World / Nation Briefs March 31, 2012

Air Force officers sought sea burial of 9/11 remains

WASHINGTON - Newly released Pentagon documents show that Air Force officers debated briefly about burial at sea before concluding that 1,321 unidentifiable fragments of remains from the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon should be treated as medical waste and incinerated.

A string of emails running from Aug. 5-7, 2002, reveal that an unidentified Air Force colonel suggested scattering the already cremated remains at sea. A second official - a civilian - said it may be appropriate to also have witnesses and a chaplain present.

Their arguments that the 9/11 remains weren't just normal waste were rejected by others who concluded the material was medical waste and should not be treated like human remains.

The emails were among nearly 2,000 pages of documents released by the Pentagon on Friday detailing operations at the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, investigations into problems and mishandling of war dead and other remains there and records about the disposal of body fragments.

Old photos may be deceptive in shooting case

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When he was shot, Trayvon Martin was not the baby-faced boy in the photo that has been on front pages across the country. And George Zimmerman wasn't the beefy-looking figure in the widely published mugshot.

Both photos are a few years old and no longer entirely accurate. Yet they may have helped shape initial public perceptions of the deadly shooting.

"When you have such a lopsided visual comparison, it just stands to reason that people would rush to judgment," said Kenny Irby, who teaches visual journalism at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The most widely seen picture of Martin, released by his family, was evidently taken a few years ago and shows a smiling, round-cheeked youngster in a red T-shirt. But at his death, Martin was 17 years old, around 6 feet tall and, according to his family's attorney, about 140 pounds.

Zimmerman, 28, is best known from a 7-year-old booking photo of an apparently heavyset figure with an imposing stare, pierced ear and facial hair, the orange collar of his jail uniform visible. The picture, released by police following the deadly shooting, was taken after Zimmerman's 2005 arrest on an assault-on-an-officer charge that was eventually dropped.

Chinese iPhone maker pledges wage hikes

BEIJING - Consumers probably won't have to pay more for iPads, iPhones and other popular consumer electronics despite a Chinese company's pledge to trim work hours and raise wages for its hardscrabble assembly workers.

The paychecks have already been steadily growing even before this week's pledge, and labor expenses remain a small portion of the total bill for most gadgets made in China.

At most, the cumulative wage increases could crimp the profits of major technology companies. Manufacturers have a bigger worry in finding ways to save money on the parts that power the devices.

Nonetheless, assembly costs are likely to escalate because of Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles an estimated 40 percent of the world's electronics, including the hot-selling iPhone and iPad.

Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., promised to limit hours while keeping total pay the same. That commitment will translate into higher hourly wages.

Etch A Sketch ad pokes fun at Romney aide

NEW YORK - The 104-year old company that makes Etch A Sketch is launching new political-themed ads, after the toy made headlines when an aide for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney compared it with Romney's fall election strategy.

Rivals said the comparison with a toy that's fun because of the way it erases implied that Romney would do the same - and flip-flop on issues once the general election campaign starts. The toy instantly became a buzzword.

"I have not written my public policy pronouncements on an Etch A Sketch," GOP rival Rick Santorum said while campaigning in Wisconsin, for example. "They are written on my heart."

The Ohio Art Co. said the "Shake it Up, America" ads will appear on social media including Facebook and Twitter. They poke fun at politics in general, while maintaining that the drawing toy, first marketed in 1960, is politically neutral.

"Etch A Sketch is a lot like politics, there's a lot of gray area," reads one ad.

- The Associated Press