast guard boats … like a protected public official — or rock star heading to a stage… a fitting entourage for a ship of this size.  She is 684 feet long, 105 feet wide and weighs 25-thousand tons — 7 1/2 tons of salvaged steel from the twin towers were melted down and molded into the ship’s bow.  As the ship made it’s way into New York Harbor … it passed under the Verrazano Bridge, then paused in the waters just outside the world trade center where Marines on board gave a 21 gun salute.     It then muscled it’s way up the Hudson River to Pier 88 on Manhattan’s west side, where it will stay parked for the next 10 days.

It took a billion dollars, and four years to complete –  there is what is considered a communications masterpiece tucked away under two cones of steel called the A-E-M’s — advanced enclosed masts that help reduce radar detection.  During the ships construction Navy Commanding Officer Curt Jones said, he knew this ship was going to be special.  “I walked underneath this ship, and put my hand on the hull and every hair in my body stood on edge”

The ship can carry 360 sailors, and 700 Marines.  800 for a surge mission.    The U.S.S. NEw York  LPD-21 is the 5th amphibious transport ship in the Navy’s San Antonio class and will be used to transport land marines, equipment, and supplies and can hold four helicopters or 2 Osprey’s at a time.  At today’s welcoming ceremony, New Yorkers said the ship shares the personality of the city..and embodies the strength and determination of the people who live here.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued … “so, every friend that sets foot on it, and every foe that dares challenge it, will feel it’s power, and know that it is literally made from the heart and soul of the city that has sacrificed so much”.
The U.S.S. New York will be open to the public starting this Wednesday after 9-11 first responders and family members have a chance to visit her… then it’s off to it’s new home port in Virginia where it will be used for crew training exercises – it is expected to be deployed for active duty within the year.

It reads like a Scooby Doo mystery — an elaborate scheme exposed by simple clues.

Bailing out of a plane to meet a motorcycle on the ground may be an unorthodox, daring and complicated way to disappear. But a search of Marcus Schrenker’s crashed plane revealed simple clues suggesting a hoax, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.

In the affidavit, Special Agent John Allen of the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) writes that the inspection of the aircraft revealed a road map book for 50 states. Well, 48 — the pages for Alabama and Florida were ripped out.

Investigators also found a book of campsites throughout America — also missing pages for Alabama and Florida.

Allen writes, “On the back of one of the books was what appeared to be a list containing bullet summary points which included the following: ‘crached windshield, window imploded, bleeding profusely’ or words to that effect.”

Those bullet points match claims Schrenker made in his distress call Sunday. Problem is, even after the plane crashed in the Florida Panhandle, the cockpit windows remained intact, according to the affidavit.

Investigators say Schrenker parachuted from his plane and touched down near Childersburg, Ala., where a police dog traced his scent to a storage facility where he had left a motorcycle the day before. Police say they found his wet clothes, but pilot and bike were gone.

Both were discovered on Tuesday at a campground in the state represented by the other missing Atlas page — Florida.

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Greetings from the chilly shores of Cape Cod!

I came up to the Boston area yesterday from New York to shoot a really cool story, about what the United States Coast Guard is doing these days to keep our waters safe, and keep terrorist and criminal activity at bay.

I’m filling in for the lovely and talented Molly Line here for this story — one that’s been in the making for months.   As you can imagine,  these teams aren’t just sitting around, when they get a call to action, they go.  The Boston FNC team has been working on this story for months, but there have been many delays due to the Coast Guard’s schedule.  This week, everything fell into place to have us jump aboard many different types of boats and ships to film the risky and dangerous missions these teams train for to keep all of us safe.

Right now, we are following a Coast Guard  H-60 helicopter, or “Jayhawks” similar to the Army’s blackhawks.  We are not going up in these, we are going on a boat and will be filming special ops teams “fast roping” out of these onto a cargo ship!  More pictures to come…..

Keep checking back!