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Unlike the showboating Battleship North Carolina, now a tourist attraction with a famous profile, the Navy's newest USS North Carolina will be a sleek nuclear submarine that aims to stay out of sight.When the sub joins the fleet in about two years, it will carry some of the military's newest gadgets. The ship will be able to attack with missiles, torpedoes and mines or skulk silently to snoop or drop off special operations teams.The sub, under construction at a Virginia shipyard, will be the fourth Navy vessel to carry the North Carolina name. It also will be the fourth in a new class of submarines designed for warfare after the Cold War, when the primary adversary was the Soviet Union.The Navy says the sub will cost $2.4 billion. But taxpayers will spend $95.8 billion to build all 30 Virginia-class submarines, a cost of $3.2 billion per ship, according to the most recent acquisition report published by the Department of Defense.
Charred remains of trees lean in deep ash, marking hills that hadn't seen fire in 100 years like headstones in a cemetery. When the rains come, water will sprint past the blackened trunks undeterred by grass, plants and brush. Some of the mountains that surround Ventura County are still green and covered with healthy pines. But enough were consumed by the 254-square-mile Day fire fifth largest in California's history that flood control officials worry about winter rains swooping down slopes and stealing logs and boulders. .
The Louisiana Department of Economic Development has a plan for solving the state's housing crisis and creating a new signature industry for Louisiana: Turn the state into a hub for new construction technologies and building methods. Luring construction-related industries and manufacturing has become a major priority for the state. The idea is that by looking to advanced building methods, the state can more quickly rebuild the 200,000 homes that were damaged or destroyed in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and give Louisiana workers a leg up on developing modern construction skills. "We've been working with housing manufacturers of many types and encouraging them to consider investing in Louisiana," said Don Pierson, assistant secretary of economic development and head of the office of business development.
San Francisco (Oct. 12, 2006) – Using Havok's renowned physics engine, SEGA®'s iconic Sonic The Hedgehog is due to blaze his way to the 2006 DigitalLife event in New York today. With Havok's cutting-edge real-time rigid body physics and collision detection to help him, Sonic beats enemies and obstacles alike with trademark speed and attitude. Delivering the highest production values, Sonic The Hedgehog™, despite his 15 years in existence, takes advantage of what next generation platforms and physics technology have to offer to create the most intense sensation of speed ever experienced in a videogame. Speaking about the game, Takayuki Kawagoe, R&D Creative Officer of SEGA Corporation, underlined the importance of Havok's physics in helping SEGA to achieve its creative goals.
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