Washington, D.C.: Jets deployed in attempt to intercept reported contrail

The military command responsible for the defense of North American airspace launched fighter jets in response to unverified reports of an airborne condensation trail, or contrail, moving from the Caribbean to the United States, defense officials said Thursday.

Lt. Col. Michael Humm, a Pentagon spokesman, said the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo., continued to investigate Wednesday’s incident.

The reported contrail stirred concern because it could have indicated the presence of an unauthorized jet aircraft in or approaching American airspace. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon has taken greater precautions to monitor U.S. airspace.

Tokyo: Japan’s unemployment rate climbs again to record high

Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent in October, matching the record high reached last December. But analysts warn that joblessness will likely climb even higher as the government cracks down on debt-ridden banks.

The figures released today by the government Labor Force Statistics Office underline tough times for the country’s economy, which has been struggling in a slowdown for more than a decade. Jobs have been dwindling for months in almost all sectors except for services, such as construction and manufacturing.

The government has promised to speed the write-off of bad debts piled at the nation’s banks that have been blamed for dragging down the economy. The effort has won praise from Washington as a necessary step to get the Japanese economy growing again.

Florida: Astronauts take NASA’s first Thanksgiving Day spacewalk

Two astronauts stepped out Thursday for NASA’s first Thanksgiving Day spacewalk and hooked up the plumbing on the international space station’s newest addition, a 45-foot high-tech beam.

It was the second spacewalk this week for visiting shuttle Endeavour crewmen Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington, the first American Indian in space.

They connected fluid lines on the $390 million space station girder that was delivered by Endeavour. Ammonia eventually will flow through the pipes to cool the orbiting complex.

Americans have been in orbit on 10 previous Thanksgivings but remained inside their spacecraft. A Thanksgiving Day spacewalk was scheduled for a shuttle flight in 1996, but a jammed hatch kept the astronauts inside.