Rep. John Murtha dies

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., died Monday at 77. Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on defense, was elected to Congress in 1974 and was among the most hawkish of Democrats. He was one of the first to advocate buying Air Force tankers from both the Northrop Grumman/EADS team and Boeing. Murtha had been suffering from complications from gallbladder surgery. (Source: Multiple, including New York Times, USA Today, 02/08/10) Gulf Coast note: Northrop and EADS plan to build the tankers in Mobile, Ala., if they end up bidding on and winning all or a portion of the $40 billion contract.